What's On

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Worse cars of 2017 (Part two)

Worse cars of 2017 (Part two)



Dodge Journey
Likes: It offers seven seats at a very low price. The 3.6 six-cylinder engine offers a strong turn of pace and is the best engine to go for.

Dislikes: The 2.4 only comes with an ancient four-speed auto and no all-wheel-drive option. Resale value is just as low as reliability ratings. Desperately needs a redesign.

Overall: It may be cheap to buy but your investments aren’t well protected.

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Land Rover Discovery Sport
Likes: It’s the only vehicle in its class with a third-row seat offered. You can drive it off-road with pure confidence.

Dislikes: The engine isn’t really up for the job. Road dynamics aren’t great and reliability is still iffy.

Overall: It’s the sleekest looking money pit.

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Cadillac Escalade
Likes: Bold in your face styling with a much better feeling cabin. The road presence it has is like no other crossover on the road.

Dislikes: It’s one of the most stolen vehicles. You’ll have to have deep pockets to buy one and pay for the running costs. It’s very cumbersome to drive.

Overall: You’d buy it because you want a Cadillac. Everyone else should consider Audi, Mercedes and even Volvo for their seven seat crossover needs.

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Jeep Patriot
Likes: The exterior is uniquely Jeep. The interior is roomy for five with a decent boot. The starting price is cheap with huge discounts available.

Dislikes: Bitterly disappointing in everything else.

Overall: The recently redesigned Compass is a far better choice.



Nissan Versa Note 
Likes: The boot space is generous and the overall cabin is roomy for five. Running costs are decent and it’s easy to maneuver around town.

Dislikes: The engine and steering suffer on faster paced roads. The interior isn’t that great compared to some keen rivals.

Overall: We loved the Versa Note when it was first launched, but it’s worth waiting for the redesigned version to come.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Flyleaf song facts


Downtown Temple

THIS CLOSE by FLYLEAF

Artist Direct asked lead singer Lacey Mosley about the story behind this song. She replied: "I love 'This Close' the more that I listen to it. It's fitting because I'm going through a completely new season in my life where I don't know who I am anymore [Laughs]. A lot of things that I held on to and had convictions about are shifting. I realized I've been judgmental in certain areas and I have to soften up about them. It's not that the convictions are changing, but the striving to control is changing [Laughs]. I'm not going to try to control the circumstances around me like I felt I needed to before. It's a really relieving feeling to know that God's in control and we're not. Sometimes it means our hands are off. You make decisions that you think with all of your heart are right, move forward and then you find out that they're wrong in the end. That will really shake your sense of your own identity. You have to clean up a bunch of mess, deal with the aftermath, give it all to God and say, 'Please heal my heart and teach me the difference between right and wrong.' That's where we get tripped up the most—really believing in a heart that can be deceptive sometimes. If you've ever had your heart broken, your heart will sometimes deceive you and make you blind and foolish. In the end, you have to be honest and say, 'I don't know who I am anymore.' Admitting you don't know anything is the closest you'll ever get to being real [Laughs]."

THERE FOR YOU by FLYLEAF

This song is about messing up a friendship with someone you care about, and then telling that person you're sorry and you want to be there for them from now on.

Lead singer Lacey Mosley has introduced this song in concert by saying: "When I sing this song, I sing it to Jesus."

RED SAM by FLYLEAF

The title comes from the names of band members JaRED Hartmann and SAMeer Bhattacharya.

In a TVU spot, lead singer Lacey Mosley said: "It's kinda personal, some of the stuff about it. But its really just about how I got saved. I guess when I was 16, before that I was atheist, and then I had all these things. Like I was really just kinda studying to figure out what the truth was, I guess. Then my grandpa was really, well he was having a heart attack at that time, like his 12th heart attack that he had. So I was really upset, and it was like right about that time when I guess God brought me to a place where I didn't have anything or anybody and it was the only way that I was ever going to look up and see that the only thing constant and the only thing I could depend on was God. And that's when all these supernatural things happened, and He like showed me that He was real and that He really loved me and that He wanted to do something different with my life and that's why I was alive. And so that's when I got saved."

SORROW by FLYLEAF

Lead singer Lacey Mosley from an interview with Christian Music Planet: "One of the ones I think is important to play is 'Sorrow.' That's because in our day and age, there is such a huge number of people who deal with depression, or know someone who deals with depression. In the Bible, it says, 'Jesus was a man of sorrow.' On the secular side, there are people who deal with depression because they feel empty. On the Christian side, there are people who deal with depression because they feel alone with their Christianity or because they mess up. That's the spirit we're combating when we play it. The promise in the end is, 'Joy will come.'"

ARISE by FLYLEAF

Lead singer Lacey Mosley has this to say in an interview with New Release Tuesday: "There's a song on the album, called 'Arise,' which sums up the message we want people to walk away with. We want them to come away feeling empowered to arise and be all that they were meant to be, so that they can ultimately fulfill their purpose. The lyrics say, 'Arise and be all that you dream,' but I believe most people have a purpose for their lives that far exceeds any dream they could ever have. Even on our self-titled record it says that our lives should exceed all that we can dream, and that's how I feel when I'm singing 'Arise.' I believe there's a purpose for your life that only you were meant to fulfill. So our prayer, for anyone who listens to the message on the record, is that they would fulfill their purpose and answer the highest calling for their lives."

