My Wishes for 2014

My 5 Musical Comeback Wishes for 2014

So maybe it’s a beloved group or just a solo guy, but there are many wishes that I have and maybe if I am lucky I will get to see at least 1 of these things happen in 2014.  So I wrote them down and here is my list of people or bands that I want to see make a comeback.

Billie Joe Armstrong

I have always thought Mike Dirnt was pretty laid back and cool from the get go, and Tre has always been crazy so those two get a pass

It seems like an easy yet mean place to start but seriously, what the fuck happened.

In 1994, the punk scene became so disgruntled with Green Day.  The band spent most of the mid to late 90’s trying to prove everyone that called them sell-outs wrong.  I mean the huge giant mud fight at Woodstock 94 was so awesome. Billy Joe throwing mud, Mike Dirnt getting tackled.  Dirnt even opened the show calling the audience “Rich Fuckers”  I mean there were people on stage everywhere, it got so crazy.

Then the band had a hard time finding a decent follow up for anything off the Dookie album. But then the world ate up Good Riddance(Time of your life) It is now a go to song for anything memorial related.

But the band stayed quiet for a long while after that.  I mean it wasn’t until 7 years later that they released American Idiot.  Which, was their sort of anti-establishment comeback. They toured this album for what seems like an eternity.

But come on then to follow up with another “punk rock opera”  and then the release of the video game Green Day Rock Band.  Ok So if that doesn’t mean that you have officially sold out, then I don’t know what does.

Oh wait, that’s right, Then Billie Joe endorsed Barrack Obama for president and turned American Idiot into a Broadway musical.  Most recently releasing an album with Norah Jones.  Now that is completely sold out. 

I mean maybe there are different genres of punk, and what I consider to be punk and what you do might be different. There are also bands that just sound punk, but aren’t really, and a lot in between.

But for what Green Day claimed they were in 1994, Billie Joe killed when he endorsed Obama.  The kind of punk that is anti-establishment, endorses no one because politicians are all assholes in their mind.

Then to make a musical. A Broadway Fucking Musical? What is That?

I just want Billie Joe back to being fun and cynical. I don’t care if he never has another hit song as long as he says what he means and fucks shit up.

Please Billie---Come Back

This is the only thing remotely punk that Billie Joe has done in 20 years……….

Phil Collins

This won’t take as long because I don’t really think that anyone would argue that new Phil Collins sucks.

I don’t even care if Genesis gets back together, because realistically Sussudio and Take Me Home are good solo songs . And I don’t think that anyone is against me on how great of a song In The Air Tonight is. 

But Now Phil Collins is a retired musician. And that is not what I mean by a comeback. Not ony do I want him to unretired, but I also want him to stop making Shitty Disney music. 

That is his biggest offense to me.  Don’t go from being a cool ass dude to writing theme songs for Disney. Hell I don’t care what they pay you. I wanna hear some Rock shit, and not You’ll be in my heart.  If I teach my boys about Phil Collins I don’t want to have to reference The Jungle Book, or any other Bull shit.

Please Phil – We Need you

I would rather see Phil Collins Music in Movies like this……

Sting and The Police.

I want this…

Not This…

Say what you want, but I hate that Desert Rose song.  Again, just like with Phil Collins, I don’t think that all of Sting’s music is shit. In fact most of it is great but I just want the Police to get back together once and for all.

I know I should respect them and I know they don’t get along. But Come on Some of Sting’s current work is just plain crap. And I have always hated Sting for Desert Rose, Not because I don’t like it, well Yeah. I hate it. It’s not a horrible song, just not what I want from Sting.

So yes I do hope that the Police get back together I mean, they were not “Punk” but they were part of the punk scene, again the term punk is a loose term, but  either way The Police were one hell of a band who don’t really get along anymore, but when they had a brief reunion in 07 and 08 they made 358 million dollars for 1 tour. That is a big chunk of change people are willing to shell out  to see these guys. I hope they get the hint

Give me this just once more please ……

OutKast

I never thought anything bad of OutKast, and In fact I love them, for me they are one of the Rap groups that pulled me in and I love both sides of the duo. Andre3000 is wild and Big Boi just plays it cool and holds down with fresh beats and smooth rhymes.

But what happened to them?

In my opinion they realized that they didn’t really need each other  In 2003. They released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below  as a two disc set.  One disc was Dre’s  and the other was Big Boi’s

But I am sure you knew that already.  But  my opinion is that that is why they are gone.  I mean they won a grammy for that album. So in my mind they each grew tired of the other and went solo. It makes sense to me but I just wish they could do something big together again.

  I think everyone is waiting for it…

I mean why can’t they do this again…..

Rivers Cuomo/Weezer/Matt Sharp

 That’s right I said it!

How could I not, I mean I have to be true to the subject, and the current incarnation of Rivers Cuomo is weird, geeky and almost nuts.

Let me also say that I hold no grudges to Scott Shriner and in fact I think He is a better bassist than Matt Sharp. But Bass playing ability aside. After Matt left the group Rivers sort of lost control of himself. 

Or Maybe he didn’t.

I mean after all, the Blue album is now almost 20 years old.  It is safe to say that a 44 year old man probably doesn’t pine for the things that he once did.  Which I totally understand. After all  Cuomo is married now and has kids. So if he has grown up that makes sense.

But then what is with all the theatrics, the Trampoline, singing pokerface in a girls wig and covering Pumped up Kicks?

What is with doing Magic with B.o.B, and the weird thing with all the vests .  I mean is he trying to recreate his youth? 

I love weezer and hold Rivers Cuomo in the highest regards  but I cant take all the Double Speak.

I mean if we are all Little Bitches as Cuomo claims we are, then what does that make him?  I guess I have all but given up hope that weezer will return to its pre 2000’s era and that’s fine. So I will never get my Pinkerton 2 and you will never get a second Blue album.

But is it fair to say that Rivers is trying to relive his twenties and is almost erasing and ridding himself of his 94-99 persona ?

I personally feel that Matt was almost a bit of a guidance figure for Rivers and that their collaborations were incredible.  Sure Rivers gets the majority of the songwriting credits, But Matt helped work his influence into the music. Did Rivers change- For sure but why? Who knows. They teased us with a reunion in 2004, but nothing sense.

