Hair Band Friday - 4/27/18

1.  "Dirty Woman" by White Lion


2.  "Down On Me" by Jackyl


3.  "Rest In Peace" by Extreme


4.  "Find Your Way Back Home" by Danger Danger


5.  "Keep Your Eye On The Money" (demo) by Mötley Crüe 


6.  "Grinder" (live) by Judas Priest


7.  "Sleepless Nights" by Dokken


8.  "Body Talk" by Ratt


9.  "Never Enough" by L.A. Guns


10.  "Want Some, Need Some" by Poison

Retro Video of the Week: "Inside Out" by Eve 6

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the release of alt rockers Eve 6's self-titled debut album, which eventually went platinum in the U.S., thanks in large part to the success of the band's debut single, "Inside Out."  It's a catchy rocker that perfectly complemented all else on the radio and MTV in 1998.  The song ended up being Eve 6's biggest hit, getting to #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Enjoy.

Midwestern Eavesdropping

Middle-aged man on rush hour train, on phone:  "You buy two-ply toilet paper and use one of the plies."
--Chicago, Metra train
Eavesdropper:  Tron

Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Fruits

Before I dive into this list, let me say one thing:  fuck peaches and coconuts.

10.  Bananas

9.  Blueberries

8.  Kiwi

7.  Pineapple

6.  Honeydew

5.  Granny Smith apples

4.  Jim J. Bullock

3.  D'Anjou pears

2.  Strawberries

1.  Avocados (even though I've been allergic for 14 years)

Midwestern Eavesdropping

Drunk thirtysomething male in Cubs gear at a restaurant, loudly, to his thirtysomething ladyfriend:  "I'm totally gonna lick your asshole later."
Ladyfriend:  "Shhhhhhhhhhhh!"
--Chicago, Mayan Palace, Halsted & Schubert
Eavesdropper:  Gregerson

Fiftysomething woman on morning rush hour L train talking on the phone to someone it seems she is well-acquainted with, after at least ten minutes of conversation, says, incredulously:  "Wait, he's married to you?" (pause) "Yeah, but hold on.  He's married to you?"
--Chicago, Red Line train
Eavesdropper:  GMYH

If you overhear something funny or that can be taken out of context, email it to gmyhblog@yahoo.com, along with (1) the location and (2) your preferred eavesdropping pseudonym.

Hair Band Friday - 4/20/18

1.  "Lay It Down" by Ratt


2.  "Shake & Tumble" by FireHouse


3.  "You Could Be Mine" by Guns N' Roses


4.  "Fistful Of Diamonds" by W.A.S.P.


5.  "Falling In Love" by Scorpions


6.  "Twisted" by Vinnie Vincent Invasion


7.  "Love Me" by Tesla


8.  "Quicksand Jesus" by Skid Row


9.  "Hair Of The Dog" by Britny Fox


10.  "Mista Bone" by Great White

New Book: But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman

A few weeks ago, or maybe a month -- shit, I don't know, man -- I finished reading How Music Works by David Byrne.  Byrne -- who was, of course, the lead singer and lead songwriter for Talking Heads -- wrote what is basically a text book about various aspects of music, music theory, the history of music, how we think about music, and why we make and listen to music.  It was interesting, and definitely a book that you don't need to read straight through or need to read quickly all at once.  That's not meant to be a knock, as Byrne himself admitted that the chapters are pretty much independent.  The chapter I found most interesting was on the business of music and how artists get paid, both on the publishing side and the recording/performing side.  The bottom line is this:  don't buy digital music because it is fucking over the artists.  I knew there was a reason I still buy CDs and vinyl.  More money goes to the artist.

I have since started reading But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman.  He is one of my favorite authors and has been since I read Fargo Rock City about twelve years ago.  I think I've read every one of his books, fiction and nonfiction.  But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past is based on the premise that we are mostly wrong about predicting the future, and we are usually wrong when we arrogantly think that what we know now is how it will always be.  So far, it's a fascinating read, and kind of a mind fuck.

