A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS - The Lisa Hartman Edition
KNOTS LANDING That's right I love a little soap show that aired on Thursday nights from 1979-1993 and why not that's 14 frickin' years of my life. Of course I didn't really start watching religiously until 1983 when I stumbled upon Miss Lisa in her first year on the show, but once I was there I was hooked. The best seasons are most definitely the Lisa Years seasons 4-7 and that's not soley because of my love for Lisa - everyone including the writers and the directors are at the very tip top of their game during those years of 1982-1986. And though I love me My Miss Anne Matheson and Claudia Whittaker from the later years it was a completely different show by the time it ended - but with a big cast and some brilliant acting that's how a show can remain on the air for so long..
Anyhoos, here's some awesome little clips that show just a few reasons I love it (and Lisa so) - our first clip has Lisa playing Cathy Geary after getting a make over paid for by Gary Ewing (hottie Ted Shackelford) - he is dressing her up and cutting her 'do to make her look like the dead Ciji Dunne - Cathy comes back to the weight room with her alien dress and the Ciji Dunne album - there is a lot of great moments from one of my all time fac characters Laura Avery played by Constance McCashin so enjoy:
The second Knots moment is from the season 7 episode "Rise & Fall" where the bible thumping maniac Joshua Rush (Alec Baldwin - yes that Alec Baldwin) is ready to throw his wife (Cathy Geary Rush) off the roof of a building so they can be together forever - but not if Mama Lilimae Clements (the superb Julie Harris) has anything to do with it - this scene should have gotten them all Emmy nominations! Oh and by the way I so want that giant Billboard of Lisa Hartman - I wonder if she got to keep it as a prop.
2000 MALIBU ROAD Lisa Hartman left Knots Landing in 1986 to pursue music and a TV movie career and by the time she was ready to head back to a series she had become Lisa Hartman Black and opted to join the Aaron Spelling produced 2000 Malibu Road - as pretty much the lead though it was a character driven show. In the show, Lisa plays Jade a high class call girl looking to go good, so she has to get roomates in order to pay for her Malibu mansion - in comes Jennifer Beals as a haunted and slightly drunkard attorney, Drew Barrymore in one of her adult come back roles as a would be actress, Tuesday Knight as Drew's demented and hilarious sister and Brian Bloom as just one of the many hotties in the show. The ratings were huge when it debuted in the summer of 1993 but apparantly budgets were so friggin high on the show, the producers opted to just shut it all down rather than discover how the girls got out of the sticky situations they had found themselves in. This is one that NEEDS to be on DVD! I blame Candy Spelling for it still sitting on the shelf - well that and a number of other things.
and finally one of only three big time movie roles Lisa had - this one as somewhat virginal Jennie on her spring break in Fort Lauderdale in the sometimes hilarious and always entertaining Where The Boys Are '84 and the obligatory pot smoking scene:
Welcome to Day 3 of our rather intense and entertaining LISA HARTMAN WEEK and today we have the motherlode of Lisa's recorded music to share with u! Oh yes, kiddies it's Letterock and you are going to love it!
bub 46 Lisa Hartman - LETTEROCK (2004; 1982)
The most infamous of all the Lisa Hartman albums, Letterock is the album everyone searches for and though I think that has a lot to do with the fact she sang a slew of these songs in her stint as Ciji Dunne on Knots Landing, it should also be noted that this is probably her most consistent and appealing album.
In fact of all four of Lisa's albums, Letterock holds the place in my heart as my favorite. Not because it’s the music that first introduced me to Lisa Hartman or even the fact it’s the 80s personified or even the shot of Lisa in a blue teddy on the back cover (yes even on the Bubbatunes reissue), I just happen to think it’s a damn good album and why it didn’t score with radio is a mystery to me. Letterock even had the advantage of promotion as Lisa was performing the songs on Knots Landing. But apparantly timing is everything and Letterock was released months before Lisa debuted on the show and so when she was signing those songs her album had already hit bargain bins and the like. But none of that means this album isn't good because it really is, I mean really, it is. Letterock opens with “Hidin’ From Love” a rocking little number that sounds like so many other 80s songs only this is Lisa singing it. The song is actually a Bryan Adams written ditty and has been covered by others, but Lisa did it first. It was the first (and only) single released from the album and it’s always been one of my favorites. “Hidin’” along with a few of the other tracks has a little countrified rock sound going on that was so typical of 1982. Not quite as country as say Juice Newton but not quite as rock as say Pat Benatar - it (like most of the album) has a kind of Rick Springfield-ishness sound to it. Riding somewhere in between (“Riding in the middle/you’re halfway into me”) it should’ve struck a chord with someone. Lisa sasses her way through the song hoping her guy will stop hiding from love, “You were hoping love was something else/ I was hoping it was you.” Interestingly enough this song is one she didn’t perform on Knots Landing – though she would begin performing it when the album was re-released in 1984
“Why Baby” opens with the background synthesized “aaahs” of some male singers and a breezy new wave country feel. Like most of the songs on the album, the topic is love or lost love but Lisa is riding on different territory so it isn’t so much a song of desperation as it is of confused turmoil. She gave her best but “you were lying” so “Why Baby, why are you back on my mind again?” The song originally appeared in the 1981 TV Movie Valley Of The Dolls where Lisa played the Neely O’Hara character. Apparently Lisa liked it enough to record a different version for this album.
“Johnny’s Always On My Mind” has to be one of those 1980s gems that everyone wanted to do. It’s the rock version of the new wave pseudo hit “Johnny Are You Queer?” telling the tale of a boy named Johnny that the singer is in love with. Unfortunately John has a boyfriend, “His name is Don and he’s a major disappointment.” But that won’t stop Lisa, she’s going to “make it with his roommate” while he’s gone - anything to get Johnny off her mind. It’s hilarious, it’s topical, it’s something she did not perform on Knots Landing. Though with the subtext of Laura and Ciji being lesbian lovers, the song may have been perfect.
Now for the goods, “If Love Must Go” begins with a twang, a ballad of 1980s Urban Cowboy mentality. Lisa performed the song on Knots Landing the very first time she ever donned the famous red alien dress. In the show, she sings the song as the characters’ love lives are falling apart; a poignant moment of the series and a great performance on record. In fact Lisa, whose voice isn’t all that edgy or full of range, performs her little heart out and trying to sing along is a lot harder than you would think. In spite of or even because of the country twang in the song, I really like it. It has the feeling of a smoky small town bar where the lights are coming up, the booze has been drunk and your love life is in the toilet. Lisa has a way of singing about heartbreak in the most delicious manner.
