OK, so here we go. I had far more fun with this series of posts than I ever expected to! Apparently, 1977 was an excellent year for music as this post and the next three posts will attest. If you remember these songs when they came out, I hate to tell you this...but you're old. If you like the songs contained herein, I am pleased to tell you this...you have good taste in music. Ready...set...enjoy! ~ JH
1) Elton John ~ “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”
2) Aerosmith ~ “Walk This Way”
3) Kenny Rogers ~ “Daytime Friends”
4) Rita Coolidge ~ “Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher”
5) Andy Gibb ~ “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”
6) Neil Young & Crazy Horse ~ “Like A Hurricane”
7) Commodores ~ “Brick House”
8) Carpenters ~ “All You Get From Love Is A Love Song”
9) Queen ~ “We Will Rock You”
10) Don Williams ~ “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend”
11) Bob Seger ~ “Mainstreet”
12) Heart ~ “Dreamboat Annie”
13) Billy Joel ~ “She’s Always A Woman”
14) Bob Marley & The Wailers ~ “One Love / People Get Ready”
15) Engelbert Humperdinck ~ “After The Lovin’”
16) ABBA ~ “Dancing Queen”
17) Kenny Nolan ~ “I Like Dreamin’”
18) Jimmy Buffett ~ “Margaritaville”
19) KC and the Sunshine Band ~ “I’m Your Boogie Man”
BLOGGER'S NOTE: I actually put this post together around this time last year and saved it, but forgot to post it before the Christmas season had passed. So here ya go! PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED INTRO: Sometimes, to really appreciate a song you have to hear it by a variety of different artists. Admittedly, 18 different artists is a bit overkill, but I had a hard time narrowing it down. You should have heard some of the ones that DIDN'T make the cut! Anyway, just pick and choose which ones you want to listen to, and comment wherever you saw this post with your personal favorite rendition. I definitely know my favorite. Enjoy! ~ JH
1) Christina Aguilera
2) Mel Tormé & Judy Garland (Trivia Note: Tormé, along with a guy named Robert Wells, actually wrote this classic Christmas song.)
It's that time of year again...when I drag out a classic Christmas song we all know and love and find a number of different versions of it and gather them all in one place. (Hint: Right here.) And the key word is "different." Herein you'll find the song rendered by human voices alone, you'll hear full orchestra, mass choir, hip-hop, dubstep, metal core, boys' choir, and alternative versions, just to name a few. I dare ya to listen! Oh, and enjoy! ~ JH
1) Pentatonix (Gorgeously intricate rendition by the current kings [and queen] of a cappella.)
2) Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Actual title: “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”) (Classic orchestral/heavy metal medley of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and this particular carol.)
3) Family Force 5 (I don’t even know how to describe this one. Weird? Terrible? Inventive? Slightly off? Perhaps it’s all of the above.)
4) BarlowGirl (One of my favorite “girl groups” sings one of my favorite carols in a medley with “Sing We Now Of Christmas.” Breathtakingly beautiful!)
5) DeStorm Power (There just *had to* be a hip-hop version of this song out there somewhere, right? Yup. And this is it.)
6) Capital Kings (And a dubstep version, apparently.)
7) August Burns Red (Then there’s the metalcore rendition that you’ve all been waiting for. No? Well, maybe you should listen anyway. It’s rather awesome!)
8) Celtic Woman (It almost seems like the song was written for them to sing. Great stuff!)
9) Sesame Street Cast ft. Jennifer Hudson (A Dreamgirl and Muppets. What else is there to say?)
10) David Hicken (Never heard of this guy before, but he tickles the ivories quite adeptly.)
11) Straight No Chaser (Because we needed a more traditional a cappella version of the song, I suppose.)
12) Mormon Tabernacle Choir (And a mass choir with handbells version, of course.)
13) Libera (Something about a choir of boys dressed like wingless angels just screams Christmas! And weird. It most definitely also screams weird.)
14) The Piano Guys (Like the TSO song above, this is a medley of “Carol” and “God Rest Ye.” I dunno why he calls himself “The Piano Guys,” but he sure can play a mean cello!)
15) Jessica Simpson (This is what happens when a singer of generally vapid pop songs bothers to actually record “real” music. She should do so more often.)
16) Fallulah (Slower, darker, and vaguely menacing. Definitely different. In other words, I like it.)
17) Kenny G (Medley of “Carol” and “We Three Kings.” Leave it to a saxophonist to provide a breath of fresh air to an oft-recorded tune. Pun fully intended. And fully awful.)
18) Josh Wilson (I’ve seen this guy work his magic in concert. This may sound like the work of a full band, but I’ll bet you he played nearly every note and instrument you hear all by himself.)
19) The Calling (To all these other renditions, I add this post-grunge/alternative rock offering. You’re welcome?)
20) Richard Carpenter (The only thing this one’s missing is Richard’s sister Karen’s velvety vocals. One thing it could do without is all the cheesiness. But I guess it was the '70s...so there ya go!)
