Otokichi

Here's almost a whole CD's worth of "I'm over you, clueless ex-boyfriend" songs. http://www.amazon.com/Local-Girls-Keahiwai/dp/B00005M9AF There are other, less angry tunes once you've put Mr. Scum in the past, too.

TBS' (Japan) series "Batsu Kare" ("One Boyfriend Down"/"Divorced Boyfriend") has an interesting theme song, performed by Lisa Loeb. (This comedy would be titled "Four and a Half Men" vs. Four Women, if Fox TV got hold of it.) At episode #9, additional lyrics appeared, and a "Dear John" date followed the song. "Koi no Arashi" or, Love Storm (Mariya Takeuchi) My heart is shaking I'm on fire, tonight Passionate fingers took me by surprize I can't go on like this Aching to feel your kiss Holding my love deep inside. I thought we'd always be the best of friends But now I see that's how our love began I can't stop thinking of My first taste of your love I'm guilty and that's a sin. Dance, dance, dance Touching cheek to cheek Pressing our bodies close As we keep dancing Chance, chance, chance What have we got to lose? We have the right to choose Falling in love *Driving past city lights *with you so near *Watching the rain *shine down like neon tears *Let's turn the engine off *and let's start talking by *Whispering your love endlessly Rain, rain, rain Falling so hard and loud But we can't hear it now Let's let the love storm rage Pain, pain, pain Want it so bad I ache Kiss me again, I pray Let's fall in love (Let's fall in love) I mention this song because it isn't to be found in any Lisa Loeb collection outside of Japan. (Kinda like the Carpenters version of "The Rainbow Connection" was an A&M Asia-only thing some years ago.) It sounds like this:

I first heard this on "The 50th Anniversary Album" and it's an interesting "Christmas" song by Jim Croce. "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way" Snowy nights and Christmas lights, Icy windowpanes, Make me wish that we could be Together again. And the windy winter avenues Just don't seem the same, And the Christmas carols sound like blues, But the choir is not to blame. But it doesn't have to be that way. What we had should never have ended. I'll be dropping by today. We could easily get it together tonight. It's only right. Crowded stores, the corner Santa Claus, Tinseled afternoons, And the sidewalk bands play their songs Slightly out of tune. Down the windy winter avenues There walks a lonely man, And if I told you who he is, Well I think you'd understand. But it doesn't have to be that way. What we had should never have ended. I'll be dropping by today. We could easily get it together tonight. It's only right. No, it doesn't have to be that way. What we had should never have ended. I'll be dropping by today. We could easily get it together tonight. It's only right.

Considering the season and the lyrics, would "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way" be considered a Christmas/Holiday song? (I'm thinking along the lines of Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne.")

Here's a number that goes out to the people of Jericho, KS: "Christmas at Ground Zero" by "Weird" Al Yankovic. Its christmas at ground zero Theres music in the air The sleigh bells are ringing and the carolers are singing While the air raid sirens blare Its christmas at ground zero The button has been pressed The radio just let us know That this is not a test Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping Its the end of all humanity No more time for last-minute shopping Its time to face your final destiny Its christmas at ground zero Theres panic in the crowd We can dodge debris while we trim the tree Underneath the mushroom cloud You might hear some reindeer on your rooftop Or jack frost on your windowsill But if someones climbing down your chimney You better load your gun and shoot to kill Its christmas at ground zero And if the radiation levels okay Ill go out with you and see all the new Mutations on new years day Its christmas at ground zero Just seconds left to go Ill duck and cover with my yuletide lover Underneath the mistletoe Its christmas at ground zero Now the missiles are on their way What a crazy fluke, were gonna get nuked On this jolly holiday **I found this odd tune on a Dr. Demento CD and it was a great "The Cold War is Over!" tune. But recent world events have put us at Ground Zero again.

"The Christmas Song" NOT performed by Mel Torme? (Tooted by Herb Alpert, no less? Herb's a fine trumpet player, but this song has to be sung.) If "The Velvet Fog" isn't your cup of Oolong, there's Tony Bennett. For a very different take on Christmas songs, check out "Mahalia Sings Songs of Christmas!" by Mahalia Jackson. A trip to Sam's Club for food drive canned goods brought me face to face with Elvis Presley's 1957 and 1971 Christmas albums, packaged into the 24 track "Elvis Christmas."

On the surface, it looks like a "so long, it was nice to be your lover, let's be friends" kind of song. But then, what do I know?

Only five? On a trip to the ISS, this one would pack the following DVDs: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" "Casablanca" "Forrest Gump" "Tampopo" "Amadeus" A bigger problem would be figuring which five music CDs would be best for Zero-G.

After all these years, I can finally agree that "MTV" has NOTHING to do with music. I recall that Husker Du said, the video gets people interested enough to listen to the music, but isn't an end in itself.

Ah yes, "Blender" magazine. Do ya think they use such a kitchen appliance to edit their "writing"? Most of the music groups listed are quite unfamiliar to me, with the exception of the 1960's and 1970's musicians. According to them, I can safely ignore them and buy/listen...to whom?