Books Read in 2018:
-How Music Works by David Byrne

Retro Video of the Week: "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Pras, featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa

Apologies for not posting a Tuesday Top Ten yesterday.  Between work, filling out my tax return in ink made entirely of hamster blood (that's a lot of hamsters!), and amateur plumbing, I simply didn't have the time.  On the plus side, I think I may have fixed an issue with my GMYH Facebook profile and my Facebook page for GMYH, so that whenever I post something here, it will automatically post a link on both of the Facebook sites.  We'll see if it works.

But I digress.  This Saturday will mark the 20th anniversary of the release of the soundtrack to the movie Bulworth -- a relatively successful Warren Beatty vehicle.  I've never seen the film, but I have definitely heard much of the soundtrack, which peaked at #10 on the Billboard album charts and went platinum in the U.S., thanks to its solid cast of hip hop songs by the likes of Dr. Dre and LL Cool J, Black Eyed Peas, Public Enemy, Mack 10 and Ice Cube, Eve, and various members of Wu-Tang Clan, among others.  

But the song we remember most is "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Fugees member Pras, featuring ODB (a.k.a. Ason Unique, a.k.a. Dirt McGirt, a.k.a Osirus, a.k.a. Big Baby Jesus) and Mýa, with Mýa's unforgettably catchy chorus riffing on Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream."  If you were in college in 1998, this song was a staple at any party, and it ended up being a worldwide smash.  While it "only" hit #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, it topped charts in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Europe (European Hot 100 Singles), Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, and went Top 10 on the charts in Australia, Belgium (Wallonia), Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

Here's the video, in which we learn that Warren Beatty is Pras.

Hair Band Friday - 4/13/18

1.  "If You Don't Like It" by Cinderella


2.  "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" by Van Halen


3.  "Fly To The Angels" by Slaughter


4.  "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses


5.  "Can't Catch Me" by Lita Ford


6.  "Best of Friends" by Dangerous Toys


7.  "You're Too Bad" by FireHouse


8.  "Shot In The Dark" by Junkyard


9.  "Down and Dirty" by Y&T


10.  "CDFF-Lucky This Time" by Mr. Big

Retro Video of the Week: "The Flame" by Cheap Trick

Thirty years ago today, Cheap Trick released their tenth studio album, Lap of Luxury.  Succumbing to pressure from their label, the band agreed to let outside songwriters contribute or collaborate on songs.  For better or worse, it spawned a successful album, which went platinum in the U.S. and reached #16 on the Billboard album charts -- the band's most successful album since 1979's Dream Police.  Lap of Luxury included four songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100:  "The Flame" (#1), "Don't Be Cruel" (#4), "Ghost Town" (#33), and "Never Had A Lot To Lose" (#75).

"The Flame" was the band's first #1 song, and the band's first top ten song in the U.S. since the live version of "I Want You To Want Me" hit #7 in 1979.  This was one of the aforementioned songs that was written by outsiders (Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham, to be precise).  Their record label offered up "The Flame" and "Look Away" to Cheap Trick, and the band took the former -- with the latter then becoming a #1 hit for Chicago.  "The Flame" is one of Cheap Trick's biggest and most memorable songs, and it surely quickly made its way into the high school dance theme realm.  I imagine that there are a good number of 29-year-olds in the world that can thank their existence to this song.

For you Chicagoans, Rick Nielsen's five-necked guitar makes a couple appearances in the video.  If you've ever been to Piece Pizza in Wicker Park (my favorite pizza place in town), you may have seen that very same guitar hanging on the wall.  You see, in addition to being the guitarist and primary songwriter in a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, Nielsen co-owns Piece. Which reminds me: next time you go there, order a clam and bacon pie with the white sauce. Trust me.

Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Songs by The Darkness by Album

Tomorrow night, I will have the pleasure of seeing two amazing live bands -- The Darkness and Diarrhea Planet -- at the Park West here in Chicago.  It's been a few years since I've seen Diarrhea Planet, but I was pumped when I saw that they would be opening for The Darkness on this tour.  Of course, I've seen The Darkness multiple times, and the last two times, I've caught a guitar pick and bass pick, respectively.  All that's left is a drum stick and a unitard.

For most people, if they know only one Darkness song, it's "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" -- which is a fantastic song.  But did you know that the band has five full-length albums?  I did.  Because I own all of them.  And I love them.  All of them.

