UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

Requirements: on first listen, you’d be immediately smitten by the melody, whether or not you understand the lyrics is secondary.

IMHO the catchiest of them all is La Marseillaise, the French national anthem:

It’s followed by the Soviet Union’s anthem:

Followed by Das Deutschlandlied, Germany’s national anthem:

Followed by the national anthem of Canada:

Honourable mention: it was reported that in April 2010, a poll was started by the Commonwealth Games Council for England, to ask the public which anthem should be played for Team England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. There were 3 choices: God Save the Queen, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory. Result: Jerusalem won, garnering 52% of the vote. If indeed England decides to officially declare that this is its national anthem, then it surely is one of the catchiest national anthems in the world:

Popularity: 1% [?]

While performing at a Jewish orthodox synagogue in Slovakia, violinist Lukas Kmit was interrupted by a mobile phone ringing, that very familiar Nokia jingle.

After pausing and giving the guilty party an annoyed glare, Kmit did the unexpected: continuing his performance with an on-the-spot improvisation of that ringtone, earning him applause from the appreciative crowd.

The video was uploaded to youtube in July 2011.

It starts at 0:38 in the following video:

Yes, he definitely has made his point.

Note: while seemingly genuine, this video could very well be a viral marketing exercise by Nokia.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Dominique Boivin (born 1952) is a French dance choreographer.

His partner is a five-ton excavator – his body gets in touch with the ground, now this is truly dirty dancing.

The machine’s movements are preprogrammed to move in time to classical music, perhaps piped to wireless speakers during performances.

Hence this is a truly bizarre man-machine dance duet.

He’s been promoting the one-of-a-kind show in various places around the world.

The programme notes say:

The dance relives those childhood moments where proportions take on another dimension, and where the street becomes a playground… the dancer meets, greets, and embraces a moving excavator, transforming the stage into a construction site and dance into a tentative balance between nature, man, and machine.

Popularity: 1% [?]

According to Record Collector magazine, it’s the “Capitol executives” cover of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album (released 1967).

In it, the original Sgt Pepper collage done by Sir Peter Blake was modified in that the faces of the members of the Fab Four Beatles and other notable figures were replaced with those of executives from Capitol.

It was specially created to celebrate the success of the record, for Christmas of 1967.

It’s now reportedly worth GBP70,000.

Apparently only around 100 were made.

The original

Isn’t it weird that while you’ve might have heard the album many times before, the sight of the CD / vinyl inside a different-than-expected cover makes you want to listen to it again on home theatre systems?

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Daily Mail reported on 17th October 2011 that a study commissioned by Radox Spa and conducted by Dr David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International has listed the top 10 most relaxing songs in the world – more relaxing than even a massage. They are so relaxing that you’re not recommended to listen to them while driving, lest you fall asleep. They do so by slowing down listeners’ heart rate, breathing and reducing brain activity.

According to the study, the most relaxing song of them all is Marconi Union’s Weightless. The Manchester band reportedy collaborated with sound therapists so that they make the “most effective use of harmonies, rhythms and bass lines.” The song turned out to be even more relaxing than Enya’s celebrated yawn-inducing song: Watermark.

I can’t find any audio to Weightless online, but here are some of the other songs in the top 10:

Airstream – Electra

DJ Shah – Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix)

Enya – Watermark

Coldplay – Strawberry Swing

Barcelona – Please Don’t Go

Mozart – Canzonetta Sull’aria

Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, was quoted to have said:

Weightless makes use of many musical principles that have been shown to individually have a calming effect. By combining these elements in the way Marconi Union have has created the perfect relaxing song. The study found this to be the world’s most relaxing song. It contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50. While listening, your heart rate gradually comes to match that beat. It is important that the song is eight minutes long because it takes about five minutes for this process, known as entrainment, to occur. The fall in heart rate also leads to a fall in blood pressure. The harmonic intervals – or gaps between notes – have been chosen to create a feeling of euphoria and comfort. And there is no repeating melody, which allows your brain to completely switch off because you are no longer trying to predict what is coming next. Instead, there are random chimes, which helps to induce a deeper sense of relaxation. The final element is the low, whooshing sounds and hums that are like buddhist chants. High tones stimulate but these low tones put you in a trance-like state. Weightless is ideal for putting on at the end of a stressful day and unwinding.

Dr Lewis-Hodgson himself said:

The results clearly show that the track induced the greatest relaxation – higher than any of the other music tested. Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions. In fact, Weightless was so effective, many women became drowsy and I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.

Popularity: 1% [?]

There are many Christian bands in metal subgenres, including thrash, doom, death and even black.

How far could one go?

Crimson Thorn of the USA has been described by Allmusic as “surely one of the world’s most extreme-sounding Christian metal bands”

Their song with the most youtube views is Withered, taken from their Purification LP released in 2002:

Popularity: 1% [?]

Kyu Sakamoto’s song “Ue o Muite Arukō” (上を向いて歩こう), written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura is the undisputed biggest Asian hit song in history.

It is best known under the alternative title “Sukiyaki” in English-speaking parts of the world.

It topped the USA’s Billboard Hot 100 charts 1963, and the only Japanese-language (and probably any non-Western language too) song ever to do so.

It has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, one of only about 27 songs to have ever managed to do so.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By rock band I mean the girls must not merely sing, they must play their own instruments too.

Goldie & the Gingerbreads of the USA, was the first all-girl rock band signed to a major record label, Decca in 1963.

Active from 1962 to 1967 it was made up of:

Goldie Zelkowitz (Genya Ravan): lead vocals, harmonica;
Carol MacDonald (joined 1963, died 2007): guitar and vocals.
Ginger Bianco: percussion
Margo Lewis: organ

This is not to say that there were no all-women rock groups before them – there were, but most big record labels were not interested in them and they were not big live draws.

So yes, Ginger, Margo, Carol and Goldie were something of a trendsetter, at a time when most women were perhaps more into more homely things like carpet cleaning raleigh or elsewhere.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Johnny Hallyday (born 1943), the French singer and actor has been called the French Elvis. He’s relatively unknown outside of France, hence his nickname of “the biggest rock star you have never heard of” in English-speaking nations.

His career has spanned 50 years, and is considered by some to be France’s only rock icon.

He has sold more than 100 million records, which is even more than arguably better known and years-established superstars like Bob Dylan, Christina Aguilera, Duran Duran, Jennifer Lopez, UB40, Beyonce, Boney M, Eminem, Gloria Estefan, Eurythmics, Iron Maiden, Prince, Santana, Spice Girls and Van Halen ever made.

He started his career at the age of 16 and became famous in the sixties for singing rock n roll in French.

His debut single was “Laisse les filles”, released in March 1960:

His cover of “Let’s Twist Again” in 1961 sold over 1 million, topped many European charts, yet failed to crack that all-important British charts:

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Carpenters were made up of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. They were the top selling American music act of the 1970s, scoring 12 top 10 and 3 number 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. They have sold more than 100 million records.

Karen Carpenter (1950-1983) was the lead vocalist with a pure, effortless voice. At the same time, she was an exceptional drummer. Her skills were commended by excellent drummers of the time including Hal Blaine, Cubby O’Brien and Buddy “the world’s greatest drummer” Rich.

