Though Pineapple Express was a bit of a dud, Franco shone as unwashed but adorably loyal drug dealer Saul Silver. And if we can love him through the greasy hair, and the pajama pants then he must be something special so we decided to investigate further.

And we were bursting with excitement to also discover that this handsome boy was once a fellow wallflower. While studying English at UCLA, Franco signed up for acting lessons to help overcome his shyness. Within a year, he dropped out of school to study at Carnegie's Playhouse West. And not long after that, he landed his break-out role in the cult-hit Freaks and Geeks (which I am dying to see).

Franco has stolen our hearts with his talent and charisma, playing everything from heartthrob James Dean to a Green Goblin-in-training, Harry Osbourne in the Spiderman movies. Not to mention that irresistibly goofy grin. To sum it up: yum!

So, join us in our celebration of James Franco by renting the entire first (and only) season of Freaks and Geeks. The tagline sums up the show's hilarity perfectly: " Everything you remember from high school... that you choose to forget."

This month we will also begin to celebrate all the female celebs that rock our world. So, in honour of Annie's rockin' new haircut, wallflower's inaugural female crush of the month is the always elegant Selma Blair!

To start with, I love a girl who can pull off such an edgy pixie cut. It takes a certain something (great bone structure, beautiful  features and a ton of confidence) to pull of off hair this short. Her style is this great Gap ad (left) and her badass new cut for Hellyboy 2 are the bold, edgy styles we can only dream of having. But she pulls them both (and everything) off with such elegance and glamour. It is an enviable combination.

Our love affair with Blair began with her role as the hopelessly clueless Cecile Caldwell in Cruel Intentions. And it has being going strong ever since. Sure, she has had some misses: we cringed at all of Jane's misfortunes in The Sweetest Thing and don't even want to know about the enormous breasts in A Dirty Shame. But there have also been some hits too, Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde and hidden TV gem Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane. And her amazing personal style cemented her status as a fashion icon and muse.

We, here at wallflower, absolutely love her and just know that you will too. So celebrate by checking out one of Blair's indie films, like Purple Violets which was directed by Ed Burns or the high school/college dramedy Storytelling.

Enjoy and see you next month!

Jag såg nåt liknande på nån American Idol-sändning. En stolle gjorde en cover på Chris Cornells Billy Jean. Eller var det Michael Jacksons? Resultatet var att i TV-sändningen presenterades det som en cover på Michaels låt, när det i själva verket lät precis som Chris väldigt spaceade, och faktiskt väldigt nysläppta version.

Jag vill inte generalisera bort alla covers, Jeff och Chris är stjärnor i min bok som gett två redan svinbra låtar en ny dimension. Jeff har ju befodrat Hallelujah från en bra låt till kanske världens bästa. Det är dit jag vill komma. Ska man ge sig på att framföra en låt som redan tidigare gjorts känd måste man ge den nya dimensioner och ett eget sound. Göra den till sin egen. Inte vänta tills kidsen glömt bort orginalet, göra en precis likadan version och kamma hem massamassapengar. Och att göra en cover på en cover är ju ännu mer genomskinligt. Pengarpengarpengar. Låt bli! Gör nåt eget istället, eller omskola dig till radio-DJ som inte hymlar med att de spelar andras låtar.

Jeffs Hallelujah är en bra cover. Chris Billy Jean är en bra cover. José Gonzales Heartbeats är en bra cover. Helvete, I Will Always Love You med Whitney är bra. Bon Jovis platta This Left Feels Right (där de covrar sig själva) är annars ett utmärkt exempel på hur man gör bra covers. Gör som ovanstående, inte som Amanda, Damien eller Guns'n. Lycka till!

P.S. Jag kommer få skit av mina bandmates för att dissa G'n'R. De är grymma, men face it, deras covers är ju bara dåliga. D.S.

-Vix

Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd gibi şarkıcı ve grupları dinleyerek büyüdü. Henüz 5 yaşındayken büyükannesinin dolabında gördüğü gitarı çalmaya çalışıyordu. İlk aldığı albüm Led Zeppelin'in Physical Graffiti'si oldu. Aynı zamanda Rush, Jethro Tull gibi caz müzisyenlerinin de hayranı olan Jeff Buckey, lisedeyken bir caz grubunda çalmaya başladı.

Liseyi bitirdikten sonra Los Angeles'e giderek, bir otelde çalışmaya başladı. Orada cazdan rocka, hatta heavy metal'e kadar her türlü müzik çalan gruplarla beraber çalıştı. Bu gruplarda yalnızca geri vokal olarak yer aldı.

