Thursday, June 13, 2013

Songs By Bands With "Sisters" In Their Names

I don't know how I can follow up yesterday's post, with all its classic songs, and with the apparent widespread interest it generated (the post has gotten an astounding 44 hits in less than 24 hours so far!), but here goes my best effort. 

Because I can never leave well enough alone, what follows is a collection of songs by bands with "Sisters" in their names. The band members did not actually have to be sisters to qualify for this list; they just had to have "Sisters" in their name. And, no, there will be no Twisted Sister or Sister Sledge here, because the word "Sisters" had to be plural to qualify. (Don't look at me like that – I didn't make these rules up! Oh, wait...yes, I did!)  

Fair warning: Due to the inherent nature of historical (and contemporary) "sister acts," there will be doo-wop in this post. An above-average amount of doo-wop, actually. But you'll survive. Hey, you may even like it. Enjoy!  ~  JH




1)  Living Sisters ~  "How Are You Doing?"  (Infectious folk-pop at its finest!)



2)  The Pointer Sisters  ~  "I'm So Excited"  (They just can't hide it...)



3)  Sisters Doll  ~  "Dollhouse"  (This post wouldn't be complete without a creepy glam-rock band, right? It would? Well, it's too late now!)



4)  The J Sisters ft. Prominence  ~  "Take The Victory"  (Once again, I am the king of anomalies, following a glam-rock song with one by an urban gospel group.)

(Ugh! Click on the link below to view the video:)


5)  Sisters Of Mercy  ~  "Lucretia My Reflection"  (This is a fairly horrible song – not content-wise – it's just bad...bad music, bad singing, you name it; I won't blame you for not listening to it – this one is basically filler anyways, so that I'd end up with 20 songs total)



6)  The Gothard Sisters  ~  "Scarborough Fair"  (A fresh rendition of a Simon & Garfunkel classic – these folk-pop songstresses give off a Celtic Woman vibe – which is to say, they're really good!)



7)  Scissor Sisters  ~  "Fire With Fire"  (This band's relative popularity obligated me to include them here – and they sound pretty rad, so it worked out nicely)



8)  McClain Sisters  ~  "Great Divide"  (Oh, drat! A Disney pop song! #smh)



9)  Gardiner Sisters  ~  "One Man Show"  (These ladies deserve any and all notoriety that has or may soon come their way!)



10)  The Naughton Sisters  ~  "We Were Just Kids"  (Nice, folksy-sounding song – and lovely views of Germany – this one's a keeper!)

(Ugh, not again! Click on the link below to view the video:)


11)  Quebe Sisters Band  ~  "It's A Sin To Lie"  (When exactly did country music become pseudo-rock music and stop being wonderfully down-home concoctions like this one?)



12)  The Puppini Sisters  ~  "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Of Company B)"  (I told you there'd be doo-wop. If you're older or young and cultured, you might recognize this as a popular Andrews Sisters number [more on them later], but the Puppini Sisters render it quite well in their own right.)



13)  The Secret Sisters  ~  "I've Got A Feeling"  (No, this is not a Black Eyed Peas cover – it's good, old-fashioned girl-pop!)



14)  The Sami Sisters  ~  "Oh Boy"  (And now, all the way from New Zealand, it's...these girls...sounding not unlike the Katy Perrys and Ke$has of this country.)

(Oh, YouTube, why do you hate me? 
You know the drill – click the link below:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUF0rp7M7lk


15)  The Beu Sisters  ~  "Anytime You Need A Friend"  (Oh, look...another Disney pop song. It's clichéd and a bit maudlin, but perfectly polished. Like I said, it's a Disney pop song.)



16)  The Pink Champagne Sisters  ~  "It Don't Mean A Thing"  (Because, admit it, you needed more doo-wop to lighten up your Thursday!)



17)  Boswell Sisters  ~  "Heebie Jeebies"  (Okay, so it's not doo-wop, but it still reeks [in a good way] of perfect three-part harmonies – I dunno what to call it, flapper pop maybe?)



18)  Yellow Sisters  ~  "Tubab Woman"  (If I'm hearing the lyrics correctly, a "Tubab woman" is a white African woman with a "black soul"...alrighty then!)



19)  SWV (Sisters With Voices)  ~  "I'm So Into You"  (I remember this catchy tune from back in the day – the mid-'90s, to be exact.)