When the group first started, Karen was both the lead singer and drummer. It was only starting in 1973 that she stood at the mike while another person played the drums.

The following video showcases her undeniable drumming talent, while singing at the same time:

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’m focusing on that golden era (late 1970s & early 1980s) where the best and most memorable songs are exquisitely beautiful sad songs sung by ladies with golden voices. Some have called this period the golden age of melancholic pop.

Most, if not all of the songs are available for download – google/youtube them.

Please correct/add/delete as necessary, thanks.

Format: vocalist – song title (songwriter)

Before the era:

1970s
Tetty Kadi – Senandung Rindu (A Riyanto)

1973
Broery Marantika – Angin Malam (A Riyanto) [and all songs in Achir Sebuah Impian OST]

1976-77
Bop Tutupoli – Widuri

The era begins:

1978
Diana Nasution – Jangan Biarkan (Hanny Tuhateru)
Diana Nasution – Benci Tapi Rindu (Rinto Harahap)

1979
Iis Sugianto – Jangan Sakiti Hatinya (Rinto Harahap)
Hetty Koes Endang – Dingin (Rinto Harahap)
Ebiet G Ade – Lagu Untuk Sebuah Nama (Ebiet G Ade) [off Camellia I]
Ebiet G Ade – Camellia I (Ebiet G Ade) [ditto]
Ebiet G Ade – Berita Kepada Kawan (Ebiet G Ade) [off Camellia II, produced in the same year as Camellia I]
Ebiet G Ade – Camellia II (Ebiet G Ade) [ditto]
Rita Butar Butar – Seandainya AKu Punya Sayap (Rinto Harahap)

1980
Iis Sugianto – Nasibmu Nasibku (Rinto Harahap)
Ebiet G Ade – Elegi Esok Pagi (Ebiet G Ade)
Nur Afni Oktavia – Bila Kau Seorang Diri (Rinto Harahap)
Nia Daniaty – Kaulah Segalanya (Rinto Harahap) [another blog said this song was released in 1981]

1981
Iis Sugianto – Bunga Sedap Malam (Rinto Harahap)
Jamal Mirdad – Hati Selembut Salju (Harry Toos)
Betharia Sonatha – Kau Tercipta Untukku (Rinto Harahap)
Christine Panjaitan – Jangan Simpan Tangismu (Rinto Harahap)
Rano Karno – Yang Sangat Ku Sayang (A Riyanto)

1982
Betharia Sonatha – Kau Untuk Siapa (Rinto Harahap)
Betharia Sonatha – Aku Tak Ingin Sandiwara (Rinto Harahap) [the perfect embodiment of the "woh woh woh" lyrics section]
Christine Panjaitan – Tangan Tak Sampai (Rinto Harahap)
Jamal Mirdad – Hati Lebur Jadi Debu (A Riyanto) [I think Hetty Koes Endang's cover released in the same year is the more famous version]
Jamal Mirdad – Hati Seorang Kawan Baru (A Riyanto)
Endang S Taurina – Jawaban Hati Selembut Salju (Harry Toos)

1983
Betharia Sonatha – Aku Ingin Cinta Yang Nyata (Rinto Harahap)
Endang S Taurina – Cinta Jangan Dibeli (Chilung Ramali) [off Apa Yang Kucari - but I didn't find the famous title track particularly memorable]
Endang S Taurina – Kejamnya Manusia (A Riyanto) [ditto]
Jamal Mirdad – Hanya Satu Kau, Kau, Kau (Is Haryanto) [off Hati Kecil Penuh Janji]
Jamal Mirdad – Siti Aisyah (A Riyanto) [ditto]

1984
Dian Piesesha – Tak Ingin Sendiri (Pance Pondaag) [off her Vol. 4 album, which reportedly sold almost 3 million copies, then the biggest-selling album in Indonesia's history. Hetty Koes Endang's cover later arguably became the more famous version]
Anita Sarawak – Bawalah Daku Pergi (Harry Sabar) [perhaps the only non-Indonesian in the list]
Endang S Taurina – Hujan Datang Lagi (Chilung Ramali) [off Dia Yang Kucari LP, another of her albums where I didn't find the title track particularly good]

1985
Bill & Brod – Madu Dan Racun (Arie Wibowo & Jonathan Purba) [apparently originally written in 1975 as Bingung]
Hetty Koes Endang – Demi Cinta Ni Yee (Pompy)
Obbie Messakh – Antara Cinta Dan Dusta (Obbie Messakh)
Endang S Taurina – Rinduku Tiada Yang Tahu (A Riyanto) [finally, a cracking title track!]
Nia Daniaty – Masih Adakah Rindu (Rinto Harahap)
Endang S Taurina – Bunga Dan Kumbang (A Riyanto)
Richie Ricardo – Nona Manis (Yonas Pareira)

1986
Bill & Brod – Singkong Dan Keju (Arie Wibowo)
Nia Daniaty – Gelas-Gelas Kaca (Rinto Harahap)

1987

Betharia Sonatha – Hati Yang Luka (Obbie Messakh) [yes, coming right at the tail end of the era, Ms Sonatha scored her best selling album, the title track of which was so popular and so worried Indonesia's then Information Minister that songs of similar lyrics (dealing with wife abuse) were banned from the airwaves.]

The era ends.

Year waiting to be classified:
Rita Butar Butar – Tak Ingin Mengemis Cinta (1979?)
Ratih Purwasih – Hati Dan Cintamu (Obbie Messakh) [1986?]
Ratih Purwasih – Kau Tercipta Bukan Untukku

If I have to list the best 10 (in no particular order):
1 Diana Nasution – Benci Tapi Rindu (Rinto Harahap)
2 Christine Panjaitan – Tangan Tak Sampai (Rinto Harahap)
3 Betharia Sonatha – Kau Tercipta Untukku (Rinto Harahap)
4 Endang S Taurina – Rinduku Tiada Yang Tahu
5 Ratih Purwasih – Hati Dan Cintamu (Obbie Messakh)
6 Iis Sugianto – Nasibmu Nasibku (Rinto Harahap)
7 Jamal Mirdad – Hati Selembut Salju (Harry Toos)
8 Iis Sugianto – Jangan Sakiti Hatinya (Rinto Harahap)
9 Dian Piesesha – Tak Ingin Sendiri (Pance Pondaag)
10 Endang S Taurina – Hujan Datang Lagi (Chilung Ramali)

Later classics:
1992
Ruth Sahanaya – Kaulah Segalanya

1996
Desy Ratnasari – Tenda Biru

1998
Alda Risma – Aku Tak Biasa
Mayang Sari – Tiada Lagi

1999
Krisdayanti – Menghitung Hari

Popularity: 1% [?]

UPDATE 29th March 2011

As of the time of writing, Rebecca Black’s “Friday” is reportedly the most disliked YouTube video of all time with more than 1.1 million dislikes, as opposed to almost 140,000 likes, and almost 64 million views since it was uploaded on 10th February 2011.

———————

“Friday” by Rebecca Black is a single released by Ark Music Factory sometime in February 2011.

On 11th March, it was mentioned in a blog post by Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 under the title “Songwriting Isn’t For Everyone.” At that time it had about 4,000 views. By the end of the weekend it has had 2 million views.

Some have called this the worst song ever released, primarily due to its lyrics, which could make abdominal cuts reviews seem like Shakespearean poetry in comparison.

