Twostepcublog

I love cover songs....

I used to watch Match Game every day with my Grandmom. RIP, Charles Nelson Reilly .

Hey boys and girls, it's time for my tunes for the week. This week Maroon5 complete their rush to the top spot, while uber-hunk Billy Currington (pictured above) moves up to number six. Dropping on the list are songs by Kenny Chesney, 30 Seconds To Mars (leaving one on here), Jennifer Hudson, Gary Allan, and Muse, and big jump are made by September, Kelly Clarkson, Erasure, Beyonce/Shakira, and Lola. As always, you can link to any artist's webpage by clicking on their highlighted name. They've been pretty good in putting soundbites, news, video, and such. Have a great Memorial Day weekend! This Week Song/Artist (Last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon5 (2) 2. Settlin' - Sugarland (1) 3. U & Ur Hand - Pink (3) 4. The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani f/ Akon (4) 5. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (9) 6. Good Directions - Billy Currington (8) 7. R...

Leave it to a fellow Scot. You should check out his other videos here .

Happy Friday to y'all.

“ Cars ”. That about sums up what most Americans know about Gary Numan . “Cars”. And even that’s iffy. I’d put money half of them think it’s David Bowie singing. And they’d be wrong. If it was Bowie , it’ve been eons better, I’m sure. And I’m someone who loves the recording of the song as it is. With its ahead-of-its-time production and appropriately detached delivery, “ Cars ” was a perfect song for the right time. In 1979, the disco train was screeching to a halt, and new-wave was just an underground movement branching off of punk. In that atmosphere, Numan was groundbreaking. There wasn’t a song that sounded anything like it on major pop radio in 1979 (well, maybe M’s “Pop Musik”). From there though, Numan’s career in America stalled into one-hit-wonderland, though in Britain it was only the beginning, racking up seven top-10 singles in the space of a few years. All of those appear on the collection Premier Hits , which came out in the UK on the resurge in popularity of “ Cars ”...

The System were a link in the long line of pseudo-soul duos and groups that spanned the 80s and 90s. Usually consisting of a white guy and a black guy, these transient collectives dotted one-hit-wonders consistently, like a yearly meteor shower. You’ve got your Charles & Eddie, your Natural Selection, your Rhythm Syndicate, I can go on and on. The System was the prototype of them all, starting back in the late 70’s with singer Mic Murphy and keyboard whiz David Frank putting out lowkey space-funk that was quite good, especially with underground hit “You Are In My System”. With a synth hook that just won’t quit, “System” deserved to be much more of a hit than it was. Here's a clip of it...try not to stare at Mic Murphy's "Beat It" moves. Fast forward a few years later, with the release of the single “Don’t Disturb This Groove”., which did manage to hit and hit big, making #1 R&B as well as top-5 on the pop chart. And it was no surprise, given a classic mel...

Well not exactly a link of the week rather than a columnist of the week. San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Morford is one of the best newspaper writers around today. Check out this article for his take on men and drinking , and this one about the "death" of the Hummer , the biggest sign this country was heading to a Roman Empire state, here. T he late Rev. Jerry Falwell? He was exactly like a Hummer H2. Oh yes he was. Bloated, arrogant, offensive to millions and deeply wrong in a thousand ways and yet blindly worshipped by a shockingly large and happily uninformed throng of devout minions for no other reason than he was, well, bloated, arrogant and wrong. 'nuff said.

I was gonna go on a rant about the two Cee U Next Tuesdays of the week, Monica Goodling (top) for her "I really didn't mean to fire them for political reasons, gee whillikers!" as well as honestly answering the question on what experience she had in hiring and firing of personnel with the lovely fact that she was on the college student board, and Lurita Alexis Doan (bottom), who violated federal law for screening career non-appointed jobs in the General Services Administration for political slant, as well as holding seminars on gaining Republican seats during goverment time and using government space. I say throw both those bitches in jail, preferable the one on Bad Girls , and let them be roommates, so they can cry to each other all day about how icky people are to them. Fuckers. But instead I give you this jolly advert. Hat tip to John at Americablog . and for the best recap on why this is crazy, heed the Maher...

The last couple of country albums I had on here were representative of the current “bad-boy” cookie-cutter that’s been prevalent lately. Well, consider Hal Ketchum ’s The Hits to be a 180 degree turn from that. Ketchum came out of the gate in 1991 with “ Small Town Saturday Night ”, and graced the top-10 five more times, all of which appear on this collection. Like Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Hal is originally from New York, and his music proves Ketchum is expert in the smalltown depictions that don’t degrade into either hokiness or redneck jingoism. Tunes like “ Small Town Saturday Night ” are like a snapshot or young love in rural America , while companion line “ Mama Knows The Highway ” puts a female spin on the trucker’s tale for a more refreshing story. Hal’s love songs contain a lot of heart and truth, whether it be about simple pleasures of life (“ I Know Where Love Lives ”) or loss (the Muscle Shoals-funky “ That’s What I Get For Loving You ”) or even quiet desperation (the lo...

The early 80’s saw a plethora of journeyman faceless rock bands that graced rock radio. You’ve got your Saga, your Rainbow, your April Wine, and if it wasn’t for Mike Reno and his red leather pants I’d throw Loverboy in there as well. Fitting in that group is Canadians Chilliwack , who for a brief time had some success in America , with great success in my neck of the woods. WPST in New Jersey played the hell out of their two singles “ My Girl (Gone Gone Gone) ” and “ I Believe ”. Both of those of course figure on the band’s Greatest Hits CD, which chronicles their career from the late 60s to the late 80s. It’s kind of front loaded, going in reverse time order, with new songs “ Don’t Stop ” and “ Getting Better ” leading off, though very derivative and kinda boring, as most early-80s rock can be. After that is the three charting singles in America , the two mentioned above and minor (and forgettable) followup single “ Whatcha Gonna Do ”. The two hits, though, are a great slice of...