20)  The Andrews Sisters ~  "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree"  (Last but not least, the often-imitated but never-duplicated, undisputed queens of doo-wop, the one-and-only Andrews Sisters – with special [thankfully non-singing] guest star Shemp Howard, of The Three Stooges fame)


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Songs By Bands With "Brothers" In Their Names

I had a lot of fun putting this post together, especially since there are so many good "Brothers" bands to choose from. As with most of my music posts, there's a mix here of classic songs, more modern hits, and some rather obscure (but really good!) gems. I haven't yet decided whether or not if I'm going to follow this up with a "Sisters" bands post. Knowing me, I probably will. Enjoy!  ~  JH




1)  The Statler Brothers  ~  "Flowers On The Wall"  (I first heard this song on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, of all places – good stuff!)



2)  Brooklyn Brothers  ~  "Come On Girl"  (One of the two "fictional bands" on this list which originated from a film then became an actual band...)

(The video wouldn't load properly, 
but this link should take you to it)



3)  The Blues Brothers  ~  "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love"  (...And while we're at it, here's the other one)



4)  Dove Brothers Quartet  ~  "Get Away Jordan"  (I'm not a fan of Southern gospel music, but I know a lot of people who are...if you fit that description, this one's for you)



5)  Jonas Brothers  ~  "Pom Poms"  (I bet I'm the only idiot in the entire world who would follow up a Dove Brothers song with one by the Jonas Brothers...oh, well!)



6)  The Avett Brothers  ~  "I And Love And You"  (Now we're getting to the good stuff! This one's for you, Leigh Ann Cordes!)



7)  Everly Brothers  ~  "All I Have To Do Is Dream"  (Pure pop magic!)



8)  The Chemical Brothers ft. Noel Gallagher  ~  "Setting Sun"  (And now for something completely different...)



9)  The Doobie Brothers  ~  "Listen To The Music"  (Yes, please do!)



10)  Yoshida Brothers  ~  "Kodo"  (Call this a musical curveball...and swing away, 'cuz it's awesome!)



11)  The Bacon Brothers  ~  "Unhappy Birthday"  (In case you're wondering, yes, this is actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael, with a tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on its ten-year anniversary)



12)  The Isley Brothers  ~  "Shout"  (You know you make me wanna...)



13)  The Allman Brothers Band  ~  "Ramblin' Man"  (An all-time classic)



14)  The Righteous Brothers  ~  "Unchained Melody"  (So is this one!)



15)  The Bellamy Brothers  ~  "Let Your Love Flow"  (This one's not half-bad, either)



16)  The Flying Burrito Brothers  ~  "If Something Should Come Between Us (Let It Be Love)"  (This song's title gets me thinking that maybe I should do a collection of songs with ridiculously long titles...and yet I wonder...have I already done that before?)



17)  The Walker Brothers  ~  "Love Minus Zero"  (Never heard of these guys, but they're not bad; and Bob Dylan's lyrics sound good coming out of anyone's mouth...except Dylan's, that is)



18)  Cary Brothers  ~  "Ride"  (Cary is the one guy on this list whose actual name is Brothers – he's a one-man show, no siblings required)



19)  Brothers Johnson  ~  "Strawberry Letter 23"  (Because we were WAY overdue for a funk song; one YouTube user aptly described this video: "Afros and Chaps. BOSS!" Couldn't agree more!)



20)  The Abrams Brothers  ~  "Northern Redemption"  (I could listen to these guys all day! Never heard of them before, but they're fantastic!)


Monday, June 10, 2013

Songs By Recently Dead Singers And Musicians

This is exactly what it purports to be – a collection of songs by singers, songwriters, and musicians who have passed away this year. They may or may not be resting in peace, but either way their music will live on. Enjoy! ~  JH



1)  Chris Kelly (of Kris Kross)  ~  "Jump"  (Kelly was the darker-skinned of the two)



2)  Ray Manzarek (of The Doors)  ~  "Light My Fire"  (Manzarek was the keyboardist)



3)  Annette Funicello  ~  "Jamaica Ska"  (Probably not her best work, but this was one of the higher-quality videos I could find)



4)  George Beverly Shea  ~  "How Great Thou Art"  (Dude was 104 years old! WOW!)



