Showing posts with label yacht rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yacht rock. Show all posts

Sunday, April 30, 2017

DESDINOVA'S PODCAST: YACHT ROCK


It's spring and time to party on the water or this could be music for your boat in the flooding here in Missouri.


Wednesday, December 28, 2016

R. I. P GEORGE MICHAEL


I believe "Careless Whisper" by Wham is one of the greatest and classiest hits of the 80s. Never understood why many of my classmates didn't like this.  Of course, I also like Seether's Vanilla Fudge-ing of the song from a few years back.



Saturday, November 28, 2015

DESDINOVA'S PODCAST 6



Another podcast from yours truly. Featuring jams from Trooper, Chilliwack, Pousette-Dart Band, Cockney Rebel, Funkadelic, Sad Cafe, & Marshall Hain. Plus Doc Savage, Ultraman, toothpaste as an aphrodisiac, kids talk about pickles, Barbara Eden talks about her pantyhose and other fun stuff.


Sunday, May 31, 2015

YACHT ROCK IPOD PLAYLIST


I'm hooked on yacht rock. I think many people my age have been bit by this bug, because this is the music we heard during our formative years. We heard it on the radio, had an older sibling who liked it or maybe our parents were hip enough to like it. The name came about thanks to a online, behind-the-scenes soap opera parody that created a fanciful back story for the music of the late 70s and early 80s.

After that, articles on other blogs and websites have been delving into what music fits the sub-genre. There has even been some compilations released of really obscure artist that fit this category. Some have suggested that it is only artist from southern California, other say there has to be a jazz feel or a country-folk influence. Some maintain that it can only be produced from 1977 to 1982. Purist say it has to be about sailing or water. There is also the people who insist it has to be "cheesy." The debate could go on forever.

Naturally, I'll give you what is on my Ipod playlist.

"Sailing" - Christopher Cross
"Sail On" - The Commodores
"Dark Star" - Crosby, Stills & Nash
"Fins" - Jimmy Buffett
"This Is It" - Kenny Loggins
"Key Largo" - Bernie Higgins
"Lady" - Little River Band
"Love Is the Answer" England Dan & John Ford Coley
"Don't Leave Me Alone Tonight" - Network
"If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago
"A Little More Love" - Oliva Newton-John
"Winning" - Santana
"Arroyo" - The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
"Lights" - Journey
"It Doesn't Matter" - Firefall
"Sexy Eyes" - Dr. Hook
"One of These Nights" - The Eagles
"Miss Sun" - Boz Scaggs
"Over and Done With"- White Horse
"Turning to You" - Charlie
"Living a Fantasy" - Leo Sayer
"Dreadlock Holiday" - 10CC
"You Can Do Magic" - America
"Shut the Door" - Don Brown
"Hey Nineteen" - Steely Dan
"I Can Dream About You" - Dan Hartman
"Get It Up For Love" - Ned Doheny
"Walking In Rythm" - The Blackbyrds
"Don't Do Me Like That" - Tom Petty
"Goodbye Stranger" - Supertramp
"Paralyzed" - Dave Mason
"I Don't Know Why" - Pousette-Dart Band
"You're No Good" - Linda Rondstat
"I Saw the Light" - Todd Rundgren
"Don't You Know" - Jan Hammer Group
"Island Girl" - Elton John
"Do You Want To Make Love" - Peter McCann
"Fantasy" - Earth, Wind & Fire
"Burning For You" - Blue Oyster Cult
"Georgy Porgy" - Toto
"Rhiannon" - Fleetwood Mac
"Heart Like a Wheel" - Steve Miller Band
"Carry on Thy Wayward Son" - Kansas
"Summertime Madness" - Kool & the Gang
"Hot Rod Hearts" - Robbie Dupree
"Love Is the Drug" - Roxy Music
"Love Takes Time" - Orleans
"Do You Feel It?" - Alessi Brothers
"So In To You" - Atlanta Rythm Section
"Harden My Heart" - Quarterflash
"Shake It" - Ian Mathews
"Baker Street" - Gerry Raferty
"Sometimes a Fantasy" - Billy Joel
"Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang" - Silver
"Rio" - Mike Nesmith
"Lonely Boy" - Andrew Gold
"Romeo's Tune" - Steve Forbet
"Do You Feel Like I Do" - Peter Frampton
"She's Gone" - Hall & Oates
"Holding On To Yesterday" - Ambrosia
"Year of the Cat" - Al Stewart
"Run Home Girl" - Sad Cafe
"Into the Night" - Benny Mardones
"Breezin" - George Benson
"Fool In Love With You" -Photoglo
"Runaway" - Jefferson Starship
"Cool Night" - Paul Davis
"Sultans of Swing" - Dire Staits
"Smoke From a Distant Fire" - Sanford/Townsend Band
"Driver's Seat" - Sniff N the Tears
"Whatch Gonna Do" - Pablo Cruise
"Thunder Island" - Jay Fergosen
"Part of the Plan" - Dan Fogleberg
"Come Sail Away" - Styx
"If I Saw You Again" - Pages
"Couldn't Get It Right" - Climax Blues Band
"What a Fool Believes" - The Doobie Brothers

