Miss Parton has a new song out
(which I give ** out of *****)
"I'll be Home with Bells On"
and yes. That is yours truly.
One Love
2 hours ago
December 7, 2009
SO miss thang took a trip across he pond this past weekend to run a few errands...
and you'll never guess who she ran into.
Then she went on to perform on Brtain's version of our run into the ground talent show. Although theirs seems to really have Talent. hmm.
oh- and a HOT host. WOOF! me likes 'em thick.
from the Advocate:
Glee is about to get just a tadbit gayer. In a preview for Wednesday’s fall finale episode, dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks cheerleader Brittany lets the cat out of the bag that she and brunet cheerleader Santana are more than just friends.
Whether this is just a four-second exchange that will never be mentioned again or a sign of a developing relationship remains to be seen, but it sure comes out of left field— and lands with one hell of a thud.
Another sign fans want these two to be together? Glee’s Wikipedia site already has a section devoted to the two, dubbed “Brittana.”
December 5, 2009
yeah...it's corporate, but it is for a good cause.
donate a minute of your time,
and Starbucks will turn it into hope for the people who need it most.
December 2, 2009
From Chicken Soup for The Soul: Song Excerpts
BILLY STEINBERG
"True Colors”
by Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly
BILLY STEINBERG
"True Colors”
by Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly
"True Colors” was written in September 1985. Originally, I had a verse and a chorus lyric:
You’ve got a long list with so many choices
A ventriloquist with so many voices
And your friends in high places say where the pieces fit
You’ve got too many faces in your make-up kit
But I see your true colors shining through
I see your true colors and that’s why I love you
Don’t be afraid to let them show
our true colors are as beautiful as a rainbow
That was the original lyric that I took to my songwriting partner, Tom Kelly. Tom sat down at the piano and wrote a beautiful melody to it with a gospel flavor. We did something that we didn’t ordinarily do – we made a demo of the unfinished song. The original lyric had been written about my mother. It started out abstractly:
You’ve got a long list with so many choices
A ventriloquist with so many voices
And then it starts to get more focused about her:
And your friends in high places say where the pieces fit'
You’ve got too many faces in your make-up kit
Then it goes into the chorus:
But I see your true colors shining through
Tom said to me sometime after we had written it, "You know, the chorus of ‘True Colors’ is so universal and so powerful. It could be from a husband to a wife, a mother to a daughter, or a friend to a friend.” On the other hand, Tom pointed out that the verse was very specific, about a person with friends in high places. He acknowledged that the verse was poetic and well-written, but felt that it detracted from the great universal chorus. I reluctantly agreed with him and my reluctance was enormous because I knew I would have to face that demon that I had been avoiding for many years: my difficulty with rewriting something that I had already written. I really believed in my stream-of-consciousness method and felt that if something just poured out, it would have veracity and some intrinsic honesty. I felt that if I had to go back and tinker with it, that it would lose that truth. But I did see that if we wanted to make this song have a larger life, we needed to have verses that matched the chorus. But agreeing with him didn’t accomplish much because I really had writer’s block about doing the rewrite.
Whenever Tom and I would get together to write, he would sit down at the piano and play the intro to "True Colors.” I would get agitated and insist that we work on something else. Finally, after that happened four or five times, Tom got the message that I wasn’t going to go off on my own and re-write the verse lyrics. In the meantime, I don’t know if Tom just met George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, or if he was invited to submit something to him, but Tom played him the demo of "True Colors.” George thought it was a great song, which really spurred Tom’s eagerness to finish it. So, Tom suggested that we sit and write it together. I think I had scribbled something about "sad eyes” and I think Tom phrased the first line:
You with the sad eyes
instead of the original lyric, which said
You’ve got a long list
He probably liked the way it sounded starting with "you.” I pretty much took it from there writing the first verse lyric. I always felt it was sort of patched together and that it wasn’t fluid or cohesive. It never felt finished to me, although now I accept it. Of all the songs in my catalog, "True Colors” has earned the most money. It seems to be our best loved song.
I was happy with the second verse:
Show me a smile then, don’t be unhappy
Can’t remember when I last saw you laughing
Classic songs don’t have to have a lot of lyrics. It’s simply two verses and a chorus.
When we made the demo, we were very much enamored with the idea that the song had a gospel feel to it. We brought in Bob Carlisle and Julie Christenson to sing background vocals. They both have very strong, soulful voices that enhanced that feel. Tom played a piano solo that was very much in the style of the instrumental piano break of "In My Life” by the Beatles – more classical than gospel. So, we finished the demo and that’s when Lady Luck got involved. Because, when you write a song, no matter how good it is, you are somewhat at the mercy of the artist or producer who records the song.
