I looked at my Top 106 countdown list and realized I had some bands way too high and some bands way too low. So I've made a few changes. The Pretenders were originally my number 50 band and that was just way too high. #60 still seems to be a bit high, but it's fine. I'll soon have a blog up for them.
Roxette had so many great songs, they were great both at the classic pop song and the great ballad. Here are their #20 to #11 best songs as decided by themusicaddict.
20) "Chances":
19) "Like Lovers Do":
18) "Soul Deep":
17) "Wish I Could Fly":
16) "Almost Unreal":
15) "Paint":
14) "Sleeping Single":
13) "Dance Away":
12) "Stars":
11) "How Do You Do":
Coming soon: 10 of the greatest pop songs of the 80s, these 10 songs happen to all be by Roxette.
I originally had Steven Patrick Morrissey at # 60 on my countdown. I was about to start writing a blog about him. I then realized that he only released one solo CD in the 80's. In 1990 he released "Bona Drag", which is a collection of singles. Normally I include 1 or 2 CDs from the early 90's in these rankings. But his 1991 CD "Kill Uncle" isn't very good. His 1992 CD, "Your Arsenal" is much better, but not enough to improve his standing in my rankings. If Morrissey knew, and cared, I'm sure he would be able to whip out a song in no time. I'm still going to include my two favorite songs from that CD.
Yes, the Smiths will be coming later in this countdown, they are much much higher than this.
I'm not including Morrissey's songs in any particular order, but I've saved my favorite songs for last.
The Go Go's formed in 1978, their first lineup was a bit different than their classic lineup. Their classic lineup is singer Belinda Carlisle, guitarist Jane Wiedlin, guitarist Charlotte Caffey, drummer Gina Schock and bassist Kathy Valentine. According to their Wikipedia page:
"They made history as the first and only all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts." That's for the CD "Beauty and the Beat", which is a very good CD, it still sounds great in 2016.
I was surprised to find out that they only released 3 CDs during the 80's, their cultural footprint is much bigger than that. Those three CDs are 1981's "Beauty and The Beat", 1982's "Vacation" and 1984's "Talk Show". Also according to their Wikipedia page they are gearing up for a farewell tour. They are shooting to do that August, 2016. Now here are their 13 best songs. Six of these songs are from "Beauty and the Beat", four songs are from "Vacation" and three songs are from "Talk Show".
13) "How Much More":
12) "This Town":
11) "Beatnik Beach":
10) "Skidmarks On My Heart":
9) "Turn To You":
8) "Cool Jerk":
7) "Get Up and Go":
6) "Mercenary":
5) "Lust To Love":
4) "We Got The Beat":
3) "Our Lips Are Sealed":
2) "Vacation":
If you're anything like me, you don't think of this song when you think of The Go Go's, but after this blog this is my favorite Go Go's song. 1) "Head Over Heels":
Bonus: their cover of the Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated":
It's been so long since I worked on the ABC blogs and it was only partially complete. I decided to break it into two blogs. I finished the previous ABC blog, which I started back on March 27th, 2016. I try not to show too many songs into one blog, which is why I like to break up these blogs.
From 1985's "How To Be A Zillionaire" (10 Songs):
"Be Near Me":
"Vanity Kills":
"How To Be A Millionaire":
From 1987's "Alphabet City" (10 Songs):
"When Smokey Sings":
"The Night You Murdered Love":
"Think Again":
"Rage and Then Regret":
"Ark-Angel":
"King Without A Crown":
From 1989's "Up" (8 Songs):
"Where Is The Heaven":
These are the best new and relatively new songs of 2016. But first some songs that aren't quite up to that level. As a rule I don't listen to the radio as I want to listen to music, not all that corporate bullshit. It works for me, but the only downside is it's hard to find out what the great new songs are. This list comes from songs I've discovered on my own with assists from Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Spin (I hadn't been aware they're still around) and iTunes.
