Amnesia

I decided to do a countdown entitled "Favorites A to Z."  These are my favorite songs.

Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer

Blue Bayou - Linda Ronstadt

Chocolate - The 1975

Desperado - Eagles

Everything About You - One Direction

Faithfully - Journey

Guns For Hands - twenty one pilots

Happily - One Direction

In The Stars - Icona Pop

Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen

Kiss Me Kiss Me - 5 Seconds of Summer

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

My Darlin' - Miley Cyrus

Nintendo - Todd Carey

Ol' 55 - Eagles

Paradise By The Dashboard Lights - Meatloaf

The Queen - Lady Gaga

Robot - Miley Cyrus

Stole My Heart - One Direction

Towers - Little Mix

Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

Valentine - Nils Lofgren

We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

Can't Get It Out of My Head

My top ten favorite album covers of the '60s, '70s, and '80s.  Well, only one is from the '80s.

10.  The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) - The Velvet Underground & Nico

I chose this as my number ten because I love the fact that they incorporated a professional artist into their cover.  The album was released in March 1967 and has since been considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

9.  London Calling (1979) - The Clash

I absolutely LOVE this cover, but I have places it so high on my list because Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, which was released in 1956, is the same thing.  I know I shouldn't punish them being as though so many other artists have paid homage to the rock star, but I have based this list on originality.  It's still an awesome cover, though.

8.  Ramones (1976) - Ramones

I think this cover picture is so cool.  The four guys against a brick, graffiti-covered wall... all while being in black and white.  And they look so cool with their leather jackets and jeans and long hair that was oh so popular in the '70s.

7.  1984 (1984) - Van Halen

Scandalous.  A baby with angel wings smoking a cigarette with several more cigs on deck.  I also love "1984" written in roman numerals in the top left and right corners.  I just think the whole cover is very creative, like the songs on the record.

6.  Sticky Fingers (1971) - The Rolling Stones

I have this vinyl and I must say that it is a little different from the vinyl cover I am used to.  The cover contains a working "zipper" and "belt" and reveals briefs underneath.  And apparently the crotch photographed is not that of Mr. Jagger.  So whose crotch is this?  The world may never know.  I think it's more scandalous than 1984.

5.  The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) - Pink Floyd

I love the whole concept of this album cover.  I am unsure why they chose this, as I don't really see any direct connection between that and the music, but I'm sure they had a reason.  This is definitely one of the most iconic album covers of all time.  Everyone has seen it and knows it.

4.  Rumours (1977) - Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is such a bizarre album cover, but I love it.  I love Stevie's outfit along with their poses.  It has the same feeling of their Fleetwood Mac cover two years earlier.

3.  Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) - Bruce Springsteen

I think I like this cover so much because it's a postcard from one of the best known towns in the state of New Jersey.  It's also the album cover of one of the best known musicians from the state of New Jersey.  Looking at this cover makes me feel like such a Jersey Girl.  I love it.

2.  The Beatles [The White Album] (1968) - The Beatles

So simple, yet such an impact.  The Beatles didn't need some over the top cover to get their points across.  They're The Beatles.  We have to remember that they are the biggest band that has ever walked the planet.  Do they really need some out of the ordinary cover?

1.  Eldorado (1974) - Electric Light Orchestra


Another album cover that is a shout-out to popular culture.  The album follows a character who dreams and travels through those dreams to different worlds and fantasies.  That's what happened to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  She wakes up to realize that she was in a descriptive dream.  It shows how great Jeff Lynne was at his job.

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

[Source:  Google]

I spent my day in Asbury Park, NJ, the topic of Bruce Springsteen's debut studio album.

The record was released on January 5, 1973 through Columbia.  It has nine tracks:

Side One:

1. Blinded by the Light*
2. Growin' Up
3. Mary Queen of Arkansas
4. Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
5. Lost in the Flood

Side Two:

1. The Angel
2. For You
3. Spirit in the Night*
4. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

*Singles

You would think the album would've sold thousands because, well, it's The Boss.  Actually, it only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year.

But despite the poor first year sales, the album was ranked by Rolling Stone as #379 on their list of 500 greatest albums of all time.  They also ranked it as 37 on their list of greatest debut albums.

