Posts Tagged ‘Barry Manilow’

  
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Friday, February 5th, 2010

The Popdose Podcast: Episode 6

by Jason Hare

Holy crap! Is it February already? It seems like only yesterday your three favorite idiots from The Popdose Podcast were blathering on about…what did we talk about last month, anyway? No matter. It’s a new month, and time for a brand new topic — and this one’s pretty great, if we do say so ourselves.

Loyal listeners of Ye Olde Popdose Podcast know that, when possible, we like to focus our discussions on a specific holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas, etcetera etcetera. But here’s something particularly awesome about February — we have a holiday that lasts a whole month! Yes, it’s Black History Month, and what better way to celebrate it than with a trio of pasty white dudes? Please, join us for The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6: Awesome Black People! And before you start shaking your head, wondering if you can possibly listen to our usual irreverent banter with a clear conscience, we’re proud to announce our very first guest on the podcast — none other than Popdose’s own Mike Heyliger, an Awesome Black Person in his own right, who challenged us to come up with as many offensive questions for him as possible. Were we successful? Did he hang up on us? Am I writing this from jail? There’s only one way to find out. So click away, or do so on iTunes (link below), and speaking of iTunes, don’t forget to leave us a review. You’ll be our favoritest Valentine.

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6: Awesome Black People! (1:07:00, 76.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton, with Gordon’s friend from Sesame Street, Mike Heyliger.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro: Jason reminds everyone he’s in Acoustic ’80s, and then we’re off on this month’s topic, which is (in case you forgot already) Awesome Black People. (more…)

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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Way Out Wednesday: Big Daddy, “What Really Happened to the Band of ‘59?”

by Tony Redman

I’ve written previously about the novelty group Big Daddy. In case you’ve slept since then, here’s the concept for the band:

While on a USO tour of Southeast Asia in 1959, Big Daddy was captured by Communist forces and held captive until the mid ’80s, at which time they were rescued by CIA forces and subsequently returned to the United States. While being held at Camp David for de-briefing, they were given sheet music of contemporary hit songs so that they could re-build their repertoire and get back to the only work they knew…making music. Of course, not having heard the evolution of rock music during the quarter century they spent imprisoned in the jungles of Laos, they arranged and performed these songs the only way they knew how…in the classic styles of the 1950s.

Sometimes the song will be in the style of another song or artist, and sometimes not. That’s really all there is to it, but it’s amazing how well the conceit works. Here are a few examples from their first album.

We start with the Barry Manilow classic “I Write the Songs” (which, by the way, was one of the few songs he didn’t write) done in a style reminiscent of the Danny and the Juniors song “At the Hop.” It definitely perks the tune up! (more…)

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Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 56

by Dave Steed

feeders52

It’s a magnificent day, as we move on to the most monstrous letter we’ve had in a while: M. After a few quick letters in a row, M will take seven weeks to get through, so get settled in. Ready? Good. It’s time to dig into more Bottom Feeders — songs that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s.

Mary MacGregor
“Dancin’ Like Lovers” — 1980, #72 (download)

I listened to this song as I was writing the intro, and even though that paragraph is only four lines long, I got through “Dancin’ Like Lovers” three times. Maybe this is what I need to do for every song I don’t like — listen to it over and over and over again — because the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it.

“Dancin’” was MacGregor’s sixth Hot 100 hit, but her only big hit was also about lovers: “Torn Between Two Lovers,” which went all the way to the top as her first single back in 1976.

Madness
“The Sun and the Rain” — 1984, #72 (download)

Madness was just monstrous in the UK, even before the U.S. got them with their breakout hit “Our House.” “The Sun and the Rain” was the 17th song out of their first 20 to all go Top 20 in England. The States’ first taste was with the release of the Madness album compiling some recently released material with older hits. “It Must Be Love” went to #33 and “Our House” to #7 in ’83. “The Sun and the Rain” was their only other Hot 100 hit in the U.S.

Magazine 60
“Don Quichotte” — 1986, #56 (download)

“Hello, may I speak to Mr. Don Key-Chot, please?” “No, Senior!” Although there’s not much to it, this is really a fabulously catchy number by this French synth-pop group. Their follow-up, “Pancho Villa,” failed to chart.

(more…)

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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Death by Power Ballad: UFO, “Try Me”

by Rob Smith

One of the great eccentrics (and notorious drinkers) in rock, Michael Schenker also served in one of the great hard rock bands of the mid- and late 70s.  The Schenker/Phil Mogg/Pete Way/Andy Parker nexus that powered UFO in this period produced a handful of classic albums, including the scorching, varied Lights Out (1977).  Mogg is an oft-overlooked voice in this period who, at his best, could match Paul Rodgers and Lou Gramm in strength, sleaze, and swagger.