Here are the lyrics as transcribed by Andy Hutchins:

(Yeah, Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ark)
Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Seven a.m., waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein’ everything, the time is goin’
Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)

Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend

7:45, we’re drivin’ on the highway
Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly
Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is
I got this, you got this
My friend is by my right, ay
I got this, you got this
Now you know it

Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today

Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes afterwards
I don’t want this weekend to end

R-B, Rebecca Black
So chillin’ in the front seat (In the front seat)
In the back seat (In the back seat)
I’m drivin’, cruisin’ (Yeah, yeah)
Fast lanes, switchin’ lanes
Wit’ a car up on my side (Woo!)
(C’mon) Passin’ by is a school bus in front of me
Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream
Check my time, it’s Friday, it’s a weekend
We gonna have fun, c’mon, c’mon, y’all

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend

Pretty bad, but I still think Peter John Anak Apai’s “Joget to the Moon” is worse.

Some of my favourite user comments:

Sign of the impending apocalypse

Rebecca Black is the first teen singer to successfully marry the vocal stylings of Miley Cyrus and HAL 9000.

The best part of this video/song is the end … the very end … where it stops playing.

Popularity: 1% [?]

These Gong Xi Fa Cai (in Cantonese: Kong Hei Fatt Choy) songs have been around for as long as I can remember, definitely way before I had use for acne treatment creams, so much so that the first few notes would make them instantly recognisable, and there have been innumerable covers.

As far as possible, I have provided links to the lyrics, you can use Google Translate to have a general idea of what they mean.

Yao Li (姚莉) – Gong Xi Gong Xi (恭喜恭喜), with her brother Yao Man; this is perhaps the undisputed most popular Chinese New Year song of all time. Apparently recorded in 1946 in Shanghai with Chen Gexin composing the lyrics, it was not originally intended to be a CNY song, but rather a celebratory tune toasting the end of World War II.

Lyrics.

Wu Ying-yin a.k.a Wu Jianqiu (吳鶯音) – Ta Di Hui Chun (大地回春), which was apparently produced in 1946. The title literally means “welcoming of spring in the big land,” and ode to the “motherland.” She recorded the song when she was 24. She died in 2009.

Lyrics


Zhang Fan (张帆) (a.k.a Li Jinhui) – He Xin Nian (贺新年) [literally: Chinese New Year]

Melody composed by Hou Xiang. Apparently recorded in 1948, when the singer was 26. She died in 2007. Interestingly it’s interspersed with the opening melody of the Christmas song Jingle Bells!

Lyrics

Zhang Yufang a.k.a Grace Chang (葛兰) – Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜發財) [Literally: Congratulate You With Prosperity], which was apparently produced in 1956, songwriter: Min Yao (=Yao Min?), lyrics: Li Jun Qing.

Lin Dai and Yan Jun (Chorus) [林黛与严俊 (合唱)] – 拜年 (Happy New Year), apparently produced 1956. The chorus apparently was written even earlier – before 1940. Songwriter: Yan Hua, lyrics: Jinquan.

“White Light” a.k.a Shi Yongfen (白光) – Happy New Year to Wang Xiaoer (向王小二拜年), apparently produced in 1950, when she was 29. This song is even more tightly integrated with the Christmas song Jingle Bells than the other CNY classic, He Xin Nian. She died in 1999. Songwriter: [unknown]; lyrics: Chen Gexin.

Sam Hui (許冠傑) – Cai Shen Dao (财神到), which was apparently produced in 1979. This is one of Sam Hui’s most enduringly popular songs.

Lyrics

Honourable mention

Zhang Lu (张露) – Ying Chun Hua (Mandarin) [迎春花 (国)] [literally: Spring Flowers], apparently recorded in the 1950s

Popularity: 2% [?]

I suppose the ultimate entertainer would be a person who has won as many as possible of the following awards:

- Academy Award (Oscar) – for outstanding achievements in film
- Emmy Award – for outstanding achievements in TV
- Grammy Award – for outstanding achievements in music
- Tony Award - for outstanding achievements in theatre
Note: the 4 above are the 4 major entertainment awards in American show business. A person who has won all four is regarded to have scored the Grand Slam of show business.

As if the above is not enough, I’d throw in the following:
- Nobel Prize - the closest related to entertainment would be “for outstanding contributions in the field of literature.”
- Pulitzer Prize- for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition
- Golden Globe Award – presented by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign.
- The Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
- The Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival
- The Palme d’Or (“Golden Palm”) at the Cannes Film Festival
Note: The 3 above, called The Big Three, are the most prestigious film festivals in the world, of which even The Toronto International Film Festival, North America’s most popular and most prestigious, is not part of.

So, has any human ever won all those?

No, not yet.

The closest is Marvin Hamlisch (born 1944), a composer, who has won 3 Oscars, 4 Emmys, 4 Grammys, 1 Tony, 1 Pulitzer and 2 Golden Globes.

Full list:

Academy Awards (Oscars):

1. 1973: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score – The Way We Were
2. 1973: Best Music, Original Song – The Way We Were
3. 1973: Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation – The Sting

Emmy Awards:

1. 1995 : Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction – Barbra Streisand: The Concert
2. 1995 : Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics – Barbra Streisand: The Concert
3. 1999 : Outstanding Music and Lyrics – AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies
4. 2001 : Outstanding Music Direction – Timeless: Live in Concert

Grammy Awards:

1. 1974: Song Of The Year – The Way We Were
2. 1974: Best New Artist Of The Year
3. 1974: Best Pop Instrumental Performance – The Entertainer
4. 1974: Album Of Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special – The Way We Were

Tony Awards:

1. 1976 : Best Musical Score – A Chorus Line

Pulitzer Prize:

1. 1976: A Chorus Line – Drama

Golden Globe Awards:

1. 1972: Life Is What You Make It – Best Original Song
2. 1974: The Way We Were – Best Original Song

Now, how on earth does one achieve all that in a lifetime? It would be interesting to delve into his family history, how he was brought up etc. At the very least, as a child, for sure he must’ve been surrounded by music and had his vitamins.

Popularity: 1% [?]

There are many sites on the net listing the most shocking, banned etc etc music videos. I suppose anybody can look at any so-called controversial music video, then simply top it, so to make things simpler, my criteria for videos to make this list are:

- they must have made all the lists, preferably at the top of the list
- they must have charted in important music charts eg, the US Billboard Hot 100
- totally banned from television

So, ladies and gentlemen, in my humble opinion, the most controversial music videos ever made are…

Nine Inch Nails – Closer
Chart performance: No.41 at the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994
Director: Mark Romanek
Description: Any song that starts with “I wanna f**k you like an animal” surely must have a matchingly interesting video. The video shows images of religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics and terror, and seems to be located somewhere inside a pre-20th century lab of a scientist gone cuckoo. Amongst others, viewers are presented with a naked woman with a crucifix mask, a monkey tied to a cross, a pig’s head spinning on an unknown machine, a drawing of a vulva, and Trent Reznor with an S&M mask swinging while in shackles.

