Category: Deb

Musical Pleasures

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Thanks to my parents and older siblings, music was always playing in our house. (Like this, this & this.) We took piano lessons and we each learned a different musical instrument. And most of us were at least semi-talented vocally. We were HUGE music lovers and appreciators, if nothing else. Plus, there were those Rodgers & Hammerstein and Hayley Mills movie musicals that played practically non-stop on at least one TV set.

Ergo, my obsession with music developed pretty early. I wore the grooves off “Sneaky Snake” and “Hound Dog” by the time I was eight. (Incidentally, not until I was much older, did I realize that this version of “Hound Dog,” was not by Elvis, but was a cover by “The Big Bop” – not to be confused with The Big Bopper.) 

I made my first “mix tape” when I was ten. It was a 60-minute Memorex with a black label, with songs recorded straight from the radio, complete with the beginnings and ends cut off, as well as the radio DJ’s talking over the intros.

Earlier today, I had a particular song on repeat. After a while, I wondered how many times it had played. Thanks to the wonders of  iTunes, the number of times an individual track is played is actually recorded and stored as part of your library. Curious, I checked out my tracks in the order of the number of plays. The list was not surprising. But it got me thinking. . . . 
If I’d had access to such a “counter” my entire life, what songs would’ve been played the most? 
Interesting idea. 
So I thought back to the major chunks of my life, remembering what songs were important to me. Meaning, what music did I play over and over and over until the tape broke? 

In chronological order, here are the songs that would probably be at the very tip-top of my iTunes “plays” counter list during my formative years:
Elementary School:
The Lonely Goatherd – The Sound of Music
Billy Jean – Michael Jackson 
Junior High:
High School:
Monkey – George Michael
Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard 
Lost in your Eyes – Debbie Gibson
College:

And just because I love lists so much (and in the spirit of full, embarrassing disclosure), here are the songs that compile my current Top Ten Most Played, according to iTunes:


I’m curious. What do you think is on the top of YOUR most-played “iTunes of all times” list? 
Do share. . . .

Musical Pleasures

Leave a comment
Thanks to my parents and older siblings, music was always playing in our house. (Like this, this & this.) We took piano lessons and we each learned a different musical instrument. And most of us were at least semi-talented vocally. We were HUGE music lovers and appreciators, if nothing else. Plus, there were those Rodgers & Hammerstein and Hayley Mills movie musicals that played practically non-stop on at least one TV set.

Ergo, my obsession with music developed pretty early. I wore the grooves off “Sneaky Snake” and “Hound Dog” by the time I was eight. (Incidentally, not until I was much older, did I realize that this version of “Hound Dog,” was not by Elvis, but was a cover by “The Big Bop” – not to be confused with The Big Bopper.) 

I made my first “mix tape” when I was ten. It was a 60-minute Memorex with a black label, with songs recorded straight from the radio, complete with the beginnings and ends cut off, as well as the radio DJ’s talking over the intros.

Earlier today, I had a particular song on repeat. After a while, I wondered how many times it had played. Thanks to the wonders of  iTunes, the number of times an individual track is played is actually recorded and stored as part of your library. Curious, I checked out my tracks in the order of the number of plays. The list was not surprising. But it got me thinking. . . . 
If I’d had access to such a “counter” my entire life, what songs would’ve been played the most? 
Interesting idea. 
So I thought back to the major chunks of my life, remembering what songs were important to me. Meaning, what music did I play over and over and over until the tape broke? 

In chronological order, here are the songs that would probably be at the very tip-top of my iTunes “plays” counter list during my formative years:
Elementary School:
The Lonely Goatherd – The Sound of Music
Billy Jean – Michael Jackson 
Junior High:
High School:
Monkey – George Michael
Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard 
Lost in your Eyes – Debbie Gibson
College:

And just because I love lists so much (and in the spirit of full, embarrassing disclosure), here are the songs that compile my current Top Ten Most Played, according to iTunes:


I’m curious. What do you think is on the top of YOUR most-played “iTunes of all times” list? 
Do share. . . .

music to my ears

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June. 1990. Sacramento. Football stadium in the guise of a concert venue. My first live show.
            “Where are our seats?” I asked my two friends—J and T—who were flanking me as we walked across the green grass of the field.
            “Up…there.” J pointed approximately two thousand rows up. We turned from there toward the stage, gauging the distance. Then moaned. Billy Joel’s greatest hits was playing over the loud speaker, beckoning us toward the stage like a siren’s song, where a hundred people sat on the grass in sporadic groups.
            “Let’s just wander over there,” T suggested. “When they check our tickets, we’ll leave and find our seats.” Yeah. Seemed logical.
            So we joined the crowd on the five yard line just as the opening act took the stage. No one checked our tickets, and the empty spots on the grass around us quickly began filling with fans. As we swayed and attempted to sing along to the weird British band no one’s ever heard of, our trio smiled at each other, none of us willing to do the right thing and give up our spots, while individually wondering if we could be thrown in Juvenile Hall for our actions. After a while, however, it was pretty evident that we were safe. As Bros made their lackluster exit…the teenaged shrieking began. I guarantee I was one of the loudest.
sing it, Deb!

