Sunday, 1 February 2015

That's Entertainment : Bon Jovi


The other night I was watching Rambo First Blood on the box (after having watched most of Reign of Fire) and during the ads, I channel surfed.  Over a few stations was U-571 (one of the WORST movies of all time, full of historical inaccuracies - a tissue of lies, purported to be 'real' American WWII deeds, but actually a British deed done wayyyyyy before the Yanks even entered WWII.  As a side note, the real U-571 was sunk by Aussies!  A link from Reign of Fire to U-571 is Matthew McConaughey - make of that what you will).

In my stupor, two things hit me.

1.  TV is s#ite.

2.  Jon Bon Jovi acts!!  Apparently he's been doing it for years.  [ U-571 was released in 2000 ]

Then this week, I read an article about an Aussie who got walked down the aisle in Las Vegas by none other than Jon Bon Jovi.

And today, changing radio channels, on comes Blaze of Glory.  Yep.  Shot dowwnnnnnnnnn...in a bla-zzzzzzze of glo-rryyyyyyyyyy!

It had to be a sign.

So I whipped on the I-tunes and had myself a little party.

I first got in to Bon Jovi when Slippery When Wet and New Jersey were monstering the world.  Chock full of hair-metal rockers, passionate ballads with a hint of blues.  I remember them being BIG.  And I mean B I G.  They were the first American band to ever have an album released in the USSR, on the Melodyia label,and first USSR sanctioned American band to perform in Moscow at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in August 1989.  Just remember, this was before the end of Communism, giving them a foot in to a massive market and a chance to expand their fan base.  The festival, despite the egos, etc...is a pinnacle of the glam/hair metal era.

After Blaze of Glory topped charts in late 1990, Bon Jovi went quiet, grunge arrived and hair metal slowly slipped off the radio formats.  I remember Hot Metal mag saying they'd split up.  Then when they hadn't, there was 'that' haircut heard around the world when Jon Bon Jovi had his long locks shorn down.  That's when hair-metal died.  

In late 1992, my folks live in Laos, and they had Star Channel satellite TV and we got MTV.  Half the time the promos were in English, the other half in Chinese.  But what was pants wettingly exciting for the VJs was Bon Jovi were releasing their new album Keep The Faith and they were doing this promo for a meet n greet, first hearing session in the US and lucky winners could go and blah blah blah.  I actually liked the single Keep The Faith and as if to say a big up yours to hair metal detractors, they breezed out and hits the top of many global charts with a slew of hits that went through for a good 2 years.   Another couple of years of work as the faces of Coke OR Pepsi (smart guys - signed to both and depending on what territory they toured) and they went quiet until 2000, with Matchbox 20 temporarily filing the void.  

Returning in the new millennium with Crush, Bon Jovi returned after the 5 year year absence and garnered themselves a whole new younger audience that augmented their existing fan base.  They have survived changes of taste and cultural fads and fashion.  They've explored a few different sounds but remained true.  Their fans adore them and their global audiences gathered during the early-mid 1990's keep the registers ticking over.  Professional, smart and good businessmen, they also seem like decent blokes too.  They rock, they roll, they tug your heartstrings and give you exactly what their fans want.  It might be sacrilegious, but like another New Jersey boy, Bruce Springsteen, they remain workmanlike when they're millionaire superstars.  In fact, you could imagine yourself have a beer with Jon Bon Jovi - or have him walk you down the aisle.

Bon Jovi are smart.  Eschewing the drug problems most rock bands have, they stayed fairly clean, toured the world and filled that massive niche - appealing to teen boys and the blokes with the rockers, appealing to the teen girls and ladies with the ballads.  Good looking, entertaining.  Good time, clean rock n roll fun.  Stadia filled with the masses.  More albums, singles, videos, tours, boxsets and #1s than you can poke a stick at.

Now in 2013, with a new album, another event tour and almost thirty years experience and back catalog in the vault, Bon Jovi have become my generations Rolling Stones, which is in no means an insult.

I always loved the shouty rawk of You Give Love A Bad Name.

I always loved the regal Lay Your Hands On Me with it's elongated intro and hair-band squeal of guitars.

I always loved the hair-metal bombast of Bad Medicine.

I always loved the syrup of In These Arms (single edit)

And I always loved the much forgotten, Beatles-esque Say It Isn't So.