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

I AM NOT ASHAMED IPOD PLAYLIST 8

I haven't unleashed one of these since February. So here is another group of guilty pleasures that I am not ashamed to have in my Ipod. Some would laugh at me and some would scorn me, but I just crank these up and sing along.

The Brooklyn Bridge - "Worst That Could Happen"
Del Shannon - "Kelly"
Gary Glitter - "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)"
Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution - "Sha-La Love You" (Chimps in clothing make great music)
Tal Bachman - "She's So High"
The Chakachas "Jungle Fever" (Early 70s dance/orgasm number made famous in Boogie Nights)
Color Me Badd - "I Wanna Sex You Up"
Golden Earring - "Dong Dong Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong" (They gave us vaguely risque bubblegum/sunshine pop before "Radar Love" & "Twilight Zone")
Jon & Robin and The In Crowd - "Do It Again, Just a Little Bit Slower" (Speaking of  vaguely risque bubblegum/sunshine pop)
Jane Child - "Don't Want To Fall In Love"
Mink Deville - "Spanish Stroll"
Dan Fogleberg - "Part of the Plan"
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)"
The Jacksons - "Shake You Body (Down To the Ground)"
Desi, Dino & Billy - "I'm a Fool"
The Smithereens - "Behind the Wall of Sleep"
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - "Je T'Aime...Mon Non Plus" (If you want to cause a commotion in a public place, play this orgasmic French on the jukebox)
Chubby Checker - "The Class" (His first hit and part of the strange genre of "imitation" songs)
Barry Manilow - "Copacabana"
Pilot - "Magic"
The Critters - "Mr. Diengly Sad"
Chris Rea - "Fool (If You Think It's Over)"
Flock of Seagulls - "I Ran (So Far Away)"
Billy Joel - "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (The original studio version from the Turnstiles LP)
Bill Parsons - "The All American Boy" (The record company made a mistake. The singer is really Bobby Bare)
Glass Tiger - "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)"
Blue Swede - "Hooked On a Feeling"
Firehouse - "Don't Treat Me Bad"
Heinz - "Just Like Eddie" (Cochran, that is.)
    

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I AM NOT ASHAMED PLAYLIST 5

It is time for me to list more songs that are in my Ipod that I'm not ashamed to admit to liking. Some call these guilty pleasures. Life is to short to be guilty about your entertainment choices.

Ars Nova - "March of the Mad Duke's Circus" (An early prog rock band)
Capt. Groovy and His Bubble Gum Army - "Capt. Groovy and His Bubble Gum Army" (Really Bobby  Bloom of "Montego Bay" fame)
The Monroes - "What Do All the People Know" (Great lost hit of the 80s)
Geoff Goddard - "Sky Men" (A sci-fi Joe Meek novelty. Goddard played keyboard on the more successful Joe Meek production "Telestar")
The Squares - "This is Airebeat" (British New Wave/pop pop of late 70s/early 80s "This has always been a backwater")
Tommy Roe - "Dizzy"
The English Congregation - "Softly Whispering I Love You"
The Fabulous Poodles - "Mirror Star" (A 70s punk song about playing air guitar)
Chad McDevitt Skiffle Group with Nancy Whiskey - "Freight Train" (Early British hit in this country in the 1950s)
Baz Luhrman - "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" (One of the best spoken word/recitations ever)
Cee Lo Green - "Forget You" (One of the great ultimate break up songs - How could anybody not like it?)
Ray Parker - "The Other Woman" (A great R&B hit of the 80s that you don't hear anymore)
Blondie - "Heart of Glass"
Louie Armstrong - "Old Man Mose"
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - "Abba Zaba"
The Rembrandts - "I'll Be There For You" (YES I DO LIKE THE THEME SONG TO FRIENDS! WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT!)
The Breakfast Club - "Right On Track" (A memory from high school)
Owl City - "Fireflies"
Rockwell - "Somebody's Watching Me" (Barry Gordy Jr's son - featuring backing vocals by Michael and Jermaine Jackson)
The Combo Kings - "Batman A Go Go" (A soul dance hit from 1966 - There was a similar James Bond dance number)
The Seeds - "Pushing Too Hard" (One of my all time favorite songs. It sums up my life. If I ever find who was responsible for taking this out of the TouchTunes juke box at Buffalo Wild Wings, I will kill them!)
Charlie Dore - "Pilot of the Airwaves" (A song about a girl in love with a radio DJ. Dore was a Emmylou Harris sound alike from Australia)
Robbie Dupree - "Hot Rod Hearts" (I was told this was "dirty" when I was in elementary school - Never figured out why)
The Lettermen - "Come Back Silly Girl " (Early sunshine pop -slightly un-PC title)
October Country - "My Girlfriend Is a Witch" (Psychedelic/Sunshine Pop by Ray Bradbury fans - he even wrote the liner notes on their only LP)
Sarah Brightman/Michael Crawford - "The Phantom of the Opera"
The Beginning of the End - "Funky Nassau" (Fast reggae hit of the early 70s)
The Bosstweeds - "The Theme from Faster Pussycat Kill Kill"
The Coasters - "Little Egypt" (Singing Yiiiinnnng YYYaaang! Gitchy gitchy!)
The Hollywood Argyles - "Alley Oop"
Morris Day & the Time - "Jungle Love"
Even & Jaron - "Crazy About This Girl"
Cliff Richard - "Dreaming"
Hank Ballard & The Midniters - "Annie Had a Baby"
The Floaters - "Float On" (A Quiet Storm hit featuring the most romantic line ever "Cancer and my name is Larry")
The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Neil Sedaka "Bad Blood"
Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now"
The Hollies - "If the Lights Go Out" (From their 80s reunion LP - Why was this song not a bigger hit?)

If you want to see the previous "I AM NOT ASHAMED" Ipod playlist, here are links:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4 

Friday, May 25, 2012

WHAT IS YOUR MUSICAL FLASHPOINT?

Click on image to enlarge
Some of the recent passings in the music world got me to thinking about this. KTXR radio personality Wayne Glenn has put forth a theory an his radio show that pretty much holds water. Nothing involving scientific research but just a general observation from talking to listeners and taking request from them. Wayne Glenn has observed that people seem to gravitate toward the music that was popular when they were between the ages of 9 to 12. This is when most people first become interested in music.

I call this the "musical flashpoint." My musical flashpoint would be 1978 since I was nine years old at the time. That summer, the tube on our TV went out and my parents didn't fix it for along time. This may have been responsible for my discovering pop music and radio in general. During that summer, I noticed that the Springfield Leader and Press (Now the News Leader) published the Billboard Top 10 in the Sunday edition. I would flip around the dial to the see if I could find these songs being played on the local radio stations. I even started keeping a chart that tracked how often these songs were played and on what radio station (This is how boring my life was at age nine).

