Pretty Girl Rock

So this song is still in my head - Pretty Girl Rock - but not in the way that you might think. Although I have been receiving psychiatric treatment since hearing it last week - it hasn't been in my head in its original form. The idea of Pretty Girl Rock is appealing. I love the name. It was the whole reason I didn't change the station when the DJ announced it. What is 'Pretty Girl Rock' today? There aren't that many female artists who really dig deep and get dirty with their music. It is hard to resist the urge to synthesize your mediocre talent, unbutton your shirt and get a hit. I have literally racked my brain all week trying to think about girls that rock, who also happen to be pretty. Here's what I've come up with. 

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - A rock band from the fellow New England state of Vermont. This band is a throw-back to the days when people actually played music on instruments and the music was raw and real. Even their website photos look like someone just pulled them from their 'Nam era ammo box of memorabilia. Not only is Grace pretty, but I think that could be considered an understatement. She is beautiful, bold, sexy, alluring, borderline goddess-like. And not only does she rock the mic like none other on the radio today (sans Adele perhaps), but she can also rock the guitar - acoustic and electric, AND the Wurlitzer!

This band is just now becoming main stream with their hit 'Paris (Ooh La La)' even though they've been around since 2002 and have had 4 other albums. They've won a handful of awards, their song 'Falling or Flying' was on a handful of network TV shows, and they've toured with their male counterparts - The Black Crowes. Have I mentioned that she writes songs too? 

So, this is my Pretty Girl Rock. Who is yours?

Pretty Girl Snark

I heard a new song on the radio on my way home from work today that made me cringe so much that I knew I had to come home and write about it. And I guess after looking into the song more that by writing about the song with the catty snarkiness that is about to follow, that I am going against what the song is supposedly about in the first place. Oh well.

The song is 'Pretty Girl Rock' by R&B artist - Keri Hilson. Why don't I like this song? Well, first off, it sets you up for disappointment right out of the box. When the DJ said, "Check out this new song - Pretty Girl Rock" my immediate reaction was - Sweet! A rockin' song done by an all-chick band that I might be able to cover at Open Mic nights! Then the track starts, which is completely synthesized and doesn't feature any actual instruments, and in comes Keri with the most contrived and obvious lyrics that I've heard since 'Whip my Hair'. 

My name is Keri, I'm so very
Fly oh my it's a little bit scary
Boys wanna marry looking at my derri-
erre, you can stare but if you touch it I'ma bury 

And then later in the song she literally says, "But if you want I'll be happy to repeat it" and sings this bullshit again! 2 times through - 'Thong Song' style. Unbelievable. 

I can't believe I made it this far into the song to tell you the truth. In reality I did it for you - my blog readers....so, your welcome. 

After this dreadful beginning the song gets...worse! She goes on to sing about how she is the hottest thing on the planet and she knows it. Not only does she know it, but she is going to tell you about it, even if you don't want to hear it - especially if you don't, actually. Here's where it gets even more ridiculous. Keri Hilson gave an interview where she said that the song wasn't as vain as it sounds, "although I do feel those things about myself." What?! Then she said how she hopes the song will empower all woman to feel beautiful, because they are. Really Keri? You want all woman to feel beautiful? Then what about this line...

Pretty as a picture
Sweeter than a swisher
Mad cause I'm cuter than the girl that's witcha
I can talk about it cause I know that I'm pretty  

I don't think that is very empowering for the girl that you are singing about being prettier than, I'm just saying.

And I can't even figure out what the true tragedy is with this song. Is it that Bill Withers who wrote such classic masterpieces as 'Ain't no Sunshine', 'Lean on Me', and 'Lovely Day' collaborated on this piece of musical debris? Or the fact that I know I will have to listen to this song AND 'Whip my Hair' at the dance I have to chaperone next Friday? 

Link to the Video (Warning! I only made it 12 seconds in before I wanted to punch my computer screen. Somehow seeing her sing it made it even worse. )

March Song Contest

March has come and gone and I have to say that my feelings haven't really changed that much about the month. While I am glad that it is April today, I must also say that it is currently snowing and we'll have over a foot of snow before tomorrow. So much for Spring. Maybe I just hate every month that isn't warm.

So the song contest was to create a song that made me not hate March so much. The closest anyone came was the March poem submitted by Tim. He gave many strong arguments for why I should be a little more loving to the third month of the year. So Tim, I'll be sending you a copy of 'Songbook' by Nick Hornby - one of my favorite author's. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

That's it for now. Let me know if you have any ideas for things you would like to see me write about in the month of April. For now I will just say that it is poetry month, so I'll do something with that, and I have a pretty big writing project announcement coming soon.

Enter Sandman

When I logged into Twitter this afternoon, I saw that for some reason 'Enter Sandman' was trending. Not sure how this popped out of nowhere or why, but out of curiosity I decided to check the background of this song. 

