THE GREATEST SPRING BREAK LIST OF PARTY SONGS

Last week, I wrote about some Spring Break song lists I found that I thought were just plain bad. With songs like "The Theme to Jaws" and "The Long and Winding Road," who can blame me.

So I figured I'd make my own list. So here it is, The Greatest Spring Break List of Songs Ever. One of the criteria for the list was that the songs can be played on any given Spring Break now and in the near future. Of course the songs on any Spring Break is going to include current hits. None of those were included. So these songs on this list can be played right along with the current stuff. Here's the list, in no particular order.

1. "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet. I guess this song is a must on any Spring Break list. Songs about drinking are also a must.

2. "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by The Beastie Boys. I know the song was supposed to be an ironic take on party songs. But it really is a pretty good party song in its own right. It also turned out to be an irony of an irony. Or in mathematical terms, irony squared.

3. "Pretty Woman" by Van Halen. I could've included several Van Halen songs on the list, but one will do. The original by Roy Orbison is also good but there is a tinge of sadness in his version. David Lee Roth has none of that.

4. "Bad to the Bone," by George Thorogood. I know "Bad to the Bone" is somewhat of a cliche by now. But there is no denying the power of that guitar. And that stutter. B-B-B-B-Bad. As far as cliches go, it's still a good one.

5. "I Get Around," by the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys is another band that could've had several songs on the list. I picked this one because its good to know that during Spring Break, people do get around.

6. Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Even though they knock Neil Young, they make up for it with that great intro riff.

7. "Super Freak" by Rick James. Everybody knows this song. And anyone, and I mean anyone, can dance to it. As proven in the movie "Little Miss Sunshine."

8."Love Shack," by The B-52s. I wouldn't necessarily put it on for my own enjoyment. But lots of people seem to like it. Why else would it be on the list of 365 Songs of the Century?

9. "Lady Marmalade," by Labelle. Good catchy song. And now that I finally know what the French lyrics mean, it's even more appropriate for Spring Break. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

10.“(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Come on, who can resist not shaking their booty to this song. Well I can, but a lot of people can't. And let's face it, shaking your booty is the essence of a party.

SPRING BREAK PARTY TUNES

Spring Break is around the corner and as everyone knows, it's time to party. Connie Francis had a movie called "Where The Boys Are" in the 1960s that might've popularized Spring Break partying even more than it already was. Frankly, a movie with a title like that is something I might not be interested in seeing. But that's just me. I never did any partying during Spring Break. The closest I ever got was turning on MTV and checking out the latest dance moves at Lake Havasu. I guess you really can't call that a party.

Having said this, if I had a party during Spring Break and had to put on some tunes, which ones would I play? So I went looking for a list of the ultimate Spring Break songs. I checked out a site from the University of Wisconsin's Daily Cardinal and they had a list. The most interesting song on the list was the "Theme from 'Jaws'". Jaws? Come on University of Wisconsin, Jaws? I guess that happens when you have too much cheese. The list did have a few good songs though. "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet and "Wouldn't it be Nice" by The Beach Boys.

I also found another site with a list of the Top 50 Spring Break party songs. So I figured this was it. This was exactly what I was looking for. So I check out the list and frankly, it is just about the lamest list I have ever seen. And to prove it, I will tell you one of the songs on the list. A song on the list for the Top 50 Spring Break party songs is, hold on to your breath, "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles. "The Long and Winding Road" is just about the most boring song ever and I love The Beatles. They are my favorite all time band. So if you want to put someone to sleep, that's the song to play. In fact, I wouldn't mind if they played "The Long and Winding Road" at my funeral. But only if I lived to be a hundred. In fact, McCartney feels the same way about the song. He was outraged at what Phil Spector did to his song. And was one of the reasons the band broke up.

The Spring Break list actually includes another Beatle song that just doesn't make any sense at a party and that is Magical Mystery Tour. I suppose if you had to play Beatle tunes at a party, I would play "Twist and Shout" and "Money." Another song that doesn't make any sense on the list is a song by Barbra Streisand called "Somewhere." I've never heard this song but I can tell you right now with complete accuracy, it is not a good song for a Spring Break party. I just can't imagine any Barbra Streisand song being any good at a Spring Break party. Amazing voice? Yes. Terrific songs? Absolutely. For all I know, Somewhere is probably a fantastic song. But Spring Break party song? Not possible.

The list is not totally bad. I mean it does have some decent songs. For example, the list includes "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Here I Go Again on My Own" by Whitesnake. But all in all, it is not a very good list. In fact, there is a song there that was listed twice. This just means that I might have to create my own list of Spring Break songs for when I do have a party. I just have to figure out how to ditch my wife and five year old son.

DEAD PEOPLE'S MUSIC

As I was listening to NPR's list of most important works of the twentieth century, I came to an interesting realization. Well, interesting for me anyway. Dead people's music is better than living people's music. Not always, of course, but mostly.

I'm no fuddy duddy either (are those words still being used?). I like good music no matter who plays it and how old it is. Even if it's from the Jonas Brothers. Well, if they played good music I might like it. This is a horrible realization. And what does this mean anyway? The last album I bought was, well, a gift for my wife. The soundtrack to Summer of Sam, which for some reason she seems to like. Actually, some of the songs are pretty good. It has a good mix of living and dead people's music.

Maybe the fact that they are dead kicks their songs up a notch. Especially if they die a sudden horrible death. I'm sure artists like Tupac, Biggy Smalls and Selena were helped somewhat as a result of their tragic deaths. I had never even heard of Selena before she was shot to death.

I wonder if, when I was young, I listened to dead people's music. Let me think...all The Beatles were still alive, CCR, J Geils...Holy smokes, I mostly listened to music from people who were still alive. I must be getting old.

I listen to Kevin and Bean on KROQ here in LA and they play modern Alternative music, so I keep up to date on some of the new artists like The Killers and Linkin Park. But even KROQ plays music by dead people, such as Nirvana and Sublime.

I think I started listening to dead people's music, in earnest, when I started going to college. I would go to the library and check out old records and tapes. Sometimes I would even check out albums on Classical music. And those guys are REALLY dead. I'm sure they're dust by now. Even Jimi Hendrix must be dust by now.

The one thing that makes me still feel young is that I have a five year old son. He keeps me young. Unfortunately, he also listens mostly to dead people's music too. No thanks to me. Oh, and let's not forget the Disney channel and Noggin. He also listens to that. So I know about Laurie Berkner.

I don't really mind this realization so much because there is just so much good music out there. Even if all new music stopped coming out, for some crazy reason, there is just so much old music out there that I still need to discover that I don't really mind knowing that I mostly like dead people's music.

If I had a cover band, I would call it Dead People's Music. Nobody take it.

MORE NPR

So I've been listening to more of the NPR's list of 100 most important works of the twentieth century and I've realized a few things. They use different styles of story telling. One of their variations is the one person narrating the whole thing. It is usually a writer or musician that tells their take on a song. For instance, Don Dixon tells the story of Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis. He is a record producer that has produced acts like The Smithereens and REM. His take on the song, and Jerry in particular, is that he was the first dangerous guy in Rock N Roll. Elvis was too pretty, and nice, while Little Richard was having too much fun. But Jerry had the Devil in him. They even have a clip of Jerry Lee arguing with someone in the studio about the Devil. Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Lee's cousin and the famed televangelist knew the score about Jerry, as portrayed in the movie "Great Balls of Fire." And it turned out later in Jimmy's career that he had a little of the Devil in himself as well.

Another type of storytelling is the one where the host narrates the story and mixes in an occasional blurb by a guest. It's a pretty good style of storytelling which gets to the point quickly since there are no questions asked. An example of this is Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." On this one, Roddy Crowell, is the one with the blurbs.

One more style of storytelling, and my favorite, is the regular interview where the host asks questions and the guest, well, answers them. A typical Q and A. With some narration on the side. Kind of like 60 minutes. Ray Charles was interviewed in this fashion for What'd I Say and the interaction between guest and host, Robert Siegel, was pretty good.

There are just so many stories that I haven't gotten to yet. There are 100 in all, hence the name of the series. Hopefully I will get around to the rest of the stories and if I hear anything else I like I will certainly write about it.

LISTENING TO NPR

So I've been listening to NPR's list of 100 most important American musical works of the twentieth century and I must say they're pretty good. I found it while clicking on links at NPR. The programs aired in the year 2000. So I guess it would make sense to have a list like that at that time.