In 1981, another soap star by the name of Rick Springfield made an album called Working Class Dog. The album contained a little ditty known as “Jessie’s Girl” and Rick became an international music star leaving behind his soap opera days. Like Lisa, Rick was originally a singer way before ever trying his hand at acting. Unlike Lisa, Rick found that international success and got to leave the acting behind him.
It’s almost ironic that Lisa chose a Rick Springfield song to cover. Even choosing one off of Working Class Dog but that's exactly what she did with “Hole In My Heart”. Perhaps it wasn't irony at all but just very well thought out publicity since "Hole In My Heart" is also the Lisa song that was most heavily promoted on Knots Landing. (For nit pickers, I said it’s almost ironic, I’m still rather confused – I blame Alanis of course, for a lesbian comedienne recently told me, Alanis did not have “ironic” experiences but rather she had “unfortunate” things happen to her – irony is “a Scottish man cloning a sheep” and not a “black fly in your Chardonnay.” – so whether or not this is ironic, is really up to you – it is at least interesting, right?)
I didn’t have the Rick Springfield album until years later so it was Lisa’s version of “Hole In My Heart” that I heard first. I’m still a little torn between which version I like the best. I know I like the ending of the Rick version better which ends with an overdubbed version of the chorus just hanging mid air, but I have to say Lisa does a bang up killer job on this rocking track.
The imagery of the song, the lyrics, (“I must’ve looked like a prime one/running after you thinking we still could survive/but nobody I ever loved ever hurt me like you did/and I can feel it…”) and Lisa’s best growling through the verses and the long-winded “Iiiiiiveee got a hoooole in my heeeaart” make this one enjoyable ditty and open to repeated listens. Once again it’s a bitch to sing along with, though that doesn’t stop anyone I know.
“Two To Do” begins with keyboards churning, rock guitars crunching, a piano pounding away and Lisa crooning “when you’re alone the night can last forever/it takes love to get you through and love takes two to do.” Not necessarily the most clever lyric but the passionate approach and the general electricity make the track so 1982 enjoyable.
“Games” is pseudo ballad/pseudo new wave in the vein of “Why Baby,” only this time we have some pretty clever lyrics. Comparing love to a game of cards is probably nothing new (“Queen Of Hearts” anyone) but I’ve always liked this particular lyric. It’s also one of Lisa’s best vocal performances declaring, “Those Games that you play/don’t you play them with me.”
I’ve always loved female performers but I am especially partial to those that are sassy, no holds barred, not to be messed around with women. Of course I’m also an 80s aficionado who loves a good pop hook and this song pretty much has it all. The background “Aaahs”, the keyboards, the guitar solo all help to make this song one of the best on the album. Again, it’s a song she performed on Knots Landing so Lisa must’ve enjoyed it as well. Lookie here as she performs it (starting at :44) though a drunken Gary Ewing does break up the recording session:
Like “Hidin’ From Love” and “Why Baby” it borders on the country pop line but with its stops and starts, the keyboard running through it, the guitar solo and Lisa screaming, “no baby no baby no no!” at the end, it rises up above those two songs and I love it! It’s another I have to wonder, "Why baby, why wasn’t this a hit?"
Where “If Love Must Go” was the ballad with the guitar, “Miss You (Like I Do)” (and B-side to the single "Hidin' From Love") is the full on piano ballad. It’s fairly reminiscent of the material Lisa did on her previous album, 1979’s Hold On, but instead of being 1970s shtick, it’s very modern (1982 modern but modern nonetheless). Thanks to the minimalist instrumentation this one may stand up in the contemporary world than others on the album.
One of my favorite Lisa ballads is “Don’t You Love Me Anymore” from Hold On and this one is a close runner up to that song. Lisa’s high pitched crooning, emphasizing every note and word, touches me somehow. Like any good ballad, the song starts slow and quiet and gears up from there. The first verse is piano and then the drums and guitars kick in, then the bridge. I am a sucker for a good bridge and this song has one of the best, “For some folks it can be so hard/depending on who thought who was true/but as it stands/ well all I’ve got/is too much time trying to figure out/ how a love so strong/ could go so wrong/I miss you like I do” then a guitar solo. I tell you this song has it all. It’s a sweet little number that I always end up replaying after I listen to it.
The album’s closers are where Lisa really letserock (get it?). It’s rock and rock in 1982 new wave fashion and probably not coincidentally these two songs seem to be the most popular among her fans as well. It’s really no wonder once you hear them.
“Don’t Let Me Go” kicks in with a hard new wave drumbeat, cowbells(??) and guitar then Lisa takes it from there, growling and squeaking her vocals. “Oh baby don’t let me go/I’ll do what you do (oouh!)/I’ll go where you go/still I don’t know/what’s going on/ between you and me/it’s not like it’s supposed to be/I sit around by the telephone/I wait for your call/you left hours ago/and I’m tired of waiting around/hanging around/just a goin’ around.”
The song is obviously a plead not to be thrown away by her lover but the power that lies in the thumping beat and Lisa’s hardcore vocal take lead you to believe she doesn’t really care if you let her go or not. Perhaps Johnny is still on her mind. The versatile song combining high hats, a great guitar solo and drum rolls severe could’ve been a hit for anyone from Josie Cotton to Olivia Newton-John to the Go Go’s. The performance and the music is new wave at some of its finest. Again, why wasn’t this a hit? I would’ve roller-skated to it.
The final track of the original album is “New Romance (It’s A Mystery)” which is a song whose story and connections could probably write a full biography. Written by Holly Knight and Anton Fig of the band Spider it was a top 40 (#39) hit for the band in 1981. It would be their only single chart success but tucked away inside of the band’s two albums was not only this little nugget but a song called “Better Be Good To Me” which Tina Turner made into a hit, “Changes” a hit for John Waite and “Little Darlin’” a song that Rachel Sweet took to new levels. Spider (with lead vocals by Amanda Blue) would only have a hit with “New Romance” but Holly would go on to better things – not only as co-writer of the above mentioned songs but also “The Warrior” (Scandal), “Love Is A Battlefield” and “Invincible” (Pat Benatar) and a few more for just about every artist involved in 80s rock.
I recently found the two Spider albums conveniently released on one CD. I hadn’t known how exactly I was going to react to their “New Romance” as to me it will always be Lisa’s song. I was particularly afraid I might like the original better. Luckily, I was wrong. Lisa takes the song to completely different levels. Amanda’s voice is low and manly and somewhat off key while Lisa does a Benatar impression and I think it’s her version that should’ve hit the top 40. Incidentally, Spider’s version of “Better Be Good To Me” is killer.
Lisa’s “New Romance (It’s A Mystery)” is a new wave confection, starting with a keyboard whirlwind and a drumbeat roll blended by a thumping guitar lick which pushes through the first verse … “I fell in love today/never thought I’d feel this way/been so tired of one night stands/now I’m ready for a new romance” before the “ooh’s” kick in and the beat changes, “oooh it’s a mystery/I can’t figure it out/oooh it’s a mystery/do you know what I’m talking about”, then the beat changes again adding a harder edged kick, “Do you love me? Do you want me? Maybe it’s crazy/Give it a chance/I think I like this New Romance.” Then the whole idea starts over for the second verse.
On Knots Landing, this song could arguably be dubbed as Lisa’s (and thus Ciji’s) theme song. It’s the first song Ciji is actually able to lay down a track for when recording her album and the episode “Celebration” which is the one in which Ciji ends up dead on the beach, begins as a pseudo music video for the song.
The episode begins with different shots of Ciji riding her bike through Knots Landing. Wearing short shorts cut in one side red/one side white, she whizzes through the street as the song plays. We get practically the whole song in those first three minutes of the show and it’s a great send off not only for the Ciji Dunne character but for the Letterock album as well. Again...single? Hit? Why? Check out the “video” here:
When Lisa Hartman signed onto Knots Landing in 1982 it was for the sole purpose of exposing more people to her music. She had just released Letterock when filming began and she thought it would be the perfect vehicle for such a thing. For some reason, it didn’t work out that way. After Lisa had been back on the show and again making a splash in the waves off of Knots Landing, the album was re-released and re-named Lisa Hartman. The front and back cover was switched around putting the shot of Lisa in her neon blue negligee front and center. There was even a huge sticker stuck to the front, declaring, “Lisa Hartman, singer of TV’s Knots Landing.” Again, the album didn’t sell.
In between leaving and returning to Knots Landing, Lisa starred in a little known series called High Performance and got her big movie break. She took one of the leads in yet another classic remake when she starred in Where The Boys Are ‘84.
The movie is about four-college girls heading to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break. Lisa is a music major who meets one of her friend’s classic music loving cousins. Meanwhile, a more rock and roll guy also has his eye on Lisa. The movie is pure T&A comedy so typical of the 80s but it gave Lisa a chance to release one more single in the theme song.
I had the luxury of seeing her perform “Where The Boys Are” on Solid Gold when I was a kid and the sheer excitement of it all was a tad too intense for my little frame. I had to see the movie, but alas I couldn’t for it was “filth” in my mother’s words. Eventually, I would see it and so typical of almost everything Lisa has done, it’s yet to see an official DVD release – just like this CD!
When I wanted to do a cover of a Lisa Hartman song my intitial choice was of course "New Romance" but once those beats starting dripping out of my head, I knew a pop dance cover of "Where The Boys Are" was the way to go. Actually, it came to me one day while listening to this very album. I thought, "What a great song to cover," and initially the song was going to be a lot closer to this version. Of course, Lisa's version isn't all that different from the original Connie Francis version so I took a completely different direction. And MOST people seem to enjoy it, I wonder what the queen Mrs. Black would think of it, someone will have to ask her! You can download the Swivek version here.
The "Where The Boys Are" single, like the Letterock album, and to some extent, the movie itself, didn’t make much of a dent in the charts, or pop culture for that matter, and just like the single, the Letterock album and the movie, the reasons for the lack of success aren't very clear. Lisa’s musical performances are of no less caliber than any of the female rockers of the day who happened to have hits.
Lisa definitely had the look, she had the talent, and she had the sass, plus she seemed down right likeable. Perhaps it was timing, musical tastes were changing, other females were coming up, perhaps it was the radio stations. Pat Benatar said even during her highest career point some radio programmers would tell her they were already playing one female on the radio and didn’t have room for more.
By the mid 80s (and Lisa’s next album) the landscape was different, but again it didn’t work out for our girl, perhaps by then there were just too many women rock performers. Whatever the reasons, and there are plenty of them, Letterock didn’t take off but it hasn’t left my CD player since I made this reissue or anyone else’s who happens to have a copy of it… and that should say something about the lasting power of Lisa Hartman’s music.
LISA HARTMAN - LETTEROCK (bub47) Track List: 01. Hidin' From Love 02. Why Baby 03. Johnny's Always On My Mind 04. If Love Must Go 05. Hole In My Heart 06. Two To Do 07. Games 08. Miss You (Like I Do) 09. Don't Let Me Go 10. New Romance (It's A Mystery) Bonus Track: 11. Where The Boys Are
Here's a little treat for you all - in our little themed Lisa Hartman week - here is my girl playing Cathy Geary on Knots Landing and singing "Don't You Love Me Anymore" from her album Hold On (see previous post) I know, I'm such a giver.
So a few friends from the O.C. showed up last night and we hit the bar and a club to see a couple of bands - which means I just got to work and am still drunk - I mean hungover... either way today's trip to the wonderful world of Lisa Hartman week will be brief but oh so worth it -
bub 46 Lisa Hartman - HOLD ON (2004; 1979)
Lisa came off of Tabitha and a few films to try her hand in the studio one more time, 1979's Hold On pushed her music more toward the Motown sound she had grown up loving than the adult contemporary she had done on her debut. Opening with a cover of "Hold On I'm Comin'" the album was off and running with a renewed energy and some pretty killer hooks; the strangely entertaining "If You Want To Come Home" is pure Bob Segar-ish type of late 70's pop/rock and with the back up "oohs" and "aahs" you can hear the original Motown influence and the "we can just sit home and get high" lines gives it that ultra cool 1970's feel but for some reason it wasn't a hit, in fact it wasn't even released as a single but had I been an A&R guy it's the one I would've pulled.
Instead they pulled "Walk Away" which is a good song but it's another ballad and it seems to me they were really trying to push her as an Olivia styled chanteuse, but by 1979 even ONJ was wearing leather pants and cooing to the rock beat of "Deeper Than The Night". But it's not like they concentrated only on ballads for Hold On, for Lisa tackles some fairly big rock tunes to cover, Segar's "Old Time Rock & Roll" and the Supreme's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" which she does well on both though I much prefer her Supremes cover which is slightly more convincing than the lyrics of "Old Time Rock & Roll" particularly when you put those lyrics of reclaiming rock and roll along side the disco tinged "Who's Gonna Hold You" or the string laced "Steal Away Again."
But don't get me wrong, I'm not making fun of these songs at all because for some reason I really, really love them. The thrill of having CD's no one else can buy keeps me going and the love and admiration I have for my Ciji Dunne also only goes so far, eventually you have to cut to the music and I can honestly say I love this album. Her ballads aren't the cringe worthy over the topness of say some of the catalogs from Melissa Machester or god forbid Celine Dion, instead we have a group of really pretty songs about love and longing and none are better than the closing track of Hold On, "Don't You Love Me Anymore" a very bittersweet rendition with a crackling performance by Lisa where it almost appears as if she is crying by the end of the song, a great song.
But should I ever not include something bonus like to it, we get two great rock songs from 1980; the uber catchy and fabulousness of "Falling In Love With Love" and "Waiting For A Miracle". The pair are songs she performed in the TV movie The Great American Traffic Jam, playing, what else but a singer of a rock band caught in the great traffic jam with her band mates so they perform a few songs and these songs are two of my favorites in Lisa's whole collection. Unfortunetly they were never issued in any form, well until Bubbatunes stepped in.
Lisa Hartman - Hold On (bub46) Track List:01. Hold On I'm Comin' 02. If You Want To Come Home 03. Oh Me Oh My 04. Walk Away 05. Old Time Rock & Roll 06. Who's Gonna Hold You 07. Steal Away Again 08. Livin' Without Your Love 09. You Keep Me Hangin' On 10. Don't You Love Me AnymoreBonus Tracks:11. Falling In Love With Love 12. Waiting For A Miracle
It's about time we had a Lisa Hartman (Black) week here at Bradley's Buzz. I had been planning on doing it way back in June when it was her birthday and even a few weeks before that when she had released a new duet with her hubby Clint Black - oh, did you miss that one? Well stick around for Lisa Hartman Week... until then...
Today in our first day of looking at all the brilliance and hotness that is Lisa we head to the past - back to when our girl was but a wee 19 year old with a dream and some big wigs behind her - as we look at into our Bubbatunes vaults at the first ever Lisa Hartman album!! Wooh ooh!
Anyhoos, in her bio at the time she is compared to Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy and Ann-margaret and why the hell not? Her first album, the self titled beauty that it is, comes off full of countrified ballads and mid tempo love songs like those three other ladies (Ann-Margaret???) were doing around 1976 - that's right this is from 1976. She is even produced and co-writing with frickin' Jeff Barry who not only wrote some brillz songs for the Brill Building days but had in 1974 co-written "I Honestly Love You" for ONJ - alas, none of the ten songs on Lisa Hartman scored any charts - even with three singles promo'd out - but I'll never know why.... why don't we head back to another time where I talked about the first Lisa Hartman shall we? Of course we shall....
bub 45 Lisa Hartman - LISA HARTMAN (2004; 1976)
Oh yes, this is the highlight of the entire Bubbatunes Collection if you want my honest to God; the entire Lisa Hartman album releases on CD for the very first time ever; well at least in my hot little hands. My girl is known to most as an actress and or wife to country crooner Clint Black who she married in 1991. After a couple more years of acting, our girl got preggers and kind of semi retired to Nashville and the family life; but every now and then she can be coaxed out to do a TV movie or sing a country duet with her husband.
But prior to all of this, Lisa Hartman had a dream - a dream to be the next big Grammy winning singer and for a brief minute or two it looked like it may happen.
Discovered singing in a bar band in Houston by Brill building biggie Jeff Barry, the 19 yer old Lisa was shipped off to LA to record her debut album. 10 midtempo pop songs were written for Lisa by members of Barry's team, mostly by Jeff himself. Not quite country yet not quite rock enough to be Linda Ronstadt, Lisa Hartman is more a product of the 1976 adult contemproary set, think pre-Grease but post-country Olivia Neton-John. You know 1976 ONJ.
The whole Lisa Hartman album was a bit of a surprise to me. First of all I never even knew it existed until around 2002 when I found a tribute site to Lisa called Kentucky Rainbows. The title Lisa Hartman was used for the reissue of her 1982 album Letterock so when I found there was a whole different Lisa Hartman titled album I was in awe.
Soon after that a fellow internet Lisa fan sent me the two CD's of Lisa songs I talked about back at bub07, but it was missing 4 of the 10 songs found on this album. A short while later I found "He Ain't You" and "Right As Rain" but it wasn't until 2004 when I contacted that original Kentucky Rainbows dude did I get "Seeing Is Believing" and "Room Without A Door", and you can imagine how exciting it was to find out almost 30 years later, two new Lisa tracks I had never heard.
And let me tell you "Room Without A Door" is a pure gem. A ballad set with strings and the whole shizz, she sings straight from the gut for her man to let her back into his life and more importantly to actually share his thought and feelings, "You're a river much too deep for me baby/ you're a mountain much too high/and I would like to laugh with you again baby/ like we used to laugh before/ but how can I get next to you baby/ you're like a room without a door.." It's by far my favorite track on the debut album.
Lisa Hartman launched three promo singles, all of them pseudo ballads so prominent of the time - "Pickin' Up The Pieces", "Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye" (also issued as an actual single with 'So Glad I Found You' as the B-side) and "Kentucky Rainbows"; all three are of the same type of vein, love found, love lost, love gone; but the individual songs definitely have their own personalities yet none of them seemed to mesh with either the radio programmers or their listeners.
Luckily, we're still left with all 10 of these gems and the song "He Ain't You" a type of countrified pop about breaking up with a man for another man but wanting the first man back (who hasn't done that) actually became a hit for Lynn Anderson on the country charts, and since it's one of the only songs co-written by Lisa herself, it was in some way gratifying for her I'm sure.
Lisa Hartman opens with the uptempo "Somebody Been Lovin' Her" and it's catchy fun right from the beginning to the end. The first single "Pickin' Up The Pieces" comes in right after and shows off that Lisa was not fooling around when it came to her singing. She belts it out and you feel the feelings coming off of her. In fact the whole debut album is a very pleasant surprise in that it's not terribly cheesy in a way a lot of music in this genre was, and Lisa's voice is very heartfelt and full of passion. She has a mid range alto and doesn't croon or orchestrate in a Streisand kind of way but instead just sings from her gut and gets her feelings out there through song. What more could a listener or singer really want? '
After the rather dismal failure of Lisa Hartman, our girl took up some modelling and acting jobs including the lead in the ABC series Tabitha, a spin off the Bewitched series about Samantha and Darrin's daughter living life in LA as an assistant at a TV station. The show didn't do well and Lisa took another stab at a single with 1978's "Nobody Likes Lovin' More Than I Do", a more upbeat track than most of the debut album though it is similar in sound to the opening track "Somebody Been Lovin' Her".
The single tells the tale of holding your ground against a one night stand declaring as much as she likes "lovin'" she wants more than just sex. The single came with the equally entertaining "100 Different Ways" as a B-side, both included here as bonus tracks.
LISA HARTMAN - Lisa Hartman (bub45; 2004) Track List:01. Somebody Been Lovin' Her 02. Pickin' Up The Pieces 03. Room Without A Door 04. Right As Rain 05. Kentucky Rainbows 06. Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye 07. Seeing Is Believing 08. So Glad I Found You 09. He Ain't You 10. The Ice Cream ManBonus Tracks:11. Nobody Likes Lovin' More Than I Do (Dreamer Of Dreams) 12. 100 Different Ways
Okay, for some reason I was thinking about John Stamos the other night and not in the way you might think. I just decided that despite the Full House years John Stamos has always been really hot. I can't believe how good he still looks on ER and I remember him playing Blackie on General Hospital (when he was hot as well) so depsite seasons of mullets and the occassional gel induced bad hair choice, John is not only our Hot Bastage Of The Week, he just may be the Hot Bastage Of All Time!
and since we're on the subject of utter and complete hotness, stay tuned for next week's blog cause we are being taken over by complete hotness - it's going to be LISA HARTMAN week here at Bradley's Buzz. Why baby? you may ask, well because why the hell not?
I am finally over mourning for my dear Sophia and able to jump right back in and look a t a few of my favorite things this week...
First of all anyone can tell I am a strange love for Miss ONJ - hte Livvie and with seeing her just recently at Gay Pride and having Sordid Lives debut this week, I'm all about the Livster. Imagine my utmost surprise when I found this little ditty - the brillianz that is Angelic Dreamz Barbies not only makes a Sandy Good And Sandy Bad doll from Grease, THAT'S RIGHT I'M TALKING ABOUT GREASE BARBIE DOLLS BEATCHES!! They have the coolest Rizzo dolls and now they even have the prom night with Sandy, Marty, Rizzo and Frency in their dresses. Plus they even have a frickin' Cha Cha "I'm the best dancer in all Saint Bernadette" (with the worst reputation) doll! I want them all and I am not sure why.. PS I tried to yank a photo of the Marty doll but the website won't let me so check them out here as they rule the school:
Luckily, when I'm in a pinch for some new music or hours of time on my hands there is but one place in all of LA where I must quench my desires - no not the bar. Frickin' AMOEBA MUSIC in Hollywood - you don't know how much time I have spent in that place. I always have a list for CDs, 45s, LPs, and I even have my list broken out into different genres so I know exactly where to find everything. This last Sunday we headed over where I got some Olivia CDs (see the theme), plus they had a ton of 7" records with the picture sleeves for 50 frickin cents. I ended up buying 67 of them. Don't judge me.
and finally - a remorseful favorite. Every day and night my Leivas sits and watches his news programs and every day and night the newscasters yack and yack about the political movement or stagnacy (if you ask me) of our government - yammering on and on about Obama and McCain. It makes me all sick to my tummy as I realize how I miss my little elfin king - the little midge who should be president of the world - My Little Dennis Kucinich. I want him back! He really is one of my all time favorite things and let me just say how greatly disappointed and almost disgusted I am by the fact that for 12 years now I am going to find myself not voting for who I want as my president but rather against who I do not want as my president. We truly are screwed - and Dennis - take me to your island and become my elfin king!
Oh, today is a sad, sad day - so sad in fact that you won't even be getting any Bubbatunes. Instead I have to tell you all that Estelle Getty has died. Sophia Petrillo has headed to the big lanai in the sky to eat cheesecake with Jesus - or something like that.
Estelle Getty passed away this morning at her home in Los Angeles. She was 84. Estelle was surrounded by her family and friends when she went away. She suffered from Lewy Body Dementia for years.
I frickin' love the Golden Girls, and Sophia is one of the best characters ever to be on the little screen, so in her memory here's some clips from The Best Of Sophia - season 1 - and tonight I'm buying a cheesecake and watching some Golden Girls DVDs.
Rest In Peace - Estelle and thank you for being a friend.
Oh my gawd - so on Saturday the Leivas and I headed to the Director's Guild for Outfest who were showing the first two episodes of Sordid Lives - The Series which debuts on July 23rd on Logo.
Now Sordid Lives is one of my all time favorite movies so I was a tad worried they wouldn't be able to recapture the gloriousness of the movie onto the small screen. Luckily, most of the cast is still in tact - with of course my Livvie, Beth Grant, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan, Ann Walker - plus they've added Rue McClanahan as Peggy. Caroline Rhea takes over for Delta Burke and I have to say she's actually pretty hilarious - I'm beginning to really like that gal. The series is a prequel so Peggy is very much alive - the movie, you may recall takes place just as Peggy has died...
Anyhoos it, first of all there was a slew of would be celebrities there including Margaret Cho and her pal who was in the show Sensuous Woman but whose name completely escapes me - in fact she is also friends with MY friend Luther - who wasn't there or I probs could've hung with Cho! Anyway, Canyce Cayne of Dirty Sexy Money was also there as well as James Cameron Mitchell and just about everyone involved with the show - sans the importants of Olivia, Rue, Leslie and Caroline Rhea who all apparantly had more important things to do - though they did film a cute little short video to say "Hey" to all of us 'mos.
Let me just say that both episodes were frickin' hilarious and everyone is so good it's hard to pick a favorite though you know Leslie Jordan takes every scene he's in to new heights... and not to give too much away, the series begins with a two parter that takes place on the day Tammy Wynette dies... I'll just leave it at that and you HAVE to watch on Logo.
Meanwhile, Olivia did about five new songs for the series and there's a promo video for the song "Slow Burn" - and I feel I must share it with you..
If I ever had my way with him.. I mean if I ever had my way he'd totally be cast in my soap Carlton Heights - as Marty I think... but that's just off the top of my head.
I love buying stuff, I am not sure why exactly it brings such a thrill but I can barely stand to go one week without buying something new, and of course most of the stuff I buy is music and clothes and shoes and booze. Though movies sometimes get in there as well. Either way, sometimes I just drink my booze, put on some tunes, lie on the floor and look at all my stuff. Does that make me superficial or just nuts?
As you can maybe tell it's time for another round of a few of my favorite things so here we go:
My pal Cissell (two days and two mentions??) loves her some fancy shoes, she even writes a Wednesday blog called Shoe Porn where she lusts over sexy stilettos and the like, well I too have a huge fondness for shoes and my latest kick is in the kicks made Van's - okay, really I've always had Van's so my obsession is just a continuation but I did buy a few more pairs recently in fact when my mom and sister were here we went to the Beach to see the Leivas' family and as we were headed back to WeHo I smelled me a Van's store and we went in. I'm only up to 5 pairs so far these are in my collection (minus an American flag pair that I can't find a pic of) Anyway here's what I have (love them!):
Then of course I love to get my drink on - and upon a visit to Barney's Beanery one summer afternoon I discovered Strongbow. It's an English cider that tastes like a strong apple beer, it's so good and so summery I think I may have to run to BevMo and buy me a few cans after work... oh and if you get it, by all means get the cans not the bottles - it's just so good when you pour it into an iced glass!
and finally something to watch while drinking your Strongbow and showing off your new kicks - it's SORDID LIVES the movie - I have loved this movie for years and years - I mean ONJ as a lesbian ex-convict who snaps gum and sings at funerals, a one legged man who killed his elderly lover when she slipped over his leg in the night, frickin' Beth Grant as Sissy, the sister of the ill fated woman and a sassy gal who has just quit smoking - oh and Leslie Jordan as a Tammy Wynette impersonator - it has it all and now it's going to be a TV series and the Leivas and I have tickets for Outfest this Saturday where they will be airing the first two episodes. I can't wait. ONJ in a TV series - hello! To see why the movie is so good - here's a little clip to enjoy:
With my upcoming nuptials, my pal the Ciss, the Cissell, the Amster, the legend known as Amy Cissell, sent me a forwarded mail about the new rules for a gay wedding. Though the Leivas and I are hardly club kids or disco daddies or even gym bunnies - some of these are pretty hilarious particularly the last one though I don't know how my father would feel about that - oops, did I just give away information??
Anyway here you go:
With the advent of same sex marriage, a new set of rules was, of course, needed. As, of course, the internets filled the void.As with all voids the internets fills, the product might be a tad bit offensive to some.
If you find it offensive, have a cocktail. Everything is funnier after vodka. And you probably should drink a lot of it if you're looking through this blog.
1. On the day of a gay wedding, it's bad luck for the two grooms to see each other at the gym.
2. Superstition suggests that for good luck the couple should have: Something bold, something flirty, something trashy, something dirty.
3. It's customary at gay and lesbian nuptials for the parents to have an open bar during the entire ceremony.
4.Gay wedding tradition dictates that both grooms refrain from eating any of the wedding cake because it's all carbs and sugar.
5. It's considered bad luck for either of the grooms to have dated the priest.
6. During the first dance, it's considered unlucky to use glow sticks, flags, whistles or hand held lasers.
7. For good luck at the union of a drag queen, the bouquet is always thrown in the face of a hated rival.
8. The reception hall must have a disco ball and at least 1 go-go dancer.
9. The wedding singer is not allowed to play/sing Let's Hear It For the Boy, It's Raining Men or I Will Survive.
While their previous album Energy touched on rock and roll while keeping a bit poppy (Not poopy) The Pointer Sisters launched an attack on the rock and roll side of things, and why the hell not? They could sing just about anything and with so many great songs out there, why not break a mold and carry on. Unfortunetly for them they ended up with a big old dud on their hands Priorty didn't launch any real hit singles "Who Do You Love" hit #105 and "Blind Faith" hit #106 but I'm here to tell you if you own one Pointer Sisters album I'd go with this one - just for the singing style and the out front way the sisters push their whole attitude. I am also here to tell you I love Priority!
bub130 Pointer Sisters - PRIORITY (1979; July 15, 2008) Here is my favorite of our two delicious Sisters la Pointer albums, opening with some ring wrunging guitar and drums June starts a growling and singing right from the beginning - "Who Do You Love" opens up Priority on a kick it kind of note, just one listen as the piano kicks in, the guitar kicks in and June starts crooning, it's totally fun... and not unlike Tanya Tucker's take into rock and roll on her Tear Me Apart album (also 1979) this isn't so wild in the rock and roll arena - I mean it's not Metallica, but I guess when you are used to an artist in a certain genre some of this comes as a surprise and "Who Do You Love" with its uber feisty delivery is certainly a surprise.
Then the sisters take a Bob Segar tune "All Your Love" to just as super extreme measures wringing out the emotion with their super cool voices though making it a tad of blues/rock rather than straight up rock - you know kind of like Rolling Stones or Bob Segar. Plus this one is sung by Ruth in her smokey little voice with a bit of a more Benatar-ish rasp.
The rugged take over comes back a few notches with Anita's sweet voice on "Dreaming As One" - a nice little ballad that comes off far from the sacharine ballads of time. It's just a lovely little song to bring it down a notch.
Then we move into some super cool territory with a Graham Nash tune "Turned Up Too Late" - a sassy little number that effects the conkles of my bitter heart. "Hey baby what are you blind/ how long you been gone/ I'm not the returning kind/ I don't need you to lean on".."You come to me with eyes all watery/ do you believe I'll fall in/ poor little thing so out of date/ now I can say your love has/ turned up too late.." But there's even better lyrics to be had:
"if you were the sun and moon/ I'd still cloud over/ rain would still fall down too soon/ and we would just grow colder"
and my ultimate fav - "Hey baby I ain't ashamed/ Of being turned down/ I hope you got the same strength/ You're gonna need it now.." once again sassy pants Pointer.
Then should someone doubt they were going for a more rocking sound they put themselves up to ridicule by doing a cover of the Rolling Stones "Happy" but should you want to laugh at the notion of the Pointers taking on the Richards/Jaggar let me tell you they make it their own and totally nail it. The song was even released as a single in the UK but like most of the material here it didn't do anything chart wise.
"Blind Faith" was the first single and it should've been a hit, I just don't understand how some things never make it. Of course it doesn't hurt that it's Ruth singing and she is ultimately my fav singer in the group - I mean come on "Automatic" and that man voice, she's practically the black Alison Moyet or is Alison the white June Pointer? - Anyhoos, "Blind Faith" has everything including the other Pointers "bop shoo bopin'" behind Ruth's sassy (yes still sassy) vocals on the sassy (yes still sassy) lyrics.
The next song "Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart" has made its way into my heart as one of my all time Pointer Sister songs. Opening with a semi menacing rock guitar that turns bluesy you have Anita yelling "yeah" before breaking into a catchy chorus - "don't let a theif into your heart/ or you may end up broken hearted/ don't let a whisper tear you apart/ or you will wind up right back where you started..." Then the verses and the catchiness with Anita's high voice and Ruth's low growl singing simutaneously - it sends chills right down the point of - er spine.
The Pointer Sisters kind of knew about formula when they opted to record another Bruce Springsteen song, this time turning to "(She's Got) The Fever" which is a long steamy little song that was never going to be a single but sure as heck makes a great song. In fact when I initially did our first Pointer Sisters Bubbatunes compilation On Fire, it was the only song on there from this album (but I didn't have the album then so what did I know about how great this is) - and now I'm kind of glad I did, as it really is a great song and full of that Pointer Power. Oh and umm Ruth sings the lead (go figure).
The whole gloriousness that is Priority ends with the riporous "The Shape I'm In" full of spicy lyrics and rockin' vibes - it's the perfect ending to a great overlooked album.
And now you like me, the Bradle that I am, can enjoy the greatness that is Pointer Sisters Priority (with lyrics and artwork - as this poor puppy will probably never see the light of day on CD).
Pointer Sisters - Priority (bub 130) Track List: 01. Who Do You Love 02. All Your Love 03. Dreaming As One 04. Turned Up Too Late 05. Happy 06. Blind Faith 07. Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart 08. (She's Got) The Fever 09. The Shape I'm In
The Pointer Sisters may not be typical music fare for anyone around my immediate vicinity but start singing little ditties like "I'm So Excited" or "Neutron Dance" and you can bet there's going to be some jiggy going on.
Personally I love these gals in each and everyone of their incarnations - that's right they've had their fair share of changing around in their long career - it all began with a sort of doo wap funk quartet that ended in 1978 when sister Bonnie went solo, then it went pop/rock for about two minutes before going all dancey pop and soul in the late 80's...
Two of their best albums appeared in a more rock vein, the first was 1978's Energy which really kicked the girls (now June, Anita and Ruth only) into the stratosphere with their version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire." The album that followed that, Priority, was even more rock orientated and it's now one of my personal favs - and because they are both extremely rare (Priority isn't on CD at all) to find on CD, they've been added to the Bubbatunes line up...
and here is our first little piece of pointer paradise -
bub129 Pointer Sisters - Energy (1978; July 15, 2008)
Opening with a jumpy bass line and then an electric guitar of immense 1978 proportions, "Lay It On The Line" with sassy Ruth vocals about being a bad girl, it's quite apparant this isn't the old Pointer Sisters with thrift store 40s garb and doo wop style, but beneath the crunchy guitar solos still lies some incredible harmony vocals by the Sisters Pointer and with a whole new fervor to boot this is why they were about to come into their own in mainstream pop.
The girls start sharing vocal duty on "Dirty Work" - "I'm a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah" - a song written by Don Fagen but one I recognized immediately when I got on another strange kick and started buying Melissa Manchester albums. (Don't judge me) - but the girls make it all their own - with the whole lusting little song and it keeps going on and on until the hip cool ending.
"Hypnotized" by Bob Welch starts pretty funky and when Anita starts singing in her smoky voice - I'm all ears. It's all kind of spooky when the other girls start singing back up and the blues guitar kicks in, but it's a real highlight.
The interesting ballad "As I Come Of Age" follows with the girls all sharing harmony vocals - no leads or anything, but the sound is great.
Then we go into some fun with "Come And Get My Love" opening with some keyboards and guitar like a cross between Tom Petty and Olivia Newton-John until Ruth starts singing like Tina Turner - "how long mus I sit around /waiting for you / think of all the heartache / you've been putting me through/ you must have a soul / but it don't show / come on and love me or let me go/ come and get your love... before I give it away..." Sassy pants Pointer.
"Happiness" and "Fire" come in next - the one,two shot of the hit singles from Energy. "Happiness" finds its way onto all the Pointer Sisters compilations, opening with a piano and the soulful, "I love the way you love to live/ you love life/ you're inspiration/ I love the way you give/ your love so freely/ you're a sweet sensation/ you're my invitation to..." dunt, dunt, dunt on the piano keys, and all together a thumping little disco-ish beat kicks in "Happiness". Though to call it a disco song isn't quite accurate - there aren't any swinging orchestras or cooing, but it's a similar vein as a demo-ized version of "Don't Leave Me This Way" - more soulful and poppy than simply dance.
Of course there's "Fire" - that one time obscure Bruce Springsteen song that the Pointers made all their own. There isn't much to say about it, other than if you haven't heard it in a while you really need to give it another listen cause it's a really good song, just that beginning bass line will hook you back in ... though you have to wonder if the lyrics would now be classified as an invitation to date rape..?? though I guess she does tell him he knows she's a liar and when she kisses oooh fire, so I guess then she just drags him into the house herself... Plus the bridge is one of the best ever - "you had a hold on me right from the start/ a grip so tight/ I couldn't tear it apart/ my nerves all jumpin/ acting like a fool/ well your kisses they burn/ but my heart stays cool...." a little break, "well Romeo & Juliet...." and by the end it all breaks into a super cool keyboard/organ solo. Oooh Fire indeed.
"Angry Eyes" follows the pop/rock vein established earlier with some funky and almost pissy lyrics - "well I'll bet you wish you could cut me down with those angry eyes/ what a shot you would be / if you could shoot at me with those angry eyes..." It's actually a Loggins/Messina cover and who knew they were so angry or funky?
"Echoes Of Love" is a little more poppy but it's catchy as hell - I'm surprised this wasn't a single as it sounds like radio 1978 or at least early 79 - 80 ; similar though not quite as catchy as say "He's So Shy" - this is more in the vein the Pointers would be come to be really known.
The original Energy album ends with their cover of Sylvester's "Everybody Is A Star" and though I've read unfair reviews of their version, by this time I'm a Pointer lover and you can't tell me this toned down, country-ish version isn't actually very pretty.
For those Pointer Sisters afficiandos, (they exist) we didn't just leave it at that - instead we came up with some bonus cuts - notably the excellent rocking poppy ditty called "Love Is Like A Rolling Stone" which was a Bside only to the US "Fire" single - it's not only rare it's damn good...
and finally we end it all with the 12" version of the aforementioned "Happiness" in its longer and funkier version... and cause I love ya all so much, the artwork even comes with the lyrics, that's right I have way too much time on my hands.
Pointer Sisters - Energy (bub129) Track List: 01. Lay It On The Line 02. Dirty Work 03. Hypnotized 04. As I Come Of Age 05. Come And Get Your Love 06. Happiness 07. Fire 08. Angry Eyes 09. Echoes Of Love 10. Everybody Is A Star Bonus Tracks: 11. Love Is Like A Rolling Stone 12. Happiness (Extended)
So as I had told you awhile ago, I decided to pick up a paintbrush the other day and to the right is what my demented little artistic mind came up with.
Originally titled "Chaos" as I was working on it, it is now entitled "I Suck" and will become part of a trilogy - "I Suck", "A Little Better" and "I Give Up" so keep your fingers crossed, this little piece of 'art' may be worth something someday.
So the Leivas and I had finally decided to just screw it all and head to the courthouse on August 20th to officially tie the knots - that's right boys I will be off the market (the market I was never really on) - as it has been way too hard to try to come up with a wedding plan in a few months. My little blonde noggin just pounds when I think about who I want at the wedding, where I want the wedding and all that other shizz... so we just said we'll do it alone and then head to Vegas to see the Divine Miss M - as I am not going to miss her show; I mean she's getting up there and how much longer can she run around in stilettos telling bawdy jokes and singing syrupy ballads? Well that beatch put a damper in my plan as she apparantly gets the months of August and September off of her big Vegas show. So much for a frickin' honeymoon I guess... oh and the big 10th Anniversary celebration is still on for August 20, 2010 so that will be our big wedding - maybe by then I'll have seen Bette.
Whenever I speak of beatches, I have to think of bastages in the night - as those were the names my pal Lisa and I came up with for each other - we were the Wonder Twins - "I'm the bichie, you're the bastage - wonder twins powers activate - and then we'd hit the bar" so without further delay here are some damn fine Hot Bastages Of The Week -
Scott Baio - I don't remember him ever really looking like this but he was a hottie way back when and just yesterday I bought myself a copy of his album - that's right he made records kiddies and you can bet your hot chest there's a Bubbatune CD a brewing...
and for our local Hot Bastage - it's my pal Marc who celebrates his big old birthday today. He's so hot in fact he owns more records and CDs than I do. In fact for his birthday I may just let him invite me over so I can dub a bunch of rare music. Yeah, I know I'm a giver - it is the least I could do for him on his special day.
And here we are once again to talk about me, so here like a Julie Andrews song here are a few of my favorite things this week -
Frickin' Jose Ole Breakfast Burritos - The Leivas told me he bought some breakfast burritos and he knows how I love me a stuffed burrito in the morning, and unlike some other burritos I've bought in the past (back when I would buy my groceries at the 711) these are really good. Of course it's not making my waistline shrink but who gives a whoop - it's a fricking breakfast burrito.
ABC Family puts on some of the strangest shows known to my TV and this one rocks - The Middle Man has dialogue that comes at you fast and snarky, the lead character is a who gives a rip type of gal who ends up working with the Middle Man, at a company where they fight off evil, it's based on a comic book series and it is incredible. Wendy Watson and her home co-horts are just as funny as the main Middle Man (he was in Psycho Beach Party!) with her pal Noser always reciting lines from lyrics: Noser: I'm thinking of a place Wendy: Is it a place no one dares to go? Noser: Yes it is Wendy: Noser, is the place Xanadu?
And actually they had me hooked before that ever came on - watch it, it's pretty hilarious.
Donna Summer's masterpiece, if you will - Bad Girls, I've been waiting to get my mitts on this remastered double disc set and I'm so glad I did. First of all, I could look at the redone artwork for hours on end, and then there's the music - three huge hit singles "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls" and "Dim All The Lights" plus all the album tracks which just keep piling up how great Donna S really is - the uber cool ballad "On My Honour" (simply stunning), the electro classics "Our Love" & "Sunset People", super cool disco/rock hybrids and a few more ballads. I love it.
What are some of your favs this week? I know you have them and you shouldn't be embarassed if you listen to Donna Summer while eating your burrito and watching sitcoms - you have a friend in me.
I know I promised to write more and yet I have been lagging behind. Meanwhile the new Swivek album is shaping up to be something pretty damn good, I've been working and drinking and working and drinking to get the songs just right including completely rehauling "Fabulous" which I think is going to be the first single.
Oh and yes, I am back on the hooch - which all started last Thursday when my pal Tommy said he was in West Hollywood (he recently moved to... ugh I can barely say it without breaking into the sweats - Orange County) - anyway, he had a doctor's appointment and decided he couldn't get back to his world until he had a few drinks, so of course I had to meet him at Trunks since I did get off of work at 4.... and then the Leivas joined us ... and then we got home, I got on the hooch and the horn and called people all over the country - hey you Holly Quaderer - I miss ya!
Then the next day was the 4th of July and once my pals Geoffrey Ross, Brad (yes another Brad) and Shannon stopped over already a little tipsy from Hamburger Mary's - they invited us to their house for a little salt water pool party and impromptu barbeque - so of course I grabbed my swim suit, my Captain Morgan and my newly remastered Xanadu DVD (which we all watched and loved after soaking up the sun and the booze - and Brad was a gulp Xanadu virgin so he was very excited) and we headed to the (ugh! I can barely say it without breaking into the sweats) the Valley... Okay, to be fair the valley is a little cooler than Fullerton... a little. (Sorry S)
Then I quit drinking until Monday when I headed back to my makeshift recording studio to work on new tunes...
and that's why I haven't been blogging - I've been too drunk since I quit the hooch.
I'm sure you are all sick of hearing about my music making work, but let me tell you when it's all over you will all be thrilled to death with the results - and as always, even if you're not, I certainly don't want to hear about...
anyhoos, I've been working like a dawg I tell you. First off, I have been trying to work on the forthcoming Swivek album Everybody Hates You and our first single in a while - the aptly titled "Fabulous." Of course in between that I did manage to get the first rendition of the Shitting Glitter song I'm producing out to the two people who matter most - Devin & Amy of SG.
So while coming up with my album and the SG song, I would end up going to the mic and working out my own stuff and last night off the top of my head I came up with a brand new lyric and a poppy little song making it the fifth new song I've come up with in the last two months, adding to the already 17 I've cooked up for the album...
But never fear, my idea is to find my top 10 and go totally old skewl with a 10 track fast and furious little album...
so here's the latest line up song titles a brewin' - "Everybody Hates You", "Hell On Wheels" (download it and love it I tell ya!), "Runaway", "Take My Heart", "This Is A Town," "Fabulous", "Art Attacks", "Sucked Up The Sun", "He Said", "Get Hurt" - so tonight I'm back to the mixer to work out some more kinks... but never fear Swivek will return!
Location: West Hollywood, California, United States
SHORT VERSION: Bradley Jacobson is a singer/songwriter, sometime actor, sometime writer, audio engineer and producer, and all around happy dude. He was the singer/songwriter of the electronic trashy punky pop band Swivek, but is now a "solo" artist releasing music under his own name.
Okay, for some reason I was thinking about John Stamos the other night and not in the way you might think. I just decided that despite the Full House years 