Şubat 1990'da New York'a taşındı. Burada Sufi müzikle ve bu müziğin en çok tanınan ismi Nusret Fateh Ali Khan ile tanıştı. Khan'ı kendisine idol olarak belirleyen Buckley, sonra Los Angeles'a döndü ve orada tanınmış bir menejer olan Herb Cohen'den gelen teklif ile adını "Babylon Dungeon Sessions" verdiği ve aralarında Eternal Life, Last Goodbye parçalarının bulunduğu demo kasetini çıkardı.

26 Nisan 1991'de Jeff Buckley, "Tim Buckley'e sevgilerle" adı verilen konserde sahne aldı. Bu onun o ana kadar yaptığı en kalabalık konseri oldu. Tim Buckley'in oğlu Jeff ve onun annesi için yazdığı, I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain parçasını ünlü rock gitaristi Gary Lucas ile birlikte çalan Jeff Buckley, konserde çaldığı son parçanın ardından içinden gelen bir cappella son ekledi. Bu son parçada enstrümansız söylediği kısımla ilgili şunları söyledi;

1991 yazı boyunca New York'da Gary Lucas ile birlikte Grace, Mojo pin gibi en sevilen parçalarını yazdı. Burada bir çok sanatçı ve grup ile birlikte çaldı. İlk albümü Grace'i 23 Ağustos 1994'de yayınladı ve bunun ardında 2 yıl sürecek olan bir dünya tununa çıktı. Sonrasında bu turların hepsini Mystery White boy ve Live al'olympia adıyla yayınladı.

Sonrasında yeni albüm çalışmalarına başlayan Jeff Buckley, bunun için Memphis Tennessee'ye gitti. 29 Mayıs 1997'de grubun Memphis'e ona katılmak için geldikleri gün Mississippi Nehri'ne bağlayan Wolf River'de yüzmeye gitti. Eşyaları bulunan Buckley'den hiçbir iz yoktu. O günden bir hafta sonra bir turist tarafından görülen vücudu karaya çıkarıldı. Alkollü veya intihar ettiği düşünülen Buckley'in polis raporlarında hiçbir alkol veya uyuşturucu almadığı ortaya çıktı.

p.s. Benim favori Jeff Buckley parçalarım; "Forget Her" ve "I want Someone Badly"! bir dinleyin...

kaynak: vikipedi

i was told that jeff buckley sang this song - but leonard cohen wrote it.  jason castro sang it on american idol 2008.   i listened to the versions posted on imeem.com - from allison crowe to jeff buckley to leonard cohen.

i listened.  and listened.  and listened.

until i no longer had the need to listen to it.

... and upon admitting that, i open myself - yet again - to its haunting melodies.

something is happening.

"Song to the Siren" was recorded years ago by This Mortal Coil, who was really Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie - The Cocteau Twins.

It's a song with an interesting story. It was written in 1967 by the late Tim Buckley. It was tweaked along the years and presented again on the Monkees television show. Tim Buckley died in 1975, but his son, songwriter Jeff Buckley, kept the song alive.

I've heard several versions of it, but none as beautiful and emotional as the Cocteau Twins version. Interestingly, Elizabeth Fraser and Jeff Buckley were intimately involved in a long relationship right around the time she recorded this song.

The Cocteau Twins are one of my favorite bands of all time, and they are a good example of some of the old "new" music we think people will find on our site - NewTunes.

So, close your door or put on your headphones and take a minute to check out "Song to the Siren." It's best enjoyed when it's loud and the only thing you can hear.

And if you've never checked out the Cocteau Twins, here's another great, but more upbeat song, "Heaven or Las Vegas." This should get your Monday moving in the right direction.

1. Rain (Patty Griffin)
2. Fields of Gold (Eva Cassidy)
3. Deep Peace (Bill Douglas)
4. Over (Portishead)
5. I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You (Colin Hay)
6. Some Devil (Dave Matthews)
7. Beside You (Van Morrison)
8. Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley)
9. Ice (Sarah McLaughlin)
10. Honey Honey (Feist)

Rain (Patty Griffin)

Over (Portishead)

POP QUIZ: What's your all-time favorite (okay, top two!) sad songs? Comment below...

