Friday, October 27, 2006

Number 752 - Five For Fighting




Number 752

Five For Fighting

"Easy Tonight"

(2000)
.
.
Genre:Alt Pop
"Five for Fighting has one main member, , who considers himself mainly a singer and songwriter, though he is also competent as a guitarist and pianist. The name he picked for his band refers to a form of discipline used in the turbulent sport of hockey. Players who fight during the game are sent storming away to cool down for five minutes in a penalty box. In other words, they get five for fighting."
", born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, started his musical training when he was only two years old. His mother, a piano teacher, gave him lessons. When he was around 13, he appropriated -- which is a nicer way of putting it than saying stole -- his sister's guitar. He taught himself to use this instrument and soon to write music. Somewhere along the way, he also took vocal lessons in opera. He soon discovered that opera wasn't his cup of tea, and leaned toward music by artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, Journey, Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire.
In 1997 , using the stage name Five for Fighting, released his debut album, Message for Albert, for Capitol. Five for Fighting followed it three years later with America Town, released through Columbia. It continued 's themes of love and life, but with a more political spin. The album might have been simply another strong outing from a talented singer/songwriter, were it not for the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the nation's embrace of 's delicate piano ballad "Superman (It's Not Easy)." Five for Fighting performed the song at the Concert for New York City that winter, and America Town went platinum. While it was a bittersweet way to find fame, "Superman"'s success gave the artistic license he'd always craved. When The Battle for Everything appeared in early 2004, it was Five for Fighting's most stylistically ambitious and lyrically bold recording to date. 2006's Two Lights continued Ondrasik's exploration of blue-collar America, focusing on love, mortality, war, and family. ~ [Source:Charlotte Dillon]
For Billy Joel see Number 849
For Elton John see Number 531
For Stevie Wonder see Number 657
For Earth Wind & Fire see Number 774
For Air Supply see Number 645
What do Rolling Stone think about Five For Fighting?..
"Five For Fighting's main man, John Ondrasik, makes music like he's trying hard to earn a spot on a soundtrack. On Five for Fighting's third album, Ondrasik's self-pitying ballads overflow with dewy-eyed dreaminess, as his vocals swoon and swoop - think of a more annoying Chris Martin. Piano-based numbers such as "Disneyland" sport strong melodies, but their mush-headed philosophizing ("It's a nice day when you wake up in Disneyland") push the limits of poetic indulgence. The closest Ondrasik comes to rocking is on "Angels and Girlfriends," where he spits a series of sarcastic spoken-word verses about a lost love; its flip side is "One More for Love," a power ballad that reaches Air Supply levels of cheesiness. Here's hoping she takes him back, and quick." ~ [RS:Mr Hoard]

Wow, boy when Rolling Stone hate someone, they lash out like a child! Laughable really when that RS critic probably earns 10% of John's wage. Imagine if John lashed out critically about that reporters Mother? If i was Five for Fighting i know what would be my next title for my next song...."F**k you Mr Hoard.. You can kiss my Posterboard!"
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Whatever, we hate him and so shall you) and the Album ranked at Number (because we tell you and you believe us)
This song has a total crowbarred rating of 66.1 out of 108
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posted by crowbarred at 10:34 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Number 753 - Stars On 45


Number 753

Stars On 45

"Beatles Medley"

(1980)
.
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Genre:Dance
The Beatles had been apart for ten years when this "clever" medley came out in the very early 80s. Adults and (gasp) even children knew who the Beatles were still. Beatle songs were so instantly recognisable that the formula for this hidden group were guaranteed a hit, no matter what. Did i hate it? God no, it was so great to see everyone once again singing the lyrics to the Beatles even via a medley, and it once again made the Beatles popular again. That is the day until John Lennon was shot in December 1980. Cleverly Stars on 45 switched to Abba and Hooked on Classics. Wise move indeed.

"Stars on 45 (known in some countries as Starsound) were a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the UK, Europe and the U.S. in the very early 1980s. The band, which consisted solely of studio session musicians under the direction of , formerly of Golden Earring, popularised the medley, by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and stringing them together, with a common tempo and relentless underlying drum track. The point was to provide a danceable disco record which used familiar tunes."

" originally created the "Stars on 45" concept after hearing a bootleg 12-inch dance record called "Let's Do It In the 80's" and credited to the band Passion. The record actually used original recordings of songs by the Beatles, the Buggles, the Archies and Madness, and used a segment of "Venus," a recording by Shocking Blue, for which Eggermont held a copyright. With the bootleg recording circulating in dance clubs, Eggermont decided to create a licensed version of the medley by using soundalike artists to replicate the original hits."
For the Beatles see Numbers 894 & 947
For the Buggles see Number 699
For Madness see Number 794

soundalikes were established Dutch singers. John Lennon's parts were sung by Bas Muys of the group Smile. The other two singers were the famous Sandy Coast frontman Hans Vermeulen and Okkie Huysdens who worked with Vermeulen in Rainbow Train. The first such release, "Stars on 45 Medley", featuring songs from The Beatles, went to Number 1 in the US, and Number 2 in the UK, and several follow up records did well too. Another album followed, featuring medleys using the songs of ABBA and Motown. A third album featured medleys of The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. The single "Stars on 45 III A Tribute to Stevie Wonder", peaked at US# 28 in 1982."
For Rolling Stones see Numbers 689 & 767
For Abba see Number 919

"A spinoff group called The Star Sisters had a hit in Europe with an Andrews Sisters medley. The albums were released under the moniker of Stars on 45 Presents The Star Sisters.
Beatles Medly:
Intro Venus / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I'll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want to Know a Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You're Going to Lose That Girl / Stars on 45
This single continues to hold the record for a #1 single with the longest name on the Billboard charts, due to the legalities requiring each song title be listed."

Not even gonna bother what Rolling Stone Magazine have to say, it would be a complete waste of time.
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We hardly think so) and the Album ranked at Number (We have an image you know, just like Time Magazine)
(Oh please)
This song has a total crowbarred rating of 65.9 out of 108

MDW-Stars-on-45-medley-beatles
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posted by crowbarred at 8:04 pm 0 comments