The Alphanumerics Of Modern Music: The Kace Era

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Billy Joel.

By 1977, Billy Joel had started to establish himself as music's rebel on piano. Never afraid to tell a musical narrative, inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles and able to kick it old school when the situation warranted it, Billy was able to string together numerous hit songs in three different decades.

I can still recall Mom listening to "Uptown Girl" on 45 (kids, ask your parents...or grandparents if need be what that means) and also watching whatever music video of his featured in America's Top Ten, hosted by the voice of Robin and Shaggy. This is before we were able to check out cable when I was a kid. Another funny thing about Billy Joel is that the older I get, the more I seem to appreciate his music, especially the older stuff.

The music video of choice here is "Allentown" which is Billy Joel giving a narrative of blue collar workers dealing with a decline in manufacturing jobs. It was political, it was social, it was in your face...and it had some groovy guitar rhythms and the piano. The video was directed by Russell "Highlander" Mulcahy and as a warning, there is brief male nudity in the rear region. On the plus side, it's a nice butt. So there's that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHnJp0oyOxs&ob=av2e
"Allentown" by Billy Joel

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bjork.

Sometimes I just like weird and Bjork is weird squared. She has always struck me as one who marches to her own beat and lives pretty much in her own world musically. I've heard stories of her recording vocals for music while outside in a park which seems plausible. But don't get it twisted, there's some serious talent in her madness, from the showtuney "It's Oh So Quiet" to waiting for true love theme "I Miss You" and so on, Bjork has been able to always stand out in a realm where conventional wisdom would have most following the same trends. Bjork is Bjork's trend and she's happy to keep it that way. Good for her.

The music video is "Earth Intruders." The first time I heard the song was when I watched the video on Logo, which is one of the few places one can actually tune in for music videos if you have cable/satellite. As a plus, you also get Public Service Announcements featuring drag queens. Combine that with Bjork music videos and it's a recipe for showing how fierce you are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Q9ppPPHjU&ob=av2e
"Earth Intruders" by Bjork

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for the Black Eyed Peas.

The sheer magnitude of what the Black Eyed Peas have managed to do in their time is almost awe inspiring. For better or worse, they're one of the primary groups that have helped shape what the Early 21st Century Hip Hop/R&B/Pop scene sounds like. So if you're not a big fan of it, these are among the individuals you can blame. Two of the four members, Will.I.Am and Fergie have also managed to have some solo success, Fergie especially so with both her singing and acting career. There was that whole Obama thing with Will. However, on the heels of Election 2008, the Black Eyed Peas proved to still be as popular as ever, going from never having a Billboard #1 to suddenly dominating a big chunk of 2009 at the top. I guess that was the real Change Will believed in. Who am I to argue with success though? After all, here I am talking about them.

The music video is one of the songs that dominated 2009, "Boom Boom Pow." Between this song and "I Gotta Feeling," the Black Eyed Peas practically owned the calendar year. Twenty-six consecutive weeks they dominated, one song right after the other. So between the two, I decided to go with the song that didn't suck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m48GqaOz90&ob=av2n
"Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Blondie.

In the late 1970's, there was kind of an anything goes attitude going on in both pop culture and pop music. The contemporary easy listening crowd had its stuff, the punk music crowd had its stuff. Disco was doing its thing and inspiring lovers and haters alike. There was the New Wave scene that was getting going pretty good. And bubbling under was another scene altogether, what would become Hip Hop. New York City was the epicenter and the place to be to get whatever musical fix outside of country one was looking for. From Studio 54 to CBGB's, someone somewhere had what one might be looking for. One of the bands front and center in the madness was Blondie. Debbie Harry was the "blondie" with the vocals and together, the band compiled a discography ranging from rock to dance and did so without making it look too difficult.

The music video is "Heart Of Glass" which may well be the first Biillboard #1 to have "ass" in the lyrics. And it was their first Billboard #1. Nice dance beat, too. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU&ob=av2e
"Heart Of Glass" by Blondie

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for the Bloodhound Gang.

I credit one of my Cousins for introducing me to the Bloodhound Gang back in 1996. It was the same day he introduced me to an old man who would offer flatulance in the middle of talking without missing a beat. The Bloodhound Gang was for a time, music's much welcomed flatulance in the midst of the Pop Manifesto taking place at the time. Keep in mind, this is during a time in which the Spice Girls were beginning to emerge and the Backstreet Boys weren't far behind. It was a time in which Rock was starting to mature past its Revolution from recent years. For the Bloodhound Gang, it was the perfect time. "Fire Water Burn" started getting airplay and from there, they were able to introduce the rest of the world to its own quirky sense of things. From their cover of the Association's "Along Comes Mary" to the ever infamous "The Bad Touch," the Bloodhound Gang may have been a product of the late 1990s's and early 2000's and perhaps even infamously with their music. But they were there nonetheless and I can't think of that time without thinking of these guys.