I'm sure you've got your Bon Jovi moments too.  We all do.   Keep the faith Bon Jovi fans.  :-)




Oh my - could this be a USSR Melodyia LP release of Bon Jovi's New Jersey?  It sure is.  You can touch me later.




You Give Love A Bad Name  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZHPOeOxQQ








I'll Sleep When I'm Dead   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-e0uZfooQ


Someday I'll Be Saturday Night   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFNZXaBcXkA

Something For The Pain   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aO-A_QVgS4



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That's Entertainment : Collective Soul


Back in 1994 when I should have been studying for the HSC trials, I was reading Timothy Zahn's Star Wars : Heir To The Empire and listening to lots of Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Alice Cooper.  I was also playing the hell out of Collective Soul's song Shine.  It was just one of those songs I Iatched on to and had to tape repeatedly on both sides of a BASF C90 cassette tape so I didn't have to worry about programming the discman or rewinding the tape deck. 

For me, Shine is one of those all time classics.  I just don't know what it is.  The guitar is cool, the vocal Peter Gabriel-eqsue and one of those alt-grunge pop-rock tracks that seems to get played on FM at least once a day.  I even have the album [bought out of loyalty when I bought all the other CDs] but have never listened to it.  

After that, Collective Soul seemed to hit a rich vein of musical and chart success.  Their second album, titled Collective Soul [TRIVIA : the story is the first album was supposed to be their 'demo' tape but got pushed up as a proper release.  The 2nd album the band considers their real 'first' album, hence it being self-titled --- yeah, whatever!] has no less than FIVE bona fide hits - The World I Know, Smashing Young Man, December, Where The River Flows, and Gel as well as containing one of my faves - Collection of Goods.  It's grunge lite, melodic 70's rock for the 90's.  At this time, they had major record label backing too and in 1995, the world was Collective Soul's oyster.

1997 saw them release Disciplined Breakdown with the firm hits Precious Declaration and Listen.  It was a rawer, dirtier sound.  They toured Oz and I missed it for stoopid uni exams - drats!!!   The album also contains other little gems like Link, In Between and Crowded Head.  This was a CD that got taped for the car and in 1997/98 when I delivered pizzas for a summer job in my beat up royal blue Toyota Corona 1978.  

Come 2000, labels demanded gloss and they polished most 'rock' bands.  There's a look and a sound distinctive to much of 1999-2001 outside of the Nu-rock genre.  Collective Soul released Blender and the record label most def polished the bands sound and image in an effort to sell records and appeal to the girls.  It's an album I bought on cassette for $5 at the reject shop and accidentally left on the dashboard and had warped in the sun.  It's got a lot of muscle and I like it a lot.  At about this time, I got derided by a Borders co-worker for liking them and his attempts to humiliate me in front of others by telling everyone they were 'Christian Rock' did little to deter their appeal.  But within 12 months, they'd been dropped from their label and completed their deal with the obligatory Greatest Hits album.

I moved on with life and other things and Collective Soul went on hiatus.  They got on some minor labels and released a couple of albums, but JB always had them too pricey and I no longer paid more than $20 for an album (LOL at that !!!)  It wasn't until 2007 when I was on the band's website and they were releasing their new record Afterwards that I fell in love with the new single Hollywood.   It's just the perfect summer song.  And fortuitously, the couple of albums I'd missed, JB were flogging off for $5 down from the lofty import price of $35.

So exploring a few albums at once, I found How Do You Love on one of the missed albums, and it just fit perfectly for ideas I was having for a great 'death scene' in Alistair Raven.  Funnily enough, that scene is no longer in book 1, book 2 or book 3, but the penultimate scene of book 4.   But it's still perfect.  If and when it's a film, that will be the close out song and the girls on Team Alistair will be choking back the tears and it will be the ending of all endings not seen since...well, The Wrath of Khan.  Which is cool, because Collective Soul were on the Twilight soundtrack, so why not mine, eh?

Ultimately, it's Shine that still gets a good airing by FM radio.  For me, instead of mixed tapes or burnt CDs - where I always had to do the math and leave some song off here and there - I now have all the fave Collective Soul tracks loaded up on my I-pod.  

I've picked a choice few here for your listening pleasure.  I hope you enjoy!






Tremble For My Beloved   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKxK5uiHIvA








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That's Entertainment : White Lies


The White Lies are a UK three-piece who have recently released their third album Big TV.  