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Woman in black review

Woman In Black
***

The Woman in Black is based on a novel of the same name written by Susan Hill. With starring roll played by Daniel Radcliffe and supporting roles by Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Sophie Stuckey and Liz White. The movies starts off with Arthur Kipps who lives with his four-year old son Joseph and his son's nanny. Kipp's wife Stella died after childbirth. Arthur has visions of her and is facing financial problems along with stress from his employers. He is assigned to handle estate of Alice Drablow who owed Eel Marsh, where she had lived with her husband, son Nathaniel and Sister Jennet. During his train ride to this small town, Arthur becomes friends with a wealthy landowner named Sam who offers Arthur dinner with him and his wife. The next day Arthur goes to the estate to begin doing the paper work. All during his time at the estate, he constantly hears foot steps and eireey noises that begins to bother him. 

At this point, you'll think that the movie is going to turn into one of those cheese ghost stories. With the guy trying to find out what's making all the noises and gets spooked to the point he runs out of the estate. This is true, however the movie begins to get more and more weird as Arthur goes back to town. Suddenly one by one children are dying of strange deaths. The first death is a little girl who walks in with her brothers while Arthur is in the police station. She had drank lye and had turned pale from the effects of internal bleeding. Arthur tries to save the little girl by calling for help, but she dies in his arms. The Townspeople believe that a woman in black is coming after their children for revenge of her child dying. At this point you're wondering why the woman in black is after the towns people children? Well here's a little back story. The woman in black son died in a accident near the marsh. He could've been saved but it was too late. He drowned in the marsh and she never forgave those who were in the carriage that could've saved him. 

Arthur thinks that reuniting the woman in black with her child will bring her peace and help calm her spirit. However, in the end he ends up dying with his son at the end of the movie. You see the woman in black standing there and the movie cuts to credits. For a horror film its pretty average. The scenery and where the film is shot is pretty spooky and really gives you the sense of horror. However, the movie is just too predictable. Many of the scenes are just Arthur walking through the spooky mansion. There are a lot of scenes where there really isn't anything being said. The scares through out the movie feel like they are being forced on to you. At times you feel like you're being forced to be scared. Daniel Radcliffe did a great job as leading actor. He really took on a great role, however his interaction with the rest of the people through out the film is rather stellar at best. 

The Woman in black is one of those movies that tries too hard to scare you. It's predictable and isn't really scary, but the scenes and the whole set up of the movie does a good job at being spooky.  

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Song Facts Part Two

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Nirvana "Serve the Servants"
This is Kurt Cobain's most autobiographical song. The lyrics contain references to his father, his wife Courtney Love and his own success.
The witch reference about Courtney Love in the first verse was Cobain's frustration with the press for constantly vilifying Love as a horrible house wife, mother, drug addict and detriment to Nirvana.
The divorce of Cobain's parents inspired the line "That legendary divorce is such a bore."

Radiohead "Paranoid Android"
Lead singer Thom Yorke decided to bar-hop in L.A. one night, but what began as a festive evening soon became a nightmare as Yorke found himself surrounded by parasitic scenestalkers intent on extracting a pound of Yorke-flesh. "The people I saw that night were just like demons from another planet." That night inspired "Paranoid Android", a song that sums up "OK Computer's" claustrophobic blend of melancholic beauty and nerve-rattling aggression.
Yorke: It's about being exposed to God. It was that one night, really. We'd been rehearsin the song for months, but the lyrics came to me at five o' clock in the morning. I was trying to sleep when I literally heard these voices that wouldn't leave me alone. They were voices of the people I'd heard in the bar. It turned out to be a notrious, coke-friend place, but I didn't know that. Basically it's just about chaos, chaos, utter f--king chaos".
The song's structure is patterned after "Happiness is a warm gun" by The Beatles. Both clearly a collection of other, shorter pieces of songs put together into one.
Many radio stations asked for a shorter version, but Radiohead refused.
The guitar solo at the end of the song was written by guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It was not originally intended for the song, but something was needed to close the song and this solo was in the right key and right tempo. Some parts of this closing solo are played forward and other parts are played backward.

Alkaline Trio "Stupid Kid"
This song is about how miserable life can be if you develop a crush on one of your teachers in high school. The video tells a story of a little boy in elementary school who is in love with his teacher, doing whatever he could to please her. He gets made fun of my the other students, and soon the teacher ridicules him in front of the whole class, making him a laughing stock. After he leaves outside the room toward her window, he takes off the hat that he's been wearing the entire video, revealing two horns. The teacher can be seen struggling, surrounded in flames. Of course this video lead to controversy, and it was banned until it got edited so the student has no horns and the teacher is wrestling with nothing

Blind Melon "St. Andrew's Fall"
This song tells the story of a man who becomes overwhelmed with grief and throws himself off a 20 story building.

Faith No More "Epic"
This is a mix of funk, white-boy rap, crunchy heavy metal, and faux-Classical keyboard/piano. It contains utterly nonsensical lyrics. The lyrics frequently allude to "it," without ever explaining what "it" is. The chorus simply consists of the band shouting, "It's it!," while vocalist Mike Patton responds with "What is it?" The title is not mentioned in the lyrics.

Kings Of Leon "Molly's Chamber"
This song is about a girl that is very attractive and can make any man drop to his knees and worship her. She can be a tease: "And when you think she's let you in that's when she fades away." And if you're thinking about abstaining from sex, she'll break your will: "Molly's Chambers goin' change your mind."
The title comes from a line in the Thin Lizzy version of "Whiskey In A Jar": "Being drunk and weary I went to Molly's chamber.