The music video is for the song that introduced me to the Bloodhound Gang, "Fire Water Burn." The chorus borrows from an old Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three song and gives it a nice, dorky spin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adgx9wt63NY&ob=av2e
"Fire Water Burn" by the Bloodhound Gang

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bon Jovi.

And to think, it all started with a George Lucas brainfart. Not to be outdone by the sheer awkwardness that was The Star Wars Holiday Special, the Star Wars Franchise went even more hardcore with Christmas In The Stars, a Star Wars Christmas album. No really, that happened. Jon got to sing on one of the songs and then it was back to sweeping floors. No really, that happened.

Fast forward a few years later and Jon Bongiovi is now Jon Bon Jovi and he finally has his own band. They wow the early Hair Metal crowd with "Runaway" and start to take off from there. Bon Jovi was the poster child for what Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister once referred to as "Happy Metal." They reached legendary status with Slippery When Wet and New Jersey, the latter of which I recall playing a lot while me and my brother took turns playing Metroid, Tiger Heli and Rygar on the NES. They had a bit of a falling out for a brief period, a period which Jon used to go solo and have a big radio hit, "Blaze Of Glory" and even Richie Sambora, the lead guitarist managed to do a solo project of his own. Perhaps it was all just excellent timing as in 1992, the Music Revolution was going on with Bon Jovi getting the band back together if only to prove they could survive the onslaught from Seattle.

And they did. While the revolution was certainly not without its casualties from the hair metal and pop rock crowd, Bon Jovi came out of it as the survivors and reenergized. And now in the early 21st Century, they still have a following and have been able to transcend rock, pop and even country at one point. No really, that happened. However, no matter what Jon and his crew accomplish, its starting point will always be with R2-D2. Crazy, ain't it?

The music video is "Something For The Pain." This one's definitely a personal choice from 1995 with a fun story in the video that features parodies of other music mainstays. Guess 'em all correctly and win the No-Prize! It's also the video that provided for one of my all-time favorite Beavis And Butt-Head moments, "Bon Jovi Rules!" ...if you have no idea what I'm talking about with that last sentence, just don't worry about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aO-A_QVgS4&ob=av2e
"Something For The Pain" by Bon Jovi

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bonnie Raitt.

Bonnie Raitt has done her own thing over the years, showing her love for blues music while also showing an ability to ease into the more adult contemporary brand of modern music. Eighteen years after releasing her first album, Bonnie started gaining mainstream momentum. In the 1990's, she found new levels of success. In the 2010's, she's still going strong with a voice that mixes charm, boldness and vulnerability. She is the offspring of both Broadway and piano mastery, but it was the guitar that became her best friend. She's churned out some quality tunes and solidified her place as one of the more notable artists of our time.

The music video is "Something To Talk About" which is her signature hit. It's arguably the song she's best known for and to top it off, the video is directed by Matt Mahurin. Pretty much any music video directed by Mr. Mahurin is a winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ58TVYNFro&ob=av2n
"Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Boyz II Men.

In the 1990's, there was Boyz II Men and there was everyone else when it came to Motown R&B. The New Jack Swing was in full effect and in a time of music revolution, it was Boyz II Men that helped make sure R&B Soul would be included. They took an old G.C. Cameron song, "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" and made it their own. Their love songs probably led to quite a few sexual encounters among their listeners, especially "I'll Make Love To You." And yes there were some popular stinkers...songs that sucked, but people like them anyway like "End Of The Road" from that abortion of a film called Boomerang and "On Bended Knee" which is only romantic in the lacking of basic comprehension sense. Nevermind the bad stuff though, let's just focus on the good. Well, okay there was that duet with Mariah Carey which is also atrocious, but to this day is still technically one of Billboard's biggest hits ever, if not the biggest.

But nevermind all that. They had "Motownphilly" and "Water Runs Dry" and "A Song For Mama" which I've dedicated to my own Mom, because it's that great a song. Then again, I also once linked her to Mr. T's "Treat Your Mother Right," so what do I know?

The music video is reminiscent of something I'd like to see return and that's New Jack Swing. The days of Tony Toni Tone and MC Brains (yes, I remember MC Brains), TLC, Bell Biv DeVoe and of course, Boyz II Men. I guess there was also Color Me Badd, too. They had a nice first album which I'm noting here since they're not on the list. "Motownphilly," an instant 9th Grade flashback...granted I hated 9th Grade and everyone in it. But that's beside the point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHzkICG47LU
"Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Britney Spears.

I don't believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to music. I like what I like and I can't bring myself to care about anyone who disagrees. It's just my nature and one of the things that's probably cost me some friends over the years. Well that and me being kind of a prick at times. But at least I'm honest about it, so I've got that going for me. As for Britney, if there was such a thing as musical guilty pleasures, she'd probably be one of them. Say what you will about her music as I tend to think some of it's really good and there's other stuff that struggles. Say what you will about her personal life since I never really cared one way or the other about it. Say what you will about any of that stuff. Just remember though, she is for better or worse one of the faces of Pop Music since roughly 1998. Before that, she was a Mouseketeer along with Christina Aguilera. Basically she was groomed from the beginning for this sort of thing and has done her best (in spite of herself at times) to make the most of it.

She was the third key part in the Pop Revitalization (or destruction, depending on your opinion) of the late 1990's with the first and second parts being the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys. Into the 2010's and after some rough patches both professionally and personally, she's still managing to stay relevant in a pop scene notorious for its short attention span. That's an accomplishment in itself.

The music video is "(You Drive Me) Crazy - The Stop Mix" which features that girl from that TV show about some Archies character I never watched. Yes, "Baby, One More Time" could have been the more obvious choice, but I tend to like this song better and it's still from that time frame in which Britney was still establishing herself as one of the new power players.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VK9_CfOLQ
"(You Drive Me) Crazy - The Stop Mix" by Britney Spears

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Brooks & Dunn.

It was a really long night for Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. Struggling their way through the Country Music industry, the two would join forces and become an, "overnight success," story. As I said, it was a really long night to get to that point. Once the duo was there however, there would be no turning back. They took over Country Line Dancing with "Boot Scootin' Boogie," turned BW Stevenson's "My Maria" into one of the biggest Country hits of 1996 and had an amazing team-up with Reba McEntire with "If You See Him/If You See Her." Oh and did I mention they once filmed a music video with Dale Earnhardt? In Las Vegas? Who else can say that, really? With all the good and bad that came with the 1990's country music scene, B&D became a memorable part of it.

"Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" is the music video of choice and features Kix Brooks on lead vocals. Ronnie Dunn handles backing vocals, guitar and everyone's favorite, the cowbell. I didn't care for "Boot Scootin' Boogie" so this was the song that made me think, "Wow, these guys aren't so bad." It's also from a better time in life when CMT actually played music videos. ...Hm, something familiar about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHi8osKQzYA&ob=av2e
"Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" by Brooks & Dunn

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen. Bruce. The Boss. Leader of the E Street Band. A musical voice for a generation lost in space. When 1977 rolled around, he had been known mostly for "Born To Run," itself an anthem for the times. He spent the remainder of the decade carving out his niche and earning a following. Then came "Hungry Heart" which proved to be a sign of things to come in terms of mainstream success. That would have to wait however as he and his band would help back Gary US Bonds for some songs and also record Nebraska which was mostly him, a guitar and a harmonica recording into a cassette recorder. It was primitive and it was powerful, including "Atlantic City" and "Johnny 99." After getting that out of his system, he decided to take over the world with Born In The USA, an album which had seven singles released, all of which would score Billboard Top 10 status. It was also during this time Bruce would unleash his concert rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," a staple of just about any radio station's Christmas music rotation.

From there, Bruce would continue to score successes with subsequent releases. There were hit songs, movie soundtracks and of course, "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," which would be covered with great vengeance and furious anger by Rage Against The Machine. In 2002, he had The Rising and the title track to that album which became one of the first notable musical reactions to the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. Into the current decade, Bruce continues on, doing what he does and still the Boss. And what a band! Clarence Clemons, Steven Van Zandt, Max Weinberg...all of which had some success outside of the band. Bruce and the E Street Band have made some great music together.

I had my choices for which music video to spotlight for this entry. "Dancing In The Dark" is notable for having a young Courtney Cox in it. "Born In The U.S.A." is notable for being a protest song that still gets played a lot on Independence Day, which granted beats listening to Lee Greenwood. I could have went with "Secret Garden" if I wanted to play something that was both successful and ear-aching. I decided though to go with "Streets Of Philadelphia," where Bruce walks along the streets and sings the song on film, no lip synching. And it's from a nice film featuring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z2DtNW79sQ&ob=av2n
"Streets Of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bryan Adams.

In case you didn't know it, Bryan Adams is kind of a big deal in Canada. Truth be told, he's kind of a big deal in a lot of places. Especially Canada. Nine different Billboard Canada #1's and a few #1's in the United States, too. Bryan's been able to reach an international audience with a combination of rock and contemporary goodness. He's dueted with Barbra Streisand (for those of you who are into that sorta thing) and he's teamed up with Rod Stewart and Sting for a song from some movie. Speaking of movies, there's that song from that Robin Hood movie where the title role had some sort of American accent. Oh...can't leave out his duet with Melanie C. He's worked with Mutt Lange and listening to "Please Forgive Me" or "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You" it's not that hard to picture Shania Twain singing those songs instead. I'm wondering if that was by design. Did I mention Bryan's kind of a big deal in Canada? He is. Maybe not as big as Colin Mochrie, but nobody's Colin Mochrie.

The music video is "Run To You." I consider it the definitive Bryan Adams song, especially from his 1980's run. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" may be his signature hit depending on who you ask, but I tend to consider that song a bit more infamous for personal reasons. Truth be told, "Run To You" is one of my favorite songs ever. I would listen to it on the radio when I was a kid and Mom would make sure I didn't sing all the lyrics to the song or else it was soap-in-mouth time for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCBASt507WA&ob=av2e
"Run To You" by Bryan Adams

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Bush.

One of the things I remember most about my Senior year in high school is being introduced to the sounds of a band called Bush. I became an instant fan of "Everything Zen" and "Little Things" right after it. Really with Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase, there was some choice stuff in those albums. Then they started experimenting more with the industrialized pop rock sound and they weren't as fun to listen to anymore. In 2001, Bush would show once more that they could still rock when they wanted to with "The People That We Love (Speed Kills)." Since then, Gavin Rossdale, Bush's lead singer has done some solo work and also married Gwen Stefani of No Doubt (and also of Gwen Stefani).

The music video is what really started it all for them, "Everything Zen." The video was directed by Matt Mahurin and the song references everything from Mickey Mouse to Elvis Presley. It's also my idea of what a Matt Mahurin directed Nirvana video would have looked like and it reminds me of a strangely fascinating time in my life, the Winter months of my Senior year in high school. I could go into detail on that, but I'll refrain since after all, you would have had to have been there. And those of you who were there with me already know. So there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVmOIWiSxSM&ob=av2e
"Everything Zen" by Bush

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for Busta Rhymes.

Over the years, there have been rappers who try to sound all crazy so they can get credit for sounding different. The problem is that over the years, too many have failed to understand the other key component which is to not suck. Busta Rhymes on the other hand understood exactly how to make it work and boy did he. Initially, he was that guy from Leaders Of The New School who got his name as a derivative of Buster Rhymes, a pro football player from the 1980's. In 1996, that all changed as he was known as Busta Rhymes, Mr. "Woo-Hah!" himself. Embarking on his own allowed Busta to shine like never before on the Hip Hop stage and while others may be able to lay claim to the title of Best or Most Notable 1990's rapper, Busta doesn't need to compete. Busta is Busta and that's all he'll ever need to be.

The music video is "Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check" which would be the first maxi-single I ever got at a CD store, so automatically it's personal history for me. For those worried about lyrics, this is the slightly cleaned up version. For those who love things uncensored...well, there will be other videos for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVpSSkwPU4
"Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check" by Busta Rhymes

Kace-1 · 1,000 or More Posts Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 1092

B is for the Butthole Surfers.

We wrap up the letter B with the Butthole Surfers. Sometimes, they're billed as the B.H. Surfers. Before finally settling on their name, one of their aliases was the Dick Clark Five. They had been around for a while before Independent Worm Saloon was released in 1993 and "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" became a video darling of the Beavis And Butt-Head Age.

The lead singer, Gibby Haynes could have been a basketball star or a stock market guru, but he liked his rock & roll too much. Throughout the 1980's and under various stage names before finally going with, "Butthole Surfers," the group garnered some attention for itself in Texas, particularly in San Antonio, the Surfers' home base. They were eventually able to spread out, have a little controversy over their band name, have a song featured in a Nintendo commercial and have Erik Estrada be part of their music video for "Pepper." After 2001, the Butthole Surfers became the sometimes together, sometimes not so much band. Whether they ever return to the studio, Gibby and company have managed to carve their own wonderful and disturbing little niche into music history. Years from now, a few of us may still remember them. Even if it's just for the name.

The music video is for "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" which even sports an appearance by Flea, also best known as Needles from Back To The Future Part III. Oh and for being in that Red Hot Chili Peppers band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNAkbbKycCM
"Who Was In My Room Last Night?" by the Butthole Surfers