It seems like I might be the only one that doesn't love Rihanna's recent CD, "Anti". But to me its full of a bunch of boring slow songs that go nowhere and leave one wanting more. Also she has a song titled "Sledgehammer" that's tied to the new "Star Trek" movie. To me sledgehammer signifies power a rock beat and uplifting music. It would have been more appropriate for "Sledgehammer" to have been titled something like butterfly. This just has not been a good year for Rihanna.
With the new "Ghostbusters" movie the classic "Ghostbusters" song has been updated, but definitely not improved. The Walk The Moon, Pentatonix and Fall Out Boy covers are decent, but not vital. I was liking Mark Ronson's "Get Ghost" until the lame completely unnecessary rapping started. A great song isn't helped by some lame rapper rapping on a song most of the time. This trend needs to be stopped, rarely has a guest rapper helped a song. Also I love Elle King and "Good Girls" is a decent song, however it's time to expand her subject matter. She's sang a lot about her rebel spirit, now it's time to branch out. It's appropriate that Ray Parker Jr.s' version is on the new soundtrack as his version won't ever be topped:
Other less than inspiring music this year include anything by Beyonce, including her much loved "Formation". Sorry that's just a boring song. Gavin DeGraw's "She Sits The City on Fire" isn't very flammable. Gwen Stefani's "This Is What The Truth Feels Like" should be titled this is what boredom feels like. Another great musician with all the talent in the world, but for some reason an absolutely boring CD. Also I'm disappointed by the new Pretty Reckless song. "Take Me Down". Where did the snarling, butt kicking Pretty Reckless go? There's nothing wrong with a slower song every now and then, but not this slower song.
I also keep on reading about all the love heaped on Baby Metal, but I just don't get it. Screeching vocals, they seem to be confused about what genre their music is and songs that just aren't very good. In fact they border on unlistenable. I just don't get all the love this band is getting.
But easily the worst song of 2016 is Fergie's "M.I.L.F. $", what a stinking turd of a song it is. What segment of population is she trying to appeal to, those with no intelligence or taste? I don't know anyone else that would like this song that's similar to other of her own and much better songs. This song idea should have been immeadiately thrown away. Then what's with the cover of the single with Fergie showing a lot of cleavage. The song and cover will be one of the first inductees into the lowest common denominator Hall of Shame. This whole mess is a failure all around. Fergie fans, like myself, expect so much more next time!
Okay enough of the less than inspiring new music of 2016, here's the good stuff now. With the new Red Hot Chili Peppers CD "The Getaway" being pretty average I'm surprised how much I like the new Blink-182 CD. "California" is a great CD, with a lot of great songs. I'm not going to lie I'm so surprised how much I like this CD. It has been on heavy rotation as my drive music for the last few days. Both Blink's sound and lyrics have matured and their music is better for it. Although I still love a lot of their older stuff. Here are four of my favorites from "California":
"She's got a black shirt, a black skirt and Bauhaus stuck in her head.", "She's Out Of Her Mind":
"Kings of the Weekend":
"Teenage Satellites":
"Rabbit Hole":
If you read my recent concert review for twenty one pilots, you know that I quite like them. Two of my recent favorites are "Heathens":
and "The Ride":
I'm also all aboard the Struts bandwagon, I especially love "Put Your Money On Me":
and "Kiss This":
Other great new or relatively new songs include:
Sia "Cheap Thrills":
Pink "Just Like Fire":
The song is okay, but that voice is amazing!! Andra Day "Rise Up":
This is still such a great song, Lukas Graham's "7 Years":
Carrie Underwood "Church Bells":
A great singer and one of the most beautiful women in the world. "Choctaw County Affair":
Sorry I'm having a moment here, Carrie again on "Paradise City":
Probably the best NEW song from the new "Ghostbusters" soundtrack is 5 Seconds of Summer's "Girls Talk Boys":
The amazing Rachel Platten has struck again with "Stand By You":
Another female artist I love is Brandy Clark and that's because of songs like "Girl Next Door":
This is a decent song, but where are the rock songs with crunch now? Thrice's "Black Honey":
These are the best songs from Expose's second and third CDs. No really, this is 100% accurate. "What You Don't Know" was released on June 13th, 1989. Then three years later their self-titled CD was released, on October 9th, 1992.
"What You Don't Know":
"Stop, Listen, Look & Think":
"Tell Me Why":
"When I Looked At Him":
"Still Hung Up On You":
Only 196,000 views on YouTube, that's a crime. This is just one of the many amazing ballads of the 80s. "Your Baby Never Looked Good In Blue":
"Love Don't Hurt (Until You Fall)":
"Didn't It Hurt To Hurt Me":
"Walk Along With Me":
"I Think I'm In Trouble":
Both "In Walked Love" and "As Long As I Can Dream" are both good songs. But aren't they pretty much the same song? The ballads on "Expose" have a very similar sound.
This past Saturday my teenage daughter and I went to see twenty one pilots in concert. My daughter loved the concert, calling it the best concert she's ever seen. That's out of about 8 concerts in her life. I found out about twenty one pilots because I knew that she was a fan. Before the concert she kept on saying "it doesn't feel real". I know what you really want to know is how did her almost half-century old man like it?
Honestly I liked it quite a bit, I didn't exactly think it was the best concert I've been to though. But it was a lot better than the Billy Idol concert I saw in the spring. The concert was held in Salt Lake's Oh My Hell That's A Long Name Stadium. I'll get my two biggest complaints out of the way. It seemed the air conditioning was on the fritz as I went to a concert and a sauna broke out. My second complaint is that I wish the opening acts were better. We purposely missed Chef Special and MuteMath was okay. MuteMath doesn't so much have songs, they have song ideas. Some of the ideas seem like they could be pretty full if they were a bit more fleshed out. I've never seen a drummer featured as much as he is in this band. In fact MuteMath closed their show with the drummer featured in a solo. The other thing I liked about their concert is how all band members are the same distance from the front of the stage. Thus the drummer is near the front of the stage, equal with the singer and the other musicians. That's a genius idea.
After MuteMath left the stage the anticipation was very high. However 8:30 passed by, then 8:40 and then 8:50. At 8:54 twenty one pilots took the stage. While waiting for them to take the stage a droning sound was playing. (Old fart moment, I miss the good old days when actual music played during sets.) That helped build tension and anticipation, like any help with anticipation was needed. The crowd was getting anxious as chants of "T.O.P." and "Let's Go Pilots" were occurring. The wave even made an appearance. Does that help that in other cities or is that only an Utah thing?
Why do they have to start their concert with my favorite song. Although it is a great way to start a concert. 1) "HeavyDirtySoul":
2) "Migraine":
3)"Hometown" (featuring an intense rabbit running on the screen behind the stage) At the end of this song Tyler and Josh take off their ski masks to raucous cheers. :
4) "Polarize":
5) "Heathens", featuring a brief drum solo:
6) "House of Gold" intro/ "We Don't Believe What We See On TV":
7) Another one of my favorite twenty one pilot songs "The Judge":
8) "Lane Boy":
twenty one pilots come to a stage in the middle of the arena for "Ode To Sleep" and the medley
9) "Ode To Sleep":
10) Medley: "The Pantaloon"/"Fall Away"/"Johnny Boy"/"Forest"/"Addict With A Pen"/"March to the Sea"/"Kitchen Sink"
11) "Holding On To You":
The members of Chef Special and MuteMath join twenty one pilots on the stage for some very interesting covers.
12) "Twist and Shout":
13) "My Heart Will Go On":
14) "Love Yourself":
15) "Jump Around":
The other bands leave the stage so the pilots can close out the show.
