Golden dreams were shiny days...

I have always liked bands with brass sections. Maybe because I played trumpet (and later valve trombone), or maybe because I just liked the full sounds that horns deliver. Anyway, Chicago was my favorite band growing up, mostly because of their earlier, brassier, stuff. Blood, Sweat and Tears was another favorite- although they were a bit before my time. Two one hit wonders: New Jersey's own Looking Glass (Brandy) and The Ides of March (Vehicle) contributed other favorite tunes that later became Karaoke standards (At least for me, but that's another post).

Reaching back farther, one of my favorite Beatles songs was "Got to Get You Into My Life", which in the late 70's was covered by the band Earth, Wind, and Fire. I was familiar with the band from their previous hit "Fantasy" and then later with "September", but right before I got hooked into Earth, Wind and Fire, they underwent a style change with  "After The Love Is Gone" (ironically written by future Chicago front man Bill Champlin) and then "Let's Groove".

I had few other random encounters with EWF's music growing up- I remember playing "In the Stone" in Marching Band- and I think "Getaway" too. I also tried out for a talent show singing half of the Phil Collins and EWF Lead singer Philip Bailey's "Easy Lover". I never really checked out their catalog though.

Until the Ipod.

After setting up my Ipod, I made a habit of checking out my ITunes Top 25 most played list. At the very top, I found the songs I expected: "Vehicle", "Make Me Smile", "Old Days"... but what surprised me the most was the most played song: "September". A year later, same results. Today? Same results.

Of course now, I am a big EWF fan. I've seen several of their shows, both with Chicago, and as headliners. and what a good show they put on- usually closing with "September"- the song that snuck  up on me to become my favorite song!

So here's to Earth, Wind, and Fire! Number one on my ITunes play list, and more importantly, the originator of  "The 21st of September", the unofficial holiday of music fans like me everywhere! Never a cloudy day!

Know Your Blogger: Ipod Top 25...

In the spirit of full disclosure...

I figure I got my first Ipod about 9 years, ago , and currently have over 10,000 songs... However, this is the Top 25 playlist... And needless to say, fairly representative... Although I don't think the 80s get their first share.  Anyway this should give you some background on one of you friendly neighborhood bloggers!

The Concert Shirt...

In a world where life is brown corduroy pants, even in summer- making the transition to teenage appropriate attire is kind of tough. Rewind:  I spent my elementary school life in a place where the average July and August high temperature is 75 degrees (Fahrenheit)… Shorts?  Not needed.  A hot day in May meant a short sleeve shirt was put into the rotation. Coming back to hot and humid New Jersey for middle school meant many changes… however not to my wardrobe. Long sleeve shirts, corduroys- even as the 70s became the 80s (decades, not temperature) were still the outfit of choice.

Being a guy, I didn't really notice clothes. I put them on, did my thing, took them off and went to bed. Although I was not in the least bit aware of fashion, I was aware that I was getting hotter and sweatier. It was time for a change. Not just a change of clothes- but a change in clothes. So I opened my eyes to see what others were wearing- and I discovered: The Concert Shirt.

The Concert Shirt. Usually a long sleeve (or 3/4 length) T-shirt emblazoned with a band name and image from an album on the front. If it was purchased at the concert, it usually had the tour dates in the back. For the most part, kids my age only wore them for the Rock Bands: Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Kiss, maybe Foreigner.  A few daring girls would sport Neil Diamond or Barry Manilow shirts- I can't imagine they did that to attract guys, though. So I decided- I needed a concert shirt to be more, I don't know... more typical? 

Three problems... First, most of my favorite bands were more pop, with rock elements- Chicago, Alan Parsons Project, Electric Light Orchestra. Second, like most boys my age- my Mom bought my clothes, saving me the effort of going clothes shopping. Third, and most problematic- I didn't go to concerts- I spent my money on records, comics, and maybe baseball cards (more likely Dungeons and Dragons, but I don't want to admit that at this time). Heck, even if I wanted to go to concerts, I didn't have a license- and to top it all off, The Alan Parsons Project was a studio Band that never toured!!!

So- what to do? In the early 80s a brand new mall opened up near where I live, The Burlington Center. Besides having an honest to goodness comic book store, and two (!) record stores, it also had a store (think of a prototype Hot Topic) that sold concert shirts. Well- let's just say the fake concert shirt that had an album cover on the front. Either way- better than a wide collar white shirt with brown stripes button down shirt. 

