Thursday Thirteen: Our kids go Gangnam Style. We had hairy armpits.

My kids asked me to crank up the satelleite radio in the car last week when the K-pop song “Gangnam Style” by Korean rapper Psy came on.  My kids love the song that over 900 million people have viewed on YouTube and it got me thinking about a couple of things.  First off, what is “Oppa Gagnam Style” and secondly, what other songs made it huge internationally which were not in English. 

So I thought this week’s Thursday Thirteen should focus on the thirteen non-English songs that have “made it” over here in Canada in the past 50-60 years.  Surprisingly, there are not that many, Gangnam Style aside…  You should, however, recognize each song on this list and if you’re not sure about the song, head over to You Tube, watch the video, and you’ll be sure to recognize it.

Before we get to the list, however, for those of you who may not know, “Oppa Gangnam Style” is funny because it makes fun of the gangnam district – a very wealthy district in Seoul, South Korea – and how people who frequent that district are known for their frivolous spending of  their money and that they order people around.  These people really abuse their wealth and allow their children to go out partying, creating chaos wherever they go because they know their parents money is going to get them out of trouble.  It’s about the uber-privilidged and their bratty children.

On to the Thursday Thirteen…  Please sit back, take out the bell-bottomed jeans, hide away the 8-track, and check your armpits for hair and let’s go! 

13. Trio’s ‘Da Da Da’ (from the VW commercial)

12. Austrian Rock group Falco who had hits in Austrian with Der Komissar, and Rock Me

Psy’s Gangnam Style

Amadeus

11. Los Lobos with the huge hit “La Bamba”

10. “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” (German for “I am a foreigner”, by Pop Will Eat Itself, from 1994.  

9.  “Numa Numa” by O-Zone

8.  “Bailamos” byEnrique Iglesias

7.  French-Canadian hottie, Mitsou, and one of her hits, “Bye Bye Mon Cowboy”

6. ”Oye Como Va” by the legend Carlos Santana

5.  For the hard rock / heavy metal lovers, there is “Du hast” by Rammstein.

4.  The ’90s music scene saw the pop success of the Chanting Monks, who chanted in Latin

3.  Enigma’s “Sadeness (Part 1)”.  You know this song for sure…  

2.  “Bamboleo” by The Gypsy Kings

1.  ”99 Luftballoons” by Nena.  Did you know that Nena was not the name of the woman who sang the song, but the name of the band?  And how many of you remember the German version video, where ts wearing either black or red leather pants, and a black tank top, and she danced with her arms over her head and for us prudish North Americans, all the talk was about her very natural hairy armpits. 

Honourable mention to:

“Macarena” by Los Del Rio, which is sung partly in English.

The Ole Ole Ole song they sing at soccer games.

Related articles

• Here’s The English Translation Of ‘Gangnam Style’ (businessinsider.com)

Have You Heard About the C.C. Mixed & Ready Canadian Cover Challenge?

Let me first get something off my chest.

I love Canadian music!

There.  I said it.  From Platinum Blonde to Colin James, Bryan Adams to Shania Twain, Alanis Morisette to Amanda Marshall.  Old, new… Headstones, Nickleback, Andrew Scott, Tragically Hip, Gowan, Our Lady Peace, rock, pop, country, jazz… I love Canadian music and support the artists where possible by buying their music on iTunes and in the olden days, buying their CD’s (and even older their records and 45′s).

So when the Canadian Club, C.C.® Mixed & Ready Cover Challenge launched June 29th, I jumped at the opportunity to participate in this wonderful event which provides a platform for undiscovered Canadian talent to cover one of 5 unique Canadian songs and compete to be noticed for doing the best cover.

I checked out the uploads last week and I have to be honest, these bands are fantastic!   It’s going to be a great contest!

The songs being covered are;

• Steal my Sunshine by Len
• Superman’s dead by Our Lady Peace
• Striptease by Hawksley Workman
• Fat Lip by Sum 41
• Pullin’ Punches by the Arkells.

Here is how the C.C. Mixed & Ready Cover Challenge works:

Beginning June 28^th, 2012, Canadian bands are invited to submit their covers on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CanadianClubCanada).  They have until August 27, 2012 for the chance to win an opportunity to have three of their demo songs recorded, mixed and mastered in Toronto, plus $3,000 for band gear and / or transit to Toronto for the recording session.

Winners will be selected based on a combination of Facebook voting (25%) and C.C. Mixed & Ready’s judging panel (75%), consisting of music industry experts and brand representatives of which I will proudly be involved.

