Friday, September 21, 2007

Catch - 22


Best Opening Lyrics


We all have favorite songs. We all have favorite lines in songs. Here are some of the best first lines of a song. One of the prerequisites for being a great opening line is it not only sets the tone for the entire song, you know the song as soon as you hear it and you already know what it's about.


"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips"--The Righteous Brothers' 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'' DJs first thought Bill Medley's brooding vocals were playing at the wrong speed. The song became one of the most played in radio history anyway.


"Hello, Darkness, my old friend"--Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Sound of Silence' It reads like Dante's 'Inferno,' but it's forever linked to the equally sinister imagery of Dustin Hoffman floating in a pool.


"Well, I guess it would be nice if I could touch your body"--George Michael's 'Faith' Sing these words in a recording studio, and you win Album of the Year. Say them in a public bathroom, and you get busted.


"I was dreaming when I wrote this forgive me if it goes astray"--Prince's '1999' Sung in unison by backup ladies Wendy and Lisa, this trippy line foretold all of the Purple One's eccentricities.


"There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief"--Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along the Watchtower' Dylan may have written these words, but even he agreed that Hendrix owned them.


"Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go!"--Carl Perkins' 'Blue Suede Shoes' A car accident prevented Perkins from belting out these iconic words on national TV. And, while he was laid up in a hospital, he had to watch Elvis do it.


"In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey"--Beck's 'Loser' And in the time of grunge devotees, he was real funky. Beck also proved that a song doesn't have to be about anything in order to be good.


"Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?"--The Carpenters' 'Close to You' Penned by Burt Bacharach's wordsmith Hal David, this line is still the envy of Hallmark scribes everywhere.


"Well, she was just seventeen -- you know what I mean"--The Beatles' 'I Saw Her Standing There' And with that, screaming girls across the globe had hope.


"Hey, ho, let's go!"--The Ramones' 'Blitzkrieg Bop' The four words that spark late-inning rallies at baseball stadium around the world are also the words that started punk rock.


"I was born in a cross-fire hurricane"--The Rolling Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' Don't know if they're referring to World War II England or if this is another drug reference. Either way, it's pretty tough.


"She's a very kinky girl the kind you don't take home to mother"--Rick James' 'Superfreak' And he was a very kinky dude: The funk legend would later go to prison for forcing a woman to be his sex slave.


"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain"--Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Great Balls of Fire' So much so that it makes me want to run out and marry my 14 year old cousin.


"She's a good girl, loves her mama, loves Jesus and America, too"--Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin'' If you've ever seen Jerry McGuire you know the thing to do while listening to this song is ride in your car with the windows down. Warning: Stripping off your clothes as you do it is completely up to you.


"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small"--Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit' Acid rock at it's finest. Feed your head, indeed!


"Just take those old records off the shelf"--Bob Seger's 'Old Time Rock 'n' Roll' There is not one male over the age of 35 that has not slid across the floor in sunglasses and underwear while listening to this song.


"Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes"--Otis Redding's '(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay' This song always makes me want to be near the ocean or a lake.


"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair"--Eagles' 'Hotel California' Who really knows what this song is about, it really doesn't matter. It's still good, even if you sing it with a speech impediment. (inside joke)


"Well, I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt"--Kris Kristofferson's 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' Some say this is Johnny Cash's song, Kristofferson wrote it The Man in Black made it his own all I know is for the longest time I wanted to be where this guy was just once for just one day and Sunday would be the perfect day to do it, without the hangover of course. And not as depressed.


"You know the day destroys the night, night divides the day"--The Doors' 'Break on Through' Jim Morrison may have been ahead of his time. A great poet of the 60's and gone much too early. Too bad Val Kilmer had to play him in the movie. Still haven't seen it because of that.


"Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you"--Rod Stewart's 'Maggie May' By now that morning sun must really be playing hell with her.


"If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?"--Lynryd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird' Ahhh I remember long ago, late one night, me, this pretty young girl and a very fast motorcycle .... Oh! never mind...


"Jeremiah was a bullfrog"--Three Dog Night's 'Joy to the World' One of the greatest "feel good" songs of all time but it still begs the question; "Huh?"