The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up
Chart performance: No.89 at the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997/1998
Director: Jonas Akerlund
Description: It shows a first-person perspective of a night out in the city, complete with drink-driving, hit-and-run, cocaine snorting, violence, vandalism, nudity and sex with a stripper picked up on the streets. But perhaps the most controversial element is the heroin shoot-up scene which was apparently done for real by the video’s Director of Photography. The ending is perhaps unexpected, as the protagonist is revealed to be a female. After huge demand, MTV relented and showed the video after midnight and after a special warning. In 2002, this video was named “The Most Controversial Video” in MTV’s history.

So now, perhaps the next logical step would be to pick up sony tv reviews with the ultimate aim of viewing these works of art in all their glory.

Honourable mention

Marilyn Manson – (s)AINT (2003)
Chart performance: did not chart, hence does not make the list proper.

Popularity: 1% [?]

After 3 years, it’s time to relook this.

There are reportedly more than 85,000 Elvis impersonators in the world, and 6,000 of them are considered professionals. But who’s at the top of the game? Apparently it’s not Shawn Klush anymore, but rather Max Pellicano, who’s done Elvis for more than 30 years, yes, even longer than the real Elvis!

Those bell bottoms!; or are they apple bottoms?

He’s performed in Malaysia 3 times up to December 2010.

A video of him in action:

Quotes I got regarding the man:

President of Lejadi Group, Tan Sri Lim Ewe Jin who got him to come to Malaysia:

Max Pellicano is recognised even by his peers to be the best in the business.

Best Living Elvis in the World

Rolling Stone magazine:

There are a lot of Elvis acts in the world, but Max is at the top.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Here are some songs which are sure to kick out Monday Blues for me and usher in Cyber Mondays instead. By these songs alone, you should be able to guess that I’m an 80s / early 90s child…

Warrant – Heaven (1989)

Bad Company – If You Needed Somebody (1990)

Damn Yankees – High Enough (1990)

Cheap Trick – The Flame (1988)

Boston – Amanda (written 1980, released 1986)

Saigon Kick – Love Is On The Way (1992)

Stryper – Lady (1990)

Popularity: 1% [?]

A small collection – suggestions welcome.

Ednaswap – Torn (1995)

2 years later covered by Natalie Imbruglia.

Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer (original demo)

Apparently, Jon Bon Jovi hated this version, but Richie Sambora managed to convince him otherwise, and they gave the song a new bass line, used different drum fills and utilised the now famous talk box intro.

Blondie – Heart Of Glass (1975)

Rereleased 1979.

Scott English – Brandy (1971)

Reached no.12 in the UK Singles Charts in 1971 but didn’t chart in the US. In 1974, was recorded by Barry Manilow as “Mandy”, becoming his first US no.1.

The Melodians – Rivers of Babylon (1970)

Became popular outside Jamaica due to Boney M’s 1978 cover.

Bobby Hebb – Sunny (1966)

Originally written in 1963, it became one of Boney M’s biggest hits in the 1970s. Definitely, Hebb’s inspiration for writing the song, which was done shortly after 22nd November 1963, the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Hebb’s older brother Harold was killed in a knife fight, alluded to a desire to escape from all the trouble and think about places where one would send photo holiday cardss home instead.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Who is the greatest drummer ever, irrespective of genre? To get at the answer, I consulted several publications/organisations.

Modern Drummer, probably the world’s top magazine specialising in drums. First published in 1977, the hardcopy version is now available in 67 countries.

Percussive Arts Society (PAS), established 1961, claims to be the world’s largest percussion organization, with 8,500 members and 78 chapters around the world.

I have decided that truly great drummers must appear in the Hall of Fame of ALL of the above. Modern Drummer is rock heavy, so I thought PAS would even things out.

AFAIK, the following people have appeared in both HOF lists, hence they are truly are among the greatest drummers ever:

Gene Krupa: in 1978, became the first drummer inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, and made PAS’ HOF even earlier, in 1975
Buddy Rich
Steve Gadd
Louie Bellson
Tony Williams
Billy Cobham
Joe Morello
Max Roach
Elvin Jones
Ringo Starr

Probably the earliest person ever to make both lists is Gene Krupa (1909-1973), so he could very well be the greatest drummer who ever lived:

Very energetic indeed, even for a drummer! That would make drumming in itself among the best weight loss supplements available to mankind!

And yes, some have criticised the inclusion of Starr into the list.

Notable drummers who did not make the cut:
- Neil Peart, he was only 31, the youngest ever, when he was inducted into Modern Drummer’s Hall of Fame in 1983.
- Jason Bonham
- Keith Moon
- Dennis Chambers
- Mike Portnoy, the second youngest ever inductee into MD’s HOF: in 2004 when he was 37.
- Stewart Copeland, in MD’s HOF in 2006.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Link Wray & His Ray Men released “Rumble,” a rock instrumental in 1958. It’s revolutionary for its use of distortion and feedback, of which use was in its infancy back then: indeed, “the first song to use the power chord.”

But why was it banned? Was it because the guitar sounded like a colon cleanser in action? Well, not exactly. It was actually due to the word “rumble”, which is slang term for “gang fight”, and also due to the song’s sound itself, which was thought to “glorify juvenile delinquency.”

That did not stop it from making it to no. 16 in the American charts in 1958, and also made waves in the British charts.

Even Bob Dylan called it “the best instrumental ever.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

…at the very least, Malaysia’s most haunted music album bar none.

Maznah Ismail (1956 – 2nd November 2001), more popularly known as Mona Fandey produced, at her own expenses, her one and only album, Diana I in 1987. “Diana” is reportedly the name of her daughter.

Songlist:

1 Ratapan Anak (4:10)
2 Senyuman (3:08)
3 Baju Merah (3:48)
4 Pada Mulanya (3:09)
5 Ku Nyanyikan Lagu Ini (3:36)
6 Diana (3:57)
7 Pertemuan (4:07)
8 Pura Pura (3:28)
9 Betapa (4:56)

2 songs off that album:

Ratapan Anak [complete with a "music video"]

Pertemuan [audio only]

As can be inferred from the quality of the 2 songs above, her pop career never blossomed.

So what’s so creepy about the album? It would be, if you knew what happened next.

Mona then gave up the music world to become a … witch doctor instead. She proved to be adept at marketing her services to members of society’s upper echelons, including claiming to have provided politicians with talismans.

One of her clients was Datuk Mazlan Idris, then the state assemblyman for the state constituency of Batu Talam, Pahang. Apparently he wanted a boost to his fledgling political career, hence resorted to black magic.

Mona worked her charm and convinced Mazlan that her talisman (cane + headgear) would do the trick, but power did not come cheap: he had to pay her a hefty RM2.5 million. No problems, he paid RM500,000 in cash as deposit and 10 land titles as payment guarantee for the remainder.

As part of the game, Mazlan was duped into going to Mona’s house in Pahang on 18th July 1993 to undergo a “cleansing ritual,” where he was told to lie on the floor face up, close his eyes and wait for “cash to rain down,” as Mona placed flowers on him. With Mona were her husband Mohd Nor Affandi Abd Rahman and assistant Juraimi Hassan. Well, something did fall down: Juraimi’s axe onto Mazlan’s throat, decapitating him. Goodness knows how he went about to build muscles on his upper arms to get the necessary strength.

Next, they cut his body into 18 parts, partially skinned them, then buried the lot in a storeroom near the house. Mona and hubby then paid Juraimi RM800.

So what happened next? Instead of going on the run / lying low for several months, Mona and hubby immediately went on a shopping spree, including buying a Merc, having a facelift and staying at 5 star resorts.

Alas, 4 days after the murder Mazlan’s body was found and the guilty trio arrested shortly, thus heralding possibly the most sensational trial in Malaysia’s history, especially because of the following:
- At every appearance, Mona appeared cheerful and was constantly smiling, obliging photos for the press at every opportunity.
- Mona dressed up for court in garish designs.
- Upon seeing the many onlookers, Mona reportedly remarked that she has many “fans.”

After an 8-year court and Pardons Board ding-dong, they were finally executed by hanging on 2nd November 2001. All three reportedly showed no remorse right to the end, with Mona’s last words chillingly “aku takkan mati” (I will never die), spoken while being calm and smiling!!

Popularity: 1% [?]

I think the most famous (should it be infamous?) performance of the age-old favourite happened on 19th May 1962 at the old Madison Square Garden, when the legendary sex-symbol Marilyn Monroe, wearing a racy dress, sung it in a sultry style, for then-US President John F. Kennedy, in celebration of his 45th birthday, in front of 15,000 people:

Monroe’s dress was sheer, flesh coloured and was so tight-fitting that she had to be “literally sewn into it”: she did not wear any underclothes.

Afterwards, the President went on stage and made an unforgettable comment:

I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.

Perhaps he did cheekily add under his breath: you’re an all-natural male enhancement products!!!

What happened was memorable because:
- it was one of Ms Monroe’s last major public appearances: she died less than 3 months later.
- of rumors that the President and Ms Monroe were having / had had an affair; hence her performance was very suggestive of this.
- the President’s wife did not attend the event
- the dress sold in 1999 at an auction in New York for more than USD1.26 million.

Popularity: 1% [?]

To get to the answer, I considered the placing of the albums in the following lists:

(i) Rolling Stone (RS) magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, published November 2003. Placings were based on votes from 273 rock musicians, critics, and industry figures.

(ii) The National Association of Recording Merchandisers’ (NARM) (US based) list, published 2007. NARM was established in 1958, and is a non-profit trade association serving “music retailing businesses in lobbying and trade promotion.” Its membership includes “entertainment retailers, wholesalers, distributors, record labels, multimedia suppliers, and suppliers of related products and services, as well as individual professionals and educators in the music business field.” Its retail members account for “almost 85% of the music sold in the USD12 billion US music market.”

(iii) Rate Your Music’s (RYM) list, which is constantly updated. RYM is the IMDB for music, where, amongst others, music albums are “added, rated, and reviewed by users.” The data generated is then used to create a list of top-rated music albums. As with IMDB, “weighted averages are used to calculate the ordering for these lists; regular members who write reviews and rate more albums have a greater weight applied to their ratings.”

Here we go.

The music album collectively ranked the highest is The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). It placed 1st in both RS’ and NARM’s lists, and 9th in RYM’s list, hence an aggregate score of 11.

It beat other classics like:
- Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited (1965), which placed 4th at RS, 8th at NARM and 7th at RYM.
- The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969), which placed 14th at RM, 12th at NARM and 1st at RYM.
- Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), which placed 43rd at RS, 2nd at NARM and 5th at RYM.
- Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (1971), which placed 66th at RS, 4th at NARM and 14th at RYM.
- The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966), which placed 2nd at RS, 9th at NARM and 32nd at RYM.
- The Beatles – Revolver (1966), which placed 3rd at RS, 42nd at NARM and 2nd at RYM.
- The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965), which placed 5th at RS, 110th at NARM and 22nd at RYM.
- The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street (1972), which placed 7th at RM, 6th at NARM and 90th at RYM.
- Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue (1959), which placed 12th at RM, 34th at NARM and 8th at RYM.
- Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (1975), which placed 18th at RM, 15th at NARM and a lowly 191st at RYM.

However, it must be discreetly mentioned that in the 40+ years since its launch, it must’ve been played so many times that for some people, playing it even just one more time could provoke violent reactions, which could necessitate the need to call personal injury lawyers Tucson area, and for all intents and purposes, anywhere really.

Some modern classics had wildly fluctuating placings:
- Radiohead – OK Computer (1997), 162nd at RM, 111th at NARM and 3rd at RYM, and indeed topped the list at besteveralbums.com’s list, which attempts to compile “the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 1,800 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com.”
- The best selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, was rated 20th by RS, 3rd by NARM and 445th by RYM.
- Nirvana – Nevermind (1991), placed 17th at RM, 10th at NARM and 109th at RYM.
- U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987), placed 26th at RM, 5th at NARM and a terrible 904th at RYM.

Popularity: 1% [?]

It is doubtful if any self-respecting person would choose this robotic monstrosity as their ringtone.

That is just tragic. For a laugh, yes you are welcome to use it, but seriously, nobody should seriously consider using it as their long-term ringtone.

That would be like a horrendously acne-ridden person hawking acne products, all the while gushing about how good the product he/she’s using is.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The following are in my humble opinion the greatest dangdut songs ever, and their original performers.

Rhoma Irama – Penasaran (writer: Rhoma Irama) (1970s)

Koes Plus – Cubit-cubitan (writer: Murry) (1970s). Yours truly even performed this in front of a live audience in Japan, one of 2 Malaysian amongst a group of Indonesians.

Amriz A – Madu (writer: Yanto Sari) (2000s)

(apparently) Anuar A – Hitam Manis (1960s)

In keeping with the times, modern dangdut songs generally have mindblowingly fast tempos, as those done by Inul Daratista, so much so that dancing to them has become an alternative to consumingweightlosstablets.

Popularity: 1% [?]

This one goes back quite a while, during a time where probably one finding for safest diet pills are but a mere figment of one’s imagination.

American musician Miles Davis released Kind Of Blue in 1959. Many critics regard it the greatest jazz album of all time, and indeed some have regarded it the greatest music album, regardless of genre, in all of history. What is definite is that it has been masssively influential on all music styles, including rock and classical.

There are only 5 tracks on the original release, all averaging around 9 minutes in length. They are as follows. Enjoy music at its absolute best.

So What (9:05)

Freddie Freeloader (9:35)

Blue In Green (5:28)

All Blues (11:33)

Flamenco Sketches (9:24)

The team:

- Trumpet & band leader: Miles Davis
- Piano: Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly
- Drums: Jimmy Cobb
- Double Bass: Paul Chambers
- Saxophone: John Coltrane, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley

Popularity: 1% [?]

They say music of the 21st century is generally inferior to those of earlier times, but arguably the biggest rock songs of this period is still excellent, or at least positively memorable.

Here’s a list of some of the most recognisable rock songs of that decade, not necessarily the best, but definitely favourites of yours truly:

Creed � My Sacrifice (2001)

Nickelback – How You Remind Me (2001)

Puddle Of Mudd – Blurry (2001)

Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2004)

Metallica – The Day That Never Comes (2008): the introduction is truly excellent, but after that I can’t really remember the melody.

Hoobastank – The Reason (2004)

Arguably the biggest pop star at the moment is Lady Gaga – if she ever ventured into rock territory, I would rush out and purchase lady gaga tickets in an instant.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Remember Quake II, that classic first-person shooter (FPS) computer game developed by id Software and released 9th September 1997? It was a huge hit, selling more than a million copies.

