Theme Music

Blog inspiration struck me yesterday while attending a Rochester Honkers baseball game. It seems that these days, all baseball players have a song that is played when they come up to bat, or in some cases, closing pitchers have a theme song too. So that got me thinking, what would I use for my theme song when I come up to bat? I have narrowed it down to intros of the following three songs:

• "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC
• "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
• "Stand up and Shout" by Steel Dragon (Theme to the movie Rock Star)

What song would you use as your baseball theme song?

Kahn's Top 10: Movie Soundtracks (non-score)

Today I will look at my favorite movie soundtrack albums.  This is a pretty broad category, so I’m narrowing it down a bit and excluding all albums that are just orchestral scores.  (Sorry John Williams.)  Also, I’m not listing any Broadway shows that have been made into movies either.  At first I thought I was going to have a hard time coming up with ten choices, but once I started looking at my collection, I noticed that it was going to be hard to limit the list to just ten.  So here’s the list of my favorite movie soundtracks. 

1. Top Gun – The ultimate 80’s soundtrack artist, Kenny Loggins has two songs on this album, with “Danger Zone” being the better of the two.  Between that and Berlin’s ultimate 80’s movie love theme, “Take my Breath Away” this was an easy choice for the top spot. 
2. Last Action Hero – Awful movie, awesome soundtrack.  My personal favorite on this album is a live version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” with a backup orchestra. 
3. (tie) American Graffiti & Forrest Gump – Both of these are double disc albums and are great ways to bolster your collection of oldies.  A.G. has all the essential songs of the 50’s and F.G. is great for the 60’s. 
4. Dazed and Confused – Pretty good collection of classic rock from the 70’s.  Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone” is the highlight of this album.
5. The Blues Brothers – I’d really categorize this movie as a musical, but I think Broadway would have a hard time adapting all the car crashes to the stage.  This soundtrack is just a beginning to all the great blues songs that the Blues Brothers performed and recorded.  A lot of other music legends have songs on this album as well.  A must have. 
6. Saturday Night Fever – All the disco you’ll ever need is on this one album.  Interesting tidbit:  Walter Murphy, who wrote the Family Guy theme and a lot of the music for that TV show, has a song, “A Fifth of Beethoven” on this album.
7. Swingers – This album just makes you feel cool when you listen to it.  When I was looking up the link for this, I noticed that there is a Swingers Too Soundtrack that has extra music from the movie.  It has the lounge cover of “Stayin’ Alive” that is being played as the guys enter The Dresdin club.  I must have this.
8. Spider Man – Everyone has heard “Hero,” but my favorite track on this album is “Bother” by Corey Taylor.  This is a ballad with just him singing and accompanied by a guitar.  It’s quite a contrast from his stuff with his band, Slipknot. 
9. Footloose – Kenny Loggins makes his name on yet another soundtrack. 
10. City of Angels – A good mix of blues and sad, eerie ballads can be found on this album.  Sarah McLachlan's “Angel” is my favorite on here. 

With this list, I’ve covered music from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000+.  I’d call that pretty comprehensive.

Kahn's Top 10: Christian Rock

Today I’m going to change things up a little bit a do a list that a lot of my readers might not be familiar with.  The top-40 radio station in Rochester has a program on Sunday mornings called Straight from the Heart.  It’s really geared toward teens, but they play popular Christian rock songs during this program.  I started listening to this a couple of years ago and realized that there is a ton of great music that I hadn’t tapped into yet.  After listening to the same classic rock songs for 15 years, and not being a big fan of most top-40 pop music, I was excited to stumble across some music that really sounded good, and made me feel good as well.  So here we go with my list of favorite Christian rock bands and artists.

