BuBBly...

when you kiss my nose, the feeling shows



This song is for my Rotty... Osceola.

If you don't know me, then you don't know that I was blessed with the world's most "non-people-friendly" dog known to man for 17 years. My shepherd Czar, whose ashes still rest on my nightstand, went almost everywhere with me. He saw my ups and downs and everything in between. This hundred pound dog lived in a townhouse condo with me. He got dragged around to volleyball tournaments. He endured an awful marriage with me.

Imagine 17 years... late twenties to early forties...

think of all the things we go through in that time period. He endured relationships, jobs, different homes, friends, and hardships. I will never forget this dog. Watching him grow old and eventually needing to be put down was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure....

So why Bubbly?

It's because my new "puppy" has become such a joy.

He's a rescue who was found wondering the streets. He was afraid of people and it took ten days to corral him. He showed signs of abuse and weighed in around 45 lbs when he was coerced by an angel. He eventually ended up with me and he's grown into quite the animal.

He now weighs in over 100lbs and has become the world's biggest lapdog. He makes me smile EVERY SINGLE DAY. The vet has determined he is somewhere between 4-6 years old and I've had him now for 2 years. He learns new things constantly.

He sleeps with me.

He's my alarm clock.... FAITHFULLY.

He has recently taken to standing at the bedroom doorway and staring at me until I tell him it's ok to go to bed.

He absolutely loves his Mom-Mom and he loves his walks.

It is impossible not to smile at him when he prances!

He's my favorite horse.....

cuz he's BuBBly!

Hostage-O

All you have to do is ask, I'll be happy to say yes

 

I must confess, the song that came up on shuffle was not this one. The one that did come up is also included at the bottom of this post.

When it comes to Warren Zevon there is a good chance that you will hit one of his songs at least once every hour on my iPod. I'm a huge fan and the stories I can tell about my relationship with his music would take me hours to relate.

Let me try to be brief.

I've heard Warren play on several occasions. I've been a fan of his through his ups and downs. I bought cassettes in bargain bins, albums the day they came out when I'm pretty sure no one knew he even had new music, I've followed his career up until the day he passed away of mesothelioma. I believe he was a troubled genius who was destined not to be realized in his time. I was in the second row for his last live performance on the Late Show with David Letterman, one in which he was the only guest. If you slow the VH1 special down real slow, you'll see me at the backstage door standing in the rain with less than a dozen people waiting to shake his hand.

Why the change in song from what came up on shuffle?

As I was searching YouTube for videos I happened to come across this one which happens to be from the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia and I noticed the date was March 17, 2000 (St. Patty's Day) and I realized that I was at this show.

The TLA was an old movie theater that they had ripped the seats out of. It was not all that nice at the time (they have since renovated it and made it a little nicer). At the time there were no seats, tables, or waitress service. You just kinda stood around and waited for the act. My wife (at the time) and I met friends there and got there early enough to stand two feet from Warren. He has a long introduction to this song as it is his sequel to Poor Poor Pitiful Me.

I'm amazed at how quiet it was during the song.

I remember that night he did a great version of Hand of Fate from the Rolling Stones. The show was outstanding and I will never forget it.

Pretty cool to stumble onto this audio.

Here's the video of the song that actually came up on shuffle...which was written about David Crosby...


 
Here's Warren's wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon
 
and his official page where you can sign a petition to get him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
http://www.warrenzevon.com/
 
When asked by Letterman what he had learned in his battle with terminal cancer, Warren replied "Enjoy every sandwich."
 
I agree.

I was AFRAID...

at first...

Seriously, how does one NOT feel empowered with this song?

I will always associate this song with the movie The Replacements.

I love the intro of this song in the movie by Orlando Jones.


 " At first I was afraid....

long pause.....

I was petrified. "

... Clifford Franklin

Second Wind

wait in that corner until that breeze blows in



Billy Joel was asked to write this song to bring awareness to and prevention of teenage suicide. He donated all the royalties from it to suicide prevention. He admitted that he once attempted suicide as a teen.

The wiki page has a cool fact about the original video as well. Apparently the young boy in the video later grew up to be one of the hosts of MythBusters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You're_Only_Human_(Second_Wind)

The the lines from the song:

You're having a hard time and lately you don't feel so good
You're getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood
It's alright, it's alright
Sometimes that's what it takes


You're only human, you're allowed to make your share of mistakes
You better believe there will be times in your life
When you'll be feeling like a stumbling fool
So take it from me you'll learn more from your accidents
Than anything that you could ever learn at school


Don't forget your second wind
Sooner of later you'll get your second wind


It's not always easy to be living in this world of pain
You're gonna be crashing into stone walls again and again
It's alright, it's alright
Though you feel your heart break
You're only human, you're gonna have to deal with heartache


Just like a boxer in a title fight
You got to walk in that ring all alone
You're not the only one who's made mistakes
But they're the only thing that you can truly call your own
Don't forget your second wind
Wait in that corner until that breeze blows in

You've been keeping to yourself these days
Cause you're thinking everything's gone wrong
Sometimes you just want to lay down and die
That emotion can be so strong
But hold on
Till that old second wind comes along


You probably don't want to hear advice from someone else
But I wouldn't be telling you if I hadn't been there myself

It's alright, it's alright
Sometimes that's all it takes
We're only human
We're supposed to make mistakes


But I survived all those long lonely days
When it seemed I did not have a friend
Cause all I needed was a little faith
So I could catch my

My thoughts:

Billy Joel is an inspiration to me...
because if that toad-looking sap can score some sweet model love....there's hope for all us "not so beautiful" people (No offense Billy)

My three favorite lines are :

Like a boxer in a title fight, you got to walk in that ring all alone

Pretty powerful image. We all fight the good fight and we all have the power to dig down and be Rocky. Life kicks ALL of us in some way or another, and we all have the Rocky stamina in us... sometimes you just need the right John Williams' music to catch that chicken.

Wait in that corner until that breeze blows in

Sometimes you just have to sit on the stool and catch your breath. Imagine if you were a knight with the flu and had to go fight a dragon, you probably wouldn't stand much of a chance now would ya? So realize that sometime you just have to wait out the flu and fight when you're ready. There's no shame in that. It's just smart!

Cause all I needed was a little faith

This one is a favorite because I am an agnostic. I believe every man's religious beliefs are his own. But that does not mean I don't have faith. Faith is an amazing thing. We all have some kind of purpose, sometimes we just don't get to realize it in our time.

A good read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_People_You_Meet_in_Heaven

The Bride

If the groom would've known, he'd have had a fit

"A memory of true love is like a favorite song; No matter how many times it plays again, You never get tired of it."

This song evokes memories of a blue-green Ford Fairlane 500, chasing skirts, smiles, laughter, and a time when there were no cares in the world.

This song was released in 1983 on the album Too Low for Zero by Elton John. I remember being naive back then. Freddy Mercury was still alive and I had no idea what AIDS was and had absolutely NO "gaydar". Now I find it a testament to the bliss of ignorance of a teenager. Everyone at that age thinks they know the true meaning of everything and now I look back and see that I really knew very little and it makes me smile. Ain't life grand!

Today I have to look back and ponder...

what was Elton thinking when he sang the line...

"if the groom woulda known he'd have had a fit...
about his wife and the things we did....."

Did he mean shopping?

I dedicate this today to a girl named Jen who just happens to be getting married today. It's a fun song and carefree... just like a wedding should be!

Enjoy it Little!

Choked Up

the Home of the Brave



This version comes from the 1983 NBA All Star Game. I remember watching it live on TV at the time and I remember thinking to myself that there would never ever be a finer version of this song done.

There's several interesting videos out there that relate to this event. In 2004, The anthem was sung by Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona with a large video screen of Marvin behind her. It was a memorable duet. There are also several other videos featuring Marvin singing tamer versions at NFL games and MLB games. He sang at the request of Tiger broadcasting great Ernie Harwell for game 4 of the 1968 World Series and did a more traditional version only to be followed on the following night by a non-traditional version sung by Jose Feliciano. It caused quite a stir. It is available here:

Jose Feliciano at the World Series

Feliciano was asked to repeat his performance this past May. The story and the video is worth the 2 minute watch.

As most of us know, Marvin Gaye was tragically shot to death by his father on April 1, 1983, less than two months after performing the anthem. Some facts you may not know. He died the day before his birthday. He was shot with the gun he gave his father for protection. The previous year he had staged a major comeback and won the first two Grammys of his career for Sexual Healing. Marvin's father received only 5 years probation for the shooting after it was determined he was beaten by his son before the shooting.

You can read much more about Marvin on his Wiki page:

Marvin_Gaye

Drop Kick Me Jesus

I've got the will Lord if you've got the toe

 


The wiki page for Grammy award winner Bobby Bare who recorded the song:

Bobby Bare

This song itself was released in 1976 and nominated for a Grammy. It was used in a great bar scene from the movie The Deer Hunter.

I was introduced to the music of Bobby Bare by my good friend Jeff Orr in high school. We spent lots of time drinking to his music and he could very well be responsible for the enjoyment I have for country music. Thanks Jeff!

This particular version has a third verse which isn't included on my iPod but may soon replace the version I do have.

Enjoy it football fans.

We had Joy!

"The stars that we reached were just starfish on the beach"

The band is Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. The song is Seasons in the Sun.

Here's the band.

And their Wiki page.  the Wiki link

The Song:

The Wiki Page for the Song   
Seasons_in_the_Sun Wiki page

Some little known facts gathered from the page. The song was a no.1 hit for Terry Jacks in 1974. The B-side is a song called "Put the Bone in". He released it right after his wife left him. It was previously recorded by the Beach Boys and left off their latest album. The song was originally written by a Belgian singer songwriter. It has been covered by many people in many different languages, including Vietnamese. The song is actually a goodbye.

Shuffle

Oh Snap!

This is what came up on my iPod while I was walking the dog this morning.





Here's a link to his homepage which includes links to future appearances and a bio.

http://www.bizmarkie.com/

There's also videos of his Radio Shack and Heineken commercials.



and then there's this too....




This little doll comes in the cereal box packaging and is available thru the webpage store only....
for $150 each!


Here's a link to the Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biz_Markie

There's a lot of interesting facts that I didn't know including the fact that Biz Markie was one of the first rappers sued for "sampling" without giving credit to the original artist. He was sued by Gilbert O' Sullivan for sampling his hit Alone Again (Naturally) on his track I Need a Haircut. He eventually had to pull the record until the rights were cleared. The suit set a legal precedent for the emerging rap industry.

On a personal note, this song has special meaning for me because it has become a favorite of my niece and I. We sing it loud and very offkey... and of course we giggle like the children we are.