Apart from the neat gameplay itself, some consider the soundtrack to be the very best for a computer game: hard rock music mostly provided by Sonic Mayhem, which is often mistaken for Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails. Sonic Mayhem is Sascha “Buzzfunk” Dikiciyan.

If ever you could play the game on your ipad, you’d need ipad insurance just in case, due to all that headbanging going on.

Soundtrack list:

1 Operation Overlord (3:31)
2 Rage (2:20)
3 Kill Ratio (2:34)
4 March Of The Stroggs (2:54)
5 The Underworld (2:37)
6 Quad Machine (3:37)
7 Enter Big Gun (3:06)
8 Descent Into Cerberon (2:38)
9 Climb (2:02)
10 Showdown (2:01)

I consider these 2 as stand-out tracks:

Descent Into Cerberon

Quad Machine

Popularity: 1% [?]

Song title: Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche

Composers: Shankarsinh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Pankal

Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri

Singers: Mohammad Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur (although some people said Lata Mangeshkar)

Off the movie Brahmachari (1968), where actors Shammi Kapoor (then 37) and Mumtaz mimed to the song. Apparently, what Shammi Kapoor had was bursting energy that was unprecendented in 60s Indian movies. One site wrote:

In the gentlemanly 50s and 60s, Shammi yelled the loudest and courted his heroine with the unmistakeable arrogance of good looks laced with pure, almost manic boisterousness.

He was the trailblazer. In that song in the movie, he did his trademark uninhibited, Elvis-like dancing, almost outdoing The King himself! Never mind that he looks like he’s sick of accounting jobs at the office and was merely letting his hair down.

In a sure indication of the quality and enduring popularity of the song, it has been covered countless times, even by 60s Malaysian group Zurah II. If ever you want to impress people and guarantee the dancefloor is
filled up at your annual dinner, why not sing this classic Hindi song, complete with head-shaking, Bollywood dance moves?

Approximate lyrics:

Aajkal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche Har Zubaan Par
Sab Ko Maloom Hai Aur Sabko Khabar Ho Gayi

Humne To Pyar Mein Aisa Kaam Kar Liya
Pyar Ki Raah Mein Apna Naam Kar Liya
Aajkal Tere Mere…….

Do Badan Ek Dil Ek Jaan Ho Gaye
Manzilen Ek Hui Humsafar Ban Gaye
Aajkal Tere Mere…….

Kyon Bhala Hum Daren Dil Ke Malik Hain Hum
Har Janam Mein Tujhe Apna Mana Sanam
Aajkal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche Har Zubaan Par
Sab Ko Maloom Hai Aur Sabko Khabar Ho Gayi

Popularity: 1% [?]

I think there are a few contenders:

First, apparently done by a Malaysian, uploaded to Youtube June 2010. You can even hear a dog barking starting 3:29:

As of the time of writing, has had more than 167,000 views.

If you’re brave enough to upload your video singing to a popular song, and it’s decidedly amateurish, get ready to be crucified by armchair critics. Some comments I saw:

You look [like you're] possessed.

Someone? buy him a Gillette ! PLEASE !

Are the words written on the back of your eyelids?!? WTF is with the freaky? eye stuff Bro?

CANT THIS GUY JUST TURN? OFF THE LIGHT PLEASE.

You sing like? a retarded Beaver … Justin Beaver LOLOL …

Well, what do you think? I thought he was merely taking a break off one of those construction jobs.

Second, The Grandma Version:

Third, The Family Version, complete with weird-sounding “dad”:

Popularity: 1% [?]

In 1973, Marianne Faithfull, 27, heavily into drug addiction [probably addicted to everything from apidexin to heroin], notoriously performed, while dressed as a nun, at the American TV network National Broadcasting Company (NBC) with David Bowie, singing Sonny and Cher’s song “I Got You Babe”.

She had broken up with Mick Jagger 3 years earlier, lost custody of her son in that same year, which led to her mother attempting suicide. She lived on London’s Soho streets for two years, suffering from heroin addiction and anorexia nervosa.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Dee Snider is the lead singer of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. As you can imagine, he projects an image that is the worst nightmare of any well-intentioned father.

This is exemplified in their 1984 music video entitled “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, one of their most well-known songs:

Fast forward 15 years, Dee Snider has a role reversal: he now plays *the father*, in Lit’s Zip Lock:

Haha, I quite enjoyed that: at the very least it seems that Snider’s on diet pills that work. And oh, good song too.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Some time ago I wrote about the commonly held view that Queen’s Live Aid set in 1985 is the greatest live rock performance of all time, but after watching for the first time Jimi Hendrix’s set at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, I think Jimi at least equalled Freddie in terms of sheer entertainment value.

The Monterey Pop Festival is considered important in rock history, not least because it’s the precursor to the legendary Woodstock festival held 2 years later, where Hendrix headlined.

But, if not for his legendary performance at Monterey, his first-ever American show, he might not have made such an impact in the USA.

At Monterey, the 24-year old Hendrix’s set was 45 minutes long: a very fast arrangement of Howlin’ Wolf’s 1965 R&B hit Killing Floor, then an equally lively rendition of B.B. King’s 1964 R&B hit Rock Me Baby, Tim Rose’s Hey Joe and Bob Dylan’s 1965 Pop hit Like a Rolling Stone. The set ended with The Troggs Wild Thing, and Hendrix’s iconic act of burning his guitar on stage, then smashing it to bits and tossing pieces out to the delirious crowd who were watching Hendrix’s first-ever American show.

Watch how Hendrix performed “Wild Thing” in the following video: 40 years on, I think it’s still an incredible performance; for those wannabe rock stars, watch and learn from the master:

And if you looked closely enough, it would seem that the guitar could’ve easily slipped from his grasp when he was turning around – it could’ve hit anybody – probably that time not everybody had signed up for at least a whole life insurance policy yet!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Milli Vanilli, that infamous lip-synching pop/dance group became one of the world’s most popular acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, scoring 3 US Hot 100 number ones in a row, and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in February 1990.

In late 1989, during a live performance of their hit song “Girl You Know It’s True” in front of 80,000 in Connecticut, the recording jammed and began to skip, repeating the line “Girl, you know it’s�” over and over again.

Fabrice and Rob continued to pretend to sing and dance onstage for a few seconds, but when the recording was not fixed, they panicked and ran offstage, as if in dire need to go to the toilet.

Finally, on 12th November 1990, the group’s creator, producer Frank Farian confessed the truth, which resulted in their Grammy being revoked, and culminated in Rob Pilatus found dead in a Frankfurt hotel, apparently overdosing on drugs in 1998.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Updated 9 August 2011

The following seems to be the only recorded collaboration between rock icons Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. It was an impromptu jam at the The Scene Club in New York in March 1968. Both Hendrix and Morrison were drunk, and Morrison’s lyrics has to be heard to be believed.

Dubbed “Morrison’s Lament”, the highlight is basically Morrison’s drunken obscene screamings.

The track is included in Bleeding Heart, a posthumous Jimi Hendrix live album which was finally released officially in 1994.

