SONGSPEAK » 90s music

Paula Cole is the pits

jamie — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:59:07 +0000

Matt and I had a brief IM conversation this morning resulting from I Don’t Want to Wait by Paula Cole playing on the radio:

jamie: wearing shrap-NEL in his SKIN
jamie: that was just on the radio
matt: how nice for you
matt: I don’t hate any songs more than that one
jamie: really? ANY songs?
matt: I can’t think of a single song I hate more
jamie: wow…including Celine Dion? Whitney Houston?
matt: them i can tolerate
matt: if I need to
jamie: you don’t wanna wait? for your life to be over?
matt: but Paula Cole is like nails on a chalkboard for me, which come to think of it, still sounds better than Paula Cole

Ever since the song came out, we’ve made fun of the way she sings “wearing shrapnel in his skin”, but until this conversation, I never quite realized the level of hatred that Matt has for her. Not that I’m a fan by any means. Hearing the song and having this conversation reminded me of many years ago when Matt and I were staying at his cousin Eric’s apartment near Boston for some reason, and we were planning on getting tickets to see Radiohead at the Worcester Centrum later that summer. Tickets went on sale the morning we were at Eric’s, so I called Ticketmaster or whoever the hell you’d call back then to order concert tickets, but since they had just gone on sale, it was hard to get through, and I was put on hold. And the entire time I was on hold (at least 15-20 minutes, possibly much longer), I Don’t Want to Wait by Paula Cole was played on a loop. Part of me thought whoever set that up was incredibly clever, and part of me wanted to find them and kill them in cold blood.

I don't wanna wait, for my brains to be blown out...

Speaking of Paula Cole and Boston, she performed at the first Mixfest in Boston that Matt and I went to, along with our friends Lisa and Erica. We stayed at Eric’s apartment that weekend as well. When Paula Cole came on stage, Erica climbed up into a tree to get a better view of Paula’s hairy armpits while Matt, Lisa, and I wandered off to do something a lot less depressing. I think we went to see the Holocaust Memorial. We were also there for most of Third Eye Blind’s set as well.

Anyway, long story short: Matt hates Paula Cole and she has hairy pits. And eff Radiohead for making me listen to her song for an eternity.

jamie wrote this on 03/10/10 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | 2 comments | TAGS: 90s music, boston, celine dion, eric's apartment, holocaust memorial, i don't want to wait, mixfest, paula cole, radiohead, third eye blind, ticketmaster, wearing shrapnel in his skin, whitney houston

Wouldn’t Black Sabbath make more sense?

jamie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:31:45 +0000

Thanks to Bill for sending me this link earlier today. It seems that the soundtrack for Iron Man 2 will consist of solely AC/DC songs, and the soundtrack, available April 19, 2010, will be called AC/DC: Iron Man 2. One would think that AC/DC recorded a new track or two for the soundtrack, like Big Gun from Last Action Hero or Who Made Who for Maximum Overdrive, but nope, no new songs…just old stuff. So really, it’s kind of a “greatest hits” package of sorts. Which is fine, I’m sure the music in the movie will be rockin’, but would it have killed them to record a new song for the movie? (As I mentioned to Bill earlier, given their age, it just might). And didn’t Black Sabbath have a song titled Iron Man? Maybe it was in the first movie, who knows…I still haven’t gotten around to watching it yet. It appears as though Jon Favreau is a big AC/DC fan, and that was one of the factors that contributed to this whole scenario. Very reminiscent of how Stephen King wanted AC/DC exclusively for the soundtrack of Maximum Overdrive (based on his short story Trucks) because he’s a fan. Oh, Maximum Overdrive. Emilio Estevez. And remember when that other dude got clobbered by that truck that came to life? That was awesome. Anyway, enough reminiscing.

It looks like the soundtrack does a good job encompassing AC/DC’s whole career with some classic old Bon Scott songs right up to a song off their most recent CD Black Ice. You can see the track listing at the link above, but here it is anyway:

1. Shoot to Thrill
2. Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
3. Guns for Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back in Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
11. Have a Drink on Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway to Hell

And here’s the first video for Shoot to Thrill from the movie:

Keep your eyes on Brian Johnson. There’s something about a 62 year old grinding his hips that isn’t disturbing at all.