There are a lot of one-hit wonders in the 80’s imported from Britain that accompany real enjoyable albums. I thought the Blow Monkeys’ Animal Magic was going to be another one of them. I was wrong. The Monkeys, Australian actually by way of England, had a modest top-20 hit with “ Digging Your Scene ”, which actually ended up being more successful here than in the UK. Animal Magic starts out with this cut, and it remains a classic new-wave/pop concoction, with a meatier center than most. Instead of the piffle abundant in most pop songs of the era (I’m thinking “Too Shy”, “The Safety Dance”), “ Digging Your Scene ” is a personification of AIDS, which at the time was just beginning to do the ravage it has grown to do. Clever lyrics like I just got your message baby, so sad to see you fade away What in the world is this feeling, to catch a breath and leave me reeling, It’ll get you in the end, it’s God’s revenge… are artfully subtle and tragic which is hidden behind the gle...

With Jake Owen ’s Startin’ With Me , take everything I said about Eric Church’s Sinners Like Me album and augment it with weaker songs and cornier clichés. From the redneck-ad crap of first single “ Yee Haw ” to the closing requisite duet “ You Can Thank Dixie ” with Alabama lead Randy Owen (they’re swearin’ no relation, but I’m not totally convinced), to the braggadocio “ Eight Second Ride ”, this album is calculated to the point of forgetableness. There are a couple OK numbers, most notably the reflective “ Startin’ With Me ”, the yearning “ Places To Run ”, and the standard country-pop of “ Last Night With You ”. Unfortunately, the rest is too by-the-numbers, which may be explainable for a debut effort, but troubling nonetheless. Grade: C- Best Cuts: “Startin’ With Me”, “Places To Run” Weakest Links: “You Can Thank Dixie ”, “Yee Haw”, “Eight Second Ride” Startin' With Me hit #8 country and #31 pop albums. "Yee Haw" hit #16 country singles and #83 pop single...

1961 was a pretty bad year for pop music. Coming off of the Elvis high, the music scene for the most part reverted back to sleep-inducing standards or kiddie-pop drivel. But for country music, it was a golden year, where the likes of Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, , and George Jones shined. That’s why Time-Life’s Country U*S*A 1961 is such a find. Containing 24 top-10 country songs (many of those “crossed over” to the pop chart) the set includes 7 of the 8 #1 country songs of that year. Among these are classic like Cline’s “ Crazy ” and “ I Fall To Pieces ”, probably the best examples of classic country ever made, Faron Young’s “ Hello Walls ”, Marty Robbins’ “ Don’t Worry ”, and George Jones’ “ Tender Years ”. Each of these songs depict love and heartbreak with such vividness that you can forget country music was more than proving how redneck you are. Don Gibson also appears twice with classics “ Sweet Dreams ” and “ Sea Of Heartbreak ”, as well as Buck Owens with “ Under The Influence...

It's time again for my tunes for the week (this time on time, woohoo!). This week Sugarland come back to the top spot, while The Killers (pictured above) move within the top-10. This, and Carrie Underwood has two songs in the top-10! Also making big moves are KT Tunstall, Linkin Park, Kimberly Locke, and Erasure, while hits by Jamiroquai, Beyonce, John Mayer, and Blue October say goodbye to the chart. Happy Birthday, Kim! This Week Song/Artist (Last Week's Position In Parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Settlin' - Sugarland (3) 2. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon5 (6) 3. U & Ur Hand - Pink (4) 4. The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani f/ Akon (2) 5. What Goes Around...Comes Around - Justin Timberlake (1) 6. Grace Kelly - MIKA (5) 7. Read My Mind - The Killers (9) 8. Good Directions - Billy Currington (10) 9. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (12) 10. Wasted - Carrie Underwood (7) 11. Candyman -...

God, do I love Jon Stewart....

You know, there is a few books out there with “point-words” to use with songs. For country music, that can basically be narrowed down to a chapter. You’ve got: Jesus, Bible, God , America , Damn, Mama, Believe, Beer, Whiskey, Church, Cowboy, Boots, Redneck, Daddy, Flag, (you can mix and match as you will). Eric Church apparently bought this book, or else his record company bought it for him. His debut album, Sinners Like Me , is for the most part a paint-by-numbers exercise in “redneck marketing”, with a couple glimmers of unique talent worth listening to. Lead-off “ Before She Does ” boasts an infectious groove, but lyrically falls into the “hillbilly-ad” motive in which said “hillbilly” tries to straddle the fence between “holier-than-thou” and “rebel”. This is repeated again in “ Guys Like Me ”, “ Sinners Like Me ”, and most blatantly “ Pledge Allegiance To The Hag ”, which takes it a step farther and does the clichéd “bring out the dinosaur for a few notes to make me ...

In know it's evil, but hey, he always played out like my kind were anyways... (hat tip to Americablog )

It’s weird. Almost every “critical” review I’ve read about British band Arctic Monkeys ’ debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not cites their disdain of rock critics, yet invariably heaps a tons of praise on them. Talk about self-deprecation. This type of hype usually forbodes a dud of an album, but in the Monkeys’ case luckily they do merit some of the lauds. However best British album of last year? Hmmm. Coming from a garage-rock-type beginning with unequaled grassroots support from the Internet, the band shares a lot in common with another teen post-emo group, Fall Out Boy. There’s the loquacious and witty song titles, like “ I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor ” and “ You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me ”, with some titles only fleetingly alluded to (if at all) in the lyrics. Then there’s the uniquely juvenile yet learned perspectives; even though the Monkeys’ songs portray lower-middle-class hooligan-type life, they ...