Everything Under the Sun

Top 300 Hair Band Songs of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 22:18:00 +0000

I've created many "Top" and "Best of" lists over the years...for music, movies, TV, etc. But I think this is my most epic ranking yet. As a child of 1974, the 80's shaped my taste in music, and nowhere is that more evident in my love for all things hair band.

The term hair band has come to be somewhat of a pejorative, but not in my mind. Some of these folks were really talented, and I think the stigma betrays the quality of a lot of the work that came from that era. But yes, some of it would fall under the label of "guilty pleasure" (though I feel no guilt).

That said, I'll lay out the (very unscientific) methodology I used to craft this Top 300 list. Below the final ranking, I've included some 130+ additional songs under "honorable mention."

So how did I determine the order in which these songs appear? A few choice criteria, listed in order of highest to lowest importance...

1. Personal preference - should be obvious that this would carry the greatest weight.

2. Importance to the hair band movement/genre

3. Importance to the artist's career

4. Chart performance - Billboard Hot 100 took precedence here, then the Rock/Mainstream Rock charts

5. Airplay - ubiquity on MTV, VH1, and commercial radio

6. Recurrent airplay - still being played today on SiriusXM, FM radio, appearing in commercials, etc.

7. Quality of live performance - this is only last in importance because obviously I've only had the opportunity to see certain songs performed live

I'd also add that for about 98% of this chart, it was a requirement that the song had been released as a single in the US or elsewhere, or otherwise had some kind of exposure via TV, film, promotional single, etc. There are a few exceptions I made, but not many. Of course, several of the above criteria are also inter-related, such as chart performance somewhat influencing a song's importance to the genre and the artist's career. But the over-arching point is that these are NOT simply ranked in order of how much I like each song!

Lastly, there was also a specific time period cutoff I used to define what constituted the "hair band era." All of the songs on this list were released between 1983 and 1995. Why were these the years I selected? In many circles, Quiet Riot's landmark album, Metal Health, is credited as launching the movement, as it was the first hard rock/metal album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200, doing so in November 1983. On the flip side, 1995 marked the last appearance for the seminal artist of the hair band era, Def Leppard, on the Billboard Hot 100, as "When Love and Hate Collide" peaked at #58.

Feel free to argue amongst yourselves (or with me) regarding whether this accurately represents the hair band era or if you agree with the artists I decided to categorize (or not categorize) as hair bands.

I've linked to Youtube videos for some entries, where indicated, so happy listening...

300. Scared - Dangerous Toys

299. Action! Not Words - Def Leppard

298. Back for More - Ratt

297. Love Walked In - Thunder

296. One in a Million - Trixter

295. American Nights - Bonfire

294. Billy's Got a Gun - Def Leppard

293. Get It While It's Hot - Kix

292. Rest in Peace - Extreme

291. Living in Sin - Bon Jovi

290. I Don't Wanna Change the World - Ozzy Osbourne

289. Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche

288. So Tell Me Why - Poison

287. Open Your Heart - Europe

286. Alone Again - Dokken

285. You're All I Need - White Lion

284. The Way It Is - Tesla

283. Old Rose Motel - Great White

282. Down Incognito - Winger

281. Send Me an Angel - Scorpions

280. The Last Mile - Cinderella

279. Sometimes She Cries - Warrant

278. Stronger Now - Warrant

277. Shelter Me - Cinderella

276. The More Things Change - Cinderella

275. I Still Think About You - Danger Danger

274. I'll Be There - Hardline

273. Holy Diver - Dio

272. Hot Cherie - Hardline

271. Street of Dreams - Rainbow

270. Way Cool Jr. - Ratt

269. Love on a Rooftop - Desmond Child

The 80's would have been missing a ton of hit songs without the presence of songwriter extraordinaire, Desmond Child, whose fingerprints are all over this list with songs by Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, KISS, and Alice Cooper, among others. He also lends his own vocals to two entries here, including this single from the sole album released under his own name.

268. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue) - W.A.S.P.

267. Comin' Under Fire - Def Leppard

266. Big Gun - AC/DC

265. Lonely Too Long - Britny Fox

264. Heart the Hunter - Great White

263. Wild Side - Motley Crue

262. Lay Your Hands on Me - Bon Jovi

261. Crazy Crazy Nights - KISS

260. In My Dreams - Dokken

259. Has Jesus Closed His Eyes - Enuff Z'Nuff

258. Just Take My Heart - Mr. Big

257. I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister

256. Blow My Fuse - Kix

255. Two Steps Behind - Def Leppard

One of 16 entries from the Sheffield lads on the ranking, and the last appearance for the band inside the Billboard Top 20.

254. One Step Closer to You - Enuff Z'Nuff

253. Free - Stryper

252. Heatseeker - AC/DC

251. (You Got Me) All Shook Up - Nelson

250. Love Don't Come Easy - White Lion

249. Civil War - Guns N' Roses

248. The Hunter - Dokken

247. Modern Day Cowboy - Tesla

246. I'm a Believer - Giant

245. Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi

244. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N' Roses

243. Fool for Your Loving - Whitesnake

242. Silence Is Broken - Damn Yankees

241. Save the Weak - Britny Fox

240. Only My Heart Talkin' - Alice Cooper

239. Edison's Medicine - Tesla

238. Save Your Love - Great White

237. The Deeper the Love - Whitesnake

236. Runaway - Damn Yankees

235. Hold Back the Night - Giant

234. Goin' Crazy - David Lee Roth

233. Crazy Babies - Ozzy Osbourne

232. Is This Love - Whitesnake

Amazingly, lead singer David Coverdale originally wrote this song with the intention of having Tina Turner record it. Probably a good idea that Whitesnake kept it for themselves, as it was one of only two Top 10 hits the band ever had (this peaked at #2, the other hit #1).

231. It's Not Love - Dokken

230. Radar Love - White Lion

229. Heartbreak Station - Cinderella

228. Love Ain't No Stranger - Whitesnake

227. Cry Tough - Poison

226. Wasted Time - Skid Row

225. Still Loving You - Scorpions

224. Jet City Woman - Queensryche

223. More Than Words - Extreme

Many people might have this ranked higher. It was never a favorite of mine, but certainly deserves recognition as one of the most recognizable tunes of the era.

222. Love Has Taken Its Toll - Saraya

221. Feed My Frankenstein - Alice Cooper

Not a big chart hit for Cooper, but it did appear in the film, Wayne's World, which I had not remembered when I saw him open his live show with it. A total slammer in concert.

220. California Girls - David Lee Roth

219. Call It What You Want - Tesla

218. Call It Rock & Roll - Great White

217. Mutha (Don't Wanna Go to School Today) - Extreme

216. Innocent Days - Giant

215. Back to the Bullet - Saraya

214. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad - Def Leppard

213. Revolution Calling - Queensryche

212. She Don't Know Me - Bon Jovi

211. You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come) - Vince Neil

210. Rock the Night - Europe

209. Rise to It - KISS

208. Alien Nation - Scorpions

207. Tomorrow - Europe

206. Easy Come Easy Go - Winger

205. Are You Ready - AC/DC

204. Only Time Will Tell - Nelson

203. Heaven Sent - Dokken

202. No More Tears - Ozzy Osbourne

201. Monkey Business - Danger Danger

200. Seventeen - Winger

199. More Than Ever - Nelson

198. Hey Stoopid - Alice Cooper (link)

197. Mama, I'm Coming Home - Ozzy Osbourne

196. Coming Home - Danger Danger

195. Closer to Your Love - Britny Fox

194. When I Look Into Your Eyes - Firehouse

193. Can't Get Enuff - Winger

192. Mad About You - Slaughter

191. Without You - Giant

190. Girlschool - Britny Fox

189. A Lil' Ain't Enough - David Lee Roth

188. Spend My Life - Slaughter

187. Ballad of Jayne - L.A. Guns

186. Up All Night - Slaughter

185. Cryin' - Vixen

184. Naughty Naughty - Danger Danger

183. Surrender - Trixter

182. Blood on the Bricks - Aldo Nova

181. Remember My Name - House of Lords

180. Love is on the Way - Saigon Kick

179. Love of a Lifetime - Firehouse

178. Always - Bon Jovi

177. All We Are - Warlock

176. Heartbreak Blvd. - Shotgun Messiah

175. March of Time - Helloween

174. Hysteria - Def Leppard

173. Down Boys - Warrant

172. Shot in the Dark - Ozzy Osbourne

171. Lady Red Light - Great White

170. Make Love Like a Man - Def Leppard

169. Headed for a Heartbreak - Winger

168. Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi

167. To Be With You - Mr. Big

166. Big Talk - Warrant

165. Hide Your Heart - KISS

164. Big City Nights - Scorpions

163. Halfway to Heaven - Europe

162. Little Fighter - White Lion

161. I Believe in You - Stryper

160. Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith

159. Crazy - Aerosmith (link)

The last in the famous "Alicia Silverstone trilogy" of Aerosmith videos released off their Get a Grip album in the early 90's, and the only one of the three to make it onto my Top 300. Couldn't turn on MTV in those days without seeing one of those vids.

158. Bark at the Moon - Ozzy Osbourne

157. Madalaine - Winger

156. House of Pain - Faster Pussycat

155. Bang Your Head (Metal Health) - Quiet Riot

154. Someone Like You - Bang Tango

153. Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

152. Sword and Stone - Bonfire (link)

Originally written by the aforementioned Desmond Child, along with KISS members, Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick, it didn't quite make the cut for that band's Crazy Nights album. Instead, it landed in the hands of German rockers, Bonfire, and is the lowest-ranking of three songs from the Shocker soundtrack on my list.

151. Too Late for Love - Def Leppard

150. Keep the Faith - Bon Jovi

149. Still of the Night - Whitesnake

148. New Thing - Enuff Z'Nuff

147. Coming of Age - Damn Yankees

146. In These Arms - Bon Jovi

145. Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen

144. Coming Home - Cinderella

143. Wasted Years - Iron Maiden

142. Poison Ivy - Faster Pussycat

141. Bang Bang - Danger Danger

It's perfectly fitting with the kitschy themes of the hair band era that a group named Danger Danger would have hits with songs called "Naughty Naughty" and "Bang Bang." I guess this qualifies as a guilty guilty pleasure.

140. Shot of Poison - Lita Ford

139. Can't Stop Lovin' You - Van Halen

138. Keep the Fire Burning - Stryper

137. Walk Away - Dokken

136. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella

135. Signs - Tesla

134. Baby Loves You - Enuff Z'Nuff

133. Magic Touch - Aerosmith

132. Rainbow in the Dark - Dio

131. Women - Def Leppard

130. Fly to the Angels - Slaughter

129. Now Until Forever - Giant

128. Don't Cry - Guns N' Roses

127. Rag Doll - Aerosmith

126. I'll Be There for You - Bon Jovi

125. Dream On - Britny Fox (link)

Not a cover of the Aerosmith hit from the 70's. This is a jangly sing-along-ish tune from Cinderella sound-alikes, Britny Fox, who never really hit it big. But they were a staple of the "Dial MTV" request show back in the day.

124. Mother's Eyes - Enuff Z'Nuff

123. Ride the Wind - Poison

122. Cold Blood - Kix

121. Big Goodbye - Great White

120. Yankee Rose - David Lee Roth

119. Monkey Business - Skid Row

118. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) - Motley Crue

117. Never Say Goodbye - Bon Jovi

116. I Want Out - Helloween

115. I'll Never Let You Go - Steelheart

114. Dirty Love - Thunder

113. Right Now - Van Halen (link)

112. Love Bites - Def Leppard

111. Let's Get Rocked - Def Leppard (link)

110. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses

109. Angel - Aerosmith

108. The Other Side - Aerosmith

107. Another Rainy Night (Without You) - Queensryche

106. Never Enough - L.A. Guns

105. Long Way to Love - Britny Fox (link)

104. Mirror Mirror - Don Dokken

103. Shocker - The Dudes of Wrath (link)

Shocker was a positively awful knockoff of 80's horror movies, directed by the master of the genre himself, Wes Craven. Not his best cinematic showing. The soundtrack, however, was a completely different story. The Dudes of Wrath was a one-off supergroup assembled by Desmond Child (there he is again). This track featured Child, and KISS singer, Paul Stanley, on lead vocals, Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, future Def Leppard guitarist, Vivian Campbell, and Van Halen's Michael Anthony, among others. I'm assuming the band moniker was borrowed from the stage name of the other featured guitarist, Guy Mann-Dude. A completely overlooked, stomping anthem from the closing days of the 1980's.

102. Dreams - Van Halen

101. Runaway - Bon Jovi

100. Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row

99. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue

98. Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison

97. Tease Me Please Me - Scorpions

96. Best I Can - Queensryche

95. Love in an Elevator - Aerosmith

94. Fly High Michelle - Enuff Z'Nuff (link)

Far and away the biggest video, radio, and chart hit for the boys from Chicago. This was a criminally overlooked act, led by principal songwriters, Donnie Vie and Chip Z'Nuff, that probably comes close to what Lennon and McCartney might have sounded like had they been born twenty years later and formed a hair band.

93. Don't Treat Me Bad - Firehouse

92. Bring Back the Light - Saraya

91. Decadence Dance - Extreme

90. Walk This Way - Run-DMC (featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry)

This single has the distinction of being the only entry on my chart that isn't actually by a rock artist. Rap pioneers, Run-DMC, basically paved the way for Aerosmith's career resurgence by including Tyler and Perry on the remake of their 70's hit. It likely also opened the floodgates for the "rap-rock" subgenre. Without this Top 5 smash, we almost certainly wouldn't have any of the subsequent Aerosmith songs on this list. For that reason, I bent the rules a bit in including this one.

89. Armageddon It - Def Leppard

88. November Rain - Guns N' Roses

87. Where You Goin' Now - Damn Yankees (link)

86. Turn on the Night - KISS

85. Quicksand Jesus - Skid Row (link)

84. When It's Love - Van Halen

83. Patience - Guns N' Roses

82. Superstitious - Europe (link)

81. Forever - KISS (link)

It's somewhat surprising that one of most commercially successful rock bands of all-time didn't score their 2nd Top Ten hit in either the 70's or 80's, but rather 17 years into their career in 1990, with this ballad. It might also be somewhat surprising that said hit was co-written by Schmaltz-King, Michael Bolton, until you realize the crooner started his career in the hard rock genre, as a bandmate of future KISS member, Bruce Kulick, during which time they even opened for Ozzy Osbourne. Link is to the live, full symphonic version.

80. Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue

79. 18 and Life - Skid Row

78. Give Me All Your Love - Whitesnake

77. Who Made Who - AC/DC

76. I Don't Believe in Love - Queensryche (link)

75. Hot for Teacher - Van Halen

74. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) - Motley Crue

73. Girls, Girls, Girls - Motley Crue

72. Always There for You - Stryper

71. Now You're Gone - Whitesnake (link)

70. Tell Me - White Lion (link - Mike Tramp live acoustic)

69. Cherokee - Europe (link)

68. Get the Funk Out - Extreme (link)

I saw Extreme at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, circa 2008, well past the peak of their commercial success. I didn't know quite what to expect. What I got was one of the best live performances I've ever seen. Singer, Gary Cherone, bounced around the stage like an Olympic gymnast, and Nuno Bettencourt showed virtuoso chops on both lead guitar and piano. All while playing for TWO HOURS - practically unheard of in recent years, much less from an act with such a limited discography.

67. (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection - Nelson

66. What You Give - Tesla (link)

65. Hole Hearted - Extreme

64. Honestly - Stryper

63. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister

62. Just Like Paradise - David Lee Roth (link)

61. Miles Away - Winger

60. All She Wrote - Firehouse

59. Edge of a Broken Heart - Vixen (link)

One of two Top 40 hits for the all-female glam band. Apparently co-writers Richard Marx, and Tubes lead singer, Fee Waybill, delivered the final product at the eleventh hour when singer, Janet Gardner, was already preparing to lay down vocals in the studio. I think procrastinating turned out OK in this case.

58. Love Song - Tesla

57. Something to Believe In - Poison

56. Moneytalks - AC/DC

55. Animal - Def Leppard (link)

54. Poison - Alice Cooper

53. You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi

52. Cherry Pie - Warrant

51. Reason to Live - KISS (link)

I remember watching Dial MTV religiously in the late 80's, and this song landed at the top of the countdown at the exact same time that Def Leppard's first ever Billboard Top 10 hit, "Hysteria," arrived on the scene. The two videos proceeded to battle it out on a daily basis, alternating between the top 2 spots. Ironically, although Def Leppard would soon become my favorite musical act of all time, I wasn't yet a huge fan, and was actually rooting for the KISS track in this case.

50. Finish What Ya Started - Van Halen

49. Firewoman - The Cult (link)

48. Dream Warriors - Dokken (link)

47. Close My Eyes Forever - Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne

Hard to believe that this was the only Billboard Top 10 hit for either of these two artists. Absolutely ubiquitous in 1988.

46. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses

45. Carrie - Europe (link)

44. Wait - White Lion

43. Nothin' But a Good Time - Poison

42. Don't Believe Her - Scorpions (link)

I, like many kids that age, took guitar lessons as a teenager. I wasn't good. My guitar teacher, however, could listen to a song on tape (yes, tape) for ten seconds, and whip out the rhythm part like he had written the damn thing. This was the only song I ever gave him where he actually had trouble figuring out the chords. That didn't bode well for my own performance of course.

41. Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) - Cinderella

40. Eyes of a Stranger - Queensryche (link)

39. Dude Looks Like a Lady - Aerosmith

38. Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Great White

37. When the Children Cry - White Lion (link)

36. Don't Close Your Eyes - Kix (link)

35. Panama - Van Halen

34. Rock You Like a Hurricane - Scorpions

33. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford (link)

32. Photograph - Def Leppard

31. I'll See You in My Dreams - Giant (link)

Two unfortunate things - one, Giant's career definitely did not live up to their name. Two, Dann Huff, who was one of better vocalists of the era, eventually retreated to the background, becoming a highly sought after producer and session musician in the country music world. This was their only Top 40 hit, and is one of the best ballads of the hair band era.

30. Lick It Up - KISS

29. Born to My Baby - Bon Jovi

28. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Warrant (link)

27. High Enough - Damn Yankees

26. I Remember You - Skid Row

25. I Saw Red - Warrant

24. House of Fire - Alice of Cooper (link)

Funny story. Many of you are probably familiar with the legion of infamous "misheard lyrics." From "Purple Haze" ("Excuse me, while I kiss this guy.") to "Blinded By the Light" ("Wrapped up like a douche..."). I had my own double-take moment the first time I heard this track off of Cooper's 1989 smash-hit album, Trash. Of course, I realized that these were not the actual words, but at the start of the second verse, I could have SWORN he was singing, "We ain't gotta pay rent now baby. Don't let no Jew throw us out." Lol. (It's "NO LANDLORD TO throw us out") Whoops!

23. What It Takes - Aerosmith

22. After the Rain - Nelson (link)

21. Don't Tread on Me - Damn Yankees (link)

20. Burning Like a Flame - Dokken (link)

19. You Could Be Mine - Guns N' Roses

18. Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue

17. Silent Lucidity - Queensryche (link)

The link here is to what is probably the best live performance ever on the MTV Video Music Awards, or even, as one of the Youtube commenters indicates, "Perhaps the greatest six minutes of MTV's 37-year history."

16. Heaven - Warrant

15. Gypsy Road - Cinderella (link)

14. Thunderstruck - AC/DC

13. Fallen Angel - Poison

12. Cum on Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot (link)

I mentioned in the prologue to this blog post that Metal Health was the first hard rock/heavy metal entry to reach the apex of the Billboard 200 album chart. Concurrently, in November 1983, this cover of a ten-year-old Slade song, gave Quiet Riot a Top 5 single as well, springing the hair band era into full force. Amazingly, these achievements almost never happened. The original incarnation of the band, founded by the late Randy Rhoads, came to an end with Rhoads' departure in 1979, amongst much turmoil within the group. Apparently, Rhoads' mother was quite encouraging of singer Kevin Dubrow's desire to revive the act under the original name in 1982, after her son had tragically passed. Good thing.

11. Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Slave to the Grind - Skid Row (link)

Nobody slayed vocals in the late 80's/early 90's like Sebastian Bach. And nowhere was it more evident, than on this throaty rocker, which wasn't even one of the band's biggest chart hits. Perhaps their truest "metal moment," it did enjoy significant airplay on MTV, however, and I consider it to be one of the signature vocal performances of the era.

9. Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns N' Roses

Allegedly, the band didn't originally expect this to turn into a huge hit song. Arising out of a "string-skipping" exercise employed by Slash during warm-ups, 'Child" was basically a product of Axl Rose's bandmates fucking around and writing the music in five minutes. They thought they had a filler track for their album, until Rose added lyrics inspired by his relationship with then-girlfriend, Erin Everly. The first two singles off Appetite for Destruction, "It's So Easy," and yes, "Welcome to the Jungle," actually flopped. But the emergence of "Sweet Child o' Mine" on the US airwaves propelled the album, and the band, into the rock stratosphere.

8. Timeless Love - Saraya (link)

Ah, what could have been. Despite being primed to be a sex symbol, and one of few frontwomen of the hair band era, Sandi Saraya's music career was short-lived. Saraya only released two albums, and this, easily their best track, wasn't on either of them. No, this is the third entry on my Top 300 from the stellar Shocker soundtrack. Another gem penned by Desmond Child, this is simply one of the best rock ballads ever. Perhaps if the movie had been better, and a bigger hit, the song would have gotten more exposure. We'll never know.

7. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake

Probably the clearest example on the list of my personal preference taking a back seat to the other criteria I used. I think it's a great song, but it's not even my favorite song by this band. However, you can't overlook the association it, and even more so the video, has with the hair band era. You think 80's hard rock, you think Tawny Kitaen slithering all over the hood of that Jaguar (it was originally supposed to be Claudia Schiffer). Still played on radio, commercials, and a staple of karaoke bars everywhere, "Here I Go Again" is simply one of the quintessential tracks of the time. And, it's one of surprisingly few hair band tunes to hit the coveted #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. RIP Ms. Kitaen.

6. Rock of Ages - Def Leppard

It's almost impossible to believe that Def Leppard only notched four Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in their career (all consecutive from the album Hysteria). They did have a few near misses, including this track, which is one of the best concert songs ever, in my mind, from the best live act of all-time. When Pyromania is only the SECOND-BEST album you put out, you know you've had an incredible career.

5. Wind of Change - Scorpions

Singer, Klaus Meine, wrote this just a couple months before the Berlin Wall came down, so the track's meaning logically became intertwined with that event. However, the lyrics are actually a reference to the changes that were occurring in what was then the USSR, as the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union was imminent. Probably the most socially significant song on this countdown (perhaps the ONLY lol), and also the best use of whistling (sorry, "Patience"). Astoundingly, it's one of only two Top 40 hits for the Scorps ("Rock You Like a Hurricane" peaked at #25), and their only visit to the Top 10 (#4).

4. Talk Dirty to Me - Poison

Can you imagine, for a second, how the hair band landscape may have been altered, had Slash been the lead guitarist for Poison? Well, it almost happened! Poor Matt Smith, the original axe-slinger for the band, had to depart after knocking up his girlfriend. The finalists for his replacement included not only their eventual selection, CC DeVille, but also the future Guns 'N Roses virtuoso. DeVille showed up for his audition with this guitar riff at the ready, which sealed his good fortune, despite Bret Michaels allegedly lobbying for Slash. 'Dirty' became the band's first Top 10 hit, and catapulted them to superstardom.

3. Bed of Roses - Bon Jovi (link)

Clearly, not the obvious choice for the top-ranking song by the New Jersey rockers, as Bon Jovi accumulated FOUR #1 singles across their storied career (and Jon added one solo with "Blaze of Glory"). No other act on this list had more than one. They were far and away the most commercially successful and enduring act to get their start during the 80's hard rock explosion. To me though, beyond the stories of Tommy and Gina, Jon being there for us, and the eight Top 10 hits they scored during the 80's, "Bed of Roses" finds Jon Bon Jovi at the height of his lyrical craftmanship and storytelling talent. An epic, sweeping ballad that sent the band storming back into the Top 10 in 1993. A contender for my top overall song of that decade, for sure.

2. The Final Countdown - Europe

This being a ranking of hard rock/heavy metal songs, you would assume there would be a lot of memorable guitar riffs, intros, and solos to be found. But my #2 hair band song of all-time is largely recognizable by its signature opening synth/keyboard line, which perfectly evokes the track's otherworldly theme. One of two Top 10 hits the Swedes had here in the US, 'Countdown' hit #1 in 25 countries across the world, and is one of the most eternally prevalent rock songs of its time. It still echoes throughout sports arenas worldwide, as a ringtone on cell phones everywhere, and even landed Europe a prized spot in a recent GEICO commercial. And they did have some great hair.

***1. Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard***

With 16 entries on my Top 300, and 8 more that were considered for inclusion, Def Leppard dominates my memories of growing up during a time of hard rock, hair gel, tattered and whitewashed jeans, and all-around bombast. My favorite musical act, and favorite live performer of all-time, produced my #1 song of all-time, in any genre. This one was a no-brainer from the beginning. I didn't know exactly how the rest of the ranking would shake out, but this was the automatic #1.

In what's been described by others as a "pull the car to the side of the road" musical moment (even though I was actually in our den at home), I clearly remember watching the MTV World Premiere of this video in 1988 and thinking to myself, "Holy hell - what is THIS?!" I was instantaneously hooked on the song and the band, and never looked back.

In what can only be considered a travesty of epic proportions, 'Sugar' was denied reaching the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 by none other than "Hold Onto the Nights" by Richard Marx. Ironically, the first time I would ever see the Leps in concert was in 1992 at Madison Square Garden for a charity show co-headlined by Bryan Adams and, you guessed it...Richard Marx.

Despite having relatively limited success on the US singles chart, Def Leppard was easily one of the standard-bearers for the 80's rock sound, and the dudes rightfully took their places in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. An arsenal of legendary rock music like none other.

HONORABLE MENTION

The rest of the songs I included for consideration are listed below. I did rank them (they appear here, in order, from the ones that just missed my Top 300 through the least favorite), but honestly, at this point on the list, you could pretty much shake all these names up in a hat and re-order them, and I probably wouldn't know the difference. These are basically just other songs you might want to check out.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Bon Jovi

Give It a Try - Bonfire

Love is a Dangerous Thing - Firehouse

The Real Me - W.A.S.P.

Can't Let You Go - Rainbow

Stay - Giant

Lay It Down - Ratt

Wild World - Mr. Big

Calling on You - Stryper

Stand Up - David Lee Roth

Gimme Some Lovin' - Thunder

Can't Find My Way - Hardline

Reach for the Sky - Firehouse

Love's a Loaded Gun - Alice Cooper

Don't Walk Away - Danger Danger

Overnight Sensation - Firehouse

Innocence - Enuff Z'nuff

Song for Love - Extreme

Hard as a Rock - AC/DC

I Live My Life for You - Firehouse

Too Young to Fall in Love - Motley Crue

Without You - Motley Crue

(Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice - Poison

Let's Put the X in Sex - KISS

Don't Give Up - White Lion

Tears are Falling - KISS
Anybody Listening? - Queensryche

I'll Cry for You - Europe

Blind Faith - Warrant

Unskinny Bop - Poison

House of Broken Love - Great White

You are the Saint, I am the Sinner - Winger

God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II - KISS

The Bitter Pill - Warrant

More Than Meets the Eye - Europe

I Won't Forget You - Poison

Amazing - Aerosmith

Unholy - KISS
Gettin' Better - Tesla

Rhythm of Love - Scorpions

Just Got Lucky - Dokken

Song & Emotion - Tesla

Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion) - Def Leppard

The Angel Song - Great White

El Salvador - White Lion

Empire - Queensryche

No Pain No Gain - Scorpions

I Can't Explain - Scorpions

Yesterdays - Guns N' Roses

A Lot to Lose - Tesla

Livin' on the Edge - Aerosmith

Every Time I Look at You - KISS

Cryin' - Aerosmith

Life Goes On - Poison

Give It to Me Good - Trixter

Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Quiet Riot

Come Again - Damn Yankees

Bed of Nails - Alice Cooper

Followed - Warrant

Estranged - Guns N' Roses

When Love and Hate Collide - Def Leppard

Kid Ego - Extreme

Chained - Giant

Bad Reputation - Damn Yankees

Little Suzi - Tesla

Here for You - Firehouse

Best of Both Worlds - Van Halen

Stop the World - Extreme

Through the Rain - Cinderella

Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) - Van Halen

I Want Action - Poison

Primal Scream - Motley Crue

Cry for Freedom - White Lion

So Many Tears - Dokken

Am I Ever Gonna Change - Extreme

Love is a Lie - Great White

Shout at the Devil - Motley Crue

I'll Wait - Van Halen

Foolin' - Def Leppard

Prisoners in Paradise - Europe

Breaking the Silence - Queensryche

Your Mama Don't Don't Dance - Poison

Farewell to You - White Lion

Top of the World - Van Halen

Mama's Fool - Tesla

Goin' Home Tonight - White Lion

Sign of the Times - Europe

The Hole in My Wall - Warrant

Lost in America - Alice Cooper

Fingers on It - Enuff Z'Nuff

Stay - Don Dokken

Spell I'm Under - Winger

Runaround - Van Halen

(You Make Me) Rock Hard - KISS

Hard to Find the Words - Cinderella

Hit Between the Eyes - Scorpions

Into the Fire - Dokken

Love Walks In - Thunder

Domino - KISS

Coming Home - Scorpions

Walk on Water - Aerosmith

Knucklebones - David Lee Roth

Backstreet Symphony - Thunder

Speak - Queensryche

Believe in Love - Scorpions

Broken Heart - White Lion

Under the Same Sun - Scorpions

The Dream is Over - Van Halen

Heaven's on Fire - KISS

Blind Man - Aerosmith

I Just Wanna - KISS

Deuces Are Wild - Aerosmith

F.I.N.E - Aerosmith

I Believe - Bon Jovi

Miss You in a Heartbeat - Def Leppard

Rocket - Def Leppard

Action - Def Leppard

Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - Bon Jovi

Poundcake - Van Halen

Eat the Rich - Aerosmith

Dry County - Bon Jovi

I Wanna Touch U - Def Leppard

Takin' Me Down - Hardline

Tragic Comic - Extreme

Dreamer - Europe

Machine Gun - Warrant

Real World - Queensryche

Heaven Is - Def Leppard

This Ain't a Love Song - Bon Jovi

Top 30 Songs of 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Angels Like You - Miley Cyrus

Strangers - Theory of a Deadman (TOAD)

Volcano - Guided By Voices

Bruised and Bloodied - Seether

Flowers on a Grave - Bush

Ablaze - Alanis Morissette

World I Used to Know - Scott Stapp

Club Zero - The Go-Go's

Ghosts - Bruce Springsteen

If I Told You - Soul Asylum

Drive- Patty Smythe

Piece of Cake - Roxette

Private Lives - Low Cut Connie

Leave Virginia Alone - Tom Petty

In the End - Sheryl Crow

Who Do You Think You're Talking To? - Dawes

Everything Has Changed - Best Coast

My Own Soul's Warning - The Killers

You're Not Alone - Semisonic

Peace - Lissie

We Are Chaos - Marilyn Manson

Salt and the Sea - The Lumineers

The Only Thing - Travis feat. Susanna Hoffs

Use My Voice - Evanescence

Gadigal Land - Midnight Oil

History of Violence - Theory of a Deadman (TOAD)

Infinite - Goldfinger

Every Time You Leave - I Prevail feat. Delaney Jane

Dangerous - Seether

***#1 "All You're Dreaming Of" - Liam Gallagher***

Top 125 of 2010s (50-26)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 16:23:00 +0000

Here are the next 25 selections. Click on the links to listen. Enjoy...

50. Headlights - Morning Parade
49. Sun on Sunday - James Blunt
48. Tonight - Seether
47. Ojai - Lissie
46. Is There Anyone Out There - Toad the Wet Sprocket
Ending a 16-year absence of new material from the Toad crew, 2013's New Constellation spawned this album track, among a number of other standouts that could have been hits in another era.

45. Bicycle Kings - Angie Aparo
Another comeback of sorts...Aparo never really had any hits to begin with, but did take a hiatus from music-making due to a life-threatening stroke. This leadoff single from Life is a Flower, Life is a Gun, marked a strong return to form, and featured a unique incorporation of Apple's Siri technology.

44. Give Me Something - Scars on 45
43. Aftermath - Adam Lambert
42. Hang On - Weezer
41. No More - Disturbed
40. Familiar Taste of Poison - Halestorm
39. Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Maroon 5
38. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
37. Grace - Ed Kowalczyk
After an acrimonious split with the boys from Live, Kowalczyk went on to release two solo albums and an EP before eventually getting the band back together. This track, for me, was the best of his solo work.

35. (tie) Two - Dan Wilson
35. (tie) Two - Heart
Yes, this is our first tie on the countdown. Yes, the song titles are the same. No, they are not versions of the same song. One is an outstanding ballad by a gifted singer-songwriter. The other is a surprising choice of a cover song by two rock legends. The former Semisonic frontman waxes poetic about a relationship on his "Two," while the Wilson sisters (another absolute coincidence involving this placement on my list) nicked a song originally penned and recorded by R&B star, Ne-Yo - making a statement about not caring what other people think or say about who you choose to be with. Both artists churn out fantastic results.

34. One More Light - Linkin Park
Although LP's Mike Shinoda wrote this song as a tribute to a friend who had passed away from cancer, 'Light" took on a whole new meaning when lead singer, Chester Bennington, took his own life on July 20, 2017. This became the next single from the album of the same name, and fittingly, was the last released by the band to feature Bennington on vocals. The clip included here hits on a different level, as Bennington performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live as a tribute to his close friend, Chris Cornell...who had just taken his own life.

