Taking Steps....

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, September 07, 2007 18 Of Your Sparks


Posting early morning which is not our normal routine, but last night sort of got away from us....

Was out last night doing the business thing and half listening to a conversation at the table next to us (we have that ability to hear other conversations and also stay within the one we are having - we blame it on our radio days...but it is just a "talent/curse" we have), it ends up one of the women has a son who is a Marine recruit...we begin talking and ....yup you got it! Her son is in the same recruit platoon as our SugarBaby Dixie's Matt is!

So we got them on the phone together to talk....we were so excited for both of them.




The other day in an email conversation, this line of words came up:

"Leader Of The Pack..."

And, of course that got us thinking ...so going into the weekend, THE SHANGRI-LAS

The THE SHANGRI-LAS were an American pop group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with a string of often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". The later was used in the movie "The Goodfellas" and also used in the TV program "Cold Case".

The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York in 1963. They consisted of two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) (born 1948) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss (born 1946), and identical twins Marguerite "Marge" (1947-1996) and Mary Ann Ganser (1947-1970). More often than not the girls appeared in public as a trio, because Betty Weiss rarely appeared on stage with the other group members until 1966.


"REMEMBER"
George "Shadow" Morton


"LEADER OF THE PACK"
George "Shadow" Morton with Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich



Enjoy your weekend...Stay safe and happy....



Studio albums

* 1964: Leader of the Pack (U.S. #109)
* 1965: Shangri-Las-65!

Compilation albums

* 1966: Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las
* 1975: The Shangri-Las Sing
* 1994: Myrmidons of Melodrama
* 1996: The Best of the Shangri-Las

Singles

All released on Red Bird label except where stated.

* 1964: "Wishing Well"/"Hate To Say I Told You So" (Spokane label, later reissued on Scepter)
* 1964: "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"/"It's Easier To Cry" (U.S. #5, UK #14)
* 1964: "Leader of the Pack"/"What Is Love?" (U.S. #1, UK #11 (1965), UK #3 (1972), UK #7 (1976))
* 1965: "Simon Says"/"Simon Speaks" (recorded in 1963/64, issued on Smash label)
* 1965: "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"/"Twist And Shout" (U.S. #18)
* 1965: "Maybe"/"Shout" (U.S. #91)
* 1965: "Out in the Streets"/"The Boy" (U.S. #53)
* 1965: "Give Us Your Blessings"/"Heaven Only Knows" (U.S. #29)
* 1965: "Right Now and Not Later"/"The Train From Kansas City" (U.S. #99)
* 1965: "I Can Never Go Home Anymore"/"Bull Dog" (U.S. #6)
* 1966: "Long Live Our Love"/"Sophisticated Boom Boom" (U.S. #33)
* 1966: "He Cried"/"Dressed In Black" (U.S. #65)
* 1966: "Past, Present and Future"/"Paradise" (U.S. #59)
* 1966: "The Sweet Sounds of Summer"/"I'll Never Learn" (U.S. #123) (Mercury label)
* 1967: "Take the Time"/"Footsteps On The Roof" (Mercury label)




Listen To The Music...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Thursday, September 06, 2007 19 Of Your Sparks


Holy Crap.... So, Anndi challenged us and we responded...and we were shocked by the variety that has appeared her on THE COUCH ...

First off, by month, it did surprise us that music did not appear here for so long...


Mar-06 - 0
Apr-06 - 0
May-06 - 0
June-06 -0
Jul-06 - 0
Aug-06 - 0
Sep-06 - 2 (videos only)
Oct-06 - 11
Nov-06 - 13
Dec-06 - 55
Jan-07 - 33
Feb-07 - 37
Mar-07 - 43
Apr-07 - 21
May-07 - 20
Jun-07 - 17
Jul-07 - 23
Aug-07 - 43
Sept-07 - 3



The first music was video clips...
The first true audio was Stevie Wonder - "Happy Birthday" for Dad on 11/20/06
The month with the most audio was December 2006, as we put up a whole Holiday tribute mix for the days before Hanukkah and Christmas.

319 songs (some of them videos)...

There were some songs which, when posted did not work, they WERE NOT counted...

Now, by artist....we don't think anyone can say that we do not supply variety here on THE COUCH...well, if you could see our music collection, that would come as no surprise and 100% of the music we have presented here is actually in our collection whether it be vinyl, tape or digital...

YES, there definitely are repeats, but a tune is a tune is a tune....so remember....when sitting on THE COUCH, you can always "LISTEN TO THE MUSIC".........

Whether it be big band, jazz, pop, r & b, psychedelica, rock and roll....if it has a beat, if it has a tune...we have it and will share...

Someone you do not see below? Let us know...we can almost guarantee we have it or can find it and put it on THE COUCH for you...music lives here and will continue to do so...

Are you ready?





10 years after 1
3 dog night 2
jefferson airplane 2
al demeola 1
al green 1
alice cooper 1
allman bros 12
bachman turner overdrive 1
barbra streisand 2
barenaked ladies 1
beatles 3
bela fleck and the flectones 2
benny goodman 1
bette midler 1
billy idol 1
billy joel 2
bing crosby 1
black crowes 1
black sabbath 1
bob marley 1
bon jovi 1
booker t and the mg's 1
boston 1
boston pops 1
boyz2men 1
brenda lee 1
buddy holly 1
buggles 1
butterfield/arnold/bishop 1
carly simon 1
cat stevens 1
cheap trick 2
cheech and chong 1
chic 1
chicago 3
christina aguliera 2
chuck berry 1
clapton / bb king 2
commander cody & the lost planet airmen 2
cream 9
csny 1
cyrkel 1
danny elfman 1
david benoit 1
david bowie 3
doobie brothers 1
grateful dead 2
dean martin 1
delphonics 1
derek & the dominos 2
diana ross 1
dixie chicks 1
doors 3
drifters 3
duke ellington/johnny hodges 6
eagles 1
earth wind and fire 1
ella fitzgerald 1
elton john 2
elvis 13
eric clapton 1
frank sinatra 2
frank zappa 2
franklin/clover project 1
garth brooks 1
george benson 1
george duke 1
george strait 1
good rats 2
grand funk 11
guns and rose 1
hanson 1
harry belafonte 1
harry connick jr. 1
hendrix 1
herbie hancock 2
honeyboy edwards 1
hot tuna 5
howlin' wolf 1
iggy pop 1
inxs 1
j geils 3
jackie wilson 4
jackson 5 1
james blunt 1
james gang 1
janis joplin 1
jennifer lopez 1
jerry garcia/merle saunders 5
jerry jeff walker 1
jim croce 1
jimi hendrix 1
joe cocker 4
john fogerty 3
johnny cash 2
kool & the gang 1
led zeppelin 4
les paul 6
lisley brothers 1
little feat 1
liz minelli 1
loggins and messina 1
luthur dixon 1
lynyrd skynard 8
madonna 2
mahavishnu orchestra 1
manhattan transfer 1
mariah carey 1
marilyn monroe 1
marine corp band 1
marshall tucker band 1
martina mcbride 1
marvin gaye 1
maze 1
meatloaf 2
miles davis 1
monkees 2
nat king cole 4
natalie merchant 1
neville brothers 5
otis redding 1
parliament funkadelic 1
pat benetar 1
paul butterfield blues band 3
philadelphia philharmonic 1
phish 1
pink floyd 1
prince 2
procal harum 1
ramones 4
randy newman 1
randy travis 1
rascals 2
ray charles 3
red hot chili peppers 2
rick derringer 1
ringo starr 1
robyn hitchcock 1
rod stewart 1
rolling stones 3
romantics 1
roy orbison 1
santana 1
sarah vaugh 1
savoy brown 3
shakira 1
shuggie otis 2
simon and garfunkle 2
sonny terry & brownie mcghee 1
southside johnny & the asbury dukes 1
stevie ray vaughn 1
stevie wonder 1
styx 1
survivor 1
taj mahal 5
talking heads 1
taylor hicks 3
terry cashman 1
the illusion 1
the tubes 1
the who 3
tony bennett 4
traffic 3
van halen 1
vanilla fudge 1
widespread panic 1
willie nelson 1
wynton marsalis 1
yes 3
zz top 3



YUPPERS...the most featured artist....THE KING...ELVIS... beating out the Allman Brothers by one...we were surprised the Grateful Dead were not more represented...


There you have it folks...

Comments, criticisms, general comments?

Sorry Anndi, we did not work out which songs were covers or appeared on debut albums... but you are welcome to spend the time to do so....

bwahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahaahaaaaaa



"LISTEN TO THE MUSIC"
DOOBIE BROTHERS
Composer: Tom Johnston
Toulouse Street
Warner Brothers Records - 1972

* Patrick Simmons - guitars, vocals
* Tom Johnston - guitars, vocals
* Tiran Porter - bass, vocals
* John (Little John) Hartman - drums, percussion
* Michael Hossack - drums

Additional personnel:

* Jerry Jumonville - saxophone
* Joe Lane Davis - horns
* Sherman Marshall Cyr - horns
* Jon Robert Smith - horns
* Bill Payne - piano, organ, keyboards
* Ted Templeman - percussion

1972 BILLBOARD Pop Albums - # 21

Single:

1972 "Listen to the Music" BILLBOARD Pop Singles - #11





Words & Pictures Wednesday

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Wednesday, September 05, 2007 22 Of Your Sparks





We published these back in July 2006
and due to the RADIO HAPPY HOUR running so long last night
we were a bit stuck on what to do

We are hardly ever wordless here, so with these words, we
present to you some photos we have taken over the years...

Taken along the Delaware River in PA
this tree trunk just caught my eye on a camping trip.
The monochromatic tone and the way the stones
are shaped around the base all seemed perfect,
and just as we were framing the lone leaf floated in...
FREEZE FRAME!


Early 80's, from the roof of mom and dad's
apartment in Manhattan on the 4th Of July.
Macy's huge fireworks display over the East River.
Using our 80-200 zoom, we used a delayed shutter,
began zoomed in tight and as the shutter stayed open
we zoomed out to create the movement.
FREEZE FRAME!


The St. Lawrence River looking into Canada.
We were at our friends Kate & Jeff's wedding.
The motorboat was heading down river and we decided to close
down the aperture to darken all but the sun and it's reflection.
FREEZE FRAME!


One of our favorites.
We were in Central Park one afternoon and
sitting about 80 yards away was this homeless man.
Using the 200mm zoom, we pulled in tight.
We actually held it there for about 20 seconds as we studied
his eyes. They just captured us for the time, as we wondered
what had brought this soul to his place in time.
His look is so intense yet in so many ways so desperate.
FREEZE FRAME!



yesterday in our comments, our sweet friend ANNDI, made a comment/challenge asking how many tunes had appeared on THE COUCH. Not sure if it was a rhetorical question, or if, as she knows me so damn well, she was throwing out a challenge - like we really believe it was rhetorical! HA!

Our Gemini-twin Type-A, obsessive personality exploded outward and we began to go through and count.

OF COURSE, just knowing how many tunes is not enough. How many tunes by which artists? When did the first tune actually appear on THE COUCH?

Tomorrow, we will answer those questions....

Have a guess as to which artist has appeared the most on THE COUCH? Take a guess and leave your answer here today. A special shout-out to the person with the correct guess.

OH, and THANKS AGAIN ANNDI! sheesh......

back to counting we go....



"FREEZE FRAME"
J. Geils Band
Freeze Frame -
1981
EMI Records

Composers: Paul Justman
& Peter Wolf

* Stephen Bladd - drums, vocals
* J. Geils - guitar
* Seth Justman - keyboard, vocals
* Danny Klein - bass
* Magic Dick - harmonica, trumpet, saxophone
* Peter Wolf - vocals

1982 Billboard Pop Albums - Highest Position: #1

"Freeze Frame" - Single:
1982 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks - Highest Position: #25
1982 Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks - Highest Position: #8
1982 Billboard Hot 100 - Highest Position: #4


Additional personnel on album
* Tawatha Agee - vocals
* Randy Brecker - horn
* Ronnie Cuber - saxophone
* Cissy Houston - vocals
* Tom "Bones" Malone - horn
* Lou Marini - horn
* Alan Rubin - trumpet
* Fonzi Thornton - vocals
* Luther Vandross - vocals
* Ken Williams - vocals
* George Young - horn







Tuesday Thoughts & Thanks

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Tuesday, September 04, 2007 19 Of Your Sparks

Hello and we hope you enjoyed your Labor Day here in the U.S.
and

Labour Day
in Canada.

Quiet day here in Memphis...



We have also been invited to "TAKE THE INTERVIEW"
over at Blog Interviewer. This is new to us, but hell, we will play along!
You can see the interview and rate THE COUCH by using this link...




I was tagged for this by Mimi....

Here are the rules straight from Gracie's site.

1. Copy and paste the story below, and the rules, on your blog.
2. Find out who you're going to tag. (2-3 people, or more, if you wish)
3. Write one or two sentences to continue the story, and use the titles of the blogs you're tagging or any word(s) associated with them as keywords in the links you include in your part of the story.
4. Remember to tell your taggees that you've tagged them!
5. Feel free to use this and start your own viral link story. I'd very much appreciate a link back to Mothers Home! if you do. (Or a tag, if you prefer!) Note: I think she means IF you start your own viral story please credit her; otherwise, just continue the story with other taggees.

Mothers Home! the cave troll yelled. I have been out all day strangling chickens like CRAZY! for the evil Empress. All i want now is a MOment to myself, but i keep getting Linda talking Drivel, but that is better than a certain someone Mooing.Then suddenly what should appear but the NOT evil Empress and all her strangled chickens and Mags cooked them all up and made us a lovely cake to eat. Gracie wanted all the cake for herself but the NOT evil Empress was able to hack off a good sized slab for herself!!! ha ha ha Gracie belched loudly after eating all the scrumptious cake that Mags had baked and watched Callie scrappin' with Sarge about who was gonna win Big Brother 8. Sarge started humming "Dixie," and almost choked on the bite of cake in his mouth! So he got some coffee to go to wash down the cake. The coffee helped a bit but he had to vocalize before he started singing again so he began, "Mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi...".............


......who heard him all the way from Bloggingham Palace and said "Where is that awful noise coming from? Is there a sick wailing Wacky Mom loose in the woods?" She said, "I'll bet Songbird can teach him to sing!" but she was busy BONDing in the desert with Kathleen who sat writing heresy in her diary. She was absolutely no help. So Mi-Mi asked Kat to put him on the PP&P list to save his sorry soul. Alas, Ralph the Airhead made a new batch but the Patti - cakes fell in Polliwog's Pond and nobody got to eat cake after all! It was all Bee's fault (somehow). Feeling sorry for herself, she pranced over to Odat's for a dance but she only heard strange mumbling........

Where was the mumbling coming from she thought, and proceeded to keep following it over to THE COUCH to find Travis sitting there. "Why has no one invited me for cake...no cake...no cake..." Mi-Mi sat down and consoled him, then had an idea. She packed some luggage and called Anndi to come bring some cake for the lone wolf. DanaandBethany called out saying "Don't forget us, we hate being forgotten and we always have breakfast." More luggage was packed and just before they left Anndi said "WAIT! There is no way we can go find cake withour some Jewels and Junque", and she grabbed Julie from THE COUCH and the six of them began their journey. "I bet Taylor has some cake", said DanaandBethany. "You think Taylor has everything," replied Julie, "but if anyone knows, it is our friend Turn, because you know it is all about as the world turns." And the friends began their journey...