Nine Inch Nails "The Perfect Drug"
The "Perfect Drug" is Absinthe, which is a French green liquor. One of the ingredients contains wormwood. Wormwood contains a substance called thujone, which is an epileptic and can cause renal failure in extremely high doses. The effect of absinthe is sometimes compared to the effects of opium and marijuana.

The Rolling Stones "Paint it Black"
This is written from the viewpoint of a person who is depressed. He wants everything to turn black to match his mood.
The song seems to be about a lover who died:
"I see a line of cars and they're all painted black" - The hearse and limos.
"With flowers and my love both never to come back" - The flowers from the funeral and her in the hearse. He talks about his heart being black because of his loss.
"I could not foresee this thing happening to you" - It was an unexpected and sudden death.
"If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes" - This refers to her in Heaven.
The Rolling Stones wrote this as a much slower, conventional Soul song. When Bill Wyman began fooling around on the organ during the session doing a takeoff of their original as a spoof of music played at Jewish weddings. Co-manager Eric Easton (who had been an organist), and Charlie Watts joined in and improvised a double-time drum pattern, echoing the rhythm heard in some Middle Eastern dances. This new more upbeat rhythm was then used in the recording as a counterpoint to the morbid lyrics.

The White Stripes "Icky Thump"
Jack White explained that he had heard his British wife, model Karen Elson, use the expression "Ecky Thump," a Northern English phrase that means "What The Heck." He changed it to the more American sounding "Icky" (meaning disgusting) so that teenagers would get it, citing how Led Zeppelin dropped the "A" in "Lead" for the same reason. Jack liked the expression and wrote the song around it with his bandmate Meg White.
The song is a commentary on immigration, and how immigrants are treated unfairly in America.
The lyrics, "I'm gonna sing around the collar" is a play on "Ring around the collar," which refers to the tough-to-remove sweat and dirt stains on the inside of shirt collars. It is typically used in laundry detergent commercials.
Candy cane is a traditional American red and white striped Christmas candy. The White Stripes use only these colors (often in stripes) and black in their sets and costumes.
The "Dry Ice" mentioned in the lyrics refers to solid carbon dioxide, which is typically used in horror films to create artificial fog.


The Beatles "Blue Jay Way"
George Harrison wrote this in a house he rented in Los Angeles on a street named Blue Jay Way. He was waiting for his friend Derek Taylor when he came up with the song.
The line "Don't Be Long" is repeated 29 times.
The vocals, organ, and drums were played on 2 tape machines slightly out of sync to get the phasing effect.
When the ending is reversed, it sounds suspiciously like "Paul is bloody." This added to the "Paul is Dead" hoax.

Saving Abel "Addicted"
Vocalist Jared Weeks wrote this song about sexual escapades in the early days of Saving Abel. He recalled on the band's website: "I used to work at a hospital. I'd have to be there at 4:30 in the morning drawing blood. I'd wake people up and stick a needle in their arm. I'd be walking around the hospital, singing 'Addicted' in my head, writing down the lyrics on patients' clipboards and doctor script pads.
"Saving Abel got its name from the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Guitarist Jason Null explained on his band's website: "I googled the story of Cain and Abel and found a line about 'there was no Saving Abel,' which just jumped out at me."
Abel was a son of Adam and Eve. As a shepherd, he made burnt offerings of meat to God, which were more acceptable than the fruits offered by his brother Cain. The jealous Cain then murdered Abel.

Local H "Bound for the floor"
This song is written from the viewpoint of someone who is concerned for another. The verses are this person mocking what he thinks the other is feeling, saying that the person he is concerned about is acting as if there is no point to life, that he was born to have bad things happen to him. The chorus is the concerned person telling the other to fight against it.
The key to unlocking the song is understanding the chorus, and in order to do so, you must know the term "copacetic." Copacetic is a slang term meaning fine, completely satisfactory, and okay. The lyrics, "And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic" mean that this person doesn't understand that he can't keep it all inside and pretend that everything is okay. The lines, "And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic" mean that this person is pathetic for trying to hide his true feelings and accept all the bad things that are happening to him.

Thrice "The melting point of wax"
There are references to Greek Mythology in this song. The speaker is Icarus from The Flight of Icarus, who created wings made of wax that melted when he flew too close to the sun. The song is about determination and the joys of flight, both literally and metaphorically. The Thrice song "Daedalus" is written from the perspective of Icarus' father.

Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"
For this song, lead singer Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics around the music. The words are a somewhat random collection of thoughts, with some creative rhyming thrown in to fit the rhythm of the song ("Can I get 2 maybe even 3 of these, come from space to teach you of the pleiades"). The song encourages the listener to live with passion and individuality ("This life is more than just a read-through"), something the Chili Peppers have done throughout their career.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Amy Winehouse song facts


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TEARS DRY ON THEIR OWN by AMY WINEHOUSE

Like the other songs on the Back to Black album, this was written during a difficult time in Winehouse's life. Her then boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil had abandoned her to return to his previous girlfriend, leaving Amy devastated. In an interview with the Sun newspaper October 27, 2006 Amy explained: "'Tears Dry On Their Own' is a track about the breakup with Blake, my ex. Most of these songs are about him. I shouldn't have been in a relationship with him because he was already involved with someone else a bit too close to home. The song is about when we split up and saying to myself: 'Yes, you're sad but you'll get over it.' And I did."