All I have to say is I wanna Go Back…..

So There it is, 5 things that I want to see in the new year.

I tried to be objective and non negative. I hope you understand that all of these wishes are for things that I think are good.

Oh and Happy New Year- Be safe Have Fun and go listen to some awesome live music, I recommend it.

See ya Next Year!!! 

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Smoking Popes

1/3/2014 -----Yesterday I spent nearly an hour talking to Josh Caterer. It was a magical moment for me. He was an awesome awesome gentlemen and he enlightened me in many ways.  He let me ask all of the questions I had and answered them all.  So this post is now completely re updated to show that. I added 2 more videos. Both  of which are great songs that I was able to talk to Josh about.  So please enjoy the redone. format. 

Smoking Popes

What do you get when you mix the hard pop punk edge of Green Day with the lyrical style of Robert Smith (of the Cure) and the voice of Bing Crosby?  You get the Smoking Popes- obviously; otherwise that question would be dumb to ask, given the title of this post.

Mrs. You and Me was the first Smoking Popes song that I ever heard.  It was on the soundtrack to the movie Angus.  If you remember my blog about the best soundtracks, then you remember the conversation. If not, go back and read it. (I don’t have the time to re hash it, plus I personally think that all of my blogs are great, here is a link to that specific blog {http://musicnotesfromthepast.blogspot.com/2013/11/best-soundtracks-ever.html} So if that didn’t make it easy enough for you then you have issues.)

So by the time I saw the movie and started showing interest in the Smoking Popes; they had already been around for 5 years, and would be breaking up in the next year.  But don’t worry, they are back together now, albeit with a new drummer; and they still sound as good, if not better than they ever have before.

In the beginning they were just three brothers. The Caterers: Matt was the oldest, Eli was the youngest, and the man with the golden voice Josh was in the middle. 

Of playing with his brother's Josh Caterer had this to say

                      "Being brothers made it easier because we started playing together  at a young age. We were able to develop a distinct style of playing together, a kind of musical identity very early.That helped with arranging music, we don't have to talk it to death. I can bring a song in and just play it  and they know what to do. I thought Capitol would have tried to use that and advertise 3 brothers in a band, but they never did.  It could have had a novelty appeal."


They formed a band together and called it Speedstick. They added drummer Dave Martens and soon after, Speedstick recorded a few songs, most notably, Brand New Hairstyle; which the Popes would later record. (This is a fantastic song that I get stuck in my head every time I get my hair cut.)

Soon after The band sort of changed styles, and names:  As Speedstick, they provided a little bit of a crunchier sound with a punk sort of feel; all whilst keeping your underarms fresh.  When they became Smoking Popes they got a little quieter with an indie folk pop vibe.  All whilst Still adding crunchy guitars and kick ass guitars when needed.

(For the record, at some point for a while Eli was not in the band, and is not noted as in the band for the first couple of EP’s, But I don’t know when he left, but it appears he came back in February of 92.  I am sorry I can’t find a real good History of the band, but while researching I did find this interesting article  http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1762/in_the_habit_a_history_of_catholicism_and_tobacco.aspx#.Ur3JjPRDvAQ  )

Martens left the group, supposedly because he didn’t like the direction that the band was heading, and realistically, when you are in a band with a bunch of brothers, you probably get outvoted a lot. You can still hear him on tracks from the Inoculator EP. Check out Sandra, its hard beautiful, and is about Sandra Bernhard, and Ralph Nau.

Josh Caterer on how Sandra came about:

                    "This guy was a stalker and his main obsession was Olivia Newton John. He was from our area   in the northwest suburbs; so his picture made the front page of the local newspaper. His mugshot; and he looked like a total maniac in the picture. My brothers and I saw that and were amused by the crazy look in his eyes in the mugshot but it got us thinking about the concept of stalking.  I tried to get inside the mind of the stalker and thought that it would be funny to switch the object of that obsession over to a less likely candidate. It takes a very special kind of stalker to want to stalk Sandra Bernhard."








So while looking for a new drummer they ended up getting a cool dude by the name of Mike Felumlee; who is an awesome as hell drummer.  (If you can find a copy of the EP titled 2, listen to Under The Blanket, and not only is the song awesome, Felumlee’s drumming on that track is incredible.)

From 92- 94 the Smoking Popes would be one of the hardest working groups of dudes aspiring to be musicians recording EP’s of their own and adding music to compilations and split EP’s with other bands  and  in 1993 they released an incredible Debut LP titled Get Fired.

Right off the bat let’s talk about the coolness of the title. Think about the fact that Josh Caterer croons like he is the son of Sinatra; he then releases a 60’s sort of titled album which reads “the Smoking Popes get fired”.  I don’t know, if you can appreciate how cool that is.  I can tell you for a fact that every song on that album is incredible and if you want honesty, I considered it for my list of Greatest albums, but because, I didn’t hear it until years after its debut I decided to cut it. (Sorry Josh)   The songs on the album range from the short but loud Let Them Die, to the long epic brilliant masterpiece that is Days Just Wave Goodbye.  But my favorite from that album is Off My Mind

A year later they were opening for Green Day who were actual fans of the band and invited them because they realized how good the music on Get Fired was. (Insert mean comment about Green Day here)  As 94 went on The Smoking Popes released another album which was titled Born to Quit. (Sure not as stylistically cool as get fired, but still about losing a job in a way.)

Born to Quit garnered some attention and ended up helping the band get signed to Capitol Records.  Capitol would soon re-release the album and focus on introducing the band to a national audience.  Songs were issued as singles and Need You Around was featured on the soundtrack to Clueless. Which helped DJ’s to play the song sporadically (If you get the joke kudos!)  Another song was on the Tommy Boy soundtrack and of course Mrs. You and Me was part of the Angus soundtrack.

Need You Around was the only song by the popes to ever chart and Born To Quit was the only album to chart. It reached #37  on the Heatseekers Album chart  (The Heatseekers chart is like a chart for new and up and coming bands and has weird rules, nonetheless, it is awesome for any artist to be recognized by Billboard)

So now the band had National exposure, they were touring with Jimmy Eat World, and Goo Goo Dolls and Jawbreaker.  Hell they now had me as a fan and the world was alright. Sure none of my friends enjoyed it, but these were the same people that were not ready for Pinkerton the way I was.  Sadly my friends were influenced by Rock critics and Rolling Stone. This meant that the critics were not ready for the Popes either.   (Writing that sentence literally caused an anguished feeling begat from anger and sadness in the Smoking Popes honor.)