NOT.

jamie wrote this on 01/27/10 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | 2 comments | TAGS: 00s music, 10s movies, 70s music, 80s music, 90s music, ac/dc, AC/DC: Iron Man 2, angus young, back in black, big gun, bill, black ice, black sabbath, bon scott, brian johnson, cold hearted man, emilio estevez, evil walks, greatest hits, guns for hire, have a drink on me, hell ain't a bad place to be, if you want blood (you've got it), iron man, iron man 2, jon favreau, last action hero, let there be rock, maximum overdrive, rock 'n' roll damnation, shoot to thrill, stephen king, t.n.t., that was awesome, the razor's edge, thunderstruck, trucks, who made who

Sloppy Joe, Slop Sloppy Joe

jamie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:15:27 +0000

On the nights my wife works, it’s up to me to make dinner for myself and Quinn. One of my go-to meals, mainly because it’s easy to prepare and doesn’t take much time, is Hamburger Helper. There are enough varieties that having it once a week doesn’t really get too old, and it’s just easier than cooking a big complicated meal for two after working all day (this sounds like a commercial). Anywho, a few weeks ago the one that I was making was a Sloppy Joe flavor. When I told Quinn that’s what we were having, I started singing all loud and crazy, “Sloppy Joe, slop Sloppy Joe!” from Adam Sandler’s Lunchlady Land. She looked at me like I was crazy, but I assured her it was a song. I’m not sure she quite believed me, so I put that very song on one of the CD mixes we made for the big Lancaster trip a couple weeks ago. When it got to that part, she said, “I didn’t think it was a real song, dad!”. She now requests the song on occasion and laughs at how silly it is (even though she’s only in preschool, doesn’t know what a lunchlady is, and has never been subject to public school lunches). When I hear the song, I think of the old Saturday Night Live when Adam Sandler performs it as Chris Farley dances around, playing the part of the lunchlady. And since there seems to be a trend of Chris Farley posts here lately, I figured why not post the video. It’s really poor quality, but I’m surprised I was able to find it at all. I had completely forgotten that Kevin Nealon played the part of Sloppy Joe. And how inappropriate it is that they have Ellen Cleghorne playing the chocolate pudding.

lunch lady land

TheGreatOne | MySpace Video

I’m making dinner tonight for Quinn and myself, and looking in the cupboard, noticed that we again have Sloppy Joe Hamburger Helper in stock. Maybe I’ll songspeak it again tonight if I make it, and perhaps Quinn will join me. Thanks to Sloppy Joe, slop Sloppy Joe.

jamie wrote this on 10/29/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 00s music, 90s music, 90s tv, adam sandler, chris farley, ellen cleghorne, hamburger helper, kevin nealon, lancaster, lunchlady land, mix CD, saturday night live, sloppy joe

I can smell your pee

jamie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:32:23 +0000

Another song that Matt and I heard numerous times on the radio when we shared an office was Breathe by Faith Hill. I still hear it more often than anyone ever should, actually, thanks to mix 93.1. It truly is one of the queerest songs in existence, and the lyrics are awful, which is why we usually come up with our own. Whenever she gets to the part where she sings, “I can feel you breathe”, I’d sing, “I can smell your pee”. Is that kinda gross? Yeah. So what? Don’t judge me!

I also clearly remember Matt, whenever she belted out, “Just breathe!”, would sing, “Jaspreet”. I guess he thought the song was about an Indian gentleman.

So there you have it. Thanks for nothing, Faith Hill!

jamie wrote this on 09/24/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, breathe, faith hill, i can feel you breathe, i can smell your pee, indian, jaspreet, just breathe, mix 93.1

That’s why I say Colin Hay, man, nice show. What a good show, man.

jamie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:15:11 +0000

Last night, my wife and I went to see Colin Hay (former lead singer of Men at Work) perform at the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun (or, as he called it, “the den of the wolf”). He’s touring in support of his new CD, American Sunshine. This is my fourth time seeing him perform (the first being at the Wolf Den a few years ago, and then twice at the Iron Horse in Northampton), and he put on a great show once again. One of the highlights was his wife, Cecilia Noel’s crazy interpretive dance to most of his songs (my wife referred to her as “whimsical”, but I’ll stick with “crazy”), and, of course, her air flute and redick flute-sounds when they played Down Under. Thankfully, they played Overkill (I remember when I emailed my friend Brian awhile back that I was going to see Colin Hay at Mohegan Sun, his email reply was simply “ghosts appear and faaaaaade awaaaaaaaay”), but missing from the set was one of my favorites to hear him play live, Be Good Johnny. Regardless, it was no mistake going to see him again. Below is a dramatization of the event:

jamie wrote this on 08/27/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 00s music, 80s music, 90s music, air flute, american sunshine, be good johnny, brian, cecilia noel, colin hay, crazy, den of the wolf, down under, iron horse, it's a mistake, men at work, mohegan sun, northampton, overkill, whimsical, wolf den