33. Both Sides Now - Sara Bareilles
One of the most memorable performances I've ever seen on an awards show, Bareilles stunned with a cover of the Joni Mitchell classic, during the "In Memoriam" segment at the 2017 Oscar ceremony.

32. Let Me Hear You Scream - Ozzy Osbourne
31. Nowhere to Run - Fozzy
I knew that WWE star, Chris Jericho, had a rock band, but I had never really taken the time to check out their work. Then, this leadoff single from their yet-to-be-released eighth studio album came blaring through my car speakers. It's my #3 song of 2019 and a certified rock anthem. The band name, incidentally, is a riff on the first name of the artist right above them on this list.

30. Walking on Broadway - Mark Kano
It's unfortunate that Kano's band, Athenaeum, didn't achieve the chart success they deserved. Their three studio albums - Radiance, Athenaeum, and Family Tree, offered up some of the most radio-friendly pop rock tunes of the late 90's/early 00's. This title track from Kano's debut solo album is technically from 2009, but my list, my rules, so I've included it here in its rightful spot in the Top 30 of the decade. Not the last appearance for this artist.

29. Still Pretending - First Signal
28. Break Out - Scott Stapp
27. Shine - Michael Sweet
80's rock stalwarts, Stryper, continue to churn out quality music and sound amazing live, even as they enter their fifth decade of existence. The same can be said of lead singer Michael Sweet's work away from the band. Nowhere more evident than on my #2 song of 2019.

26. Go Easy - Catrien Maxwell

Top 125 of 2010s (75-51)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 22:42:00 +0000

The fun continues with 3/5 of my decade-end list now in the books.

Here are the next 25 selections. Click on the links to listen. Enjoy...

75. Counting Stars - One Republic
Although they haven't had a major hit in a while, this is easily one of the most publicly recognizable artists on my list. For a while, One Republic was all over the radio, and singer, Ryan Tedder, quickly became one of the most prolific songwriters and producers in the industry. This single alone moved 10 million units, making it far and away the most commercially successful song on this countdown.

74. Academic - New Order
73. Shameless - Lissie
This is the gritty, rock-laden single that introduced me to the singer-songwriter known as Lissie. Although the Stevie Nicks sound-alike went in a somewhat softer direction with her subsequent material, she's still been one of my faves in recent years, with four entries on my list.

72. No More Darkness, No More Light - Amos Lee
71. Never Enough - Brittany J. Smith
70. Fuckin' Perfect - P!nk
69. Stand - Ed Kowalczyk
68. Are You Ready - Disturbed
67. Such a Simple Thing - Ray LaMontagne
66. Always Remember Us This Way - Brittany J. Smith
Having built a solid social media following, with more than 76,000 subscribers on Youtube alone, and having made it through to the group rounds on the New American Idol, I'd say it's been a good decade for Brittany. With her towering vocals, keen sense of image and personal style, and high fan engagement, it's not hard to imagine the 2020s being even better. This blistering rendition of "Always Remember Us This Way" from A Star is Born, is one of her best performances to date. A couple other appearances on this list for this future superstar, including one above, and another that's among the best covers I've ever heard.

65. Hardwired - Hailey Knox
64. Blue on Black - Five Finger Death Punch
63. Museum of Broken Relationships - Veruca Salt
A long-anticipated (by me, at least) reunion of Nina Gordon and Louise Post, as this 90's band finally "got back together." The results were mixed as far as the totality of their comeback album, Ghost Notes, goes. But this lead single did not disappoint.

62. I'm the Proof - Ed Kowalczyk
61. I Want it That Way - Gin Blossoms
Actually just a live-acoustic performance by lead singer, Robin Wilson, I had the good fortune to catch this surprise rendition of the Backstreet Boys hit when I saw Gin Blossoms for the 11th time a couple years back. Wilson came out by himself to start the encore and went in a slightly different direction by choosing to do his best boy-band impression. Shockingly, it really worked - light year better than the original, in fact.

60. Love is a Country - The Wallflowers
59. Love Bites (So Do I) - Halestorm
Easily my artist of the decade, with eight entries on this list, including FIVE within the top 25 songs, and my favorite album of the 2010s - The Strange Case of... from 2013. This track was the lead single from that album, and, in a stunning turn of events, actually scored the band the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. A rare win for Grammy voters in recent years.

58. Stars - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
57. Another Life - Any Given Sin
56. Werewolves - The Damnwells
55. Save Today - Seether
54. Walk - Foo Fighters
53. Hero - Family of the Year
This was a minor radio hit and was featured in one of my favorite films of the decade - 2014's Ethan Hawke vehicle, Boyhood. They've apparently released two subsequent albums, but I've yet to sample them.

52. Because We Can - Bon Jovi
51. I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz (video feat. Daryl Hall)

Top 125 of 2010s (100-76)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 04:14:00 +0000

Continuing on with the best of the decade...Here are the next 25 tracks. Click on the links to listen. Enjoy.

100. Too Late - Mike Ruocco
Just another act I liked relegated to the scrap heap of music history, Mike Ruocco fronted a short-lived band called Cinder Road, who I actually saw open for Puddle of Mudd sometime during the previous decade. This solo track came a bit later on, and disappeared as fast as it arrived.

99. Bonfire Heart - James Blunt
98. Dead End Ride - Mike Tramp
97. My Little Secret - Cavo
This St. Louis rock band had a couple of modern rock radio hits off their debut CD in the waning days of the 00's. This one, my favorite track from the album, was a holdover into 2010, but didn't make much of a dent on the charts,

96. Dynamite - Any Given Sin
95. Crazy for You - Scars on 45
94. Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees
One of the acts that appears on my list who actually enjoyed a modicum of commercial success. Neon Trees could be called a three-hit wonder, and two of those hits drop on my Top 125.

93. Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
92. Don't You Give Up on Me - Lissie
91. The Road Not Taken - Johnny Hates Jazz
Didn't these guys come and go in 1988? Surprisingly, they made a sudden reappearance on the music landscape in 2013. The first single from that year's Magnetized actually started to gain some exposure in Europe before lead singer, Clark Datchler, fell ill with cancer, and they had to stop promoting the album. This pensive ballad stood out for me.

90. Eye of the Storm - Scorpions
89. Moth Into Flame - Metallica
Twenty-eight years after ...And Justice For All notoriously (and inexplicably) lost in the Hard Rock/Metal Performance category to Jethro Tull, the Grammy Awards managed to f**k Metallica again, only this time, on stage. In a rare instance of me looking forward to an awards show performance, the grizzled rockers were slated to perform this single live with Lady Gaga, only to have James Hetfield's mic be shut off, unbeknownst to him, throughout the entire first verse. Hetfield made the realization and started sharing a mic with Gaga, but it really put a damper on the performance of what I thought was a really strong comeback single. Adding insult to injury, they lost their only nomination of the night. Luckily the dress rehearsal footage sounds great and was posted to Youtube (link above).

88. Scars on This Guitar - Bon Jovi
87. Rhinoceros - Juliana Hatfield
86. False Eye - Faryn Sand
The planets aligned back in 2009 when I lost my job, and my sister informed me of a desire to professionally record music. A trip to the SxSW music festival later, ProGenitor Entertainment was born, and we released a three-song EP that didn't break any chart records, but which was streamed and downloaded as far away as Australia and Japan. We caused our own version of a stir with "Faryn Sand Day" - an effort which saw friends and family bomb local DJs with requests for this track, the single from the EP. Although I may be biased, I do think "False Eye" in particular is a really strong piece of songwriting, and I believe it deserves its rightful place on my decade-end countdown.

85. Another Life - Any Given Sin
84. September - Daughtry
83. Pull Me Through - Tyrone Wells
The second of five entries on my list from this Washington-bred singer-songwriter. Wells' "More" popped in at #26 on my best of the '00's list a decade ago. He didn't slow down by any means in the 2010s - starting off with the Metal & Wood EP, which includes this standout track.

82. I Miss the Misery - Halestorm
81. Rise - Ed Kowalczyk
80. Burn it Down - Linkin Park
79. The Ghost in You - Duncan Sheik
78. My Bed - Dixie Maxwell
I've touted the music from the Maxwell sisters - Catrien and Dixie - quite a bit over the past decade or so. I still think they both should have been superstars. No clearer evidence of that than on this stellar track from Dixie's 2013 EP, still up on the Bandcamp site.

77. Lesson Learned - Alice in Chains
76. Impossible - Anberlin

Top 125 of 2010s (125-101)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 05:51:00 +0000

My first blog post in nearly three years is, of course, monumental in nature. My end of the decade recap of the best songs the 2010s had to offer. What could be more exciting? Why 125? Basically that's when I got tired of ranking them 😄

Most of these songs will continue to get airplay...in my car. Most of them were not commercial hits to begin with, but a few were. There are 11 cover songs, a Fozzy, an Ozzy, 3 songs about praying, one that made it to Broadway, 9 artists with 3 or more entries on the list, including one with 8, a little country, a little rock, a little singer-songwriter, a little hair metal, a little Christian rock, 8 former lead singers, and 1 sister.

Here are the first 25 selections. Click on the links to listen. Enjoy.

125. Minute of Your Time - First Signal
124. We Belong - Def Leppard
The Leps have long been my favorite band of all-time. This one from their most recent studio album doesn't come close to their work from the 80's and 90's, but it does add a touch of originality. It's the only track they've ever recorded featuring lead vocals from every band member. Cool enough to warrant a spot on my list.

123. Words As Weapons - Seether
I stupidly overlooked a couple stellar Seether songs when I compiled my best of the 00's list. Not to make the same mistake this time around, I included seven entries from the South African rockers on this list. It starts with this one from 2014's Isolate and Medicate.

122. I'm Not Your Suicide - Michael Sweet
121. Nothing More - The Alternate Routes
120. Crash - Cavo
119. Don't Got One - Hailey Knox
I saw Hailey perform live with her sister, Samantha, when they were pre-teens. Now, 20, Hailey's been signed by a major label, recorded an EP and a mixtape, appeared on The Today Show, sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden, and opened on tour for Charlie Puth. What are you doing with your life?

118. Down By the Water - The Decemberists
117. This Moment Now - Tyrone Wells
116. Right Now - Fire From the Gods
Keeping rock alive in 2019, this is the first entry from the last year of the decade.

115. Would I Lie to You - Mike Tramp
Former lead singer of 80's hair band, White Lion, Tramp has put out a surprising amount of solo material in the years since the group called it quits.

114. Cry - Kelly Clarkson
113. She is Getting Away - First Signal
112. Million Reasons - Lady Gaga
Overall, I'm not a humongous fan of Lady Gaga's music, but I do think she's one of the more extraordinarily talented pop stars of this generation. In a sea of banal choreography, lip-synched and auto-tuned garbage-churning, plastic tabloid fodder, Stefani Germanotta stands out as someone who can actually sing. This one caught my attention during her stellar performance at Super Bowl LI.

111. Lullaby Singer - Anna Nalick
A disappointing album for my tastes, 2017's At Now did spawn a couple of gems. This was the best of the bunch. Catch her live show if you can.

110. Love Shines - Ron Sexsmith
109. Warrior - Evaride
Evaride is a trio of interesting origin - a singer who starred on Broadway in the Green Day-inspired "American Idiot," a guitarist who's played alongside Jennifer Lopez and Demi Lovato, and the former touring drummer for One Direction. I don't know much about their music, other than this anthem-esque track that blared through my TV repeatedly during Yankee game commercial breaks, in the ad for the RBI Baseball '19 video game. It's an earworm.

108. All In - Lifehouse
107. Animals - Maroon 5
106. Days Go By - The Offspring
105. Last of My Broken Hearts - First Signal
Harry Hess is a Canadian producer/singer who has released a boatload of albums with his band, Harem Scarem. I'd never heard a single song they'd done when I accidentally stumbled across his more recent project, First Signal, on Spotify a couple years ago. Sounding like they were beamed directly out of the 80's AOR scene, FS actually released their first album in 2010. The real classic is their follow-up - 2016's One Step Over the Line, which featured two of the songs already noted on this countdown, as well as one still to come. "Last of My Broken Hearts" is actually their latest single, and the second song from 2019 to make an appearance on this list.

104. Here and Now - Seether
103. Broken Over You - Vertical Horizon
102. We Ain't Telling - Dan Wilson
One of my favorite songwriters dating back to his days fronting Semisonic, Wilson has recently shunned the traditional album format in favor of releasing a string of individual singles. This is the most memorable of that effort to date.

101. Same Damn Life - Seether

Top 30 Songs 2015/2016

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 03:35:00 +0000

After running through most of the best songs of the past two years on Facebook, here's a recap, and some notes on my Top 5. Hope you find one or two that you like...

30. "Stars" - Skillet
29. "Geeks" - Hailey Knox
28. "Pieces" - Rob Thomas
27. "Are You the Answer" - Collective Soul
26. "Meet Me There" - J.Antonette

25. "Aeroplane" - Look Park
24. "I Can't Stop Thinking About You" - Sting
23. "Hold On" - Bob Mould
22. "My Worst Enemy" - Hailey Knox
21. "The Girl That's Not in Love With You" - The Damnwells

20. "Bulletproof Picasso" - Train
19. "Painkiller" - Three Days Grace
18. "We Belong" - Def Leppard
17. "Yoko" - Dan Wilson
16. "Daughters" - Lissie

15. "Hurricane" - Lifehouse
14. "Still Breathing" - Green Day
13. "Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning" - Bon Jovi
12. "Here I Am" - Asking Alexandria
11. "The End of Things" - Bob Mould

10. "Don't You Give Up on Me" - Lissie
9. "Eye of the Storm" - Scorpions
8. "Moth Into Flame" - Metallica
7. "Scars on This Guitar" - Bon Jovi
6. "Academic" - New Order

5. "Ojai" - Lissie
Again, one of my favorite singer/songwriters of the past few years. The only artist to appear three times on this list, and deservedly so. Unsurprisingly, pop radio has not found a home for Lissie, but I strongly recommend checking her out. This track is an emotional farewell to a hometown she left behind for the farmland of Iowa.
4. "Two" - Heart
Typically when you go see an artist live four decades into their career, you're not especially excited to hear "the new stuff." This song stood out for me when I saw them in Mountainview, CA this past Summer. Originally written and recorded by R&B star, Ne-Yo, Heart masterfully annexed it for their latest album, and pulled it off in classic fashion. Nancy Wilson steps into the lead vocal position for this ballad about a couple shunning other peoples' ignorant opinions about their relationship.
3. "The Light" - Disturbed
A hard rock band that defies the odds in a music industry dominated by rhythmic pop and R&B/Hip-hop, Disturbed churned out one of their best albums, Immortalized, in 2015. This is one of the best tracks on the record. The message here should resonate particularly well with everyone in current times, regardless of your ideological leanings. "Don't let hope become a memory."
2. "Lost" - The Damnwells
A Brooklyn band that never hit the big time, but cranked out five exceptional albums over the course of 13 years. The final single off their self-titled swan song represents their best work. I was very fortunate to catch them live in NYC shortly before they decided to part ways as a band.

1. "The Sound of Silence" - Disturbed

If you were wondering how you do the perfect cover song, Disturbed is prepared to take you to school. I thought they had mastered the art with their blistering take on Genesis' "Land of Confusion" back in 2006. With this Simon and Garfunkel track, they've outdone themselves. Perfectly evoking the darkness of the original lyrics, singer David Draiman brings his unique vocal texture to this 60's classic. Also making it unique is the fact that this is actually a rare occurrence of my musical preferences being in line with the masses, as this single shockingly became the biggest hit of the band's career.

2016: The Year in Television

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 03:12:00 +0000

My list of the Top 10 things that did not suck on TV this year...

10. Minnie Driver (Speechless - ABC)

The show itself is already starting to wear on me, but this is a role that Driver was born to play. Pitch-perfect casting with her as the way overprotective mother of a teenage boy with cerebral palsy.

9. Lethal Weapon (FOX)

Conversely to Speechless, this reboot of the Mel Gibson-Danny Glover vehicle of 1980's cinema has surprised me with how much it's grown on me. My initial reaction to the somewhat stale pilot was, "Oh great, another retread - more unoriginal ideas." I originally started watching because I was curious to see Damon Wayans' take on Roger Murtaugh, but it ended up being relatively unknown Clayne Crawford in the Gibson role of Martin Riggs who has pushed everyone around him to be better. And the chemistry between Wayans and Crawford comes shockingly close to equaling that of Glover and Gibson. I'm curious to see where they go with this.

8. Josh Holloway (Colony - USA)

The first season of this post-alien invasion drama was pretty entertaining, and I waffled between whether to highlight the show or Holloway's performance. In the end, I decided that it's the "Lost" veteran's uncanny handle on leading man/action hero status, which was also palpable on the short-lived cyber-security thriller, "Intelligence," that really is the rising tide behind this show. I'm looking forward to Season 2.

7. Juliette Lewis (Secrets & Lies - ABC)

After the Ryan Phillippe-led first season concluded in ridiculous fashion, I was encouraged when word on the street was that the second installment of the series would feature a mostly new cast, and focus more squarely on Lewis' Detective Andrea Cornell. This turned out to be complete nonsense, as Lewis barely had anything substantial to do throughout what was a mess of a new murder storyline. But, what she was given she handled deftly, further solidifying her status as a serious television presence.

6. The Good Place (NBC)

A heavily satirical look at the afterlife, this sitcom stars Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. It's really Bell who shines as a young woman who led a less than admirable life, but was allowed into "The Good Place" due to what amounts to the heavenly version of a clerical error. Like last season's "The Grinder," this is a show that thrives on quirk, and is most certainly an acquired taste. Unfortunately, the number of viewers acquiring it has dropped precipitously since its inception, so I fear that it will meet the same one-season fate "The Grinder" did.

5. Pure Genius (CBS)

After unfairly being skewered by virtually every TV critic on the planet, this Durmot Mulroney vehicle never stood a chance from the jump. As the only new series that CBS did not pick up a full season episode order for, this intriguing look at the potential future of medical technology will very likely be coming to an immediate close, and will need to find a place on the revised version of my Top One-Season TV Shows of All-Time. A shame, since I think it's a series that has a solid emotional center, a fresh and unique premise, and a likable cast.

4. Andrew McCarthy (The Family - ABC)

The series was forgettable, and has appropriately landed on the one-season ash heap of television history. But 80's star McCarthy, who has seen a career resurgence mostly in directing, gave a standout acting turn as a child molester who was wrongly suspected of the kidnapping and murder of a politician's son. He brings out the creepiness of the character, but somehow also manages to make the audience empathize with him as well.

3. John Turturro (The Night of... - HBO)

An absolutely stunning performance by Turturro, in what turned out to be a somewhat disappointing 9 episode mini-series. The show had its other highlights, but it was Turturro in the role of sad-sack, seemingly second-rate attorney, John Stone, that kept me glued to the TV. It was a role that was originally intended for the late James Gandolfini, who retained executive producer credit, and then was passed on to Robert DeNiro, who had to drop out due to other commitments. To say Turturro took advantage of these circumstances would be an understatement. An Emmy-deserving turn.

2. Ray Liotta (Shades of Blue - NBC)

The show ended up being pretty strong as well, with a strong performance by Jennifer Lopez and the supporting cast. But Liotta as crooked Lieutenant Matt Wozniak just blows everyone else off the screen. A mesmerizing comeback from an actor I had not seen in anything for years. Season 1 ended kind of lame, but I hope they come up with some more solid material for Season 2, so Liotta can continue his stunning run.

1. This Is Us (NBC)

File Under: NOT EVEN CLOSE! This was far and away, not only the best show on television in 2016, but one of the best new series I've seen come around in a long time. Shockingly brought to us by the folks at NBC, who desperately needed a hit of this magnitude. Halfway through the premiere season, there is not a single negative thing I can say about TIU. The acting: stellar. The emotion: off the charts. The writing: simply incredible. They've hit every note of family dysfunction, societal issues, coping with sickness and death of loved ones, and even thrown in some twists with dramatic flair. This is an absolute barn burner of a TV series - event television in every sense of the word. If you haven't been watching, you're doing nothing with your life.

Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 20:29:00 +0000

Being somewhat of a TV junkie, I always look forward to the start of the new season every September. So far, the 2015 of new and returning shows is turning out to be a real letdown.

With today's announcement that MacGyver is being rebooted by CBS, it's official that there are absolutely no original ideas floating around Hollywood. Seriously, I'd rather see a TV series based on MacGruber, the Will Forte SNL parody sketch. The 2015-2016 season's new slate of shows certainly bears the mark of this lack of originality, so let's start with the two series that were preceded by films and/or novels.

Minority Report (FOX) - A reboot of the 2002 Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg sci-fi collaboration, which picks up about a decade after the events of the film. One episode and I was finished with this snoozefest. Not engaged by any of the characters, the premise for the story, or the writing. The 2012 television version of another Cruise film, "The Firm," was 1000 times better, even though it was one of the most poorly rated network shows in history. Report opened to tepid numbers, and I expect it to be gone soon.

Limitless (CBS) - The Bradley Cooper/Robert DeNiro film was a modest hit, and overall a decent movie, which was itself based on a novel. Now, the idea is retread again in the form of a Cooper-produced network series, in which he also guest stars in the same role he played in the film. The show is quirky and has potential, but the first two episodes have been uneven, and there were a couple of glaring writing goofs in the pilot. CBS has already ordered a full season slate of episodes, so I figure I may as well give it a chance, but I'm hoping they ratchet up the action in a big way very soon.

From there, we go to a new show that shares a title with a past film, yet has no relation to that previous work...

The Player (NBC) - Nothing to do with the Robert Altman film, it took me all of 1 minute to realize that this effort was a steaming pile of crap. Then about 15 minutes in, there was a brief moment where I thought, "Hmmm...this could get interesting." But, it didn't. Wesley Snipes' co-starring acting performance was as wooden as his face is plastic. Next.

Not exactly reboots, but there are a couple of Tuesday-night FOX comedies that star some familiar faces from the 80's...

Grandfathered (FOX) - John Stamos stars as a pretty boy entrepreneur who suddenly learns he not only has an adult son, but also a baby granddaughter. This one is trying really hard to be funny, and the pilot succeeded in certain spots, but there's a lot of work to be done. I'm not totally buying into Stamos' performance yet. It may take a few more episodes to reach a final verdict.

The Grinder (FOX) - Apparently, the creator of this show convinced Fred Savage to return to acting. My question is, "Why?" Where Grandfathered is trying too hard to be funny and engaging, this effort, co-starring Rob Lowe, doesn't appear to be trying at all, and unfortunately, it's succeeding in that vein. I'll hold out for another one or two episodes, but I sense a short leash here, and I have a funny feeling that the network may sense the same thing.

And then of course, there's the obligatory hospital drama. And I use the term "drama" loosely...

Code Black (CBS) - Marcia Gay Harden stars as the head of one of the country's busiest Emergency Rooms. You'd figure with all that activity, that the pilot would be more action-packed. Instead, it was a whole lotta nothing. I didn't care about a single character. Luis Guzman did add some flare as a senior nurse. It's nice to see him with what looks like could be a juicy role after years of being the "I know I've seen that dude in something" guy. But I'm not sure how long this one is going to last. I'll give it one or two more shots.

Then, the show that's not a remake, retread, reboot, sequel, or prequel, but somehow feels like it's been done before...

Blindspot (NBC) - A woman is discovered in the middle of Times Square with no recollection of who she is, and mysterious tattoos stamped all over her body. Now, the FBI uses her tattoos, along with her unique brand of skills, to solve cases, save lives, and hopefully unravel the riddle of who she really is. Back in 2002, FOX aired a short-lived drama called John Doe, starring future Prison Break alum, Dominic Purcell as a guy who wakes up naked on an island with no memory of who he is, and who subsequently uses his unique brand of skills to assist the local police department in solving crimes. Sound familiar? OK, so he didn't have the tattoos. All things considered, this is so far, my favorite new show of the season. I just wonder if the two totally unknown leads can carry this series to success. I guess it depends on where they go with the central mystery.

And that leaves...

Quantico (ABC) - A bunch of new FBI recruits are suddenly all suspects in a terrorist attack on American soil. Sounds like it could have promise, right? Until you realize that showrunner, Joshua Safran was also responsible for previous efforts like Smash and Gossip Girl. This turns Quantico from what could be a tension-filled thriller, into a cheesy soap opera. The question will remain, will it be two parts soap and one part thriller, or the other way around. That may determine how long I hang out here on Sunday nights.

It seems like even my favorite returning shows, like Blacklist, Modern Family, and Big Bang Theory are starting out on a stale note. Here's hoping things will turn around quickly.

Olympus Has Definitely Fallen

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 05:02:00 +0000

This review may contain some spoilers, but I use that term loosely, as I won't actually be "spoiling" anything for you. Trust me, I'm doing you a favor by telling you what happens. Just spare yourself the 2 hours needed to actually watch the film.

A while back I watched "White House Down," a cheesy action flick with Channing Tatum about an attack on the White House. It was OK for what it was. There was another really similarly themed movie that came out that same year, which I assumed would be the better of the two. It took a while, but "Olympus Has Fallen" finally arrived on cable. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, or "Training Day" fame, and with an all-star cast including Gerard Butler, Dylan McDermott, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Melissa Leo...how could you go wrong. This movie, my friends, is how. What happened to the good old days when action and action/comedy films had sharp, witty dialogue, solid performances, thrilling scenes, and plots that may not have been completely believable, but at least followed some sense of logic? Die Hard, Midnight Run, the Lethal Weapon films, Beverly Hills Cop, Total Recall. I haven't seen an action film like that in ages.

OHF was just a complete crap fest. Butler was actually serviceable as the hero. But if you want to see him in a decent performance in an actually decent film, try "Law Abiding Citizen," which ironically also features Jamie Foxx, who was in "the other White House movie." Once you get past Butler, there's pretty much nothing redeeming about this movie. Dylan McDermott plays a fellow Secret Service operative who ends up being the token traitor, as he sells out to the North Korean terrorists who take over the Washington D.C. landmark. There is never a clear motive established for his character having wanted to harm the President or his country. Yeah, there's the money factor, but shouldn't we assume it would take a little more than that to turn an operative whose sole job it's been to PREVENT the President from getting hurt?

The sort of MacGuffin of the film (an object that one or more of the characters spends the majority of the film trying to obtain) are the "Cerberus Codes." It's explained that these were a set of three codes...one in possession of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, one held by the Secretary of Defense (Leo), and one by the President, that when entered into the computer (conveniently located in the White House bunker where all three of those people were being held hostage), would basically give access to and control of the United States' nuclear arsenal. The North Korean villain started to torture both the Chairman and the Secretary to get their codes, but the President (Eckhart) ordered them both to give up the codes, insisting that he would never give up his, so they would be useless to the terrorist.

The evil Kang's plan to subvert this ploy by the President, was to capture his young son, knowing that the threat of harm to the kid would break the President and lead him to surrendering the final code. However, the very next thing that happens is the kid rescued by Agent Mike Banning (Butler), and everyone in the bunker finds out that he is safe. Then, for some reason that can't possibly be explained, Kang is able to obtain the third code from the President anyway. Completely nonsensical. To add to the mystifying actions by the characters in this film, the Speaker of the House (Freeman), who is now the acting President, since the Vice President is also being held in the bunker, caves into Kang's demand that the US start withdrawing all of its troops from the North/South Korea border. THEY'VE ALREADY RESCUED THE PRESIDENT'S SON and supposedly thwarted Kang's entire plan, so why would he possibly make this decision?

Of course, Agent Banning ends up shutting down the Cerberus system as the "clock" ticks down to its final seconds...a tired and predictable action movie sequence. And then, he kills Kang in one of the most boring villain kill scenes I can remember.

Overall, this film was a waste of everyone's considerable talent. Hard to believe they assembled a cast and director like this and got these results. Even more incomprehensible is...THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEQUEL!! "London Has Fallen" is due out next year, and almost everyone except Fuqua is returning. Yeah people...no thanks!

Top 40 Songs of 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 22:18:00 +0000

For me, 2014 could be labeled the year of the comeback. Several of the songs on my year-end best list are by artists who either have not put out material in a while, or whose stuff I haven't liked in recent years. I'd say, overall, it was a good year for singles, although some of the songs on my list are so close in quality that I seriously had no idea what many of the Top 10 songs would end up being. As usual, my compilation is meant to give an alternate take to the Grammy Awards, and the traditional year-end lists. Maybe you'll think I'm crazy. Maybe you'll discover something you'll like. The widget at the bottom will give you the chance to listen and decide.

40. Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic
For me, Al has always been a genius, but the novelty has kind of worn off in recent years. This was one of his best tracks in a very long time. I guess it's the grammar snob in me, combined with my hatred of the original "Blurred Lines" that led me to enjoy this so much. Click HERE and listen while watching the video...a must see.

39. Heart to Heart - James Blunt

38. Greens and Blues - The Pixies
Never been a big Pixies fan, but this track, off their first full-length album in 23 years, was ultra-listenable.

37. Lightning Bolt - Pearl Jam

36. Breakfast in Bed - Catrien Maxwell

35. Mother - Lissie
A decent cover of the 90's Danzig hit. Lissie is such a talented and overlooked singer.

34. Take a Chance on Me - Swedish Hitz Goes Metal
Another cover tune - this one a very campy remake of the ABBA hit single. Swedish Hitz Goes Metal features the lead singer of a power metal band called ReinXeed, and did an over the top version of the pop dance track that just works on every cheesy level for me.

33. California Wasted - Toad the Wet Sprocket

32. You Ruin Me - The Veronicas

31. Ordinary Love - U2

30. I Don't Know You Anymore - Bob Mould

29. Thirsty For My Tears - Joan Osborne
Osborne never really went away after her signature hit, "One of Us," but I, like many others, have not been following her career. So this track was a nice surprise. Could have been a big radio hit in another time, another place.

28. Final Masquerade - Linkin Park

27. Same Damn Life - Seether

26. It's Holy - Veruca Salt
For me, one of the most anticipated rock reunions in recent memory. I'm anxiously awaiting their new album, but for now, getting to see them live, and hearing the two singles off their EP, were enough to whet my appetite. Not many chicks rock like Nina and Louise.

25. If You Love Someone - The Veronicas
I got into this Australian sisterly duo back when they debuted with "The Secret Life of..." in 2005. What started out, for me, as a great pop rock band with amazing vocal talent and smooth harmonies, has evolved into a dance-y/Top 40-ish disappointment. But on some tracks, their true talent shines through. Absent from the album scene since 2007, I was really hoping their self-titled third effort would represent a return to form. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the result. The two tracks I highlighted on this list, however, serve as an example of what the Origliasso sisters can do with their talents.

24. Invisible - U2

23. Sleepwalking - Lissie
Again, Lissie has gone largely overlooked in the U.S. Here, she's doing her best Stevie Nicks impression...clearly an influence.

22. Crazy Lucky - Better Than Ezra
"Better Than Ezra hit number one on the college charts this week. At number two...Ezra." - Norm MacDonald, SNL Weekend Update. Had to throw that in there. I've always been a marginal BTE fan. But their last two albums represented some of the best material of their career. With a five year hiatus since "Paper Empires," I was encouraged by this peppy lead single. As with many artists these days, the finished album ended up being a major disappointment. Oh well.

21. Back to the Shack - Weezer
Another good lead single. Another disappointing album from an artist I like.

20. Every Breaking Wave - U2
Three entries from the Irish rockers on my list this year. Impressive...since they hadn't done much to hold my attention in recent years. Their last album was abominable. I wasn't blown away by "Songs of Innocence" on the whole, but it was nice to see a few listenable tunes from a 35-year-old band.

19. The Moment - Toad the Wet Sprocket

18. I Hope You Find It - Cher
Yes, I'm a straight male and Cher is making an appearance on my year-end top songs list...ha ha. It happens. This was a straight-up pop ballad...actually written by a couple of country songwriters and originally recorded by Miley Cyrus. I do think Miley is a pretty decent singer, but Cher just blows her version out of the water. It's probably not a song you'd remember ten years from now. Just a simple love song.

17. Future Days - Pearl Jam
A few really good songs on their latest effort. "Sirens" was my #13 from 2013, and this one was almost as good.

16. Lanterns - Birds of Tokyo
There's usually one or two modern rock bands per year who release an album with one REALLY enjoyable track, and then disappear off the face of the Earth. I expect Birds of Tokyo to fall into that category.

15. House on a Hill - The Pretty Reckless
Taylor Momsen starred as a teen on the TV show "Gossip Girl," which I never saw. Now she fronts a rock band I know nothing about. Turns out, they have a few good songs on their latest album. Actually, this one was more than good. Haunting melody, painful lyrics, gravel-tinged vocal...great rock track.

14. I'm Not Your Suicide - Michael Sweet
Stryper has continued to put out quality rock music long past their commercial peak in the 80's. At the same time, lead singer, Michael Sweet churned out a really strong solo effort...punctuated by this title track.

13. Dying to Live - Scott Stapp
One of the best albums from the 2013/2014 timeframe, "Proof of Life" by Creed lead singer, Scott Stapp, provided one track included on my '13 year-end list, and THREE entries on this list. And yes, they're all in the Top 13.

12. A Song Can Be About Anything - Dan Wilson
The ex-Semisonic frontman has, against all odds, become one of the most sought after songwriters in the business today, having now won a Grammy Award for the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" and penning the worldwide Adele smash, "Someone Like You." Due to his work with other artists, his own recorded material has been few and far between. "Love Without Fear" was therefore one of my most heavily anticipated albums in a while. I'd say it fell a bit short of some of his previous work, but this was one standout track. I actually enjoyed the live acoustic performance of this song, which I saw him do at Joe's Pub in NYC, much more than the recorded version. But listen to the lyrics...nobody can put a song together like this guy. A song about songwriting. Who does that?

11. Nothing More - The Alternate Routes
It's been hit and miss for these guys since 2007's amazing "Good and Reckless and True." Still awaiting an album release, but this solitary single bodes well.

