Sunday, August 31, 2008

Classic Music...for my Generation

Over the last few years I have begun to realize that my generation has its own classical music. The music of late, since the mid 90s has pretty much stunk, at least in my opinion. My iPod has some great "classical songs" and I will list a few of my favorites.

Anything by Styx
Styx the popular band from the 70s has several ballads that rock...literally! I honestly don't know what song is my favorite, so I will list them.

Come Sail Away--my new ringtone on my phone
Lady
Babe
Mr. Roboto

Their music has a lot of great piano and guitar solos. Its truly music. Some of their lyrics are a little weird, but the music is absolutely incredible.

Dancing on the Ceiling--Lionel Richie
I have always loved this song. It is the typical 80s anthem. Lots of partying, lots of synthesizer and a state of the art video for its time. This song is just fun!

Hold On--Wilson Phillips
This song was released in very late 1989 or early 1990. It features the trio of Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson. This group has some of the tightest and most beautiful harmony. The girls blend well together and have some awesome guitar parts in the song. This is another "feel good song." The chorus is as follows.

Some day somebody's gonna make you want toTurn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them Hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know?..Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can you hold on for one more day
Things'll go your way
Hold on for one more day
Sara--Starship
This song has somewhat sentinmental value. No, I don't have a gf named Sara, but it was one of the first music videos I ever saw. It also has a great sound to it and strong lead vocals by Mickey Thomas. Bottom line, I love this song!
Jump--Van Halen
The opening cords to this song set the stage for an awesome song. It also features an awesome guitar rip by Eddie VanHalen. The synthesizer line is also trademark 80s. This remains one of my favorite songs of the 80s and gets a lot of playing time on my iPod.
Pour Some Sugar on Me--Def Leppard
Like Jump by Van Halen, this song is typical 80s. I realized that it was a classic in 2001 when driving the teens to my corps to DisneyWorld. While driving through Georgia on our way to Florida, this song came on, two others in the van who were chaperones recognized the song when it came on. We all got excited and sang along in the van. One of the younger teens said, "Captain why are we listening to oldies?" I told him that this was an oldy but a goodie. Great song with lots of great musical rips in it.
Kyrie--Mr. Mister
This song like Sara was one of the first music videos I had ever seen. Remember I lived in Punxsutawney, PA and we did not get MTV until 1988, and I didn't hear of VH-1 until I moved to Connecticut later that year. I saw this video on NBC's Friday Night Videos. It is a great song by the Band Mr. Mister that remains their top single and is heard on the radio to this day.
Dancing Queen--ABBA
When you hear the piano glissando followed by the hummed vocals, you know the song that is coming on. It's no other than Dancing Queen by ABBA. The piano line is good on this song. Benny Andersson is incredible and the lead vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad is both sensual and harmonious. This remains one of my favorite songs and I have several versions of it on my iPod, but I always prefer the original ABBA versions.
There you have it. Those are just a few of the classic songs from my time. I welcome any comments that anyone would have.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Vacation at Rehoboth

Its been a while since I have posted, but we have had a busy few weeks. This culminated with our annual trek to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Rehoboth has been important to our family since 1981 when Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa and I went down and spent a week there. I fell in love with the water and the rides at the tender age of 7 and had a great time. The following year, Aunt Dot, Uncle Steve and Krista joined us and that was a lot of fun. It's always good to have a cousin to hang out with and ride rides with! It was also our last vacation with Grandpa and I have some great memories of that week.

Over the years, beginning in 1986, my parents began regular trips. I joined them in 1986-1988, then I began working at Camp. I would not resume going again until 1999, then as a married man.


This year our kids were really looking forward to going. Jay kept saying, "Dad, only two more days until we can eat Rehoboth and eat Grotto Pizza. Sam was looking forward to riding the Haunted Mansion and her new favorite ride--The Paratrooper, a ride that was once my favorite also.
We awoke Saturday the 9th and began our trek through, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. We hit some serious traffic in Central New Jersey, but this would be a blessing in disguise as the traffic around Rehoboth had dissapated by the time we got there.
We enjoyed our regular first evening dinner...Grotto Pizza. The kids went on rides, played games etc.
It was a great week. The water could have been warmer, but we were still able to enjoy it. I read a book while having my feet in the sand. In fact, I read Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. I enjoyed it and reading helped me see that this man who is now the Democratic Nominee is a real guy. He seems like one of us.On the way home, we stopped quickly in Lancaster County to visit Grandma and stopped by to see Grandpa at the Nursing Home. Mom, Dad and Tracy stayed behind a day, but we returned back home on Saturday. On the way home, driving up I-95, I was excited to get home. It was good to go on vacation, but once I am in the car going home, I want to get home!
Our next big vacation will be another cruise with Mom, Dad and Tracy next fall. That should be a good time.