Wake Me Up When September Ends

September's almost over. Funny, but I feel kinda blah. Not that I'm supposed to feel something else. I guess I'm just kinda tired and still nursing a bit of a fever.

Anyway, while I'm writing this, I'm stuck with a very appropriate Green Day song in my head. Yep, you guessed it: Wake Me Up When September Ends.

I always get sad when I hear this song. Reminds me of when my dad passed away a couple of years ago. In between trips from the house to the hospital, from the hospital to the funeral, and from the funeral back to the house, this song was always on the radio.

Maybe that's why I have the blues right now...

Flashbacks

I grew up in the 80's, that time when people walked around in weird clothes and even weirder haircuts; when there were a bazillion different musical genres jockeying for dominance of the airwaves (I mean, we hand punk, oi, hardcore, goth, rockabilly, punkabilly, new wave, europop, noise pop, thrash metal; you name it); when most people still bought vinyl records and listened to them until they wore out. I was already a pimply teenaged social outcast when the music of bands like Cactus World News, Wire Train, The Smiths, Social Distortion, Husker Du, and a slew of other acts made up the catalogue of my music collection. Yeah, I'm an 80's kid. And am I glad.

80's music has, after twenty or so odd years, managed to retain its freshness despite what a lot of people might say. Want proof? Well, let's take a look at how some post-80's movies use 80's music to spice up their soundtracks.

1. The Wedding Singer

This early 90's movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore is set in 1985. Thus, it features music from that period: Elvis Costello and The Attractions ("Everyday I Write The Book"), Kajagoogoo ("Too Shy"), J. Geils Band ("Love Stinks"), and Culture Club ("Do You Really Want To Hurt Me", which, by the way, was hilariously covered ad nauseum by Sandler's onscreen in-house Boy George named, well, George) to name a few.

It seems to me that Sandler had more than a little to do with choosing the songs that went in this romantic comedy as the guy evidently really loves 80's music. (I guess he grew up in the 80's, too) I mean, in his next team up with Barrymore, the soundtrack again screams 80's. Which brings us to the next entry...

2. 50 First Dates

The second Sandler-Barrymore team-up is sweet and funny. Again, it features reggae-fied versions of popular 80's songs. Let's see... there was this Thompson Twins song, the title of which escapes me. And... Darn, I can't remember the other songs in the soundtrack! I'll have to watch the damn thing again to remember them all.

3. Sky High

This Disney-produced movie about a high school for superheroes-in-the-making stars kids who were most probably born around the time the 80's were already drawing to a close. Thus, they probably have no idea about where the hell the songs on the soundtrack came from. At any rate, the songs featured in Sky High were not the original versions but covers of beloved 80's songs: Everybody Wants To Rule The World (originally by Tears For Fears), Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (originally by The Smiths), and I Melt With You (originally by Modern English) to name a few.

I guess we should be expecting more movies which feature 80's music (either the originals or just covers) in their soundtracks. Why? Because those kids who grew up in the 80's - guys like me - are now the movers in show business today. Hah! That means, we call the shots now! So, when we say we wanna put on a Billy Idol song in the background of a tender and romantic wedding scene, nobody can stop us!

Jeez, does this mean we are now the adults that a lot of 80's teen-oriented movies despised?

Dead Air and Mayhem

It's been pretty quiet here for the past couple days. My monitor conked out on me, leaving me scouting for a new one at the nearest mall. And, I have been down with something for the past couple of days. Tonight, I came home from work shivering harder than a naked man in the middle of the North Pole. I hate it when I get fever chills like that. I'm a bit better now though, thank you very much.

Anyway, these past few days, I've been on a muppet bender. I mean, a real serious muppet bender. I must admit, much of my pre- and grade school years were spent immersed in the happy, sad, and sometimes off-the-wall songs from my main nannies: Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and the Muppet Show.

The past few days, I've been an avid visitor at YouTube, scouting out classic S.S., T.E.C., and T.M.S. "music videos". I found the one on "Lower Case N", a story about loneliness and of finding "The One", set against the strumming of a sad and maudlin acoustic guitar. I also found the one on "Capital I" which is a fairy tale song about - what else - the capital letter I which is situated "in the middle of the desert, in the center of the sky". The real gems, however, were the ones featuring the one and only muppet rock n roll band: The Electric Mayhem.