——————————–
2 June 2010

The supergroup Dirty Mac performed together on 11th December 1968 for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus with the following members:
- John Lennon (of The Beatles – vocals & rhythm guitar)
- Eric Clapton (of Cream – lead guitar)
- Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones – bass)
- Mitch Mitchell (of The Jimi Hendrix Experience – drums)

Absolutely living legends, world-class rock stars of the 60s (and even until now).

Add to that Ivry Gitlis, a top violinist, who apparently played a 1713 Stradivarius.

So how can you spoil such a heady mix?

Simple: put the inimitable Yoko Ono into the fray.

They performed a “bluesy jam” entitled Whole Lotta Yoko (composed by Ms Ono). Yoko put in a vocal performance that has to be seen and heard to be believed, and has been described as “endless caterwauling,” and that “a car alarm can sing better.”

Here it is in all its glory (unfortunately audio only). Ms Ono makes her entrance around 1:30.

Her performance, especially considering the qualify of musicians she was next to, was enough to make me wonder if her life insurance rates had just skyrocketed.

I hope you survive the next 5 minutes or so

The DVD was released in 1996, almost 30 years after the event.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Michael Jackson’s Thriller, that 14-minute music video was first shown on MTV at midnight, 2nd December 1983, when MTV was 2 years old. It’s often called the greatest music video of all time. I call it the moment when I abandoned my books for TV.

It cost USD500,000 – an amazing sum at that time.

But it was worth it: demand was such that MTV played it twice every hour.

It had an unsurpassed effect on popular culture, “a watershed moment for the music industry for its unprecedented merging of filmmaking and music.”

It is probably the best selling music video of all time, with 9 million units sold.

The girl in the video is former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray, 23 at the time of the video’s release.

Partial video:

Popularity: 1% [?]

The first IBM PC was introduced in 1981, but perhaps custom mouse pads were not available yet then. Coincidentally, the world’s first 24-hour TV channel showing exclusively music videos, MTV: Music Television started broadcasting at 12.01am on 1st August 1981 with John Lack’s voice speaking “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll.” At that time, only a select few thousand on cable in New Jersey could view it.

The very first video shown was appropriately “Video Killed The Radio Star” by British group The Buggles.

A video of the first 10 minutes of MTV’s broadcast:

The 2nd song? Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

The 50+ yr old Grammy Awards, which celebrates “outstanding achievements in the music industry” is arguably the world’s top music-related awards.

There are many categories, but it is generally accepted that the top Grammy Awards are:

- Album of the Year, awarded to the performer and producers of an album.
- Record of the Year, awarded to the performer and producers of a song.
- Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/writers of a song.

When it comes to numbers, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra leaves everybody trailing far behind. With 60 wins, Sir Georg Solti is a distant second at 31. Perhaps even these 2 names don’t ring a bell with many youngsters today. Among instantly recognisable names, U2 and Stevie Wonder are at 22. The late King of Pop, Michael Jackson is at 13, as is former Beatle Paul McCartney. Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen is at 20 and Eric “God, Slowhand” Clapton at 17.

But how about the most winners of the hallowed top 3 categories?

The following persons have won Album of the Year three times: Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, David Foster, Phil Ramone and Daniel Lanois.

Paul Simon has won Record of the Year 3 times.

U2 and Henry Mancini have won Song of the Year twice each.

Christopher Cross was the undisputed king of the Grammys in 1981, where he won, and remains the only person ever to do so, all 4 “General Field” awards that year: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.

Michael Jackson won a record 8 Grammys in 1984, the most in one sitting by an artiste. It was equalled by Santana in 2000. In fact, Santana’s album Supernatural won 9 Grammys that year.

Drummer Hal Blaine played on SIX consecutive records that won Record of the Year.

Brian McKnight must be the most frustrated person ever to be nominated for a Grammy Award: he was nominated 16 times without winning a single one. Oooh, that’s so sad; someone give him a Nascar jacket as consolation!

Popularity: 1% [?]

The first time Jon Bon Jovi was professionally recorded singing was a song called “R2-D2, We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and included in an album called Christmas In The Stars, produced 1980. Yup, everybody was Stars Wars crazy that time.

He recorded it under his birth name, Jon Bongiovi.

If you are familiar with his brand of music, listening to this is hilarious.

He was 18 at that time, and the group Bon Jovi would only be formed 3 years later.

But how did he end up on the record? Well, apparently his cousin Tony Bongiovi was the co-producer of the album and was in charge of the recording studio at which the album was recorded. Conveniently, Mr Bongiovi was working there at the same time, as a floor sweeper, and probably reading weight loss supplement reviews in his spare time.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Back in 2007, the irreverently funny Jeff Dunham and his Sidekick Achmed The Dead Terrorist did their own hilarious version of “Jingle Bells”, or rather “Jingle Bombs”.

I think after this he will find it rather difficult to get cheap insurance on his life!

The song starts about 2 minutes into the following video, but the wait is worth it, as there are wisecracks about “Silence Night” and the guitarist doing drugs backstage, amongst other things:

Lyrics:

Dashing through the sand
with a bomb strapped to my back.
I have a nasty plan
for Christmas in Iraq.
I got through checkpoint A,
but not through checkpoint B.
That’s when I got shot in the ass
by the US Military…

[it's not funny!]

Oooh, jingle bombs, jingle bombs
Mine blew up you see.
Where are all the virgins
that Bin Laden promised me?
Oooh, jingle bombs, jingle bombs
U.S. soldiers shot me dead.
The only thing that I have left
is this towel up on my head.

I used to be a man,
but every time I cough,
thanks to Uncle Sam,
my nuts keep falling off.
My bombing days are done.
I need to find some work.
Perhaps it would be much safer
as a convenient store night clerk.

Oooh, jingle bombs, jingle bombs
I think I got screwed.
Don’t laugh at me because I’m dead
or I’ll kill you…

I KILL YOU!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Apparently this guy has been videoing himself lighting his acts of breaking wind for 15 years, some probably taken from places like cheap hotels new orleans.

Then from his library of sounds and sights, he patched them together to create the world’s most unbelieveable version of “Jingle Bells.”

It starts with a drum beat, then on to the holiday spirit:

What do you think – not really something to amuse the family with on Christmas Day, or is it?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Celtic Woman, an all-female musical ensemble from Ireland, performed sometime 2007 a superlative rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful” at The Helix Theatre, Dublin, Ireland:

I don’t know about you, but I have not seen or heard a better performance of that classic carol, ever.

A comment on youtube: “Someone already described this performance as “exquisite”, but that doesn’t go far enough. However, I don’t think the word exists that can describe this…”

There’s another live performance of the same carol by them on youtube, apparently from 2010, but while excellent, somehow it doesn’t quite reach the same level:

Of course I needn’t add that the ladies look fabulous, either using the best under eye cream or not. And that was on youtube, it must be many times better live!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Veteran US heavy metal group Twisted Sister, perhaps most famous for their 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” released A Twisted Christmas in 2006, featuring classic Christmas songs performed in heavy metal style.

IMHO the best song off the album must be “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” of which music videos were released. My favourite is the one which follows the same style as their music videos for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”: a married couple celebrates Christmas, then when the wife discovers that her husband’s gift to her is a CD of A Twisted Christmas, she loses her temper, then Dee Snider, the band’s lead singer, who looks like he’s due for a trip to an NJ Cosmetic dentist suddenly appears, followed by other members of the band, then the song starts:

Popularity: 1% [?]