It was actually the first song written for Metallica's 1991 Self-Titled Album, but it was one of the last to get lyrics. The original lyrics aren't even the ones that we hear today. James Hetfield felt that the title 'Enter Sandman' was too mainstream and so he wrote lyrics about a horrible family secret, alluding to crib death. I have heard others claim that it is about drug use/dependence as well. But then again it seems like the drug community always tries to come in and make a song be about drugs in some way. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds = LSD? Come on!

And just for fun, I'm going to throw in my favorite cover of this classic rock song. Richard Cheese! (note the girls are doing the melody from 'Mr. Sandman') This one is even better because it is set during an actual Metallica performance. 

Why do you think this song is trending?

Smoke and Mirrors

Today is Festival of Smoke and Mirrors Day. The term means that something is not as it appears to be. So I was thinking about how to form that into a blog post and I started doing some digging. I quickly found out that the new Lifehouse CD is called Smoke and Mirrors and actually has a track with the same title. I did a little bit of reading about the development of the CD and then set about to listen to the song. I got almost through the first verse when I stopped. I realized that I couldn't do a blog post on a Lifehouse song, because then I would have to listen to a Lifehouse song. 

I don't mean to sound bitchy or petty. I'm sure they are a great band a lot of people like them, hell - love them, they just aren't for me. You see I've got this quirk. If I don't like your voice, I can't listen. It's as simple as that. Even if it's a great band or a great song. If your voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me, I'm out. Sorry Jason Wade. You just sound like you are singing through a throat full of razors to me. Pained and strained man. So alas, as I meant to celebrate the Smoke and Mirrors festival, something else entirely different came up.

Who is the singer that you can't stand to listen to no matter how great the song? I can't say that Lifehouse is my number 1 as that spot has been taken for the last several years by Chad Kroeger from Nickelback. (This would normally be linked to a Nickelback song, but then I'd have to hit myself).  I physically want to beat up my radio when their songs come on, so it's not much competition for anyone else. What about you?

Hey Joe

Today, March 27th, is National Joe Day. This day gives you free license to have everyone call you Joe. Presumably it was founded by someone who didn't like their name. A small respite if you ask me, but I can't really judge seeings how I legally changed my own name. Did you know that anyone can change their name to anything they want? It just can't be anything profane or offensive and you have to fill out the paperwork and pay a small fee. That's it though, then you can really change it to whatever you want. I don't suggest that you go that far on National Joe Day. Why don't we just talk about a famous song with Joe in the title instead?

When I say the song title 'Hey Joe' what's your first thought? Jimi Hendrix right? Well, not so fast. Everyone thinks that this interesting tale of a man running away to Mexico after shooting his wife was a Jimi Hendrix song, but it is in fact a cover. A guy by the name of Billy Roberts filed the paperwork with the Library of Congress in 1962, and it wasn't recorded by Hendrix until 1966. In between it was recorded by 6 different bands! The most famous of which was The Byrds. A year after Hendrix it was also recorded by Cher on her humorously titled 'With Love, Cher' album. It has continued to be recorded again and again - with 12 different versions just since 2000! Everyone wants to get their hands on this song.

So my question is two-fold. One, what is it about the Jimi Hendrix version that makes it stand out above the others? Why is this song so popular in the first place?

Proposal Day

Did you know that today is 'Proposal Day'? I love our country for many reasons, but one of the best ones is that we just make up random holidays for all the days of the year so they don't feel inferior or jealous of the big ones like December 25th or July 4th. So, proposal day. For all of the gentleman who couldn't get their acts or perhaps even bank accounts together for Valentines Day. That's not lame at all fellas. March 20th is just as sexy as February 14th. Regardless, it is what it is. So I would like to take this splendid occasion to talk about proposal songs. There happen to be two songs on the Billboard Charts right now that have to do with this very subject.


First up is Colbie Caillat's I do. This song is currently at number 21 on the Adult Pop Songs Chart. She has a wonderful gift of making easy to listen to beach music. Her songs are thoughtful without taking themselves too seriously. There is just an ease about her. This song is very catchy and I think it is something that some woman can relate to, but maybe even more men. Although not a song that you would right away relate to a big masculine dude, the lyrics are pretty fitting if you think about it.


The second song is Train's Marry Me, which is at number 44 on the Hot 100 Chart. I both like and dislike this song. I think it is clever that he is singing it to a waitress at a cafe, but it also bugs me because they took a perfectly good wedding song and ruined it. You can't play this at your wedding because you have indeed met and are getting married, it isn't a fantasy anymore. Train has the ability to write a song that would make even the hardest of steel melt though. Even when they are talking nonsense. For example, what the hell are drops of Jupiter?


Official Music Videos


Colbie Caillat
Train




What is your favorite song about proposing or getting married?