His E Street Band consisted of Clarence Clemons (clapping, saxophone, vocals), Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez (clapping, drums, vocals), David Sancious (keyboard, organ, piano), Bruce Springsteen (acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clapping, congas, electric guitar, harmonica, keyboard, piano, vocals), and Garry Tallent (bass guitar).

Steven Van Zandt was the sound effect expert for "Lost in the Flood," Richard Davis played the upright double bass on "The Angel," and Harold Wheeler played the piano on "Blinded By the Light" and "Spirit in the Night."

Into the Fire

Day Four:  Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has been an incredible songwriter since he was a teenager.  When 9/11 happened, he released a CD called The Rising in honor of the tragedy our country was faced with.

One of the most powerful songs on the album is "Into the Fire."

Every verse of the song has the lines "Up the stairs, into the fire."  The firefighters are walking up the stairs to help those still inside.  "The sky was falling and streaked with blood / I heard you calling me then you disappeared into the dust."  It's a situation that I can't even talk about.

"It was dark, too dark to see, you held me in the light you gave / You lay your hand on me / Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave."

I Get A Kick Out of You

I got this book fro Christmas from my aunt, uncle, and cousins called The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time.  The book features more than 250 of the best album covers and is arranged by decade and musical genre.

It was published in 2005 by Collins & Barnes and was written by Barry Miles, Grant Scott, and Johnny Morgan.  There are six different chapters:  1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.  I'll go over just a few of those.

In the 1950s chapter, there are four subchapters:

1. Pop - Frank Sinatra's Come Fly with Me and Peggy Lee's Black Coffee are two of the albums included.
2. Exotica - Robert Frost's Robert Frost Reads His Poetry is one of the records in this subchapter.
3. Jazz - Ella Fitzgerald's Ella Fitzgerald Sings Gershwin Vol 2 and Quincy Jones's This Is How I Feel About Jazz are just two of the several albums.
4. Rock 'n' Roll - Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, Little Richard's Here's Little Richard, and Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps' Gene Vincent Rocks!  And the Blue Caps Roll.

In the 1980s chapter, there are seven subchapters:

1. Factory - New Order's Low-Life, Power Corruption and Lies, and Movement.
2. Pop - Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., Adam and the Ants' Kings of the Wild Frontier, Madonna's True Blue, and R.E.M.'s Murmur are just a few.
3. Rock - Tom Waits's Rain Dogs, Talking Heads' The Name of this Band Is Talking Heads and Remain in Light
4. Agit Rock - Killing Joke's Killing Joke and The Fall's Hex Enduction Hour.
5. Metal - AC/DC's Back in Black, Van Halen's MCMLXXXIV, Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast, and ZZ Top's Eliminator.
6. Rap - Beastie Boys' Licensed of Ill and L.L. Cool J's Radio.
7. Soul - George Benson's Give Me the Night and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel.

I don't want to give the whole book away, so if you would like to know the other chapters, you will have to buy it for yourself!!

White Christmas

We are getting so close to Christmas so I think it is time I post some of the best Christmas songs ever!

1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
2. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
3. The Chipmunk Song (Don't Be Late) - The Chipmunks
4. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
5. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Bruce Springsteen
6. Do You Hear What I Hear - Martina McBride
7. Merry Christmas Darling - The Carpenters
8. Dominick, The Italian Christmas Donkey - Lou Monte
9. The Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth - Bing Crosby & David Bowie
10. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon

I will post some more Christmas songs tomorrow! :)

Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips

We are rapidly approaching Halloween.  The song "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips" by Nancy Cassidy always gets me in the mood for the spooky holiday.

The song was later covered by Bruce Springsteen and appeared in the Disney Sing Along Songs video, Happy Haunting:  Party at Disneyland, which is how I know it.