16) "Ride":
17) "Stressed Out":
18) "Guns For Hands" (One of the boys gets in a hamster ball and rides around the crowd for several seconds.):
19) "Tear In My Heart":
20) "Car Radio":
Encore
21) "Goner":
22) "Trees":
I give twenty one pilots a solid B+ grade. They played for about two hours. There was a bit of filler between the songs, but that wasn't much of a nuisance. They act like they still remember what it's like to be fans as they mingle a lot with their adoring audience. Their setlist was good, I can't think of a song of theirs I like that they didn't play. The so so songs are a lot better in concert and the good songs are that much better. They are great performers, the vocals and musicianship were spot on. They jump around the stage, Josh even did a back flip from a piano during the show. As you can tell they perform with a lot of energy. It's the same setlist night after night, but that didn't bother me. Maybe if I saw them night after night it would. One of my favorite things about twenty one pilots is they don't swear much, I can't think of one swear word from the whole night. twenty one pilots definitely deserve the headliner slot. I would recommend twenty one pilots for all ages and music tastes. My daughter and I had a great time.
I've decided to no longer record which part of each individual blog this is in my Top 106 Eighties Band countdown. It had just become way too unwieldy. I also know that I have a lot of partial blogs, I hope to finish up several of them over the next few weeks. There's just so much to do as an adult. I plan on having a twenty one pilots in Salt Lake City concert review up in the next couple of days.
Anyway on to Expose, a great girl pop band that had most of their success in the late 80s. The main members of Expose are Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado and Gioia Bruno.They became the first band "to have four top ten hits on the Billboard hot 100 chart from it's debut album." (Thanks to Wikipedia.) The ladies were great with both the upbeat dance track and the beautiful heartbreak ballads. Nearly all of their songs are about love, both the good and bad sides of that particular emotion. Expose only released three CDs, but the first two CDs are full of great songs. It seems the ladies of Expose are still touring today.
"Exposure" was released on March 2nd, 1987. Here are the best songs from that CD. As always enjoy.
These are the best 11 songs of Pat Benatar's from 1982's "Get Nervous" to 1988's "Wide Awake In Dreamland". Benatar released a now unheard of 9 CDs from 1979 to 1988. That includes her live CD, 1983's "Live From Earth" to her first Greatest Hits CD, 1987's "Best Shots". About 2/3rds of her best songs come from her first 3 CDs, which was covered in a previous blog. However she had some of her best songs during the middle stage of her career. The 11 songs below represent the highlights from that middle stage. Enjoy. Thanks Pat and friends for all the great songs over the years.
I love blogging and I wish I had more time to write. Thanks for reading. If I had more time I wouldn't have so many partial blogs, like this one.
When I first heard "Around Again" I fell madly in love with The Union. Then I heard a few other of their songs and I fell in love more. However now I'm falling out of love with them. They still have good songs, but they aren't quite as good as I initially thought. All three of these songs are pretty good though.
"Around Again":
"Love (I Don't Need It Anymore)":
"Tangerine":
Of course I knew who Sia was because of "Chandelier":
However I never really listened to her music until "This Is Acting" came out. Now that truly is a great CD. I fell madly in love and have stayed madly in love with her music. Sia is great, her songs are great and I love the personality she puts into her songs.
"Alive":
"Unstoppable":
"Cheap Thrills":
"House on Fire"
"Sweet Design":
I will finish the rest of this blog later.
The Exies are a band I've heard about, but honestly not a whole lot. A couple of their CD covers have been pretty memorable, that's the thing I remember the most about them. However they do have some pretty good songs as well. Here are a few:
"No Secrets":
Kickout":
"These Are The Days":
"Ugly":
"Stray":
And then finally 3 songs from one of my favorite 2015 breakouts, Elle King. Everytime I hear one of her songs I light up again. She's just a great songwriter and a passionate singer. Her personality completely comes out in her songs- in her case that's a great thing.
One of the bands that I've discovered in 2016 is twenty one pilots. I won't say they're my favorite band I've discovered in 2016, but they're pretty good. My daughter and I will see them Saturday in Salt Lake at the oh my hell that's a long name arena. This is their "Emotional Roadshow" tour. It should be fun for me, but this is one of my daughter's favorite bands. I thought this would be a great bonding time and give her old man some music cred.
You may notice that some of these bands have been around for a long time, heck some of these bands aren't even together any more. But since I don't listen to a whole lot of radio, bands sometimes get by me. Many of these are bands that I've discovered after they were a big deal. Although their time in the sun may have passed and although they no longer may be together that doesn't mean that these songs still aren't great. Because many of these songs are great.