10. Animals - Maroon 5
As far as I tend to stray from the pop charts, there are always a few radio hits that sneak in there. Maroon 5 continue to churn out quality pop tunes. This is one of their best in a while.

9. Crazy For You - Scars on 45
A talented British band that has gotten virtually no radio support here. This is the standout track on a solid album.

8. Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees
Neon Trees should just write and record one song for each album, because they've pretty much had one amazing single on each of their first three records, and that's it. The rest is filler. But boy, are they good at perfecting that first track.

7. Sun on Sunday - James Blunt
Easily one of the biggest surprises for me was how much I liked Blunt's 2013 release, "Moon Landing." The lead single, "Bonfire Heart" was my #8 for 2013. Here, I'm cheating a little, because "Sun on Sunday" was never released as a single, but it's my list, so for this year's Top 10, I've included a few tracks that were never singles, but should have been. This one is one hell of an apology song. I think the girl should forgive him.

6. Is There Anyone Out There - Toad the Wet Sprocket
In the year of the comeback, none was more pronounced for me than the rock quartet from Santa Barbara. One of my favorite bands of all time returned to the fold in 2013 with their first effort in 16 years. This is the third entry from them on my 2014 list, after having one on last year's, showing how strong a comeback it was. Not quite as good top to bottom as their 90's work, but that was a mighty high bar they set back then. This was another one that wasn't an official release, but it's far and away the best track on the album, so here it is.

5. Break Out - Scott Stapp
Such an upbeat and positive rock song...saying hello to a new dream...you'll never stop me...don't even try. Sounds like a great message. I wish Stapp was actually living his lyrics. Unfortunately, the only exposure the singer's gotten lately has not been for his incredible music, but for his strange mental and emotional behavior. Clearly on a downward spiral and still fighting demons from the past, Stapp recently completed a stint in rehab. Here's hoping he can get back to fulfilling the new start he sings about on the phenomenal "Break Out."

4. Two - Dan Wilson
In my opinion, the best track from Wilson's second solo album.

3. Museum of Broken Relationships - Veruca Salt
The lead single on 2014's Record Store Day promo EP...a blast of rock from Nina Gordon and Louise Post...not heard from together since the late 90's. Can't wait for the full-length album.

2. Try - Colbie Caillat
A totally unexpected selection for my number 2 song...I actually spent a bit of time debating which of my Top 3 tracks should be number one. I've sort of liked a couple of past singles from Caillat, but I think this is far and away her best. I wish this had been a much bigger radio success, as I think the track actually contains a very important message for young women. I'm not typically one who looks for "message" songs, but with all the self-confidence and self-esteem issues facing girls today, usually only exacerbated by media messages, I thought this was a welcome departure. The video concept was unique as well. Kudos to Colbie.

1. The Only One - Scott Stapp
Another uplifting lyric from the Creed rocker. Another great rock song. "Even when you feel so low like you might let go. I will be the first hand reaching out. I will be the last one giving up on you." I hope there are several someones reaching out to Stapp so he doesn't end up going the way of Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, and so that we'll be able to enjoy future solo and Creed output in the moving forward.

Top 40 of 2014 by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

Top 10 Worst Songs of 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 16:21:00 +0000

"HONORABLE" MENTION: Anything involving Iggy Azalea. Iggy, you have a bangin' body, but you need to stop rapping...immediately.

10. Happy - Pharrell Williams
This is my number 10 because, all in all, it's not really a terrible song. It's just so god damn annoying.

9. Trumpets - Jason DeRulo
Another one that is not completely awful, but ironically enough, it's the titular trumpets that make it so irritating to listen to...along with the playschool-style xylophone sound effects.

8. Let It Go - Adele Nazeem
The original title for this composition was, "Nails on a Chalkboard," but the folks at Disney didn't think that would work well with the marketing scheme for Frozen. I'm honestly not even that impressed with Nazeem as a singer. I know she's an accomplished Broadway performer, but having a STRONG voice, doesn't automatically make you a great singer, and I'm not blown away by her.

7. Am I Wrong - Nico & Vinz
Yes, you're wrong. Very wrong. One of the most listened to tracks around the world. Why?

6. Rude - Magic
Maybe the reason that the father in the lyrics didn't want you to marry his daughter is because your song sucks. Ha ha. I could live without ever hearing this one again.

5. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance
Another worldwide smash that I just don't get. Besides having the most annoying song title vs. artist name rhyming scheme, this one just bores my ears. Totally bland.

4. Bang Bang - Jessie J. featuring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
Jessie J. had a couple of listenable pop tunes a few years back, and Ariana Grande is certainly a really good singer, although her music does pretty much nothing to showcase those skills. I have no real opinion of Minaj, other than that she seems to be a little odd. Jessie J. was so obviously just trying to write a hit single here...and she succeeded. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily make it good, which it isn't.

3. All of Me - John Legend
I really thought John Legend was over several years ago. While women across the world were swooning to this song, I was vomiting in my mouth a little every time it came on the radio.

2. Spark the Fire - Gwen Stefani
Gwen burst onto the music scene in the mid-90's with No Doubt's "Just a Girl." That proved to be the last song of hers that I could stand listening to. This latest offering is just a joke. Gwen, please go fade off into the sunset with all of your money.

1. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
While I can appreciate the message about body image that Trainor is trying to convey here, I can't appreciate what happens to my ears when this comes on the radio. It is a truly abominable song, and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to listen to this mess. Absolutely an easy pick for number 1. I knew this was the worst song of the year after hearing about 30 seconds of it for the first time. One of my least favorite radio hits of the 2000's so far.

REVIEW: Gone Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:04:00 +0000

One of the most popular and critically acclaimed novels in recent memory is adapted for the big screen by the author, given to prolific director, David Fincher, to helm, and finds the perfect leading man in Superman, Ben Affleck. Recipe for a great film, right?

I tend to take a contrarian view on all things pop culture. I don't do it on purpose. Sometimes I think my brain just works completely differently than everyone else's. Because I am often drawn to different books, music, tv shows, and films than the masses, I have earned a reputation of "not liking anything." In reality, I like a lot of stuff...it's just usually different from what YOU like. This is again the case with "Gone Girl."

The novel certainly had its bright spots, particularly a chillingly cynical take on relationships. But, what started out relatively strong, collapsed into a ludicrous mess in the second half. So, when chatter started about the upcoming film, and the producers, the author, and everyone else involved in the project went out of their way to exclaim how the movie was going to be different from the book, I was intrigued. Maybe Gillian Flynn got some constructive feedback that led her to alter some of the weaker points of the novel. It's not often that an author writes the film adaptation for his or her own book, so I was curious how this would turn out. Maybe this could be one of those rare instances where the movie actually IS better than the book? Ha ha...joke's on me.

Different from the book? I felt like Flynn literally XEROXED the pages of her novel. There wasn't a single, solitary change. Not one different twist...barely a different word spoken in the entire film. In fact, amongst all the talk of Rosamund Pike being a lock for Best Actress, I seriously thought she was reading right off the pages of the book and they just digitally edited it out of the picture. If anyone deserves a nomination, it's Affleck. He was phenomenal. But once again, I see everything completely differently from everyone else. Pike's performance, to me, was one of the most wooden I've seen in a long time. I REALLY felt like she was reading straight out of the book. The parts of the book that were the most boring (Amy's diary entries) were also the most boring here. The ending, being identical to that of the book's, was equally as inane. But, what makes me the maddest, is the transparent ploy by the filmmakers to draw people in to see the film...by making the absurd claim that the movie's story would be different than that in the novel. What an epic load of horseshit. This was clearly a ruse to make sure that people who read the book would feel like there would still be something suspenseful about seeing the film. So many people loved the book, so why lie? Then people like me, who did NOT enjoy the book, would have saved their $12 and not gone to see the film. Was "Gone Girl" the worst book ever written? No. Was this the worst movie ever? No. But, the blatant dishonesty leads me to grade the film as if it were. I give it an F. For "Fucking Lie." I will never read anything by Gillian Flynn again, and I'll have to consider very strongly whether to ever see anything by Fincher again either. Affleck gets a pass due to his strong performance. What a waste.

Top 40 of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 01:40:00 +0000

For those of you who, not unlike Taylor Swift, were left with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomachs after seeing this year's Grammy Awards, I give you the full list of my 40 favorite songs from this past year. Feel free to sample and discover something new using the widget below or the clickable links for a few of the indie selections.

40. No More Hell to Pay - Stryper
39. Sky High Honey - Matt Nathanson
38. Royals - The Knox Sisters
37. You Don't Know Me - Lizzy Caplan (from "Masters of Sex")
36. Slow Suicide - Scott Stapp
35. Lookin' 4 Luv - Julian Lennon
34. Lego House - Ed Sheeran
33. Who I Am - J. Antonette
32. Here's To You - Catrien Maxwell
31. Further Away - Lissie

30. Applause - Lady Gaga
29. Pretty Please - J. Antonette
28. Heart Attack - Demi Lovato
27. Seven - Ed Kowalczyk
26. Love Won't Bring Us Down - Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project
25. Got it Wrong - The Wild Feathers
24. Still Into You - Paramore
23. Nothing Left But Tears - Buckcherry
22. Bad For Me - Megan & Liz
21. Roar - Olivia Wise

20. Bleeding From the Inside Out - Stryper
19. Sun - Belinda Carlisle
18. Mz. Hyde - Halestorm
17. Waiting for Superman - Daughtry
16. Home Again - Elton John
15. Shameless - Lissie
14. New Constellation - Toad the Wet Sprocket
13. Sirens - Pearl Jam
12. Broken Over You - Vertical Horizon
11. People Like Us - Kelly Clarkson

10. Holding on for Life - Broken Bells
9. Too Late - Mike Ruocco
8. Bonfire Heart - James Blunt
7. My Bed - Dixie Maxwell
6. Counting Stars - One Republic
5. Love is a Country - The Wallflowers
4. Hero - Family of the Year
3. Because We Can - Bon Jovi
2. Freak Like Me - Halestorm

1. Erase You - Catrien Maxwell

Top 40 of 2013 by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

Top 10: Television Acting Performances of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 19:22:00 +0000

While I'm in list-making mode, I figured I'd tackle TV actors. These were my favorite television performances of the year. My apologies to fans of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, and whatever other shows I haven't made the time to watch. Even I can only waste so much time in front of the boob tube.

10. Andre Braugher - "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
Braugher was also good in the short-lived drama "Last Resort," but most of that fell in 2012. I don't think people typically pay as much attention to acting ability in comedies, but Braugher does a fantastic job of playing the straight-laced police chief to Andy Samberg's goofball detective. This entire show was a big surprise for me, as it wasn't originally on my list of new shows to watch.

9. (tie) Lizzy Caplan and Michael Sheen - "Masters of Sex"
I'm still not sure how interested I am in continuing to watch this series about sex research pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. I'm also not sure about how much of the content is based on actual events, and how much is thrown in for entertainment value. What I do know, is Sheen and Caplan have an undeniable chemistry as Masters & Johnson, and they absolutely nail the versions of those real-life people that the writers are intending to present.

7. Mandy Patinkin - "Homeland"
For me, Patinkin has been the anchor of this less-than-stellar show from the beginning. I know most people would choose either Claire Danes or Damian Lewis for that honor, but as usual, I beg to differ. I probably won't come back for Season 4, as I think they really went off the deep end with the most recent storyline. But I think Patinkin proved he's one of the best actors on TV in his turn as CIA operative and then director, Saul Berenson.

6. Josh Charles - "The Good Wife"
As has been noted in several media write-ups, it's quite rare for a television series to undergo as extreme a rejuvenation so deep into its run as "Wife" has in the first half of its fifth season. After a strong first couple of seasons, 3 and 4 for me were really starting to drag. Most boring of all was the cliche "will they or won't they" extra-marital tango between Julianna Margulies' Alicia Florrick and Josh Charles' Will Gardner. Then they did, and I still didn't care. The writers also started to squander a really strong supporting actress in Archie Panjabi's portrayal of law firm investigator, Kalinda Sharma. Now, suddenly, Margulies' and Matt Czuchry's characters break away from their law firm to start their own, and all hell breaks loose. Finally, the dramatic tension is back, and leading the charge, in my estimation, is Charles' fiery performance as name partner, Gardner. The utter betrayal he conveys on screen once Gardner and Christine Baranski's Diane Lockhart uncover Alicia's scheme to take many of the firm's major clients on her way out the door, is pitch-perfect. Gardner isn't just out for revenge. He's out to single-handedly DESTROY the new firm. This is high quality stuff.

5. Tate Donovan - "Deception" and "Hostages"
Donovan is one of those guys you know you've seen in stuff, but probably don't know him by name. He's been doing movies and TV since the mid-80's, but it's only with his featured roles on a few television series over the past several years, that I took note of his talent. He was great in the first couple of seasons of the Glenn Close-led drama, "Damages." This year, he's been been outstanding in two different shows. Unfortunately, the performance that really stood out for me was as a brother of a young woman who was murdered, the crime at the center of the storyline for the only season of NBC drama, "Deception." This show deserved a longer run. I came close to including Victor Garber from that show on this list as well. I think Donovan was really the standout there, though. He has a smaller, but still pivotal role, as the father of the family who are the titular "Hostages" in another series that will likely only last one season. I'll be looking forward to seeing what Donovan does next. Hopefully, it will last longer.

4. Chi McBride - "Golden Boy"
Won't go into too much detail here as you can read more about this performance at #8 on my Top 25 One-Season TV Shows of All-Time post. Another example of a supporting performance that really carried a storyline to a higher level.

3. Peter Sarsgaard - "The Killing"
Like Tate Donovan, Sarsgaard is another one of those "I know I've seen that guy before" actors. Believe me when I say, I will now know him by name. His performance as death-row (and most likely innocent) inmate, Ray Seward, in season 3 of AMC's "The Killing," was a career-defining one. The show has, from the beginning, struggled to find its way, leading to it being cancelled and brought back not once, but twice. I'm glad it came back the first time, if for nothing else, than to enjoy this electrifying turn by Sarsgaard. Mireille Enos' Detective Linden was responsible for getting Seward convicted some years ago, but now finds similarities in a current case involving murdered teenage runaways that lead her to believe that Seward did not, in fact, kill the mother of his now 10-year-old son, Adrian. The story arc surrounding Seward gets somewhat lost as a secondary plot to the case involving the runaways, but I feel like Sarsgaard was the one who elevated the entire season to a level to which it would not have come close without him. Nowhere was this more evident than in the third to last episode, "Six Minutes." A brutally emotional back and forth, featuring Linden's last minute attempts to exonerate Seward, as he is scheduled to be hung shortly. Seward is a man torn apart by simultaneously believing he was innocent of this particular crime, but guilty of so many other things, including miserably failing his son. In what was an otherwise flawed season of an otherwise flawed show, this was one of the most compelling hours of dramatic television I've seen.

2. James Spader - "The Blacklist"
Here's a guy who came to fame in 80's flicks like "Pretty in Pink" and "Sex, Lies & Videotape." Not exactly roles that would earn consideration as an amazing actor, but he was certainly known. Then, it seems, he ended up doing nothing of any real consequence throughout the entire 1990's. Suddenly, he pops up as ethically-challenged attorney, Alan Shore, to revive "The Practice" for its final season in 2003-2004, which led to multiple Emmy Awards, for both that performance, and for portraying the same character on spinoff, "Boston Legal." Although, I believe that David Kelley and his team squandered the chance to develop a complex and intriguing character, by turning "Legal" into farcical satire, rather than straightforward drama, it still became crystal clear, that Spader's talents were at a level not previously evident. Now, he's back as a former government agent-turned most wanted fugitive-turned FBI informant in "The Blacklist." This was a stroke of casting genius, as Spader outshines everyone else on the screen, but at the same time, appears to enhance their performances as well. As with most of the other examples on my list, "The Blacklist" would most likely be a much lesser show without Spader. He deserves the upcoming Golden Globe for which he's nominated, although the Screen Actors Guild members were apparently watching TV with blindfolds on this season, as he was mystifyingly snubbed there.

1. Tatiana Maslany - "Orphan Black"
If you're saying "who?" you're apparently not alone. This sci-fi human cloning saga has been relegated to BBC America, which undoubtedly has limited its exposure in this country. It's actually a Canadian series, featuring Maslany, a Canadian, in the lead. Scratch that...make that the SEVEN leads. Throughout the first season, Maslany had to, at various times, get into character as seven separate clones, including four central characters that appeared in the majority of the episodes. So, on sheer level of difficulty, I'm selecting her for my #1. A Canadian playing a British, street-tough, single mother, a Canadian soccer mom, a Ukrainian nutjob assassin, and an American PhD student in Minnesota...no easy task. There were times where the accents started to blend together, but overall, it was a masterful job. One has to wonder what Emmy voters were thinking when they failed to even NOMINATE Maslany for lead actress this past September. She is up for a Golden Globe, where I expect her to lose to Julianna Margulies. Unfortunately, "Orphan Black" is, like so many other cable series nowadays, being produced in limited-episode groupings, which require that you wait nearly a year between seasons. I don't think I'm going to care enough to return to this one when it picks up in April.

