Pre Show Torrential Rain Fun:The Black Keys, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Buffet!!!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by PhilMaq

I never get tired of watching this dude lip synch to The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy” from their “El Camino” album! With the band coming to Detroit this week, I thought it was a good time to bring it back!:

One of my favorite songs from “Blue Hawaii,” Elvis Presley’s [Hall of Fame] movie made around the time that the state actually joined the union is “Rock-a-Hula, Baby.” I think it was those jungle drums……..:

Probably my favorite Jimmy Buffet song is “Volcano.” I know it wasn’t written about Mt. St Helens, but I can’t help but think about Harry Truman, the old guy who wouldn’t leave his house before that volcano blew. The song is so catchy and filled with so many great phrases!:

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Phil’s Faves: Videos, September 7, 2014

Posted on September 7, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.

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Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of September 7, 2014

1. Jason Mraz on “Artists Den,” (PBS), September 6, 2014
2. River Bank—Brad Paisley
3. All About That Bass—Megan Trainor
4. Come Get It Bae—Pharell
5. Shake It Off—Taylor Swift
6. Am I Wrong—Nico & Vinz
7. Rude!—Magic
8. Somethin’ Bad—Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
9. Roller Coaster—Luke Bryan
10. Black Widow—Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora (Just the video, NOT the song)

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A Buddy Holly Connection: Bobby Vee, The Knack, and (of course), Buddy Holly!!!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by PhilMaq

One of the performers who became forever linked with Buddy Holly [Hall of Fame] after he died in that fateful plane crash, was Bobby Vee. He filled in for Buddy as a “replacement” in Moorhead, Minnesota at the concert that Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper were flying to. Bobby’s voice sounded eerily similar and later he even did an album himself of Buddy Holly covers.

Here is a strange “American Bandstand” clip where Bobby is lip synching to “Run to Him” [GSER] several years after it was a hit for him:

So much has been written about Buddy Holly and The Crickets that I don’t have to add too much. I’ll only say that here is a nice live clip of the band cranking out one of their big hits, “Oh, Boy!”

Years later, and even up to today and beyond, Buddy Holly continues to influence bands and musicians. When The Knack made their impressive debut, they included one of his songs. Here’s the band in their glory days doing an energized, and I think, one of the best cover versions of buddy’s songs, “Heartbeat” live at Carnegie Hall:

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Phil’s Faves: Songs, August 31, 2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of August 31, 2014

1. Lovin’ Heart—Mick Clarke
2. Swingin’ the Night Away—Rosewater
3. Fun With Hydrangeas—Gladshot
4. Helpless—Jillian Rae
5. Kids Place—Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
6. All About That Bass—Megan Trainor
7. Bathtub Gin—Zander Michigan
8. Heartbeat—Laura Doherty
9. Get to the Sun—Secret Colours
10. All Souls Live—Jan King and Medicine Ball
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Phil’s Faves: Videos, August 31, 2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.

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Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of August 31, 2014

1. Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys Featuring Lindsay Lou, Joshua Rilko, and Mark Lavengood, Live at The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI, Sunday, August 24, 2014
2. River Bank—Brad Paisley
3. All About That Bass—Megan Trainor
4. Shake It Off—Taylor Swift
5. The Ocean—Jillian Rae
6. Come Get It Bae—Pharell
7. Am I Wrong—Nico & Vinz
8. Rude!—Magic
9. Somethin’ Bad—Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
10. Black Widow—Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora (Just the video, NOT the song)

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Phil’s Faves: Songs, August 24, 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of August 24, 2014

1. Helpless—Jillian Rae
2. Swingin’ the Night Away—Rosewater
3. Lovin’ Heart—Mick Clarke
4. Fun With Hydrangeas—Gladshot
5. Heartbeat—Laura Doherty
6. Kids Place—Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
7. All About That Bass—Megan Trainor
8. Get to the Sun—Secret Colours
9. Bathtub Gin—Zander Michigan
10. Back on Track—David Reinstein
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Phil’s Faves: Songs, August 17, 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of August 17, 2014

1. Swingin’ the Night Away—Rosewater
2. Helpless—Jillian Rae
3. Lovin’ Heart—Mick Clarke
4. Fun With Hydrangeas—Gladshot
5. You Won’t Dance With Me—April Wine
6. Heartbeat—Laura Doherty
7. Get to the Sun—Secret Colours
8. Kids Place—Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
9. Don’t Ask (And I Won’t Tell)—Travis Whitelaw
10. Back on Track—David Reinstein
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Phil’s Faves: Videos, August 24, 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.

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Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of August 24, 2014

1. Jillian Rae, Live at The Token Lounge, Westland, MI, August 20, 2014
2. Jillian Rae, Live on “Theme Attic”, With Phil Maq, WHFR Studio J, Dearborn, MI, August 20, 2014
3. River Bank—Brad Paisley
4. All About That Bass—Megan Trainor
5. Shake It Off—Taylor Swift
6. Come Get It Bae—Pharell
7. Summer—Calvin Harris
8. Am I Wrong—Nico & Vinz
9. Rude!—Magic
10. Lie a Little Better—Lucy Hale

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Labor Day Fun: Weird Al, The Bus Boys, and Robin Williams!!!

Posted on August 27, 2014 by PhilMaq

Labor Day Weekend is upon us and there are plenty of repetitive thankless jobs that many of us do. I applaud you for your contribution to the economy if you do! Weird Al [Hall of Fame] takes a look at a job that most people visiting amusement parks take for granted in this very cool video of “Skipper Dan!”:

As a holiday bonus, I found this interesting interview with Weird Al about “Skipper Dan” that gave a little more depth to the song. He even found parallels between the skipper and himself!:

To me, one of the best and biggest blasts that came out of the early 80’s was The Bus Boys. They liked to think of themselves as “black guys playing rock and roll,” but I like to think of it as just good music! Here they are performing a live version of my favorite Bus Boys’ song, “Minimum Wage”–a definite Labor Day tribute:

Robin Williams untimely passing made me think of his long career, and it dawned on me that he actually had a couple of really good songs out there. So, if you only thought of Robin as a TV star (“Mork & Mindy” was my favorite from him–a definite trippy show from the 70’s), or a movie star, or a stand up comedian, you may not even realize that there was some music out there. When Robin Williams did his “Aladdin” thing, he turned animation upside and brought many adults to appreciate the animated world! I want Robin Williams in my Hall of Fame! He was such a unique talent and brought so much laughter to the world! Robin Williams is the reason why there are Hall of Fames! Here is “Friend Like Me!”:

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Phil’s Faves: Songs, August 10, 2014

Posted on August 24, 2014 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of August 10, 2014

1. Swingin’ the Night Away—Rosewater
2. Helpless—Jillian Rae
3. City Slicker—Secret Colours
4. Lovin’ Heart—Mick Clarke
5. Back on Track—David Reinstein
6. Get to the Sun—Secret Colours
7. Fun With Hydrangeas—Gladshot
8. Domingo the Flamingo—Laura Doherty
9. Kids Place—Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
10. Last Time—Jillian Rae
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