I suggest you find a copy of LucasArts' "X-Wing" and see if you can earn the Kalidor Crescent or better for taking out "Death Star." (Yes, it's a clunky DOS or Windows 98 computer game, but you won't need a PS3, Wii, or XBox to play it!) I got one for taking out every robot freighter, then wiping out every single TIE craft carried by an Imperial destroyer. (The X-Wing missiles did little more than scratch the destroyer's paint; one needs a Y-Wing plus X-Wings to take on such a "capital ship.") Yes, I was a Wing Commander I player on my crash-prone IBM Intel 80386DX minitower.

Well, 2006 isn't over yet, so Jack Black has ample opportunity to display his less-than-stellar movie roles. I might sign out the Aston Martin and forgive the producers replacing Baccarat with Poker just to see "James Blond" in action. (As I recall, Clint Eastwood was referred to as "Blondie" by Eli Wallach's "Tuco" in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." The newest 007 looks like that kind of "Blonde.")

For her impassioned versions of the originals which (mostly) succeeded, I finally found a version of John Lennon's "Imagine" that I could listen to. That would be The Unknown Songstress of Washington, D.C., Eva Cassidy. She did a very interesting version of "Fields of Gold" and a spirited version of "Cheek to Cheek." (Then there's "True Colors," but that's another Blix Street release.)

"Under The Boardwalk" performed by John MelleNcamp sounds OK, not quite as "interesting" as Bruce Willis' quavering version. I prefer The Drifters, if you're going to slow it down to the original tempo.

When I first saw/read "A Clockwork Orange," I thought of it as an aberration. These days, if you wander into the wrong big city neighborhood, you will face down "Droogs" and hope the "Millicents" are nearby to save your bacon! I haven't seen "Magnolia," but I've toured the South with "Steel Magnolias," "Fried Green Tomatoes," and "Cookie's Fortune." ("Places In The Heart" would do for the modern Conservative movie buff.) That reminds me, I'll have to add "Casablanca" to the DVD collection, along with "Scrooge." (With Reginald Owen playing a very interesting "Ebeneezer Scrooge.")

Way back in 2000, Keahiwai came up with the ultimate sendup of skanky boyfriends. "Local Girls" is full of "I'm over you forever!" songs such as "Over," "Promised Love," "Beat The Rest," "When You Say Nothing At All," and "You Just Don't Know." The followup CD featured love songs! :guitar:

I played the previous episode of "One Boyfriend Down" and this is what I think Lisa Loeb is singing about: "Koi no Arashi" or Love Storm (Mariya Takeuchi) My heart is shaking I'm on fire, tonight Passionate fingers took me by surprize I can't go on like this Aching to feel your kiss Holding my love deep inside. I thought we'd always be the best of friends But now I see that's how our love began I can't stop thinking of My first taste of your love I'm guilty and that's a sin. Dance, dance, dance Touching cheek to cheek Pressing our bodies close As we keep dancing Chance, chance, chance What have we got to lose? We have the right to choose Falling in love (Let's fall in love) Rain, rain, rain Falling so hard and loud But we can't hear it now Let's the love storm rage. Pain, pain, pain Want it so bad I ache Kiss me again, I pray Let's fall in love (Let's fall in love) ...Since this is a translation, it probably loses context. But it reads good enough to quote?

So "Hiro" has found that there are limitations to his time/space-shifting powers. There's a definite pecking order among the "Heroes," with two uber specials with cancelling powers over even "the collector." The Cheerleader has been saved, but are there others out there who haven't been "collected"? The other "new and interesting" show is "Jericho," which has confounded the critics and drawn a popular audience to "The Days After." The action reminds me of Pat Frank's 1959 novel, "Alas Babylon," where ordinary folk find ways to survive The Big One. Not bad for a series set in Kansas!

My significant other and I beat the Kona/South wind heat last week with "Happy Feet." So, getting accidentally punted onto the Winter ice made junior an awful singer but the best onscreen dancer since Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. (Michael Who?) This animated movie has just enough serious content/themes to keep adults from heading for the refreshment bar, especially when Robin Williams and the Chicano Adele penguins 'cho up. I find it odd that the hero still has his immature fuzzy feathers at the final "dance of the Emperors," but getting dropped on your head will do that! One observation: The Penguins beat "Casino Royale" and definitely are "shaken, not stirred."

As a "Star Trek" fan, I prefer the "original trilogy. I have the "spare, no money for DFX" versions on Ye Olde Laserdisc, and have the modern "special edition" set on DVD. I have seen "Star Wars I/II/III and find it a kid's trilogy. (The best thing about #1 is Weird Al Yankovic's musical take on it in the key of "American Pie.") So, let's fire up the "Millennium Falcon" and see if we can shave a few Parsecs off Han Solo's best run. (Oy, I see Capt. Sheridan and some Rangers in Hyperspace!)