In 1997 the band released Destination failure (this time not about job loss but still negative) Holy Shit is this a fantastic album.  It was produced by Jerry Finn for Christ’s sake, how could it not be a success?  This was a very pop punk album, and lyrically was beautiful. This album contains most of my favorite smoking Popes songs.   Pretty Pathetic, Megan, Paul, Let’s Hear it for Love, No More Smiles….. Ok, maybe I should just stop before I list every song. 

So if you have never heard the song Pretty Pathetic, read Stages of a Relationship Through Music.  That song is so fantastic,It truly is my favorite Smoking Popes song, and means the world to me.

 Josh Caterer explains Pretty Pathetic:

                 "Yeah that one was pretty autobiographical, more so than a lot of our songs. That song was very straight up in its depiction of a horrible experience in my life. It was difficult to write. There was a period of a couple months that I was stuck on that song. It was just within me waiting to come out. I sensed that it would be deeply personal and emotionally epic but it would also push the boundaries of my songwriting.  I spent a couple months grasping at straws trying to find it. I even went on a couple of trips by myself where I got into my car and for days at a time I just went off and stayed in hotels by myself where I just sat there with a guitar and a notepad and tried to come up with this song."

                 "I had given up on the idea, and then one night as I was going to sleep this idea just emerged in  my mind. The whole evening where I was trying to get back together with Stefanie came back to me, so I just wrote out in prose like a journal entry, because I had no concept of what the music would be and the next day I just put it almost  word for word to music. That's why the song just basically has a 3 chord pattern and allows the melody to freestyle over the top of it.  So it comes across as a stream of consciousness sort of thing."

                 "Now I have had a ton of people tell me that that song encapsulates an almost identical experience that they have had.  Which I am glad to hear because it is encouraging for me to hear that that sort of thing happens to a lot of people, and I think it is encouraging for other people to discover that it is pretty universal."













Also  check this one out, this one is also on the album….

This was the beginning of the end, as that song is a reference to Josh Caterer’s newly begun turn to Christianity. (Which I want to point out in a weird way I have always looked at this as a good thing, albeit for selfish reasons that I will explain later, so please do not think that I am knocking religion or anything at all.)

Capitol Records didn’t believe that there were any singles on the record so they were a little unhappy.  I believe the band made the above video on their own and that and Before I’m Gone (which is another awesome-awesome song) were the only actual singles from the album. Mostly due to the band pushing them out. 

So the band sort of just slowly waned out of the public eye due to Capitol not doing much with or for the band.  Capitol even rejected the album they recorded in 1998 titled The Party’s Over. (Another sort of negative title). But Josh Caterer says  they made the album in an attempt to get out of their contract with Capitol.

                  "We had one more album that we were obligated to make with our contract to Capitol.  So we went in quickly recorded this album and submitted it to Capitol expecting that they weren't going  to be satisfied with it, and they weren't.     So they said we don't want to put this out so we said OK can we get out of our contract and they said yes. "


                   "We had recorded it on our own so they never owned the masters but they didn't hold onto     those after we gave them  to them. so we were able to release it on our own"

It was a cover album of some great songs ranging  from Burt Bacharach  songs to Broadway musicals, Willie Nelson, all just great lyrically inspiring music, that the Smoking Popes did in their own sort of way. And I will tell you something Capitol made a huge mistake in my opinion (The band would later release the album on Double Zero records, which was basically their own label.

Truthfully the album title was fitting as the party that was the Smoking Popes was over.  Josh Caterer has stated that the popes and his Christianity just didn’t gel together.

Josh Caterer on The smoking Popes break up:

                   “It was a drug related incident for me that kind of was the turning point to get me started on my   road to Jesus. I think we toured with Morrissey after that happened, and I was coming into this relationship with God through Jesus Christ and re assessing my values in life.  So I had this perspective about the fact that the goals that I had been striving for and Morrissey was the embodiment of the same goals that I was going for. But I noticed that he didn’t seem any happier or more fulfilled than I was. That’s just the universal truth that fame and success and money don’t really make you happy or answer any of the big questions in life.

                   “The break up ultimately was because of my conversion to Christianity. I would put it all under that heading. That’s something that happened in May of 1998 I put my faith in Christ and tried  to incorporate my faith into what the Popes were doing.  I would give these mini-testimonies and then play I know That You Love Me acoustically and that’s how I closed out the set. After about 6 months I felt like that wasn’t being received well. I felt that instead of not doing those testimonies I needed to quit the band and focus completely on my relationship to Christ, so I announced that in January of 99."

The end of the 90’s saw nothing new from the Smoking Popes, and Caterer became more and more involved with his church activities and he became involved with the group World Relief.  I even think that he put out a short EP of Christian music in early 2000, but don’t quote me on that.

Then in 2001, it happened.  No the Smoking Popes didn’t get back together, but they kind of did, Josh Caterer and Mike Felumlee and a rotating cast of 3^rd men including Eli Caterer,  recorded and performed as a group called Duvall.  

 Caterer reflected on Duvall coming together-

                   "This was back in the day when people actually wrote letters. I had a PO Box and at that time I was just playing in my church in Chicago.  I would get these letters from other Christians that would ask me to talk to their friends about Jesus, because their friends wouldn't necessarily listen to them, but they might listen to me. I got alot of these letters and thought it could be a good thing to come out of hiding and play music again." 

Want to know the coolest part.   I saw what I believe was their first major concert.   They opened for Tenacious D and Weezer in Madison, and I was in the front row.  I was like 15 feet from Josh Caterer and it was amazing.  I will tell you this; I don’t remember their set at all.  I think they did a few popes songs but I could be wrong.  I clearly remember loving every minute of it.  

Josh Caterer on playing that concert

                      "Can you believe that we were even on that bill? That was a last minute thing for us. The Popes had played with weezer in the past, and we had met a couple of those guys. Rivers actually came and saw us in Minneapolis one tiime, so he was kind of a fan of ours.  But he had to settle for this new version of the Popes called Duvall. But looking back at it now it seems funny that a Christian Rock band would open for Tenacious D." 

 I thought I bought their EP there, but I can't confirm where I actually bought it. . But I do have it it was a split EP with the band Seville. Each band has 4 songs on the CD and it is very worth the listen . 

Either way Duvall made a full CD called Volume and Density and it was a killer CD a little slower than Popes music but still as good and still very true to the heart. Caterer’s lyrics have never been crappy or cliché, always on the sleeve and great.  The Cd even had a cover of True by Spandau Ballet on it.  You can’t go wrong there.  But being a Wisconsin boy I always liked the song Racine.

That alone was enough to keep me happy for a while, even though they never made another album. I at least had some music to enjoy for a while and had finally seen Josh Caterer sing live.  (To this date, that glorious day in Madison has been the first and only time that I ever got to see Josh Caterer live.)

Josh Caterer thinks that Duvall never took off because of what it really was.

               "The idea was for Duvall to be a Christian version of the Smoking Popes, but we were on the fence of being in the general market and the Christian music market, but we were too much in the middle of those things to really succeed in either market."

But then it happened.  Yes in 2005 the Smoking Popes came back.

Josh Caterer sees it like this

                "After a few years of Duvall, I felt ready to do the Popes again, Now that I had been in the same clubs that the Popes had played and gotten back into the swing of being in a rock band, I had gotten over my issues of Rock music itself that made me renounce it and walk away from it."



 They got a new drummer but hell it was still the Smoking Popes.  They announced a show at The Metro and sold out the show in a little over a half an hour.  I was raising a 10 month old, and wanted to go really badly but it just didn’t fit in to my schedule, but lucky for me they recorded the show, and the dvd is spectacular. 

Then the Popes started hanging out with another band I loved, Bayside.   They even went on a tour together with, another new drummer. And they started to play new songs and in 2008 they got another new drummer and more importantly released Stay Down; their first new album in like 10 years.

Stay Down (still sorta negative) is killer and it picks up literally, I mean literally right where they left off they rock hard they pull at your heart strings, they tell of love, they sing of life, and they added a lot of cool harmonies.  Welcome to Janesville is a great song and Wisconsin based too.  Grab Your Heart and Run could have been on Born To Quit.  It’s just a great album.  Caterer’s voice hasn’t changed a bit.  And check this out.

So the band is back in full swing, touring and playing Lollapalooza and Riot Fest and has released another album called This is Only A test( Not quite as negative, but seems less serious)  This is only a Test is a little louder than previous releases, but it is fun as hell. 

The album is a concept album whereby in which Josh takes on the persona of a Teenage boy, It is actually a really cool idea, and It made me feel young as hell again.  There are some experimental sorts of songs that are awesome, and a little different than anything the popes have done.  Excuse Me Coach is hilarious, Punk Band is fun, and about rocking Honestly every song is good.   But College actually pulls at my personal Heart strings and still brings a tear to my eye.

The band recorded a session for Complete Control sessions by SideOne Dummy records and it is awesome as hell.  2 songs I have not heard and sick new versions of Grab Your Heart and Run and Writing A Letter.  I am not going to lie- Writing a Letter sounds better than the original.  They also did this song….

The Smoking Popes are currently getting ready for their New Year’s Eve performance with Jimmy Eat World at House of Blues in Chicago.  If you are in the area and have the cash I say check it out. I sadly will not be attending but I wish I could. (If anyone wants to get me a late Christmas present, some tickets and a place to stay in Chicago for New Year’s would be an incredible gift) but check it out you can find more info----here.

So that is the history of the Smoking Popes as to the best of my knowledge, now I want to say a few things about them. 

The Smoking Popes music has never changed; it has always been true to itself and to its fans. Unlike weezer, I have never waited for them to make an album “like they used to.”  Sure they experimented on This is Only A Test but that was good, and from the point of view similar to most of their music.

All of their album titles as I noted, had a somewhat negative connotation to them, and I always thought that was a hilarious tongue in cheek gesture, I never knew if it was a stab at themselves or at the music industry, but I always like it. I await for their next album and who knows what it will be called, but it will probably have some self deprecating humor involved.   

And so another thing that I need to go back and discuss the fact I never faulted Caterer for finding spirituality. I think spirituality is a good thing and I was once a very Catholic boy, and just as I was falling out of love with God; Josh Caterer was finding him, and maybe it did lead to the initial breakup of the band, but really it was a hiatus. 

I think that had they not gone on hiatus, they would have hit the big time.  But in a bad way.  Honestly. I mean they were signed to Capitol Records; one of the greatest labels of all time.  They were touring and befriending bands that were heading to the top. 

They are a great band, and in my opinion in the early 2000’s their music would have been the backbone of the pseudo emo era. Many bands of that era list the Smoking Popes as influences.  But they stayed quiet until late 2005, and at that point that scene had died out, most bands of that era being obscure and forgotten.

So I am glad that that didn’t happen to the Popes.  When weezer put out the song Beverly Hills, it was a fly by night success and soon the concerts that I loved to go to were overrun by 12 year old girls and their aged parents doing Sudoku in their seats.  

That never happened to the Smoking Popes, and that means a lot to me.  So for that I am so so happy.  The Smoking Popes came back when they needed to and they were still “mine”

But now I share them with you, I hope you love them the way that I do. I hope you try to live out their songs the way I have. I hope you connect to them and I truly hope you find them in your heart and look them up and let them become a part of your life.

If you are looking to get more Josh Caterer in your life. You can find him every Saturday at the Village Church of Barrington.  As far as the Popes he says they only play when asked and aren't really touring at the moment. So if you really want to see the Popes, invent a festival, I will help you promote and we can invite them. Also you can read more of Caterer's thoughts on his website. 

I hope their music makes you want to Do Something, makes you want to scream makes you want to throw stuff around.


  Do Something

Merry Xmas

My Favorite Holiday Songs 

Ok, so I have limited time to edit and write due to the holiday season, my health and the amount of snow outside.

Therefore todays  blog will be short and sweet highlighting a few of my favorite holiday songs.   There are more and there are probably ones that you think are better but these are some of my favorites.

 I am taking a few days off after this but make sure you follow me on facebook, I will update that for the next few days. Find me here---  https://www.facebook.com/musicnotesfromthepast

The Ronettes- Sleigh Ride

This is one of those songs that could be done by anybody and I would love the shit out of it, but when you pipe up the tempo a little bit and give it that Motown feel   Fagettaboutit!!

Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime

Paul writes good songs that make me happy and that is about it.  What more can I say.

Eric Cartman- O holy Night

 This  is hilarious because the words are messed up, but the beauty is that the background singers and the musicians are incredible so it is a mix of good and bad or great comedy and great music if you prefer.

Red Peters – Holy Shit it’s Christmas

Ok , now that I am on a roll, How about another one that makes me fall on the floor with laughter?  

This one is funny because it has singing hamsters instead of chipmunks, but the hamsters are mischevious and change the words around.  Hilarity ensues.

The Lil’ Stinkers – I farted on Santa’s lap

Do I even have to describe why this is hilarious   Look at that god damned title!

Lyndsey Buckingham – Holiday Road

Yeah it is the song from National Lampoon’s, but it is a fun song, and it reminds me of Christmas, plus it is a good driving song that makes me feel good. So EFF you if you don’t like it.

My Chemical Romance – All I want for Christmas is You

Yes Mariah did it a long time ago, and Michael Buble does it the best, but this one is a fun charming rocker that makes me feel great inside and out.  You can finally say merry Christmas in the mosh pit. Isn’t that what you always wanted?

Vince Guaraldi Trio – Linus and Lucy

Sure it makes you think of Snoopy but it also reminds me of shitty dancing with little to no movement, and it reminds me of that pitiful tree Charlie Brown had.  This is just one of those songs that if I hear it I will drop my belongings and dance to it.  I love this jam.

Dean Martin- Baby Its Cold Outside

This is a good song when anyone sings it, but when you add The beautiful crooning voice of the great Dino Crocetti. You are knocking it out of the park. You don’t even need any famous lady singers just some shmoozy ho’s.

Blink -182- I won’t be Home For Christmas

Just listen to the words.  It is beautiful and fun all at once.

Manheim Steamroller – Deck The Halls

This is just some good shit, that takes me way back. Riding in my dad’s old crappy station wagon, to Buffalo Grove Illinois,  freezing to death because if the heat was on the engine wouldn’t work.    But we were a family and this was our soundtrack.  Synthesizers never sounded so good.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Christmas Canon

I dislike the group. But this song I can deal with, it is fun and fantastic enough to listen to.  I like the children singing. So it’s a song worth listening to.

Weezer – Christmas Song

This was one of the rarities during the Green Album era.  This song actually came out before the green Album.   So it has a raw feel to it.  It also sounds like it could be from Pinkerton, which is what I was longing for in 2000. So it is a good yet sad song.   It is a beautiful song.

So basically that is all I have for today.  Have a Merry Christmas and A good boxing day. 

 I will be back on Friday with a new blog and possibly a new format. 

So have fun and remember it’s the holidays So be good to each other.

Realistically, try to just talk, sing, and laugh together.  Live live melodically and in harmony. Happy Xmas

Live From New York- It’s Christmas

Live From New York- It’s Christmas

So This is going to be fun. And No I won’t change the title to It’s Holiday.  Fuck You.  It is Christmas time.  

So I wanted to get in all of the holiday moments of SNL . At least all of the musical moments.  So here are some of SNL’s best Holiday hits.

There are not too many but I got what I could up there

Dysfunctional Family Christmas

This is the classic early90’s late 80’s era Saturday Night Live. This is when I really started to get into the show. 

And this is a Christmas album that everyone can understand. It makes sense and it makes you realize that you are not alone. 

God I have had some awful Christmases, but I have also had some great ones.  So I know how this feels, but I know it is not like this. 

By the way I love this whole scene but when Carvey starts singing.  That shit is hilarious.

Saturday Night Live: "Dysfunctional Family... by felipekusnitzki

Winter Wonderland

This is classic and from season 1  and is a beautiful moment for what it is and for what it isn’t.

It is serious for the first half but isn’t for the second. It is Hilarious for the final part but not initially. It is the beginning of the end for Chevy for me.  (I have watched all of the episodes from the first 2 seasons, and you can clearly look at this episode as one where Chevy seemed distant from the cast. This scene as well. He seems less affectionate and into it than everyone else.  Fuck Him!)

I love the Bass sax even though you can’t really hear it.  I love the girls, who included Candace Bergen, as one of their own.  (She hosted so much I actually thought she was a member. ) 

Most importantly I think that Garret Morris is an incredible singer (and the original token Black guy)  and  all of their outfits are crazy hilarious. 

Winter Wonderland by kapann

A Holiday Treat For All

This is not the version that you usually see, and I don’t know why, because to me this is the best version of all.  If you have seen this before, watch it again. It is so worth it.

Horatio Sanz to me is one of the most underrated  SNL cast members of all time. I always thought he was hilarious, and anytime I saw him and Fallon together I knew it was gonna be good. 

Now Oddly enough though this clip to me is extra hilarious because of Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan.  All of Kattan’s characters were vaguely childlike and gay, and how he is able to portray that just by moving his head, is beyond me, but he does. 

And Morgan is just there to dance, and  be Token Black. But his dancing is so infectious.  Sometimes I do it on accident and just laugh my ass off.

My understanding is that this song was written because Sanz  got that weird instrument, (oddly I don’t remember the name, and when someone tells me, I am going to shoot myself in the foot)  So him and Fallon wrote this song, and just kept doing the sketch over and over, but this version is my favorite.

Little Drummer Boy / Sleigh Ride

This is one that we get to see so often but we somehow also forget about.

Rosie O Donnell and Penny Marshall are hilarious and the whole episode that this is from is great.  But on top of that we have the great and incredible Whitney Houston, a voice and a style that can not be matched. Yes she died a tragic death, but She was awesome.

And then in the thick of things is Mary Catherine Gallagher.  My favorite Molly Shannon character that there is worth enjoying. (I don’t remember how many she had) But this whole scene is hilarious, and makes laugh my ass off .

It helps that these are two of my favorite Christmas songs and I love a good pratfall

Seriously, this needs no long introduction other than to say “ Your drumming for Jesus Christ not Judas Priest”

Whitney Houston - Little Drummer Boy (Saturday... by Fabrcia_Vieira

Last Call

I can not find a clip of this anywhere, but it is one the greatest things in the world.

Tracy Morgan and Maya Rudoloph are 2 drunks and sitting at a bar on Christmas Eve, and the bartender calls last call, and asks them to get going, and then tells them they can have one more drink on him, and they go into one of the cutest most adorable songs I have ever  heard.  They both play good drunks, Rudolph reminds me of so many drunk ladies.

In the end they just have their usual.

Seriously find this clip. I have it on DVD, but I do not know how to show it to you. 

I tried to reach NBC today, I put a call in, to them, but no one that I asked to talk to was available. So as for now the clip goes on unseen.  But stop by and I will show it to you.

Dick In A Box

Enough said, and yes I consider this a holiday song, but it is also good for all year.

The Lonely Island & Justin Timberlake - Dick In A Box (Subtitulado Español) from JulianaThe319 on Vimeo.

How about I get another one out of the way that needs no  introduction

The Hanukkah Song

Well, really that is all I have for today, but , I don’t need much more.  Merry Christmas everyone.  I might take a few days off for the holidays.  But Monday I plan on highlighting the top ten Christmas songs of all time. So get ready for it 

Oh and because I can, here is a Christmas present for you.

SNL Musicians and odds and ends.

Funny Musicians and other clips I didn’t have room for.

When the musicians or interactions with them are more hilarious than you’d expect

So today’s edition of Satuday Night Live moments is going to have very little music in it, but I assure it will make you laugh your ass off.

Musicians can be absolutely hilarious, or sometimes accept that the joke is on them at least.

Some musicians have served as hosts and offered up complete awesome moments.  For instance, Paul Simon, Gath Brooks, Justin Timberlake, all great Musical hosts, so picking a clip to represent them is the hardest.  But for the musicians that briefly appear their moments had to be hilarious.

Also, because I only have 1 day left and tomorrow is full of songs I am using this as a clean up to throw in some of thevideos, that I know you guys want to see.  just because I have no other way to show Them  to you. Unless I just say Watch This, so I will do that.

Again there is not going to be a top ten, because I am trying to find all these clips and remember everything or find everything.

I feel like I am getting closer to some contact From Jimmy Fallon, I reached out to Conan O brien last night, after all, he wrote for SNL and even appeared in a few scenes. , Plus I know he has a great relationship with the folks at NBC right?

Ok, so here comes some good stuff.

Gath Brooks, backstage with Tracy Morgan

Garth Brooks as I said was always a great Host and I think he will make this list more than once.  Tracy Morgan is also hilarious and off the hook.  And this is old Tracy Morgan, before 30 Rock.

So I will give you some brief back story.  Garth Brooks was the biggest country music superstar in the 90s, and that is just my opinion.

But then in 1999, he became Chris Gaines. A rock singer who looked a little different than Garth and, in a Kaufman/ Clifton sort of way, kinda tried to make you believe they were two people.

For instance, in this episode of SNL The Host was Gath Brooks, but the musical guest was Chris Gaines. So when Tracy caught up with Garth back stage, he let Garth know how he, and a good representation of America felt about Chris Gaines.

So  That is that.  On a side note, I hate NBC for squashing all clips of their shows, but at the same time, love Lorne Michaels, especially in this clip. I mean he is the Big Boss of SNL and the way he lets Tracy treat him is hysterical.  I wish I could talk to a boss of mine like that and not get fired.

I have had video issues so try this link if the video does not work

http://www.frequency.com/video/tracy-confronts/71473225

Behind The Music

Ok, so I have to get this out of the way right away:

Ok, there it, is.  A hilarious moment that I know everyone was waiting to see. Couldn’t figure out a way to get it in without forcing it on you.  Walken is hilarious,  Ferrell is great Fallon is fucking crying . I have never been able to listen to that song the same again. and I got a fever!!

Beyonce gets some new Dancers

 Why is this hilarious, because it is the single ladies video. And Beyonce is a star and it is awesome . Dare I say more and ruin the surprise?

Ok so This is at the shoot for Single Ladies, and Paul Rudd is apparently the director of the video, and he hired some new dancers, who are not quite what Beyonce wanted.  There is an awesome cameo by someone who wasn’t even supposed to be there.  They play 1 of the dancers. Check it out

Justin Timberlake parodies Beyonce by LeNouvelObservateur

The Chris Farley Show with Paul McCartney

So The Chris Farley show was an awesome recurring sketch where Chris Farley would interview people, but Chris seemed to be portraying like a 7 year old version of himself.

All of his guests were so nice to him, and it is so hilarious, He talks to them about ridiculous things and then asks them ridiculous questions and it just gets out of control. Usually he is talking to tv stars or movie stars.

But, this time he got Paul McCartney as a guest. That is just awesome. A good boy from Wisconsin interviewing Sir Paul. And very childlike. 

Oddly enough I think if I ever got to interview Paul McCartney , I might be so in awe, and act even dumber than this.

Ok, so really quickly, I know the original interview was longer but this was all I could find.  I searched deep, and I think I downloaded a virus to my laptop , so you get just the ending of it, but hey its still great. 

Chris Farley - Interview Paul Mc Cartney (SNL) - MyVideo

The Protest Song

Ok so here is another thing that fits in nowhere, So I force you to watch it . it is from SNL but did not originate there, but is funny, aweseome and great all at once. 

Dr. House is British and funny as fuck, but did you know he can sing and play guitar and harmonica.  You do now!!  I love this song too, it fits in with so many things happening. And it is a funny view  of both sides from an Englishman’s perspective.

Paul Simon is a Turkey

This was season 2 and the show was still getting going. Paul Simon was always hilarious in the show. 

However this came about I have no idea. I mean it was Thanksgiving, and who doesn’t want to see a turkey , and especially one that is Paul Simon.

This scene is 37 years old, and I can’t stop laughing when I watch it.  It is still relevant and great. Paul Simon is fucking hilarious. I have no Idea who Jan Micheal Vincent is, or why he references him, but that part makes me laugh too.

Lorne Micheals is again a great sport as he is being ridiculed and yelled at.  I love it.

“I  Can’t fit through the door”

Paul Simon - Thanksgiving Skit, SNL 1976 from Simon and Garfunkel News on Vimeo.

Lazy Sunday

Can I show you something else, that not only is funny but is also important in so many ways. This helped launch so many careers and is just hilarious.

To me, I think this helped the Digital shorts last, it was the second one.  The other thing this did was help The Lonely Island gain recognition , So for me this moment was awesome and so perfect

Also this video and clips of it helped YouTube become extra successful and get sold to Google supposedly.

The Culps

I always loved the Culps, and really, anytime you get to see Will Ferrell doing comedy it is so worth it.

 That meant that on  this night when Ferrell returned as host I knew it would be an incredible, moment, but I never thought that he was going to bring Ana Gasteyer  back with him to revive the Culps.

So for me it was a hilarious funny moment that really got me rolling . If you can find other old Culps clips I applaud you and want to see them.

Mick Jagger talks to the Mirror

Mick Jagger is a rock star and a legend but apparently still gets nervous  before shows and talks to himself in the mirror.

So Jimmy Fallon and Mick Jagger go out and do a great routine together, and it is a really good scene, and honestly the mirror game is just an improv warm up game that usually no one gets to see.

Fallon does a great Jagger, and Jagger plays right along.  I don’t know if at any point they are reading off cue cards. Because they are looking right at each other the whole time.  And if I am right about that then it is absolutely hilarious

Jagger cuts up and laughs a little and I love the tea bit, but this is Jagger showing that maybe he should have been in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Speaking  of Pirates of The Caribbean

Yo Taylor, Im really happy for you , Im’ma let you finish but….

Michael Bolton had  one of the best videos of all time…                  

Michael Bolton revitalized his career with this appearance. At least in my opinion.  Yes this is awesome and unedited but it debuted as a music video on Saturday Night Life. 

Please if you have a drink put it down, cause you will spit it at your screen .  This might be the only time that I fucking recommend Michael Bolton, so enjoy. 

One of the best videos of all time…

Bring It On Down to Liquorville

This is one of the best recurring sketches that Timberlake does, and this was probably the best version.

Kristen Wiig is hilarious as a tea bag who cant stop saying inadvertently dirty things. But come on why Timberlake loves to wear these suits is beyond me.

Then when the actual music guest shows up the sketch goes crazy, and I just about shit my pants when I first saw this one.

But seriously look any of JT’s bring it on down sketches up, side splitting humor ensues.

So I just thought you would enjoy these clips that are all musical in many sorts of ways. And are all from Saturday Night live.   At this point if I forgot anything please please let me know because tomorrow is the last day of SNL material, and I do have a theme for it, but I will try to add it.

So thanks for reading, and watching, and please comment and share this.  The only way love is spread is through sharing and caring.

And as an extra gift for you hear is a present for you,

Justin Timberlake 5-timer club by maxspeaker

Saturday Night’s Best Musical Impersonations

Saturday Night’s Best Musical Impersonations

Now this is the stuff that dreams are made of. These are some of the coolest moments in Saturday Night Live history. 

These are the moments when the stars of the show, and the hosts get to be other people. In my mind, it is one thing to act , it is another thing to do impressions, and when they are done good, then it is a thing of beauty.

Really quickly, I want to point out, that I use the words imitation, impression, and impersonation, freely, and to mean the same things.  I know that there are slightly different meanings to the word, but I am not a God Damn dictionary or thesaurus, so just accept it.

These are great moments because, in some of the instances, you get to see a musician portray a different one, in other instances it is just an SNL cast member, and sometiomes the parodies even cross over,  and the artist is actually involved in their parody.   

I once again decided not to make a top ten, ranking these is near impossible. But here are my favorites

Also, Not that I am lazy, but some of these occur multiple times, and what not, so I am not adding dates or long lengthy details. In fact I may be very minimalistic today, as an attempt to highlight what I find as good music and comedy

Doggie Duty Soundtrack

This one is kind of recent, but it is hilarious nonetheless. It is a compilation of sorts.  It is a commercial for a fake movie, called Doggie Duty.

But then it also highlights the soundtrack to the movie, with great spins on some classic songs and great artists.  They basically take cool songs and make them about Dogs.  Some of the shit is so obscure and weird that, you have to be a music lover to get it.

That is why it works for me. Like I said, this was really recent, but the only recent song parody you hear is at the end. They keep it fresh and dig back.

For me, the moments that are hilarious are Fred Armisen as Randy Newman, He fucking hits it spot on,  I love the Spin Doctors reference, because I loved the Spin Doctors, and everyone should remember them, and that really is what the guy looked like. 

Also, Bill Hader as Clint Eastwood, makes no fucking sense, but I have heard Eastwood sing, and Hader is Spot on.

Finally, I will tell you the last singer is indeed Katy Perry, doing an awesome imitation. I love it.  I won’t tell you who she does I will leave that as a surprise.

Van Morrison Salutes St Patrick’s Day

First let me say that this is just the beginning of the Jimmy Fallon bits, for those of you that don’t realize it yet, I think he is a comic and musical genius.

At the same time, I love Van Morrison and as I have said before Van Morrison is one of the few artists that my father and I agree on. So there is a weird connection there for me.

Top it off now with the fact that I met  The woman of the house at a St Patrick’s Day Celebration thing(where I had more drinks than Fallon does in this clip) and not to mention The Woman is Irish (yes she is a mean drunk) ( No- Not really, but she swears a lot)(Only when she is drinking) (Which is constantly) (No that’s a joke, but you would think living with me would drive her to drink constantly) (I love you sweetie)

I used enough parenthesis in that last sentence to skin a cat.

Ok so put all that stuff together and what do you get, A jimmy Fallon masterpiece that is so fucking spot on it is unbelieavable.

One last note,  Even though the sketch is claimed to be sponsored by Guinness, Jimmy is drinking Light Beer, My understanding of why this happened was that they had tried various ways to make the guiness look full in the glass, without jimmy having to down full glasses of Guinness (Hey I like it too, but not 4 gallons in ten seconds)  So because they couldn’t do it, they cancelled the sketch, and the guys drank all the Guinness.   So then, someone realized they had extra time in the show, and the damn thing is live, so they added back last second  and grabbed whatever beer that they could.