Normally I don't gush about newish bands as it comes across as conceited and churlish (much like pretty much everything else I do :-)  ).

Anyway...I've had this band's new album for two weeks and pretty much have had it on the I-tunes and I-pod non-stop.  There's just a connection and it sounds fantastic.

I sort of knew what I was getting in to, because I'd bought their second album Ritual back in early 2011, just on spec and liked it, particularly the single Bigger Than Us.

But this new album is exceptional from start to finish.  And the beauty is, I've gone back and delved in to the 2nd album and even had a chance to go check out their debut 2009 CD To Lose My Life...  

On the Fiction Records label (The Cure), for mine, it's the sounds of Joy Division, Ultravox, Tears For Fears, Simple Minds and Echo and the Bunnymen being percolated via Talking Heads and Bloc Party, The Bravery and Interpol.  And this new album has seen them broaden their palette, incorporating a larger sound, creating tunes imbued with a new confidence and bombast.   

And whereas a similar band I really adored (The Editors) recently faltered, White Lies have taken the baton for dark but uplifting angular British rock.  I'd go out on a limb and say these guys will be the next Muse in 5-7 years.  But why not just enjoy the here and now?  

So take a chance with the White Lies.  They might just surprise you.

Have a good weekend!



To Love My Life...or Lose My Love  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGEjz12YLiM

Farewell To The Fairground  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlmSqyMT0FQ






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Tuesday, 23 December 2014

That's Entertainment : Merry Christmas


So this is Christmas…

Ha!

Another year is hurtling towards its conclusion.  In fact, I don't know how it flew by so quick.

And I know you are all busy, so I'll be brief.

Here's a list of Xmas songs everyone should play at least once.  There are some real gems in here.  And a completely naff Jon Bon Jovi (from 1980) Christmas song for R2-D2 (of Star Wars fame).  It has to be heard to be believed.

Other than that, I hope everyone is pulling a Xmas cracker, decorating their Festivus stick or spinning their dreidel.  

Personally, I've had a charmed 2014.  Alex started school and loved it.  Australia beat England 5-0 in the Ashes.  Souths won the Premiership.  I know there's more…but why bore you, eh?

So to each and all, and your friends, families, co-workers - have a safe, fun and a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year's and an absolutely fabbo 2015.

I'll be having some mince tarts and acting like a Ho Ho Ho!

:-)   See you around the traps.

And if you're looking for something to listen to, visit http://giveitaspin76.blogspot.com.au

Peace out!






Slade : Merry Christmas Everybody https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxNemfdMnOU

The Darkness : Christmas Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhuoY5h2kE

The Waitresses : Christmas Wrapping  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nud2TQNahaU

Paul McCartney and Wings : Wonderful Christmas Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y

The Kinks : Father Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mgwlxtrfgg

Taylor Swift : Christmas Must Be Something More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xS72M8UM9s

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers : Christmas All Over Again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EzQu_7UzZk

Queen : Thank God It's Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f1OGWQG9wc

Jon Bon Jovi : R2D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUFZklIOFvg



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Thursday, 11 December 2014

That's Entertainment : Julian Lennon


Raise your hand if your dad was a Beatle...

Well, this has been the blessing and the curse of Julian Lennon.

The son of one of the world's BIGGEST pop stars of ALL times, Julian (and his mother) were rejected and left by John Lennon.  Julian grew up in the shadows (it was common place for record labels to encourage pop stars not to admit they were married or even had kids, lest they lose the teenage girl market buying up the 7 inch singles) and spent more time with his 'uncles' Paul, Ringo and George then he ever really did with his father.  And when John was murdered in 1981 before Julian could truly reconcile with his father, you could understand a rich rock star's son bequeathed a trust fund going off the rails.  But to his credit, Julian Lennon did no such thing.

Having grown up with music and helped and encouraged by the other Beatles (amongst others), Julian crafted a niche of his own.  It would be terribly easy to say Julian traded on his looks (he looks and sounds uncannily like John Lennon), his family name or his connections, but that would be trite, sloppy and untrue.  

You see, Julian Lennon was quite gifted in his own right.