Blake subsequently returned to Amy and they got married in May 2007.

This is based around the background music arrangement for the Ashford and Simpson Motown song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," which was an American #1 for Diana Ross in 1970.

Amy told the crowd at Shepherd's Bush in 2007: "This song's about when you're in a relationship and you know it's going to end, and you know you're going to be upset, but you know that you have to do it."

WAKE UP ALONE by AMY WINEHOUSE

Amy wrote this with British producer and composer Paul O'Duffy, who is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's Grammy-nominated multi-platinum debut album, It's Better to Travel and his film score work with John Barry. Amy spent a month in O'Duffy's North London studio working on tracks for what became the Back to Black album. This was the first song recorded during the sessions and the only tune that made it onto the album.

A one-take demo of the song recorded in March 2006 by O'Duffy later appeared on Winehouse's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures. Long term Winehouse cohort Saleem Remi, who produced a number of tracks on her first two albums told NME: "Most of Amy's songs started with a guitar and a vocal and a basic beat, if there was any beat at all. So it was really about her being able to express herself lyrically and then find the chords she wanted to use and then get it arranged after."

ME AND MR. JONES by AMY WINEHOUSE

Winehouse loves Soul music of the '60s and '70s, and it's likely that this song was inspired by the Billy Paul classic "Me And Mrs. Jones," which is about a couple who are cheating on their partners. In this song, Mr. Jones would be the man she is having an affair with, and she's clearly not pleased with him.

This is possibly the first song to name-check both Slick Rick and Sammy Davis, Jr. Slick Rick is a rapper who was popular in the '80s, and Sammy Davis Jr. was a legendary entertainer and part of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack." He was, as Winehouse sings, a black Jew.

The titular Mr. Jones is New York rapper Nas (real name Nasir Jones), who became good friends with Winehouse after being name checked. He told XXL in 2011: "I don't really remember if [producer] Salaam [Remi], who was really close to her, who introduced us, if he told me about it or not. But I heard a lot about it before I even heard the song."

REHAB by AMY WINEHOUSE

This song is autobiographical. Many successful musicians are haunted by their own personal demons of drink and drugs, and Winehouse is no exception. In February 2007 her father gave a candid interview to the Sun newspaper in which he denied that his daughter was an alcoholic, although he admitted that like many single women of her age she sometimes overdid the drink. On one occasion, after splitting up with her boyfriend, she fell over and hit her head.

Her previous management company wanted her to go into rehab but she said she didn't need to. Her father agreed, adding that she wasn't an alcoholic but had been drinking too much because she was lovesick, and "You can't go into rehab for that." Alcoholics drink everyday, he said, and his daughter didn't. Hence the line: "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no."

Amy Winehouse was asked by The Daily Mail on August 3, 2007 how she writes songs. Said Winehouse: "With 'Rehab' I was walking down the street with Mark Ronson, who produced my last album. I just sang the hook out loud. It was quite silly really." She was then asked, "Did you sing the 'no no no' bit as well?'" "Yeah, I sang the whole line exactly as it turned out on the record! Mark laughed and asked me who wrote it because he liked it. I told him that I'd just made it up but that it was true and he encouraged me to turn it into a song, which took me 5 minutes. It wasn't hard. It was about what my old management company (run by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller) wanted me to do."

This won the 2007 Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.

At the 2008 Grammy awards, this won for Song Of The Year, Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record Of The Year. Winehouse also won for Best New Artist, and performed a medley of songs that were televised from London. Ronson won for producer of the year.

Backstage at the Grammy ceremony Mark Ronson recalled to Billboard magazine what it was like playing "Rehab" for Winehouse's A&R for the first time. "About the first 15 seconds in, he said 'Rewind, rewind!' I didn't think there would be dollar signs lighting up."

Winehouse did a few stints in rehab to treat her drug and alcohol addiction, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. She was found dead in her London home on July 23, 2011.

The lines, "I'd rather be at home with Ray" and "There's nothing you can teach me that I can't learn from Mr. Hathaway" are references to two of Winehouse's soul music inspirations: Ray Charles and Donny Hathaway. Hathaway is best known for his duets with Roberta Flack: "Where Is The Love?" and "The Closer I Get To You."

LOVE IS A LOSING GAME by AMY WINEHOUSE

Like the other songs on the Back to Black album, this was written during a difficult time in Winehouse's life. Her then boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil had abandoned her to return to his previous girlfriend, leaving Amy devastated. After the songs were written he returned and they got married in 2007. However, at the time Winehouse was emotionally fragile but she chose to use her pain as raw material for her songs, which she found to be a healing experience. She explained to Mojo Magazine January 2008: "I'm not frightened of appearing vulnerable. I write songs about stuff that I can't really get past emotionally-and then I feel better."

This was co-written by Mark Ronson, the producer of Back to Black. Ronson also co-wrote the title track and "You Know I'm No Good" on the album. Winehouse collaborated a few months later with Ronson on a cover of the Zutons song "Valerie" for his Version album. When it was released as a single it reached #2 on the UK chart, higher than any of the singles released from Back to Black.

When the English singer-songwriter George Michael was interviewed on the BBC Radio show Desert Island Discs, he chose this as the piece of music he would most like to have if he was stranded on a desert island.