1. Kutless – This band has only been around for a few years, but have three excellent albums under their belts already.  Their Sea of Faces album is my favorite, and I highly recommend it.  I can’t exactly lay my finger on why, but Kutless is my favorite band in this genre.  I just really enjoy the guitar riffs, harmonies, and catchy choruses in their songs. 
2. Jeremy Camp – He has some great heavier rock songs, but also some touching ballads.  For a good feel of his lighter side, listen to Jeremy Camp: Live Unplugged.  Jeremy’s only in his mid-20’s, but has already been through a lot in his life.  His first wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly after they were married, and died just a few months later.  With that in mind, the lyrics of his songs are much more powerful.   
3. Audio Adrenaline – Their best-of collection,  Hit Parade, introduced me to the band and I loved what I heard.  It’s hard to categorize their musical style because they have used quite a few different ones.  Most of their stuff is pretty much like pop-rock, but they have an element of funk in a lot of their songs that makes for some pretty cool guitar riffs. 
4. Third Day – They have a southern rock style, and their lead singer, Mac Powell has a great raspy baritone voice.  Their part live, part studio albums, Offerings, and Offerings II are excellent introductions to their music.  When I checked their website I saw they are in Minneapolis on 2/25, and in Ames on 2/26, touring to promote their new album Wherever You Are, which is also very good.
5. DC Talk – It’s too bad I only recently started listening to DC Talk’s music.  They had been around for years, but split up for solo careers in about 2000.  DC Talk started in more of an R&B style, but evolved into more of a rock band in their later albums.  I’m a bigger fan of their later stuff, and their song “Jesus Freak” is one of my favorites.  Their Intermission: The Greatest Hits album is a good introduction to the band.  I can’t help but remember a guy that I went to middle school with, who had a DC Talk wrist watch.  We would always ask him if it talked, which of course it didn’t, but we thought we were funny.
6. Switchfoot – They crossed over to mainstream rock with their 2003 The Beautiful Letdown album, which contained the hits “Meant to Live” and “Dare you to Move.”  That was the first I’d heard of Switchfoot too, but they actually have been around since 1997 and had three previous albums.  I highly recommend The Beautiful Letdown.  It’s one of those rare albums where none of the tracks are skip-worthy.
7. Falling Up – These guys are pretty new, and just released their second album, Dawn Escapes, last year.  I like their sophomore album, as a whole, better than their first album.  Their big hit from their first album was a song called “Escalates,” and that song got me interested in the band.  It’s worth an iTunes purchase for those of you who use that. 
8. Hawk Nelson – They are also new to the scene and just have one album released so far, but it’s a good one.  Hawk Nelson has a pop/punk sound that kind of reminds me of Good Charlotte and Simple Plan.  Their songs have very catchy hooks and were quick to grow on me. 
9. Skillet – This band is a little heavier, and has kind of an industrial sound on some of their albums.  The interesting thing is that Skillet consists of two guys and two girls.  You don’t see that too often in a hard rock band. 
10. The O.C. Supertones – Their style is mostly ska, and I’ve always liked ska music.  I guess I enjoy the horns that ska music usually has, and it makes me think back to my trumpet playing days.  The O.C. Supertones have a lot of energy and very catchy songs.  Their album, Hi-Fi Revival is probably my favorite of theirs. 

A lot of these artists can be found on the X compilation CDs.  If you’re interested, I would recommend the X 2004 album, for a good sampling of these artists.

Kahn's Top 10: Guilty Pleasures

Today’s list is of artists/bands that I like a lot even though most of society pokes fun at their music.  I’m willing to bet that most people like a lot of selections on my list below, but don’t have the courage to admit it.  It’s just not cool to like the music on this list, but I’m taking the plunge and declaring my love for the bands and artists below.  So, here are my top ten guilty pleasure bands.