"I like big butts and I cannot lie"--Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Baby Got Back' Hardly can qualify as a song, however the first time you hear this song you have to laugh. And I gotta agree with him.


"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste"--The Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil' Okay, but who are you, really?


"Nights in white satin never reaching the end letters I've written never meaning to send"--The Moody Blues' 'Nights In White Satin' Great song with a very depressing and, well, moody atmosphere. Well, what did you expect?


"Hey! Shut up."--Bonny Raitts' 'Have A Heart' Okay, technically this would be two lines, but she tells us to shut up right at the start. And my mommy looked like her back when this song first came out. I don't know what Bonny Raitt looks like now. Not sure what my mommy looks like now for that matter!


"Your mothers eyes look straight through me whenever we meet"--Elton Johns' "Too Young" This one is a very rare one, but it also happens to be my favorite Elton/Bernie opening lyric. A song about Elton falling in love with a teenage girl. Kinda creepy if you think about it too long, so don't!


Okay, that's enough I've hit the wall.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

One Of Us

Here's some pictures from the filming of the new season of LOST. Shown above is a new character named "Daniel" played by Jeremy Davies. The guy in the back round is part of the filming crew (not John Laroquette!). Daniel is one of the people coming to the island from the freighter. Notice the satellite phone in his hand similar to the one Naomi had.
This photo shows yet another new character played by Ken Leung. Obviously he also arrived by parachute. Naomi also parachuted onto the island. Remember last season Naomi told Mikhail that she was "not alone". This is one of the people she meant. Also from the freighter. Now I know what you are saying; "Why do they need to parachute onto the island if they are on a freighter? Well, exactly how close do you think they can get the freighter to the island? On the freighter is apparently a helipad and that would make it easier to get to the island other than swimming from the freighter or even a smaller boat. But either way, doesn't look like this new guy hits it off with Jack right away.
Notice a few things about this picture; first notice that these are the rocks where Desmond accidentally killed Kelvin on the day Desmond didn't push the button and the plane crashed. But a bigger observation is this is almost the right side of the picture that is just above. Look closely at "Daniel's" hands. His left is clearly motioning in "Whoa, wait. Don't shoot.", sort of movement. In his right hand if you look closely you can see a gun. Also notice Kate seems to be moving into a "hands up" type of pose.
Could this be the freighter they are from? No actually it's not. This is a picture of a freighter but one that ran aground on Nobby's Beach in Australia. Oddly enough this freighter named Pasha Bulker is made by a company from Copenhagen which is where the Hanso Foundation is supposedly from.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Left Behind

In 'The Wild One,' angry young rocker Marlon Brando answered an innocent question -- "Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" -- with a curt reply that spoke volumes: "Whaddya got?" Rock never settles for the status quo, teaching generations that questioning authority is a cornerstone of democracy. Here are some of the all-time best declarations of independence, each spun at 45 revolutions per minute.

'Get Up, Stand Up'--Bob Marley and the Wailers (1973) Rebelling Against: Oppression! The late, saintly Bob Marley's signature anthem has become a fill-in-the-blank template for righteous causes of all stripes. Not only is it the official fight song of Amnesty International, but Peter Tosh's sung-spoken interlude – "You can fool some people sometime/ But you can't fool all the people all the time" -- has been called a precursor to rap.

'Minority'--Green Day (2000) Rebelling Against: The Moral Majority! In which rambunctious Billie Joe Armstrong goes explicitly political, pledging eternal allegiance to society's misfits, the downtrodden and the outnumbered. Since this song, the poster band for juveniles has been active in alternative energy advocacy, Hurricane Katrina relief and a rock opera about nonconformity. Who the hell told them they could grow up?

'We Shall Be Free'--Garth Brooks (1992) Rebelling Against: Homophobia! When one of the most successful country artists -- make that successful artists period -- audaciously sang "When we're free to love anyone we choose" in this gospel-influenced number, many took it as an endorsement of gay rights. Brooks made the connection more explicit at 2000's Equality Rocks, where he was the only straight male to perform.