According to setlist.fm this is the song they close their concerts with, "Goner":
And this is the song they open their concerts with, which is also one of my personal favs, "Heavydirtysoul":
"House of Gold":
"The Judge":
The A*Teens are probably my favorite band I've discovered in 2016. Honestly it's a bit embarrassing that my favorite discovered band is teen pop. But I do love great pop music and that's what the A*Teens are. (Hey, they might make a comeback.)
I love, love, love this song "Firefly":
"Mamma Mia":
"Halfway Around The World":
"Hi and Goodbye":
Click Five A boy band, really, yes really. Again I love a great pop song.
"Catch Your Wave":
"Pop Princess":
"Angel To You (Devil To Me)":
And their great cover of a song that was a big hit by Thompson Twins back in my day. I love how much Click Five rock this out. "Lies":
These are a couple of songs that came up yesterday at the funeral I went to. One kid played the guitar with the backing track of Eddie Vedder singing "Just Breathe":
Then this kid's favorite band is Blink-182. Every time I think of Blint-182 I think of this song "All The Small Things":
I'm a big fan of the Tony Award winning "Hamilton". It's the best and hottest Broadway debut since the amazing "Rent". Lin Manuel-Miranda will no longer be performing in the brilliant show he mostly wrote. Here's a couple of my favorite songs from that musical. First up "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)":
"Immigrants, we get the job done!":
I would be very satisfied if I can actually see this in 2017. "Satisfied":
Here's a couple of my favorite songs from "Rent", first up is "Light My Candle":
"La Vie Boehme":
It's time for some Jackson, first up Alan. "She's Got The Rhythm and I Got The Blues":
This song still feels so fresh and timely, despite the fact it's 30 years old. Michael Jackson "Billie Jean":
Obviously she'll never be the superstar she was back in the day, but Janet Jackson is still pretty great. Back in the day she recorded the amazing "Control". Then the follow up CD "Rhythm Nation" was even better. Good luck Janet in dealing with and resolving all your health issues. This is "Rhythm Nation" (extended):
Here's the original version:
Johnny Cash and June Carter "Jackson":
And lastly a couple by Swing Out Sister "Am I The Same Girl":
Now that I've got my countdown of the top 124 most played songs on my iTunes done, I can focus more on my Top 106 greatest 80s bands. I'm going to update all those iTunes countdown blogs up through July 8th, 2016. So those blogs are still works in progress, but I hope to finish them soon. Also I will continue to write blogs about great bands I like and I have a twenty one pilots concert review to write in about a week. Plus if I find great, or horrible, books, movies and TV shows I'll let you know.
I went to the funeral of a 15 year old today. He had committed suicide, although he was much loved. Although he had tickets to see his favorite band, Blink-182, in September. Although he was a talented musician and seemed to have a lot to live for. But for whatever reason, it wasn't enough. Just remember to keep those important people in your lives on your mind. Be ever mindful of those that may be struggling. It's usually sad when someone days. But it's incredibly sad when someone so young dies. Not only did he die, but also all the potential that he had. Rest in peace!
Anyway these are the 12 best songs from Pat Benatar's first 3 CDs: 1979's "In The Heat Of The Night", 1980's "Crimes of Passion" and 1981's "Precious Time".
12) "So Sincere":
11) "Wuthering Heights":
10) "Just Like Me":
9) "Precious Time":
8) "Hell Is For Children":
7) "You Better Run":
6) "Fire and Ice":
5) "Hit Me With Your Best Shot":
4) "Treat Me Right":
3) "We Live For Love" (Live):
"We Live For Love" (Studio version- which at least for this song is better than live.):
This obviously is my review of "The Girl On The Train". Let's clear up one thing first. I've heard this book referred to as the next "Gone Girl". Other than a few similarities in story, nothing could be further from the truth. "Gone Girl" is an over hyped book. I ripped through "Gone Girl" until I got to the twist, which completely killed the book. I finished the book, but I was severely disappointed by it. "Girl On The Train" has also received a lot of hype, I'm happy to report that this book lives up to the hype.