1. Meat Loaf – I’m a sucker for Jim Steinman songs, who penned all the songs on Meat Loaf’s 1977 album, Bat Out of Hell and 1993’s Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell.  Steinman also wrote Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” and Air Supply’s “Making Love out of Nothing at All.”  I guess I dig the big epic songs that Steinman is known for. 
2. Journey – What does everyone have against Journey?  Any band that had a video game can’t be that bad.  Cheesy videos and bad hair don’t define a band, and I can look past those things. 
3. Firehouse – “Love of a Lifetime” is one of my favorite songs of all time.  For me, Firehouse goes hand in hand with memories of middle school dances, even though that isn’t necessarily a good thing.
4. Creed – It’s not cool to like Creed anymore, but I bet most Creed haters were fans five years ago.  Scott Stapp is nuts, but Creed’s guitarist, Mark Tremonti, is one of the most under-rated guitarists of our time.  Great songs.
5. The Proclaimers – You know, the guys who sang “I Would Walk 500 Miles,” but they also had some fame a few years ago with a song that appeared on the Shrek soundtrack.  Their album, Sunshine on Leith, is one of my favorites.  They have a very unique sound, that I would categorize as folk rock, but their thick Scottish accents make it very distinct.
6. Styx – Don’t let it end.  Come sail away with me, babe and show me the way, or Mr. Roboto will leave with Suite Madame Blue and a blue collar man in their Jeep Renegade.  There are eight Styx songs in those previous two sentences.  That was fun.
7. Mariah Carey – I had a huge crush on Mariah in the early and mid 90’s, but then she changed on me after getting divorced from Tommy Mottola.  I rarely listen to her music anymore, but she had a couple of really good albums with Music Box and Daydream back in the mid-90’s.   
8. Bon Jovi – These guys just keep going.  Their peak was in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but they are still putting out some decent songs.  They are another band that puts on a great live show, and that definitely has something to do with their longevity in the music business.
9. Neil Diamond – It’s not cool to like Neil Diamond unless you are over 40.  I can really thank my fifth grade teacher, among others, for exposing me to his music.  We used to listen to The Jazz Singer all the time during class.  That was my favorite, but I remember us listening to The Westside Story Soundtrack, Hooked on Classics, and something by Jan and Dean too.  It’s one thing to listen to Neil Diamond songs at a karaoke bar, but I enjoy listening to my Neil Diamond playlist quite a bit.  It’s on right now as a matter of fact.  
10. Milli Vanilli – I loved their album when it came out, and so did most people because it was winning all sorts of awards.  Then we found out that the voices didn’t belong to who we thought.  So does that make the music itself any worse?  It really shouldn’t. 

*Honorable Mention: Boston – Apparently, Boston fans are on the endangered species list.

Kahn's Top 10: Classic Rock

I love music.  One of the ideas I came up with, for a series of blog entries, is a top ten list of artists/bands in different music genres.  Today I will begin with the first genre, classic rock, which seems pretty safe and easy.  These lists are going to be based on my personal musical preference, so I expect to run into a few objections.  I have a few more genres in mind for future entries, but if you have a suggestion for a genre you’d like to see me tackle, please let me know.

Tune your radio to a classic rock station, and chances are you’ll end up hearing something from one of these bands within five minutes.  You know you are dealing with a great band when you can fill more than one CD full of their best songs and never feel the need to skip any tracks.  Here are Kahn’s top 10 classic rock bands of all time:

1. Led Zeppelin – I love Zeppelin because they have some of the most fun riffs to play on the guitar.  “Black Dog, Rock ‘n Roll, Stairway to Heaven, and Over the Hills and Far Away” are my favorites to play.  However, after watching Wayne’s World, I know to never play “Stairway” in a guitar store.  Like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin has a very impressive catalog of songs that was created in a fairly short span of time.  They are true rock legends.
2. Boston – I know most people think I’m crazy for putting Boston this high on the list, but I have a lot of respect for Tom Scholz, who actually has a masters degree in mechanical engineering from MIT.  He also has a lot of patents on the circuitry used to give Boston their distinctive guitar sound.  Their first album, Boston,  is so good, that it could practically be a greatest hits collection by itself.
3. Pink Floyd – So many great albums, but that’s the thing with Pink Floyd, you really need to listen to the full album instead of just a couple songs to get the big picture.  Did the band intentionally make Dark Side of the Moon such that it perfectly synchronizes with The Wizard of Oz?  I’ve tried it, and am convinced that they did.  The Wall is a great album, but I didn’t get the movie at all.  That was some bizarre stuff.  Rock bands should stick to making music, not movies anyway.   
4. AC/DC – I can’t think of many other bands that have actually been better when having to replace the lead singer.  Back in Black is AC/DC’s essential album to have.  I also like them because most of their guitar riffs are pretty easy and fun to play.
5. The Beatles – I’m more of a passive Beatles fan, but I can’t deny how great the Beatles music is and how important they were in shaping rock music.  McCartney and Lennon are probably the greatest song-writing duo of all time.  I’m impressed with how their music evolved over time and became more complex. 
6. The Rolling Stones – They defy time and keep on cranking out great shows.  The Stones were the first band I ever saw live in concert, and while I’m not a huge Stones fan, I can appreciate a good band when I see one.  They must be doing something right to still be going after forty years in the business. 
7. Aerosmith – The American version of the Rolling Stones?  Both bands have lead singers with big mouths and lips, so a lot of comparisons have been made there.  Aerosmith has been able to thrive in the past fifteen years with new music as well as their classics.  The Stones don’t seem to tap into the younger generation with their new stuff like Aerosmith has been able to do.  I’ve also seen Aerosmith live in concert, and they put on a heck of a show as well.
8. Van Halen – Dave or Sam?  Sorry Gary, you really don’t count.  VH enjoyed major success with two different lead singers, and have great songs in both the Sam and the Dave eras.  Eddie is a true guitar hero.  Their first album, Van Halen, is my hands-down favorite VH album.
9. The Eagles – The Eagles are as close to country music as I’ll ever be caught listening to.  “Hotel California” is one of the best classic rock songs ever written. 
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird!”  Play some Skynyrd!  You can’t go to a concert (any concert, any band) without hearing someone yell these phrases.  “Free Bird” is one of the best songs of all time, and my favorite part is in the fast dual guitar solos toward the end when the snare drum comes in underneath them with a big crescendo.  I love that part.

What was I thinking?

I tried as hard as I could to think of more karaoke songs that I would have been better off not singing, but I could not come up with more than three.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not a big risk taker in general, and that same approach applies to my karaoke song selections.  Generally I choose the safe ones that I know will sound decent, but every now and then, I venture out on a limb and try something a little bit different.  I mean, you can only hear so many ballads and Neil Diamond songs in a night!  So, here are the top three karaoke songs that didn’t quite work out for me.

3.  “Faith” by George Michael.  Yes, this song is on my top ten list of karaoke songs that I like to sing, but I do have a bad memory of the one and only time I performed it.  95% of the song was fine, but there are a couple parts that are a little high for my vocal range.  My voice was getting a little fatigued by the end of the song, and my voice totally flipped on the lyrics “…reconsider my foolish notion.”  You would have thought someone sat on a bird.  It was pretty bad.

2.  “She Drives me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals.  For some reason, I thought that singing a song in my falsetto was a good idea.  It definitely sounded a lot better in the car when I came up with the idea.  It wasn’t the worst performance of the night, but it was definitely below the standards I’ve set for myself.  I need to remind myself that karaoke and falsetto don’t mix, because I’ve given some serious thought to singing “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers, and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”  I’m pretty sure if I ever sing those two, they’ll be prime candidates for this list.

1.  “Chocolate Salty Balls” by Chef*.  Fans of “Southpark” will be familiar with this tune.  It sits firmly at the top of my list of karaoke mistakes, and will probably never be de-throned.  Chef is voiced by the legendary Isaac Hayes, who has a very deep and soulful voice.  Actually, I can do a decent impression of his voice, and that’s why I thought singing this song would be a good idea.  So I get up there and start singing the risque lyrics of this song.  Suddenly it hit me that I really only know the first verse of this song!  (Lesson learned: make sure you know the whole song.)  I did my best to ad lib my way through the rest of the song, but I also forgot about how much worse the lyrics get as the song goes on.  (Lesson learned: make sure you know the whole song and especially all the lyrics.)  People stopped their conversations, and every eye in the room was on me.  Most of the people at this karaoke bar were middle-aged folks who had obviously never heard this song before.  Many of them were getting a good chuckle from the lyrics, but a few people had to pick their jaws up off the floor.  (Lesson learned: know your audience.)  I was thoroughly embarrassed, and so was Holly.  As soon as the song was over, I grabbed my coat and we headed right out the door.  Had Randy Jackson been in the room, I think he would have said, “Dog, what the heck were you thinking?” 

