SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE
CYNDI LAUPER - GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN. This 1983 song was pretty ubiquitous for all of my Junior year in High School. It was a major influence to a big group of women I knew too. Only recently did I realize that it was written by the great Robert Hazard who had a minor career with the cool single "Escalator Of Life". He recorded it in 1979 but Cyndi made it her own with the female version in late 1983 - helped by the famous video with Capt Lou Albano that seemed to air hourly on MTV. Best cover version might be the Veggie Tales - "Gourds Just Want To Have Fun".
CYNDI LAUPER - GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN. This 1983 song was pretty ubiquitous for all of my Junior year in High School. It was a major influence to a big group of women I knew too. Only recently did I realize that it was written by the great Robert Hazard who had a minor career with the cool single "Escalator Of Life". He recorded it in 1979 but Cyndi made it her own with the female version in late 1983 - helped by the famous video with Capt Lou Albano that seemed to air hourly on MTV. Best cover version might be the Veggie Tales - "Gourds Just Want To Have Fun".
MACY GRAY - I TRY. "Games, changes and fears / When will they go from here / When will they stop." This 1999 song is by far Macy's best. It's one of those songs that melds perfectly with her voice. And she captures that feeling of not being able to stay away from the man she loves perfectly. It was Grammy nominated and won Best Female Vocal. It's got such a smooth feel to it - perfect for a Sunday morning.
JUICE NEWTON - TELL HER NO. This 1983 single is a cover of the awesome 1965 single by The Zombies. The original song is very British Invasion sounding. But Juice took a single that was almost 20 years old and gave it her own Country twang and changed the gender of the lyrics. Not her best by a mile. And really, other than a curiosity of the age, it's got little to offer and barely registers on my Sunday morning meter. . .
JUICE NEWTON - TELL HER NO. This 1983 single is a cover of the awesome 1965 single by The Zombies. The original song is very British Invasion sounding. But Juice took a single that was almost 20 years old and gave it her own Country twang and changed the gender of the lyrics. Not her best by a mile. And really, other than a curiosity of the age, it's got little to offer and barely registers on my Sunday morning meter. . .
SOMETHING RANDOM . . . from 1972 - here's the Soul Train dance contest winners -
and let's take another ride on the Soul Train with Kool and the Gang and their "Open Sesame" . . .
QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)
BEST ROOT BEERS OF ALL-TIME
BEST ROOT BEERS OF ALL-TIME
10. DOG 'N' SUDS ROOT BEER. I don't know if the restaurants or if the cans of this are still around. But just like the name suggests - there was something great about going to get a hot dog and root beer - served right at your car.
The most delightful of all the sodas. It was my first carbonated love and I go too long without trying new ones in my life. I love all the varieties and the different tastes that can come out of essentially the same ingredients. I want to try making my own some day - who wants to help experiment? Already realizing that there are so many root beers out there that I need to try. So many small brew pubs making root beer - in bottles and in burger joints all over. Best foods with root beer - pizza, burgers and hot dogs. I don't know if I have a "worst" root beer but there are some that just don't make my faves - Barqs, Faygo, Shasta and Henry Weinhard's. The worst of the bunch is Mug (the worst of the commonly available canned root beers) and most grocery store brands - Meijer's Root Beer is plain terrible.
9. GENUINE HANK'S ROOT BEER. Very vanilla and cream soda tasting. It's one that I just don't find in enough places to rank it higher than this. Very unique flavor to all the Hank sodas.
8. HIRES ROOT BEER. Probably my first root beer from a can. It was the one root beer that was available almost everywhere. I go years without a Hires. I don't think it's the same formula as when I was a kid. But the general memory of that sweet flavor is still there when I taste it.
7. VIRGIL'S ROOT BEER. So many people rave about this root beer. It's good but not great. It's not a root beer that tastes refreshing enough to down quickly. And it's definitely not one that you would mix with anything.
