Untouched

Listening to Todd Carey's "Nintendo" really got me in a "throwback" mood.

1. "Untouched" - The Veronicas.  It's not that I remember this song being popular, but my cousins went bat over it.  I swear, every time we went to their house to go swimming they had to play it.  The song was released in 2007 under their album Hook Me Up.  For those of you who are unsure of who The Veronicas are, they are twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso from Australia (woo, Aussies!).  You would think that from my reaction that I'm from Australia, but I'm not.  I'm from New Jersey.
2. "Best of Both Worlds" - Hannah Montana.  March 24, 2006.  I can barely remember what I had for dinner last night (exaggeration - I had ravioli) but I still remember the exact date Hannah Montana aired.  I LOVED THAT SHOW.  This song was the theme for the show, hence was the title track for the soundtrack.  Yeah, that first season soundtrack was the soundtrack of my fourth grade year.  The soundtrack.
3. "I Kissed A Girl" - Katy Perry.  This was her breakout song.  I was in sixth grade when I first heard it and everyone was singing it.  The video would play wherever a TV was present and the song was in every store.  A lot of people said that Katy was going to be one-hit wonder with that song, but I guess you could say she really surprised us.  The chick's got so many hits and has performed numerous sold-out shows.  *Clap hands*
4. "1985" - Bowling For Soup.  We all know every word to this song!  Debbie was gonna be an actress, she was gonna be a star.  Bruce Springsteen and Madonna - WAY before Nirvana.  U2 and Blondie were big and so was MTV because it was still purely music videos and not the crap they play today.  She knows every line to Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink and just knew she was going to get a hand on a member of Duran Duran.  I hope I have helped to jog your memory.
5. "Everytime We Touch" - Cascada.  This song was huge.  Released in the US by German eurodance trio Cascada.  When I found out they were German AND a trio, I was shocked.  I heard this song at every Sweet Sixteen I went to and I actually still do hear it.  It was so catchy and energetic, it is honestly very difficult to resist the urge to get up and dance.

Nintendo...Take Two

AHHHHH Todd Carey's video for his single "Nintendo" has finally been released!

To view my post about the singer himself, click here.

The song is available for purchase on iTunes.

So I received an e-mail today about Todd's Off the Record Tour with Tony Luca, Honor By August, and Matt Duke and I immediately went to go purchase tickets for one of the NYC shows, but I quickly came to learn that the show is 21 and older....ummm alright.

But I soon got over it, as I can see him another time.  No biggie.

The song is the first single off his upcoming album Future Throwback through Blaster Records.  Here's Todd Carey's FIRST EVER music video:  "Nintendo."

[Source:  YouTube]

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."

The Living Years

Day Three:  Mike & the Mechanics

I know with Ed Sheeran and Jackson Browne I spoke about two examples of their brilliant pieces, but I want to focus on this song in particular.

"The Living Years" is on my list as one of my favorite songs of all time.  The song is so powerful to the point where you actually think, Does this pertain to me?

He starts with a general announcement saying how everyone blames their parents for the way they are.  Everything they worried about are things you worry about.  Fair enough.

Then he starts to get personal.

I know that I'm a prisoner

To all my Father held so dear

I know that I'm a hostage

To all his hopes and fears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper

Filled with imperfect thought

Stilted conversations

I'm afraid that's all we've got

So we can assume from the fifth line that his father is dead.  We can also assume that he was a victim of his father's worries...something that will "carry through generations."  There's an unresolved conflict between him and his father.

Disagreement is the key in this song.  "You say you just don't see it / He says it's perfect sense / You just can't get agreement / In this present tense / We all talk a different language / Talking in defense."  They're disagreeing; not seeing eye to eye.  In the chorus he says, "Say it loud, say it clear / You can listen as well as you hear / It's too late when we die / To admit we don't see eye to eye."  Do I even have to say anything?

The second verse says, "So we open up a quarrel / Between the present and the past / We only sacrifice the future / It's the bitterness that lasts."  As humans, WE STAY BITTER.  It's awful to say and to think about, especially when referring to our parents (most of the time) but it's true!

Now grab a tissue.

I wasn't there that morning

When my Father passed away

I didn't get to tell him

All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit

Later that same year

I'm sure I heard his echo

In my baby's new born tears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Unresolved conflict is the major theme here.  He wanted to make things right, but he wasn't there to see his father during his last few moments.  He stayed bitter and never told him how he felt.  He "caught his spirit later that same year," but it wasn't the same as being able to see him.

He wishes he could have told him during his living years, because all that he felt will be stuck with him forever...and not in a good way.

Intense, right?

Doctor My Eyes

Day Two:  Jackson Browne

Rolling Stone gave him mention as having "mind-boggling melodies" and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

48 years after his start and people still know his songs by heart.

Jackson Browne.

"Take It Easy," made famous by the Eagles, was written by Browne and Glenn Frey in '72.  "Well I'm a-standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona / With such a fine sight to see / It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowin' down to take a look at me."  I can picture that.  Usually lyrics tend to just place a related image in my mind, but I actually see that happening and I can feel the heat of the Arizona air.

One of Jackson Browne's biggest hits ever was "Running on Empty" from the live album Running on Empty.  He uses repetition throughout the song to help grab the listener's attention even more.  Verse one has, "In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-on-one / I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on."  Verse two, "In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own / I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on."

His music career.  That's what he brings up here.  '65 he was seventeen.  He's moving on with a career, but he's moving until he gets somewhere, doesn't matter where, just somewhere.  '69 is when he has turned 21.  All of a sudden, he's a big shot.  He's thinking to himself, Wh-when did this amazing opportunity happen?  How did this amazing opportunity happen?  But I don't care, I'm going to continue to run with it.

"If it takes all night, that'll be all right / If I can get you to smile before I leave."  The audience!  Whether he has to perform two songs or 27, he doesn't care, as long as his music makes you happy.

The goal of a comedian is to make you laugh.  The goal of Jackson Browne is to make you happy...and he has achieved that.