The winning submission will be announced by September 15, 2012.

The Canadian Club Canada’s Facebook page will contain, in addition to the clips, comments on the bands, feedback, tweets on the event by Canadian Club insiders and the general public, as well as information about some C.C. Mixed & Ready live music events being held in Ontario and Alberta in August featuring some great Canadian bands.

C.C. Mixed & Ready Music Events:

Ontario:

• Thursday, August 16^th to Sunday, August 19^th: The Havelock Country Jamboree, featuring Creedence Clearwater Revival and Lynyrd Skynyrd -  Havelock, Ontario
• Saturday, September 1^st and Sunday, September 2^nd: Saugeen Summer Nights featuring Hawksley Workman – Clifford Ball Park Arena, Clifford, Ontario

Alberta:

• Thursday, August 2^nd to Sunday, August 5^th: Big Valley Jamboree, featuring Blake Shelton , Toby Keith and Rascall Flatts, Camrose, Alberta
• Saturday, September 1^st: X-Fest, featuring fun., Silversun Pickups, MuteMath, Incubus, Young the Giant, The Joy Formidable, Linkin Park and more, Calgary, Alberta
• Sunday, September 2^nd: Sonic Boom featuring fun., Silversun Pickups, MuteMath, Incubus, Young the Giant, The Joy Formidable, Linkin Park and more, Edmonton, Alberta

C.C. Mixed & Ready will wrap the summer at a special concert event in Toronto, headlined by an exciting Canadian band.  Details on this concert to be revealed in late-July.

About the Product:

As a bonus to being involved in this contest I received a care package from the fine folks at Matchsticks.ca which contained a product I have never heard of, the Canadian Club’s new C.C. Mixed & Ready drink, designed to expand Canadian whisky into the ready-to-drink market and capture interest from consumers who are new to the world of whisky.    The brand focused on the most popular mixes – Ginger Ale and Cola – to create a convenient, refreshing ready-to-drink option.  CC and Ale happens to be my go to drink, so this was a welcomed treat and a fantastic product considering Ready-to-drink beverages are becoming increasingly popular, having risen in volume by almost 4% globally in 2011 over 2010.

In case you are wondering how you missed this product, Canada, it’s because it was test-marketed in Alberta in 2011 and is currently available in Ontario and Alberta in 473 mL cans for approximately $2.95 and 355 mL 6-packs for approximately $12.95.

Feel free to join and follow the conversation: #mixedandready.

The Fine Print:

C.C. Mixed & Ready Cover Challenge contest is open to residents of Canada (not including Quebec) who are of legal drinking age, of course.

So if you are interested in uploading a song, you had better get moving!   And if you appreciate Canadian music and wish to check out some up and coming bands and lend some support and encouraging words, come by.

Related articles

• Canadian Club toasts history and tradition (lfpress.com)

Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Iconic Canadian Bands according to Supernova CEO Elliott Hurst and me!

 

I am a born and raised Torontonian and as a result, I grew up listening to AM and FM radio which under Canadian regulations were required to play a percentage of Canadian music.  Due to that ruling which I believe is still in place, I became fond of Canadian acts such as; Platinum Blonde, Glass Tiger, Gowan, Mitsou, Triumph, the Box, TPOH, and the list goes on.

When discussing music around my office, with so few people as, ahem, aged as I am, and so many 1st and second generation immigrants, they have no idea who Canadian bands are, so I thought about creating a list – checking it twice with the help of Supernova CEO Elliott Hurst, and sharing some Canadiana with my readers.

If you are Canadian, you should recognize at least half of this list regardless of what kind of music you listen to.

If you are a non-resident of Canada, you should recognize 3 bands on this list.

Can you guess which ones?

So here are the 13 most iconic Canadian bands, and some honourable mentions.  For each band I have attached a YouTube link to probably their most memorable song and the name of that song;

1. Rush – http://youtu.be/U7DFsBcVMDA - Tom Sawyer

2. The Tragically Hip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE2joQsWXJg - Ahead By A Century

3. Guess Who – http://youtu.be/gkqfpkTTy2w - American Woman

4. Arcade Fire – http://youtu.be/NNfWC4Sgkcs - Rebellion (Lies)

5. BTO (Bachman Turner Overdrive) – http://youtu.be/NCIUf8eYPqA - Takin’ Care of Business

6. The Band – http://youtu.be/-WoI95PTizs - Don’t Do It.

7. Max Webster / Kim Mitchell – http://youtu.be/WUhc8-vUp8o -> Max Webster’s Paradise Skies.  Kim Mitchell’s Go For Sode –> http://youtu.be/ymORCbgSyEA