This won the 2008 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically And Lyrically. However the troubled singer failed to arrive in time to collect her gong, leaving her embarrassed father Mitch to accept it on her behalf.

This was the first song mixed for Back to Black. Ronson recalled to Mojo magazine June 2010 that he was nervous regarding how Winehouse would react. Said Ronson: "She came to mixing on the first day at Metropolis studios in London. The first song we were mixing was Live is a Losing Game. She had her head down on the mixing board, so I couldn't gauge her reaction. I'm freaking out, thinking, If she doesn't like it, we're pretty f---ed. At the end of it she looks up and walks over, extends her arms and gives me a huge hug. 'I love it. Just take the harp off after the second verse. It sounds like some Mariah Carey bulls--t.' It's emblematic of this thing about Amy. She can cut you down to size in two seconds flat."

We take a look at some small cars (mini-reviews)

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Nissan Versa

Likes: It’s cheap to buy and costs peanuts to run. It has a roomy rear seat and boot.

Dislikes: If you enjoy driving you’ll look elsewhere.

Overall: It maybe the cheapest new car you can buy, but it certainly feels like a penalty box.



Mitsubishi Mirage G4

Likes: It’s cheap to buy and cheap to run.

Dislikes: It’s only for those who want a cheap new car with a long warranty.

Overall: Cheap and cheerful really don’t apply here.

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Ford Fiesta

Likes: Despite it being small, this car is loads of fun to drive and doesn’t feel like a penalty box. It has low running costs and ST version with hot hatch capabilities.

Dislikes: Wait for the new version to arrive.

Overall: We suggest waiting for the next generation of the Fiesta to arrive. However, everyone else who can’t wait; we strongly suggest looking at either the 1.6 or 1-liter turbo three-cylinder. You won’t regret either.

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 Kia Rio-5

Likes: It’s very versatile for its size with low running costs and high standard features list.

Dislikes: It’s not all that engaging to drive and real world fuel economy is disappointing.

Overall: You can wait for the new one to arrive or you could get really good discounts on one now. We’d suggest going straight for the top of the range SX which has all the bells and whistles.

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Toyota Yaris

Likes: It’s probably one of the most reliable small cars on sale, with low running costs and several different trims to choose from.

Dislikes: It still comes with an ancient four-speed automatic. The 1.5 while as efficient as it might be still feels sluggish when the traffic gets faster.

Overall: You’d buy a Yaris because you don’t know about the Ford Fiesta or even the Honda Fit. Both are light years better than the Yaris.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Song Meanings (Part Five)

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Nine Inch Nails
"Head Like a Hole" is about the control that money has over people, and the pain and suffering associated with it. "God Money" is just that. Money has become a god unto itself. Trent Reznor is basically saying, he'd rather die than give in to temptation.

Smashing Pumpkins
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" was written to express lead singer's (Billy Corgan) pain that comes from being a rock star. The lyrics are exceptionally dramatic, and Corgan has said they are bit of a joke.

Nirvana
"Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle"
In this song it appears Kurt Cobain is likening himself to Frances Farmer. While Frances was almost infamous for her difficulty to work with and her battle with her movie studio, which forced her into bad roles. She demanded much and later all she got for it was a series of mental collapses and a failed battle with alcoholism. Kurt related Farmer's battles against her contracts with corporate Hollywood with his difficulty with his record label, which he felt was holding him back and stifling his art, making him release poppy stuff he was never satisfied with. Farmer was born in Seattle, but Kurt had a lot more to do with the city than she did, which leads me to believe this is not a musical biography... not Kurt's style.

The Used
"Blue and Yellow"
"It's a song about me and [frontman] Bert McCracken's friendship," guitarist Quinn Allman explained. "When the band started to really pick up and people started to really get interested, we were almost not being friends anymore because we were focusing so much time on the band and not on each other."
The colors in the title could have some meaning. The color blue belongs to the Planet Venus, the giver of Love, devotion and harmony. The musical note of blue is G, a favorite key for the composer of romantic music. The color yellow belongs to the planet Mercury, and is said to stimulate the nerves of the brain and body. Mercury instills a quick intellect by stimulating the nervous system, so nothing can remain stagnant under the influence of this planet.


Deftones
"My Own Summer (Shove it)
"Cloud come shove the sun aside" - sadness against happiness.
"And no sun in my summer" - The bad luck of being sad and poor in this world.
"There are no crowds in the streets" - Loneliness caused by social discrimination.
"The shade is a tool, a device, a savior" - Living in the shade is a solution to get far away from this.
"I try and look up to the sky, but my eyes burn" - Someone wants to bring us down everyday.
"Shove It" - These people don't care for anyone but themselves. These people are the "sky" (because they've got the cash), and when we try to get next to them, we want to return to our shade and just say, "Shove It."

Top Five Worst Beatles Covers

Kidz Bop
"Octopus's Garden"
Everyone says that the original version of anyone song is usually the best. Perhaps this isn't the case for either party. Kidz Bob must have decided to try and outdo The Beatles and make the song sound worst than it already is. Usually a cover is to flatter the original or surpass. In this case however, they've made a complete turn for the worst.

Maroon 5
"If I fell"
John Lennon hated the way his voice sounded, so he double-tracked his vocals to improve the sound of his singing in songs. Too bad he never got the chance to show this trick to Maroon 5. Not only does Adam Levine's vocals sound strained and weird, but the fact that he's trying to sing a song that doesn't fit the band's image really is just plain odd.

