Bat Out Of Hell

Side One:
1. Bat Out of Hell
2. You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
3. Heaven Can Wait
4. All Revved Up With No Place To Go

Side Two:
1. Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
2. Paradise By the Dashboard Light
I. Paradise
II. Let Me Sleep On It
III. Praying for the End of Time
3. For Crying Out Loud

This album of Meat Loaf's is incredible. "Bat Out of Hell" is a legend on its own, and the rest of the songs are the icing on the cake. Ellen Foley (as you know she is one of my favorites at the moment) sounds great, and Meat Loaf sounds fantastic himself. If I had to pick a song from the record, I'd say my favorite is part II of "Paradise By the Dashboard Light", "Let Me Sleep On It". I love the sound and the lyrics of this one.

The Band - The Last Waltz

Record One
Side One:
1. Theme From The Last Waltz
2. Up on Cripple Creek
3. Who Do You Love
4. Helpless
5. Stagefright

Side Two:
1. Coyote
2. Dry Your Eyes
3. It Makes No Difference
4. Such a Night

Record Two
Side One:
1. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
2. Mystery Train
3. Mannish Boy
4. Further On Up the Road

Side Two:
1. Shape I'm In
2. Down South in New Orleans
3. Ophelia
4. Tura Lura Lural (That's an Irish Lullaby)
5. Caravan

Record Three
Side One:
1. Life Is A Carnival
2. Baby Let Me Follow You Down
3. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
4. Forever Young
5. Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Reprise)
6. I Shall Be Released

Side Two:
The Last Waltz Suite
1. The Well
2. Evangeline
3. Out Of The Blue
4. The Weight
5. The Last Waltz Refrain
6. Theme From The Last Waltz (with Orchestra)

Besides a Beatles' record, I truly think nothing can compare to this record. I spoke of the DVD on Thanksgiving when it was the anniversary of this concert, but I just had to speak of it again this week. With special guests like Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and many more, there is no doubt that this really was the celebration The Band wanted it to be. If I had to pick a favorite from this record, I'm going to say it is "Evangeline" featuring Emmylou Harris. But, "Theme From The Last Waltz" is amazing, too. The music in this song is absolutely incredible.

A New World Record

Side One:
1. Tightrope
2. Telephone Line
3. Rockaria!
4. Mission (A World Record)

Side Two:
1. So Fine
2. Livin' Thing
3. Above the Clouds
4. Do Ya
5. Shangri-la

Electric Light Orchestra's "A New World Record" is probably one of my favorite records, which is why I'm including it in my theme this week. The whole record - and most ELO - was written and produced by Jeff Lynne. My favorite song on the record (if I had to pick) is definitely "Telephone Line". I know it sounds a little cliché because everyone knows it, but I can't help it. The lyrics and the meaning behind the lyrics are amazing.

This week

This week on my blog, I will be blogging about different records of mine that I absolutely love. I thought that it would be a good idea to have a "theme" for the week to get you all excited for each day that is to come!

Video of the day

OATH ft. Becky G. - Cher Lloyd

Favorites so far

I would love to post videos for this post, but I'm on my phone and that's not easy to do, so I thought I would give you yet another list. Here is a list of my favorite song so far (from the past couple of months):

1. Beauty and a Beat - Justin Bieber ft. Nicki Minaj. To me, this song has a great beat and it sounds more like what Justin Bieber used to sing.

2. Ho Hey - The Lumineers. A friend of mine introduced me to this song and I actually kind of fell in love with it. Again, the beat is what made me fall in love.

3. Thrift Shop - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz. I am not at all a fan of rap music, but the beat of this song (there's something about beats) just makes you want to dance.

4. Some Nights - Fun. I love the percussion in this song. When I hear this in the car or when I play it on my phone, I just want to play it on the maximum volume.

5. Animal - Conor Maynard. This new artist has impressed me so far - actually a lot more than I thought he was going to. I think it's the lyrics that won me over with this song.

True Love Ways

I'm young, but that hasn't stopped me from thinking about my wedding. A lot of girls dream about their gorgeous dress, creamy cake, and of course their devastatingly handsome husband. I dreamed of all of that - and also my wedding song. My parents' wedding song is "Valentine" by Nils Lofgren. They not only chose it because it showed their love, but because no one else has that as their wedding song. My dream wedding song is "True Love Ways" by Buddy Holly. My appreciation for Buddy Holly has grown so much over the years and being the huge music lover that I am, I think that song really defines who I am. Now all I have to do is marry a man who has the same appreciation for music as I do.

My "Oldies"

I have a total of 500 songs on my iPhone.  And sometimes when I'm in the mood to listen to a classic song, it's a hassle going through my million songs to find a good classic.  So, having the amount of extra time that I do, I created a new playlist on my phone entitled, "Oldies".  Now, when I say "oldies", I mean anything before 1990.  I know to some of you that may seem not that old, but may I remind you that I was not born before 1990, so anything before that is, well, a little old.  Sorry.  I thought I would share with you SOME of the songs I placed in the playlist (I'd name them all but the list would be a little lengthy):

• American Pie - Don McLean
• Appreciation - Ann-Margret
• Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
• Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
• The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
• Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
• The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
• Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
• Desperado - Eagles
• Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen
• Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
• The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
• Missing You - John Waite
• Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band
• Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) - Jim Croce
• Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly and the Crickets
• Rapid Boy (The Stock Car Boy) - Jim Croce
• Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
• Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
• This Magic Moment - Jay and the Americans
• True Love Ways - Buddy Holly
• Vacation - The Go Go's
• Valentine - Nils Lofgren
• We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley
• When I See You Smile - Bad English
• You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
• You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce

Cat's in the Cradle

 

The other day, I was listening to "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin.  Of course I had heard the song several times before, but it has just occurred to me what the song is really saying. 

 

He says in the first verse how when his son was born, he wasn't around much and because of this, he missed his son's first steps and first words.  But him being away was not preventing his son from saying, "I'm gonna be like you, Dad.  You know I'm gonna be like you." 

 

The boy soon turns ten and he receives a baseball from his parents and asks his dad to play with him.  His father replies by telling him that he has a lot to do so he's not able to teach him how to throw.  His son walks away but his smile never fades and he says to himself, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.  You know I'm gonna be lke him."

 

So more time goes by and his son returns home from college and is very much a man.  But now, instead of his son asking for some time with him, he asks his son to sit down and talk for a while.  And his son answers by saying, "What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys.  See you later, can I have them please?"

 

Now he has retired, so his son is all grown up.  He calls his son one day and asks if he can see him.  The son's reply is not what his father wants to hear.  He says, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time.  You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu.  But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad.  It's been sure nice talking to you."

 

At this point in the story, the man realizes, as he hangs up the phone, that "He'd grown up just like me.  My boy was just like me."

 

"And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon.  Little boy blue and the man on the moon" is the recurring phrase throughout the course of the song.  The parts are taken from "Cat's in the Cradle", "Silver Spoon", "Little Boy Blue", and "Man in the Moon".  What is Harry Chapin referring to?  He is referencing childhood during the chorus, because the song shows a boy who wants to be just like someone who pays him no attention.

 

 

The moment you have all been waiting for

Here it is!  I have uploaded my performance of "Operator" by Jim Croce onto YouTube!  Again, a big thanks to Cameron who agreed to play the guitar for me - he made my talent show experience so much better.  Please tell your friends and families about this video, I would love for it to go viral or possibly land me a record deal!
Here is the YouTube link so you can view it and leave comments there:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqAxyb6YfqA

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me.  This would have never been possible without all of your help! XOXO

We Belong to the Night

As I was going through my dad's records, I found this Ellen Foley one.  I had never heard of her, but when I was listening to Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album, I noticed that she was a background singer for Meat Loaf.  I immediately took out her record and started listening to her song "We Belong to the Night", the one my dad said was the most popular.  For those who don't know who she is, she is an American singer-songwriter who has released three solo albums, but is most famous for her collaborations with Meat Loaf.  Her albums include Night Out (1979), Spirit of St. Louis (1981), and Another Breath (1983).  I highly recommend listening to some of her songs, especially "We Belong to the Night".

We are not the champions

I REALLY apologize for not posting for two whole weeks!  The past two weeks have been a little insane, but my life is now going to be going back to normal.  On that note, I would like to share with you all some news.  Last Friday I participated in my school's talent show.  Even though we did not place, (I am not too happy) in my opinion, we still did very well.  I really have my friend, Cameron, to thank.  He's the reason we did as well as we did.  When I first wanted to be in the talent show, I thought about how I wanted to sing acoustically but I had no one to play the guitar for me.  When my brother's friend brought up Cameron, I jumped at the opportunity to ask him to perform with me.  When he agreed, I immediately started thinking of some song ideas.  My first song choice was "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks, although we would have covered the Dixie Chicks' version.  Our song choice ended up being one of his suggestions, "Operator" by Jim Croce.  I am going to be uploading the video of our performance onto YouTube soon, so stay tuned for the video, as I will be posting it on here.  But because you have to wait, I'll give you a sneak peak with a picture!

Happy Birthday

As you may know, I got a record player for my birthday. To go along with the record player, I got three records: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, John Waite's No Brakes, and Summer Fun Vol. 2. Cher Lloyd's perfume also was a gift to me. It was in fact a very musical day.

To make my birthday even better, I made the school talent show and will be singing the song "Operator" by Jim Croce. When the talent show occurs, I will be posting a video of my performance on YouTube and on my blog for those who are interested in seeing how it goes.

Happy New Year!

It's 2013! A new year calls for a new beginning, so today I will share with you a couple of artists I hope to see more of this year:

1. Conor Maynard - He is a British-born singer who found his fame from YouTube and winning an MTV contest, Brand New for 2012. His first single was released in April of 2012 in the UK.

2. Florence + the Machine - This band's debut album "Lungs" was released in July 2009 and was followed by "Ceremonials" in October 2011. Even though most know the band, I still don't hear much of them on the radio and I would love to.

3. Britt Nicole - I just bought her song "Gold" on iTunes because I love her voice. I saw the music video for the song last week on teennick and thought she was absolutely amazing.

Of course there are the artists I am not too excited to see this year:

1. Psy - We all know his song "Gangnam Style" and while we thought it was catchy, we actually can't stand it. I admit, I tried learning the dance but the song was way overplayed for my liking.

2. Carly Rae Jepsen - I think Carly Rae Jepsen seems very nice and she's a good singer, but "Call Me Maybe" makes me and a lot of people want to call her never. Again, another song they played way too much.