Main characters:
Rachel, aka the girl on the train. Our dear Rachel is a bit of a mess. She's a drunk, has lost her job and is still hung up on her ex-husband, Tom. Rachel is forced to live with an old college acquaintance, Cathy. She didn't even consider Cathy a friend when they were in college together. But as the book starts she's the only friend Rachel has. (The gorgeous Emily Blunt is cast as Rachel in the movie, that's terrible casting. Emily Blunt is a great actress, but I don't think she can play the right amount of dowdy for this role. Honestly I don't understand much of the casting for the film adaptation, maybe it will make more sense once I see the movie.)
Again Cathy is probably the best (the only?) friend that Rachel has. She truly cares about and takes care of Rachel. (Cathy is played by Laura Prepon, which I don't get that either.) Rachel lives in a spare room at Cathy's place. Cathy has a man so Rachel is left to her own devices most of the time. Cathy takes on the defacto mother role for Rachel.
Anna, Tom's new wife, they have a child together.
Tom Watson, no not that Tom Watson, Tom and Rachel have been divorced for over a year. However while his marriage dissolved with Rachel, he was having an affair with Anna. Tom is someone else that Rachel has idealized in her head.
Megan Hipwell, who briefly babysat Tom and Anna's child, and is married to Scott Hipwell. Megan is the woman who goes missing that kicks the book into gear. Although her disappearance almost feels beside the point. As the girl on the train Rachel named these two Jess and Jason, a couple who she idealized way more than she should have. As does nearly everyone in this book, Megan has a few secrets.
Scott Hipwell, husband to Megan,
Dr. Kamal Abdic, therapist to Megan and later to Rachel.
The basic premise is as Rachel takes the train to work she sees Jess and Jason, a couple she has idealized as close to the perfect couple. She creates this whole life in her head for them. But one day something shatters that illusion and pretty soon after Megan goes missing. Is Megan missing due to her own volition or has been there foul play? If Megan has been killed, is Rachel responsible? Is Megan's husband, Scott, responsible.
Rachel sometimes drinks herself to oblivion and many times forget things. Is she a reliable narrator?
One way I determine if a book is good is if I would recommend it? Also after reading a book do I want to read any more books by that author? The answer to both of those questions is a hardy yes. I like to read a bit at a time, figure out things as I savor a book. However I only had 100 pages left and couldn't wait any more. As soon as I got home from running errands on Wednesday, I went outside and finished reading this book.
Another sign of a great book is a great ending. Well this had a great ending. I know that twist endings were a fad there for awhile. So that got sort of tired. This book has a twist ending. However Hawkins set it up so well and skillfully that the ending is completely belivable.
Tied for fourth place, both songs have 47 listens:
U2's "Even Better Than The Real Thing" (Live) (Debut):
"Even Better Than The Real Thing" (Studio):
One of the saddest songs ever. Dolly Parton "Me and Little Andy" (Previous countdown, 47 listens, second place):
Tied for second place, both songs have 48 listens:
The Charlie Daniels Band "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (Previous countdown: 48 listens, first place):
Taylor Swift's "Sparks Fly" (Debut):
All alone in first place, with 58 listens. It has so many more listens because it's hidden on my iPod somewhere. I would have already taken it off, but I'm not able to delete it. And it's such a fun and short song that I can't resist it every time it plays. This song is both incredibly simple, but also incredibly incredible!! The Beastie Boys "Girls" (Previous countdown: Tied for 3rd place, 45 listens.)
I still need to finish my "Whatever Happened to Avril Lavigne" blog. But I'm going to do that when I have more time. Right now I'm going to count down her 19 best songs. It's not a coincidence most of these songs are from her first 3 CDs. The quality for the fourth and fifth CDs dropped considerably. Here's hoping after she wins her battle with Lyme disease, she'll come back a lot stronger and return to the great songs of her first 3 CDs. Get well soon Avril!