8. April Wine – http://youtu.be/hoSVPiuNqHM - Could Have Been a Lady

9. Triumph – http://youtu.be/yahBtp_1jWE - Follow Your Heart (LOVE this song!!!)

10. Steppenwolf – http://youtu.be/xm5DPlNCmtk - Born to be Wild. 

11. Barenaked Ladies – http://youtu.be/wPh_6_u98tI - 7, 8, 9.

12. Blue Rodeo – http://youtu.be/7vw3jUZo9FQ - Try

13. Our Lady Peace – http://youtu.be/O94CW_tIEzU - Starseed

 

Honourable Mentions:

Chilliwack – http://youtu.be/yahBtp_1jWE

Trooper  – http://youtu.be/STiuregSvHg 

Billy Talent – http://youtu.be/RPg63uxYwN0

Saga – http://youtu.be/gx7XbV82JfQ

I Mother Earth – One More Astronaut – http://youtu.be/8cZT4vYiMxU

Sloan – http://youtu.be/tirqAVBoHFI

Honeymoon Suite – http://youtu.be/1_1AhimnRT0

Glass Tiger – http://youtu.be/Dl1DtF_5dkU

The Pursuit of Happiness – http://youtu.be/pSDF8VvU13M

My personal favourite band – Platinum Blonde – http://youtu.be/I4SOnBDe7qs

The Headstones.- http://youtu.be/BukWT54Cv4U

Tom Cochrane and Red Rider - http://youtu.be/uqUa_G1h3pw

Great Big Sea – http://youtu.be/f-oC-kNtPTs

Nickelback – http://youtu.be/BxgeSv88c2w

So, what do you think?  Have you listened to any of these songs?  Did you recognize the bands?  Who makes your list?

So you want children, eh?

So… You really want children, eh?  I certainly did.  Now that I’m exhausted and running around every weekend taking the three of them to birthday parties, I have a different perspective on how to keep these kids from beating each other up on a daily basis.

Here are some things the kids have done in the past few days which I had to share.

The other night after Stewie went to bed, I heard music coming from Linus’ room.  I walked inside and there he was sitting on rug in the middle of his room, clock radio playing some am radio station, and his little sister Berry dancing in front of him.

“Change the station, Daddy”, he said.  “Put on something with a Rockstar” he said as he strummed his imaginary guitar. 

I put Q107 and Enter Sandman was playing .  He stood up and started dancing with his sister.  Then he got down on the floor and started break-dancing.  I was laughing but I sat down on the edge of the bed to watch.  The highlight was when he got off the floor and said to Berry, “your turn” at which point she lay down on the carpet and began breakdancing too. 

Hilarious.

The kids and I danced for a couple more songs, then we all went off to bed.

 

Tonight after having a going-to-bed snack Berry was laying on our bed with my wife.  We have developed a routine to get Berry into her crib without freaking out.  I ask her who is in her bed, and her and I name off the stuffed animals sleeping in her crib. 

Tonight as I picked her up off the bed she reached out to her arms, looked me straight in the eyes, and said to me “dumb ass”.

Still resenting that brilliant idea of mine to teach her those words.

 

This morning Linus was annoying me, our nanny and his brother – par for the course.  He had a piece of “mail” in his hand – something written on lined paper folded in four and with a sticker of the Thing on it.  I was running around trying to get him ready for school – Stewie was too sick to go but then decided he was going and I had a lot on my mind so when he tried to give me the mail, I waved him off.  I’m pretty sure he tried again but I ignored him on that too. 

Fast forward to this afternoon, I found that piece of mail in my laptop bag.  It was the letter.  I opened it up and it read;

“I love you”.

I looked at it.  I choked up.

I thought about him the whole way home and when he greated me at the door I gave him a huge hug and a kiss and told him I loved him too.

Kids…

 

Thursday Thirteen: Audience participation required

Hello readers.

I need some help completing this week’s Thursday Thirteen.  I compare this task to that of playing CityVille on Facebook, where you reach out to your neighbours for missing pieces in order to complete a building or task.  While today I need all of you to assist me.

As you may or may not know, my taste in music is… well… different.  I like loud, hard rock, but also Canadian music, female artists and some classical and some jazz (Dr. Andrew Scott, for example – look him up, he’s Canadian too).  So it only makes sense that I got stumped when trying to figure out 13 songs that have a count-down in them, or a count-up.

I asked Elliott Hurst of Supernova.com and he gave me a bunch of alternative songs, but do you think I wrote them down?!?  Heck no.  But Elliott gave me a good idea, that being, to reach out to you guys to help me out. 

So please, have a look at the below, and feel free to watch the video on youtube in order to verify.

Let’s begin! 

Thirteen Songs that have a countdown in them.

13. Major Tom – David Bowie / Ziggy Stardust

12. Saliva – Survival of the Sickest – 1-2 a 1-2-3-4

11. Rocket by Def Leppard – 5-4-3-2-1, we’ve got lift-off.

10. Patience by Guns ‘n’ Roses – 1-2 ah, 1-2-3-4 (whistling begins)

9. Pussy Liquor by Rob Zombie – 1,2,3…

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Honorable mention:

Thank you all for taking the time to chime in with your suggestions.

Thursday Thirteen – 90′s edition!

 As a result of a successful thursday thirteen last week on inventions of the 80′s we jump forward a decade to the 90′s for a look at the 13 best things to come out of that decade.

So put on your grunge clothing and sit tight.

1. 1990 – The World Wide Web and Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) created by Tim Berners-Lee.
2. 1992 – First text message sent, “Merry Christmas”.
3. 1993 - The Pentium processor invented.
4. 1995  – The Java computer language invented.
5. 1995  – DVD’s invented… Finally sold shares in VHS and Beta.
6. 1998 - Viagra invented.  No stiff competition there, eh?
7. 1996 – Scientists in Scotland cloned a sheep – called her Dolly.  Still waiting for dinosaurs.
8. 1999 – Napster invented and radically changed the file-sharing industry forever.
9. 1996 - USB’s introduced
10. 1997 - Wifi standard released. Now, it’s everywhere.
11. 1996 - Tamagotchi’s
12. 1990′s grunge music – Pearl Jam, lice in Chains, Nirvana, STP, Soundgarden
13. Stone Temple Pilots – 1992 “Core”. 1994 “Purple”. 1996, “Tiny music….Songs From The Vatican Giftshop”. 1999 “No. 4″

Other things the 90′s are “famous” for;

Backstreet Boys
N’Sync
Pagers
Baseball caps being worn everywhere
Beanie Babies
Harry Potter

What about the 90′s means the most to you?

Temple Sinai event: Jews and the Jazz they made

I had the opportunity on Friday November 19th to attend an event at Temple Sinai in Toronto, called Jews and the Jazz they made.  One of the main reasons I wanted to go was because it was arranged by a friend of mine, Dr. Andrew Jacob Scott, a guitarist / arranger and composer who has released 3 internationally recognized CD’s.  Dr. Andy, as I call him, has lectured at universities and for conferences across North america and has been published on the subjects of jazz and popular music. 

I sat right up at the front and not only did I thoroughly enjoy the hour of fantastic music and interesting discussion surrounding how Jews wound up in Jazz and to the same extent the Blues, but I got to see first hand how amazing Dr. Andy is on the guitar.  His hands were moving so fast and the music… Amazing… I’m speechless. 

Dr. Andy (no surgery, please, he’s a doctor of music) brought with him 3 other fantastic musicians; Mark Eisenman, Shelly Berger and Barry Romberg.  Even Cantor Gershon Silins got into the act, singing on a couple of songs.  I can speak for all those who attended when I saw that Shelly Berger attacked the bass and at times played with his eyes closed, by the feel of the instrument.  He received numerous ovations as did Barry Romberg who was magnificant on the drums.  Mark Eisenman was wonderful on the piano but it was Andrew Scott who stood out with his magical fingers and beautiful music.

… and all in all, the event was way more than I could have ever anticipated.  I would definitely have paid for this event – which was free courtesy the Carl Mendelsohn Family Endowment Fund.  The house was packed and as I looked around I think each and every person was toe tapping enjoying the music.  There was a buzz in the air and at the end of the event people were raving about what they had just witnessed.  A wonderful way to end a long week of work

Some non-music highlights from this night;

• I had a card for the event stating it was to start at 8pm, so when I arrived at 8:30pm, I was shocked / pleasantly pleased to see 3 other people in the room, so I walked in, stood there and blurted out to Dr. Andy, “Are there any good seats left?!?”  I then went and sat with his wife and MIL. 
• As the event began, the Cantor made a speech that someone left their car running in the parking lot.  It stayed running throughout the show.  The driver did not want to miss a beat!
• Listening to Dr. Andy play and talk about the music he was playing reminded me of the many walks we used to take together on the evenings and weekends with our boys, where Dr. Andy would enlighten me on the topics of music, marriage, politics, religion, sports and life.  We would walk and chat for hours… Then came our second kids, and third, and I moved twice since then… Ah, good times indeed.

All of the feedback I heard from the crowd was terrific and there were high compliments paid to Dr. Andy not only for his music and discussion but also for the fact that he composed a song for this event, he called “Flat Two Blues”. 

For more information on the congregation or to see some upcoming events (or for information on a wonderful young-families group), you can click here; www.templesinai.net

For more information on Dr. Andy, or to book him for your events, you can reach him here; www.andrewjacobscott.com

Top 10 Music for Daddies, from Urbandaddies.com

I came across this post on my twitter feed, @urbandaddyblog and decided to re-post in since I have not heard of any of these song and being a music guy too, I want to check them out.  Truth be told, I know #3 and #10 very well and like them both a lot!

According to www.urbandaddies.com, here is the essential top 10 songs for daddies.

1. Pearl Jam — Given to Fly: Possibly the greatest song by the greatest band out there. Epic in sound and stature, like the undulation of a wave.
2. Stevie Wonder — As: Seriously, I will reach through your computer monitor and smack you upside your raggedy head if you deny the genius of this song. Not to mention Herbie Hancock on the guitar.
3. The Arcade Fire – Wake Up: A song that begs the question about what we fill our lives with.
4. David Bowie — Space Oddity:“Here I am, floating in a tin can…” C’mon! You can’t not like this song. A song about stepping out, about new territory and open space.
5. Radiohead — Weird Fishes/Arpeggi: A positing of the metaphysical, and a soothing expanse, always with that glimmer of hope.
6. Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros — Johnny Appleseed: Street-wise, socially conscious music by a man who lived what he sung.
7. Mastodon — Sleeping Giant: If you’re my age, then you’ll appreciate the cheesy sci-fi video. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll appreciate the wall of sound that goes with it.
8. Fleet Foxes — White Winter Hymnal: One listen and you’ll know. It ties in the brilliant harmonies of old church hymns and folk music.
9. Mad Season — River of Deceit: Because it’s that good. A haunting voice from one of the greats.
10. Queens of the Stone Age — No One Knows: Precise, choppy guitars, and clean vocals. One of the greatest rock and roll songs from this decade.

http://www.urbandaddies.com/featured-1/top-10-songs-for-dads/

And no, we’re not related, and no, I’m not one of the urban daddies… I’m the urban daddy. 

But please, chime in with which ones you hate and which ones you like…

I alsways suspected that any list of music which claims to be dad-related would have the song Big Leagues by Tom Cochrane in it, but being an American site, they have probably never heard it… Hopefully they’ll come by and take note.

Thursday Thirteen – Guest Edition

This weeks Thursday Thirteen comes to us from a New York Yankee fan whose love of hard rock and children’s songs I can understand (the Yankee fan, I can not).

Orlando Rivera (no relation to Geraldo)

So here are his top thirteen hard rock cover songs.

I have heard and love a couple of them, like Turn the Page, Cars, Sweet Dreams and I’m Your Boogie Man. They are great, and I cannot wait to check out the others.

Thanks Orlando… Go Jays Go.

(Ahem… A-Fraud. A-Roid)

In no particular order:

13. Am I Evil (Diamond Head) by Metallica
12. Cars (Gary Numan) by Fear Factory
11. Turn the Page (Bob Seger) by Metallica
10. Fade to Black (Metallica) by Disturbed
9. One (Metallica) by Korn
8. Shout at the Devil (Motley Crüe) by Stuck Mojo
7. Cat Scratch Fever (Ted Nugent) by Pantera
6. No Quarter (Led Zeppelin) by Tool
5. Sweet Leaf (Black Sabbath) by Machine Head
4. Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics) by Marilyn Manson
3. Hall of the Mountain King (Edvard Grieg) by Apocalyptica
2. The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) by Nevermore
1. I’m your Boogie Man (KC and the Sunshine Band) by White Zombie

Addicted…

I heard this catchy song on XM Radio 116 – the kids station.

I cannot get it out of my head, nor can my wife…

So now I’ve posting the video for all of you to listen to, then share with your kiddies / friends.

Happy Noodle vs. Sad Noodle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IVKi78UxZw&feature=fvw

What do you think?  We’ve been singing it all week…