You Tube Music Fun! New Wave and New Romantic

Another Great Genre of 80's music was New Wave. This initially referenced the "wave" of "new" punk music from London and Berlin, but soon encompassed New Wave, Punk, New Romantic, Mod, Ska and Gothic, or what was known in the 80's as Alternative Rock. These genres really launched MTV as the synth bands loved themselves so much they made videos of themselves to watch. It changed music and television forever.

Isn't music great! I can do this all day long. This is just the tip of the iceberg! Next time, Rock and Hair Bands!

The 80's Live On!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

So, maybe you know, maybe you don't. I am a product of the 80's and I am turning the big 4-OH! Sarah loves birthday parties. Me? Not so much. We came to an agreement a few years back that she would back off my birthday celebrations for five years until my 40th birthday and then five years after. The exchange would be that she could throw a huge 40th birthday party for me with an 80's theme. I agreed. She has not forgotten. I turn 40 on the 5th of February and we will celebrate in 80's style on the 6th. If you would like to go, let me know. It should be fun. Sarah always does it right.

20's Jazz to 80's Punk to Today...Music Rocks!

Anyway, I have been diving into my old 80's music grab bag and it makes me happy. I love just about every genre of music from Punk to Classical and every decade of music from the Jazz of the 20's to whatever you call today and everything in between. I love music! But the 80's just does something to me. Maybe it is the nostalgia it creates from a happy childhood and adolescence. You know the music was something special. This is when MTV began and actually played music videos! Of course, you would be hard pressed to find a music video on MTV today as they have sold their soul to the reality TV gods.

MTV, GET OFF THE AIR!!!

I was once asked what type of music I listen to when no one is around. My answer was the punk bands of the 70's and early 80's before it became a fad and too fast and loud. I was listening to some of these bands on my MP3 player and it made me search out some You Tube fun. I thought I would share. Maybe I will do this more often with all genres of 80's music as we lead up to the 80's party on February 6th. Enjoy...or don't...the choice is yours.

PUNKS NOT DEAD!!! It is just badly maimed!

80's Music! Does It Get Any Better?!

I love music. I love just about all genres of music. I really loved the 80's...all of it! New Wave, New Romantic, Punk, Hair Bands, Heavy Metal...all of it! As Sarah plans her 80's bash for my birthday, I have spent a lot of time listening to 80's music on Sirius Satellite First Wave and KROQ 80's online. I just love it! As you can tell by the timestamp, it is quite late and I can't sleep. Out of boredom (and for love of all music 80's) I thought I would see if I could list 80's bands A-Z. Let's see. I may need some help.

A - ABC

B - Blancmange

C - Cult

D - Dead Kennedys

E - English Beat

F - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

G - Go-Go's

H - Howard Jones

I - Iggy Pop and the Stooges

J - Journey

K - Kajagoogoo

L - Los Lobos

M - Madness

N - New Order

O - Oingo Boingo

P - Polecats

Q - Q Feel

R - Rush

S - Stray Cats

T - Thompson Twins

U - U2

V - Vandals

W - Wham

X - XTC

Y - Yazoo

Z - ZZ Top

That actually wasn't hard at all. I got stumped for a moment with "L" and "N", but not much. Music is such a great thing.

Skull Candy Endorsement???

My neighbor, Travis, whose family I home teach (in theory), once gave me a pair of Skull Candy ear buds. For those of you who do not know what these are, they are headphones. I love them. They mold to your ears very well and allow a good bass line and sound where most ear buds fail. The best part was that they were free! Well, Monday I was mowing the lawn and listening to the Ramones...er...I mean conference with my Skull Candy and doing so with the volume quite high. When I came in for dinner, I removed the headsets and tossed them aside. I commented almost immediately to Sarah that my left ear felt weird as if it would not pop. I quickly dismissed the feeling as the side effect of listening to my MP3 player too loudly.

