Okay, so I screwed up last time and incorrectly named “This Will Be Our Year” as Cover of the Week #14 (it was actually #13.) Instead of fixing it, I’m including a short cover this week as the real #13, thereby saving the day and avoiding a rip in the time-space continuum. Phew! I’m not sure if any of you will get it, or have heard it, so let me explain a little.
A few years ago, there was a new medical “product” that was released that helped people lose weight. It’s called the Lap Band, and it seemed to spring up overnight. For some reason, there was a LOT of advertising behind it. There were billboards upon billboards advertising this thing, and lots of television and radio commercials promoting it (at least there were in Southern California.) It was a huge mess. You couldn’t drive down the street without seeing a Lap Band billboard. The worst part was, it’s not even a product, it’s surgery!
Actually, I take that back. The worst part is the jingle. All of the TV and radio commercials for the Lap Band ended with their infamous jingle. It was short, it was annoying, but it was very catchy. It was also sung by this really strange voice that seemed to be processed to sound like an extra-terrestrial sang it. It was the weirdest combination of annoying things. They really wanted the jingle to stick in your head, and it worked. I heard it in my nightmares.
So here is the last COTW for a while, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I know other people have noticed how annoying this jingle is besides me. There are a few tributes on YouTube, but here is my favorite one:
For my final Cover of the Week, I chose a song from the classic Zombies record Odessey and Oracle (buy this right now if you don’t have it, you will not regret it!) This will be my last cover for a while, since I’ll be focusing on finishing the next SCS record! Please keep in touch by clicking the LIKE button you see on your right, and also join the mailing list if you haven’t already.
I’m still getting over my horrible cold from last week, but nothing can stop Cover of the Week! Here’s a Christmas tune by Weezer, which first appeared on KROQ’sKevin and Bean Christmas Compilation CD The Real Slim Santa back in 2000. I always loved getting these Christmas CDs growing up, and they were usually available at The Wherehouse, remember those?
These compilations always had a few cool new Christmas tunes, and a lot of ridiculous comedy skits/segments that made these CDs worth getting each Christmas. Plus the proceeds went to charity. Everybody wins! I haven’t bought one in years, but the ones I still have will always bring back special Christmas memories to me.
That year’s CD was especially great due to this song being on it. I think it’s actually a rare CD these days… I think I’ll hang on to it.
The first holiday Cover of the Week is up. I’m not sure why it took me so long to finally get around to doing one on piano, but here is my piano version of this classic hymn. Rejoice!
This week I try my hand at singing Japanese for the first time ever.
If you grew up in the 1990s like me, you might remember this song as sung by these dudes, and if you’re a little older, you might remember this version too. Both of these popular versions however, are derivatives of the original Japanese version recorded in 1961 by Kyu Sakamoto. The English version has lame lyrics that don’t have anything to do with the original text, so I thought I’d try my best to do the original heartfelt Japanese lyrics.
This week, we step into the wide world of television theme songs with my cover of Jesse Frederick’s “Everywhere You Look.” If you don’t know who Jesse Frederick is, he is the man responsible for several of the Miller-Boyett theme songs of the late 80s/early 90s. He pretty much wrote them all.
I saw Fountains Of Wayne a couple of weeks ago and I was quickly reminded why they are some of my favorite living songwriters. I had their new record in my player for several weeks and didn’t even realize that I had let it spin so many times over, absorbing each bit of pop goodness to the fullest.
While they are guilty of writing Stacy’s Mom, most of their records are chock-full of really great songs that don’t make it to the airwaves. One of my favorite songs of theirs is actually a b-side that didn’t get recorded until many years after I first heard it. I actually had to buy a LAUNCH magazine CD-ROM (remember those?) in order to hear a live performance of it initially.
Here is that song. It’s called “Half A Woman” and is my Cover of the Week #6!
Here’s something I thought about sharing while I’m working on the record. Since I record and produce my own music, I have to do things a little differently than a regular band might, and I thought some of you may find it interesting to see how I do it. This will also hopefully keep me on track and actually finish the record soon (fingers crossed.) With that, here is my first installment of what I’m calling The One Man Band Process.
Step #1: Songwriting
Also, the shows page has been updated. Make sure to come out to the final shows of 2011 before we blast into… (gasp) 2012!