'We're Not Gonna Take It'--Twisted Sister Rebelling Against: Authority figures! In the great Brando tradition, this classic '80s hair band scored big with its rebellion against everything, and nothing in particular. Co-opted by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2003 campaign for California governor, the song was inspired, according to Dee Snider, by the Sex Pistols and the Christmas carol 'O Come, All Ye Faithful.'

'I Ain't Marching Anymore'--Phil Ochs (1965) Rebelling Against: War! The fearless Ochs took Dylan-style folk to another level of topicality, attacking big business, blind patriotism, Jim Crow segregation, even hypocritical liberalism in frank terms worthy of a true outsider. A hero to latter-day rabble rousers Billy Bragg, Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn, Ochs made the ultimate protest statement at age 35: He exited this troubled world by hanging himself.

'Little Boxes'--Malvina Reynolds (1962) Rebelling Against: Conformity! The theme to Showtime's 'Weeds' first came to life in the hands of topical songwriter Reynolds, who earned her doctorate from that beatnik haven Berkeley way back in 1938. Her view of the mind-numbing 'burbs -- where the homes are all "made out of ticky-tacky" – explained the problem of the bourgeoisie in terms even a child could understand.

'World Wide Suicide'--Pearl Jam (2006) Rebelling Against: Operation Iraqi Freedom! Like a lot of veteran rockers, Eddie Vedder has become a campaigner in middle age, trashing George Bush with an amusing baseball metaphor in "Bushleaguer" – "Born on third, thinks he got a triple." There's nothing metaphoric about 'World Wide Suicide,' which rages against the Bushies and their Iraq war: "Tell you to pray, while the devil's on their shoulder."

'Maggie's Farm'--Bob Dylan (1965) Dylan, of course, is the definitive protest singer, having given the world such inevitable rally hymns as 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.' The centerpiece of the infamous "electric" performance at Newport, 'Maggie's Farm' is Dylan's uber-protest song: It was the iconoclast's declaration of independence from the very folk movement that sired him.

'Strange Fruit'--Billie Holiday (1939) Rebelling Against: Lynching! Songwriter Abel Meeropol was a Bronx schoolteacher who wrote a poem in response to a gruesome photo from the Deep South. Invariably described as "chilling" – the "strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees" are the bodies of hanged black men – the song is often noted as a critical catalyst for the civil rights movement.

'War'--Edwin Starr (1970) Rebelling Against: Vietnam! Soul journeyman Starr wasn't especially political; his debut chart appearance had been a product of mid-'60s James Bond mania ('Agent Double-O-Soul'). But this cover of a Temptations album track made him one of the loudest voices of the Vietnam era. The song has lived on as a generic howl for peace, revived, most notably, by Bruce Springsteen and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

'Take This Job and Shove It'--Johnny Paycheck (1977) Rebelling Against: The big boss man!Written by the uncompromising David Allan Coe and sung by the country singer with the perfect name for the job, this pop crossover hit tapped a universal nerve at a time when the American economy was spiraling down the toilet. Disgruntled wage earners still call their local country stations to request the song when they're ready to quit.

'What's Going On'--Marvin Gaye (1971) Rebelling Against: Social injustice everywhere! When one of the Motown star's early pop tunes was interrupted on-air by news of the Watts riots, he remembered, "I wanted to throw the radio down... and get out there and kick ass with the rest of the brothers." With this, his undisputed masterpiece, Gaye addressed war, poverty and inner-city despair with an exquisite sadness that managed to leave room for hope.


Did I miss any of your favorites?

Monday, September 17, 2007

Expose`

Well, it seems some new info about Lost has surfaced. It appears the rumour of the show moving to Monday's is now a fact. Look for the show to fill the 8:00 time slot on Monday nights. It better not conflict with Heroes! I think Heroes comes on at 9:00 so that would be okie-dokie with me.
Here are a few of the prop sets for the first few episodes they are filming. The one above looks like the mental hospital Hurley was in. In the one just underneath it appears Locke will be back in the wheelchair for a future episode. Or at least the wheelchair will be needed for something.