Top 25 One-Season TV Shows of All-Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 03:19:00 +0000

Since I'm always railing about how so many of the new TV shows I choose to start watching end up being short-lived, I figured it was high time I compile a list of my favorite shows that never made it past their initial season. Let it be said, that if you peruse professional write-ups on this topic, there are three titles that continuously pop up...Joss Whedon's sci-fi adventure, "Firefly," Claire Danes' debut project, "My So-Called Life," and the early-career Judd Apatow offering, "Freaks and Geeks." I never watched "Firefly" and only caught a handful of episodes of "Geeks." I did watch all 19 episodes of "...Life," and while I found it somewhat engaging, it didn't make my list.

Not all the entries were amazing shows. They were each memorable to me in some way, though. Many of them, it seems, had some kind of sci-fi element...be it aliens, time travel, or whatnot. And the vast majority aired within the past 7-8 years or so...a fact that is owed mostly to the advent of one of my favorite inventions, the DVR. Why did these shows only last one season if they were so good? Conflict and turnover amongst the production staff, shoddy promotion by the networks, misguided airing schedules featuring long hiatuses between episodes, or simply lack of mass appeal, would seem to be the frequent culprits. So now, the list...

Honorable Mention: Push, Nevada (2002) - I may be one of the only people to ever have watched this. This ABC series about an FBI agent who visits the fictional small town of the title, trying to track a missing $1,000,000, was slightly ahead of its time. The gimmick of the show was that there were clues dropped each night that allowed the audience to participate in "finding" the loot. Visiting special Web sites was involved, and in the end, the winner actually won a million bucks. If this show had come out now, during the height of the social media craze, I'm sure it would have caught on much quicker. Alas, only 6 episodes were ever aired. In fact, the network had to simply reveal the remainder of the clues just so they could make good on the prize. This one didn't officially make my list, if only because I don't remember too much about how much I actually liked it. But I wanted to include it for being innovative...just a few years before it would have been cool.

25. Happy Town (2010) - Another ABC misfire...the network promoted this heavily in teaser ads, only to launch it in April, when it was guaranteed no one would watch. Should've just waited until the beginning of the '11-'12 season, in my estimation. Another mysterious small town...this one having enjoyed a 5-year respite after a past rash of child kidnappings...now facing its first crime in a while. It had a mystical, Stephen King-like feel to it. Some good performances by Steven Weber, Sam Neill, and some other largely unknown players. I was disappointed this one only lasted 8 episodes.

24. Zero Hour (2013) - Hello again, ABC! I'm sure many of you remember the promos for this Anthony Edwards vehicle. It looked sooooo good. Then came the first two episodes...probably some of the worst television I'd seen in a while. Very disappointing. But then something funny happened. The show was yanked after the third installment, but the network did air the remaining episodes...and the show got a lot better. I think this one actually would have worked fairly well as a one-season effort, but of course the cohesiveness of the story tailed off a bit toward the end of the run because it wasn't CONCEIVED as a one-season program. Anyway, I got some enjoyment from it while it was around.

23. 666 Park Avenue (2012-2013) - I swear I didn't plan it this way, but this is the fourth straight ABC offering I'm mentioning. Also from this most recent season, this one was headed up by "Lost" alumnus, Terry O'Quinn. And let's just say, the guy can do subtle evil like few other actors. It's unreal to think how little success the "Lost" crew has had since the end of that landmark series. Only Michael Emerson ("Person of Interest") and Daniel Dae Kim ("Hawaii Five-O") have managed bona fide hits with their successive projects. This one was set in an eerie NYC apartment building...owned by a billionaire mogul played by O'Quinn, whose character was known by the audience to be either the devil, or at least one of his high-ranking soldiers. Would have been interesting to see where they went with this. They did manage to wrap it up, but again, the "we're gonna end it just to say we ended it"-type endings never prove very satisfying.

22. Mad Love (2011) - Finally, CBS adds to the futility. This was a rom-com type sitcom...basically "Friends" with four people instead of six. Those four people happened to be pretty endearing, in my mind. "American Pie" star, Jason Biggs and the very likable Sarah Chalke (ex-"Roseanne" and "Scrubs) were the leads, with Judy Greer and Tyler Labine providing lots of funny moments as the two friends who supposedly couldn't stand each other, but you knew would end up together if the series had gone on. Unfortunately, it didn't. Only 11 episodes were aired.

21. Alien Nation (1989-1990) - A spin-off of a very good 80's invasion movie, the TV series was a little more lighthearted, although it did a good job of exploring the racism that was perpetrated on the "newcomers." A different twist on the whole alien genre. No notable actors in the television version, but I think it deserved a longer life. Unfortunately, it aired during the early days of the FOX network, and the broadcaster's financial difficulties led to the untimely demise. It did, however, live on in five TV movies aired throughout the 90's. I can't say I recall much about them though.

20. Canterbury's Law (2008) - Before "The Good Wife," there was "Canterbury's Law" on FOX; the show about a lawyer, starring Julianna Margulies. Where TGW is more of an ensemble cast with many strong and known actors other than Margulies, she was definitely the central anchor of her previous series. I thought it had an intriguing backstory, with Elizabeth Canterbury dealing with inner demons resulting from the disappearance (on her watch) of her young son. That certainly would have been a continuous thread to explore, had the series lasted. It apparently wasn't meant to be, as the show fell victim to poor ratings and poor timing (the Writer's Strike shut down production after only 6 episodes).

19. The Chicago Code (2011) - Another FOX entry, "Code" focused on Chicago's first female police superintendent, played with a tough-as-nails grit by "Flashdance" hottie, Jennifer Beals, still looking great at age 47. The interaction between Beals and Delroy Lindo, playing a corrupt and powerful local politician, made this a must-watch for me. Sorry to say, not for many others. 13 episodes aired.

18. Rubicon (2010) - The only cable offering on my list, "Rubicon" had a 13-episode run on AMC. James Badge Dale, probably best remembered for playing Kim Bauer's boyfriend, Chase on "24," starred as an analyst for a small intelligence organization based in NYC. While working on matters involving foreign terrorism and the like, Dale's character discovers that there is a secret agenda being executed by some high up in the agency. It was a fast-paced thriller that kept my attention and was at times, difficult to follow. But it was definitely engaging. It's shows like this that probably would have been even better if they had been intentionally designed as, say, a two-season production.

17. Journeyman (2007) - Kevin McKidd went on to enjoy better exposure on "Grey's Anatomy," but first, he was the lead in this short-lived time travel series. He played a newspaper reporter who suddenly started jumping back in time, apparently to be able to save various people from certain situations. It doesn't sound too enthralling, I know, and apparently, it wasn't for the majority of viewers. I enjoyed the 13 installments that made it to my TV, though.

16. Awake (2012) - This is where things really start to get interesting for me. I think this entry on my list signifies a clear jump in quality from the lower portion. Like "Journeyman," this was an NBC production. I really felt this series benefited from an original concept, and strong performances. British actor, Jason Isaacs, probably best known as Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films, starred as a police detective who suffers through a horrific car accident with his family. The lingering effects of the crash leave the character suspended in dual realities; one in which his wife died, and the other in which that fate befell his son. It's never completely apparent if he's dreaming one or the other, both, or perhaps is dead himself. It was a head trip of a show. As with several shows on this list, 13 seems to have been the unlucky number of episodes.

15. Reunion (2005-2006) - One of a group of six high school friends is murdered on the night of their 20th reunion. This FOX show chronicles one year in the friends' lives in each episode, starting back at their graduation, and also flashes to the present day investigation surrounding the crime. Only 9 episodes ever aired here, leaving the mystery unresolved for the U.S. audience. Apparently, the remaining 4 episodes were shown abroad. It would have been curious how they would have carried the story past the debut season, but I thought it started out strong. The cast members went on to work on other hit shows like "Brothers and Sisters (Dave Annable, who was a lead in another show on my list - "666 Park Avenue"), and "Grey's Anatomy (Chyler Leigh).

14. V (1984-1985) - It's kind of unbelievable that there were, not one, but two epic failures in trying to adapt a regular TV series from the two preceding sci-fi miniseries ("V: The Original" and "V: The Final Battle"), considering those initial outings enjoyed some of the biggest viewership numbers in television history. NBC's first attempt came right on the heels of "Final Battle," but just couldn't capitalize while the iron was hot. The oldest entry on my list, it was ridiculously expensive to produce, effectively ignored the events of the miniseries, and was also criticized for cheesy production tactics, despite its hefty price tag. I enjoyed the continuing saga of the Visitors, though, and was also starting to like the 2009-2011 reboot even more, when that one collapsed under the weight of behind the scenes tumult and sagging ratings. I didn't include the latter on this list, because it actually lasted into a second season. I really wish they would have gotten one of these two series right.

13. Deception (2013) - This was an incredibly acted and well-written series, centering around the apparent murder of a wealthy young woman, staged to look like a drug overdose. It's a classic whodunit, shifting focus from one family member to another, along with various peripheral characters entering the suspect pool as well. It was never heavily promoted by NBC, and just couldn't survive amongst all the reality shows and talent competitions. Victor Garber and Tate Donovan (currently appearing on "Hostages" - probably also doomed to end up on this list eventually) gave especially transfixing performances.

12. Kidnapped (2006-2007) - The first of three entries from what was, for me, a hugely disappointing '06-'07 television season, in terms of seeing quality shows meet untimely demises. Luckily, this particular show managed to bring everything to a somewhat satisfying conclusion within the 13 episodes that were produced. They didn't all air, however, forcing me to do something I never do - purchase a TV series on DVD. I had to see this one through, though. It's now available to view for free, in its entirety, on the site crackle.com. It's owned by SONY, so yes, it's a legal streaming site. I highly recommend that you partake. Jeremy Sisto, wasted on the vastly inferior current series, "Suburgatory," gave a masterful performance here, as did Timothy Hutton, Delroy Lindo (also appearing at number 19 on my list), and a host of other talented actors (including my first exposure to the beautiful Olivia Thirlby). Really wish this would have continued for at least a full 22-episode season.

11. FlashForward (2009-2010) - Ah, the "Lost" curse rears its ugly head again. First, we saw Terry O'Quinn appear at number 23, and Elizabeth Mitchell just narrowly escape inclusion by the "V" reboot managing to last into Season 2. Here, we find Sonya Walger (the former show's Penny), and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie, who suffered one of the most dramatic TV deaths ever) working together again. Everyone on Earth blacks out simultaneously for just over two minutes, causing mass chaos. During this event, everyone catches a glimpse of their lives at a juncture just over 6 months in the future, the titular FlashForward. The FBI investigates, using their own visions to piece the mystery together. It was a unique and well-executed, high-concept series, that did not deserve the fate it met.

10. Invasion (2005-2006) - Strange, water-inhabiting alien creatures appear and start taking over the bodies of local citizens. A great cast, including William Fichtner and Tyler Labine (who appeared at #22 on this list), great writing, and a captivating story arc kept me glued to ABC on Wednesday nights for 10 months. The show was created, executive produced, and co-written by Shaun Cassidy, brother and son of Partridge Family alumni David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, respectively.

9. Terra Nova (2011) - This FOX time travel epic was probably one of the most cataclysmic flops in television series history, given the level of hype that started during the '10-'11 season. Anytime Steven Spielberg attaches his name to a project, the expectations are going to be high, but here you also had Jon Cassar and Brannon Braga, who brought you the long-running hit, "24," and Alex Graves, who had worked on shows like "The West Wing" and "Fringe." A great pedigree for sure. But you could tell it was doomed before it started, when it was initially slated for a May '11 premiere and had to be pushed back to Fall due to production delays. The ratings ended up being not that terrible, but that was not enough to cut it for such an expensive venture. I always get a kick out of seeing how writers handle time travel stories, but this show didn't suffer from the usual paradox issues (if a character does such and such in the past, wouldn't that change this and that, etc.), because everyone basically was blasted back to prehistoric times where the only lives that could be affected were those of the dinosaurs. It did suffer from what I thought were unusually cheesy production and special effects, considering how much money was spent. But I found the story captivating...basically people of future Earth going back in time for a do-over, escaping the over-population and environmental problems of their time. All spearheaded by the mean guy from "Avatar" (Stephen Lang). A waste of a great idea, for which the bar was set way too high.

8. Golden Boy (2013) - While I feel like I was the only person who ever heard of this show, much less watched it, the ratings were actually not that bad for this series about an upstart homicide detective who ends up becoming NYC's youngest police commissioner. But, the numbers couldn't live up to the watermark set by other CBS procedurals like the "CSI" and "NCIS" shows. Here, each episode has Detective Walter Clark and his partner, Don Owen, tackling tough cases and battling combative co-workers and city-wide corruption. We also see flash forwards to Clark's time as commissioner, revealing troubling details about how he got there. The real standout for me was Chi McBride as Owen. His character had been towing the company line for years, never getting his well-earned promotion, but inching towards retirement with grace. McBride really exuded the toll that it took on Owen, and the urgency with which he tried to impart his career lessons on the inexperienced Clark. An amazing performance that I feel carried the show. Not far enough, apparently. Lead actor, Theo James, appears destined for stardom, however, about to hit the limelight in the film adaptation of the massive hit novel, "Divergent."

7. The Event (2010-2011) - The series opens with a mysterious kidnapping and a plane disappearing as it's being aimed like a missile towards a gathering where the President is speaking. We go on to learn that the President was about to reveal that he recently discovered the US had been detaining a group of alien visitors in a secluded camp in Alaska ever since they had crash landed there during WWII. Others had escaped to infiltrate American society. Later in the season, we learn that the "Event" of the title refers to the transporting of the aliens' home planet into our solar system so the remainder of their kind can join them in taking over Earth, as their planet is soon to be rendered uninhabitable. A sterling cast, featuring Jason Ritter (son of John), Laura Innes (ex-"ER"), Blair Underwood as the President, and Zeljko Ivanek (ex-"Damages") made this, for me, appointment television (well, appointment with my DVR recording, anyway). It was promoted pretty well. I have no idea why this one flopped. Unfortunately, it's not Ritter's last appearance on this list, and Blair Underwood just had an even harsher fate befall his most recent outing, "Ironside," which was canned after only a couple episodes (and based on having seen the pilot, it was the right decision). This show went out with a great cliffhanger, one never to be resolved.

6. The Firm (2012) - After "The Event," NBC follows up with this continuation of the story told in the 1993 Tom Cruise hit film of the same name, itself adapted from the John Grisham novel. It could have been called "The Disaster." It started with the lowest-rated regular season debut for any dramatic television show in NBC's history, and continued as one of the worst series flops ever on any network. The incomprehensible part for me is, the show was awesome. Picking up where Tom Cruise left off can't be easy, but Josh Lucas was such a likable and compelling Mitch McDeere...he drove all the action, and there was a lot of it, with ease. A strong supporting cast included Callum Keith Rennie and Juliette Lewis as great comic relief. Is my taste in television really so bad that I saw this one so differently from everyone else? At least they aired a full season of episodes due to some cockeyed financing arrangement.

5. John Doe (2002-2003) - Before hitting it big in "Prison Break," Dominic Purcell was FOX's "John Doe" for one intriguing season. A man wakes up on an island off the coast of Seattle, with no clothes and no memory of who he is...but he seems to know everything about everything else on Earth. While he helps the Seattle police solve crimes, he's also searching for answers about his own life. I don't remember many details about this show, other than it made for great television. The season ended on a cliffhanger, but if the alleged intended story the producers had in mind is accurate, maybe it's better they quit while they were behind. Supposedly, Doe acquired all his knowledge after a near-fatal boating accident, after which he (or his soul or whatever) traveled out of body to a spiritual plane where all of the universe's questions are answered. Just no.

4. The Unusuals (2009) - Ten incredible episodes. That's all we got. I guess some things aren't meant to be. If this show had been a bigger hit, Jeremy Renner may not have become the huge movie star that he is now. Since nominated twice for Oscars ("The Hurt Locker" and "The Town"), and appearing in several Hollywood blockbusters, Renner has been a true late bloomer in the industry. But here, he appeared as a homicide detective alongside other stellar performances by Amber Tamblyn as his partner, and Harold Perrineau (there's that "Lost" jinx again) and Adam Goldberg as another pair. The latter two were absolutely hilarious...I would have loved to see a spinoff movie focusing just on the two of them. The character development on this show was off the charts. I got the sense that the audience could have really cared about these guys if the series had lasted. Oh well.

3. Commander-in-Chief (2005-2006) - Geena Davis, an ingenious casting choice, rightfully won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress for her role as the first woman President of the United States. Those were about the only good things that happened surrounding this series. In one of the biggest head scratchers of all time, ABC completely botched the launch of this show. It started out looking like a huge hit, but turmoil behind the scenes (creator Rod Lurie was ousted early in the season), and one of those ridiculous hiatuses that the networks always insist on these days, doomed this show to collapse. An incredible supporting cast, headed by Donald Sutherland and Harry Lennix (currently of "The Blacklist") and great writing weren't enough. This would have been ten times better than "The West Wing" ever was.

2. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007) - Speaking of "The West Wing," how do you get a show created and written by one of the most revered TV and film writers of recent years, throw in Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Timothy Busfield, Steven Weber, Sarah Paulson, and many more talented actors, and manage to only last one season? So, there were actually TWO NBC shows about the production of a fictional sketch comedy show that debuted in this fateful season. One had all of the above, the other had Tracy Morgan. One was awesome, the other had Tracy Morgan. One was canceled after one season, the other had Tracy Morgan. One had higher ratings, the other had Tracy Morgan. I watched exactly one episode of "30 Rock" and it was a steaming pile...plus it had Tracy Morgan. I will forever hold that show in contempt because it got picked up, whereas this indelible Aaron Sorkin-created series was unceremoniously dropped like a bad habit, again, despite having better ratings. "Studio 60" was funny, dramatic, heartwarming, engaging, uplifting...you name it. A stroke of mastery by everyone involved. The pedigree was so good, I'm stunned to this day that they couldn't make it work.

1. The Class (2006-2007) - As I indicated previously, the '06-'07 season was the most heartbreaking ever for me as a fan of great television. Three of my Top 12 shows on this list, including the #1 and #2 entries, were from that year. This slot, for me, represents the single biggest catastrophe in television history. Created by David Crane, the mastermind behind "Friends," one would have thought this show had the potential to be hilarious. One would have been right. "The Class" was the single funniest show I've ever watched, and one of only two sitcoms to appear on my list. Careers were launched here...particularly those of Jesse Tyler Ferguson (now Mitchell on "Modern Family"), Jon Bernthal (ex-Shane on "The Walking Dead" and starring in the upcoming "Mob City), and Lizzy Caplan ("Cloverfield" and "True Blood"). Eight elementary school classmates become friends again after Ethan (hi again, Jason Ritter) arranges for a reunion-type party to celebrate 20 years since meeting his fiancee...at which said fiancee promptly dumps him. That's how the series starts...and it only got crazily more funny from there. The chemistry amongst the characters was flawless (particularly Ritter and Caplan). Throw in some incredible supporting characters (the interaction between Ferguson's Richie Velch and his cold fish wife, played pitch perfectly by Sara Gilbert - and a standout performance by former Star Search champ, Sam Harris, as the overwhelmingly gay but married to a woman and defiantly identifying as straight, Perry Pearl)...and this was one CLASS act. CBS missed a big opportunity here as they simply refused to promote the show. No appearances by the cast on any talk show in existence, no press coverage whatsoever, and the most glaring - a teaser for practically every OTHER show on the network (including pile of crap, "The Ghost Whisperer") during that year's broadcast of the Grammy Awards. Yet no mention of "The Class" anywhere. A colossal failure on the part of the network, and a colossal disappointment for me...plus, the announcement of the cancellation happened to fall on my birthday...yay. Perhaps the most confounding aspect of the failure is that the show was pulled in favor of "Rules of Engagement," which astoundingly lasted for seven seasons. That's right...the talentless gnome known as David Spade now has TWO seven-year sitcoms under his belt, and "The Class" failed. Incomprehensible. You can still find many, if not all, of the episodes on Youtube...some guy posted them, splitting each episode into three parts. I strongly recommend you treat yourself.

Let Go

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:52:00 +0000

The title of this blog post refers to a couple of different ideas. One, it's the title of the song I'm featuring here...a beautiful ballad written and performed by Tyrone Wells, which I think serves as a moving tribute to any deceased person's memory. Two, it specifically speaks to what the folks of Newtown, CT will have to do as they move forward in the grieving process. And lastly, perhaps most importantly, it's a call to action for those among us who are holding steadfast to our political/ideological/social beliefs in the wake of a monumental tragedy...it's time to let go and at least consider that some form of change may be needed.

Please read...and listen.

Let Go by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

This is not a political diatribe. This is not a message from the left or the right. This is not a comment on ideals either Democrat or Republican. If you don't agree with what I say, that is fine...I could be wrong, and I freely admit that. This is simply the view from my small, insignificant hole in the world. We all see things through a tiny, narrow prism that defines our personal beliefs. None of those vantage points is exactly correct, nor exactly incorrect. We must corral all of those focused beliefs and re-evaluate how they add up. As an individual, each of us is practically powerless. As a society, we are not. We're smarter than this. We're stronger than this. And we are most definitely better than this. No ills of the world can ever be completely eradicated, but that doesn't mean that we should throw our hands up in the air and accept the status quo. That is a recipe for disaster. It should also be said that this editorial is not a specific response to the horrific violence that occurred in Connecticut last week. There are still various misconceptions about what happened, and many pieces of that puzzle still yet to be strung together. However, that incident should serve as a blaring wake-up call to all of us that change is needed. When 20 babies are snuffed out before their 7th and 8th birthdays, we must retroactively examine all the societal catastrophes that came before this.

So what should be done? I am not so self-involved as to believe that I alone have the definitive answers to that question. I do know that we can throw out the knee-jerk suggestions by both ideological sides:

"Ban all guns!"

--and--

"Arm everyone in America so they can defend themselves against those who would do them harm!"

These types of blanket solutions will accomplish nothing, and are completely unrealistic.

Some more reasonable suggestions are also floating out there:

Ban assault weapons

Enhance and enforce gun control policies

Pass more rigorous mental health legislation and provide more funding for related action

Enact more stringent guidelines for prohibiting violence in television, film, literature, and music

Furnish our schools with tighter security

My personal opinions on each of these measures...

The main argument against banning assault weapons seems to be that it's been tried before...in the mid-90's...and it failed to influence any decrease in violent crime, particularly deaths caused by those types of artillery. Apparently, our government is incapable of passing legislation without hundreds of associated loopholes. How about we examine WHY the ban failed, as opposed to just the fact that it did fail? How about our politicians start drafting legislation for the good of the people, as opposed to being for the purpose of furthering their own ideological and career-oriented agendas? If you're going to ban something, BAN it. Don't then say, "OK, except for this type of weapon, and that type, and that type...." There is no godly reason why an everyday civilian needs access to an assault rifle. If someone wants to keep a handgun locked safely away in their nightstand for personal protection, or a gun that's suitable for hunting game, then fine. There's not much we can do about that, and I think that's acceptable. Amassing a doomsday scenario-type high-powered arsenal is not.

With regards to other aspects of gun control...I'm sorry folks on the far right, but everyone in the country packing heat is not going to make us SAFER! I think some of these people are envisioning a scenario where someone like teacher, Victoria Soto, yanks her weapon from her desk, dives out into the school hallway like John McClane from Die Hard, and blows away Adam Lanza before he has a chance to take out any innocent bystanders. We simply cannot rely upon ordinary citizens to take the law into their own hands in these situations where a psychopath decides he's going to annihilate a public gathering of people. Even if that were a realistic expectation, in the meantime, the unintended consequences of us all having guns could end up being more dire than the isolated tragedies that mindset is ultimately designed to prevent. How many sons and daughters are going to accidentally find and fire their parents weapons? How many mentally unstable folks will continue to find access to high-capacity guns? How many of these well-intentioned citizens will fire and miss their desired target, injuring someone else instead? People point to the Constitution and the right to bear arms. Folks, I'm sorry, but this is a 230-year-old document. The founding fathers did not have our current society envisioned when they laid the foundation of this country. How could they have? Times have drastically changed, and we need to adapt accordingly.

Conversely, those on the far left are misguided if they think banning all guns is realistic. As we know from our past history, anytime we outlaw something completely - alcohol, abortion, etc. - the results are not what we had envisioned. There are always unintended consequences here as well. As many people have pointed out, those who want to do others harm will find a way to procure their weapons of choice, unless we focus on the specific aspects of our laws that allow this to happen.

So what's in between? We have made incredible advances in technology in almost every area of our lives. Why can't these advances be applied to weaponry? I work in the wireless industry, where everything is now focused on so-called "smart" phones. The long-range vision in this field is that everything we touch in our daily lives is, sometime in the not too distant future, going to be wired into smart technology. Our shopping excursions, our household appliances, our cars, etc. will all be interconnected with our handheld devices and mobile apps. So, God damn it, why can't we make the guns smarter too? How about guns only being able to be activated via a registered fingerprint? How about the internal mechanisms being disabled when a perpetrator walks into a school, place of worship, airport, shopping mall, or anywhere else weapons don't belong? I mean, for the love of Christ, I need a f--king login name and password just to gain access to this BLOG...why on Earth don't you need one to operate a machine gun? If we can't prevent everyone from obtaining the weapons, maybe we can at least stop certain people from using them. I do think that there should be incredible lengths of red tape in place pertaining to the licensing and registration of guns. It should be difficult to legally obtain these items. Those of us who are stable and want to use them for innocuous purposes, will be somewhat inconvenienced, but in the end, they'll get what they want. Those who can't pass the rigorous background checks, age requirements (I think it should be 25+), mental health evaluations, etc., will be prevented from procuring weapons of any kind, and that's just the way it is (or should be). It may be a slippery slope in determining what the guidelines should be, but I'm sorry, this is an absolute necessity.

Regarding mental health, I personally can't envision what we can do in this arena, but again, I am no expert. However, I do think it's a debate that needs to be had so people more qualified than I CAN come up with some cogent solutions. How do we legislate better mental health? In many of these tragic incidents, there were not sufficient warning signs to suggest that the eventual perpetrators would become hysterically violent. But perhaps, in some instances, there will be ways to prevent the most hideous outcomes...for the good of the prospective victims, as well as the benefit of the disturbed individual.

Next, the debate on violent images and actions, as portrayed in pop culture, is one where my opinions probably diverge from those of many other people. This, again, is not to say that my way is the right way. I just don't see the correlation between listening to rap, or watching a Quentin Tarantino film, and someone walking into a school and shooting children. There's simply something else at work here. Why are 99.9% of us not so impressionable as to be driven to acts of unspeakable violence after having consumed these types of entertainment products? Is the "cause" in the cause and effect equation here the images of violence, or is it the lack of proper education, the broken homes, bad parenting, violence and abuse in the homes, inherent mental instability, and the like? Likewise, what would the actual benefits be from removing the aforementioned portrayals of violence? I am not convinced that there would be any measurable effect. That's not to say I am against having the discussion, but I think we need to keep our eyes open to the reality.

Lastly, school security. This is one area where I express my viewpoint with sincere regret. Unfortunately, I think it's come to the point where we need metal detectors, guards, etc. everywhere. This is not an ideal situation, but it's a necessity. The same way we hate being inconvenienced at the airport, in most instances (strip-searching Grandmas notwithstanding), this is done for our own safety. No, we don't want our kids to feel like they're going to school in a war zone, but if it keeps out the evildoers, so be it.

Just one more comment on something I briefly touched on above...education. I am generally not a political person, and I don't have many "pet" issues. But, if there is one thing I am incredulous about, it's the lack of attention we pay to the education crisis in this country. There is an associated lack of understanding (not just by politicians, but by the general public as well) of how education is the one segment of society that feeds into every single problem and nationwide concern. The economic struggles, political corruption, drugs and violence, mental health, even foreign policy issues...everything is affected by the quality of education. You cannot make an argument that it is not. So not only do we need to discuss issues like gun control (the symptom), we need to facilitate a revolution in the way we view our education structure (the disease). This needs to be done NOW. And I'm not talking about paying teachers more, or strengthening math and science curriculums (two misguided suggestions that are consistently floated around). Those are not solutions. I'm talking about a mass overhaul of the "one size fits all" and standardized testing approaches that we've been following for decades. Every child is different, and consequently has different educational needs.

In conclusion, I want to say that I am not a parent. I therefore don't have the same perspective that many of you have, following the devastation in Newtown. But I do have a baby nephew, and can't fathom him not being allowed to reach age 8. I can't fathom him not being able to go to high school and college, drive a car, get married, get a job, have kids of his own, etc. In providing service to one of my customers the other day, assisting her in adding a cell phone line to her account for her daughter, she lamented to me that she was 100% against giving her ten-year-old a cell phone. However, in her words, "...after this stupid shooting, I don't want to not have a way of staying connected with her throughout the day." As we spoke further about last week's events, I couldn't help but get a little emotional. Parents all over the world are now feeling that much more helpless in letting their young kids leave their side every day, and it shouldn't be this way. It can't be this way.

We need to be able to let go.

Top 15 Songs of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 02:30:00 +0000

I have to say that this has been the worst year ever in terms of my personal musical taste. Since I really started following pop/rock music in the mid-80's, 2012 would probably rank last in terms how many songs really struck my ear, and how many albums I would sit listening to beginning to end. With that having been said, it was relatively easy to come up with my Top 15 Songs of the Year...just sad that it was only 15. Here are the tracks that made this year in music somewhat listenable for me...

15. "45" by Gaslight Anthem - a good one to turn up loud while driving.

14. Domino by Jessie J - not a big fan of her other stuff...particularly the annoying "Party in the U.S.A.," which she penned for Miley Cyrus, but this was one of the catchier songs of the year

13. Silenced By the Night by Keane - these guys seem to have one or two great tracks on each album, and that's it. This is the one that stood out for me on their most recent effort.

12. This Moment Now by Tyrone Wells - discovered this amazing singer at the SXSW festival a few years back. He churned out two albums and an EP this year - and I must say, I don't think much of it stands up to his prior work, but this was one of the songs that captured my attention.

11. Days Go By by The Offspring - about 20 years in to their career, these guys are still churning out great rock songs. Not a bad feat.

10. I Miss the Misery by Halestorm - the one album of the year that blew me away, largely because Lzzy Hale is simply unrivaled as a singer in the world of hard rock right now...if there is still such a world. That's also why this is not their only appearance on my list.

9. Rise by Ed Kowalczyk - the former lead singer of the band LIVE continues to be one of the best songwriters out there. I was sad to see the band break up, and his solo stuff is not quite as good top to bottom as the group stuff was, but chances are, he'll end up on my year-end list every year he releases anything.

8. Burn it Down by Linkin Park - Linkin Park is what I would describe as a "Greatest Hits" act for me. I've pretty much liked every single they've ever released, but not much of the rest of their album material. And that's fine...a few great rock tunes on every album.

7. Love Bites (So Do I) by Halestorm - and here they are again. How appropriate that one of my favorite modern bands tips their caps to my favorite band of all-time, Def Leppard. This song has nothing to do with the Leps' only number one hit (that fact is unreal as it is), except that they are both awesome. By the way...I don't think I'd wanna mess with Lzzy.

6. Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - I only discovered this song a couple of weeks ago...in the most unpredictable place: on "The Voice"! I don't normally watch these banal TV "talent" contests, but I happened to flip to this when nothing was on, and caught contestant Amanda Brown singing the hell out of this, which of course led me to look up the original. I dare say that Brown practically outdid Grace Potter, but the original definitely stuck with me. I can't really get into Potter's other stuff, so this will have to do. Also, it should be said that the next time I accidentally came across a performance on "The Voice," the results were entirely different - one of those dreaded group performances (which are always horrific) - this time a certified mauling of Journey's "Any Way You Want It." Yikes.

5. I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz - this one surprised me. Mraz is always trying to do that rhythmic lyrical gymnastic thing like he did on his original hit, "Remedy" years ago. This one is just a simple love song. No frills...just a great melody. I'm sold.

4. Headlights by Morning Parade - I suspect this is the only song I'll ever like from these guys. A real standout track on an otherwise forgettable album.

3. Everybody Talks by Neon Trees - as soon as this came out, I declared it the catchiest song of the year, and I think that has held up through the end of 2012. As with many of the songs on this list, it was the only track on their album that did anything for me. I guess the pressure on artists to put out a "hook"-y single is alive and well...and apparently it works in a lot of cases.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Wait, did I forget number TWO?

For the first time in the celebrated history of my blog, I could not make a decision between my top two songs. Yes, there is, in fact, a TIE!! I know, I know. You're all jumping out of your seats in disbelief. But it has happened. What can I say...the ladies ruled this year. And two ladies with incredible voices at that. Not shocking, but one of these artists put out my favorite album of 2011, and the other released my favorite album of 2012. So it's only fitting that they share the crown this year. So read on to find out who they are, and sample almost all of the songs from the list in the widget below if you'd like to decide for yourselves just how crappy my taste in music is :-) Thanks for reading...

1. (TIE) Here's to Us by Halestorm/Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson

"Here's to Us" is one of those songs that you could imagine singing along to with a bunch of strangers in a bar (think: "Closing Time" by Semisonic)...if you were a character in a cheesy movie. Yes, these are not the deepest lyrics in the history of rock music, but sometimes an amazing vocalist, great melody, and cheerful sentiment is all you need. And Lzzy actually makes the word "Fuck" sound not dirty. One other incredible thing to note about this song - the cover of it done by the cast of the show "Glee" marked the only instance I have ever heard where the FOX TV characters didn't completely destroy the track they chose to remake. It was actually a serviceable (yet nowhere near the original) version.

The title track to Kelly Clarkson's fifth studio album, "Stronger," was, remarkably, the biggest hit of her career. Almost as remarkably, the next single, "Dark Side," fell with a thud, as it missed even making the Billboard Top 40. Following suit with my track record of going against the grain of popular opinion - even when involving a multi-million album selling artist - I had pegged this as my favorite track on the album as soon as I listened to it the first time. This is saying something, considering how much I like the entire CD. That's OK...I continue to like Kelly's dark side, and every other side of her as well.