Finally, we reach the end of this long, drawn-out, but ultimately satisfying miniseries of posts. One last round of songs about Things These Artists Want. And...GO! ~ JH
1) Belinda Carlisle ~ “(We Want) The Same Thing”
2) Michael Jackson ~ “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”
3) Jessie Ware ~ “Want Your Feeling”
4) A Day To Remember ~ “All I Want”
5) Emilie Autumn ~ “We Want Them Young”
6) Cee Lo Green ~ “I Want You (Hold On To Love)”
7) Terri Clark ~ “I Just Wanna Be Mad”
8) NF ~ “I Just Wanna Know”
9) Atomic Kitten ~ “I Want Your Love”
10) Tracy Byrd ~ “I Wanna Feel That Way Again”
11) Billie Davis ~ “I Want You To Be My Baby”
12) Paul McCartney ~ “(I Want To) Come Home”
13) Tina Arena ~ “I Want To Love You”
14) Air Supply ~ “I Want To Give It All”
15) Sarah Blasko ~ “All I Want”
16) Toby Keith ~ “I Wanna Talk About Me”
17) Scandal ~ “All I Want”
18) Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ~ “(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine”
19) Nightwish ~ “I Want My Tears Back”
20) Alesso ft. Nico & Vinz ~ “I Wanna Know”
21) Susanna Hoffs ~ “All I Want”
22) Marian Hill ~ "I Want You”
23) Cher Lloyd ~ “Want U Back”
24) Goldfrapp ~ “I Wanna Life”
25) Carpenters ~ “(Want You) Back In My Life Again”
Here's the natural follow-up to yesterday's post, this one featuring Things These Artists WON'T do. Snarky song commentary is included at no extra charge. Enjoy! ~ JH
1) Tom Petty ~ “I Won’t Back Down” (Tom Petty plus TWO former Beatles in the video? Yes, please!)
2) Jason Mraz ~ “I Won’t Give Up” (I think he means it, too. Just listen to the earnestness in his voice.)
3) Rascal Flatts ~ “I Won’t Let Go” (This guy’s voice is almost good enough to ignore those Guy-Fieri-inspired frosted tips. Almost.)
4) Charlie Puth ~ “I Won’t Tell A Soul” (His lips are sealed.)
5) Selah Sue ~ “I Won’t Go For More” (And we won’t stay for less. Deal?)
6) James Morrison ~ “I Won’t Let You Go” (I bet there were a lot of ticked-off drivers in the immediate area during the filming of this video.)
7) Tanya Tucker ft. Paul Overstreet & Paul Davis ~ “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love” (That hair. Those clothes. Must be ‘80s country music. Heaven, help us!)
8) Carpenters ~ “I Won’t Last A Day Without You” (Okay, Richard, we get it. You have a lot of money, and you can afford as many cars as you want. Can we please just keep the focus on Karen next time? You, sir, are extraneous!)
9) A Great Big World ~ “Won’t Stop Running” (Nah, I just have something in my eye. You, too?)
10) Jane Monheit & Michael Bublé ~ “I Won’t Dance” (Sorry, I can’t help but ask. Even if she vows not to, and I’m not able to. #thatgorgeousvoice #JanesnotMichaels #hesokaytooiguess)
11) Anouk ~ “I Won’t Play That Game” (Which game? Monopoly? Clue? Candy Crush? Pokémon Go? Twister?)
12) Maroon 5 ~ “Won’t Go Home Without You” (Does anyone really believe that a woman would actually reject this guy? If my wife were typing this, she would probably say “nope.” So we’ll go with that.)
13) Sophie Ellis-Bextor ~ “I Won’t Change You” (That’s good, ‘cuz I’m pretty happy with myself the way I am. Mostly. Actually, not really all that much. On second thought, go ahead and change me!)
14) Reba McEntire ~ “I Won’t Mention It Again” (Thanks, Reba. I hate it when people keep bringing up the same old thing over and over again. Let it go, people!)
15) Lacuna Coil ~ “I Forgive (But I Won’t Forget Your Name)” (That’s fine. Just don’t mention it again, ‘kay?)
16) OK Go ~ “I Won’t Let You Down” (Every OK Go music video is a true work of art. Always entertaining! The music ain’t bad, either!)
17) Poison ~ “I Won’t Forget” (That hair. Those clothes. Must be ‘80s rock music. Heaven, help us!)
18) Sarah Blasko ~ “We Won’t Run” (She sings well, and she’s inside of a giant eyeball. That about sums it up.)
19) Building 429 ~ “We Won’t Be Shaken” (The band may not be shaken, but that small percussion instrument the guy was wielding at the beginning of the song sure was taking a shaking.)
20) Melissa Etheridge ~ “I Won’t Be Alone Tonight” (Of course you won’t, Melissa. There’s an audience right there in front of you.)
21) Princessa ~ “I Won’t Forget You” (“Any more no more” is a double negative. So…she’s saying that she’s totally going to forget you. Sorry, dude.)
22) Slade ~ “We Won’t Give In” (I was going to make some pithy comment about the song itself, but that jaunty red hat of the singer’s has got me so distracted that I’m dumbstruck.)
23) Big Head Todd And The Monsters ~ “We Won’t Go Back” (I don’t think they’re going back. Not to the way it was, at least.)
24) The Who ~ “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (I think this song is about politics, but I could be wrong. I hate songs about politics.)
25) The Colourist ~ “We Won’t Go Home” (You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.)
