Tag Archives: Music

Your Annual Dose of John Denver

Posted on December 23, 2014 by funnygurl2

This post was originally published on 12/11/2012. You can find the link to the original here:

https://imnotstalkingyou.com/2012/12/11/rocky-mountain-christmas/

To most, John Denver is a joke.

To me, he is the sound of Christmas.

When I was a kid, my mom had the record (large, round, vinyl black thing with grooves) Rocky Mountain Christmas by John Denver. She played it every year at holiday time. Christmas starts for me with the first few tinkling notes of Aspenglow.

Rocky Mountain Christmas by John Denver on CD & record, and John Denver: Christmas in Concert on CD

I would be happy if it was the only Christmas album I ever owned or played.

My mom didn’t own any other John Denver records. My crazy friend knew that I liked this Christmas album, so then on mix tapes she would put other non-Christmas John Denver songs. She didn’t understand. It wasn’t so much that I liked John Denver, it was that I liked his voice with this collection of Christmas songs from this period of time. From my childhood.

John Denver sings nice, straight-forward renditions of the classics: The Christmas Song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the seldom-heard Silver Bells, Away in a Manger, What Child Is This, Oh Holy Night (a spectacular version), and Silent Night. There is no Mariah Carey warbling.

The original songs on the album are some of my favorites. I already mentioned Aspenglow. Christmas for Cowboys paints a wonderful musical picture of a lonely holiday on the snow-covered plains. My husband likes Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas). A Baby Just Like You is my favorite. John Denver wrote it for his own son Zachary. I love to belt out “MERRY CHRISTMAS LITTLE ZACHARY!” at the top of my lungs.

I know, I’m weird.

Sometimes now I change it to be my sons’ name.

Inside cover of Rocky Mountain Christmas, featuring the lyrics to A Baby Just Like You (I used to love to look at the details of this picture when I was a kid)

Several years ago my mom bought the album on CD, so it was very nice to be able to listen to it again. The problem was, we had only one copy that we shared. (I have no idea why I never thought about burning a second copy. Oh ya, because that would be illegal.;)

Last year I found my own copy of Rocky Mountain Christmas on CD. I even found a concert version of the same songs. My mom is very happy I am no longer hogging her CD.

I still don’t understand why none of the Christmas music radio stations play anything off this album. They play other seldom-played artists. They always need different artists singing the same 12 traditional songs. And it would make me so happy.

A Christmas Together: John Denver & The Muppets – Also a nice album, but just not the same for me

I kept my mom’s record of Rocky Mountain Christmas all these years, even though there was no way to play it.

Last year, my husband and I picked up a Fisher Price children’s record player from the 80’s at a garage sale and a handful of records.

So, while I totally enjoy digital clarity, the ability to listen to it in my car, and load it on my iPod, I am playing the original record for my son as I write this. Sure, it is scratchy from 37 years of use and improper storage and probably a pretty dull needle. But it takes me right back to being a preschooler myself in my living room in our house in Riga, Michigan. In the terrible 70’s clothes that my mom dressed me in.


When you listen to the CD, you don’t have to see his dorky appearance.

Comments Off on Your Annual Dose of John Denver

Posted in A day in the life and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What I Learned This Week – 12/21/14

Posted on December 21, 2014 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that “Last Christmas” seems to be the song of Christmas 2014.

The last few years, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” has been clogging up the airways. I REALLY do not like that song. It grates on me. It makes me want to go kill an elf on the shelf every time that it plays.

But it seems this year, “Last Christmas” is being played all the time. I am not in the love with the song, but it does have a catchy hook that is easily stuck in everyone’s head. Even my 4 year old son M busts out singing it now and then. (Except, his version is “Last Christmas, I gave you my poop…”)

And any excuse for radio to play more George Michael I am all on board with. The man has a beautiful voice.  Plus, he wrote and produced it.  He must get a nice royalty check every year come January.

I find it impressive that a 30 year old song is having such a resurgence.

And all versions of “Last Christmas” are being played to death, not even just the original version from Wham. I hear the versions by Taylor Swift and the cast of Glee on the radio as well. The Taylor Swift one is very surprising because while she isn’t one of my favorite artists, she usually puts lots of emotion into her singing. Her version of “Last Christmas” is very flat and bland. Very unlike her. Hard to believe it is from the same person who sings “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”.

I wanted to include the video so that everyone would know what song I am referring to. I was afraid the original video would frighten everyone with it’s 1984 fashions and hair, so here is a lyric video instead…

Coming Soon! My first book: The Wind Could Blow a Bug

Click here to sign up to be notified by email of my future book releases.

Comments Off on What I Learned This Week – 12/21/14

Posted in Entertainment Worship & Review, What I Learned This Week and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Oh My God, This Is My Song

Posted on November 11, 2014 by funnygurl2

“Play It Again” by Luke Bryan is totally stuck in my head.  All day long.

It is the only song  I want to hear right now.  Constantly.

I scanned all the country channels my whole way home in the car looking for it.  Which is ironic, because that is what the whole damn song is about.   And if the girl in the song had a fully-charged cell phone on her with a strong signal, she could just play the song again and again. But that is part of the song’s charm.  It has a very traditional country sound.  The lyrics are pretty traditional as well.

I grew up on late 70’s & 80’s country. That is the sound I like best. This song might be the beginning of a Country renaissance for me. I haven’t listened to Country music regularly since 2000. That is pretty much when I discovered Kid Rock.

She was like, oh my God, this is my song
I’ve been listenin’ to the radio all night long
Sittin’ ’round waitin’ for it to come on and here it is*

How many days and nights have I been this girl? And how many other girls out there have been in the same situation? And how has NO ONE written this song years ago?

