Dan Fogelberg - Same Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year 2011 for all of my reader. I'm just a crappy blogger who only blog when the time permits me.

A song that surely trigger some painful memory from each of us. I know it because this song did me that. So enjoy it while the last day of 2010 are hours away.

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 December 16, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and bluegrass music

As Fogelberg tells it on his official website, the song is totally autobiographical. He was visiting family back home in Peoria, Illinois in the mid-'70s when he ran into an old girlfriend at a convenience store.

After Fogelberg's death from prostate cancer in 2007, the woman who he wrote the song about came forward with her story. Her name is Jill Greulich, and she and Fogelberg dated in high school when she was Jill Anderson. As she explained to the Peoria Journal Star in a December 22, 2007 article, they were part of the Woodruff High School class of 1969, but went to different colleges. After college, Jill got married and moved to Chicago, and Dan went to Colorado to pursue music. On Christmas Eve, they were each back in Peoria with their families when Jill went out for egg nog and Dan was dispatched to find whipping cream for Irish coffee. The only place open was a convenience store at the top of Abington Hill, at Frye Avenue and Prospect Road, and that's where they had their encounter. They bought a six pack of beer and drank it in her car for 2 hours while they talked.

Five years later, Jill heard "Same Old Lang Syne" on the radio while driving to work, but she kept quiet about it, as Fogelberg also refused to reveal her identity. Her main concern was that coming forward would disrupt Fogelberg's marriage.

Looking at the lyrics, Jill says there are 2 inaccuracies: She has green eyes, not blue, and her husband was not an architect - he was a physical education teacher, and it's unlikely Fogelberg knew his profession anyway. Regarding the line, "She would have liked to say she loved the man, but she didn't like to lie," Jill won't talk about it, but she had divorced her husband by the time the song was released. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?i...

Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac Reads from "On The Road"

Kyu Sakamoto - Ashita ga aru sa

One of my favorite from Kyu Sakamoto. A cheerful song that have a good meaning if you can understand it. The song tells the story about a boy that everyday meets a girl at a train station but he is to afraid to confess his love to her and song is written in a comical sense.

I've read somewhere that it has been the anthem song for Olympic in Japan. I try to search the article back but couldn't get it anywhere.

Here is the song, enjoy!

Wish you were here

Introduced by a friend of mine last week and I was hooked with it. Slow but with meaningful message embedded in the lyrics. Will be on my music playlists while working out my flab.

Pink Floyd were an English rock band who earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music in the late 1960s, and for their progressive rock music in the 1970s. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Pink Floyd were formed in 1965, and originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett. The group were a popular fixture on London's underground music scene, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In 1968, guitarist and singer David Gilmour joined the line-up. Barrett was soon removed, due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. Following Barrett's departure, bass player and singer Roger Waters became the lyricist and dominant figure in the band, which went on to achieve worldwide critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall.

Space Oddity

This catchy tunes were discovered by me while watching Mr Deeds (2002). Adam Sandler sang part of this song in a scene were they were in the helicopter. Kinda prequel to Elton John's song, Rocketman for my taste. Anyway, enjoy the song.

Space Oddity by David Bowie 

Awesome keytar (keyboard guitar) playing

My brother ask me about this guitar shape keyboard and I told him honestly, I didn't know anything about it but I do ever saw it few years ago. So I Google it using phrase like "guitar keyboard", "keyboard guitar" and even putting question mark at the end of it. Never in my mind that the instrument name is "KEYTAR"!

Then after giving the name to him, he return a message to me with a link.

This is really seriously fun! Hmm.. Keytar, sitar... Sapetar (Sape + guitar)?

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man

I didn't know about this song until I finally have the time to listen to all of their song. This songs really  resembles me. Just be a simple man and always know there is someone up there.

Travie McCoy feat Bruno Mars - Billionaire

A relieve from drug, sex, money hip hop theme that we usually heard from this kind of songs. It is good to know that a real song like this still can be made in this generation. Bruno Mars voice is good and really suitable for this songs. Good song to dream a while in this stressful world. Enjoy the video...

RIP Ronnie James "Dio" (1942-2010)

I just read news about him passing today. A big legacy that he leave behind. A legend that will never be replaced with another.

Excerpt from Wikipedia :

Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the moniker Heaven & Hell, whose first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009. He died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010.

Dio can you hear me?

RIP Dio...

Les Paul - Extraordinaire Musician and Inventor

Without him, we might never heard Rock & Roll. He is also credited with many recording innovations, including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording.

Here is a short documentary I found out from YouTube that literally explain a bit about him.

"What's your name?

It's on your guitar... - Les Paul"

Les Paul died on August 12, 2009 at the age 94. A great loss to the music world. RIP

Yellow Matter Custard

It is a rare occasion that a group of well known musician gather and play Beatles songs. Here they are, Yellow Matter Custard : Paul Gilbert, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse and Matt Bissonette. Awesome performance!

RIP Alex Chilton (1950 -2010)

One of my favorite musician has died today. Alex Chilton. He may not be the greatest Jazz-er but he has a unique strumming that catches my attention when I first heard him.

Excerpt from Wikipedi,

William Alexander "Alex" Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial sales success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was not repeated in later years with Big Star and in his indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew a loyal following in the indie and alternative music fields, and is often cited as an influence by many mainstream rock artists and bands.

My baby just cares for me, one of the songs that he cover that catches my attention.

RIP Alex Chilton

Kyu Sakamoto

For those who born around eighties, surely remember a song called Sukiyaki popularized by a group of singers called 4PM when we were teenagers. But do you know about the actual singer who sang that song?

He is Kyu Sakamoto.

The real title for the song is "Ue o muite arukō". Here is the original video clip that I found from Youtube.com.

He will be remembered by millions... The Japanese Elvis Presley...

Changing Blog name

As for my 3rd anniversary of blog writing, I'm considering to put out another blog apart from my main blog. So here we are, Crappy Blogger on the loose.

This blog will be mainly on everyday things that happen and who know, I will post up anything good.  I know this blog are really worth your time.

Let me re-introduce myself again. I'm just an ordinary guy who have a family blessed with a little boy. I'm Beatles obsess and don't be surprise because we named our boy Sean Taro. :P Love Japanese culture so much (blame it to the TV). Even I'm typing this away, I'm listening to Late Kyu Sakamoto songs.

So tune in and drop in occasionally.