Top 15 of 2012 by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

Nielsen's Big Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:47:00 +0000

I suppose NBC could now stand for a lot of things, but in the spirit of cancellation...er...I mean, upfront season (that's when the major networks roll out their lineups for the upcoming TV year), I figured Nielsen's Big Catastrophe was an appropriate title for this post. Nielsen, of course, being the corporate research firm that collects and tallies the information providing the backbone of the American television ratings system. We've all taken it for granted for decades that this information is accurate and, above all, meaningful. I think that the powers that be in the entertainment industry need to rethink that assumption, and moreover, how they make decisions based on the ratings.

I have spent several years as a media buyer, pouring over said Nielsen ratings in order to provide sound advertising recommendations for various companies, big and small. And I've spent even longer as an avid TV watcher, so I form the following theory based on solid scientific knowledge: the current system is worth about as much as a pile of horse crap.

I'm used to having TV shows I watch cancelled. I've perfected the art of choosing to watch those programs which become one-season, or worse, partial-season duds. So, it came as no surprise that this trend continued this year. Interesting to note: I'm probably the only person in America who watched three prime time shows on NBC this season. Let's face it - the Peacock network ain't what it used to be. "Awake" featured an interesting premise, but never caught on. "The Firm," despite being (or perhaps BECAUSE it was) my favorite new show on any network this season, scored some of the most abysmal ratings in the modern era. But the one that really stung me was the termination of "Harry's Law." The Kathy Bates-led legal drama featured some of the best writing and acting I've seen on prime time TV in a while. One could have made an argument that Bates was the best actor on any network show. But the real kicker: it was one of NBC's highest rated shows, pulling in about 9 million viewers a week. That's right...the lowest rated network by a country mile torpedoed one of its most watched programs. Why, you ask? Because the WRONG people were watching; people aged 50 and older. These poor, helpless creatures obviously spend no money on advertisers' products, rendering them worthless in the eyes of network executives. In all seriousness, the pervading theory for many years has been that older folks are set in their ways, and therefore, are less susceptible to changing their buying habits based on advertising messages. This theory, of course, is about as scientifically sound as my horse crap one mentioned above. Alas, the 18-49 demographic segment remains the one that dictates any and all critical network decisions.

The fact is, the TV viewing landscape has changed drastically just over the past few years. Very few of us even WATCH commercials any more, unless the surrounding program is called the Super Bowl. Yet no one in the vast pool of entertainment geniuses working in the television business has seemed to devise any innovative changes in the way products are advertised to their audiences. They're all sticking with the two-minute pods segmented into 15- and 30-second commercial spots. Do we still use horses and oxen to travel cross-country? No...because our evolving modern lifestyle dictated that we invent more appropriate methods of transportation. So why on Earth are they still adhering to this antiquated system in the world of TV advertising?

I can come up with several, at least somewhat feasible, ideas for revolutionizing the business just sitting here on my couch. Develop closer and more tailored relationships with your advertising partners. Realize that different age groups might gravitate toward different products, giving each segment value in certain circumstances. Use new technology to advance how you communicate your advertisers' messages to the audience - interactive overlays enabling viewers to opt in to certain offers, crawls on the bottom of the screen (hell, they already feature those annoying network promos down there like every other minute), use interactive Web sites/micro-sites to capture email addresses and other pertinent audience info...and on and on. Am I the only one with half a clue here?

It bears mentioning that NBC itself commissioned a research report to demonstrate that the prevailing "wisdom" regarding older audiences was not necessarily correct. And then they went and used the same baseless paradigm in making the decision regarding "Harry's Law." Given that TV episodes are taped well in advance, it was quite poetic that after having gotten the axe on Friday, "Harry's Law" aired what may have been its best episode yet on Sunday. AND...in a laugh-out-loud inspiring move, show-runner, David E. Kelley obviously had the actors re-shoot the opening scenes at the last minute, as Bates' wisecracking character, Harriet Korn, upon being awoken at 6am, lamented how getting old sucks, and how she longed for the days when she was 18-49.

If you ever find episodes of "Harry's Law" online or elsewhere, I suggest Sunday's brilliant The Whole Truth, amd last November's American Girl. And here's hoping that Kathy Bates lands another series soon. Maybe the "important" viewers will come along for the ride next time.

The Year in Music: 2011 - Top 10 Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:28:00 +0000

My series of blog posts on the best music of 2011 concludes with my nominees for Record of the Year. These are essentially my top ten favorite tracks of the year...the ones I haven't been able to get out of my head; all but a couple of which have already made appearances in my other categories. I hope, if anyone's been reading this, that you picked up a new favorite song or two along the way. If not, then, you're missing out :-)

Record of the Year

Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Maroon 5

These guys came close to topping my year-end list a few years ago with "Won't Go Home Without You." It seems like they've improved with every album, in my opinion. Hands All Over may very well have been my album of the year, except for the fact it was released in 2010. This single just stuck in my head from the beginning, and still hasn't left. Pop perfection.

Walk - Foo Fighters
Fuckin' Perfect - Pink
Give Me Something - Scars on 45
Mr. Know It All - Kelly Clarkson

The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
Even when my tastes coincide somewhat with popular opinion, I still manage to go against the grain. As I had mentioned, my favorite songs and artists this year were atypically commercial, and Katy Perry is certainly the best example of that. Perry tied Michael Jackson's record for scoring five #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from the same album. "The One That Got Away" was, in fact, the one that got away, only making it to #3, and preventing Perry from breaking the record. So, of course, logic would hold, that this was my favorite of all the singles. Hey, I tried.

Down By The Water - The Decemberists
A little more of a folky sound with The Decemberists album than what I normally listen to. I gave The King is Dead an honorable mention in Album of the Year, and this was the most catchy tune of the bunch.

Slave to the Grind - Halestorm

Sorry - The Smithereens
I won't call myself a huge fan of The Smithereens. There isn't really one album of theirs that I would listen to start to finish, but they always seem to come up with a few great tracks each time out. I heard this one played twice on a local radio station, and that was pretty much it. The Smithereens are long past their heyday, but this track is still worth a listen, or several.

Werewolves - The Damnwells

Jerammies 2011 - Record of the Year by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

The Year in Music: 2011 - Part V

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! Hopefully, 2012 will bring some great new music. For now, I leave you with the second to last category in my year-end Jerammy nominations - Song of the Year. As the real Grammy voters typically ignore the distinction between this and Record of the Year, I will point out that these nods are supposed to be for achievement in songwriting, and hence, go to the songwriters...not necessarily the same as the performers. To me, excellence in songwriting doesn't have to indicate some deep, world-changing lyrical passage, but there should be something unique and non-cliched about both the lyrics and the music. The melodies should also grab you - an engaging hook is definitely part of masterful songwriting. That having been said, the nominees are:

Song of the Year

Fuckin' Perfect - Pink, Max Martin, and Shellback (performed by Pink)

Nothing too complicated or poetic here. It's a simple song with an admirable message and a tight melody. Enough to be my top choice.

Werewolves - Alex Dezen (The Damnwells)
Another song that isn't exactly treading any new topical territory, but Dezen certainly has a way with words, which lifts this one to a higher level. The hook is great too, with the backing vocals to the chorus even featuring a sort of "howling" tone to them. It's the details that count when you're deciding on the best.

Someone Like You - Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson (Adele)
Nine years after the release of Semisonic's signature rock tune, "Closing Time," lead singer Dan Wilson scored a Song of the Year Grammy win for co-writing the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice." Four and a half years after that, he notched his first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with this Adele track. I am personally not the biggest Adele fan in the world, and think she is overhyped. However, the raw emotion conveyed in this song warrants that props be given to both Adele and her writing partner, Wilson. Plus, I'm such a huge Dan Wilson fan, that I wanted to recognize him here. I wish he had more of his OWN music out there, and that he had more success with those songs. The fact that he's so ably adapted his writing across genres through the years shows that he is simply one of the most talented songwriters out there today.

Give Me Something - Danny Bemrose (Scars on 45)
Love Shines - Ron Sexsmith (Ron Sexsmith)
The Cave - Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons)

Jerammies 2011 - Song of the Year by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

The Year in Music: 2011 - Part IV

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:38:00 +0000

My end of year music recap took a week and a half off but now returns with the final four categories. This post tackles Best New Artist and Album of the Year.

New Artist

This was the easiest category for me for one simple reason: I wasn't really impressed with many new additions to the music scene this year. Only one really stood out for me, so they are the only nominee, and hence, the winner. I'm talking about Scars on 45. I already mentioned a bit about them in the Pop Duo/Group Performance post, and they'll make a couple more appearances yet in subsequent posts, so on to the next category...

Album of the Year

Stronger - Kelly Clarkson

The pop diva has always had great singles, but this is really this first time it's all come together on a full album, top to bottom, in my opinion. There's only one throwaway track here - the lyrically goofy "Einstein" - but the rest provide a variety of tempos, beats and melodies with great energy, and of course, other-worldly vocal performances. Clarkson finally lives up to her status as a pop/rock goddess. Standout tunes include, "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)"; "Dark Side"; "I Forgive You"; and "Breaking Your Own Heart."

The Truth Is... - Theory of a Deadman
TOAD has a track record of being able to craft strong melodies while still maintaining their rock cred. They continue that trend here, albeit a little light on the "rock" end of things. The first four tracks are easily the strongest, and at 16 songs total, there is a bit of filler here - even a lame, ill-advised attempt at a wedding song with "Better or Worse" - but still about nine very listenable songs.

Break the Spell - Daughtry
Another real solid album. Not quite the masterpiece their last effort was, but at least 8-10 songs that I could listen to repeatedly, and that's saying something these days.

Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray - Seether
See above description for the Deadman album, except the part about the first four tracks, and substitute a lame, ill-advised attempt at a country ditty with "Country Song" - inexplicably chosen as the lead single. But there are other rock gems here.

No One Listens to the Band Anymore - The Damnwells
In a perfect world, The Damnwells would be a staple on pop/rock radio. Instead, I find comfort in knowing that I'm one of the lucky few to have discovered them (thanks, Pandora). Alex Dezen is a great songwriter, and this effort showcases that talent. Some weaker tracks on the second half of the CD, but all in all, one of the best of the year.

HONORABLE MENTION:
Sky Full of Holes - Fountains of Wayne
This Loud Morning - David Cook
Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
The King is Dead - The Decemberists
The Return of Spring - Mike Garrigan

Jerammies 2011 - Album of the Year by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

The Year in Music: 2011 - Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:21:00 +0000

...And we continue with Best Pop Solo Performance. One of the category changes the Grammy Awards imposed this year is eliminating the segregation of male and female pop stars. So, now the distinction is simply between duo/group and solo. Here are my picks for the best individual vocal performances of 2011:

Pop Solo Performance

Mr.Know It All - Kelly Clarkson

No doubts here. I don't know anyone on the music scene who can match KC vocally. She basically just needs to open her mouth, but in this case, she's just the perfect choice for this specific song. She effuses the right attitude, which brings what could have been a bland pop ripoff to another level. I actually didn't care for the tune upon first listen, but Kelly won me over.

Fuckin' Perfect - Pink
Another one of the best pure vocalists out there. Don't like all her songs, but can't argue with the pipes.

Aftermath - Adam Lambert
I absolutely detested Lambert while he was on American Idol. His debut album was no masterpiece, but thankfully, someone realized that screaming was not the equivalent of a strong vocal performance. He sounds a lot more natural on the recorded work, and allows his vocal prowess to stand on its own. "Aftermath" was my favorite track as soon as I sampled the album, though it was released as a single to little commercial fanfare.

Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
I have admittedly been disappointed by the Born This Way album. I was hoping to like it, but it's just not my thing. "Glory" is not a fantastic pop song, but it does showcase the fact that the meat-adorned one is still underrated as a singer.

Lucky Now - Ryan Adams
This is an example of where less can be more. Adams' gravelly voice adds just the right texture to this standout track from his Ashes and Fire CD.

Hey Angel - Mike Garrigan
Still one of the most overlooked singer-songwriters of the last couple decades, Garrigan continues his mastery of pop/rock with this love ditty.

If You Ever Get Lonely - John Waite
I've seen the ex-Babys/ex-Bad English vocalist live three times in recent years, and he's a surprisingly good singer, which doesn't always seem obvious on his recorded work. This is the standout track from his most recent album.

Jerammies 2011 - Pop Solo Performance by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

The Year in Music: 2011 - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:40:00 +0000

Continuing my nominations for this year's "Jerammies" - time for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Again, going based on the assumption that this category is meant to pay homage to the best vocal performances. This was not as clear-cut of a choice for me to pick a winner, as there's only one person mentioned here who could be considered an out of this world singer. These selections were more about the nuances of the performances, the harmonies, and just creating the right vocal vibe for the particular song. The nominees are:

Pop Duo/Group Performance

Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Maroon 5
I'd say this was, overall, my favorite song of the year. Adam Levine and company put out a great album with Hands All Over, and simply know how to handle a pop song. Both the lead and backing vocals sound great, and flow well throughout the song, creating a bouncy little number that sticks in your head.

Werewolves - The Damnwells
The Damnwells, mainly a vehicle for singer-songwriter, Alex Dezen, have not enjoyed huge commercial success. They do have some great music out there, though. That's why they're tied for the most Jerammy nominations with 4. With whom are they tied? See below.

Give Me Something - Scars on 45
A new band out of the U.K. featuring dual lead vocals from Danny Bemrose and Aimee Driver. They also received nods in 4 categories here on my humble blog. Not having even released a full-length album yet, their two EP's from 2011 provided a nice glimpse into what will hopefully become a strong catalog of pop/rock songs. The version of their catchy first single, "Give Me Something" that I included below is actually a performance sponsored by local radio station 107.1 The Peak, and features a cool coda that blends into a riff on Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean featuring Kelly Clarkson
Normally, Kelly would have won anything in this category. However, the fact that this is actually a song from country star, Jason Aldean's album kind of tempered my enthusiasm. Miss C certainly delivers with her trademark killer vocals, but Aldean kind of grates on me, leaving me to honor this one only with a mere nomination (and it IS an honor just to be nominated, right?).

She Walks in So Many Ways - The Jayhawks
For the First Time - The Script

Jerammies 2011 - Pop Duo/Group Performance by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark

The Year in Music: 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:39:00 +0000

It's that time of year again - when I have nothing better to do than to recap my taste in pop culture from the preceding 300-some-odd days. Last December, I simply listed my top 20 favorites songs of 2010, but in prior years, I had compiled my votes for the Grammy Awards. No, not the actual Grammy's...because they don't really ask my opinion on those. I went ahead and created the "Jerammies" - a cheesy take-off on the real awards, based on my own oddball musical preferences. I decided to revert back to that idea for 2011, but this time, I'm actually sharing my choices with you all (or tormenting you with them, depending on how you look at it). I've selected several of the more mainstream Grammy categories, and tried to remain true to the actual meaning behind the category names (which the actual Grammy voters never seem to do). This year's posts are replete with actual widgets from the Grooveshark site, which will allow you to listen to the songs I've foisted upon you. Wow, see how remarkably technologically inclined I've become?! In any case, in some instances, my selections this year seem to be uncharacteristically in line with the real nominations (I compiled my list before they were announced), but there are still several obscure gems that I feel should have gotten much more exposure. So, without any further babbling, here is the first category.

Rock Performance

The Grammy's condensed some categories this year, including eliminating the separation of solo and group rock performances. I have followed along with the changes here on my blog. Keep in mind, this category is supposed to highlight the best vocal performances in the rock genre. Again, the Grammy voters never seem to take this into consideration, instead just picking their favorite songs. In my mind, vocal performance is not only about who can belt out the loudest and longest, although that helps. It also encompasses matching the right type of voice with the right song, and other more subtle characteristics of the overall performance. That having been said, there is nothing SUBTLE about my pick for the winner in this category (highlighted in blue italics) - it was easily the most clear-cut decision I made in any of the categories. The nominees are:

Slave to the Grind - Halestorm
Lead singer, Lzzy Hale, is one of rock's best kept secrets. I don't know why Halestorm didn't make a bigger splash with their debut album, but this year's Reanimate - The Covers EP provided a few standout tracks to hold me over until their sophomore effort comes out. Chief among them: Heart's "All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You," Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," and this rip-your-face-off take on the amazing Skid Row screamer from 1991. Sebastian Bach was perhaps the greatest vocalist of the hair band era, and Lzzy Hale unbelievably almost matches him note for every throat-destroying note on this remake. And, if you check out any live clips on Youtube, you'll see this is no trick of studio engineering; she HITS the notes. Overall, the recording is not an improvement on the original, but the vocal performance deserves to be recognized for what it is: stunning.

The Fire - Rev Theory
The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! at the Disco
Stand - Ed Kowalczyk (ex-lead singer, Live)
Walk - Foo Fighters
Lost in Paradise - Evanescence

Jerammies 2011 by Jeremy Sand on Grooveshark