From his lauded debut record Valotte, to the much derided (but pop-tastic) follow up album The Secret Value of Daydreaming, Julian Lennon had an amazing ear for a tune and a vocal.  The singles Too Late For Goodbyes and one of my personal faves, Stick Around, were perfect pieces of confection.  However, it would be 1989's Now You're In Heaven, which reached the pointy end of the Aussie Top 10, that won me.  Now You're In Heaven is a delight with a a fantastic B-52's Loveshack beat and wry lyrics.  Yet for all the accusations, it would be Julian's biggest song Saltwater that cements his spot in music history.  Hitting #1 in Australia for 4 weeks in 1992, its his Imagine re-imagined.  In fact, it's cruel to think that the album Saltwater was lifted from (along with the single Help Yourself) would lead to Julian's hiatus for a number of years.

Moving in to philanthropy, good causes and photography, Julian only released material in 1998 and 2011, with the sporadic online single for good measure.  Personally, I think Julian was a wonderful talent who didn't deserve either the derision or criticism he got, just because he was John Lennon's son.  In fact, there are plenty of muso sprogs who make a career in showbiz with very, very little talent.

I suppose, at the end of the day, Julian had a crack, and he released some awesome songs which many easily forget.  In the end, he had the last laugh…living off a portion of his father's estate and royalties, setting him up for life.  And despite what any rock critic or w@nker ever says, he's can still say he's the son of John Lennon, one of the Beatles…and there ain't many people who get to say that on this great big ball of dirt.

Do yourself a favour, check him out.  You won't be disappointed.  

















Stick Around (Extended 12 inch mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ6FyNxk_JA



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Thursday, 4 December 2014

That's Entertainment : Bananarama


I heard a rumour.  

And yes, I can tell you it is true.  

I stand accused of love in the first degree...as a fan of Bananarama.

And what's wrong with that?  Seriously.  It's summer time, leading in to the Xmas Party Season, and every corporate Xmas Party should have ONE Bananarama track spun.  And if it's hoity-toity corporate Xmas Party somewhere on the harbour, no credible disc jockey would be worth his or her salt if he/she didn't give…at minimum…Venus a spin.  

As a Bananarama fan, I got on the bandwagon quite late.  How late?  Well WOW! was out and Siobhan Fahey was leaving the trio and Love In The First Degree was topping charts.  Next thing, they've airbrushed in Jacquie O'Sullivan with the remaining pair of Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, released a career spanning best of and re-recording the vocals for I Want You Back.

These days, they're 'gay icons'  and an act on the "Hits of the Eighties" tours with Rick Astley and Paul Young and passed over as naff, poxy poppets lumped in with the Stock, Aitken and Waterman stable of fabricated hits.

But it wasn't always like this.

Starting off as raffish, post-punk tomboys (caked in makeup) with scruffy, teased hair, bandana head bands and over-alls and Bovva-boots.  In fact, the remnants of the Sex Pistols helped them record their first demo.  Mixing a dash of New Wave counter culture, synth pop and (laughable) social consciences, they released a slew of hits that smashed the charts for most of the years between 1982-1988.  Eventually, they would strip away the 'streetwise' look for more sophisticated feminine glam and a Euro-dance sound.  However, you could never accuse Bananarama of being boring.

Their earliest film clips helped them win air time on MTV in America, where, they are mostly remembered as a 'one hit wonder' act, hitting the Billboard #1 spot with a cover of Shocking Blue's Venus in 1986.  Yet their catalogue - whilst 80's pop - is littered with plenty of gems.  The production was always great and the girls sang in unison, not in harmony, so you could hear the nuances of each vocal very clearly.  Overall, Bananarama were popstars who delivered the whole package - sound, style, image - and sold bucket loads of albums and singles.  In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records lists Bananarama as the all-female group with the most chart entries in the world, a record they still possess.  By the 1990's and 2000's, only Sara and Keren still performed and recorded as Bananarama, and whilst they may release new material, they're pretty much a nostalgia act.

But for mine, it's that trio of later singles - I Head A Rumour, Love In The First Degree and I Want You Back - that win me over every time.  Poptastic in so so many ways, these are party tunes that deserve to be played loud and fill the dance floor.  Maybe I'm showing my age - I was 11/12 when they came out - but they form a part of my music vocabulary.  Sure, there's nostalgia but when you dive on in, Bananarama are a great female act with heaps of beats and lots of great singles.  And I'm guessing I'm not alone in liking Bananarama either.

So this summer, 'fess up.  When you are at your Xmas soirees, throw down the gauntlet and tell that DJ to whack on some Bananarama.  You might find yourself in a room full of closeted fans just itching to boogie to Venus one more time.




It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJonGASrEac


Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IUIYwrMyiQ















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That's Entertainment : Bros


Nothing screams 1988 like BROS.  
 
Seriously.  They are a microcosm of visuals, sounds, substance and style from that year in the late 1980's.  The denim, the ear rings, the bleached haircuts…it reeks of that period, and not all of it complimentary.  
 
Bursting on to the pop music scene in late 1987, they burnt brilliantly for a year and then there was the slow fade.  Whilst other boy bands like NKOTB, Take That and the Backstreet Boys managed to carve a career that would see them dominate pop charts with a slew of hit singles and have a swag of stratospheric album releases, BROS soared with their massive debut album Push and had measured success with a decent sophomore effort before vanishing from sight. All the more ironic, when BROS' biggest hit was titled When Will I Be Famous? 
 
At the time, you were a fan or you weren't.  School bags were daubed with the band's logo and name, or equally, defaced with homophobic slurs suggesting BROS weren't the full quid.
 
The trio - eye candy twin brothers Matt and Luke Goss [the drummer] and smouldering bassist Craig Logan - didn't wait long for success to come.  The release of their second single When Will I Be Famous? carried a catchy synth line and a begging vocal announcing their arrival to anyone who listened.  Whilst its arguable if the song is poxy or not, it's a delicious slice of pop that is one of those singles that I'll throw on to get a party started.  I suppose, for mine, it was once the fame train arrived for BROS that I jumped off.  But on reflection, they did deliver some gems.  Drop The Boy, I Owe You Nothing and I Quit are all great pop songs.  By early 1989, BROS were massive.  They'd adorned all the girlie magazines and Smash Hits.  The videos were on high rotation.  The girls swooned and the fan club - Bros Front - at its peak had over 3 million members.  The Push era climaxed with BROS' 19 consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium, which was also filmed as a television (and video) extravaganza.  Of course there was backlash and the urban myths began.
 
The first casualty was the loss of Craig Logan who left the band in early 1989 (and has gone on to become a music manager - managing none other than P!nk).  Releasing their second album The Time as a duo, BROS once again hit the heights with a number of catchy singles, swish videos and a one-off Wembley gig (which was one of the first pay per view concerts on SKY).  Too Much is a fantastic song and deserves a spin.  And whilst world wide sales were great, they didn't match Push.  Their third album released in 1991 sank without a trace and that was that.  Really, BROS would make a perfect case study of the music industry as a whole…how a band can create its own sound/scene, explode on to the market, reach saturation point, then burn out and disappear.  It's not something the band can do anything about either - you're a hit or you're not - and it must be cruel to be so hot one second, and not the next…and nothing you did changed, it's just the public's tastes switch.  It also hurts when your fan base is the fickle teenage girl, who in the space of 2-3 years goes from a pimply 13-14 year old to a 16-17 year old who doesn't want to be seen as a 'kid' anymore, eschewing their passions of a couple of years ago (plus being in love with a teen pop star at 13 does kinda look desperately uncool at 16).
 
From the ashes, Luke Goss went on to appear in several Hollywood films.  Matt Goss recorded some successful solo material, and in 2013 released a sombre version of When Will I Be Famous? that has to be heard to be believed.  It certainly is the bookend to the original single.  Sometimes, you have to be careful what you wish for.
 
For a long time, I not quite derided BROS, but I paid them scant regard - except for When Will I Be Famous?  It was only when I worked with a fellow who loved BROS that I revisited the Best Of CD I had.  Hell, I even uploaded it on to i-Tunes and forgot about it.  Going back and listening to songs I hadn't listened to in 25 years, it brought back some memories.  And whilst I never had BROS' logo scribbled on my school bag, I can now sit back with the benefit of time and wisdom and appreciate that BROS did indeed have something special.  They had looks, they had pop hooks and they had slick production.  Most of all, they were three young blokes giving it a go.  And for a moment, they were quite literally the BIGGEST band in the world (except maybe in America).  So do yourself a favour.  Give them a few moments of your time.  They might surprise you.
 
When Will I Be Famous?  I can't answer that.  But BROS can.







When Will I Be Famous? [12 inch mix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biee_H-mDgk






Too Much [extended version] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tzlRpi6JP0



Matt Goss - When Will I Be Famous? [2013] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BM9aiURG0g




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