Tom and I were beginning to be successful, but we weren’t in a position to pick any artist in the world and tell them we had this wonderful brand new song. We did what we usually did- finished the demo and started sending it around to every credible artist who was looking for a song at that time. I remember one of the artists we sent it to was Kim Carnes. Her A&R person told us that she wrote her own ballads, and passed on the song. Of course, in the end, that turned out to be a favor to us. Cyndi Lauper had released her first album, "She’s So Unusual”. It was a real breakthrough, from the album cover with the Van Gogh painting on the soles of her shoes, to brilliant songs like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, "All Through The Night” and "Time After Time”. Cyndi would have been at the top of any writer’s list of who they would want to record a song. Number one, even ahead of Madonna. At that time, the perception was that Cyndi Lauper was a real artist who would last, and Madonna was just a sexy girl, singing dance-pop songs, who would vanish from the scene.
Tom and I were over the moon with excitement when we heard that Cyndi Lauper wanted to record the song and we anxiously waited to hear what she would do with it. Cyndi’s first album had been produced by Rick Chertoff and he had done an impeccable job. With some concern, we learned that she was going to be producing her second album by herself. But when we got a copy of her version of "True Colors,” it took our breath away because Cyndi’s recording was simply brilliant and original. And, it was a huge departure from our demo. Whereas, Madonna had copied our demo of "Like A Virgin,” Cyndi had really reinvented "True Colors.” Usually, in those days, a demo was kind of basic and a record would have been a more full-blown production. But in this case, Tom and I had done this rather grand production for the demo of "True Colors” and Cyndi’s version was much more sparse. I remember thinking it had an Oriental quality to it—it felt like a Japanese haiku, fragile and delicate.
Cyndi’s vocal is beautiful. I was told that when she was in the studio, she sang a guide vocal for the musicians. Then later, when she went back to record the final vocals, she wasn’t able to match the emotional quality of the guide vocal, so they decided to keep her original one take vocal. On the B-section of the verse, she changed the phrasing:
If this world makes you crazy and you’ve taken all you can bear
Call me up, because you know I’ll be there
Just like Madonna had titled her second album "Like A Virgin,” Cyndi Lauper titled her second album "True Colors.” So, both "True Colors” and "Like A Virgin” were first singles, title cuts and #1 songs. That got Tom and me a lot of attention in the music industry.
Shortly after "True Colors” was a big hit for Cyndi, Kodak requested to use the song for a big advertising campaign. Believe it or not, at the time Tom and I were kind of torn about whether or not to allow then usage. We were worried that Cyndi might be angry about it and we didn’t want to damage our relationship with her. We were also concerned that a commercial use of the song might damage its integrity. But we saw a sample of what Kodak planned to do, and in thinking about the product, photography and pictures, it seemed okay. In fact, besides earning us a lot of money, it introduced the song to a huge audience who didn’t know the Cyndi Lauper record.
It is gratifying to know that "True Colors” has become a standard. In addition to Cyndi Lauper, it has been recorded by Phil Collins, Kasey Chambers, Eva Cassidy, Ane Brun and many others. It was also featured in the movie, Save The Last Dance.
Too bad CBS didn't market better. LAV was an awesome video- at TC was at best, pretty. This video could have been so much more- but thank God we have the lyrics, and Cyndi's vocals to hang on to for the rest of our lives.
if you are lucky enough to live in the UK... you can see this in the Theatre's hurdat 3/12. Otherwise, wait til next Tuesday like the rest of us.
Im looking forward to this- since I wasnt able to catch the last tour...
November 22, 2009
Just when I thought I couldnt get any more excited about the night of Gaga...Master supreme DJ Aude ( IMHO) has released his mix
of Bad Romance on the internets.
check this shizzle out.
November 19, 2009
The cutie patootie from across the pond released his greatest hits Monday November 16th. It contains twelve songs from his first four studio albums, The first new single is "Hopes and Fears" which is the first video below. The second vid is for Grace... and is he looking hot or what. oh- and that voice. an angel. Although I'd love to see the devil side....
The album will be released as a standard edition and a deluxe edition, which will include a DVD of all the music videos.
.jpg)
1. "Evergreen" 2. "Light My Fire" 3. "You and I" 4. "Leave Right Now" 5. "Your Game" 6. "Friday's Child" 7. "Switch It On" 8. "All Time Love" 9. "Who Am I" 10. "Changes" 11. "Grace" 12. "Let It Go" 13. "Hopes and Fears
>>> The Hits <<<
check out the rest of his vids here
November 18, 2009
This was released a little over a month ago,
but Ive been totally diggin' it on Uk Radio.
There are a few mixes out- but I am so loving the original.
Takes me right back to my college years.
(both the grunge/punk AND rave scenes)
here's the original:
01-Bloc Party -once More Chance (original version)
02-Block Party - One more Chance_(instrumental)
and my fave mix:
Well, Raleigh's own Mary KMart has released a recent interview
with the one "who can't take the big c*ck".
fyi- If you are ever in Raleigh... be sure to check out Mary and Brigner at Flex...
and tell 'em, Powell sent ya.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