Dig the cool Dharma prop box! Another source now says the season premier will be centric to several characters. This would make sense as it has been difficult to determine if the season premier is Sawyer or Hurley centric. Josh and Jorge have both been spotted shooting scenes. Sayid, Jin, Desmond, and Juliette have also been spotted filming scenes on the beach as recently as this past Saturday (the 16Th).
A little look at the beach set. Finally, a quick congrats to Terry (Locke) O'Quinn for winning the best supporting actor Emmy award.

Friday, September 14, 2007

The Man From Tallahassee

Well, it has been quite a while since I have mentioned, pondered or otherwise updated on this blog about LOST. Since they have officially begun filming the new season I figured I could give you all something to whet your appetites. Now keep in mind that much of the information I have is still only to be considered "rumour". Some may be facts and as they are proved or disproved, whatever the case may be (ha! good title drop there, and it was unintentional, I swear.) I will update as soon as possible. Now here is some of the dirt that has been going around:
Ms. Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan) will be back for 2 episodes, this is the woman who Desmond encountered in the antique store when he went to buy Penny an engagement ring. Looks like Desmond will be getting a flash back (forward?) or two this season.

Jeff Fahey may or may not be Jacob. As of right now he is listed as playing a character named Frank Lapidus. Perhaps he will later change his name to Jacob, or the name is only a red herring to put us off the trail for now. Remember the producers as well as ABC bigwigs want as much of the spoiling to stop as possible so expect a lot of swerves from TPTB (The Powers That Be).

Christmas will be celebrated on the island during a Hurley or Sawyer Centric Story. If the calculations are correct, the last day we saw on the island would make it on or near Christmas Eve. Josh Holloway as well as Jorge Garcia have been spotted filming flashback (forward?) episodes so far. If they are doing a Christmas episode it would make sense for it to be in one of the first few episodes.

Libby was with Dharma but there is a twist. (Isn't there always?)

Marvin Candle has something to do with Rousseau's flashbacks but he wont be shown in it

Rousseau will pop up in another character's flashback making another big connection

"Redemption" will be the key theme in the flashbacks (Sawyer,Micheal,Locke,Desmond for example)


Minkowski (the guy who's supposedly off shore on some boat) has been cast and will show up on the first or second episode.

The Christian Shephard Dead or Alive debate will be put to rest in the earlier episodes

Lost will be moving to Monday night. Not sure what time it will start hopefully 8 or 9 and not 10, that was awful.

The filming was scheduled to begin filming around August 15, due to the hurricane that hit Hawaii, filming was delayed nearly a week. Matthew Fox was in Germany finishing up filming Speed Racer. According to Foxxy, the producers are shooting episodes out of sequence this year to accommodate his conflicting shooting schedule. He just recently has been spotted in Hawaii (around Sept. 12) filming at the radio tower. If this is true who knows what episodes the Hurley or Sawyer ones are that they have already begun shooting. I believe the Sawyer episode is actually completed.

Jeremy Davies to play character called Daniel Faraday.

Mira Furlan (Danielle) and L. Scott Caldwell (Rose) have also recently been spotted in Hawaii. John Terry, who plays Dr. Christian Shephard, has also been seen at a Starbucks on the Island.

According to syndicated writers Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith the series' forthcoming episodes "are going to be scarier" than any seen on the island so far. That's the word from Emmy-nominated "Lost" actor Michael Emerson -- and that's saying something, considering Emerson's character seemed to personify evil last season.




According to TPTB What's coming to the island (meaning the people on the boat) is worse than The Others. Getting off the Island is not the end of the series. There's a whole chapter of the story that takes place off the Island.

Well, that's about all I have for now. We will see what the future holds. Still have almost a 5 month wait.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Par Avion

Dumbest Lyrics Of All Time
Where have all the poets gone? To pop music, of course. However, judging from this list, some of these esteemed wordsmiths could use a new thesaurus.
"If I was a sculptor/But then again, no"--Elton John's 'Your Song'(lyrics by Bernie Taupin) Well, then stop bringing it up already! This line has been wasting our time for three decades!
"Relentless lust/Of rotting flesh/To thrash the tomb she lies/Heathen whore/Of Satan's wrath/I spit at your demise"--Slayer's 'Necrophiliac' These guys should write Hallmark cards.
"Leaving was never my proud"--R.E.M.'s 'Leaving New York' Sorry, Michael, but I scoured all of my reference books, and "proud" just doesn't wash as a noun. Lions do live in prides, but I don't see the relevance.
"I ain't never seen/An ass like that/The way you move it/You make my pee-pee go/'Doing-doing-doing'"--Eminem's 'Ass Like That' Undoubtedly poetic stuff, but do pee-pees really go "doing-doing-doing"?
"There were plants/And birds/And rocks/And things"--America's 'Horse With No Name' Like in New York, nouns are scarce in the desert, and apparently our poor soft rockers simply ran out of them. Too bad they didn't consult Michael Stipe: "There were plants and birds and rocks and prouds."
"Time is like a clock in my heart"--Culture Club's 'Time (Clock of the Heart)' Awesome analogy. Time is soooo like a clock, because, well, it's freakin' time!
"Now you're amazed/By the VIP posse/Steppin' so hard/Like a German Nazi"--Vanilla Ice's 'Play That Funky Music' Dude took the original song's "white boy" lyrics a little too literally. Good thing he specified German though, because those Austrian Nazis were way too light on their feet.
"Your butt is mine"--Michael Jackson's 'Bad' The worst opening line in pop history. However, I hear it's huge in Dubai. Take a second and let the humorous irony of this one line to wash over you.
"But if this ever-changing world in which we live in ..."--Paul McCartney and Wings' 'Live and Let Die' Dangerous combination: Sir Paul having so much money and prepositional phrases being so cheap. Any junior-high English teacher would take points off for everything after "world."
"Young, black and famous/With money hangin'/Out the anus"--Puff Daddy and Mase's 'Can't Nobody Hold Me Down' Sometimes the only things more crude than slang terms are their anatomically correct counterparts.
"Coast to coast L.A. to Chicago"--Sade's 'Smooth Operator' Sade was born in Nigeria and grew up in London, but her biggest hit reveals that she's clearly not a smooth navigator.
"I shot the sheriff/But I did not shoot no deputy"--Bob Marley's 'I Shot the Sheriff' Who gives a crap, you're still going to jail!!
"Like a rock Chargin' from the gate"--Bob Seger and Silver Bullet Band's 'Like a Rock' How many rocks have you seen charging from gates? Oh well, it made him a ton of money on truck ads. I guess he's wealthy now ... like a rock.
"And there's music playing/But I can't hear a sound/Just the sound of the rain/Falling silently down" --Cheap Trick's 'Ghost Town' Ah yes, the sound of something falling silently. Brilliant!
"I drew a line/I drew a line for you/Oh what a thing to do/And it was all yellow"--Coldplay's 'Yellow' Oh, what a thing to do, indeed. How charming, Chris Martin. No wonder you wooed Gwyneth Paltrow; how could anyone resist a yellow line?
Someone left the cake/Out in the rain/I don't think that I can take it/'Cause it took so long/To bake it/And I'll never have that/recipe again -- oh no!"--Richard Harris' 'MacArthur Park' (lyrics by Jimmy Webb) Just who in the hell leaves the cake out in the rain?
"Suckin' on a chili dog/Outside the Tasty Freeze"--John Cougar's 'Jack and Diane' Who the hell sucks a chili dog? I think they are related to the leaving the cake out in the rain abandoners.
"My hump My hump My hump My hump My lovely lady lumps"--Black Eyed Peas' 'My Humps' Good God! This is what 2000 years of civilization has brought us to!
"I am ... I said/To no one there/And no one heard at all/Not even the chair"--Neil Diamond's 'I Am ... I Said' Don't feel bad, Neil, my sofa never listens to a thing I say either.
"Only time will tell/If we stand the test of time."--Van Halen's 'Why Can't This Be Love?' Uh ... duh!!! By default it just has to!