They called me Butt Queen

jamie — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:11:22 +0000

Two misheard lyrics in one song! Last Sunday, we took Quinn to Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, MA. On the way home, we were listening to the same mix CD that contains the iCarly and Drake & Josh theme songs that I made for our Lancaster, PA trip last October. Quinn is actually starting to enjoy some of the other songs on it now, and will request that we skip to a specific track. So part of the way home, we heard a request from the back seat, “Can you play the ‘great night’ song?” My wife and I looked at each other, confused. There were no songs we could think of with the lyrics “great night”, and Quinn couldn’t sing it for us. So we skipped through all the songs so she could tell us what she wanted, and just as we got to Grade 9 by the Barenaked Ladies, we realized what she meant. Apparently, she thought they were saying “great night baby”. We tried to explain that it was “grade 9″, but to no avail.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you...Butt Queen!

So for the last week, Quinn has been making us listen to that track incessantly. On Saturday, she kept giggling at the line where Ed Robertson sings, “they called me Eddie”. I asked her why she thought it was funny, and she said because his real name is Freddy. I asked her why she thought that, and she said because she looked it up on the internet. Four year olds say the darndest things. Then yesterday, all three of us were in the car, listening to it yet again, and I was telling my wife how she likes the “they called me Eddie” line, and then Quinn started saying something about how “they called him butt queen for some reason”. It took us awhile to realize what she was saying (“butt cream?” “butt freak?”), and couldn’t understand where “butt queen” came from. Until we were listening to the song again, and got to the line where Tyler Stewart sings “they called me Buckwheat!”. Apparently Quinn thought he was saying “butt queen”.

I fear now that Quinn is listening to more music, the misheard lyrics will increase at an exponential rate.

jamie wrote this on 08/24/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, barenaked ladies, butt cream, butt freak, butt queen, drake & josh, ed robertson, freddy, grade 9, great night baby, iCarly, kids say the darndest things, lancaster, mendon, queen, southwick's zoo, they called me buckwheat, they called me eddie, tyler stewart

Won’t you please take off your sweater?

jamie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:18:58 +0000

"What? My mother knitted this sweater."

When I got home from work yesterday, my wife was doing the usual Wednesday housework while my mother had our daughter out to dinner. She usually puts the TV on one of those music on-demand channels while she does the cleaning or whatever, and yesterday she had it on the 90’s channel. For the brief time it was on while I was there, I heard some songs I haven’t heard in forever. Like Dreamlover by Mariah Carey and Walk on the Ocean by Toad the Wet Sprocket (which reminded me of how much Matt liked them back in high school). Then I Love You Always Forever by Donna Lewis came on. I had forgotten all about that song, and it made me remember the alternate lyrics I used to sing for it. In reality, she sings, “I love you, always forever, near and far, closer together”, but I used to like to sing, “I love you, always forever, won’t you please, take off your sweater”. Because the removal of clothes usually leads to relations. Relations of the intimate type. Giggedy giggedy.

jamie wrote this on 07/16/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, donna lewis, dreamlover, giggedy, giggity, I love you always forever, mariah carey, near and far closer together, toad the wet sprocket, walk on the ocean, won't you please take off your sweater

It’s all your fault I scream my balls off

jamie — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:31:22 +0000

It's all Carrot Top's fault

While playing Guitar Hero on X-Box at a friend’s this weekend, Spiderwebs by No Doubt came up in the game. I remembered when this song came out over 10 years ago. Our friend Kevin used to think the lyrics in the chorus were “it’s all your fault I scream my balls off”, but they’re really “it’s all your fault I screen my phone calls”. But if you listen to it and listen for his misheard lyrics, it does sound like Gwen Stefani says that. Even though it makes no sense in the context of the song.

No Doubt – New Music – More Music Videos

jamie wrote this on 06/08/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, carrot top, guitar hero, gwen stefani, it's all your fault I screen my phone calls, no doubt, spiderwebs, x-box

The Wrong Way

jamie — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Ah, the summer of 1997. I had just graduated from WPI, and was enjoying my first academic free summer.

I don’t recall exactly how it happened, but somehow, an impromptu road trip to Cleveland to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was planned. The participants in this trip were myself, Matt, our friend Heather, and Adam D. (now of Killswitch Engage fame).