6. IBC ROOT BEER. It's becoming easier and easier to find this root beer - at least around here. I think that Dr Pepper is doing the bottling. Great taste - just enough bite. Full flavor. I might need to revisit this and move it up the list.
5. BOYLAN'S ROOT BEER. Boylan's makes some great sodas. If you like Grape, this is a brand you need to track down. Their root beer has some unique and very fruity flavors to it.
4. AMERICANA ROOT BEER. I picked up this brand at World Market last year and fell in love with all of their sodas. This is the most interesting tasting root beer on the list - it's a cream style but has a very licorice aftertaste. If it was more widely available, I believe this would top lots of people's lists. Not a coincidence that this is made with cane sugar too.
3. STEWART'S ROOT BEER. Another brand with some excellent flavors. But their root beer isn't the best drinking root beer on the list. But it is probably the best on the list for making root beer floats. If the root beer doesn't do it for you - try the Orange Cream version. Like something you'd get from the Ice Cream Man.
2. DAD'S ROOT BEER. Also on here because of nostalgia. I loved this root beer through all of my youth. It's the one I would search out for years at stores. It's great one can at a time. Don't try to make too much of the ingredients - not impressive but it tastes like what I think root beer should taste like.
1. A&W ROOT BEER. Not the can. Not even the bottle. But back to the days of going to their drive-in, especially the one on Westnedge in Kalamazoo and getting the fresh mug out of the keg. Old fashioned and tastes the best when it's in that frosty glass mug that's brought directly to your car. I miss it but remember the taste exactly.
The most delightful of all the sodas. It was my first carbonated love and I go too long without trying new ones in my life. I love all the varieties and the different tastes that can come out of essentially the same ingredients. I want to try making my own some day - who wants to help experiment? Already realizing that there are so many root beers out there that I need to try. So many small brew pubs making root beer - in bottles and in burger joints all over. Best foods with root beer - pizza, burgers and hot dogs. I don't know if I have a "worst" root beer but there are some that just don't make my faves - Barqs, Faygo, Shasta and Henry Weinhard's. The worst of the bunch is Mug (the worst of the commonly available canned root beers) and most grocery store brands - Meijer's Root Beer is plain terrible.
NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . a few oddball titles out there now . . . NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET (1981) is a cool and weird title with Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams . . . GREY LADY DOWN (1978) is a cool disaster film that just doesn't get talked about enough anymore. Charlton Heston and Stacy Keach and Ned Beatty tell a slightly different version of a POSEIDON ADVENTURE type of disaster . . . LONE WOLF MCQUADE (1983) is David Carradine and our hero, Chuck Norris.
Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART
#176 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
#711 - Scrooged
#1091 - The Last Unicorn
#176 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
#711 - Scrooged
#1091 - The Last Unicorn
RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE - The DEXTER project. I should have started this show about four years ago. I knew I would like it. I love Michael C. Hall and I love these type of crime dramas and dark comedies. There always seemed to be another show to get started on. Or something else to finish. But this week I broke down and got started. I'm four episodes in and it's just what I had hoped for. At 84 episodes to date - doubt I will catch up before the new season starts this Summer. And I already know some of the major plot points in seasons to come. For now - 1st season - I'm loving the ride.
SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)
#44 Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)
I had a very random definition of Heavy Metal in my youth. It consisted of KISS and AC/DC mainly. Later with some Def Leppard. But it was in the mid-1980s that I discovered Black Sabbath in reverse through Ozzy. This album was the one that I clung to. From 1970, this still has icy fingers that reach out to influence Heavy Metal today. At merely 8 songs - they are given just the room they need to have long guitar licks. Four of the songs clock in at over 6 minutes each. When someone is coming into musical awareness - this is the album you put on for their introduction to Heavy Metal. Sounds as heavy as anything today.
I had a very random definition of Heavy Metal in my youth. It consisted of KISS and AC/DC mainly. Later with some Def Leppard. But it was in the mid-1980s that I discovered Black Sabbath in reverse through Ozzy. This album was the one that I clung to. From 1970, this still has icy fingers that reach out to influence Heavy Metal today. At merely 8 songs - they are given just the room they need to have long guitar licks. Four of the songs clock in at over 6 minutes each. When someone is coming into musical awareness - this is the album you put on for their introduction to Heavy Metal. Sounds as heavy as anything today.