Before there were virtual bands like Gorillaz, there was The Electric Mayhem. Having been saddled with the dues-paying task of being the house band for Kermit The Frog's Muppet Show, The Electric Mayhem dished out a lot of ear candy for many of the show's musical numbers. What's more, they're one hell of a multi-talented bunch. You can catch several members performing solo and taking part in a lot of crazy sketches. Who are The Electric Mayhem anyway? The line-up stands thus:

1. Dr. Teeth - band leader, lead vocals, keyboards, gold tooth
2. Janice - lead guitar, back-up vocals, pouting lips, blonde hair, in-house-funny-girl
3. Floyd - bass, dark glasses, cool-guy-presence
4. Zoot - sax, fuzz-out-man
5. Animal - drums, destruction, demolition

Occasionally, the band is joined onstage by Rolf (the brown dog) on piano, or by some other musical artist-guest who isn't afraid to rock out with a bunch of muppet musicians. And there have been a lot.

Anyway, there was this video on YouTube featuring the band doing Paul Simon's 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, with Floyd singing lead. While I'm not a huge fan of Paul Simon, I wouldn't say I don't like his work. The Electric Mayhem's cover of this particular Paul Simon song showed a different side of the band, especially Animal. I mean, he was playing soft shuffles on his snare! Usually, he would demolish his drum kit a la Keith Moon. But in this particular number, wow, he really showed some neat chops. On top of that, jamming beside him was Rizzo the Rat playing some percussion thingie. (My favorite Rizzo quote: "Don't forget. 'Rats' spelled backwards is 'Star'!")

Floyd was, as usual, laid back in his delivery of the song. Laid back but still pouring out the potent emotions found in the original. Janice looked quite pensive during the entire number (but still got around to providing cool back-up vocals). I found it a bit unusual though that Dr. Teeth and Zoot were nowhere onstage. Rolf, however, made a hilarious cameo onstage in the middle of the song!

I know talking about a bunch of muppet musicians may sound a bit stupid. But, hey, what do you call it when people rave about a band like Gorillaz, huh?

I guess I just miss the songs I grew up with.

Rain Rain Rain

Waking up to rainy morning always really makes me feel like ditching work, staying at home, and just vegging out. It's been raining for most of the day, which is fine with me. I've always considered perfect weather to have downcast skies and dark clouds with a slight drizzle.

Today's weather got me thinking: how many songs have been written about rain? I know there's been a lot. But off the bat, how many can you name? And who sang them?

While I was at work today, I made up a small list in my head of all rain songs I can remember. Let's take a look at it. By the way, this list is in no particular order.

1. Purple Rain by Prince
2. Blame It On The Rain by Milli Vanilli
3. Rhythm Of The Rain by The Cascades
4. Rain In The Summertime by The Alarm
5. November Rain by Guns n Roses
6. Crying In The Rain by A-Ha
7. Rain by Dragon
8. Have You Ever Seen The Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by Burt Bacharach
10. Singing In The Rain by Gene Kelly
11. Kiss The Rain by Billie Myers
12. So. Central Rain by R.E.M.
13. After The Rain by Nelson
14. Rain by The Beatles
15. Rain On The Scarecrow by John Cougar Mellencamp

I guess that's it. Can't think of any more rain songs. I would have liked to say a little something about each song... but it already stopped raining outside. Yeah, it kinda ruined the mood.

But hey, there'll always be other rainy days. So until then...

The Eye Wakes Up

Welcome to Sonic Eye.

This is my little corner in cyberspace where I can talk about music, musicians, and everything else that has something to do with - well - music and the artists that make them.

Though I intend to dedicate this site to mostly stuff about music, I may occasionally segue into such disparate topics as movies, pet peeves, people, this, that, and everything else - if I feel like it. I mean, what the hey - I have the space; might as well make the most of it, right?

Right.

I grew up always liking music. Lots of different kinds of music. I consciously started to like listening to music when I was around five. I'd turn on the TV and watch some cheesy movie stupidly chugging along to some equally cheesy soundtrack. Being that young, I really didn't care if the songs sucked. In fact, I had no clue at all if a song actually sucked. I just watched and listened. (I guess I was one of the early prototypes for the zombies that would eventually become collectively known as the MTV generation.)