It's just another brick in the wall, dude

There are many memories of this trip, including Matt getting a flat tire in the leftmost lane of a busy, traffic-laden 4 lane highway just before getting into Cleveland, requiring him to make his way through three lanes of traffic to put the spare on. And then having to bring his car in to get a new tire. Also, much to Heather’s chagrin, Matt, Adam, and I sang along with the entirety of Pink Floyd’s The Wall double album. We also swung through Canada and visited Niagara Falls on the way home.

Being the summer of ‘97, Sublime was just getting popular, and their song, Wrong Way, was being featured heavily on the radio and music video channels (when they still showed videos). So the first time I saw one of those highway signs that said “Wrong Way”, I sang, “Annie’s 12 years old, in two more she’ll be a whore…” I didn’t sing the lyrics with the song title, because it was implied. Adam laughed, and so I started doing it whenever we saw one of those signs, and Adam laughed every time, again, much to Heather’s chagrin. I did it throughout the trip, and although even I was getting annoyed, I had started something that was no longer under my control.

That trip to Cleveland was awesome. As Ian Hunter once claimed, Cleveland does indeed rock.

R.I.P. Bradley Nowell. Your band was nothing special, but any song that contains the lyrics, “a cigarette pressed between her lips while I’m staring at her tits” will always hold a special place in my heart.

jamie wrote this on 05/28/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | 1 comment so far | TAGS: 90s music, adam d., adam dutkiewicz, bradley nowell, canada, cleveland, cleveland rocks, ian hunter, killswitch engage, niagara falls, pink floyd, road trip, rock and roll hall of fame, sublime, the wall, wpi, wrong way

Will she smell alone?

jamie — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:00:40 +0000

This falls under the category of ridiculous lyrics. Back before Scott Weiland had yet to fall off the wagon for the first time, he fronted a little band called Stone Temple Pilots. And despite their first ever single being about brutal rape (Sex Type Thing), people seemed to like them. This was back when grunge was the bee’s knees, and they caught on. Their second song, Plush, was much more mellow, but had some of the most ridiculous lyrics ever.

The line that always sticks out to me, and that me and my friend Joe at the time would always make fun of, was “when the dogs begin to smell her, will she smell alone?”. I mean, WTF does THAT mean, Scott? What a weirdo.

Seriously, anyone care to analyze this mess of words they call a song?

Stone Temple Pilots – New Music – More Music Videos

jamie wrote this on 05/22/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | 2 comments | TAGS: 90s music, grunge, plush, rape, ridiculous lyrics, scott weiland, sex type thing, stone temple pilots, WTF

Suck my crack

jamie — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:00:57 +0000

This goes back to when I was in high school. 107.3 WAAF was our radio station of choice in those days, and this occurred late one night when I was either driving home after a night out or a late shift at Stop and Shop.

Lithium by Nirvana was the latest single all the rock stations were playing by them, and the chorus has Kurt Cobain singing, “I like it, I’m not gonna crack, I love you, I’m not gonna crack”. Various phrases are repeated, but he says the “I’m not gonna crack” bit quite a few times.

Anywho, it was nearing the end of the song, the chorus was being repeated, and randomly in the chorus, the DJ butt in and said “suck my crack” over Kurt singing “gonna crack”. It caught me off guard, and I thought it was hilarious. It was really late, but I don’t think I was imagining things. It really happened. Didn’t it?

Nirvana – New Music – More Music Videos

jamie wrote this on 05/20/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 107.3, 90s music, i'm not gonna crack, kurt cobain, lithium, nirvana, stop and shop, suck my crack, WAAF

She’s so hi, how ya doin’?

jamie — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:52 +0000

What ever happened to Tal Bachman, son of Randy Bachman of the classic rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive?

I’m about 99% positive I’m the only person asking that question. This post isn’t even about where he is. He could be dead in a ditch for all I know. Or care.

What it IS about is his one big hit, She’s So High, and yet another boring story about Matt and I sharing an office together. The song had just come out when we started working at Silver Screen Design together, so we heard it on the radio a lot.

It came on once, and Matt was really giving it his all. And when it got to the chorus, he sang, “She’s so hiiiiiiiiii…how ya doin’? How ya doin’?” It must have been a rough day, because at the time, I thought this was the funniest thing I’d ever heard.