1. Wait for it to come on the radio.
2. Wait for it to come on MTV.
3. Go out and buy the record or single themselves.
4. Wait for it to come on the radio, tape it from the radio, and then have it for themselves.

Now suddenly, my generation came along and this magical thing called "the Internet" arose. Now don't get me wrong, we still went through options 1-4. I remember in 1994...

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

sidenote here: I may as well get this out of the way now. I believe music in my generation peaked in 1994, so you'll often find me referencing that as my favorite year of music. Artists were creative, hip-hop was changing, rock was coming back from the glam and grunge days (though grunge was definitely still around). Let me just refresh your memory of some albums that were dropped in '94 (the ones I've highlighted are amongst my favorite all-time albums):

• Dookie- Green Day
• Mellow Gold- Beck
• The Downward Spiral- Nine Inch Nails
• All-4-One: All-4-One (Don't lie, you know that shit was hot then)
• Illmatic- NaS
• Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik- OutKast
• Weezer (The Blue Album)- Weezer
• Ill Communication- The Beastie Boys
• Grassroots- 311
• The Lion King Soundtrack (The first CD I ever bought...so a bit nostalgic)
• Grace- Jeff Buckley
• II- Boyz II Men
• four- Blues Traveler
• Ready to Die- The Notorious B.I.G.
• Project Funk Da World- Craig Mack (for if this album hadn't been released, we wouldn't have the first [and best] hip-hop remix ever, The "Flava In Your Ear" remix)
• Monster- R.E.M.
• KoRn- KoRn
• Resurrection- Common (though known as Common Sense at the time)
• MTV Unplugged: Live In New York- Nirvana
• Tical- Method Man
• CrazySexyCool- TLC
• Superunknown- Soundgarden

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Ugh...looking at the list makes me so happy and yet so sad for the current state of music, but alas, that's another blog post. As I was saying...my generation went through the whole waiting for music to come on MTV option. I can vividly remember some of the videos from these albums. From the little girl in the bee costume in the "Black Hole Sun" (Soundgarden) video to the cool animated water versions of TLC in the "Waterfalls" video. The Wizard of Oz themed video for "Runaround" (Blues Traveler) to the house party in Snoop's "Gin and Juice" video (sure, Doggystyle was released around Thanksgiving of '93, but Gin and Juice wasn't a single until January of '94...). The videos were fantastic though, and kept us engaged and watching MTV.

Then, something happened.

My generation hits high school, and this little thing called "Napster" starts getting buzz. Apparently, you can download any song you want...for free. Wait, so you're telling me I can get all the music I want and not have to pay a cent for it? Sign me up! So long going out to buy music. So long watching MTV for music, its right on my computer. Sadly, so long music videos.

Now I'm not saying there weren't great videos made after the P2P sharing boom online, but I feel as though it is a lost art. Sure, you get the occasional good Spike Jonez video and sometimes you get things like Jay's videos for "99 Problems" or "Blue Magic" but they're rarities.

However, there is a new generation rising. It's not so easy to just get music online anymore. Now you've got to pay 99 cents for songs. However, kids these days are going to YouTube to get instant gratification. You get all sort of fan-generated video content to go along with their favorite pop songs. I remember teasing a friend of mine from college that his music collection was non-existent, but then he explained to me that he just looked for songs on YouTube whenever he wanted to hear something, leaving the hard drive space to be used for...well...other endeavors. The fantastic thing about this, though, is that some artists are looking to make good videos again.

Michael Jackson once talked about trying to make miniature movies with each of his videos, and it is no doubt that he is the king of the music video. His videos were consistently groundbreaking and eyeopening. In the 90's, Hype Williams created some great hip-hop videos using the "fish eye lens" to create a whole different perspective (see Busta Rhymes' "Wooha!" video). Today, I'd like to highlight one of my favorite current video makers, Chris Milk. I've added a few of his videos below. Check them out. He's really one of the bastions of the music video resurgence as he's created some great videos for Gnarls Barkley, Audioslave and Kanye West. Hopefully he, along with others can bring back the music video star. I miss it.

Gnarls Barkley- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?":

Audioslave- "Doesn't Remind Me":

Kanye West- "Jesus Walks" (alternate video)

Kanye West- "All Falls Down" (damn Stacey Dash is still fine...)

Let me start off the paper by saying that asking a person like me what their favorite song is, is like asking what you like better a beautiful sunrise or a beautiful sunset.    Music is my life, and specifically I have always been in love with pop music.   I racked my brain for weeks trying to figure out what song was worthy of analysis.   My list of candidates ranged from all genres of pop music and from all the decades since rock & roll and all it’s offspring were conceived.  Finally I settled on a gorgeous ballad performed by Jeff Buckley on his album “Grace” entitled Hallelujah.