Rob Van Winkle (born 1967), more popularly known as Vanilla Ice, released “Ice Ice Baby” in 1990, which he wrote in 1983.

It is the very first hip hop single to top the US Hot 100 (Billboard) charts. It helped to introduce hip hop to a mainstream white audience.

It went platinum in the US and UK.

The album, To the Extreme reportedly sold 40 million copies worldwide.

But what happened next? His next album reportedly sold only 45,000 copies in the US and he attempted suicide by drug overdose in 1994.

Then MTV viewers voted the “Ice Ice Baby” music video the worst of all time in 1999.

He was then invited to a show in which he was supposed to good-naturedly smash the “master tape” with a baseball bat, but ended up not only destroying the tape but the soundstage too:

Truly a one hit wonder.

Popularity: 1% [?]

As Good As New (1979)

A testament to the Andersson/Ulvaeus potency as songwriters: this was only released as a single in Mexico and Argentina, and overshadowed by other more famous songs in the same album, yet was STILL covered in Malaysia, Malay version no less:

Move On (1977)

With any other group, this is definitely single material – but with ABBA this was not even a B-Side:

Arrival (1976)

Incredibly beautiful instrumental, one of only 2 ABBA songs not to contain any lyrics:

Dum Dum Diddle (1976)

Has been my favourite ABBA number for the last 25 years. Released as a single only in Argentina:

Watch Out (1974)

The heaviest ABBA song ever?

Hey, Hey Helen (1975)

Apparently their first attempt at a harder sound. Still the hook is ever present:

Tropical Loveland (1975)

ABBA does reggae too!

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Megadeth, the American thrash metal band’s title track to its 1992 album “Countdown to Extinction” created history when it made the group win the “Doris Day Music Award”, by the Humane Society of the United States in 1993 because that song “spotlights species destruction and the horrific ‘sport’ of canned hunts”.

Snarling Dave Mustaine and Doris Day? Perfect pairing eh?

Song:

Lyrics:

Endangered species, caged in fright
Shot in cold blood, no chance to fight
The stage is set, now pay the price
An ego boost, don’t think twice
Technology, the battle’s unfair
You pull the hammer without a care
Squeeze the trigger that makes you ‘Man’
Pseudo-safari, the hunt is canned
The hunt is canned

All are gone, all but one
No contest, nowhere to run
No more left, only one
This is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

Tell the truth, you wouldn’t dare
The skin and trophy, oh so rare
Silence speaks louder than words
Ignore the guilt and take your turn
Liars’ anagram is “lairs”
Man you were never even there
Killed a few feet from the cages
Point blank, you’re so courageous
So courageous

All are gone, all but one
No contest, nowhere to run
No more left, only one
This is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

“One hour from now
Another species of life form
Will disappear off the face of the planet
Forever, and the rate is accelerating”

All are gone, all but one
No contest, nowhere to run
No more left, only one
This is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

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UPDATE 21 October 2009

According to Explor3:
- Jessa Belle (Bell) was featured on a Filipino TV show called Rated K in April 2009;
- She never completed school
- She married at 15
- She was abused by her husband
- She finally separated from him due to him having an affair
- She has children
- She picks up and sells bottles to earn a living
- She is practically an illiterate, hence her mispronounciation of the lyrics
- She admits to sometimes being hurt when laughed at everytime she sang

We hope she gets all the necessary assistance to turn her passion into something big; so big that her horde of fans would utilise a remote backup service to keep her videos safe and sound.

—————————

Jessa Belle has all the makings of a singing star created by youtube. She obviously likes singing, and possesses a rather nice tone, unfortunately the list of positives abruptly ends there.

She apparently burst upon the scene earlier this year, but my first view of her was today: an attempt at classic rock ballad You’re All I Need by White Lion. It is the most unbelieveable cover of that song I have ever heard.

And it all starts getting even more surreal at 0:49 when a dog starts barking loudly. Luckily it did not howl. Later on it seems that she might be singing on a roadside as you can hear what sounds like a motorcycle passing by.

Still, even Mike Tramp might find this cute.

Apart from this song, she has also been caught on video attempting Madonna’s Crazy For You:

She also like to belt out a good rock number, like Zombie by The Cranberries:

Still, her favourite could very well be Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, as could be seen from the following passionate delivery:

Heck, even the uptempo number Low by Flo Rida, complete with dancers!!!

Wow, even Rihanna’s Umbrella:

Finally:

There must be many more on youtube…

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IMHO, it’s Jean Michel Jarre’s Magnetic Fields Part 5 (1981).

I was stunned when I first heard this more than 20 years ago – a very Malaysian/Indonesian sounding melody yet with a title like THAT.

Perhaps it’s a case of his business plan writers gone cuckoo, and I am not sure where he got the melody from – perhaps after going to Bali on holiday?

Listening to it again, I can almost imagine little magnetic men in little orbits doing an oriental jig…

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Idola Sabah (Sabah Idol) 2005 participant Ridah Annie Malanjang’s debut album was released in late 2008 I believe.

There was a rather popular song off that album entitled Lugai-Lugai, and while I thought it was okay, it did not have that special extra something that would make me listen to it over and over again.

It was a different matter a few weeks ago when I heard “Sopirosi-rosi”, another of her songs. Written by local songwriter Peter Peninting, I was instantly smitten by the melody the first time I heard it. Shame on me, it’s been in the charts for more than half a year before I noticed it!

I think it’s definitely one of the best, if not the very best Kadazan/Dusun song of 2008/2009.

Here’s a preview:

If you like what you hear, please purchase the original.

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During my trawlings to find the world’s most technically challenging to play on the piano, the following have been mentioned:

Maurice Ravel – Gaspard de la nuit: Trois po�mes pour piano d’apr�s Aloysius Bertrand. It has 3 movements, Scarbo being famous for its incredible difficulty. It is widely considered one of the most difficult solo piano pieces ever written. Here is Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Russian conductor and virtuoso pianist playing Scarbo:

Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op 16, which “remains one of the most technically formidable piano concertos today.” The following video shows Yundi Li playing it with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra:

Sergei Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30. It is famous for its “technical and musical demands on the performer” and is considered to be “one of the most difficult concertos in the standard piano repertoire.” The following video shows Russian classical pianist Olga Kern playing the last 10 minutes of it at the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition:

Others include:
- Ligeti
- Rachmaninov – 1st sonata
- Boulez – 2nd sonata
- Barraque – sonata
- Bartok – 2nd concerto
- Feux Follet – 2nd version of the transcendental etudes
- Vladimir Horowitz – Carmen Variations
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji – Opus Clavicembalisticum
- Villa-Lobos – Rude Poem (Savage Poem)
- Liszt – B minor Sonata
- Liszt – Pagannini etudes
- Brahms – concertos
- Busoni – concerto
- Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
- Alkan – Concerto for Solo Piano
- Busoni – Opus 39 Concerto
- Galina Ustvolskaya – 6th sonata
- Shostakovich – 24 Preludes and Fugues
- compositions by Charles Ives
- Godowsky – Sonata in E minor
- Scriabin – Sonata No7
- Sorabji – opus clavicembalisticum
- La Campanella
- Peter Maxwell Davies – piano concerto
- Mily Balakirev – Islamey: An Oriental Fantasy

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