Later that night, the dull sensation in my left ear had not subsided so I naturally began cleaning my ears; first with Q-tips and then with hydrogen peroxide. The only result was an increase in the tight and numb feeling in my ear. Upon inspecting my ear, Sarah saw a noticable difference between my left and right ear and assumed there was some swelling or something in the ear that was bothering me. She proceeded to attempt to poke and prod at the mass with more Q-tips and more peroxide. No luck. Tuesday was the same. More Q-tips and more peroxide. The crazy thing was that you could actually touch and see the object, yet it did not hurt. It only provided a dull and strange sensation. This morning I was going to go to the Dr. so as to get an assessment before vacation, but decided first to have one of my girls (as I call them) take a look at it. Shanna is a Mother of four so I figured she would have the best insight and asked her to look at it. Upon her cringing response I asked, "Is it infected? Should I go to the Dr?" Her reply was that it was "not infected, but plastic!"
The foam rubber ends (buds) are what caused me havoc the last three days.

After three people had taken turns trying to remove it with tweezers and one plucked a wild hair, I decided to go to IHC Instacare. (Sidenote: IHC sucks! I have determined they are definitely not the model of efficiency after waiting for two hours to be seen while sitting in an empty office). Once the doctor finally came in, he had removed my Skull Candy ear bud rubber piece within five minutes! I have always heard stories about guys who go into the ER and require the doctor to remove strange objects from orafices, but I never thought in a million years I would be one of them!!!

So, my free Skull Candy has now cost me two hours and a $30 co-pay! While my ear buds were free, the model I have typically cost $70. Well worth it! I don't want this entry to be a Skull Candy bashing entry. Truth be told, I am a big Skull Candy fan! I would encourage everyone to give these a shot. Trust me, you won't be disappointed and the odds of repeating my adventure are slim. I can't blame Skull Candy for my HUGE ear canals! If I wasn't such a tight wad, I would go buy some of the headset kind as well. As a matter of fact, my neighbor, Travis, is in someway related to the Founder of Skull Candy who is currently nominated for the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award. You can vote for him here. Anyway. I just thought this was a funny story. Incovenient for sure, but funny none the less. Summary, Skull Candy rocks! Don't use a Q-tip as a solution until you know there is not an obstruction and IHC sucks!

Happy Birthday, Satchel Mouth!

I love Jazz, not so much the modern jazz, but the soulful, swinging, ragtime, blues and classic jazz of the greats like Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, BB King, Dizzie Gillespie and more. But there can only be one that tops the list and for me, that would likely be, Satchmo! Louis Armstrong would be celebrating his birthday if he were here today. I thought it would be appropriate to share a few of his more famous quotes.

"If you have to ask what Jazz is, you will never know."

"My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn."

"All music is folk music. I aint never heard no horse sing a song."

"I got a simple rule about everybody. If you don't treat me right, shame on you."

"I felt bad at first. I was like, "What are we doing in Utah? I thought we were going to San Antonio like the National Guard told us. Man, we wound up far away from the South, but I've adjusted and I'm about to start my life over here in Utah."

“I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see ’em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin’.. how do you do
They’re really sayin’......I love you.”


Happy Birthday, Louis! I am sure you are making music in heaven playing a duet with Gabriel!

Blessings

As I have been called to serve in the Young Single Adult Ward bishopric, I have been prompted to reflect on my time in the Chino Young Single Adult Ward. Lately, I have, much to the thanks of Face Book, reunited with many long lost friends from that ward. What a great time that was. There were sooooo many good people in that ward that provided so many amazing memories and experiences for me. I have recently visited with such friends as Bob Craft, Candace Wilson, Jinky Santelices, Don Chubbuck, Debra Hughes and more. What a great thing this ward was in my life. I hope those many experiences, good and bad, will prove valuable as I serve the young people in American Fork. On a side note, I found this song on Jinky's blog and I thought it was awesome...it helps that it was performed with Ukes. You know me...anyway, please enjoy.

Aint Misbehavin'!

Last night, Sarah and I joined our friends, Paul and Jackie, for the Broadway musical hit, "Aint Misbehavin'" at the Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City. Sarah has always loved the music from this production but has never seen it. We were both surprised that there is really no story line. It is simply a musical and dance presentation of Thomas "Fats" Waller's compositions. If you enjoy jazz and swing, like I do, you would enjoy this show.

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' brings to stage the world of legendary Thomas "Fats" Waller. It represents the pre-war and war era of the late 30's and early 40's in Black Harlem; a golden age of honky tonks, jazz, swing and the stride piano. I found it interesting to observe the audience when considering the cultural influences of Black America....a cross section of America that Utah simply does not know or understand. There were a couple swingin' numbers that any other audience with a more diverse make-up would have resulted in hoopin', hollerin' and dancin' in the aisles. I did recognize that the number "Black and Blue" was received by the audience with great reverence and greater auplause.

I love music. I appreciate all music, and enjoy most genres, but there is only a few genres that are unique to the United States and they include swing and jazz. As I get older and older and older and....I find myself drawn more and more to classic jazz; you know, the jazz with the heavy African American influence; blue notes, crisp and clean chops, syncopation and a ragtime swing. I think there are many variations of jazz and almost every genre of music since the early 1900's has been influenced by jazz, but as Duke Ellington summarized, "It's all music".

If you get the chance, enjoy this show. It also features the sweet foice of Ruben Studdard, aka "The Velvet Teddy Bear" of American Idol fame.

Gratitude

Life's been so good to me
Has it been good to you
Has it been everything
That you've expected it to be
Was it as good for you
As it was good for me
And was it everything
That it was all set up to be
~ Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo

Gratitude! What an important thing to possess. I recently tried to communicate this to my young men on Sunday. I believe gratitude to be the founding root of all things good. It is my opinion that a person who has gratitude, also will discover they have happiness, success and love. Many are compelled to gratitude, typically after they lose something. It is easy to be grateful for what you had at a later date when you no longer have it. I find the key to happiness, success and love is to find gratitude for every little thing Heavenly Father has blessed us with before it is too late.

Here are a few ways I have learned to show my gratitude. Maybe they will help you:

• Write something you are grateful for at the end of every journal entry
• Send a thank you card once a week to someone who has helped you, influenced you or otherwise touched your life.
• Make genuine "Thank You"s a part of your every day vocabulary.
• Blog about it!
  
• Most important - Be kind to others and treat them with graciousness.
  

I am a very grateful person. I see greed and selfishness everywhere I look and it is bothersome. It is worrisome to find myself caught up in these sins from time to time, but I am grateful I am firmly rooted in my thankfulness for what I have; for my ability to recognize that which is ultimately important and place those things first in my list of blessings. I am happy that my parents have raised me to recognize blessings and to express outwardly my gratitude for these things. I am happy my Heavenly Father blessed me with a natural ability to understand that all good things come from Him and that I am nothing without His hand in my life.

There are so many things to be grateful for and for that reason I love Thanksgiving and the holidays. It is a time when we are encouraged to look within for those things that we are truly blessed with; to recognize and prioritize those blessings we have been given. Elder Kikuchi once told me that if I ever find myself in a position where I didn't feel like praying, all I need to do is simply kneel and begin to itemize my blessings. It is impossible to do without humbling your soul and placing you in a state of gratitude and love for what He has given you. I know this from experience. I have been blessed with a loving Heavenly Father who gives me everything I need and more. He has given me the greatest blessing in His Son, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

I am grateful for my wife, Sarah. She may not be perfect, but she is perfect for me. I could not want anyone else in my life. I am grateful for Leah. She is truly a special spirit and this will be proved time and time again in her life. I already feel it. She has made me so happy. I am thankful for Caitlin. Caitlin is Sarah and my angel. She may never understand just how grateful we are for her. I am grateful for a perfect Mother and a loving Father. They have made me what I am today. I am grateful for my brothers who are so different from me and each other, yet we are perfect together. I am thankful they are all coming for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my Grandfather Bliss. I am thankful for my Grandmother Bliss-Baldwin and Brewer. I am grateful for my nieces and nephews. I am thankful for my entire family, in-laws included. I have been blessed with a strong family support system. At times I may act independent like they are not needed, but they are.

