Who's Your Favorite Band?

Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler, Led Zeppelin, old Eagles before Joe Walsh, Black Sabbath & Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, Jethro Tull, and Rush just to name a few. Most of the players from them are still somewhat active but not as prolific as they once were.

I have the Led Zeppelin DVD, "How the West was Won". I had forgotten how great a band they were. More here if you're interested:

http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog/archives/000084.html

Christina and Robbie:
What in this world? Whoever heard of any of those singers and/or bands? Now why don't you turn on National Public Radio and listen to some really wonderful music. You'll be glad you did.

Mother, puh-lease!!

I heard a new Sarah MacLachlan song today and liked it a lot. It reminded me of how I used to have one of her CD's and how it was lost a long time ago. I miss that one.

Aminah bought the CD Dido and we play it on our way to school each morning. Dido has a beautiful voice and the music is very calming. I like anything by Enya or Andreas Vollenveider - my life is too busy to have the music I listen to be busy as well.

Patsy has the Dido CD. Doesn't do much for me but she loves it.

We also like soundtrack CD's. Some of my favorites are Local Hero, Last of the Mohicans, Crimson Tide, Shot at Glory, The Closer You Get, and The Right Stuff. I loaned my "Kill Bill" CD to Angela. The music without the visuals just doesn't do much for me although I like Nancy Sinatra's version of Bang, Bang.

I want the Dido cd too. I like that song that's playing right now on the radio. I just listened to my Sarah MacLachlan cd a few days ago. I can burn a copy for you, Janine. I'll bring it in at Thanksgiving, that is if I remember!

I listened to the Kill Bill CD going back across the bridge. I liked it ok. I like the Nancy Sinatra song and the whistling song that Darryl Hannah's scene used. I like Sarah Maclachlan, Indigo Girls, Matchbox 20, 10,000 Maniacs, and Def Leopard to name a few. Who has my Shania Twain CD? I went to play this weekend and couldn't find it. It's an old one- from about 7 years ago.

I am listening to Mark Knopfler right now. I have had that one in the player for about a week now. And Norah Jones, "Oh Brother, Whereart Thou". I don't know Dido. (Or at least, that I know of) Besides that Sarah CD, I am also missing one or two of my Lyle Lovett CD's. I still like to pop him in the player, along with Paul Simon, Natalie Merchant, Diana Krall, James Taylor(still), Tony Bennett, Santana, Cheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Shawn Colvin. Stop me now.

I also have a big collection of new age music. It is conducive to my yoga practice and I use it for meditation sometimes. I can barely stand to hear one of Enya's CD's because of playing it during my labor for Aaron. Listening to that one puts me in touch with that memory immediately.

What I still don't care for, though there are exceptions, is Country music. It makes me feel violent. Michael and I fight over radio stations all the time. He loves country music, and I like just about anything that WWOZ plays. It is multi-cultural music; latin rythms, african, cajun, celtic, and jazz in it's myriad of forms - fusion, traditional, dixieland. Listening to a country station one evening on the porch, one song after the other made me cry and think the world was an awful place; the one about the mother pleading with God to spare her 7 year old daughter, then right after that came the song about a little boy desperately trying to get his drunken father to walk straight. Give me a break!!

Are you listening to "Sailing to Philadelphia", Janine? His singing is quite nice but his songwriting and guitar-playing are without equal. He is in a class by himself.

I didn't know Michael liked country music. I know that feeling of violence and I agree. Since Phil is with Texas Roadhouse he's picked up a liking for some country music. He recently brought home a Toby Keith cd that he's obsessively playing that makes me feel violent! I do like some country too but I guess not the kind he likes.

I just bought the Matchbox Twenty cd. Jackson has a few favorite songs and his first ever was when he was 3 and he asked me not to change the station when an Enya song came on, he liked it and had heard it before. I was pretty impressed with that. I can't remember the name of the song but I liked it too.

When you people say "Nancy Sinatra," are you talking about Frank's daughter? And do you mean she is a current singer right now? I find that hard to believe. She and her dad had two hits forty years ago and I didn't know she ever sang again. Elvis Presley sang a beautiful ballad called "Old Shep." (I think.) Nobody ever heard it I suppose, but it had to do with a faithful and loyal old dog who passed away and the cowboy mourning him had to bury him out on the prairie. A song that can loosen your tear ducts for sure. And that's what I call real country. Nothing violent about that.

Yes, Mom, it is THAT Nancy Sinatra. She had one hit on her own (These Boots are made for Walking) and one with her father (Something Stupid) in the 60's. She sings a rendition of "Bang, Bang" on the "Kill Bill" soundtrack. She recorded it in the 60's/70's, too, but I think the "Kill Bill" version must have been remastered. It is too well done to be a 60's/70's record. It was originally a hit for Cher.

Yeah I'm not too sure about the National Public Radio either, but I am glad to see so many Kill Bill fans out there. Whenever my playslist plays Nancy Sinatra's "Bang, Bang" and the "whistle song" (as Angela put it), everyone gives me dirty looks. That's just because they haven't seen the movie though, so I let it slide.
As far as my favorite band is concerned, that is a toughy. I too am a fan of the classic rock, and enjoy Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles (pre and post Joe Walsh), Joe Walsh ("Life's Been Good" is a great song), Fleetwod Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens (thanks to my mom), and the list could go on. But a guy I have been listening to a lot lately is Jack Johnson. He is a folk artist and for anyone interested "Posters", "Flake", and "Bubble Toes" are pretty good.
Just a little side note from my 60's in America class...Led Zepplin's original name was The New Yardbirds. Jimmy Page named it that after his previous band, The Yardbirds broke up. After playing in a festival in England, a member of The Who told him they went down like a led balloon. They then proceeded to change their name to Led Zepplin. I thought it was interesting anyway. Eric Clapton was originally with The Yardbirds too.

Stephen,

You've been studying. The Yardbirds were before your time. Jeff Beck, another famous guitar player, was also a member of the Yardbirds. Beck replaced Clapton in the band. Page started out in the Yardbirds playing bass and switched to lead guitar when Beck left. They wrote and recorded a song called "The Train Kept Rolling", later made famous by Aerosmith. I have both versions. The Yardbirds version sucks.

I saw Led Zeppelin in the summer of 1970 (Don't do the math on that, Mom) at Municipal Auditorium. They didn't look any older than me.

I see why you are telling her not to do the math, Robbie. You would have been 13, and probably not allowed to go to concerts.

I have never been a big Led Zeppelin fan. I never really appreciated the falsetto voices of men, like them or the BeeGees or the one that sang "Sherry, Baby." I saw that guy recently on a PBS special bringing back the old-timers for a fund-raising. He can still hit the notes, though it isn't pretty to see.

I guess I should have said, "Don't do the math on that, Mom and Janine!". Mom and Dad didn't know much about concerts, then. That was OK with me. For me, they were about the music and the experience. The other stuff was just what I had to put up with if I wanted to see a concert.

Did I tell on you, Robbie? Sorry. I will tell on myself then. I saw Average White Band when I was 15 years old. That was my first concert of only about a half dozen or so that I have ever been to. My last was "Crosby, Stills, and Nash" 10 years ago. They were so loud, I had to go sit in the lobby. I had Julia in utero and she was kicking and moving something fierce. I don't think she was happy with all that loud music. I have seen James Taylor, Paul Simon, and David Bowie (that one was 25 years ago.) I have heard plenty of live music, locally, on those rare occasions when I get out. And also when I can stay up until the time they start playing.

How's this for variety? We were not allowed to go to concerts until we were 16. Two weeks before my 16th birthday on Friday night I saw Alice Cooper, the next night I saw John Denver. Mom found out and of course I got grounded for seeing Alice Cooper but not John Denver because Mom liked him! My first concert though was when I was probably 12 or 13 when Beth took me to see Sonny & Cher at the State Fair. Complete with Chastity on stage at the end of the show.

Being hard of hearing anyway, I don't mind the loud concerts. The louder the better as far as I'm concerned unless the sound starts bouncing off the walls as it used to in the old Met Center. Joan and I saw Elton & Billy Joel in April. Very staged show but still very good. I saw the Eagles on the "Hell Freezes Over" tour with excellent seats. That always helps my review of a show, whether or not I had good seats. The closest I ever got was 4th row center for Neil Young and 9th row center for Wings.

About concerts: I guess I'll go whole hog and tell on myself. I used to go to The Warehouse just about every summer weekend from age 15 on. The Warehouse was actually just exactly that. There was a stage at one end and some bleachers on the side and the rest was general admission standing-room-only. I saw ZZ Top, Foghat, Rush, and Blue Oyster Cult about 15 times each. I also saw UFO, Kiss, Alice Cooper, The Allman Bros, Queen, Mott the Hoople, Wet Willie, Humble Pie, Nazareth, Montrose, and any number of others that I can't remember any more.

At those concerts, Laura, I always made my way up to the front row (About 3 feet from the stage).

Add many more at the Municipal Auditorium, the Assembly Center in BR, the Centroplex in BR, the Superdome, and even the Sam Houston Colliseum in Houston (Cousin RJ got the tickets).

Laura is right. The louder, the better.

I used to go to a LOT of concerts. I had a friend who worked at the Wax Museum (record store and head shop) who always had extra tickets for us. Good ol' festival seating usually got me up close. I remember seeing Paul McCartney/Wings in June, 1976 a week before graduation. We skipped school at some point in April or May to go downtown to Dayton's to get tickets that of course, went on sale on a school day. Limit of 2 per person for a whole $7.00 each! I remember being horrified at the price since the usual concert price was about $4.00. Considering I worked at a burger joint for $1.90/hour that was a lot of money then. Let's see, how much did I just pay for Elton and Billy Joel???? You don't want to know!

At $1.90/hr, a Elton John - Billy John ticket is about a year's salary. :-)

Most of the concerts at the warehouse were $2-$4. I paid $75 or so for Mark Knopfler tickets a couple of years ago at the Saenger Theater. That was the most ever for me but it was worth it.

I saw "Foreigner" at the Warehouse when I was a teen. Maybe the same summer you were going every week. Did you see me? I always wore a bandanna in those days. I hated my hair. I have come to appreciate that I have rosanne rosannadanna hair when the humidity is high. I can give a weather report by how my hair is acting. Rock'n'roll hoochee koo.

No, I've never seen Foreigner.