This song was originally released in 1984 as an obscure track on a Leonard Cohen album entitled “Various Positions”.   The original version by Cohen has become one of the artists most famous and beloved compositions.   However, the song did not truly receive the recognition and exposure it deserved until it was included on Jeff Buckley’s highly revered 1994 album “Grace”.    Buckley sings the song hauntingly with only his solo electric guitar to accompany him.   With its melodic verses and simple yet elegant chorus, it echoes such musical roots as the old American standard composers such as Burt Bacharach and Cole Porter.    The beauty of “Hallelujah” lies in wonderful simplicity.   On the surface level, one could absolutely dismiss this gem as mere pop fluff.   It has extremely catchy and repetitive melody line, and a “sing-song” chorus that begs people to sing along.  I’ve often found that when this song is played in a group of people, they will begin singing along without any real understanding of what the lyrics are suggesting.

Describing the theme of this song as bittersweet would not just be an understatement, it would be a misunderstanding of the overall theme of the story the song is telling.  While it does not possess a linear storyline like a Bruce Springsteen song, “Hallelujah” definitely tells several different stories at once.  The themes discussed in the song are quite deep and torrid.  Such themes as infidelity, religion, and eroticism are all dealt with simultaneously.  Most of all however, I feel that the overall theme of this piece can be described as a man’s struggle with his faith, his faith in God, his faith in love, and his faith in himself.    Jeff Buckley’s version of the song delves deeper into the love aspect of the song as opposed to Cohen’s focus on faith.   In Buckley’s version, the main character seems to be struggling with both his relationship and his faith in love.   The lyrics “baby I’ve been here before, I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor”, speaks to the feeling that many people get when they find themselves once again at the end of their relationships struggling to “keep the faith” in love.   The lyrics continue “But it’s not a cry that you hear at night, it’s not somebody who’s seen the light.  It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah”.   For more a more brutally honest and beautiful view of love, we would have to experience true heartbreak ourselves.

It seems appropriate that Buckley would have chosen this song to put on an album that would essential be remembered by history as his swan song.    Jeff Buckley’s life was cut tragically short when he drowned in the Mississippi river in 1997.  Like so many great artists before him, Buckley’s success was amplified tenfold after his untimely demise.   This in turn brought even more attention to this song.    The song has showed up in many different forums.  Buckley’s version was used in Fox’s “The OC” during a scene where the characters were struggling with love’s fickle and unpredictable nature.   It was also featured in an episode of NBC’s “The West Wing”.   Other notable covers of the song include a beautiful piano version by John Cale, and a version that rivals Buckley’s done by Rufus Wainwright for the “Shrek” motion picture soundtrack.   Wainright’s version is distinctly more pop oriented with the singers voice being accompanied by solo piano instead of Buckley’s haunting solo electric guitar riffs.   The pure simplicity of the instrumentation of this song is almost always echoed in its many covered versions, with the only notable exception being Leonard Cohen’s original version.  In that version, Cohen uses a full gospel choir and lots of synthesized keyboard parts.  Buckley’s version is the version that time will remember.  He has joined the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Manfred Mann both of who have recorded covers of songs that have become more highly recognized than the original versions.

Buckley’s performance of “Hallelujah” will forever be one of those “stop you in your tracks” songs for me.   I don’t think that I’ve ever been able to passively listen to it.   If it happens to come on my iPod, I usually stop everything I’m doing and just listen.   Even during the writing of this paper, I’ve had to stop typing whenever I listened again to the song for inspirations.   That is why I feel so drawn to this song, it truly has the power to bring my life to a halt.   Is this the greatest or most beautiful song ever written?  I’m certainly not qualified to answer that.  But I can tell you that this song perfectly embodies the dual nature of love in my experience.  It is both beautiful and dissonant,  smooth and abrupt, tender and unforgiving.

So how was that?  Did you like it?   I think it's a bit melodramatic.  I sound like I'm gushing, but in college I assumed that big grand sentences meant that I was a good writer.   Some of you who have read my other posts might be thinking "yeah... in college".  But screw you... I graduated.  Why don't you post one of your college papers if you think you're so smart.  Yeah... that's what I thought.

"Rules for 'Insight To My Heart':

Post the song that just gets to you every time you hear it."

Simple, huh? One song. But these days, asking me to list one song that "gets to me" is like asking me which grain of sand on the beach I like the most. It's impossible. Let's face it, I'm perimenopausal, I'm a hormonal mess, and if you've read this blog with any regularity, you know that even getting my oil changed can reduce me to tears these days. I listened to the B-52's Rock Lobster last week, and by the time Cindy Wilson started asking, "Why don't you dance with me? I'm not no limburger!" I was sobbing.

So I got all sidetracked with this one. I think Wendy wanted a song that told something about me,  something that touched my heart, a choice that may not make sense to others unless there was a little explanation. Simple, right? But once I started thinking about songs that made me sad, I got all ADD and just went all over the place with it.

I trimmed, cut, hacked, and I still ended up with thirty-one songs. Thirty-one.

One day, I'll come to terms with the fact that I'm a bad meme-er. I had a brain waft and changed the rules. Here are the videos for my top three songs, and below them a playlist of other songs that are the cause of a lot of tear shedding.

#1: Old Man River, Paul Robeson: I had a slight dilemma with this. I sing the short version of it all the time. It reminds me of so many things-- Memphis (where I grew up), the mighty Mississippi, heartache and racism, and the sound of Paul Robeson's voice is absolutely beautiful. But this video is the longer, original version, and includes some very non-PC lyrics. If you want to avoid hearing that part, you can stop after 2:05,  (Robeson later changed a lot of those lyrics).

By the way, Paul Robeson was a fascinating man. You can learn more about him here.

#2: Everybody Hurts, REM. This one was an easy pick. If you can listen to this song without crying, your heart may be made of cement. I was going through YouTube videos trying to find a decent one, and had to have a box of Kleenex on standby. I finally settled on the following video, because the lyrics were included.

Step away from the ledge!

#3:Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog: The sweetness of this one never fails to make me boohoo. This version is a duet with Debbie Harry, whose voice can also make me cry, so it's a double whammy.

That Kermit. So manly-- er, frogly.

A friend of mine used to call these "gas oven songs," because often, when you listen to them, you want to put your head in one. So here's my partial gas oven list. You can also listen to them here. I don't know why some of these make me cry. Sometimes it's a voice, an association with a person or period of my life, or beautiful lyrics. Sometimes it's Tuesday.

Blondie, Sunday Girl

Johnny Cash, Hurt

Thirteen, Big Star

Patti Smith, Because the Night

Paul Robeson, Old Man River

REM, Everybody Hurts

Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah

Elvis Costello, Alison

Joni Mitchell, Rainy Night House

Cowboy Junkies, Sweet Jane

Elliott Smith, Waltz #2

Cat Stevens, Father and Son

Fleetwood Mac, Dixie Chicks: Landslide

Don McLean, Vincent

Kermit the Frog, The Rainbow Connection

Roy Orbison, She's a Mystery to Me & Anything you Want

Jackson Browne Joan Baez, Fountain of Sorrow, I used to love the Jackson Brown version, but he hits women, so I like the Joan Baez version better now.

Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time

Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World. This one reminds me of my grandmother, who listened to it all the time.

Gary Jules, Mad World

Tracy Chapman, Fast Car

Linda Ronstadt, Long, Long Time & Black Roses, White Rhythm and Blues

Langley Schools Music Project, Desperado (NOT the Eagles version)

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Mr. Bojangles

Mahalia Jackson or almost anyone else (except for the crackhead version that Wendy links to at the bottom of this post): Amazing Grace

Etta James, At Last

Traveling Wilburys, Handle Me With Care

Kevin Kline, La Mer

John Mayer, Daughters. Not a fan of John Mayer, but I am a big fan of my daughter, and I miss her.This song makes me lose it. I wish they'd stop playing it at the grocery store.

I'm completely embarrassed about the length of this post, and the fact that I couldn't do my assignment properly. I'm tagging no one and everyone for this. Mostly, I'd just like to know one or two or ten of your own gas oven songs. What songs do you in? Can you name just one?

Oh, and about Dance this Mess Around. I decided not to include it. I wanted to end this with something that didn't make me cry, so here's a fun Rock Lobster video for you. It made me cry too, but they were happy tears, because it came out during a period of my life that I look back on so fondly.

(Hey, Botmo, let's go to the Antenna Club!)

[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/21/1448222/Vortex/Jeff%20Buckley%20-%20New%20Years%20Prayer.mp3]

Jeff Buckley

I am posting the video for this song because it has to be my favourite cover of all time and one of my favourite songs of all time.

As much as I love 'The Smiths,'  I find their version bland in comparison to Jeff Buckley's take (although it is rife with guitar mistakes but it is a live performance and a hard song to play.)  The late Buckley puts his heart and soul into the song.  It's this quality that the angry and bitter Morrissey cannot convey because the only emotion Morrissey exudes (especially in that era) is hate.  An album titled 'The Queen Is Dead' is hardly going to have fun or positive connotations.

The song is about loneliness and the loneliness associated with a break-up.  it also reminds me of the mental collapse some people have after a break-up i.e. 'I Know It's Over, still I cling.."  The lines which state "If you are so very funny/clever/entertaining/good-looking, then why are you on your own tonight?" captures Morrissey's essence perfectly.  Someone so arrogant, so angry with life, so sure of themselves yet they are still alone.  Someone who has isolated the world but are aware of their "triumphs and charms" so much, no-one else really compares.  Morrissey thinks he's great but not many others do.  This is how he suffers.  This is his plight.

"O Mother I can feel the soil falling over my head" - What a striking line! It took a few listens for the grimness of this to sink in.  It's the perfect first line for such a sad song.

Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
And as I climb into an empty bed,
Oh well, enough said,
I know it's over still I cling,
I don't know where else I can go, mother..

Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
See, the sea wants to take me,
The knife wants to slit me,
Do you think you can help me?

Sad veiled bride, please be happy,
Handsome groom, give her room,
Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly,
Although she needs you more than she loves you,

And I know it's over,
Still I cling,
I don't know where else I can go,
It's over, it's over, it's over,

I know it's over,
And it never really began,
But in my heart it was so real,
And you even spoke to me and said:

"If you're so funny,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
And if you're so clever,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very entertaining,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very good looking,
Why do you sleep alone tonight?
I know because tonight is just like any other night,
That's why you're on your own tonight,
With your triumphs and your charms,
While they are in each other's arms"

It's so easy to laugh,
It's so easy to hate,
It takes strength to be gentle and kind,
It's over, over, over,

It's so easy to laugh,
It's so easy to hate,
It takes guts to be gentle and kind,
It's over, over, over,

Love is natural and real,
But not for you, my love,
Not tonight my love,
Love is natural and real,
But not for such as you and I, my love....

Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head...

Before I continue to make an effort to delve into the psyche on the human mind as I love too. Here's some of my current tracks that I'm listening to on a regular basis. Courtesy of Jeff Buckley and Death Cab for Cutie, all available for purchase through iTunes store. Enjoy :D

1) Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (OC Version)

2) Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body

3) Death Cab for Cutie - Someday you will be Loved

Libby and Steve are the inspiration behind H*O*P*E*™, and its contining campaign to make all women aware of the early warning signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, as well as significant treatments developments relating to the disease. Upon hearing of Libby's death this morning, my initial thought was to allow H*O*P*E*™ to go "dark" (from a post reporting perspective) for the next week in her honor. Immediately after that initial thought, two classic songs came to mind as a better way to honor Libby. I believe the song choices were inspired by Libby from a much better place.

The first song is a gospel ballad entitled "Hallelujah." "Hallelujah" was written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who originally released it on his 1984 studio album entitled "Various Positions." A general translation of the word "Hallelujah" in the Jewish and Christian faiths is "Great Praise to God." The song "Hallelujah" is frequently used in television shows and movies during scenes involving death or heartbreak. The reason for this, I believe, is that the song evokes strong emotions that capture the struggle to love, pray, and live with faith in the midst of tragic human suffering. Libby experienced that same struggle throughout her treatment, yet continued her fight to the end with grace and courage.

"Hallelujah" has been covered by various singers more than 120 times (counting only recorded, not live, versions). American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley recorded one of the best-known and emotionally moving covers of "Hallelujah" for his 1994 studio album entitled "Grace." Buckley, not wholly satisfied with any one take, recorded the song more than twenty times. In September 2007, a poll of fifty songwriters conducted by Q Magazine listed "Hallelujah" among the all-time "Top 10 Greatest Tracks," with John Legend calling Buckley's version "as near perfect as you can get." A hyperlink to Jeff Buckley's cover version of "Hallelujah" is provided below as an acknowledgment of Libby's courageous fight against ovarian cancer.

Jeff Buckley-Hallelujah

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

The second song is "[There's a] Hole in the World [Tonight], which was recorded by The Eagles, a legendary U.S. rock band. In August 2001, The Eagles returned to the U.S. upon completion of a successful European tour to record a new album. The band was scheduled to begin recording on September 11, 2001. "Hole in the World" was written by the band in five part harmony to express the fear, sorrow, and future hope stemming from that tragic day. The lyrics set forth in the first verse of the song are as follows:

"There's a hole in the world tonight.
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There's a hole in the world tonight.
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow."

I believe that Libby would abide by the message set forth in the last two sentences of that verse. Today, our family has a hole in its world as a result of Libby's death, but H*O*P*E*™ cannot allow that fear and sorrow to create a hole in the world of another woman and her family through the failure to move ahead with its educational mission. Libby would tell you that "education increases survival."

A video of The Eagles singing "Hole in the World" is provided below, as inspiration for all individuals who are involved in the fight against ovarian cancer. This fight will require perseverance through medical research, advocacy, education and fundraising until ovarian cancer is vanquished.

As an enduring tribute to Libby, H*O*P*E*™ revised the weblog homepage caption to read "Libby's H*O*P*E*™." We love you Libby and will forever miss you, but we will continue the fight against ovarian cancer on your behalf.

The Eagles - Hole In the World

Source: Wikipedia descriptions of the word "Hallelujah," and Leonard Cohen's song entitled "Hallelujah."

]]> http://kc22.wordpress.com/?p=152 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:50:35 +0000 kc2 http://kc22.wordpress.com/?p=152 It's been a really slow week, I've hardly been motivated to write or find anything new in music...but of course, there's no way I could go a week without listening to something!

1. Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko - I had heard of Shiny Toy Guns and I had heard this song, but I never actually realized this was by them until just recently. Take equal parts - techno and girl-rock - and you'll have this song. The first line is really the lyric that everyone seems to know.

2. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah - I know this is a song that everyone seems to obsess over. Props to Cohen for doing the original, but really Buckley made this song amazing.

3. Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love - I'm not a big fan of Manson's latest CD, the guitar parts were really lacking without John 5. So I'm still listening to classic Manson. His own music is pretty cool, but I love when he does covers. This is one of my favorite music videos too. Chyler Leigh makes out to be one of the hottest goth-chicks ever.

4. Flogging Molly - If I Ever Leave This World Alive - I'm not Irish, so I'm not totally obsessed with this band. But, I like their tunes and I think this one is very cool. It's a sad, but fun song...in terms of lyrics about death.

5. Blink 182 - Not Now - The last ever song from Blink 182. Also one of their best and most mature. It's a very fitting "goodbye" song.

6. Guano Apes - Open Your Eyes - You might recognize this from the late 90's. I "re-found" this song a couple years ago while working at my college radio station. I had never known the song name nor who it was by until then. It's a pretty cool tune and really catchy.

7. Monster in the Machine - Savior - I got this CD for free. Its pretty cool, nothing amazing to rave about. But, I really like this song, with its flow and baritone vocals.

8. Deftones - Passenger - It's an underrated song off the Deftones' White Pony album. Chino and Maynard James Keenan combine for a very eerie but great song. And, this also falls under the songs-with-cool-bridges catagory.

9. Seether - Six Gun Quota - One of the songs that are not a single from Seether's newest album, 6GQ is really cool. Its just Seether doing their angst-filled alt.rock, with a real catchy chorus.

10. Strata - Cocaine - It has a very cool hand-drawn music video. Its a haunting song that anyone with a daughter or anyone who's ever tried to pick up a girl from a club would fear. Plus, you've gotta love the lyric "she don't like cocaine baby, just likes how it smells"

Moi featuring Warhawk :

A demain... ou pas !

Definitely worth a listen - even for the Jeff Buckley fans out there.

1. What is your favorite thing to do alone? Hmmm that's a tough call - I love to go grocery shopping alone - so much so that I did it twice this weekend - it was so good, all the cashiers thought I was some awesome single woman, and all the kids crying and whining in the aisles were so not my own children. I was loving it like crazy. I don't know if it's my favorite thing to do alone, but it is pretty freaking incredible.

2. What is your favorite thing to do with your best friend? Get drunk Have a root beer or cherry coke and talk in a Russian accent while playing fun games like "Wise or Otherwise" (which I call "Wise or NotsoWise" always except for ten words ago) or Apples to Apples.

3. What is your favorite band? Man I'm just not much of a "band" person - I really do prefer solo artists, I guess I'll have to say the Barenaked Ladies or else the Beatles, because I honestly can't think of many other bands that I listen to very often these days. I can tell you that about 10 years ago I would have said The Backstreet Boys (noticing a B trend... hmmm...) without so much as flinching. Those were the days...

4. What is your favorite song? That's like asking me my favorite color - I'm not big on decision making - lately I've been digging this song Jason Castro sang in Idol that I later learned was in the movie Shrek (and I'm wondering if Jason knows this and / or if that's where he first heard it) anyway it's that song that goes, "Love is not a victory march ; It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah ; Hallelujah; Hallelujah ; Hallelujah; Hallelujah..." and yeah I totally looked up the lyrics online to write this, so I know now that the song is called 'Hallelujah' and it's by Jeff Buckley and I'm pretty sure he probably said so on Idol but you never know. Anyway, it's beautiful - even listening to it on Shrek made me almost cry, and Jason Castro did a way way way way way better job. Hallalujah.

5. What is your favorite part of your job? My job title - Stay at Home Mother - it pretty much rocks - I mean sure, there's no 401K or vacation time, but I set my own hours (sort of) and spend my days playing with mega bloks and making peanut butter and jelly. I can't really complain (much).

6. What is your favorite TV show, on now? Total toss up between Grey's Anatomy and Bones - but if you read this blog at all regularly, you probably knew that.

7. What is your favorite TV show all time? Oh so hard to say - it's more like an on going list, add to the two shows from question 6: Gilmore Girls, Dawsons Creek, Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer - and maybe the Dick Van Dyke Show and Veronica Mars

8. Who is your favorite actor? What is it with you surveys and making me choose things... ummm... well, Johnny Depp - seriously, he's amazing. There are other dreamy actors that come and go but I don't think many are half as talented as J. Depp - and he's dreamy to boot - total package.

9. What is your favorite film? Gone With the Wind - finally a question I didn't even flinch answering. I could go on and swoon about how amazing the movie and book are, and how they are like the story of my life but not even close and on and on and yammering and so forth, but I won't. Because I've answered your nine questions and I'm done. I'm going to bed. Thank you and good night.

If you want to join in on the Saturday 9 fun and haven't figured out already to just click one of the links or buttons that say "Saturday 9" on them - then you are in luck! Because I am now going to tell you to click on a link or button that says "Saturday 9" on it. Ready? Click on a link or button that says "Saturday 9" and you can join in on the Saturday 9 fun today! Be sure to add your Saturday 9 blog address link to the Mr. Linkies at the Saturday 9 blog, and you know, have fun. And all that. Bye!

ps: Saturday 9 - muahahahahahahahah - I crack myself up - okay, I'm really going now. Bye.

The classic punk bands for example remain relevent. There is always someone who wants to stick it to whatever 'man' is in power, and for them, the music rings as true today as when influential bands like The Clash, Dead Kennedys, The Stooges and The Sex Pistols came to prominence.

Metal is metal is metal is metal. A kick ass riff or mind numbing ear bleedingly great guitar solo is always awesome - wether is was wailed out by Deep Purple or Motorhead back in the day or by Lamb of God or Killswitch Engage last week.

Funk, Soul, Motown and the great girl groups from the 60's and 70's are always idolised by those who perform under the Urban and R&B banners today. Idolised - and rarely matched. By the way, don't get me started on R&B (if its not BB King or Muddy Waters singing about how his girl and his dog up and left him for another man - it aint R&B)!!

Great music is always great. Their albums sell consistently. Pop music inflates like bubblegum, getting bigger and bigger before bursting with a 'pop,' never to be big again. Pop is interchangable and produces more one hit wonders than any other genre. No I will not provide evidence - the fact that I can barely remember the rubbish Im attempting to attack is evidence enough that pop is pretty forgettable.

All you have to do is go into your friendly neighbourhood record store and look for 25th anniversary or even 10th anniversary editions of classic albums. Not greatest hits mind you - any idiot can put out a greatest hits compilation after two albums. Anniversary editions of albums, to me, suggest that the music contained therein is as relevent and wonderful today as it was when it was released. 
Michael Jackson, Weezer, NWA, Jeff Buckley, Dead Kennedys, Meatloaf and many more. The music has endured. It may not be your exact cup of tea - but you gotta respect its longevity.

Forever Cowbell!