I know, isn’t that sad?

jamie wrote this on 05/08/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, bachman-turner overdrive, dead in a ditch, randy bachman, she's so high, silver screen design, tal bachman

Phew, for a minute there, I’ll ask myself

jamie — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:00:37 +0000

Matt’s a big Radiohead fan, and I remember both of us really liking OK Computer when it came out. We even went to see them in concert at the Worcester Centrum. Paranoid Android got me hooked on the album, and then Karma Police caught on as well. Matt and I would listen to that CD all the time, and at one point, I was singing along, and I sang, “For a minute there, I’ll ask myself”. Well, we both tend to correct each other if we hear the other one singing incorrect lyrics, and this was no exception. Matt alerted me to the fact that Thom Yorke actually sings, “For a minute there, I lost myself”. Which makes much more sense.

Songspeak bonus story: While a bunch of us were hanging out at Matt’s once, we had this CD playing. Our friend Joe, who we haven’t seen or talked to in quite some time, arrived to hang out as well, and Karma Police was playing. And he just uttered, “This is what I get, I guess”. It was this comment that caused us to include Karma Police on the inaugural songspeak mixtape, Songspeak’s Greatest Hits Volume 1.

The song has one strange video. Thom Yorke sure is a weird lookin’ dude.

Radiohead – New Music – More Music Videos

jamie wrote this on 05/06/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 90s music, for a minute there I lost myself, karma police, mixtape, ok computer, paranoid android, radiohead, songspeak's greatest hits, this is what you get, thom yorke, worcester centrum

You know your man is workin’ hard, he’s worth a deuce

jamie — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:12 +0000

There’s nothing I hate more than tennis. More specifically, watching tennis on TV. So imagine my dismay my sophomore year of college at WPI when my roommates were obsessed with watching Wimbledon. Or the U.S. Open. Or one of those queer tournaments where the guys in little white shorts slap a ball back and forth over a net.

The KISS Army (feat. the ex-Mr. Lisa Bonet) says, "We want YOU...to abolish tennis!"

They would take over the TV and watch it all day long. Rather than stab my eyes out with a fork, I decided to try to make the most of it. Lenny Kravitz had just released his cover of KISS‘ song Deuce, so it had been getting a lot of airplay back then. I know nothing of the rules of tennis, but I know every now and then something would happen with the score and the commentators would announce a deuce. So whenever that happened, I belted out my Lenny Kravitz impression, singing, “You know your man is workin’ hard…he’s worth a deuce!” I did this to be funny the first couple times, but then I did it mainly to annoy them into never wanting to watch tennis on TV with me in the room ever again. It didn’t work, as they would still watch it whenever there was a big event.

Tennis fuckin’ blows goats.

jamie wrote this on 05/04/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | no comments yet, be the first! | TAGS: 70s music, 90s music, deuce, kiss, lenny kravitz, queer guys in shorts, tennis, u.s. open, wimbledon, wpi

Where do you where do you go, my lovely? Uhhhh, McDonald’s, I guess?

jamie — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:59:49 +0000

I had lunch at McDonald’s today.

And let’s see, I didn’t drive my Delorean there. I didn’t turn a giant frozen donkey wheel prior to leaving the office. I didn’t even get in a phone booth or anything. So why was I transported back to 1996 when I set foot in the restaurant?

As I sat down and got ready to sink my teeth into my double-quarter pounder with cheese meal and its two sear-sizzled grade-A beef patties of goodness, what do I hear playing over the speakers? Why, Where Do You Go? by No Mercy of course. You’d know the song if you heard it. It was one of those dance hits, the style of which was uber-popular in the mid to late 90’s. In fact, until just now, I thought No Mercy was responsible for the following, but it was really Haddaway:

All those friggin’ dance techno groups sounded the same, didn’t they? And who hasn’t bopped their head along to this kind of music like Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan? I’m not sure if that falls under the category of songspeak or dancespeak, but it’s definitely been ingrained in our culture thanks to Saturday Night Live.

And while we’re of the subject of techno dance music, let’s have a (much belated) moment of silence for Melanie Thornton, former lead singer of La Bouche. We never had a chance to be her lover. Be her lover.

jamie wrote this on 04/24/09 for SONGSPEAK which is a pretty awesome blog. | post permalink | 2 comments | TAGS: 90s music, A Night at the Roxbury, ABC, baby don't hurt me, back to the future, be my lover, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Chris Kattan, delorean, double quarter pounder with cheese, frozen donkey wheel, haddaway, La Bouche, lost, mcdonald's, Melanie Thornton, no mercy, phone booth, plane crash, saturday night live, sear sizzled, snl, what is love, where do you go, will ferrell