William Shatner
"Lucy in the sky with diamonds"
"Picture yourself... in a boat... on a river.. with tangerine trees!!! And marmalade skies!!" Some songs shouldn't be performed in spoken word form. This statement applies to William Shatner, whom decided to cover The Beatle's most controversial song "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". Not only is it just weird to hear someone speak lyrics to a song meant to be sung. William Shatner's emphasis on certain words through out the song just makes you wonder why people liked this song?

Jonas Brothers
Target
"Hello Goodbye"

Its a toss up here, and I bet you're wondering why a department store is on this list. Target and the Jonas Brothers have single handedly ruined what was considered The Beatles most commercially successful song in 1967. There's a reason why John Lennon hated this song, and why most people dislike this song now.

Marilyn Manson
"Helter Skelter"

Marilyn has some how turned a hard rock (often considered one of the earliest Metal Songs) into a screamo piece of garbage. Not all songs sound cool when you scream the whole time. There are better covers for this song. There's no need to waste your time on this cover.

Devon M

Friday, July 14, 2017

Why should we have sex?

Sex is beneficial for both the heart and blood circulation, especially in the brain. While having sex, the heart rate goes 70 beats per minute to 150, a good training for the heart. Having sex thrice a week decreases the risk of heart attack by 50%. Also during the sex intercourses, the breath is deeper, meaning a better oxygenation.

The mental and emotional health balance is clearly tuned by sex. People that exhibit involuntary celibate or abstinent often display depressive feelings are often driven into this by 'missed opportunities' due to living without having sex. 

Sex eliminates stress. The feeling of total relaxation and calm following sexual intercourse. A subseqent profound caling sleep follows, with great effect in combating stress. With a regular sex life, you'll sleep better and feel better the next day.

Sex helps you live longer. For those who had oragasms more frequently had half the death rate of men who did not have such frequent orgasms. This is due to the plummeting stress hormones, a reaction that installs after we have sex. Frequent orgasms (100 per year) have been linked to an increase of 3-8 years in a person's lifespan and a decrease of death risk of 50%. 
Sweating while having sex cleanse the skin pores. Making the skin brigter and decreasing the risk of developing dermatitis.

Sex can keep you fit. A quickie of 20minutes weekly mean 7,500 calories annually, that's as much as you consume on 745 miles of jogging. A sex session can burn about 200 calories. This is like running fifteen minutes on a treadmill. 

Sex improves senses, at least the smell. Following the orgasm, a rise of the hormone prolactin makes the brain's stem cells form new neurons in the olfactory bulb, boosting a person's olfactory abilities. 

Sex fights off allergies. A good sex session can be a good remedy against stiff nose, being a natural antihistaminic that helps combating asthma and high fever. 

Sex means a better control of the bladder, as pelvis muscles controlling the urine flow are stronger.

Also remember use protection! :) 

Devon M 

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Devon drives a Smart Fortwo for a day (Used)

2008 Smart ForTwo Passion convertible -- 04-22-2011 2.jpg


The Smart Fortwo has been sold in Europe for many years and has finally graced our roads here in the U.S. It's not the largest of cars and it certainly does turn heads no matter where it goes. The Smart Fortwo is here to show that small cars are just as cool as larger vehicles. But is the Smart Invasion all just a hype?

Performance: There's only one engine available, its a 1-liter three-cylinder with 70hp. It's not the most refined engine, and isn't the most powerful. Performance is only so-so, but then you'll be missing the point. This car is aimed more towards urban use not highway driving. The Fortwo makes the most of its engine output, but a more powerful engine option would be desired.

Ride & Handling: The Fortwo has an overly firm ride. Things get even worse when you hit a bump. The suspension does very little to soak anything up, giving the passengers an unforgiving ride. Handling isn't good either for such a small car. The front wheels lose grip very quickly.

Refinement: The three-cylinder engine emits a distinct thrum whenever you touch the accelerator. The sound is far from unpleasant, but can make long highway journeys. The semi-automatic gearbox is the biggest let down. Shifting between gears is jerky and slow to respond, unless you ease your foot off the accelerator between shifts.

Behind the wheel: The interior is very well laid out. All the controls and dials are within easy reach of the driver seat. There are plenty of user-friendly buttons and dials. However, the driving position isn't for everyone because there's no seat height adjustment. The steering wheel is fixed, making the driving position awkward for some drivers.

Space & Practicality: Wide opening doors means getting in and out of the Fortwo is a breeze. There's plenty of room for two passengers, but cargo space is limited. The boot isn't massive, but there's plenty of room for a few bags. You'll have to fold down the passenger seat to squeeze anything more. The cabriolet roof retracts at the touch of a button. But you'll have to remove the roof bars for a full cabriolet experience.

Equipment: The Fortwo comes with a very large safety kit. The cabriolet adds power windows, ESP, and traction control to help keep the Fortwo stable under mixed driving. The Rev gauge and clock are a nice addition but cost extra. Optional leather seats and automatic headlights are reasonably priced and worth considering.

Buying & owning: The Fortwo fuel economy isn't all that impressive. There are rivals that are bigger and offer more in everything the Fortwo falls short in. Since the Fortwo requires premium fuel, your fuel bill may be higher than you'd desire. Resale value should be a worry, as Smart doesn't have much of a image in the U.S.