Speaking of bending the Space/Time contiuum, Hawaii had it's own version of Woodstock about the same time. This was the Diamond Head Crater Festival, which took place every January 1st until the mid-1970's. All one had to do to see mainland and local acts on several stages was to buy a $5(?) ticket at the crater entrance or hike over the rim. The latter was an easy but dust dry hike for the reasonably fit. Back then, most of the crater floor was taken up with a main Rock stage a Folk and Hawaiian stage, with various concession stands, port-a-johns, and the occasional dope dealer. Santana, War, and numerous known, unknown, soon-to-be known performers helped ring in the new year. This was a sunrise to night festival for Druids, Rastas, and ordinary folk who hadn't gotten too bombed for New Year's Eve. A pricey, limited attendance version was held not too long ago, and what's left of War taped their set for future release. Significance? The 1970's in Hawaii saw the Hawaiian Music Renaissance, where The Sunday Manoa morphed into The Peter Moon Band and The Brothers Cazimero. Keola & Kapono Beamer, Andy Bumatai, The Makaha Sons of Niihau, Gabby Pahinui, were just a few local legends that welcomed the new year. As a photographer, I did take some Kodachromes and monochromes of those times, which now have a dreamlike quality--dust, fungus, fading will do that. :guitar:

It's not exactly obscure, just hard to get. Some years back, the local International TV channel (KIKU TV) broadcast a TBS Japan comedy-drama "Friends/Tomodachi" about Love and the unexpected people and situations that resulted. The theme was "The Rainbow Connection" performed by The Carpenters. At that time, this tune could only be found on "As Time Goes By," an A&M Asia release. Time has made this "Made In America" outtake available on several Carpenters CD compilations. Here's a new one, also taken from a TBS Japan comedy-drama, "One Boyfriend Down/Divorced Boyfriend." The tune is "Love Storm" by Lisa Loeb, which can't be found on ANY Lisa Loeb music CD. This is a translated version of "Koi No Arashi" by Mariya Takeuchi. I'll have to replay the T-120 and check on the English lyrics after the KIKU Mystery Movie runs.

How very odd. No one mentions the song made up on the spot to get around a mouse-chewed organ bellows. A simple song that's gone around the world, though it was arranged for choir and guitar in a small church. The would be "Stille Nacht" aka "Silent Night," which sums up Christmas to me. Out here, it's "Po La'i E" and goes like this: Po la'i e, po kamaha'o Maluhia, malamalama Ka makuahine aloha e Ma ke keiki hemolele e Moe me ka maluhia lani Moe me ka maluhia lani

Music alone, maybe not, words+music can FUBAR the status quo! Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" had a very interesting effect upon a whole country. While Aaron Copland was on a goodwill tour of Latin America, it happened that a performance of "Lincoln Portrait" had a fiery actress narrating the text in Spanish to an outdoor stadium audience. The local dictator, who had kept out of sight, made an appearance this day. When the final words "And that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth" were spoken, the 6,000 people at the concert rose up against the dictator. So it happened in 1950's Venezuela.

Three songs you've probably never heard of: In 1976, Jerry Santos wrote a song in English which sounds quite Hawaiian for Olomana's first release. "O Malia" O Malia don't be shy O Malia come raise your eyes For you have the beauty that was touched by nature's hand Your long dark hair blowing gently in the wind The sun on your brown shoulders knows that this is where you'd be O Malia stay by me O Malia we must be strong O Malia you've been silent too long So raise your voice in story of our land And tell them how our fathers worked by hand For they saw the beauty that only love could keep from dying O Malia don't you cry And though our lands they take away with their changes everyday And cement towers stand where we once played What they cannot take away is the love we share today And the children we shall bear to carry on... O Malia can't you see O Malia it's up to you and me So run and tell the children of our kind Tell them to be strong in hearts and minds And sing to them a song of a thousand years of pride O Malia take my hand It is time for us to stand "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i na opio" (The life of the land is perpetuated by its youth) This Robert Beaumont and Clifford Hopps song closed out "Like A Seabird In The Wind" (aka "Olomana") "Lullaby" It's time to sleep and you're tired We had a beautiful day The night has come and I must leave you to your childhood ways Good night keiki Sandman's coming to close your eyes He will bring you treasures and guard you through the night I see you lying there sleeping Filled with thoughts I have known If I could be there beside you I wouldn't feel so all alone Good night keiki Sandman's coming to close your eyes He will bring you treasures and guard you through the night Dream on, Dream on There's nothing you can't be Dream on, Dream on The world's yours to see. In 1980, Olomana (Jerry Santos & Robert Beaumont) did a great cover of a Liko Martin classic: "We Are The Children" O how I love to hear the whisper of the wind A gentle hearted songbird on the wing Somehow I feel you softly, feel your heart in mine With thoughts I have only for you my home Chorus: We are the children We are the dawn of life As hours go unending in an endless light We are the children We are the dawn of life Together we are changing in an endless light Sit upon a stone I trust to feel so close at times Tip to toe so gently I will stand O the flowers mile the hours gently onb my mind And the calling of the yellow feathered friend Tumble turning still I'm learning to glide on whispering wind Flicker little feathered friend of mine Can you imagine how things happen still I look to find The thoughts I have only for you my home. :guitar: