2CELLOS Perform Guns N' Roses Classic

I saw this video yesterday and knew I had to share it here. As a fan of both Guns N' Roses and Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica, I was intrigued with the history and idea behind this new cello version of the classic "Welcome to the Jungle."

In a nutshell, classically trained cellists and former rivals Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser decided to team up as 2CELLOS.

Their debut album was released last year and includes a few more songs I'll have to check out, such as "The Resistance" (Muse), "Where the Streets Have No Name" (U2), and "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails).

More of their videos are available on Youtube, but since I've only seen "Welcome to the Jungle" so far, that's the one I'll include here. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.

ZZ Top - TV Dinners

ZZ Top - "TV Dinners"
From Eliminator (1983)

Many of us remember a time when frozen dinners were called "TV dinners." ZZ Top took this cultural icon and recorded a song, which then was made into a music video. Like the band's other videos, it's quite entertaining.

The video for ZZ Top's "TV Dinners" demonstrates the danger of putting foil in the microwave. Although it isn't as well known as some of their other videos, such as "Legs" or "Sharp Dressed Man," it's certainly a classic worth watching.

Yazoo - The Other Side of Love

Yazoo - "The Other Side of Love"
Single release (1982) later added to reissue of Upstairs at Eric's (1996)

Yazoo, a synthpop duo also known as Yaz, released a fun music video for "The Other Side of Love." The video shows members Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet going dancing, with Moyet seeming to have the time of her life. Things get interesting when Clarke falls and starts seeing some unusual things on the dance floor.

Van Halen - Dreams

Van Halen - "Dreams"
From 5150 (1986)

Van Halen shot three different videos for "Dreams." The first one, featuring the Blue Angels, is the most popular. The other two versions were filmed in 1993 and consist of concert footage, fans, and commentary.

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me With Science"
From The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Thomas Dolby directed and starred in his video for "She Blinded Me With Science," in which he goes to the Home for Deranged Scientists to have himself committed. While there, he has a therapy session with the head of the institution, portrayed by British scientist and TV personality Magnus Pyke.

In a 2011 interview with Dan MacIntosh of Songfacts, Dolby explained how the video came about. He was a big fan of silent movies, and he actually thought of music videos as silent movies with soundtracks. He came up with the concept for the video, wrote the script, and then wrote a song to go with it. The result was the unforgettable "She Blinded Me With Science."

Peter Gabriel - Big Time

Peter Gabriel - "Big Time"
From So (1987)

Peter Gabriel stars in the video for his hit song "Big Time," about a guy who's on his way to making it big. This highly entertaining piece uses both stop-motion and strata-cut animation, and the result is a stunning work of art.

The video for "Big Time" is similar to Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video, with which more people are probably familiar.

Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

Journey - "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
From Frontiers (1983)

This video has a bit of a stigma attached to it, but that's what makes it so entertaining.

"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" was Journey's first choreographed video; until then, the band's videos were essentially performances and concert footage. Frontman Steve Perry was against doing a choreographed video, but he lost the argument.

So, what's so bad about this particular video? Instead of playing their own musical instruments in front of the camera, they played invisible ones. That's right; they played air guitar, air keyboards, etc. Sure, a lot of people do that, but they generally do it in the privacy of their own homes. It looked so silly in a professional music video that it keeps showing up on lists of the all-time worst videos.

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart

INXS - "Never Tear Us Apart"
From Kick (1988)

Fans of INXS can't imagine the band's beautiful ballad, "Never Tear Us Apart," in any other style, but it was originally written as a blues song. The video was filmed at different locations in Prague, as were the videos for "Guns in the Sky" and "New Sensation."

INXS's masterpiece played in the background of frontman Michael Hutchence's funeral in 1997, while band members and Hutchence's brother carried his coffin out of the church.

Herbie Hancock - Rockit

Herbie Hancock - "Rockit"
From Future Shock (1983)

Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" video features animatronic figures dancing to the instrumental music. Hancock himself is in the video, but only on the TV screen. In 1984, "Rockit" won five MTV Video Music Awards.

The song has been included in several films, television shows, and video games.

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon

Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon"
From Ocean Rain (1984)

Widely considered to be Echo & The Bunnymen's best song, "The Killing Moon" has been included in movies, television shows, and commercials. The band also recorded the All Night Version, which is considerably longer than the original.

The eerie video, made for the original version of "The Killing Moon," is set on a ghost ship.

TheCoolTV

A while back, I was scanning my cable guide and saw something I hadn't noticed before: a channel called TheCoolTV. Taking a quick look, I saw that it was airing music videos. In fact, the whole channel seemed to be dedicated to music. Even the infomercials were for CD collections.

Later, I went online to look it up, and I learned a few things. TheCoolTV is a digital substation that's been around for about two years now. I have no idea when it came to my area. In fact, it's not everywhere, but more affiliates are signing on all the time. Right now, the channel guide lists affiliates in 34 states.

Programming blocks include Indie Cred, Nineties Nectar, The Underground, and Retro Rewind, to name just a few. The website also states that programming is customized to each area's demographic and local music scene.

If you're into music videos, take a look at the channel guide and see whether TheCoolTV is in your area yet.

3 Movies Worth Watching: Media Mayhem Blog Hop

This is day two of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means it's time to talk about movies. Specifically, I'll tell you about three movies I feel are worth watching.

Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm stars Kate Beckinsale as a young woman who moves in with some eccentric relatives. There are several memorable quotes in this movie, and they're repeated so often that you can say them right along with the characters. My favorite is, "There's always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm," which involves a bit of action in addition to those eight words. Check out this PG-rated movie and you'll see what I mean.

Dick
Set during Nixon's tenure in the Oval Office, Dick stars Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as teenagers who get caught up in the Watergate scandal. Rated PG-13, this is the funniest movie I've ever seen about Watergate.

Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is in a class by itself. Dark, moody, and filled with '80s music, this is a movie most people either love or hate. I think it's great, but it's definitely not for everyone. As for the music, it includes some fantastic songs such as "Head Over Heels" and "The Killing Moon" (the director's cut substitutes "Never Tear Us Apart" for the latter). Jake Gyllenhaal has the title role in this R-rated cult classic.

3 Terrific Songs for the Media Mayhem Blog Hop

Today is the first day of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means I'm writing about three songs I happen to like. They're not necessarily my top three all-time favorites, but they're certainly somewhere on the list.

This was harder than I expected. Sure, I can choose three terrific songs. I can choose a whole lot more than three--hence the problem. Whenever I thought I had three, I ended up changing my mind. I'd think of one I just had to include, which meant I had to eliminate one. This happened several times. I no longer remember what the original three songs were. In any case, here are the three I chose, in alphabetical order:

Buggin'
I have no idea why I like a song about bugs, but "Buggin'" by The Flaming Lips is pretty cool. That doesn't mean I want to hear any more buggy songs, though.

The Killing Moon
Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" is one of those songs I wish I'd found much sooner. I'm convinced I'd never heard it even once until just a few years ago. There are two versions of this song, and they're both long, with the All Night Version lasting over nine minutes. I can't decide which one I prefer; it seems to be whichever one I'm listening to at the time. The lyrics and the music are haunting and mysterious.

Who's Behind the Door
One day, my husband and I were listening to some music, and Zebra's "Who's Behind the Door" came on. I immediately grabbed the TV remote to use as a "microphone" as I alternated between actually singing and just lip syncing. I jumped up off the couch and got really into it, especially as the song progressed toward its climax. I was like a mad woman. When it was over, I sheepishly looked at him but then said I didn't understand why he wasn't acting in a similar fashion. His response shocked me beyond belief. "I guess I'm just not that into it," he admitted. I was so stunned that I almost dropped the remote. "What?!?" Since we have very similar taste in music and agree on well over ninety percent of songs, I couldn't believe it. How could "Who's Behind the Door" be one of the few? It was unfathomable. I had to find out what his deal was. As it turns out, he actually does like it; it simply doesn't evoke the same kind of response in him that it does in me. Sigh.

Storms: My Life With Lindsay Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac

Last week's episode of Glee, "Rumours," highlighted the tension among the members of New Directions and compared the teens to Fleetwood Mac as they worked on their Rumours album. While watching this episode, I remembered reading an interesting tell-all book about the band.

Storms: My Life With Lindsay Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac was written by Carol Ann Harris. As the title suggests, the book is an autobiography of the author's time as a member of Fleetwood Mac's inner circle. It tells how she first met the band members, began dating Lindsay Buckingham, developed an antagonistic relationship with Stevie Nicks, and much more. Published in 2007, this book has very mixed reviews.

I don't read many autobiographies, but this one caught my eye. Although I enjoyed it, I didn't believe every word I read. After all, everything took place many years ago, and the memory is a funny thing. Also, the author was in an intimate relationship with one of the band members, and although she tried not to show any bias toward or against anyone, she didn't always succeed.

In any case, I felt Storms: My Life With Lindsay Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac was worth reading. Maybe those who have followed the band for decades already know everything mentioned in the book or can even dispute a lot of it, but most of it was new to me. All in all, I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about some of Fleetwood Mac's history.

U2

I was pretty much unaware of U2 until they released The Joshua Tree in 1987. That's when a friend urged me to check out their music. I was skeptical but decided to find out what all the fuss was about. I'm glad I did.

Here is a very short list of some of my favorite songs by U2:

"All I Want Is You" (Rattle and Hum)
"Love Rescue Me" (Rattle and Hum)
"One Tree Hill" (The Joshua Tree)
"Red Hill Mining Town" (The Joshua Tree)

One-Hit Wonders

A one-hit wonder is a recording artist that has one major hit and then never achieves that level of success again. The exact criteria vary from one definition to another, from placing the song anywhere on Billboard's Hot 100 to maintaining that only #1 songs qualify.

While looking at a lot of lists of one-hit wonders and the songs that made them famous, I came up with a list of my favorites. I had doubts that some of the ones I saw really only had one hit, but I wrote them down anyway. Then I chose ten to mention here.

Here are some of my favorite hit songs by one-hit wonders, in no particular order:

1. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (The Verve) - A phenomenal song, and a great video to go with it.

2. "Under the Milky Way" (The Church) - It's hard to get better than this song, which was later included in the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

3. "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Giant) - One of only two power ballads included on this list, although there are probably others I could have mentioned.

4. "Bad Day" (Daniel Powter) - A catchy song with a good video.

5. "Don't Close Your Eyes" (Kix) - The second power ballad I decided to include here.

6. "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell) - This one will always remind me of Port Charles, which made good use of the song during its "Tainted Love" arc.

7. "The Promise" (When In Rome) - This is a nice, catchy song.

8. "Cry Little Sister" (Gerard McMann) - This theme from The Lost Boys has been covered by several bands and re-recorded by the original artist, but the original version is my favorite.

9. "Cry" (Godley & Creme) - Somehow, I completely missed this one until seeing the video a few years ago. Priceless.

10. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" (Peter Schilling) - This follow-up to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" tells what happened to Major Tom.

Journey

Journey has been one of my favorite bands since the late 1970s. I bought seven of their albums in a row, from Infinity (1978) through Raised on Radio (1986).

I couldn't begin to rank my favorite Journey songs, so I won't even try. What I will do is list ten that I would recommend to anyone asking about their classic work (the Steve Perry days).

"Lights"
"Feeling That Way"
"Anytime"
"Opened the Door"
"Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
"Good Morning Girl"
"Stay Awhile"
"Faithfully"
"Be Good to Yourself"
"Why Can't This Night Go On Forever"

I've heard some of their newer songs, and they're good. Someday I'll get around to checking them out more closely.

"I" Songs

I started thinking about song titles that begin with "I." For this post, "I" songs are songs with titles beginning with the word (not just the letter) "I." Here are just a few of the ones I like, listed in alphabetical order:

"I Don't Care" - Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica are brilliant, and this is a great song with a great video. It features Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier on vocals.

"I Don't Want to Be" - Gavin DeGraw's theme from One Tree Hill was eventually dropped from the opening credits, but fans of the show will never forget it. The best line? "All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind."

"I Drove All Night" - Cyndi Lauper was the first recording artist to release this hit, which was actually written for Roy Orbison. Although it's been covered a few times, this is the version I always think of.

"I Just Can't Help Believing" - B.J. Thomas sang a sweet song about a belief in a future with the woman of his dreams.

"I Love You" - I was surprised to learn that the Climax Blues Band released this hit in 1980; if I'd had to guess, I would have said it was a year or two earlier.

"I Never Cry" - This is a fantastic power ballad by Alice Cooper.

"I Ran (So Far Away)" - I always liked this song by A Flock of Seagulls, but the video is priceless.

"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner had a mega hit with this one. Besides the fact that the lyrics could reduce people to tears, the inclusion of the choir was a major plus.

"I Want You to Want Me" - I think this was the first Cheap Trick song I noticed. I ended up buying the Live at Budokan 8-track tape. Yes, 8-track.

"I Wish It Would Rain Down" - This hauntingly beautiful ballad is easily my favorite Phil Collins song.

When Books Become Movies

As someone who likes both reading and watching movies, it's sometimes hard to decide which form I'd rather indulge in. Differences between a book and its movie adaptation can nag at me, even when they don't make a difference to the story. Because of this, I've found that it usually helps if I see a movie long after having read the book. That way, the text isn't fresh in my mind, and I can appreciate the film version better.

I found three books that I think have potential on the big screen. The publication dates range from 1982 to 2007, and I read them all fairly soon after they were published. If you're a fan of Christopher Moore, Dean Koontz, or Bentley Little, check out my picks for books that should be movies.

Motel Hell: Cult Classic from the '80s

Motel Hell is a hilarious classic horror movie from 1980. The title is something of a play on words, depicting both the name of the motel and the general state of affairs for the unfortunate soul who wanders anywhere near the motel and its proprietors. The story takes place at the very rural Motel Hello. However, the letter "O" on the sign has a bit of trouble, its light flickering on and off. The light on the other letters are fine, so that when the "O" is out, only the first four letters of the word remain. "Hell" is a good description of the motel, as you're about to learn.

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