A few nice trinkets sent our way this week, and we certainly appreciate them.

It seems Skittles began this one, and Mimi has awarded it to us...we are supposed to pass it on...but before we do, this is what is said about this award...

"This award is for bloggers who shine their light throughout the Blogosphere. Some do it with humor, others with creativity, and others with their kind and thoughtful natures. We all know more than a few of them so why not give them some recognition?"

TRAVIS: He writes poetry, he writes about dancing, he shares his seeming limitless library with us all. But what he really does is entertain and enlighten...

DANA: The journeys of a single mom and her unique way of looking at the world has opened our eyes to a whole new world and we are always appreciative of that.

SPARKY DUCK: Yes, he is a Red Saux fan, but today we lay down the weapons and offer an open hand. From the 50 hotties of the U.S. (one for each state), to his open honest discussions regarding the world around us, he is a must read every day.



This one, we are totally embarrassed over. Why is that? because in our cloudy existance, we have totally forgotten who awarded it to us. Maybe we do not deserve it because of that, but we hope the awarder will let us know....sheesh...brain cramps.....

UPDATED: We bow head in deep shame as it was our dear Sugarbaby Dixie who bestowed upon me this wonderful award...Dear friend, we are so very very sorry...as we said just a case of BRAIN CRAMPS!




Mentioned this on Friday...but today it is official.

Without all of our guests who sit here, this never would have occured and we
certainly never ever thought we would get here...but


400TH POST HERE ON THE COUCH


It is a LABOR (LABOUR) of love for us
and we can only thank you all for you encouragement, love, honesty and ideas.

On that note, the discussion that went on here on THE COUCH
last week regarding the 'coddling of our students'
was one of the best we have ever had here.


We have some of the most intelligent, passionate guests in the Bloggosphere

SMOOCHES
GROPES
HUGS
AND A STREET LOAD OF LOVE
TO EACH OF YOU TODAY!




The Doors
"LOVE STREET"
Waiting For The Sun
1968 - Elektra Entertainment

Jim Morrison - Vocals
Robby Krieger - Guitar
Ray Manzarek - Piano & Organ
John Densmore - Drums


She lives on love street
Lingers long on love street
She has a house and garden
I would like to see what happens
She has robes and she has monkeys
Lazy diamond studded flunkies
She has wisdom and knows what to do
She has me and she has you
She has wisdom and knows what to do
She has me and she has you
I see you live on love street
Theres this store where the creatures meet
I wonder what they do in there
Summer Sunday and a year
I guess I like it fine, so far
She lives on love street
Lingers long on love street
She has a house and garden
I would like to see what happens
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la



Coming up this week on DR. BLOGSTEIN'S RADIO HAPPY HOUR: (Live on Tuesday September 4th at 9PM ET and forever archived at BlogTalkRadio.)

Dr. B and Dangerous Lee will have to regulate when legendary rapper Warren G stops by to hang out with the Radio Happy Hour.

The man who discovered Snoop Dogg and helped create the g-funk sound of West Coast rap is now mentoring actress Countess Vaughn on the new MTV series Celebrity Rap Superstar.

Also, from the O.G. to the O.Ph.? Dave Raymond was the first man to don the infamous Phillie Phanatic costume to entire Philadelphia baseball fans. Now, he's the president of the Mascot Hall of Fame. He'll join us to announce this year's inductees. Of course, the Radio Happy Hour is endorsing Mr. Met!

All that, plus an update from pop star and past Radio Happy Hour guest Samantha Falk, a forecast from Justin the Weatherman, level headed commentary from Vinny from his big leather couch and if we're lucky, a coherent thought from Phil.

And remember this is your show too. To speak to the hosts or any of the guests just dial 646-652-4804.

Join us live every Tuesday night at 9PM ET . And if you miss us then, we're ALWAYS ON at www.DrBlogstein.com .




Music On The Couch