Don’t believe me?  Check out “Too Hot to Handle,” the lead cut from Lights Out.  To these ears, that chorus is easily the equal of “Baby I’m a bad man” or “I’m hot blooded / Check it and see” in sheer potency and sexual bluster.  And that shit was important in 1977, dawg.  I remember how the girls went nuts when little Eddie Blevins sang “Cat Scratch Fever” during second grade recess.  Never forgot it.

Back to Michael Schenker.  He was a Scorpion at 15 (older, mustachioed bro Rudolph is still at it) and hooked up with Mogg, Way, and Parker at 18 for a four-year run of arena tours, smokin’ records, and hard partying.  While Schenker developed the latter into a debilitating affliction, for a while there he was a monster riffmaster and soloist extraordinaire.  Except for this one little track … (more…)

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Monday, April 27th, 2009

Death by Power Ballad: Elefante, “Young and Innocent”

by Rob Smith

Before there was an Arnel Pineda (Steve Perry soundalike, currently fronting Journey), or a Benoit David (Jon Anderson soundalike, currently fronting Yes), or even a Chris Chan (Barry Manilow impersonator, currently playing casinos and corporate gigs), there was John Elefante, whose uncanny vocal resemblance to Steve Walsh landed him the lead singer gig in Kansas after Walsh flew the coop for a “solo career” (like when McLean Stevenson left M*A*S*H for “other roles”). Elefante’s run with the group was modest enough—one mediocre album each in ‘82 and ‘83—but yielded two awesome singles in “Play the Game Tonight” and “Fight Fire with Fire,” both of which remain in Kansas’ setlist to this day.

Somewhere between leaving Kansas in ‘84 and beginning an extensive producing and performing career as a Contemporary Christian artist, John and his brother Dino contributed a track, “Young and Innocent,” to the David Foster-helmed soundtrack of the Brat Pack movie St. Elmo’s Fire. It’s a shame, really, that a song that so majestically exemplifies the best of the power ballad arts was wasted on such a whiny, execrable piece of celluloid mush. That’s how it goes sometimes, though. Booga-booga-booga-ah-ah-ah!

For a moment, let’s accept “Young and Innocent” as a separate entity from the movie. A simple yet stately piano figure opens the song as Elefante glances around the ether:

There’s an echo in the wind.
Makes me wonder where I’ve been
All the years I’ve left behind
Faded pictures in my mind (more…)

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Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

The Second Day of Mellowmas: Manilowmas!

by Jeff Giles and Jason Hare

Well, look at you! You’ve returned for Day Two of Mellowmas, even though you woke up at 3 AM with “Mellowmas, Mellowmas, have a very Mellowmas” running through your head! Color us impressed. But seriously, folks: now it’s time to get to the true crap of the season. In terms of bad music, Mellowmas really begins today!

Barry Manilow – Because It’s Christmas (For All The Children) (Excerpt from Händel’s Messiah (“For Unto Us A Child Is Born…”)) (download)

From Because It’s Christmas Amazon iTunes

Jeff: Plaintive!

Jason: Clarinet-y!

Jeff: You can really see Barry sitting by the fire. In the Turkish bath.

Jason: Ornaments hanging from his nose. Oh shit! Strings, muthafucka!

Jeff: Wow, this is classy.

Jason: I’m nervous that he hasn’t started singing yet, though.

Jeff: I wasn’t expecting all this class from Barry.

Jason: Oh, here he is!

Jeff: Unto us! A son is given!

Jason: Uh, is that a lot of echo or is it just on my end? “Unto us! A son is given!” again? I GET IT!

Jeff: Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooorn

Jason: Piano interlude!

Jeff: I have to say, again, this sounds nothing like what I was expecting.

Jason: What were you expecting?

Jeff: Schmaltz, of course.

Jason: Well, good news: here it is!

Jeff: Oh boy.

Jason: “Tonight the stars shine for the children!” It’s what you were waiting for! Dreams are flying!

Jeff: Tonight our love comes wrapped in ribbons? What?

Jason: Hopes are high. Don’t be cynical. Barry is telling it like it is. A child appears at the window?

Jeff: A child has appeared, and he’s searching the sky.

Jason: Let him in! He’s fucking freezing!

Jeff: I’m not sure Barry knows what Christmas is. He sure does know how to set a synth for “tinkly piano-type sound,” though.

Jason: I’m just picturing Barry singing this inside, by the fire, and a bunch of kids are outside with frostbite. It’s Christmas, for now and forever!

Jeff: I’m picturing Barry praying to a young alien baby who scans the night sky for used Bette Midler LPs.