To allow you to perhaps discover some real rock and roll made by a current band, I am going to give you my favorite song off of each album, along with my five other favorite songs by the band, regardless of album.  Here you go:

Favorite Song by Album (in chronological order)
1.  "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" (Permission to Land, 2003)
This is the one that started it all, and it's still my favorite song by the band.  At a time when rock was either nu metal/post-grunge or being stripped down to garage rock, this song was an outlier -- pure glam joy.  It might be the best rock and roll song of the 2000s.

2.  "Knockers" (One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back, 2005)
The band's second album kept the bombast going.  There are a lot of great songs off of One Way Ticket, but "Knockers" is my favorite.  It's got a groove, and it's catchy as hell, with a slide guitar kind of hanging out in the background.  And then there's that chorus, with Justin Hawkins's trademark falsetto complimenting a lucky lady about what she's done with her hair.

3.  "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (Hot Cakes, 2012)
The band broke up after One Way Ticket due to Justin's substance abuse issues, but after he got clean and was comfortable enough with his own sobriety to put himself back in the rock and roll lifestyle, the band reunited after about seven years away.  They released Hot Cakes in 2012, picking up right where they left off, with ballsy, glammy rock that you want to sing along to.  "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" off Hot Cakes is a hard-hitting wailer with a badass thrashy intro. 

4.  "Open Fire" (Last Of Our Kind, 2015)
2015's Last Of Our Kind is another great set of rock and roll songs. Justin Hawkins has mention his love of The Cult, and it's hard not to notice the influence of The Cult in the opening riff to "Open Fire."  The song is a solid rocker, and Justin Hawkins's voice is different on this one (other than the occasional falsetto wail).

5.  "Southern Trains" (Pinewood Smile, 2017)
While the song "Solid Gold" has the best chorus on the album -- "We're never gonna stop / Shitting out solid gold -- I have to go with "Southern Trains" as my favorite song off of Pinewood Smile.  It's a tongue-in-cheek song about how shitty some train lines are, and it manages to rock harder than pretty much anything that's been on the radio in the last five years.  That guitar solo is ridiculous -- though not as ridiculous as the video.

Five Other Favorite Songs (in chronological order)
6.  "Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman" (Permission to Land, 2003)
"Get your hands off of my woman, motherfucker."  A blunt, but effective, chorus if I've ever heard one. Note that the chorus in the video has been edited.

7.  "Growing On Me" (Permission to Land, 2003)
When you listen to the lyrics of this song, it sounds like a sweet love song about falling in love.  It's actually about genital warts, which makes it more brilliant, in my mind.

8.  "One Way Ticket" (One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back, 2005)
It was a close race between this and "Knockers" for my favorite song off of the second album.  This song will always have a place in my heart because it was the first song the band played when I saw them at Metro in 2012 on their first tour of the States since reuniting.  The entire audience was bouncing up and down in excitement and singing along.  It was one of the happiest concert memories I've ever had, which is saying a lot.

9.  "With A Woman" (Hot Cakes, 2012)
A great, raunchy riff leads into another catchy hard rock song with some great falsettos.

10.  "Mudslide" (Last Of Our Kind, 2015)
This has a great intro and riff, and just plain rocks. It's about hating mudslides.

Hair Band Friday - 4/6/18

1.  "Shake A Leg" by AC/DC


2.  "Rescue Me" by Y&T


3.  "Had Enough" by Mr. Big


4.  "I Wanna Be Your Hero" by Def Leppard


5.  "Outlaw" by Dangerous Toys


6.  "You Ain't The First" by Guns N' Roses


7.  "Shout At The Devil" (demo) by Mötley Crüe 


8.  "Sinner's Swing!" by Van Halen


9.  "Stop Fighting Love" by Dokken


10.  "Two Sides Of Love" by Sammy Hagar

Retro Video of the Week: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2

Today is the 50th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- a tragic end to the life of an American hero who strove to end racial injustice.  For me, there's one song that comes to mind for this week's Retro Video of the Week, U2's musical tribute to Dr. King, "Pride (In the Name of Love)," off of the band's 1984 Unforgettable Fire album.  Even though the timing of Dr. King's death is erroneously reported as "early morning" (when it was, in fact early evening), the message of the song rings true.  Don't be dicks to each other, people.