#1
"Nobody Does It Better" is a power ballad composed by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager. It was recorded by Carly Simon as the theme song for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was the first Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film, although the phrase "the spy who loved me" is included in the lyrics. Released as a single from the film's soundtrack album, the song became a hit (spending three weeks at #2 on the US singles chart and reaching #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart). The song also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
The title of the theme was later used for Carly Simon's 1999 greatest hits album, The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better.
In 2004, the song was honored by the American Film Institute as the 67th greatest song as part of their 100 Years Series.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (1998)
"Better off Alone" is the first single by Dutch pop-eurodance group Alice DeeJay from their debut album Who Needs Guitars Anyway?. It was originally written and released in 1998, on a Canadian label (ISBA Music Entertainment Inc.) but was re-released in 1999 by Positiva Records, Universal and Republic.
"Do you think you're better off alone?" is the song's primary line, and was written by Pronti of Dutch producers Pronti & Kalmani after his lover left him. The song's secondary line, "Talk to me" was borrowed from The Eurythmics hit song "Here Comes The Rain Again". The song was originally intended to be an instrumental piece, but vocalist Judith Pronk was called upon to sing the lyrics because DJ Jurgen, who was involved in the project, wished to remain an underground DJ.
Pronk changed her stagename to Alice DeeJay after the track was released. The track was released to dance clubs and became an international hit in clubs reaching number 2 on the Billboard club charts and a top ten club chart worldwide. The song then became a hit reaching #2 in Canada, #27 in the U.S., and #2 in the UK. It went on to become one of the 10 best-selling singles of 1999 - the top-selling year for singles in the UK, with the exception of 1997, which was largely due to Elton John's rerelease of Candle in the Wind. The song was in the top 100 bestselling singles in Australia for 2000 as compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
"Do you think you're better off alone?" is the song's primary line, and was written by Pronti of Dutch producers Pronti & Kalmani after his lover left him. The song's secondary line, "Talk to me" was borrowed from The Eurythmics hit song "Here Comes The Rain Again". The song was originally intended to be an instrumental piece, but vocalist Judith Pronk was called upon to sing the lyrics because DJ Jurgen, who was involved in the project, wished to remain an underground DJ.
Pronk changed her stagename to Alice DeeJay after the track was released. The track was released to dance clubs and became an international hit in clubs reaching number 2 on the Billboard club charts and a top ten club chart worldwide. The song then became a hit reaching #2 in Canada, #27 in the U.S., and #2 in the UK. It went on to become one of the 10 best-selling singles of 1999 - the top-selling year for singles in the UK, with the exception of 1997, which was largely due to Elton John's rerelease of Candle in the Wind. The song was in the top 100 bestselling singles in Australia for 2000 as compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The Ocean Blue - "Sublime" (1993)
A "Sublime" moment is a beautiful thing.
The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is an American indie pop band that combines melodic guitars and synthesizers. Its core original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and vocals.
The Ocean Blue's members were just teenagers and still in high school when they signed a three-album deal in 1988 with Sire Records, at the behest of Sire founder Seymour Stein. The Ocean Blue's self-titled album debuted in the fall of 1989 and many listeners were surprised to learn that the band wasn't British. The first single release was the song "Between Something and Nothing", an Echo & the Bunnymen-inspired rocker which hit the modern rock top-10 in 1989.
The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is an American indie pop band that combines melodic guitars and synthesizers. Its core original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and vocals.
The Ocean Blue's members were just teenagers and still in high school when they signed a three-album deal in 1988 with Sire Records, at the behest of Sire founder Seymour Stein. The Ocean Blue's self-titled album debuted in the fall of 1989 and many listeners were surprised to learn that the band wasn't British. The first single release was the song "Between Something and Nothing", an Echo & the Bunnymen-inspired rocker which hit the modern rock top-10 in 1989.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime (1970)
"In the Summertime" is a song recorded in 1970 by the British pop-blues band Mungo Jerry. Written by the group's leader Ray Dorset, this song, which celebrates the carefree days of summer, reached the Number 1 position on charts around the world (including seven weeks in the UK), Number 1 for 2 weeks in Canada, and Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It is considered one of the highest selling singles of all time with an estimated 5-10 million copies sold. It was also the year-end top seller of 1970 in the UK singles chart.
"In the Summertime" was featured in the official soundtrack of the 2005 film, Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
"In the Summertime" can be heard in the background of a scene in Mr. Deeds
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 1997 Welsh film Twin Town, directed by Kevin Allen, and starring Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott
"In the Summertime" can be found at the beginning of the movie Drowning Mona
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 2008 film, An American Carol
"In the Summertime" is used in the UK version of Life On Mars, second series, second episode.
"In the Summertime" was used and modified as a Canadian commercial jingle for Kraft Barbecue Sauce in the 1980s.
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show The Simpsons in Season 15, Episode 20: "The Way We Weren't".
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show Only Fools and Horses in the episode It Never Rains...
"In the Summertime" was used in the TV show The Cleveland Show in Season 2, Episode 16: "The Way The Cookie Crumbles".
"In the Summertime" was featured in the official soundtrack of the 2005 film, Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
"In the Summertime" can be heard in the background of a scene in Mr. Deeds
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 1997 Welsh film Twin Town, directed by Kevin Allen, and starring Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott
"In the Summertime" can be found at the beginning of the movie Drowning Mona
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 2008 film, An American Carol
"In the Summertime" is used in the UK version of Life On Mars, second series, second episode.
"In the Summertime" was used and modified as a Canadian commercial jingle for Kraft Barbecue Sauce in the 1980s.
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show The Simpsons in Season 15, Episode 20: "The Way We Weren't".
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show Only Fools and Horses in the episode It Never Rains...
"In the Summertime" was used in the TV show The Cleveland Show in Season 2, Episode 16: "The Way The Cookie Crumbles".
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?" (1984)
"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Written by Smiths singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, it was originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing".
"How Soon Is Now?" was subsequently featured on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and on American, Australian and Warner UK editions of the group's second album Meat Is Murder (1985). It was belatedly released as a single in the UK in 1985, where it reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sire Records chief Seymour Stein called it "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties", while co-writer Johnny Marr described it as "possibly our most enduring record. It's most people's favourite, I think." Despite its prominent place in The Smiths' repertoire, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style. Although a club favourite, "How Soon Is Now?" did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right. The original track runs for nearly seven minutes; however, the 7" single edit cut the length down to under four minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations. The song has been widely praised for the artistry of its lyrics.
The song contains only one verse which is repeated twice, plus a chorus and a bridge. The subject is an individual who cannot find a way to break out of his shyness. Two couplets from the song are well known in pop culture, the opening to the verse: "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am the son and heir, of nothing in particular", and the chorus: "I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does". The opening was adapted from a line in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch: "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular". Music journalist Jon Savage commented that the song's lyrics were evocative of contemporary Manchester gay club culture.
"How Soon Is Now?" was subsequently featured on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and on American, Australian and Warner UK editions of the group's second album Meat Is Murder (1985). It was belatedly released as a single in the UK in 1985, where it reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sire Records chief Seymour Stein called it "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties", while co-writer Johnny Marr described it as "possibly our most enduring record. It's most people's favourite, I think." Despite its prominent place in The Smiths' repertoire, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style. Although a club favourite, "How Soon Is Now?" did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right. The original track runs for nearly seven minutes; however, the 7" single edit cut the length down to under four minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations. The song has been widely praised for the artistry of its lyrics.
The song contains only one verse which is repeated twice, plus a chorus and a bridge. The subject is an individual who cannot find a way to break out of his shyness. Two couplets from the song are well known in pop culture, the opening to the verse: "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am the son and heir, of nothing in particular", and the chorus: "I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does". The opening was adapted from a line in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch: "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular". Music journalist Jon Savage commented that the song's lyrics were evocative of contemporary Manchester gay club culture.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Journey - "Lovin, Touchin', Squeezin' (1979)
Here's another classic that I was reintroduced to while watching Season I, Episode I of GLEE.
Evolution is the name of Journey's fifth studio album. It was released in April 1979 on the Columbia Records label.
The album was their highest charting album to date, selling three million copies in the United States. They retained Roy Thomas Baker as producer but drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced with Steve Smith, formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band.
Evolution features their first top 20 hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", which was inspired by the classic Sam Cooke tune "Nothing Can Change This Love". "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" reached #16 in the United States. "Just the Same Way" featured original lead vocalist Gregg Rolie along with Steve Perry. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appears as part of "The Big Medley" on Dream Theater's EP, A Change of Seasons. The original recording of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appeared in the pilot episode of Glee and was used and recorded by the cast of Glee for a mash-up with "Any Way You Want It" for the first season finale.
Evolution is the name of Journey's fifth studio album. It was released in April 1979 on the Columbia Records label.
The album was their highest charting album to date, selling three million copies in the United States. They retained Roy Thomas Baker as producer but drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced with Steve Smith, formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band.
Evolution features their first top 20 hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", which was inspired by the classic Sam Cooke tune "Nothing Can Change This Love". "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" reached #16 in the United States. "Just the Same Way" featured original lead vocalist Gregg Rolie along with Steve Perry. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appears as part of "The Big Medley" on Dream Theater's EP, A Change of Seasons. The original recording of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appeared in the pilot episode of Glee and was used and recorded by the cast of Glee for a mash-up with "Any Way You Want It" for the first season finale.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
REO Speedwagon - "I Can't Fight This Feeling" (1984)
I was on an Air France flight watching the first episode of GLEE (Season I) when I heard this song and remembered it. It went so well with the GLEE storyline and it's a ballad that many can easily identify with, so I had to share it here on the Daily Throwback.
"Can't Fight This Feeling" (often mistitled "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" is a number-one power ballad from REO Speedwagon about a man falling in love with a girl with whom he has been friends for a long time.
The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was the group's second number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1981's "Keep on Loving You", also written by Kevin Cronin) and reached number sixteen in the UK.
"Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums. It has also been featured on soundtracks of movies such as "Not Another Teen Movie", "Waiting...", and, most recently, "Kickin' It Old Skool" and "Sex Drive". The song was also heard on the South Park episode "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", the Fringe episode "Power Hungry" as well as in the Showtime hit series Queer as Folk.
REO Speedwagon performed the song at the 1985 Live Aid concert and it was sung at the end of "Horton Hears a Who!". The song's popularity had a resurgence following a cover version by Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) and the Glee Cast from the popular TV show "GLEE". It was referred to again recently in The CW show Supernatural (in the second season episode #5, "Simon Said", Jo Harvelle turns this song on for Dean Winchester in Harvelle's Roadhouse, later he sings it in the car claiming the song had stuck in his head). It was also featured prominently in advertising for the film Horton Hears a Who!, and sung by the major characters near the end of the movie as the titular character celebrates his vindication and his charges' salvation. It was also used in a Valentine's Day 2008-2009 commercial for Hallmark Cards. It was again featured in an early episode of King of the Hill when Dale marries Nancy.
Two different music videos exist for the song. One is a basic video, appearing almost homemade, featuring the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the song officially begins; the video essentially consists of the band members lip-synching to the original track of the song. It then concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!" The other version of the video is much more "professional," and makes various references to the life-cycle. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic.
"Can't Fight This Feeling" (often mistitled "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" is a number-one power ballad from REO Speedwagon about a man falling in love with a girl with whom he has been friends for a long time.
The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was the group's second number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1981's "Keep on Loving You", also written by Kevin Cronin) and reached number sixteen in the UK.
"Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums. It has also been featured on soundtracks of movies such as "Not Another Teen Movie", "Waiting...", and, most recently, "Kickin' It Old Skool" and "Sex Drive". The song was also heard on the South Park episode "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", the Fringe episode "Power Hungry" as well as in the Showtime hit series Queer as Folk.
REO Speedwagon performed the song at the 1985 Live Aid concert and it was sung at the end of "Horton Hears a Who!". The song's popularity had a resurgence following a cover version by Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) and the Glee Cast from the popular TV show "GLEE". It was referred to again recently in The CW show Supernatural (in the second season episode #5, "Simon Said", Jo Harvelle turns this song on for Dean Winchester in Harvelle's Roadhouse, later he sings it in the car claiming the song had stuck in his head). It was also featured prominently in advertising for the film Horton Hears a Who!, and sung by the major characters near the end of the movie as the titular character celebrates his vindication and his charges' salvation. It was also used in a Valentine's Day 2008-2009 commercial for Hallmark Cards. It was again featured in an early episode of King of the Hill when Dale marries Nancy.
Two different music videos exist for the song. One is a basic video, appearing almost homemade, featuring the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the song officially begins; the video essentially consists of the band members lip-synching to the original track of the song. It then concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!" The other version of the video is much more "professional," and makes various references to the life-cycle. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic.
John Williams and Itzak Perlman - "Schindler's List Theme Song" (1993)
Schindler's List is the original soundtrack, on the MCA label, of the 1993 film Schindler's List starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Caroline Goodall.
The original score and songs were composed by John Williams, and features violin player Itzhak Perlman.
The album won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for "Best Original Score" and the Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television". It was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
The original score and songs were composed by John Williams, and features violin player Itzhak Perlman.
The album won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for "Best Original Score" and the Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television". It was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Lightning Seeds - Pure (1989)
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer) in 1989.
In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20. The same year "Joy" and "All I Want" were also released but failed to make an impression.
"Pure" had some success in the US Billboard Top 40 reaching #32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10.
In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20. The same year "Joy" and "All I Want" were also released but failed to make an impression.
"Pure" had some success in the US Billboard Top 40 reaching #32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (1989)
"She Drives Me Crazy" is a song recorded by the Fine Young Cannibals, included on their 1989 album The Raw and the Cooked. The song peaked at #5 as a single in the band's native UK in January 1989 (it was released on New Year's Day) before hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. on 15 April 1989. It appeared on The Raw and Cooked album the following month.
It also made number 3 on the Dutch Top 40. A remixed version was released in 1997.
The unique snare drum "pop" sound was created by recording the snare drum portion separately. A speaker was then placed on top of the snare drum, and a microphone below. The original recording of the snare drum part was played back through the speaker and re-recorded.
It also made number 3 on the Dutch Top 40. A remixed version was released in 1997.
The unique snare drum "pop" sound was created by recording the snare drum portion separately. A speaker was then placed on top of the snare drum, and a microphone below. The original recording of the snare drum part was played back through the speaker and re-recorded.
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