I am so blessed with some of the best and most amazing friends, past and present, a guy could ever want. I am thankful for a job that allows me to support my family comfortably. I am grateful for my boss and the other owners of the company. If it were not for Steve, Phil, Len and Boyd, I would have left the company and industry years ago. I am thankful for the best ward ever with such an amazing Bishop. I am grateful to live in the friendliest neighborhood to ever exist. The ward and neighborhood I live in have been so supportive in all our needs. Simply amazing. I am thankful for my young men and their unique personalities.

Man, this list can go on and on. I am thankful for the church, almost all music, football, mountains, the ocean, technology, learning, thumbs, food, soda, milk, history, my mission, all my experiences and believe it or not...my health issues. I am thankful for my slippa's, surf culture, my heritage, the travel I have done and will still do, I am thankful for cars, yardwork, grass, etc. I am so blessed. So, so, so blessed. I simply do not know how to express it. I do my best and won't stop trying. That is all I can do. That is all that is expected of me. Where much is given, much is required. I truly have been given much.

A Must See ~ The New York Doll

I love music; just about all music. I am also of the original punk rock generation and have always loved the initial punk bands (the new stuff is too loud and fast) such as The New York Dolls, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees, Generation X, The Damned, Blondie, The Pretenders and etc. Probably one of the least commercially successful, yet most influential bands on the punk movement was the New York Dolls. I don't know of any punk band and many others who do not attribute at least a portion of their influence to them. I was no different. Until the past few years, I was not a major fan of the band, but have always been cognisant of their influence on those bands I loved. I recently got "The New York Doll" from Netflix. I had heard it was good. It wasn't good...it was great! This movie ROCKED, both figuratively and literally.

The New York Dolls (Arthur Kane on the far left)

It is a rockumentary about Arthur "Killer" Kane, the bassist for The New York Dolls. If you know anything about The Dolls of New York, they were barrier breaking. Not only their music, but their dress and on stage antics . On stage they dressed like cross-dressing male prostitutes! Much like Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie). Quite disturbing to gaze upon. They were known for fast music, fast women and a fast lifestyle when it came to drugs and alcohol. Of course all of things would be emulated for years to come in the glam rock era. After a short stint of success, the band broke up and Arthur Kane followed a long trail of failures and non-successes. After losing his life to alcohol and drugs, he attempted (again non-successfully) suicide.

His substance abuse and attempted suicide out of a third story window left him somewhat crippled, both physically and mentally. It was at this point in his life that he found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the TV guide. He quickly joined AA and sobered up and then joined the church becoming a "Mormon". This was a life saver for him, yet his dream to once again rock often left him depressed and wanting more. This movie documents his rise to fame in the international music scene as well as his decline to Hasbeensville. It documents his changes and the wonderful blessings that followed due to a loving Heavenly Father.

Elder Killer Kane on his way to his calling at the genealogical library at the Los Angeles Temple

This was a Rocking movie, for the eyes, ears and the soul. I cried. It has been a long time since I have cried while watching a movie. This is a must see. It is PG-13 due to drug references (I assume). I don't remember excessive strong language and there was no nudity or sex. I strongly suggest you watch this, whether you are a lover of punk rock or not.

New Hymn

Yesterday at church, the choir sang Hymn #224, "I Have Work Enough To Do". I don't think I have heard it before, or at least I don't remember hearing it before. I really enjoyed the words of this hymn and thought I would share it with you all.

I have work enough to do, Ere the sun goes down.
For myself and kindred too, Ere the sun goes down.
Ev’ry idle whisper stilling, With a purpose firm and willing,
All my daily tasks fulfilling, Ere the sun goes down.

I must speak the loving word, Ere the sun goes down.
I must let my voice be heard,Ere the sun goes down.
Ev’ry cry of pity heeding, For the injured interceding,
To the light the lost ones leading, Ere the sun goes down.