Quality & Reliability: Smart is built by Mercedes Benz. Most materials used are designed to last long wear and tear. However, the gearbox may cause some problems. Most owners have complained frequent gearbox faults in the JD Power Survey.

Safety & Security: The Fortwo has the most elaborate safety kit. Many features you'd have to pay extra for, or not even ask for are standard. An engine immobilizer means thieves won't be able to drive away with your Fortwo. However, Mercedes rejects deadlocks on safety grounds.

Likes: Small size means its easy to park, stylish inside out, cheapest cabriolet in the U.S.

Dislikes: Touchy brakes, jerky transmission, handling is sloppy, and the engine requires premium fuel.

The Fortwo doesn't have many strong points. The brakes are touchy, the transmission is jerky, and there's the engine that requires premium fuel. Even though there are rivals that are bigger, roomier and offer better fuel economy. The Fortwo has a charm that no other city car offers. It's stylish, easy to park and makes the most sense in tight urban areas. If your trip doesn't evolve highway driving, and want a car that stands out everywhere you go. The Smart Fortwo is the perfect car for you.

Devon M

Devon test drives a Nissan Altima (Used)




Family saloons have never really been seen as cool or fun to drive. Honda and Toyota have pretty much ruined the family saloon image. Nissan however is trying to change all of that with the Nissan Altima. It's roomy, stylish and offers a suprising level of kit for the money. Can the Altima bring style and substance to the dull market of family saloons?
Performance: There's a 2.5liter four-cylinder with 175hp, a 3.5liter six-cylinder with 270hp and even a hybrid. The pick of the bunch is the 2.5S. There's a great balance of performance, fuel economy and price. The six-cylinder engine is smooth, but feels overwhelming to the car's chassis. While the hybrid form commands a higher asking price, that may seem off-putting to some buyers.

Ride & Handling: The Altima offers decent handling if you don't push it hard. The six-cylinder models offer a sports suspension that makes them more of a kick to drive. You'll either love or hate the ride comfort. It feels floaty even on the bumpiest of roads. Trade-off is the suspension soaks bumps up really well, but there's body roll and not much driver entertainment. The steering feels lifeless and leaves the driver feeling disconnected from the car and road.

Refinement: Wind and road noise is well supressed in the Altima. The transmission sounds buzzy when accelerating from standstill. But once you rev the engine, you'll hear a sporty exhaust noise. But it fades away quickly and continues to pull strongly. There's little noise from the suspension.

Buying & Owning: The Altima is more stylish than its rivals. If you stay clear of the V6 and ignore the base trim level, you'll find a Altima that's reasonably priced and holds its value well. The hybrid offers a fuel economy benefit and tax credit. However, the higher asking price and rarity of the vehicle makes it harder to find at dealer lots.

Quality & Reliability: The Altima has excellent fit and finish inside out. The interior feels logical and well laid out. There's all your controls within easy reach. All the plastics used look and feel like they will last long hard use. Mechanicals shouldn't give any worries as Nissan has excellent reliability record. With above average customer satisfaction scores on JD Power Survey.

Behind the wheel: Some drives may not like the front seats. They lack upright seating position, which makes the driver feel like they're sitting further away from the steering wheel than desired. The seats are comfortable, and there's reach and height adjustments for both the steering wheel and seating.

Space & Practicality: There's plenty of room for five passengers. The trunk has an old fashioned hinges, which eats into the cargo space. The rear seats offer plenty of room for two, there's room for three. However, the third passenger will have to make do with sitting on the transmission tunnel.

Likes: Roomy interior, peppy range of engines, slick shifting transmission, well balance of refinement and quality.
Dislikes: Ride often feels floaty, lifeless steering, front seats don't offer upright seating comfort.
Overall: The Nissan Altima presents an excellent alternate to the class leaders. While there are other rivals that offer more driving satisfaction and extensive safety kit. You'll like the Altima's charm and the low asking price for such a stylish well made vehicle.

Devon M

We tries ZipCar for a day


The latest trend in urban commutes is not buying a car smaller than a motorcycle but actually sharing a car with other people. ZipCar is the new car sharing program that allows people who live in tight and congested urban areas the ability to own a car without having to go through the hassles and cost of having one. You sign up for a membership and pick between to plans. The first plan is for occasional driving. Those who may just stop at the grocery store or need a car rarely will benefit from this plan. The second plan which seems like the logical choose is for those who use a car quite often but not enough to consider buying one for themselves. This is the plan my friend had was eager to show me the benefits of.

 Once you have your membership and you’re ready to rent a car for a few hours. All you have to do is reserve a car. You can reserve online or call a number reserve via over the phone. This is handy but it doesn’t take the perks of actually owning your own vehicle. Once you’ve gotten your reservation and your time has come to get a car. You can pick the car you want or you can find a location from the several locations across the Chicago area with the car you are looking for. Down side is that you have to return that ZipCar to the same location from which you picked it up from.

          We got our ZipCar and it was a Honda Civic Hybrid. Since we were in Wrigelyville and there’s tons of traffic, a hybrid would make the most sense. Driving inside of the Honda was an interesting experience to say the least. The car had a distinct odor that words can’t describe. It felt like someone decided to live in the car, shower in the car and give the car back. It was just horrible and disgusting. I was given a go at the wheel and joy of joy the steering was way out off balance and the way it drove felt like it was abused by a million people within one day. This car felt beat up and smelled really bad. If you had your own car you wouldn’t have to worry about this problem.