Avril and her band live at the historic Budokon:
19) "Runaway":
18) "Anything But Ordinary":
Um, I just hope this was a bad night. "Anything But Ordinary" (Live):
After working on and thinking about this blog for two or three days, this is the mostly finished product. (Truly none of my blogs are ever truly finished). I've worked my way through all five of her CDs. From the good CDs, her first 3 CDs, to the bad, her last 2 CDs.
As I was out on my morning walk the other day Avril Lavigne's "The Best Damn Thing" played on my iPod- I thought to myself that's a great song. Then I started wondering whatever happened to Avril Lavigne? Her 2007 CD "The Best Damn Thing" was the last thing from Lavigne that attracted more than a cursory interest from me. That is until she married Chad Kroeger- one of the biggest musical hacks ever. This isn't a personal attack on him- he may be a cool guy. Although after having the misfortune of seeing Nickelback in concert I have my doubts about that. Musically Nickelback is one of the dumbest, most generic rock bands ever.
A brief overview of Miss Lavigne's career. Miss Avril Ramona Lavigne was born September 27th, 1984. She released her debut CD, "Let Go", in 2002 at the age of 17. It was loaded with great music and hit songs. Those songs included "Complicated", "I'm With You", "Sk8er Boi", "Mobile" and other great songs. She rocked to international super stardom and nearly everyone was singing along to "Sk8er Boi". She also started the trend of girls wearing ties with their casual wear. I remember being in Atlanta when this CD was blowing up and I saw several girls wearing ties.
"Sk8er Boi":
Here's her beautiful soft slow ballad- until you listen to the lyrics. "I'm With You":
After a successful first CD, questions about a sophomore slump always come up. Two years later she released "Under My Skin", which featured "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Fall To Pieces", "Take Me Away" and "Slipped Away" . I wouldn't say this CD was as good as "Let Go", but it's pretty darn good.
"Take Me Away":
"My Happy Ending":
Three years later that she released "The Best Damn Thing" which was her last pretty good CD. Her sound was still that pop punk sound, but it was a sound that worked for her. Highlights include "The Best Damn Thing", "Girlfriend", "Keep Holding On", "Everything Back But You", "I Don't Have To Try" and "Runaway".
I'm not going to lie, I really like this song. "Everything Back But You":
Again that was three CDs, three solid CDs. She released her fourth CD on March 8th, 2011- almost 4 years after "The Last Damn Thing". That CD was "Goodbye Lullaby". It has a couple of meh songs, "Black Star" and "Goodbye", on it. Other than those songs and "What The Hell", that's about it. But other singers had come along usurping her buzz. She still had her fans, but she was no longer the hot thing. It felt obvious that her career was on the way down. In an attempt to be relevant, her songs were filled with more vulgarity. Sometimes those words overshadowed the actual songs. Creatively and artistically it was not a good idea and it didn't help her in the marketplace. Unless one is a humongous LaVigne fan, most of us would be hard pressed to name a song off this CD. Simply it's not a very good CD.
Not that there's much competition, but this is probably the second best song on the CD "Black Star":
"What The Hell" is serviceable:
Then fate made it's way into Miss Lavigne's life. In March, 2012 she started writing songs with Chad Kroeger for her next CD. In July, 2012 they began dating. They were engaged a month after they started dating- which is really a good idea. They dated for a year before getting married on July 1st, 2013. The CD, "Avril Lavigne" that they had written songs for was released on November 1st, 2013. Not surprisingly it's not a very good CD. Having Kroeger co-write songs is akin to having Donald Trump help you make good decisions.
"Avril Lavigne" does have a couple of decent songs, for a brief moment she recaptured the joy of her first CD with "17". Not coincidentally it wasn't co-written by Kroeger. "Here's To Never Growing Up" is decent. "Rock N' Roll" is a decent song, but it's needlessly vulgar. "Hello Kitty" and "Bad Girl" - with no longer relevant Marilyn Manson- are both very weak. Having Kroeger and Manson on your CD doesn't help either. Was Kid Rock busy?- ha ha ha I just made myself laugh. Her language on this CD has become quite profane and honestly it doesn't suit her music. Sometimes a swear word works for a song, sometimes it's just someone trying to be someone other than who they are. The second one was the case with Miss Lavigne. As an artist one should always be true to themselves.