As I journey on my way, Ere the sun goes down.
God’s commands I must obey, Ere the sun goes down.
There are sins that need confessing, There are wrongs that need redressing,
If I would obtain the blessing, Ere the sun goes down.

ROQ of the 80's

I was talking with my good friends Tim and Casey the other day when Tim referred me to the website of the radio station we used to listen to back home.  KROQ 106.7 ~ The Roq of the 80's.  You can listen to 80's music streaming live online.  They sometimes play some 80's music on the radio here in Utah, but it is not quite as good as KROQ.  Check it out.  http://www.roqofthe80s.com .  I have a ton of 80s music on my mp3 player, but it is convenient to just have this playing on the pc at work all day.  

I have this quirky (dumb) thing I do in my journal.  I make lists.  All kinds of lists.  Here is the list of all the 80s bands I have on my mp3 player:  Adam Ant and the Antics, Alphaville, Animotion, Aswad, A-Ha, ABC, Arcadia, The Alarm, Art of Noise, The Bongos, The Burning Sensations, Bow Wow Wow, Billy Joel, Bonski Beat, Blanchmange, Bauhaus, Bugles, Better than Ezra, Bob Marley, The Boomtown Rats, Bananarama, B-52s, Big Audio Dynamite (BAD), The Bondage Nurse Killers, Berlin, Billy Idol, Brian Ferry and Roxy Music, Big Country, Bob Marley, Blondie, The Blowmonkeys, The Bangles, Boys Don't Cry, B Movie, Bollock Brothers, The Cult, The Cure, The Cars, The Circle Jerks, The Clash, Camouflage, Culture Club, Crowded House, Cyndi Lauper, The Dream Academy, Devo, Depeche Mode, Deftones, Duran Duran, Dead or Alive, Danny Elfman, Def Leppard, David Bowie, Danse Society, Dramarama, The Dead Kennedys, Escape Club, English Beat, Erasure, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Eurythmics, Elvis Costello, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Flock of Seagulls, Falco, Frank Zappa,Flesh for LuLu, Fine Young Cannibals, The Fixx, Freur, Fishbone, Faith No More, Gene Loves Jezebel, General Public, The GoGos, Generation X, Gary Numan, George Michaels, Greg Kinh Band, Grandmaster Flash, Heaven 17, Howard Jones, Haircut 100, The Human Leaugue, Hoodoo Gurus, The Information Society, Iggy Pop, Ian Drury and the Blockheads, INXS, Ice House, The Jam, J. Geils Band, Joe Jackson,  Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, John Astley, James, Kajagoogoo, Killing Joke, Kate Bush, King, The Kinks, Love and Rockets, The Lightning Seeds, Maxi Priest, Missing Persons, Men at Work, Madness, Men Without Hats, Murray Head, Midnight Oil, Milli Vanilli, Morrissey, Madness, Modern English, Magazine 60, Malcolm McLaren, New Order, Naked Eyes, Oingo Boingo, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD), Public Image Ltd. (PIL), Prince, Peter Shelly, The Pretenders, Pet Shop Boys, Peter Murphy, Peter Gabriel, Peter Schilling, Power Station, The Police, The Polecats, The Psychadelic Furs, Plastic Bertrand, Q-Feel, Rezillos, The Rolling Stones, Romeo Void, The Ramones, The Red Hot Chilipeppers, Ric Ocasik, REM, Real Life, Robert Palmer, The Romantics, Reflex, Run DMC, Squeeze, The Sparks, Scott Goddard, The Smiths, Spandau Ballet, Shriekback,The Surf Punks,  The Style Council, The Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, The Straycats, Simple Minds, Scritti Politti, Steven "TinTin" Duffy, Softcell, The Specials, The Suicidal Tendencies, Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees, The Smithereens, Stan Ridgeway, The Stranglers, Talk Talk, The The, Talking Heads, Trio, Toto, Toto Coelo, Time Zone, Thomas Dolby, Tears for Fears, The Toy Dolls, The Thompson Twins, The Untouchables, U2, UB40, The Vandals, Violent Femmes, The Waitresses, Wall of Voodoo, Wang Chung, When in Rome, Wham, X, XTC, and Yaz.  Many of these are one hit wonders, but they helped to make the 80s such a great decade for music.  When I look over this list, it brings memories and a smile to my face.  Did I miss any?