            When she took the stage—the girl who, for years, had molded and inspired everything from the way I wore my hair in a high, seemingly-sloppy pony tail, to the little faces I drew on my knees through the rip in my jeans, to her trademark black fedora I simply had to have—it felt like I was in a dream. I never knew you could be so close to a celebrity. And it was love at first sight. She opened with this, and two hours later (after a few thousand signature hops, fists, finger points and jazz fingers), ended with this. (PS: I still know the dance.) As promised by Deb, there truly was electricity in the air that night. And, as far as live music…I was hooked.
Twenty years later, I haven’t looked back.



Here’s a little sampling of who I’ve seen live on stage:
Debbie Gibson (twice), No Doubt. Backstreet Boys (twice), Marie Osmond, The Eagles, Great White, Air Supply, REO Speedwagon, Nickleback, Panic at the Disco, Gavin DeGraw, Don Henley, Barry Manilow (twice), Marilyn Manson, Dasboard Confessional, Ingrid Michaelson, Stained, Harry Connick, Jr., Mandy Moore, Lyle Lovett, Bret Michaels, Sara Bareilles (twice), Maroon 5 (twice), Paramore, Lonestar Attitude, CCR, OneRepublic, Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Train, and too many cover bands and Beatles tribute bands to name, although I do have my favorites.

Who I still want to see:
Debbie Gibson (again), Alanis Morissette, McFly, The Spice Girls (don’t judge me!), Lionel Richie, The Corrs, Sara Bareilles (every time she rolls through town, please), Eliza Doolittle, James Taylor

Bonus list of who-I-still-want-to-sees:
The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson
“hee-hoo”

“If there’s a Rock and Roll heaven, well you know they got a *bleep* of a band…”

music to my ears

Leave a comment
June. 1990. Sacramento. Football stadium in the guise of a concert venue. My first live show.
            “Where are our seats?” I asked my two friends—J and T—who were flanking me as we walked across the green grass of the field.
            “Up…there.” J pointed approximately two thousand rows up. We turned from there toward the stage, gauging the distance. Then moaned. Billy Joel’s greatest hits was playing over the loud speaker, beckoning us toward the stage like a siren’s song, where a hundred people sat on the grass in sporadic groups.
            “Let’s just wander over there,” T suggested. “When they check our tickets, we’ll leave and find our seats.” Yeah. Seemed logical.
            So we joined the crowd on the five yard line just as the opening act took the stage. No one checked our tickets, and the empty spots on the grass around us quickly began filling with fans. As we swayed and attempted to sing along to the weird British band no one’s ever heard of, our trio smiled at each other, none of us willing to do the right thing and give up our spots, while individually wondering if we could be thrown in Juvenile Hall for our actions. After a while, however, it was pretty evident that we were safe. As Bros made their lackluster exit…the teenaged shrieking began. I guarantee I was one of the loudest.
sing it, Deb!

            When she took the stage—the girl who, for years, had molded and inspired everything from the way I wore my hair in a high, seemingly-sloppy pony tail, to the little faces I drew on my knees through the rip in my jeans, to her trademark black fedora I simply had to have—it felt like I was in a dream. I never knew you could be so close to a celebrity. And it was love at first sight. She opened with this, and two hours later (after a few thousand signature hops, fists, finger points and jazz fingers), ended with this. (PS: I still know the dance.) As promised by Deb, there truly was electricity in the air that night. And, as far as live music…I was hooked.
Twenty years later, I haven’t looked back.



Here’s a little sampling of who I’ve seen live on stage:
Debbie Gibson (twice), No Doubt. Backstreet Boys (twice), Marie Osmond, The Eagles, Great White, Air Supply, REO Speedwagon, Nickleback, Panic at the Disco, Gavin DeGraw, Don Henley, Barry Manilow (twice), Marilyn Manson, Dasboard Confessional, Ingrid Michaelson, Stained, Harry Connick, Jr., Mandy Moore, Lyle Lovett, Bret Michaels, Sara Bareilles (twice), Maroon 5 (twice), Paramore, Lonestar Attitude, CCR, OneRepublic, Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Train, and too many cover bands and Beatles tribute bands to name, although I do have my favorites.

Who I still want to see:
Debbie Gibson (again), Alanis Morissette, McFly, The Spice Girls (don’t judge me!), Lionel Richie, The Corrs, Sara Bareilles (every time she rolls through town, please), Eliza Doolittle, James Taylor

Bonus list of who-I-still-want-to-sees:
The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson
“hee-hoo”

“If there’s a Rock and Roll heaven, well you know they got a *bleep* of a band…”