So here man, and Happy early  St Patrick’s Day

Stevie Nicks’ Fajita Round Up

Ok, this brings up so many cool things. , First of all, If you have been playing along at home, then you are aware that I think Stevie Nicks is the shit.

So move along then.  Portraying Nicks is Lucy Lawless.  Who the Fuck is Lucy Lawless you ask?  She was Xena, from that Show Xena the warrior. Yeah it was a huge popular show.   Now she is in many different shows and movies.  But that is who she is.

On top of that she really is a singer with her own music career and she is not bad at all. Honestly it makes no sense how good she is at singing, when she is such an ass kicker.

She also does an incredible Stevie Nicks impersonation. It is hilarious, and funny as all hell. Andd it makes me hungry.   Oh and yes that is a young Jimmy Fallon playing the piano

lucy lawless by dummy-account

Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra write a hit!

As I explained yesterday, Saturday Night Live in the early 80’s  wasn’t in its prime.  But this is probably one of the funniest and best things that came out of that era.(ok maybe not but pretty damn close)

Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo were basically the stars of the shows in the 80s and everyone thought they would both become great stars. Well, people were half right.  I have no idea what became of Joe Piscopo, and we all know what happened with Eddie.

But in this scene they play Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra, and they both are god damn incredible.  I love Frank Sinatra and think that he is a great artist.  (I like Dean better but Frank will do)  I also appreciate  everything that Stevie Wonder does. Well most of it.

Honestly Piscopo does a great Frank, one of the best by a comedian. But Murphy’s Wonder is through the roof, and so spot on. He was a god damn star.

The song they do is also hilarious, as are their conversations. Really is a great thing.

Parodie Eddie Murphy & Joe Piscopo by PeteRock

Devin the Pandora Intern

This is another pretty recent one. And the premise behind it is completely ridiculous, but that is what makes it even more hilarious.

So we are sent to this make believe world that is the office of Pandora. I have no idea how Pandora actually works or what their offices look like, but I am pretty sure this is not it.  This looks more like a Star Trek set than anything else. But again that adds to the hilarity.

So then the power goes out, and Pandora loses its vocal feed, so in order to fix it, they have Devin their intern come in and sing the vocals of peoples different songs.   He is good

So it is Bruno Mars doing the imitations, and he doesn’t just do voices, he does mannerisms and singing styles.   I will tell you right away the first one is the worst. And it gets better and better.

Surprisingly he doesn’t do Elvis, which is weird because he got his start as an Elvis Impersonator.

I don’t want to spoil it, but when he grabs Jason Sudeikis’ hand for one of the legendary dance move I just about pissed myself.

So check it out, let the whole thing play through. Totally worth it.

With A Little Help From My Friends

We discussed Joe Cocker yesterday, so it should come as no surprise that John Belushi doing his impersonation  all alone has made the list.

Belushi does everything, vocally  mannerisms  over the top antics, beer everywhere.

This set the bar for all other musical imitations,  Belushi did this on the third episode of the show, at the request of Rob Reiner, the guest host of the night.  

This was the Musical guest performance. I mean that is how great it was, how revered it was that this was the Musical guest; John Belushi doing his old Joe Cocker impersonation. (he started doing it long before SNL existed.)

Watch John Belushi - With A Little Help From My Friend in Comedy  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The Miley Cyrus show, with guest Justin Bieber

So  this is from 2011, before Miley Cyrus got all crazy, and well Justin Bieber too.

 Vanessa Bayer is the SNL cast member who does a good old fashioned Miley. And she does the Miley Cyrus show every now and then.  (usually depends who is there)

So in this episode Bayer portrays Miley as always , so Miley comes out and portrays Biebs/.

Sure they make the stupid Salvia reference. (get over it Miley gets high. In retrospect some might wish that was the worst she ever did.)

But all in all. I think Miley is Hilarious as Bieber, and that is the point that I really wanted to get across, plus I always think it is cool when  celebrities are present when someone is impersonating them. It also has to be nerve racking for Bayer, to do it right there.

Oh BTW  Jason Sudeikis as Billy Ray Cyrus is Pretty Cool.

James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party

That title alone tells you how fucking Hilarious this is. I mean, seriously  who came up with this shit?

Eddie Murphy is undeniable as James Brown.  But what I really want to know is how they set up a God damn hot tub in the midst of a studio?  

I love that the band is ready for the whole thing and just wearing robes. Nothing looks as good as Murphy’s gold speedo.  His dancing is pretty killer as well . And the guy that gives him the cape, in perfect James Brown fashion.  I love it.

He dips his toe, then does the James Brown Heyyy.  Come on this whole thing is genius

Just watch!!

James brown celebrity hottub by codordog

Beyoncé and Jay Z introduce Blue Ivy

Maya Rudolph is incredible as Beyoncé  but  Jay Pharoah -the guy that does Jay Z  is fucking incredible. He looks nothing like him but he has the voice down so beautifully perfect.

Then the whole line of celebrities come in, Fred Armisen is Hilarious as Prince. Nicki Minaj is done by a girl that I don’t even know her name, but she is pretty good.

Well you know what, I don’t want to give it all away the whole thing is incredible, wait until you see Justin Timberlake.  It still makes me fall off my chair.  Seriously I love it.

“Did he just say don’t be a muggle?”

“I don’t know but White Butler is really into it!”

Check it

The Barry Gibb Talk Show

There are multiple multiple versions of this, and every time I find out Jimmy and/ or JT is going to be on the show, I get excited for the prospect of the  Barry Gibb talk show.

Typically Jimmy Fallon is known for his inability to get through sketches without cracking up. But when you get these two together on the Barry Gibb Talk Show  Justin Timberlake can’t control himself.

It is just a complete nonsense sketch revolved around Barry Gibb having a political talk show with his brother being his side man, and the two just sing everything. 

This is why I am so excited for this week’s episode. I can’t wait. Oh and BTW I haven’t gotten any RSVP’S for Saturday night, what’s the deal?

Ok, so  Those are the ten moments in SNL history that I believe are the greatest musical impersonations, as always, If I left something off let me know.

Again I hope that the clips last.  They were hard to find, but also the BG talk show was easy to find. NBC must want me to promote this week’s show for them.  Well I will.