A year later, I discovered The Beatles. An uncle who was visiting brought a copy of A Hard Day's Night. I was fascinated by the sleeve art. I thought the multiple-photo montage of the Fab Four at the album's back cover was the coolest thing ever. I actually didn't know who The Beatles were at that time. What I did know was that they sounded really great to my uninitiated 7-year old ears. They still do.

Then I discovered Elvis. (Don't laugh, but back when he still wasn't crowned by the money-grubbing music industry as The King, Elvis Presley was actually everything the press eventually hailed him to be: fresh, trailblazing, dangerous, mean, moody, and magnificent.)

I actually kind of accidentally "ran into" Elvis (and, unknowingly, into rockabilly music as well) one day while switching channels on the old black-and-white TV. I think I saw him first on one of those reruns that TV stations show between 7 to 9 a.m. Anyway, there he was: dressed in black leather, hair slicked back into a neat pompadour, an acoustic guitar on his lap, his ass parked on a tall stool. He was on this tiny stage with his backing band (which, if I remember correctly, still included guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black - I dunno) and was surrounded 360 degrees by the audience. Man, he ran through a lot of his early hits: the ones he made when he was still with Sun Records and his early RCA chart toppers. Later on, I would catch The King in reruns of the movies (aaargh! those dreaded movies!) he made during the 60's. Still later, in 1977, I would hear that he had died of a (cough!) heart attack.

My musical education didn't stop with the passing of The King though. I spent the later part of the 70's listening to music representing genres and styles that were totally new to me. I got hooked for a time on ELO (that's Electric Light Orchestra, whose members were from the defunct psychedelic 60's band The Move) and their radio hit "Midnight Blue". In fact, "Midnight Blue" was the first 45 I ever bought. I was also introduced to Queen, Freddie Mercury, and Bohemian Rhapsody. (To this day, it still blows my mind wondering how just four dudes could actually sound like the entire cast of an opera!) Snippets of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Wings, Cheap Trick, Boston, and a host of other hot bands of the 70's managed to make their way into my consciousness (thanks to an older cousin). Everything sounded new, everything sounded different. So, like a sponge, I took it all in. But I wasn't aware that the best musical kick-in-the-head I'll ever have was still to come.

Around 1979, a song came out that featured snappy drumwork, off-the-wall lyrics, weird 60's-like surf guitar riffs, go-go girl backup vocals, and a deadpan drawl of a male lead singer. Welcome to the world of "New Wave Rock"! "Rock Lobster" by Athens, GA band The B-52's (from their eponymous "Yellow Album") gave me an intoxicating dose of quirkiness, hip riffs, and addictive hooks. This was followed by another New Wave assault that boasted of an ultra-tight groove and an enjoyably long and addictive guitar solo. The Knack's "My Sharona" effectively sealed the coffin on my Classic Rock past. This was it, I thought. Nothing can probably top what these guys do. And, most people I know don't like this stuff! Perfect!

However, with the advent of the 80's, I became adventurous and anxious in seeking out music that mainstream audiences wouldn't care to touch. I feverishly dug for the roots of this exhilerating new music. I wanted to find out: where did all this fantastic stuff come from?

Punk was, for me, the epiphany that would become a major guiding light in a lot of things I would eventually do. I know it sounds cheesy, but bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, Cockney Rejects, Husker Du, and a lot of other off-the-radar bands (well, as far as the environment I grew up in was concerned, they were off-the-radar) have influenced me in other ways aside from music. In fact the DIY ethos and the egalitarian mentality of the punk scene I still cherish to this day.

The 80's became the 90's. And, along with the return of bell-bottom pants came the rise (and fall) of grunge and "alternative music". Well, there were a lot of interesting bands that came out in the 90's. Lots of diversity, both in musical style and in the lyrical territory that the artists mined. But, compared to the mayhem, chaos, and experimentation of the bands from the 80's, the acts that came out in the 90's seemed to lack something. I dunno, it just seems that there was something missing.

With the coming of the new millennium, the direction of almost all musical acts these days is towards becoming "all-around family entertainers". Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that, for me, a rock n roll band is a bunch of guys (or girls) who set out to change the system, not to get swallowed by it.

Who knows? Things may still get interesting. I hope that somebody somewhere is getting bored of the complacency that ails the music scene today. That'll give guys like me a lot to write about again.