Guest A Blog? new Christina Perri, No Doubt, Pink, Jes with Tiesto, Jessie McCartney, Rod Stewart

Want to dedicate some songs to someone special?    Want to take a trip down memory lane with some favorites of yours?   Send me a request!   I'm putting up two today!

MUSIC TRIVIA:  What is Pink's real name?  Yesterday:  Eddie Vedder wrote "pro-choice" on his arm

DEDICATION #1:  

"WHO KNEW"    PINK!

My all-time favorite song by Pink!    Love that line:  "If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone, I'd stand up and punch them out".   I first saw Pink as the opening act for Lenny Kravitz.    Amazing stage presence, powerful vocals, she even did a cover of Janis Joplin.

"DON'T SPEAK"              NO DOUBT

Back to back days with No Doubt songs!   We all know the story of the song.   Gwen was dating Tony, the bassist in the band, and their breakup set the stage for one of the biggest songs of the 90's.   Lesson of the day:  Be careful dating anyone you work with, UNLESS you're in No Doubt and want a MTV Award Winning Video!

  
 "REASON TO BELIEVE"   ROD STEWART and THE FACES

"If I listened long enough to you, I'd find a way to believe it's all true, knowing that you lied straight faced while I cried, still I look to find a reason to believe" -   Put this song's lyrics up with "The First Cut Is The Deepest", "Mandolin Wind", and you have evidence that Rod Stewart's songwriting skills in the 70's were impeccable.

DEDICATION #2:

"DISTANCE" and "THOUSAND YEARS"   CHRISTINA PERRI with JASON MRAZ

At first glance, I didn't recognize Christina in this video with her longer hair and darker skin.   Jason Mraz joins Christina on this love song or is it a break up song?   The thing about distance whether it's physical or emotionally is that is hard to endure for a long time.   The critical line, "saying I love you when you're not listening" - deep meaning behind those simple lyrics.   Jason is touring and Christina is his opening act so I anticipate this will be a great concert moment when they team up nightly for this beautiful duet.   Also included, Christina's "Thousand Years" video.

"IMAGINATION"  JES FT. TIESTO

Great song choice!  Jes teamed up trance DJ Tiesto, for a great version of Imagination.  Check out these lyrics: "I can tell in your eyes exactly where you go, 'cause I have been to every distant constellation to see you again, in the world of my mind, there's nothing I wouldn't do!"

"BEAUTIFUL SOUL"    JESSE McCARTNEY

Usually if I put a McCartney on my blog, it'd be Paul but I've got to give Jesse credit for this tender love song.  It sounds like a lost Backstreet Boys ballad with the bouncy beat and the hopeful youthful lyrics.   Fun Fact on Jesse:  He's the voice of Theodore on the Alvin & The Chipmunks movies.

Pearl Jam Fan Writes Their Concert Setlist: New No Doubt, Socal Distortion, The Fixx

"SETTLE DOWN"    NO DOUBT

Gwen Stefani and her boys are going to release their new CD, Push And Shove, on September 25th.   The world premiere of their new video is online and there was a Ryan Seacrest  30 minute special preview on E! Tuesday night.  "Settle Down" has the feel of "Hey Baby" but it's better!  More of a chilled out reggae/ska style and those last two minutes of this video are magical!  Gwen looks incredible especially when they're slow dancing to that hypnotic outro beat!   No Doubt are rehearsing for a new tour and I can't wait to see them again.  I saw them in a outdoor venue in a rainstorm with Paramore as their opening act.  No Doubt is back, so excited!!

    


DAILY MUSIC TRIVIA:   During their MTV Unplugged performance, what did Eddie Vedder write on his arm during the song "Porch"?   Yesterday:  The Pittsburgh Steelers

"CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU"    PEARL JAM

First off, yes, this is Eddie Vedder coving ELVIS!   Amazing cover of The King of Rock N Roll.  Brian Farias basically won the Pearl Jam lottery.  He's a longtime fan of the band and seen them play 108 times.   The band offered to let Brian decide on the set list for their concert.  Imagine being able to make a playlist of your all-time favorite songs and then get the band to drop by and play them in the order you chose!   Brian picked some obscure choices like a B-side called "Alone", a Mother Love Bone song "Crown Of Thorns", and "Bugs" from Vitalogy.   For the complete set list and story, check this link:  Pearl Jam Set List.

"I WAS WRONG"    SOCIAL DISTORTION

A little California punk rock to pick up the morning!   One of my friends is in his mid 50's but he's going to see S.D. with his daughter in New York in October.   How cool is that!!   Lead singer, Mike Ness, who turned 50 this year, embodies the punk spirit, defiant, standing for his beliefs, and rocking out with his custom Gibson Les Paul guitar.    "I Was Wrong"is from 1996's "White Heat, White Light, White Trash", an amazing CD to check out.   The song merges punk, rockabilly, and blues, the perfect blend for the Social Distortion signature sound.

"STAND OR FALL"     THE FIXX

Just saw The Fixx tickets are available for a summer tour.   Wow, didn't know they were still together!   Not only are they celebrating their 30th Anniversary of their debut album, The Fixx just released their new CD, Beautiful Friction.   "One Thing Leads To Another", "Red Skies" and "Stand or Fall" are a triple play of New Wave/Rock that stands up any of the bands of the era.   Their first hit, "Stand Or Fall" has that great synthesizer opening, that foreboding beat, then the drums and Cy's vocals explode into a classic 80's nugget.  Fun Fact:  The Fixx is the rare English band who is much less popular in their native country than Canada and the U.S.