Tag Archives: songs

Karaoke Tuesday: “Cigarette Dangles”

Music, , , , , , , ,
Downward Road
The Downward Road

“Cigarette Dangles”
by The Pursuit of Happiness
from the album The Downward Road
1993
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m picking a song that I’ve never performed for my Karaoke Tuesday post… which is straight-up cheating.  It doesn’t even fall into the category of I always look for this song, but they never have it. But upon stumbling across the music video recently, I think this song might actually be the prototype karaoke song for me back in college, before I had the balls to sing in public, or more accurately, the ability to pound Jack and Cokes until I didn’t care that I was singing in public.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Cigarette Dangles” →

Karaoke Tuesday: “Against All Odds”

Music, , , , ,
Against All Odds
Against All Odds

“Against All Odds”
by Phil Collins
from the album Against All Odds
1984
Buy the album on Amazon

Aaaannndd…I’m back.

There are a couple of reasons I’m going with this song this week. One is that last week on the This American Life podcast, they replayed one of my favorite stories they’ve ever done, about getting advice from Phil Collins on how to write a breakup song (highly recommended listening!). When I first heard it a few years ago, it totally made me respect Phil Collins and especially this song (I hadn’t given him much thought before, except I always chuckled when I thought of an off-color joke I heard once about Susudio). It also made me consider singing this song.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Against All Odds” →

Karaoke Tuesday: “Under The Bridge”

Music, , , , , ,
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik

“Under The Bridge”
by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991
Buy the album on Amazon

This song was an early addition to my karaoke playlist and stayed there for two or three solid seasons.  It’s great track to force the night to catch its breath, and slow down the pace a bit.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Under The Bridge” →

Cover Friday: “Treat Her Right”

Music, , , , , ,
Commitments
The Commitments

“Treat Her Right”
by The Commitments (originally by Roy Head and the Traits)
from the soundtrack to The Commitments
1991
Buy the album on Amazon

The Commitments was one of our go-to movies for late nights at college.  I don’t remember seeing it in the theaters, so I think it was almost exclusively watched on VHS rentals from More Than Video.  I’m not sure who in my group found it, but we could recite it from memory, at least the parts we could make out through the Irish brogue.  This movie hit some soft spots for me: Motown/soul/blues music, ensemble pieces and weird accents.  Plus, what a  fun band to listen to.  Case in point, the opening song to the movie.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Treat Her Right” →

Cover Friday: “Forever Young”

Music, , , , , , , ,
Casino Twilight Dogs
Casino Twilight Dogs

“Forever Young”
by Youth Group (originally by Alphaville)
from the album Casino Twilight Dogs
2006
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m going to keep this one short. It’s 1 in the morning, and I’m exhausted, but I’m not going to get a chance to post during the day and I can’t very well give Lance a hard time about Karaoke Thursday if I don’t post for #CoverFriday.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Forever Young” →

Karaoke Thursday: “Burn After Writing”

Music, , , , , , , ,
On the Impossible Past
On the Impossible Past

“Burn After Writing”
by the Menzingers
from the album On The Impossible Past
2012
Buy the album on Amazon

A couple of thoughts before I really dig in.  First, it’s kind of fucking amazing that neither one of us has talked in-depth about how fantastic this album is.  And it’s not like the band puts out constantly stellar material, but this particular album I’ll put up there against most of my favorite albums from my favorite groups.  Second, it’s totally Thursday and I never did a Karaoke Tuesday post, but two days late is hard to fake, so I’m coming clean.  The shame of this Karaoke Thursday post title will haunt me at least until I finish writing this post.

Continue reading Karaoke Thursday: “Burn After Writing” →

Karaoke Tuesday: “Torn”

Music, , , , , , , ,
Left of the Middle
Left of the Middle

“Torn”
by Natalie Imbruglia
from the album Left of the Middle
1997
Buy the album on Amazon

Like a wandering storyteller traveling the land, regaling the local townfolk with stories of adventures from afar, I often like to tell new friends and old tales of great karaoke adventures. As I’m also clearly not above self-deprecation, one of the stories I like to share is of the lowest karaoke moment for my dear friend Lance and I.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Torn” →

Cover Friday: “Money”

Music, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Backbeat
Backbeat

“Money”
by the Backbeat Band (originally by Barret Strong)
from the soundtrack to Backbeat
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

Oh man, I had two songs in mind for my cover selection today, both covers of Motown classics, but this one gets the nod today because I’ve been listening to a lot of Afghan Whigs lately.  I’ll file that other one away for later.  This is actually an all-star 90s alternative cover of a Beatles cover of a Barrett Strong track.  It features members of REM, Gumball, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Soul Asylum and Afghan Whigs.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Money” →

Cover Friday: “Jessie’s Girl”

Music, , , , , , ,
Made for Working
Made for Working

“Jessie’s Girl”
by Matt the Electrician (originally by Rick Springfield)
from the album Made for Working
2003
Buy the album on Amazon

Not a ton to say on this song. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but just a nice, mellow version of a classic song. I’ve said before I have a weakness for cookie cutter emo and punk bands doing covers, but also included in that list are acoustic covers in most genres. I’m not very good at it, but I occasionally check the rss feed for http://coverlaydown.com/, and I’m pretty sure that’s how I came across this song one day.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Jessie’s Girl” →

Karaoke Tuesday: “Bad”

Music, , , , ,
The Unforgettable Fire
The Unforgettable Fire

“Bad”
by U2
from the album The Unforgettable Fire
1984
Buy the album on Amazon

I hadn’t picked a song for today yet, and Lance went with U2, so it seemed like a good enough direction as any (after all, he and I have done U2 medleys before). U2 has never been on my list of favorite bands. I owned The Joshua Tree when I grew up, and there are some undeniably epic, classic songs on it, and throughout the years some of their other songs have hooked me, and usually hooked me hard. I respectfully accept their place in the rock pantheon, but I’ve mostly stuck with their hits, and am still discovering classics within that list.
Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Bad” →