More You Tube Fun

You may or may not know that I play the Ukulele. Well, I play a little. This person is Jake Shimabukuro, a Ukulele master. He is a Hawaiian born, Japanese American and he rocks the Uke! Isn't it funny how big the Ukulele looks on him and how small it looks on me! Anyway, if you get the chance, you should hear this guy play. Of course he is most known for playing "My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the Uke, but this is a song called Crazy G. He is so fast! Enjoy.

Music!

Music! I love it! I am quite eclectic in my musical tastes. While I mostly listen to what I call "music to chill to", Jack Johnson, Donovan Frankenwriter, Matt Lewis, G-Love, etc., I listen to what matches my moods. Sometimes I listen to different music to alter my moods. I enjoy listening to the music of my adolescence such as The Dead Kennedys, The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones or Duran Duran, Tears for Fears and B-52s. When I am angry, I feel it helps to listen to something more relaxing like Bob Marley, IZ, or even classical music. I have never really been a top 40 listener, but I do like the songs...I also like country. My tastes in music draw converse comments from the teenagers I work with such as, "Man, you are old!" or "You listen to the same music as us, but you are old!" It makes me laugh.

I think the two most important things to remember about music is first, that it is powerful. It can affect our clothing, our circle of friends, and our moods. Music can make you cry, laugh or bite your lip. It can create feelings of love, confusion and anger. If you remember that, you can use it to your benefit. Secondly, your tastes may not be my tastes. As in life, "Live and let live", "To each his own" and "Different strokes for different folks". The music one listens to may tell you something about that person, but it does not tell you everything. Judge not lest ye be judged.

On a final note, I think everyone should learn an instrument in order to truly appreciate the creative power of music. I have only recently ventured into learning an instrument, percussion and the Ukulele. My parents encouraged me to learn the piano, but were never forceful. I appreciate their desire to not force something on me that I did not show interest in, however I wish they had been slightly more demanding in this area. I love them for their parenting skills none the less. I play a mean guitar hero and rock band, and for that they can be proud.

That's Entertainment!

Lately, We have been on an entertainment kick. It has been fun, but It will make a person go broke!

Last month we saw Rush in concert. The concert was to promote their new album "Snakes and Arrows". This is a good album, but the concert was a bit slow until they went away from the newer stuff and rocked out with their old stuff. What a talented bunch of guys. They are getting older, but still wail!

Last Friday we went to see Weird Al Yankovich perform at the state fair. I got Sarah those tickets for her birthday. I must admit, I was not excited to go. I will also admit, I had a blast! I will definately see him perform again. He still looks the same as he did 25 years ago. That was an interesting audience. Pound for pound the largest audience I have ever seen. There were so many HUGE nerds there. I am a big guy, but I felt like the little one!

This Saturday we will be attending the Broadway hit, "Spamalot", which is a musical rendering of the Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail". It should be really fun and comical. This was Sarah's Anniversary present from me.

Next month we will be at the Jimmy Buffet concert in Las Vegas. I love Jimmy Buffet's music, but have never been to one of his concerts. I am pretty sure that Sarah and I will be among the few sober at the event. We are going with our neighbors Joe and Brenda. I am looking forward to it.

Of course, we will be attending only one USC game this year and that will be against Stanford. Sarah has been to several away games, but never to a home game, so she is excited too. Fight On!

Last, but not least, I just bought tickets to see The Trans-Siberian Orchestra in November. If anyone reading this has never seen TSO perform live, you need to. I remember first hearing about how good they were, but dismissed it as "hype". Let me tell you....after we went last year, we decided that we will go every year from here on out! It is that amazing. Seriously, you need to go.

Well, in between all these fun events, we are just trying to chill and save money for the basement and our vacation.

Aloha Nui Loa!