Hello all!
A quick bit of blog housekeeping: I have altered the settings to have any text that is a link come up ORANGE so that you know it is a link with interactive content. It will be a brighter shade of purple once it has been visited. Hope it works well for you! Anything you want to see? Let me know!
Onward!
I have another bonus post from Herc for you today. It is packed full of links, videos, little known history and trivia! I love it! Thanks Herc!
A quick bit of blog housekeeping: I have altered the settings to have any text that is a link come up ORANGE so that you know it is a link with interactive content. It will be a brighter shade of purple once it has been visited. Hope it works well for you! Anything you want to see? Let me know!
Onward!
I have another bonus post from Herc for you today. It is packed full of links, videos, little known history and trivia! I love it! Thanks Herc!
All together now: "Thank You Mr. Her-cu-leeeees"
Please Enjoy Hercules' Seven Silly Songs I Love:
Run Runaway - Slade
This one starts off with some very busy electronic drums. Then some guitars are added for crunchy goodness. And then someone starts playing the fiddle and the song kicks into an even higher gear. The sing-songy lyrics are fun to chant along with and then the song ends like it began, all drums and guitars. Slade was huge in Britain in the Seventies but failed to make a dent here in the States until metal health practitioners Quiet Riot took one of Slade's oddly spelled songs ("Cum On Feel The Noize") up the charts in 1982. Their record company took one last shot with Slade in America and they were rewarded with their two biggezt hitz: "Run Runaway" and the power ballad "My Oh My". And then Slade phaded away.
Sky High - Jigsaw
It is widescreen cinematic, a song so grandiose it can't be contained with just two measly stereo speakers. I put it up there with Paul McCartney's epic rock orchestral Bond theme, "Live And Let Die" as the most bombastic, whirling dervish of a song ever recorded. There are string sections, maybe a full-blown orchestra, backing our heroes in the band as the sounds swirl around them, threatening to overtake them at any minute. But then they fight back, turn their amps up to 11 and grab your by the ears just as you are going over the cliff, and pull you to safety. And then you want to get back in line and take the ride again.
The Lord Knows I'm Drinking - Cal Smith
I'm not a drinking man but I could be. (If my life wasn't so great, I'd be drowning sorrows like there was no tomorrows.) And I am not the most pious man but I maintain a dialogue with Him. This polka struck a chord deep within me from the moment I first heard it way back when I first saw it on The Porter Wagoner Show which I used to watch at my Nan-Nan's house. The voice is smooth and rides the loping beat like an old cowhand. He knows hypocrisy and bullstuff when he sees and hears it so he calls that old bitty, that self-righteous woman out in front of God and everyone and confesses his sins. His Lord, like my own, is a forgiving, loving Lord. I hope. And pray.
Till The World Ends - Britney Spears
My stammer comes and goes. I know it and I try to slow down and speak clearly. Stuttering and stammering has been used to great effect in popular music through the years and this sugar-coated apocalyptic jam is bu-bu-bu-but the latest. I ain't too proud to say I wrote Britney off when she went off the deep end. Didn't you? This song is so produced, so baked, so full of effects and dubs, it should suck. But it doesn't. Did you know Ke$ha co-wrote it? Who cares because Brit and them studio guys pulled it off. I know she wants me to keep on dancing until the world ends but I think I'll keep listening instead. I can't dance but every day I'm shuffling.
East Bound And Down - Jerry Reed
A song about driving fast and eluding the law? Yes, please. This theme to Smokey & the Bandit is one of the greatest driving songs ever conceived. It works its sonic magic whether you are driving a black Trans-Am or a silver minivan. The lyrics are matched, word for word, with a propulsive musical track that sounds like it might fly off the road at any minute. "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there" indeed. It is worth seeking out in a cover version by The Road Hammers as well. Get in, sit down and hold on.
Goodnight Tonight [12" version] - Wings
Paul McCartney is a musical genius. His compositions sound so effortless that sometimes you get the feeling he doesn't even have to try. It just happens. This is what happened when he threw his hat onto the lit-up disco dance floor. It's a little bit Latin, a little bit speakeasy and the lyrics tell you he really doesn't want it to end. It could be the other song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. Also see Santa Esmerelda's scorching, feels-like-it-lasts-an-hour cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".
Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
A sonic soda is what this one is: all bubbly and bouncy and fizzy and refreshing. Shake it up and let it spray all over you. Enjoy the sentiment, the sweetly silly exchange between the male and female vocalists and the rousing chorus. Of course we're attracted to them, they are magnetic zeroes. The perfect picnic song if you love you Ma and Pa. Used to great effect in the season finale of Raising Hope.
This one starts off with some very busy electronic drums. Then some guitars are added for crunchy goodness. And then someone starts playing the fiddle and the song kicks into an even higher gear. The sing-songy lyrics are fun to chant along with and then the song ends like it began, all drums and guitars. Slade was huge in Britain in the Seventies but failed to make a dent here in the States until metal health practitioners Quiet Riot took one of Slade's oddly spelled songs ("Cum On Feel The Noize") up the charts in 1982. Their record company took one last shot with Slade in America and they were rewarded with their two biggezt hitz: "Run Runaway" and the power ballad "My Oh My". And then Slade phaded away.
Sky High - Jigsaw
It is widescreen cinematic, a song so grandiose it can't be contained with just two measly stereo speakers. I put it up there with Paul McCartney's epic rock orchestral Bond theme, "Live And Let Die" as the most bombastic, whirling dervish of a song ever recorded. There are string sections, maybe a full-blown orchestra, backing our heroes in the band as the sounds swirl around them, threatening to overtake them at any minute. But then they fight back, turn their amps up to 11 and grab your by the ears just as you are going over the cliff, and pull you to safety. And then you want to get back in line and take the ride again.
The Lord Knows I'm Drinking - Cal Smith
I'm not a drinking man but I could be. (If my life wasn't so great, I'd be drowning sorrows like there was no tomorrows.) And I am not the most pious man but I maintain a dialogue with Him. This polka struck a chord deep within me from the moment I first heard it way back when I first saw it on The Porter Wagoner Show which I used to watch at my Nan-Nan's house. The voice is smooth and rides the loping beat like an old cowhand. He knows hypocrisy and bullstuff when he sees and hears it so he calls that old bitty, that self-righteous woman out in front of God and everyone and confesses his sins. His Lord, like my own, is a forgiving, loving Lord. I hope. And pray.
Till The World Ends - Britney Spears
My stammer comes and goes. I know it and I try to slow down and speak clearly. Stuttering and stammering has been used to great effect in popular music through the years and this sugar-coated apocalyptic jam is bu-bu-bu-but the latest. I ain't too proud to say I wrote Britney off when she went off the deep end. Didn't you? This song is so produced, so baked, so full of effects and dubs, it should suck. But it doesn't. Did you know Ke$ha co-wrote it? Who cares because Brit and them studio guys pulled it off. I know she wants me to keep on dancing until the world ends but I think I'll keep listening instead. I can't dance but every day I'm shuffling.
East Bound And Down - Jerry Reed
A song about driving fast and eluding the law? Yes, please. This theme to Smokey & the Bandit is one of the greatest driving songs ever conceived. It works its sonic magic whether you are driving a black Trans-Am or a silver minivan. The lyrics are matched, word for word, with a propulsive musical track that sounds like it might fly off the road at any minute. "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there" indeed. It is worth seeking out in a cover version by The Road Hammers as well. Get in, sit down and hold on.
Goodnight Tonight [12" version] - Wings
Paul McCartney is a musical genius. His compositions sound so effortless that sometimes you get the feeling he doesn't even have to try. It just happens. This is what happened when he threw his hat onto the lit-up disco dance floor. It's a little bit Latin, a little bit speakeasy and the lyrics tell you he really doesn't want it to end. It could be the other song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. Also see Santa Esmerelda's scorching, feels-like-it-lasts-an-hour cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".
Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
A sonic soda is what this one is: all bubbly and bouncy and fizzy and refreshing. Shake it up and let it spray all over you. Enjoy the sentiment, the sweetly silly exchange between the male and female vocalists and the rousing chorus. Of course we're attracted to them, they are magnetic zeroes. The perfect picnic song if you love you Ma and Pa. Used to great effect in the season finale of Raising Hope.
Tada! Thanks Hercules!
Did you know who Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes was ten minutes ago? Me neither. What else has Herc taught you?
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