* The karaoke bar we were at is in a Holiday Inn.  They pipe the music from the karaoke bar into the dining room as well.  For that reason, I was not allowed to sing this song until 11PM, which is when the dining room closed.  However, the DJ decided to let me sing at 10:30.  Upon hearing my song, people from the dining room gathered in the doorway of the bar to see the idiot who was singing this crazy song.  I’ve never been so embarrassed.

 

Some of the best cover songs of all time

Now playing: Cake - I Will Survive

What makes a good cover song?  In my opinion, it’s when the cover is better than the original, and not identical in style.  Now I’m sure this list will draw some debate, and maybe I’ve forgotten a song or two, so please let me know what you think of my top ten cover songs of all time.

• 10. Tesla – “Signs” (OK it’s very similar to the original, but it’s a live version.)
• 9.  Whitney Houston – “I Will Always Love You” (I’d like to sing this for karaoke, but I think Holly would pretend she didn’t know me.)
• 8.  Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground” (Kick-ass song.)
• 7.  The Gourds – “Gin and Juice” (Commonly mistaken as a Phish version.)
• 6.  Orgy – “Blue Monday” (Far better than the original.)
• 5.  Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal”  (Great video spoofing Jacko as well.)
• 4.  Johnny Cash – “Hurt” (I’ve never liked NIN, and this song really fits Cash’s depressing musical style.)
• 3.  Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”  (Originally a Bob Dylan tune, but most people only know the Hendrix version.)
• 2.  Guns ‘n Roses – “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”  (Sorry Bob, but I enjoy the covers of your songs more than the originals.)
• 1.  Cake – “I Will Survive” (This has a great bass line and is definitely not disco.)

Covers that didn’t even come close to making my list include Pearl Jam’s “Last Kiss,” Britney Spears’ “My Prerogative,” and Tom Jones’ “Kiss.” 

A couple of bands that specialize in covers that are pretty funny are Richard Cheese and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  Richard Cheese covers popular songs in a lounge singer style, while Me First… cover popular songs in a punk style.  Me First… do a great version of Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” in which the funniest part is the talking part with different lyrics at the beginning.  Definitely check these guys out if you come across their material. 

Top 10 Karoke Songs

I know it’s cheesy, but I love singing at karaoke bars.  It’s been a couple years since I’ve sang at one, and I’m starting to get the itch to go again.  Unfortunately, most popular songs are too high for my baritone voice, so I have a limited selection to choose from.  Here are the top ten songs you’d be likely to hear me sing at a karaoke bar.

1. Angel Eyes – Jeff Healey Band
2. Cracklin’ Rosie – Neil Diamond
3. Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley
4. Humpty Dance* – Digital Underground
5. King of the Road – Roger Miller
6. Melt With You – Modern English
7. Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
8. Faith – George Michael
9. Forever in Blue jeans – Neil Diamond
10. One of the following duets:  Summer Love – John Travolta/Olivia Newton John, Love Shack – B-52’s

* I have yet to see this in the song list of any karaoke bar I’ve been to.  If it was available, I’d do it in a heartbeat.  I have fond memories of performing that song in the encores during my Vicinity days.  Take a listen for yourself.

Kahn's Top 20 Albums

Lists are all the rage these days, so here’s my list of my favorite 20 albums.  Greatest hits collections and other compilations don’t count in this list.  The rankings are not significant, they are just in alphabetical order.

• AC/DC – Back in Black
• Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies
• Audioslave – Audioslave
• Boston – Boston
• Cake – Fashion Nugget
• Coldplay – Rush of Blood to the Head
• Evanescence – Fallen
• Green Day – American Idiot
• Guns ‘n Roses – Appetite for Destruction
• Live – Throwing Copper
• Meatloaf – Bat out of Hell
• Metallica – Metallica (Black Album)
• Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood
• Pearl Jam – Ten
• Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
• Pink Floyd – The Wall
• Pink Floyd – Wish You were Here
• Stone Temple Pilots – Core
• Van Halen – Van Halen
• Weezer – Weezer