Watch the video on YouTube below…

* Written by Ashley Gorley

1 Comment

Posted in Entertainment Worship & Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What I Learned This Week – 9/21/14

Posted on September 21, 2014 by funnygurl2

I have ALWAYS wondered who sings the songs during the chase scenes on the TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

Many years ago, I bought a CD called Scooby Snacks, which included all the great chase songs, such as “Daydreamin'”, “Love The World”, “Recipe for Love”, and my personal favorite, “Seven Days a Week”. But the liner notes never listed who actually sang the songs. I am sure it was never in the dude’s original contract to be compensated for any further release of the songs. He never could have known in 1969 that people in 2014 would want to listen to his music on CD, mp3, DVD, etc.

Scooby Snacks CD

Scooby Snacks CD

The magic of Google always impresses me.

I just typed in the song title+Scooby Doo, and within a minute, I learned this week that the guy who sang all the songs above is actually Austin Roberts.

According to Wikipedia, Roberts also sings the THEME SONG to Scooby Doo, Where are You?. [Note: If you are not an expert Scooby-phile, I will let you know that there are many, many versions of the Scooby Doo theme song. But “Where are You?” is the first, and one of the best.

Roberts has worked steadily all these years, primarily as a songwriter, and is almost as old as my mom.

Here is a video of “7 Days a Week” in action:

This week I also met Teddy Roosevelt. Wow, in the last three weeks I have had my picture taken with two past presidents (the other was a Lincoln statue in Gettysburg).  President Roosevelt even gave my son the “teddy” bear he is holding in the picture.

President Theodore Roosevelt, M, and me

President Theodore Roosevelt, M, and me

I have been just a little obsessed with the 7-part documentary that PBS aired last week, The Roosevelts. You can still watch it now at http://video.pbs.org/program/roosevelts/ [Expires 8 days from now].

Comments Off on What I Learned This Week – 9/21/14

Posted in A day in the life, UnProfessional Photography & Artwork, What I Learned This Week and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What I Learned This Week – 4/27/14

Posted on April 27, 2014 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that Avril Lavigne had a new music video debut for her song “Hello Kitty.”

I also learned that the media has nothing good to say about it.

You might be wondering why I like songs by a young girl.  But she will actually turn 30 this year.

Then you will wonder why I like songs by a chick who can’t dress her age.  Maybe because I also tend to dress strangely on occasion.

Her music keeps me feeling young.  I have all her albums.

It is a wonderful, candy-coated cupcake land to make my senses dance! Still from "Hello Kitty" video

It is a wonderful, candy-coated cupcake-land to make my senses dance!
Still from “Hello Kitty” video

First, the media was saying that the song was racist.  I’m not sure why.  I read in one article that it was because the Asian women behind her were expressionless as they danced, perpetuating some sort of ‘Asian women are submissive’ stereotype.  I’m not sure what that says about the white women behind Robert Palmer or African-American backup dancers in a rap video.

Then Entertainment Weekly (who I usually love), came out with this article:

A serious attempt to explain Avril Lavigne’s ‘Hello Kitty’ music video  http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/04/22/avril-lavigne-hello-kitty-music-video/

NOTE:  The guy who got assigned to the article didn’t even know that he was supposed to find the video racist.

The article angered me for many reasons.  It compares Avril to every other female artist in the last 20 years. Why?  She has to compete with Katy Perry shooting whip cream out of her tits.  Everyone thought that was a stroke of genius.  Avril is herself. That is who she has always been, even when she was being dissed for her skater girl clothes and pop-punk songs.  The writer also decides to go take advantage of his page space to “go off” on pop-punk.  Guess what?  She is still punk-y and pop-py and wearing her raccoon eyeliner and still selling tons of albums and getting radio airplay.  She must be doing something right.

The article spends more time talking about Gwen Stephanie’s “Hollaback Girl” than it does Avril’s video.  And I rewatched Gwen’s video, and find no similarities.  Gwen’s Harajuku girls are dressed up as gangstas.  What the hell is THAT about?

When the writer runs out of other nonsensical things to criticize Avril about, he start on the grammar of her song.  Really?  Since when are song lyrics held up to the same standards as that of high school English students.

Here is Avril’s response to the racist allegations, complete with more put-downs from EW:

Avril Lavigne responds to criticism that her ‘Hello Kitty’ video is racist  http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/04/24/avril-lavigne-hello-kitty-video-racist-response/

I am mad that the video has poor directing, but part of that could be that Avril used a Japanese director.  They do things different there.

People should be offended that I am pretty sure this song is sooo dirty:

Come come Kitty Kitty
You’re so pretty pretty
Don’t go Kitty Kitty
Stay with me
Come come Kitty Kitty
You’re so silly silly
Don’t go Kitty Kitty
Play with me

Um, is “Kitty” what I think it is?

If anyone should be mad about the video, it should be diabetics!  The song includes the lyrics:

Let’s all slumber party
Like a fat kid on a pack of Smarties
Someone chuck a cupcake at me

If I was a fat kid, I would be offended by that!  And the video is enough to put anyone into a sugar coma.  But I can’t stop listening or watching it because it is so catchy & I find her cupcake skirt mesmerizing.

Here is Avril’s “Hello Kitty” video, so that you may judge for yourself.  It is near 3 million views.

My conclusion is that you should not be mad that the video is racist or cheesy.  You should be mad that it is dirty and sugary.  But hey, it worked for Def Leppard.  (Hey, their NAME isn’t even spelled properly!)

Comments Off on What I Learned This Week – 4/27/14

Posted in Entertainment Worship & Review, What I Learned This Week and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →