Big List. More Ad-ons, August 23.

Big List. More Add-Ons. 8/23

Best ‘Me’ Song, Meghan Trainor, “Me – Too”

Best Song by a Committee with 11 composers, Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk.”

Best Parents Just Don’t Get It, song: Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”

Best Madcap Vocal Range, Morten Harket vocalist of A-ha, “Take on Me”.

Best Dress Up song, Fred Astaire singing Irving Berlin’s, “Puttin’ On the Ritz”

Best Rock intro, Z Z Top, “The Grange”.

Best Power Mad, 80s iconic hit, Tears For Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule The World.”

Favorite One Hit Wonder, Bow Wow Wow, “I Want Candy”.

Worst Summer, Song. Bananarama , “Cruel Summer.”

Best Funky Good Time in Music, James Brown, “Funky Good Time.”

Best Sitar Rock, Beatles / George Harrison, “Love You Too.”

Best Middle Eight, Vocal, John Lennon, in Beatles, “This Boy.”

Best Paul McCartney Song and Instrumental version, “Junk”.

Best Facebook Music Group, “Reinventing the Wheel”

Best Mystical Rock Song, Van Morrison, “Into the Mystic.”

Big List Add Ons 7 and 8 2023

Big List Update 7 2023 And 8 2023

Most unexpected song: Bobbie Gentry dance number and song, "You’re Number One Fan!"

Most unexpected jazz Piano Talent – NatKing Cole (any. Of his songs with his jazz trio.

Best Guitar and Voice Demo: Paul McCarney and Cilia Black, "Step Inside Love."

Best Thumb Strumming, Wes Montgomery, "Impressions", by John Coltrane.

Best "Chelsea Morning’, song by Joni Mitchell.

Always Makes Me Happy, song, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, "Pretty World!"

The Perfect Doo Wop single, Tymes, "So much in Love" / "Wonderful Wonderful!"

Best Elton John Cover, "Love Song", composed by Lesley
Duncan.

Best First Take Vocal, Frank Sinatra, "Im A Fool To Want You."

Best Vocal Come On, or, How can a harpsichord be so sexy? Come On-a My House, by Rosemary Clooney.

Halloween Dance Classic, "Monster Mash", Bobby Boris Pickett.

Iconic Fun with Spelling Hands, "YMCA". The Village People.

The Saddest Song, Peggy Lee, sings Lieber / Stoller’s song, "Is That All There is?"

Why Didn’t Someone Tell Me About … Paul Humphrey, And His Cool Aid Chemists, "Cool Aid" or "sack Full of Dreams"

How Did We Miss This Classic Hit, "Romeo is Bleeding." Hall and Oates.

American Blues Psychedelic Sixties Classic That Nobody Remembers, "7:30 Guided Tour."

Best Sitcom Theme Song, Rock Update, Joan Jett, "Love is All Around."

Best Rock n Roll song from the Year I was Born, 1949, Jimmy Preston and His Presonaires, "Rock This Joint"

Best Buzz Buzz, Astrid Gilberto, "The Telephone. Song."

Best Version of Little Latin Lupe Lu, Lisa Beat E l Bugardi.

Best Collins Kids 1957 Rockabilly, "Hop, Skip, and Jump!"

Three Songs that Every 60’s combo Learned, "Louie Louie", The Kingsmen, "House of the Rising Sun", The Animals, "Gloria," Them.Big List Update 7 20023 And 8 2023

Most unexpected song: Bobbie Gentry dance number and song, "You’re Number One Fan!"

Most unexpected jazz Piano Talent – NatKing Cole (any. Of his songs with his jazz trio.

Best Guitar and Voice Demo: Paul McCarney and Cilia Black, "Step Inside Love."

Best Thumb Strumming, Wes Montgomery, "Impressions", by John Coltrane.

Best "Chelsea Morning’, song by Joni Mitchell.

Always Makes Me Happy, song, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, "Pretty World!"

The Perfect Doo Wop single, Tymes, "So much in Love" / "Wonderful Wonderful!"

Best Elton John Cover, "Love Song", composed by Lesley
Duncan.

Best First Take Vocal, Frank Sinatra, "Im A Fool To Want You."

Best Vocal Come On, or, How can a harpsichord be so sexy? Come On-a My House, by Rosemary Clooney.

Halloween Dance Classic, "Monster Mash", Bobby Boris Pickett.

Iconic Fun with Spelling Hands, "YMCA". The Village People.

The Saddest Song, Peggy Lee, sings Lieber / Stoller’s song, "Is That All There is?"

Why Didn’t Someone Tell Me About … Paul Humphrey, And His Cool Aid Chemists, "Cool Aid" or "sack Full of Dreams"

How Did We Miss This Classic Hit, "Romeo is Bleeding." Hall and Oates.

American Blues Psychedelic Sixties Classic That Nobody Remembers, "7:30 Guided Tour."

Best Sitcom Theme Song, Rock Update, Joan Jett, "Love is All Around."

Best Rock n Roll song from the Year I was Born, 1949, Jimmy Preston and His Presonaires, "Rock This Joint"

Best Buzz Buzz, Astrid Gilberto, "The Telephone. Song."

Best Version of Little Latin Lupe Lu, Lisa Beat E l Bugardi.

Best Collins Kids 1957 Rockabilly, "Hop, Skip, and Jump!"

Three Songs that Every 60’s combo Learned, "Louie Louie", The Kingsmen, "House of the Rising Sun", The Animals, "Gloria," Them.

Grain of Salt Suggestions for Musicians

Reinventing the Wheel, the Facebook music group, has one solid rule – you have to review three other songs before you post one of your own for review. Most comments are supportive and mixed with some down to earth suggestions. This group has built up a musical community second to none as far as I can see. I love this site!

When reviewing others, I’m aware of some suggestions that I have, that might work with almost everyone’s songs. So instead of adding them to each review, I’d like to list them here. They are general, and are no more than suggestions for consideration!

1. Breathe like a singer, not a talker. Take the two hours to learn how to sing from the diaphragm. This will strengthen your voice, combat pitch problems, and even extend your singing range.
2. Don’t be afraid to use the ride cymbal – for some reason neither drummers or those programming a drum machine use this symbol anymore – it’s a great buzzing joy!
3. Double track the lead voice on the chorus or to emphasize any important words, lines, etc.
4. Double track, or triple track, every background vocal. This improves the song 90%.
5. Don’t play the same arrangement on every verse. That sounds like karaoke! Vary each verse and allow those changes to build up some drama in the song and keep the listener interested.
6. Lyrics should make sense, not on some lines but all of them. OR you can go the Dylan route and make some assorted moody phrases, and string them together in a musical surrealism. Either way its best to commit to one or the other. Hybrids of half clear and half fog, don’t work!
7. Consider two minutes for fast songs, and three minutes for ballads. Stop playing before the audience stops listening. Edit out the unnecessary repeats. Excess repeats are like telling a punch line to a joke over and over.
8. Best to sing like you talk. Make your voice direct like you are talking to the listener. Some singers are melodramatic, over the top like bad opera, and other singers whisper like a bad actor! Be honest in how you sing, and the audience will pick up on that immediately.
9. Don’t try to put everything in one song. Each song has limits. You only have a few verses to tell all. Keep it to one subject, one mood, one situation.
10 Join the music revolution!!! You don’t have a music career now, you don’t have fair compensation for your talent, and you never will; UNLESS we band together to change this once in history – The Big 3 Labels control all – mess, that we have now. Do this one thing for all of us. Share the news that music should be beyond greed, and a marketing ploy for 3 labels. Music is too important to be owned by so few.

That’s the list. Comments welcome, and once again each of you are different, and many of these may not apply for you! Play on!

Letter to Journalists

Letter to Music Journalists:

The music press should be about journalism not promotion.
When that returns, journalists will ask these tough questions of the music industry:

1 Should 3 CEOs control the entire music industry like they do now?
2 For twenty years sales have been half of what they were in 1999, why
3 Why does music never change? Never new stars or net trends?
4 Do you think auto tune is fake music to hide people without talent?
5 One percent of musicians make 70% of all the money, should they also make 70% of the charitable contributions?
6 Do you approve of NPR revenue sharing deals?

What We Can Do For All Musicians

What we could do for all musicians.These Ideas are covered in issues of my zine Musea.

Pennies for Play for all those who make creative content.

Fair no ad review site for a processing fee.

Radio station online, starting with a weekly blog of a panel talking about new releases.

Media source that covers arts news

Newsgroup to discuss all of this.

Continued protests against Big Three Labels that control the entire music industry and have ruined it