Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus

As we cruise into Christmas, I will be offering up some posts that get to the root of the real meaning of the day. Enjoy this whimsically situated, but stunning performance of the Hallelujah Chorus

Top 100 Guitarists of All Time

I just had to embed this in a post so I can find it quickly in the future. This mix is nothing short of AWESOME! It will take two days to listen to, but it is worth it.

100 Greatest Guitarists Ever from alex_Sc on 8tracks.

The Hotdogman's Top Ten Favorite Lyrics of ALL TIME

I have always liked music. Back in the day, I had hundreds of albums. Then I migrated to CDs. Now I get all my music from a small device about the size of an old cassette tape (remember those).

 Over the years, I have heard my favorite tunes many times and there are some lyrics that just grab me every time. I have a list of my Top Ten Favorite Lyrics-with videos- for your enjoyment. Feel free to add one of your own in the comments section.

10. "I wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day!"
This song is the embodiment of what rock and roll is. Fun, fast, and loud. My toes always tap to this one. The first concert I ever went to was a KISS concert. I was seated in the eigth row and Gene Simmons spit blood on me from the rafters. I kept that shirt for years!



9. "Don't cry, don't brace your eye, it's only teenage wasteland."
Anger, energy and execution. One of my favorite "get psyched" tunes EVAH! I saw The Who three times, once in Milwaukee from front and center. Pete Townsend gave me a guitar pick!



8. "Nah, nah, nah, nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, Hey Jude"
It's hard to pick a Beatles lyric for this list-there are so many greats- but I remember my grandmother singing this one to me when I was just a kid. The Beatles had already broken up by the time I was five, so I never got to see them. I remember the day John Lennon was killed like it was yesterday; rest in peace, John.



7. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."
Another band that could make the entire list, but this one is still sound advice today. The building tension of the song from a haunting ballad into a soaring groove is just awesome. I sawThe Rolling Stones three times too; all three times it was in a big stadium and I was in the nosebleed seats. Mick Jagger looked like a little ant I was so far away.



6. "Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dreams"
I heard this song for the first time when I was about twelve years old and I immediately went out and bought the album. A sticker on the album cover said to "play this record LOUD." I did. A lot. I like all the Led Zeppelin tunes, but this is my favorite. I had tickets to see Led Zeppelin in Philadelphia in the fall of 1981, but John Bonham died and they cancelled the tour. My father in law saw them many times in small clubs in England before they got global. You gotta love it when your father in law is into Led Zeppelin



5. "Nembutal numbs it all, but I prefer ALCOHOL!"
The Clash exploded on the mainstream music scene with the album London Calling(which doesn't have a bad track on it) and the "album" lives on as one of the best ever put together by any band IMHO. This lyric and this track sums up The Clash for me: raucous, raunchy, witty and rockin'. I saw The Clash twice in concert: once at the Paradise in Boston before they got "big" and once at the now defunct Cape Cod Coliseum in a double header with Van Halen!



4. "I just want to fly, put your arms around me baby."
Sugar Ray isn't in the same category as the preceding bands, but this song came out when I met my wife and we danced to it (as only two brick footed crackers can) constantly when we were dating. It takes me back... I never saw Sugar Ray live, probably never will; but I love the song.



3. "No his mind is not for rent, To any god or government, Always hopeful, yet discontent, He knows changes aren't permanent, But change is"
Sheer poetry. I frigging LOVE Rush's music! I saw them twice back in the day. Once at the Boston Garden on the Moving Pictures tour and once at the Cape Cod Coliseum on the Subdivisions tour. They are awesome live; I may see them again some day because Rush STILL tours.



2. "Oh oh what I want to know is are you kind?"
Well, are you? I saw The Grateful Dead about twenty times back in the 1980's. My first Grateful Dead show was in the Spring of 1982 at the Providence Civic Center. I also saw The Grateful Dead at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, The Cape Cod Coliseum, Oxford Speedway and many other venues. What a long, strange trip it's been.



And now, the Hotdogman's number one favorite lyric of all time (and it may surprise you)....

"Nothing matters but the weekend, from a Tuesday point of view." and "Lunatics anonymous, that's where we belong!"
This song by The Kings was a one hit wonder in the early eighties. It's fun and carefree and who can argue the logic? I never saw The Kings live, but my friends and I wore this record out!



I had so much fun putting this post together, I am going to do another one in the future. Please leave a comment with your favorites!

On the Road Again

More CANNED HEAT!

Bulldozer Blues aka Going Up The Country

You've heard this song. I know you have. It's been in commercials, it was even in the closing credits of the movie "The Blind Side." The song was adapted from an old blues standard called "Bulldoze Blues".....

It's "Going up the Country" by Canned Heat!

It's catchy, danceable-you could even say it's "groovy man."

I LOVE this song. You gotta love the 60's. Enjoy.



Here's where the inspiration for the song came from, Bulldoze Blues:

Hey Hey it's the Suede Shoe Blues

Folks of a certain age will remember the Monkees-America's answer to the Beatles back in the 60's. They had a TV show with the catchy theme song that everyone recognizes as well as a lot of quality pop tunes that live on to this day.

What does this have to do with anything you ask?

Peter Tork, one of the original Monkees, has a band called Suede Shoe Blues and I went to see them last Friday night at my favorite local watering hole The Chicken Bone Saloon!

Tork looked a little worse for wear, but his band was solid and he seemed to know how to play both the keyboards and the guitar. Several Monkees classics were on the playlist as the band played I'm a Believer, A Little Bit You, Daydream Believer (twice-once in each set), a bluesy version of Last Train To Clarksville and the classic punk rock standard (first played by the Monkees) Stepping Stone.

There were about 150 people there and it was an older crowd as the cougar set (all former teenyboppers no doubt) was on the prowl. While the Monkees tunes were enjoyable due to the fact that there was authenticity, the blues numbers were just average. The Chickenbone Saloon gets a lot of blues bands and I've heard many that were better than Tork's ensemble.

Regardless, it was an enjoyable evening and it was lots of fun hearing the Monkees tunes. Here's a few to check out for yourself.

Independent Music

I know this gal, Dawn, from the Blogosphere who used to have a really funny blog. She shut it down and doesn't post anything anymore. She literally quit blogging.

WHY? Because she started a band, called Kittywhip. The band takes up all of her free time that she used to spend blogging. They're having some success and are playing out nearly every weekend. They've even written a song or two of their own. From what I understand, Kittywhip is doing very well. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that there are 3 totally hot babes in the band!


Kittywhip is like a lot of bands out there. Most bands have their small, local following and, while they may make very good music, they play on in relative obscurity. Back when I was a kid, bands dreamt of being "discovered" by a major record label, making an album (remember those?), going on tour and making millions of dollars. Many bands have the same dream today, but the internet has leveled the playing field.

I live in the Boston area and Boston has always had a pretty vibrant local music scene. I knew a lot of the local unsigned bands in my younger days and used to go to clubs to see the bands perform. I still go out to a local Blues club once or twice a month to hear live music. The problem is, if there was a really good band in Altoona or something, I'd never have known about them. Now, with the aid of the internet, I can "discover" those independent bands for myself.

There's a website called unsigned bands that has thousands of bands listed by musical genre. You can go there and poke around and listen to music produced by independent bands. If you like their tunes, you can send them money for their CD or download some of their songs. It takes the middleman (the record companies) right out of the picture.

I know from experience that for every crappy, "top 40" band out there, there are hundreds of better unsigned bands that will NEVER get serious airplay. Now there's a place to find them. It's a win/win. The music consumer can get access to thousands of independent bands (that they'd never hear on mainstream radio)from all over the world and the artists have their own distribution channel for their work.

This is the kind of stuff that makes the internet so cool! ROCK ON!

Rodeo in Houston

A friend of mine wants me to go to Houston and visit him next spring. I've only passed through Houston, never stopped there. My friend has been there ten years or so and was lucky enough to attend the Patriots Super Bowl a few years back.

While he's no fan of the Houston Texans football team (still a loyal Pats fan), he's become quite a fan of the rodeo. Every spring they have a big hoo doo at Reliant Stadium called the Houston Rodeo. I've never been to a rodeo and neither had my friend when he moved there. He's a big rodeo fan now and swears I'd love it.

Each Rodeo performance is followed by a concert. The bands play on a rotating stage so everyone gets a good look at the performance. I guess these rodeo concerts are the hot ticket in town every March and my buddy wants me to commit to going out there soon so he can get us Houston Rodeo concert tickets before they sell out.

I'm definitely willing to check out the rodeo, but I don't want to get stuck with a country music concert. I guess they have all genres of music so the concert schedule is going to determine when I visit. Aint no way this hot dog cowboy is going to sit through two and a half hours of Reba MacIntyre! I don't think my buddy could stomach that either-I wonder if the Allman Brothers play the Houston Rodeo?

I hope there are good shows in early March as later in March the Hot Dog Truck starts to get busy for the season and we gear up for baseball. Whether I go to the Houston Rodeo or not, I'd like to visit.