The segments are well produced, the guests and hosts are good as well. As guests they've had people like James Taylor, Loretta Lynn, Arlo Guthrie, Al Green, Ray Charles and Paul Simon. So you can't go wrong with guests like that. Although, the host who interviewed James Taylor for the song Fire and Rain did treat James like he might bust out crying at any moment. I know the song is autobiographical about a painful time in his life, but that was forty years ago. I'm sure James has learned to cope with it by now. And maybe even humorously. James is an amusing guy and anyone who's been to one of his concerts would know this.

My favorite guest so far has been Rodney Crowell for Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line. Rodney is a Grammy winning Country music artist. He was once married to Rosanne Cash, who is Johnny's daughter. I haven't listened to all of the stories yet. So my favorite might change. One of the things I liked about Rodney was his description of Cash's voice. He said something like, if any one of those faces on Mount Rushmore could sing, it would come out singing like Johnny Cash. I thought that was a pretty descriptive way of putting it, and probably quite true. Of course, if those sculptures could talk, they would sound like James Earl Jones.

I've learned a few things from the programs which could be used on the podcasts. One of them being to have a point of view. This definitely makes the stories more interesting. I'll keep you posted on other stories that grabbed my attention. Till next time.

"HURT" BY NINE INCH NAILS AND JOHNNY CASH

Hurt by Nine Inch Nails was the next song picked for a podcast. It's a pretty depressing song, if you ask me. It does, however, have an interesting story. Trent Reznor wrote it and in fact Trent IS Nine Inch Nails. He does everything except stand at the Walmart counter and sell it to you. Actually, who knows if they even sell it at Walmart...Just checked and they do, but only online and in limited stores. I'm surprised because Nine Inch Nails has songs with titles like Star#*@#er. And lyrics that would make Christian Bale blush.

Anyway, one of the most interesting facts about the album, The Downward Spiral, which includes Hurt is that Trent rented a house to set up his equipment and record the album. What Reznor didn't realize until later when someone told him, was that the house he rented was where Sharon Tate was killed by Charles Manson's butchers. Once Trent was out of the house, he supposedly tried to convinced the owner to tear down the house. The owner did tear down the house eventually.

Another good story about Hurt was that Johnny Cash covered it and won a Country Music Award for best single. The video also won a Grammy. Another interesting turn of events is that the house on the video, which is Johnny Cash's house in Tennessee, was bought by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees once Johnny passed away. He was renovating it when the house burned down. Who knows, maybe the ghost of Johnny Cash didn't want a Bee Gee to live there. And what is a Bee Gee anyway. Can you imagine Johnny singing Stayin' Alive. That would be something. Oh man, I wish I could do voices.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get anyone interested in being interviewed. I tried the fan sites but no one bit. Maybe I will try a book author. I've tried to get real authors, but haven't had any luck. I'm sure we will eventually.

THE LOST PODCAST

We did a podcast that I think of as The Lost Podcast. The podcast in question is about the Donna Summer song Love To Love You Baby. It's an interesting story about the beginnings of the disco era. Donna Summer is known as the Queen of Disco. She has expanded to other types of music and has sold an impressive 130 million records worldwide.

One of the more interesting facts I found out was that Donna testified at a murder trial she witnessed when she was a teen. She actually knew the person on trial. He was from the neighborhood. That must've been tough for her and her family because there is always the fear of retaliation from the guy's friends. Just think of it. What would you do in that situation? I don't know what I would've done. It would've been pretty easy for me to say that I couldn't see well cause I need a new set of glasses. I guess Donna did the right thing and it worked out for her. This was one of the reasons she left for Germany, where she hooked up with Giorgio Moroder and as they say, the rest is history.

Giorgio Moroder is an Italian record producer who has been a big part of Donna's career. Giorgio has gone on to win three Oscars, for Top Gun, Flashdance, and Midnight Express. When he produced the song for Donna, it was just a demo for someone else to sing. He then showed it to Neil Bogart from Casablanca. He liked it so much that he didn't want anyone else to sing it. They eventually released it.

We interviewed Cathy, a fan who has a Donna Summers tribute site. The raw interview had potential. The reason it is considered as the Lost Podcast is because I did not back up the file and it got lost. This won't happen again because I now have Carbonite? And it backs up everything quickly.

I haven't really contacted her to redo it because it's embarrassing. Maybe I'll ask someone else. The research and the questions are done already, so might as well. Every podcast, if done correctly, is a learning experience. And I am pretty sure that I've gotten something out of this.