So- What to choose? Do I go with the classics (already mentioned above)? Do I pick the darling of the art rock world (Yes)? Do I go with Rush- who I personally didn't like but every other 14-17 year old in my social sphere idolized? Nope. picked Asia. The perfect compromise. With members from Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Uriah Heep, Roxy Music, and the Buggles there is no way I could have picked a less offensive, or made less of statement with that choice. 

So- after buying the shirt, I became a huge Asia fan. Never did see them in concert. Actually, I don't think I wore the shirt that often- I discovered short sleeve shirts and shorts and never looked back- except...

By the time I hit college- Concert shirts had became so mainstream, they morphed into regular T-shirts, and remembering that primal urge to have one, I would buy a shirt for every show I went to: From The Bee Gees to The Hooters, from Huey Lewis to Bruce Hornsby... I still have them somewhere- a whole storage tub full of concert T-Shirts... I wonder if they will match with a pair of brown corduroys?

Let 'Em In… !?!?

What the Heck was he thinking? This guy was on of The Beatles! Sure, He was the cute one, and not the smart one, but really… "Let 'Em In"? In Sir Paul McCartney's own words: 

Someone's knockin' at the door. 
Somebody's ringin' the bell. 
Someone's knockin' at the door. 
Somebody's ririgin' the bell. 
Do me a favor, 
Open the door and let 'em in. 

Sister Suzie, Brother John, 
Martin Luther, Phil and Don, 
Brother Michael, Auntie Gin, 
Open the door and let 'em in. 


… Repeat that a few more times and you have the whole song. 

Of course, this song does complete the Satanic trilogy of "Listen to What the Man Said", "My Love", and "Let Em In"… Forget Silly Love Songs… What we have here are just plain silly songs… Songs that Kidz Bop would reject as being too childish! 

Songs like this are the reason I have always been hesitant to admit Paul McCartney was my favorite Beatle (I have long speculated that I am the only male in the USA that would fess up to that). 

Catchy tune, though, isn't it? 

Ho, Ho, Ho it’s Magic!

Anyone growing up and listening to music in the 70s and 80s can identify with “The Quest”: Trying to find a song from a few years prior that you missed at the time- or that you discovered a while after its initial release. Now it’s easy – 99 cents and a WiFi connection and you are listening to “Theme from SHAFT” in less than a minute. But in 1980? A different story.

One solution to the problem, which never really worked all that well, was to call up your favorite radio station (WPST 97.5 in Trenton, at this time) around 1 am, and make a request: “Hi- I’d like to request the song ‘Magic’ by Pilot”. 

Calling late at night hopefully avoided the constraints of mandatory playlists, and allowed you to talk to a bored-out-of-his-skull DJ. After the call, you would then go and set up your tape player. And Wait. And Wait. And Wait. Eventually, if you were LUCKY, you’d hear the words: Here is a request for a listener in Willingboro, who wanted to hear “Magic”.  Pressing  ‘Record’ and ‘Play’ at the same time (I don’t know why we had to do both, but we did), anticipation was building. Until the familiar refrain of Olivia Newton John’s “Magic” drowned the airways.

So- the next step was to visit every record store in walking/bike/begging-Mom-for-a-ride range. This worked well- if the song you were looking for came from a popular group that either had a greatest hits album out, or was considered ‘Rock’… and that could be quite a loose consideration… Ask Christopher Cross.  Looking for ‘Magic’, by Pilot, a song by a one hit wonder, this wasn’t going to work either.

Alas, there was one other way- oldies on 45s. 45s (or ‘Singles’) were the mp3s for the ‘Roger Moore was our James Bond’ generation.  Unfortunately, after a song had finished it’s run on Casey’s countdown, the 45s were sent back to ths distributor to be melted down. However- If you were really lucky, and the song was really popular, the record company would reissue a record with a big hit on either side as a “Golden Oldie” or a classic… This worked really well for bands like Aerosmith (Walk This Way/Dream On) or Seals and Crofts (Summer Breeze/Diamond Girl)… not so much for Pilot, or so I thought.

One day, while waiting for somebody to buy something at Woolworths (name not mentioned to protect the guilty) I was checking the oldies section in the record department. There it was: ‘Magic’, by Pilot. Backed with a song called ‘Just A Smile’  (no- I had never heard of it either). I got lucky. Apparently in the UK they were more than just a one hit wonder. Unfortunately, that would not be the case for the 70’s Supergroup Ides of March…