Here are the lyrics to the silly song [Source: lyricsfreak.com]:

When I was a little kid

I never liked to eat

Mom would put things on my plate

And i'd dump 'em on her feet

But then one day she made this soup

I ate it all in bed

I asked her what she put in it

And this is what she said:

"Oh, chicken lips and lizard hips

And alligator eyes

Monkey legs and buzzard eggs

And salamander thighs

Rabbit ears and camel rears

And tasty toenail pies

Stir 'em all together

And it's mama's soup surprise"

I went into the bathroom

And i stood beside the sink

I said, "I'm feeling slightly ill

And I think I'd like a drink"

Mama said, "I've just the thing

I'll get it in a wink

It's full of lots of protein

And vitamins, I think"

"Oh, chicken lips and lizard hips

And alligator eyes

Monkey legs and buzzard eggs

And salamander thighs

Rabbit ears and camel rears

And tasty toenail pies

Stir 'em all together

And it's mama's soup surprise"

As Halloween gets closer and closer, I'll be posting more frequently about some spooky (and not so spooky) Halloween songs to get you in the spirit...even if you are not a huge fan of Halloween like me.

Barracuda

I have our organ called the heart on my mind so I thought it would be appropriate to create a playlist all about hearts!

1. Heartbeat - Buddy Holly
2. Give One Heart - Linda Ronstadt
3. You'll Be In My Heart - Phil Collins
4. Heart of Glass - Blondie
5. My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
6. Young at Heart - Frank Sinatra
7. Listen to Your Heart - Roxette
8. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
9. Heart Attack - One Direction
10. Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen
11. Straight From the Heart - Bryan Adams
12. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John and Kiki Dee
13. Piece of My Heart - Janis Joplin
14. Listen to Her Heart - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
15. Heart of Gold - Neil Young
16. When the Heartache is Over - Tina Turner
17. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Bealtes
18. Heartbreak Beat - The Psychedelic Furs
19. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
20. Heart Out - The 1975
21. Who Owns My Heart - Miley Cyrus
22. Heartland - U2
23. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Bee Gees
24. Change of Heart - Cyndi Lauper
25. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley

Now that you have read over my playlist, do you have any idea why the title for this post is "Barracuda?"  Tweet me your answer @jordanblogger

Thunder Road

Happy birthday to the Boss, Bruce Springsteen!  Like me, the New Jersey native has always had a thing for music.  Practicing in a neighbor's home, playing gigs at the Stone Pony, and making a name for Asbury Park are only a few of the things this rock star has to talk about.  He has had so many hit singles and so many sold-out concerts.  So many, actually, that it is hard to keep track.

I've talked about Bruce Springsteen before so I won't repeat myself.  I'm just wishing the legend a happy birthday - Jersey Girl to Jersey Boy.

Springsteen & Van Halen

I went to the mall today with my friend and whenever I go to the mall, I always have to look for cool band tees.

I only go to Hot Topic when I want a band tee.  They have everything from classic Led Zeppelin to modern Avenged Sevenfold.  I always tend to gravitate towards the classic bands sine I am a pretty classic girl. They had sooo many that I wanted, but I eventually decided on a really cool Van Halen one.  I think Van Halen is so cool and the moment I saw that shirt I knew I had to have it.

Bruce Springsteen is a commonly used name in my household.  I went into H&M looking for yet another band tee and first stumbled upon a really cool Mick Jagger shirt.  Mick Jagger has so much swagger so I really thought that shirt was going to be the winner.  I held it in my hand, planning to get it, when I came across a shirt with the cover to Bruce Springsteen's The River.  I adore both singers, but Bruce Springsteen just fits me because of where he's from and where I'm from.

I saw so many cool shirts today but had a little amount of money, so unfortunately I could not purchase all of them.  Maybe I just shouldn't like so many bands.....Ha!  There is absolutely no way that will happen.

In The Dark

I was having a little trouble thinking about something to blog about tonight.  I have posts lined up, but I should not post those because then that would mess up my schedule.  I decided to post music videos with a theme...the dark.

These videos are from YouTube.

Dev - In The Dark

Lawson - Standing in the Dark

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark

Concerts

I love going to a concert.  I really only enjoy myself, though, if I actually like the singer/band.  You're probably thinking, why would she go to a concert she didn't want to go to? and you're right.  Why would I go to a concert I had absolutely no interest in going to?  There is actually quite a simple answer, though.  A concert, to me, is a concert.  I would never go to a concert for a band I have never heard of, but if I like a couple of songs and the tickets are cheap, why not go?

I'm only 17-years-old, but I have been to my fair share of concerts.  Not necessarily as many as some of my peers have, but I'm proud of my number:

1.  Bon Jovi - My very first concert and it was at Giants' Stadium.

2.  The Police - It was on Halloween at MSG and the three band members were all dressed up for the holiday.

3.  Bruce Springsteen - Izod Center

4.  Bryan Adams - We were four rows from the stage at the PNC Bank Arts center.  George Thorogood was the opening act.

5.  Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band - 2008 at the PNC Bank Arts Center.  Edgar Winter, Billy Squier, and Colin Hay were among the All-Starrs.

6.  Jonas Brothers - I have seen them twice.  Once in 2008 at MSG and the second time at the Izod Center and I was five rows from the stage. 

7.  Miley Cyrus - Saw her in 2009 at the Prudential Center.  The opening act was Metro Station. 

8.  Justin Bieber - 2010 at the Prudential Center and Sean Kingston and Jaden Smith were there as well. 

9.  Cher Lloyd - My school won a concert from her and I got to the venue so early with my friend, we got to be front row!

10.  Amy Grant - I saw her at the Beacon Theatre with my youth group at church during our 30-Hour Famine.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there!  In honor of this day, I thought I would make today's post dedicated to my dear father.
My dad loves music as much as - if not more than - I do.  Every Saturday night (and any other night he cooks dinner instead of my mom) he has music playing over the stereo.  He puts together a playlist, usually themed, using his 10,000+ library.  He actually ran out of room on iTunes and now has other songs on a drive.  People sometimes even ask my dad to make the playlist for a party they are having because he does such a good job.  So, to honor my dad's amazing work, I put together a list of my dad's favorite artists.

1. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
2. Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra
3. Tommy (the whole album) - The Who
4. Aqualung - Jethro Tull
5. Already Gone - The Eagles
6. Open Arms - Journey
7. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
8. Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
9. La Grange - ZZ Top
10. Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85

I thought that Bruce Springsteen would be an appropriate person to talk about because I go to the high school he graduated from. When going through my parents' records, I found one of my mom's: a Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band set of five LPs. The set includes a booklet of lyrics and pictures along with several live performances:

Side One:
Thunder Road
Adam Raised a Cain
Spirit in the Night
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Side Two:
Paradise by the "C"
Fire
Growin' Up
It's Hard to be a Saint in the City

Side Three:
Backstreets
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Raise Your Hand

Side Four:
Hungry Heart
Two Hearts
Cadillac Ranch
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Independence Day

Side Five:
Badlands
Because the Night
Candy's Room
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Racing in the Street

Side Six:
This Land is Your Land
Nebraska
Johnny 99
Reason to Believe

Side Seven:
Born in the U.S.A.
Seeds
The River

Side Eight:
War
Darlington County
Working on the Highway
The Promised Land

Side Nine:
Cover Me
I'm on Fire
Bobby Jean
My Hometown

Side Ten:
Born to Run
No Surrender
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Jersey Girl

The live recordings were from places like Roxy, Nassau Coliseum, Meadowlands Arena, Giants Stadium, and Los Angeles Coliseum.

There are so many great things about Bruce Springsteen - too many to list here. I went to one of his concerts around 2007 or 2008 and there is a certain feeling about his shows. The crowd knows to do certain things at certain parts of certain songs. They know when the venue should be silent. They know the drill with all of his performances because they never change - everyone knows what to expect. He plays songs that the audience wants to hear. My parents have their personal favorites that they always looked forward to hearing. The classics like Born to Run and Thunder Road are songs known by pretty much everyone. And if you don't know them, you should most definitely check out those tracks.
All I'm saying is that this record is the perfect representation of what to expect from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. No surprise tunes, just his rock and roll.

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

Give thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for a lot of things: my family, my friends, my house, my school, and of course music.  There are many classic artists I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. The Beatles - They revolutionized rock music
2. The Rolling Stones - They ARE rock music
3. Buddy Holly - He created rock music
4. Beethoven - His music changed the way we see some music
5. Michael Jackson - He's the "King of Pop"
6. Elvis Presley - He's the "King"
7. Bruce Springsteen - He's the "Boss"
8. Queen - One of the most relevant bands of all time
9. Elton John - His lyrics are incomparable
10. Led Zeppelin - A lot of singers covered their songs
11. Bob Dylan - Was an idol for a lot of singers
12. Frank Sinatra - He owns New York