Jason: I don’t think Barry understands: Christmas is December 25th.

Jeff: Gear shift! Our first gear shift of the season!

Jason: Uh oh…I have a bad feeling that kids are going to start singing soon. And there they are! Singing in the background!

Jeff: Behind Barry’s tender blessings!

Jason: In the bathhouse!

Jeff: Oh BOY is this over the top.

Jason: Seriously. Barry’s standing on the rooftop now. Still not letting the kids in.

Jeff: Christmas, now and FOREVER, for all the CHILDREN, and the CHILDREN IN US ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Jason: Cue the synth horns! Meanwhile, the kids are STILL freezing outside.

Jeff: I’m imagining Barry standing with his arms out wide.

Jason: Let ‘em in, Barry!

Jeff: And he’s wearing the blue unitard from his Barry Manilow Live album.

Jason: Ha ha ha! He’s probably freezing too!

Jeff: You can tell?

Jason: I never thought I’d feel sorry for Barry Manilow’s nipples. But here we are.

Wow, that song was really…

really…

…big.

Jeff: Really.

Jason: Hey, did you know Barry has another Christmas album?

Jeff: I did, but this one was released in the ’80s, so I thought it would be a better place to start. And it looks like I was right!

Jason: And by “better,” you mean “unbelievably awful.”

Jeff: I’m still kind of disappointed. I mean, I’d like to hear, you know, “Copacabana” with words about Hanukkah. Speaking of which, what the fuck is Barry Manilow doing singing about Christmas anyway?

Jason: Y’know, I was wondering about that. I mean, he couldn’t do ONE Hanukkah song? Just one?

Jeff: Why do we have to suffer through crappy holiday music from a sellout Jew every year?

Jason: Ha ha ha ha ha!

Jeff: I think Barry could totally rock “The Dreidel Song.”

Jason: I was hoping he’d sing “Blitzen” to the tune of “Mandy.”

Jeff: It’s a DREEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIDEL…I made it out of CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY…

Jason: FOR THE CHIIIIIILDRENNNNN

Jeff: Yes!

Jason: Dreidel for the Children! Barry’s inside, by the fireplace, spinning a dreidel. Lighting the menorah. And the kids? Still outside freezing. Let us into the bathhouse, Barry!

Jeff: I think the kids have busted into his liquor cabinet and are getting shvitzed on Manieschevitz.

Jason: I think shvitz means sweaty.

Jeff: Hmm. Plotzed? It has to end in -zed.

Jason: You know who should know the answer to this? Me. I’m a Jew. But barely.

Jeff: A lonely Jew. On Mellowmas.

Jason: Ha ha ha ha ha! I walked right into that one!

I can’t be merry!
Barry’s song blew!
On Mellllooowmassssss!

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Monday, November 10th, 2008

Hooks ‘N’ You: Kyle Vincent, “Wow & Flutter”

by Will Harris

When Kyle Vincent released his eponymous album on Hollywood Records in 1997, it looked for all the world that, after spending over a decade on a quest to earn himself a Billboard Top 100 hit, he was about to bring a dream to fruition. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be the case, but he made enough of an impact with the album’s single, “Wake Me Up (When The World’s Worth Waking Up For),” to show up on the radar of quite a few pop fans…including me. (Like you didn’t see that revelation coming up Main Street.)

Although Vincent’s stint on Hollywood Records only lasted for that one record, he didn’t let any moss grow under his feet. Indeed, he’d returned to the studio even before Hollywood went through the corporate restructuring that would cost both he and virtually every other artist on the label their deals. In the end, he released the follow-up to Kyle Vincent on his own label, SongTree Records, but it featured just as much gloss and sparkle as anything released on the majors that year.

Sadly, the sound of Wow & Flutter was a far cry from what the cool kids of the world were listening to in 1999. Their mothers, however, would’ve loved it…if only they’d had ample opportunity to hear it.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often found myself listening to a song and thought, “My mom would like this,” and when I do so, I’m not thinking it in a sneering, disparaging way. On a Mother’s Day many moons ago, I made my mother a mix tape called A Little Bit of Mom Music, If You Please, and I filled it with songs by They Might Be Giants, The Beautiful South, the Cure, the Smiths, Captain Sensible, 10,000 Maniacs, the Blue Nile, and probably a dozen other artists…and she loved it. I think she played in the car until they finally upgraded from a cassette player to a CD player, in fact. Just because your parents might listen to music that you can’t readily defend in a court of cool – my mother’s love of Anne Murray is one which I’ve never personally been able to embrace – doesn’t mean that they can’t appreciate some of the tunes you’re grooving to, and Wow & Flutter is definitely a record that multiple generations can appreciate.

(more…)

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