In those days, you could find more "popular hits" on the radio. In those days, most radio stations felt that you had to play what was popular especially if you were the only radio station in town. Many small town radio stations had what was called a split format. Usually, they played country from sign on through the early morning for dairy farmers, easy listening during the midday for housewives and rock/pop from the afternoon until sign off. The horrific plague of "we-can-only-have-country-or-talk-in-the-Ozarks" only came about in the 90s.

I found a chart on ARSA to use as an illustration of that summer's great music. I look down the list and notice many of my favorite songs:  Gerry Rafferty "Baker Street," Eddie Money "Baby Hold On," The Sweet "Love Is Like Oxygen," Rolling Stones "Miss You," Jefferson Starship "Runaway," Patti Smith Group "Because The Night," Foreigner "Hot Blooded," Donna Summer "Last Dance,"   Meat Loaf  "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad," Bob Seger "Still The Same," Styx "Fooling Yourself," Pablo Cruise "Love Will Find A Way" Abba "Take A Chance On Me," and The O'Jays "Use Ta Be My Girl" are there, as well as the guilty pleasures like Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing," Chuck Mangione "Feels So Good," Steve Martin "King Tut," The Trammps "Disco Inferno," Bonnie Tyler "It's A Heartache," Yvonne Elliman "If I Can't Have You," Frankie Valli "Grease," England Dan & John Ford Coley "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again," Barry Manilow  "Copacabana"  (the only Barry Manilow song I have ever really liked).

I've also figured out that even if I didn't hear the song or group in 1978, I usually like anything made at that time. An example of this would be a big British hit by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley called "If I Had Words." Sure it is a sappy bubble gum/reggae song based on a song by Saint-Saens "Symphony No. 3," but I like it, because it has an energy and playful nature like many of the songs of that era. I really didn't hear the Sex Pistols until sometime in the early 80's (although I knew of them back then), but they immediately became one of my all-time favorite bands. I don't think I heard Pousette-Dart Band until college, unless they weren't identified on radio (the late 70s was the beginning of that bad trend in radio).

There, of course, are other singers and bands that were popular in 1978 that were not on that particular radio survey that I cannot live with out. Groups like Kiss, the Eagles, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Van Halen, the Cars, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Kenny Rogers,  the Jacksons, Kansas, Earth, Wind and Fire and...I could go on and on.

Now, if you are waiting for me to trash today's popular artist, you can keep on waiting. I like most popular music and enjoy listening to it, as a matter of fact I'm madly in love with Katy Perry (Okay, okay,  I HATE COUNTRY MUSIC, but I admit it). I'm not be one of those old guys who sit around complaining about what younger people do, because I never liked for older people to say disrespectful things about the music I liked. Also, I have more friends who are younger. I wonder what year was their musical flashpoint?  

Saturday, April 28, 2012

REINVENTING LIGHT ADULT CONTEMPORARY RADIO

Adult contemporary radio is one those things about the industry that I have a love hate relationship with. Personally, I prefer the music on adult contemporary over country music radio and talk radio. My problem is the attitude and presentation. I could actually forget and enjoy the beauty of the softer rock/pop music, if it wasn't for the constant reminder that this radio station is programmed to reach an audience made up of uptight, prudish squares and snooty preppie dorks. The liners frequently contain a veiled attack another radio station (that skews to a younger audience) by announcing that they "don't play rap or heavy metal." The liners seem to promote the radio station as a form of white, up-class, middle-school conformity that preaches the values of being "family friendly" and "everyone at work can agree on." The hidden message is "The people who don't like this radio station are child molesters and drug addicts, who live off welfare and worship Satan."

The jingles on these radio stations feature syrupy arrangements with whispery singers. There also has for several years been a trend to have a song for the morning show with a whining male vocalist that sounds like it belongs on a Contemporary Christian station.  

There seems to be a "Little Miss Pris/mommy blogger" nature to many adult contemporary radio stations. Topics discussed by the morning shows and some of the on-air people seem to be about girls prom dresses being "too sexy," what cartoons are "bad" for your child or too much soda is "bad" for you. The rest of the time they promote that the website has photos of "cute kittens." As David Letterman might say, "You can insert your own 'pussy radio station' joke here."

Now there are some newer variations on the AC format coming along, which feature a more younger and hipper music mix. While I welcome this, there needs to be a "light" AC that aims at changing audience, as well as a "Hot AC." Most of the kind of radio stations I'm referring to are "light" AC and are stuck in the 80s and 90s, when the format was big. Most of the music hasn't changed, because that style of music is dying out (along with some of the performers). Much of the music you hear on these radio station belong to what I call the "ding-ding-ding" sound of the 80s and 90s pop music. Two perfect examples of this are "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie and "Saving All My Love For You" by Whitney Houston. these radio stations are stuck in the "Just Say No" era.

There are people, like myself, who would listen to a soft rock/pop station if it the presentation wasn't directed at a "proud to be square" audience and the music was changed to be more smooth and vibrant, less bland and lifeless. They want something like this for when, as Gilligan at Retrospace would say, they are "making pancakes."

    
Here are some changes I would make to the "light" AC format:

1. Imagining and Liners - More funky and less sappy. Jingles should have be sort r&b/smooth jazz influenced with horns, not syrup strings with singers that sound like they should be on a Contemporary Christian radio station.
Sample liners:
  • "Our radio station is like a night out with Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, the other radio stations are like listening to speeches by Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman."
  •  "This radio station doesn't believe that there is such a thing as a prom dress that is too sexy for school."
  •  "If you co-workers don't like this radio station, tell them to take a flying leap out a window."
  •  "The only thing better for your kids than listening to our radio station is letting them stay home from school to watch reruns of The Simpsons and Family Guy all day."
  • "We know that our listeners are usually busy. They have a wine cooler in one hand and a bong in the other, while they are trying to open a pack of condoms."
  • "This radio station promises not to offend African-Americans, Gays, Hispanics, Native Americans, Jews or Atheist, but we are going to try and get your grandma's panties in a wad."
2. Move away from core artist of the past AC (Michael Buble, Josh Grobain, John Denver, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston) and go for the artist driven from classic rock radio for not being hard enough or at least add more classic rock and R&B artist. It is what the young generation calls "yacht rock." Throw in some smooth jazz instrumentals for measure. Sample playlist:
  •  "Wish You Were Here" Pink Floyd
  •  "Fall On Me" Pousette-Dart Band
  •  "Do It Again" Steely Dan
  •  "Fool In the Rain" Led Zeppelin
  •  "Special Lady" Ray Goodman and Brown
  •  "All Apologies" Nirvana
  •  "Come Softly To Me" Jane Oliver
  •  "Peaches En Regalia" Frank Zappa
  •  "Little Red Corvette" Prince
  •  "I'm Gonna Love You" Barry White
  •  "Jack & Jill" Raydio
  •  "Tangled Up In Blue" Bob Dylan
  •  "Year of the Cat" Al Stewart
3. In promotions, emphasis volunteering. You should give away prizes, but you should partner with a charity or volunteer organization, especially on remotes. Another thing is provide the audience with weather and news. Don't over do it, but the audience for a radio station like this will want to know what is going on. 
4. Make the morning show fun not a "cranky parent show." Find a host that is the caliber of David Letterman, Robin Williams or Bill Maher, not a wimpy hen-pecked husband who whines about there being "too much sex on TV." His female co-host should giggle at everything this guy says, but still be a person who the females in the audience will relate to. Also don't run down the artist being played. That defeats the purpose of playing them. Promote their concerts, appearances and music. Duh! Why can't modern radio stations do that the right way? Also don't insult or slam young people and children. Remember those people are the future of your radio station, if you insult them and run down the stuff they like will probably not listen to you in the future. This explains another reason that light AC is going away.

There is always room for a "light" radio station, but there needs to be revamping of the presentation and music. The people these radio stations tried to reach in the late 80s and 90s probably don't listen music radio anymore. They probably listen to the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity. So lets make a soft & light station for a fun crowd.

Of course, an opinion like these explain why I;m considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

 

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