Previous Rankings
#45 - The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)
#46 - Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)
#47 - Billy Joel - The Stranger (1977)
#48 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)
#49 - Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)
#47 - Billy Joel - The Stranger (1977)
#48 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)
#49 - Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)
THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION
MONDAY
TOP OF THE LAKE (SUNDANCE) Co-written and co-directed by Jane Campion. It stars Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and it looks like a New Zealand version of "Twin Peaks" mixed with "The Killing". I'm quite excited about this 6 hour mini-series.
THE BIGGEST LOSER (NBC) I'm pretty sure that Danni is going to win - she looks amazing. But I hope you people vote Jackson into the Finals. He's my favorite this season. It comes to an end and I worry that my BL love may be at an end after four years.
TUESDAY
HOW WE INVENTED THE WORLD (DISC) Okay - there are lots of series that tell you how things get made. But this one goes even deeper into the creation of a product. This initial episode shows how Frankenstein's monster, the Titanic and Hedy Lamar influenced the creation of the smartphone.
WEDNESDAY
DUCK DYNASTY (A&E) Even if the show has jumped the shark - it hasn't slowed down in the ratings or in the hearts and minds of my children. How could you not love the overly scripted Si lines? Tonight Willie throws a Casino Part for the Duck Commander employees and Si gets a massage chair.
HAUNTED COLLECTOR (SYFY) No idea. But I love that Syfy has combined the titles of two of my favorite reality genre shows. Haunted brothel tonight. What are they collecting???
THURSDAY
NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (CBS et al) Tonight, there are games on at least four channels. It's the first full day and if it isn't a Big Ten team, then I have no idea how to pick them. By the end of tonight, my brackets will be half finished.
ARCHER (FX) Lana and Sterling are off to Morocco. Once again - I watch two or three episodes at once and I'm not sure that I can tell the difference of one to another. It's like I'm watching the same one over and over and I'm never sure if the jokes are even new. It's too bad because the show in spurts is one of the funniest on TV. But it may have run its course.
FRIDAY
LAST MAN STANDING (ABC) I didn't even know that the Tim Allen show was still on the air. But then, imagine my surprise to see that Jonathan Taylor Thomas is all grown up and guesting on the show.
NCAA BASKETBALL (CBS et al) This is the other half of the first round of brackets. Finally, something truly worthwhile to watch on a Friday night - not just "Duck Dynasty" marathons and Disney comedy reruns.
SATURDAY
CHUPACABRA VS THE ALAMO (SYFY) It has to take three times as long to come up with the titles of these Saturday night films than it does to actually film them. Erik Estrada is back on a motorcycle and on his way to San Antonio to fight the beasts.
GUN CRAZY (TCM) This 1949 crime drama is a true cult classic. You've got some early noir elements with intense love, guns and murder.
SUNDAY
PHIL SPECTOR (HBO) What an interesting combo of actor - writer - subject matter. David Mamet is back with his GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS actor partner Al Pacino as the hilariously coifed Phil Spector. The trailers look amazing. So anxious to see this.
THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) It's not really a show that you could pick up right now. But if you've been paying attention the past few seasons, it's really paying off. There are levels within levels but it's also just simply a show about zombies. Possible truce with the Governor tonight. Don't count on it.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . . let's start with the tears - this story of a Subaru being loyal like a dog gets me in the stomach every time . . . Followed by super furry and funny kitty from New Zealand who just wants a ride in the Toyota.
Love Kit Kats? So do these dancing babies . . .
"I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind" - Black Sabbath
Can you help my occupy my brain? Stay hard.
Love Kit Kats? So do these dancing babies . . .
"I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind" - Black Sabbath
Can you help my occupy my brain? Stay hard.
sb
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