For those of you that missed my interview the other day, never fear!  It has been archived here for your listening pleasure.  Listen as we discuss the new record, how I got into music, and how I’m not as sexy as Prince.  Also includes me playing a few live songs, and you can even hear a preview of a new single too, amazing!

You can go directly to the mp3 by clicking here: Sofa City Sweetheart on SWLN

We’ve only played a few shows together, but so far the new line up is awesome.  I’m very proud to introduce the amazing Sammy Lamba (bass) and Charles Maxey (drums.)  I love playing with these guys, look how much fun we’re having!  In fact, we’re playing some more shows soon, come say hi and meet them in person.  These fellows are very fine, upstanding gentlemen!

One day prior to Valentine’s Day, I held a contest asking people to write in reasons why they happened to be single this year.  The goal was to write and record a song as a Valentine’s gift for the person with the most pathetic response.  Well, I didn’t know what to expect when I posted the contest, but entries came pouring in, and the sadness was incredibly overwhelming.  I ended up picking two winners in the end, and wrote and recorded both songs all in one day.  Here they are, along with the original entries below.

Please enjoy these brand new interactive Valentunes!

Check out how sad these stories are, you can’t make this stuff up!

“I started dating my girlfriend in 2005. We both got accepted to schools in San Diego the following year. She graduated 2 years later and couldn’t find a job so she lived with me for a year. She finally found a great job and got her own place cause she didn’t want to live with me and my roommate. In 2010 I got laid off from my job. She felt bad and offered to let me move in and finish school, yeah…I still hadn’t graduated. 

I had to take the bus from her place to campus because I didn’t have a car, which was an hour both ways. For the next year I finished classes and looked for jobs in audio that don’t exist in San Diego. I did this for 8 months. I finally graduated last June and kept looking for jobs. 

One day the alarm goes off on her phone while she was in the shower. I try and turn it off by just mashing buttons. I accidently open a text message from a guy that says something like “I can’t wait to see you to night baby. I really miss you.” i ask her about it when she gets out of the shower. She tells me she has been seeing someone else for the past 8 months. We talk about it and I’m willing to forgive her and work through this cause I love her. We were together for the past 7 years, I can’t imagine being without her. She agrees, but then a couple weeks later breaks up with me. That was July 5th. 

I move to my brothers in Orange County later that week and look for a job. That lasts a couple months. Then I move back to my parents house in December to look for a job in LA. I’ve had 3 interviews at Whole Foods and wasn’t hired. 

I’m 33 years old (34 the 28th of this month), over $40K in debt with school loans, have been unemployed since July 22 2010, had the love of my life cheat on me while I lived with her, and have been sleeping on my parents couch since December of last year. 

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!! ♥” 

-Michael 

“The last time I asked a woman out on a date, she stood me up. I haven’t been able to work up the nerve to ask a woman out again since. That was in 2000.” 

-Doug

We will rock you… sort of like this.

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.

2012 is going to be the year of the SOFA!

Here is the original for all to enjoy:

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.

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.

Please excuse any pronunciation errors, I don’t speak Japanese!

Stay tuned for next week, I’ll be starting my Christmas covers!