"17":
The profane language and the poor choice of guests on the CD seriously back fired. Wisely she's taken a bit of a break since then. On September 2nd, 2015 Lavigne announced her separation from Kroeger and the world breathed a sigh of relief. However she's been seen with him recently and has even taken to Twitter to defend Nickleback's "music". Also in April, 2015 she told People magazine that she's been diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Other than her Twitter messages, she has been fairly quiet the last few years. Her most recent single is the below song.
This is her most recent song "Fly". It's an okay song, if not a bit sappy.
Here's hoping Avril makes a comeback, with some of the same people that helped her make her first three great CDs. I'd love to see some new music from her in the next couple of years. When a musicians career hits a lull, that's usually when you see a greatest hits CD. I wouldn't be surprised to that released before Christmas, 2016. That will be okay but Lavigne fans, which I number myself with, want new music.
Miss Lavigne, best of luck with your relationship status and Lyme disease. And selfishly best of luck in reviving your career and capturing your early career magic. I'd love to see you in concert.
Yes this blog has now jumped to 123 songs. These are the 5 songs that are tied for 18th place. All 5 of these songs have 41 listens. Once I finish this series of blogs I'll go back and update all the previous blogs.
Cobra Starship "Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous" (Previous countdown: 67th place, 29th listens):
Redlight King "Bullet In My Hand" (Debut):
Although I love Miss Swift as much as anyone else- although I may be the only single man in America that hasn't dated her- but this isn't my favorite song. Taylor Swift "Fifteen" (Previous countdown: tied for sixth place, 41 listens):
However I do love this song. Taylor Swift "Our Song" (Previous countdown: tied for sixth place, 41 listens):
I'm fairly sure I've done one of these blogs before, these are the Top Ten songs from one week in April, 1986. This chart flashback captures what made the 80s so great for music. (Speaking of great music back in the day, I urge you to skip "Greatest Hits" on ABC. It's very boring. Way too much talking and filler and not enough singing. I had to turn it off even with Kenny Loggins singing "Footloose", one of my all-time favorite 80's songs. I didn't turn it off because of him, I just didn't have the desire to sit through all the filler.) This one slice of 80s music contains funk, unabashedly pop music, old school rock, new wave music, quirky songs, great sax solos, soft slow bedroom jams and Van Hagar. Enjoy.
Honestly I didn't remember this song, but it's a great song. However it has definitely aged a bit. 10) Force M.D.'s "Tender Love":
I don't know where you are on original Van Halen vs. Van Hagar. Sammy definitely has the better voice. Honestly I like both iterations of Van Halen, but I absolutely adore this song. 9) I just want to know one thing "Why Can't This Be Love":
This song doesn't really fit in with the other songs in this Top Ten. I have to admit the Sesame Street song "which of these is not like the others" came to mind when I saw this song. This song is meh, Mick is faking like he's having fun. However Keith, Charlie and the others would rather be almost anywhere else. 8) The Rolling Stones "Harlem Shuffle":
These Rolling Stones 80s songs fit much better in the 80s:
This is one song that hasn't aged, it's just as funky and great as when it was first released. "Start Me Up":
"Emotional Rescue":
"She's So Cold":
"Mixed Emotions":
This song is so 80s 7) Sly Fox's "Let's Go All The Way":
Probably the 80's band that best used the saxophone in their music. 6) INXS "What You Need":
As EW says "this song is flawless". 5) Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls":
4) Falco "Rock Me Amadeus":
3) Robert Palmer "Addicted To Love":
2) The Bangles "Manic Monday":
The King of Funk himself, Prince. I remember the first time I heard this song, I thought to myself what the hell is this? As usual Prince knew exactly what he was doing with this slice of funk.
I'm so glad his music can be found on youtube now. 1) "Kiss":