5)  Richie Havens  ~  "Freedom"  (Being the opening act at Woodstock looks great on your résumé!)



6)  George Jones  ~  "He Stopped Loving Her Today"  (One of the all-time greats!)



7)  Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins  ~  (Song Title Unknown)  (Never heard of him, but the guy was good!)



8)  Deanna Durbin  ~  "Perhaps"  (Durbin was best known as an actress who sings, rather than the other way around)



9)  Jack Greene  ~  "Statue Of A Fool"  (Other artists made this song more famous years later, but it was Greene who recorded it first)



10)  Jewel Akens  ~  "The Birds & The Bees"  (Lemme tell ya!)



11)  Jason Molina (of Songs: Ohia)  ~  "I've Been Riding With The Ghost"  (Never heard of him, but apparently he had some success throughout his life-shortened career)



12)  Cecil Womack (of Womack And Womack)  ~  "Love Wars"  (This guy was also part of the gospel group, The Womack Brothers, in the 1950s)



13)  Reg Presley (of The Troggs)  ~  "Love Is All Around"  (Presley was the lead singer)



14)  Mindy McCready  ~  "Ten Thousand Angels"  (Considering how things turned out for her, seems like McCready needed ten thousand angels!)



15)  Patti Page  ~  "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?"  (I wonder if Patti ever found out how much it cost?)

Words I'm Glad I Didn't Write: Bizarre Ke$ha Quotes



"I could party in a cardboard box with people
who are funny and don't care. For me, it's
really about who I surround myself with, so
I just try to always be with hilarious people."



"Every weird thing about you is
beautiful and makes life interesting."



"I think if you are going to be a singer, you should sing.
If you are going to be a dancer, you should dance. 
If you're going to do a combination of the two, 
you should make it very clear when you are
singing and very  clear when you are dancing."



"When you're around me, you're going to get glitter on you."



"My band and I, we cover our bodies in hairspray and
glitter. We use the hairspray to make sure the glitter sticks."



"I want a pig. 
I want a pig on a leash.
A baby pig on a leash."



"I love creepy old dudes. I love that they have
so much self-confidence, despite having 
no evidence whatsoever to back it up."



"I'm not saying I  look cool, but every single
time I go onstage, it is a fail if I don't feel
like I'm going to pass out at least twice."



"I'm really fun. I'm ridiculously fun.
I hope I'm infectiously fun."



"What I'm doing is art – it's low-brow art – 
but there's a magic in that."



"I am so not a proper, good female. 
I can't dance in high heels and I'm just 
so not girly. But then I see these men 
with banging bodies, dancing in heels, 
singing, and having so much fun with 
so much makeup on. That makes me
honestly want to be a better woman."



"I don't really plan what comes out of my mouth,
and that's what makes most of my lyrics entertaining."



"I grew up in the Bible Belt and I made 
my  own clothes and dyed my hair purple.
Nobody ever knew what to do with me."



"I love it when people send me body parts."



"I want to reconnect to my animal life."



"I'm just very amused by five-year-old humor."



"I'm pretty sure that I was JFK in my past life."



"I've always been into bearded dudes."



"A friend of mine has a big farm in the 
desert, and she picks up feathers and 
roadkill for me, then makes it into 
clothes. I think it's cool to wear roadkill. 
If I died and somebody wanted to 
wear my teeth around their neck 
to the VMAs, I'd feel honored."

What Morning Smells Like

My morning smells like...

...a thoroughly peed-in diaper after 7 hours of accumulation

...the wonderful scent of baby skin

...a potent mixture of regular cat food (gross!) and low-protein prescription cat food (even grosser!)

...a poopy litter box after 24 hours of accumulation

...orange-scented hand soap

...a steaming kettle of boiling water (yes, it does have a smell)

...two pitchers of freshly brewed tea

...a large cup of freshly brewed coffee

...Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts heated up for precisely 22 seconds

...the vinegary smell of an unexpected baby poop

...baby wipes

....pear-scented hand soap

...Fructis organic shampoo

...Old Spice body wash

...oh-so-minty Colgate toothpaste

...Old Spice deodorant

...cheap hairspray

...freshly laundered clothes, albeit a little wrinkled

...a regrettable whiff of pollen


What does your morning smell like?