          When you don’t own a car it’s much different. You tend to drive the car however way you desire. These cars are driven in that exact manner. But you do get free insurance and gas included in the plan.

          After running around doing errands for about a few hours it was time to return the smelly horrible vehicle. Which was the bigger problem with ZipCar is that you have to return the car at the exact time or else the next driver will report you and you will be penalized. Luckily the next driver wasn’t too pissed and was eager to get going to his poetry reading in Uptown. The whole concept of ZipCar is great. Providing transport for those who need it but can’t afford their own car is awesome. Plus free insurance and gas car is included in both plans. Downside is you’re sharing a car with other people who won’t take care of the car properly.

The Rolling Stones song facts


File:Forest hill 1.jpg


(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION by THE ROLLING STONES

On May 6, 1965, The Rolling Stones played to about 3,000 people at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Florida while on their first US tour. According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, about 200 young fans got in an altercation with a line of police officers at the show, and The Stones made it through just four songs as chaos ensued. That night, Keith Richards woke up in his hotel room with the guitar riff and lyric "Can't get no satisfaction" in his head. He recorded it on a portable tape deck, went back to sleep, and brought it to the studio that week. The tape contained his guitar riff followed by the sounds of him snoring.

Richards was staying at the Fort Harrison Hotel (known at the time as the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel) when he rolled out of bed with the idea for this song. The hotel still exists. In 1975, it was bought by the Church of Scientology and frequently hosts religious retreats.

The guitar riff is similar to Martha & the Vandellas "Dancing in the Street." Richards thought that is where he got the idea, and was worried that it was too similar.

This was released in the United States on June 6, 1965, just a month after Keith Richards woke up with the guitar riff in his head. In the UK, it wasn't issued until August 20, since The Stones did not want to release it in England until they were there to support it. While they were touring in America, they became very popular in England, so they kept recording singles in the States to keep their momentum until they could return for a tour.

Mick Jagger (1968): "It sounded like a folk song when we first started working on it and Keith didn't like it much, he didn't want it to be a single, he didn't think it would do very well. I think Keith thought it was a bit basic. I don't think he really listened to it properly. He was too close to it and just felt it was a silly kind of riff."

Richards ran his guitar through a Gibson Fuzz Box to create the distortion effect. He had no intention of using the sound on the record, but Gibson had just sent him the device, and he thought the Fuzz Box would create sustained notes to help sketch out the horn section. The band thought it sounded great and wanted to use the sound because it would be very unusual for a rock record. Richards thought it sounded gimmicky and did not like the result, but the rest of the band convinced him to ditch the horn section and use the distorted guitar sound.

There is some debate as to whether this is the first use of fuzz guitar in a rock song. Shiloh Noone sheds some light on the subject in his book Seekers Guide To The Rhythm Of Yesteryear: "Anne Margaret does have one claim to fame that embarrassingly whitewashes the rock generation, namely her studio recording of 'I Just Don't Understand' which boasts the first fuzz guitar applied to wax, courtesy of Billy Strange, a one time member of Phil Spector's session crew who later hit the charts with an instrumental version of Monty Norman's 'James Bond theme.' 'I Just Don't Understand' was later launched as a single by Freddie & The Dreamers and also played live by the Beatles at the Cavern. Billy Strange repeated his fuzz on 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah' (Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans). So what's the buzz about fuzz? Well it did launch the early stages of Psychedelia and boost its prime exponents The Ventures, specifically their 1962 single '2.000lb Bee.' Sure fisted Keith Richard claims he revolutionized the fuzz on the ripping 'Satisfaction' while utilizing his new fuzz box, yet Big Jim Sullivan used it previously on P.J. Proby's 'Hold Me.' Billy Strange exalted the riff that Link Wray had already laid claim to three year previous, so what's the fuzz?"

Richards (1992): "It was the first (fuzztone box) Gibson made. I was screaming for more distortion: This riff's really gotta hang hard and long, and we burnt the amps up and turned the s--t up, and it still wasn't right. And then Ian Stewart went around the corner to Eli Wallach's Music City or something and came around with a distortion box. Try this. It was as off-hand as that. It was just from nowhere. I never got into the thing after that, either. It had a very limited use, but it was just the right time for that song."

Mick Jagger wrote all the lyrics except the line "Can't get no satisfaction." The lyrics deal with what Jagger saw as the two sides of America, the real and phony. He sang about a man looking for authenticity but not being able to find it. Jagger experienced the vast commercialism of America in a big way on their tours, and later learned to exploit it, as The Rolling Stones made truckloads of money through sponsorships and merchandising in the US.

The Stones performed this on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966. The line "Trying to make some girl" was bleeped out by censors.

This was included on the US version of Out Of Our Heads, but not the British. Putting singles on albums was considered ripping people off in England.

The stereo mix has electric instruments on one channel and acoustics on the other.

Jack Nitzsche worked with The Stones on this, playing piano and helping produce it. He also played the tambourine part because he thought Jagger's attempt lacked soul. Nitzsche was a successful producer who worked on many early hits for the Stones, including "Get Off My Cloud" and "Paint It, Black." He died in 2000 at age 63.

Otis Redding recorded this in 1966 at the behest of Steve Cropper and Booker T. Jones, who were part of his backing band at Stax Record. Otis hadn't heard the song, and he didn't like it, so he did a radically different version of the song, using horns and changing many of the words. Using horns was what Keith Richards originally had in mind for the song, and he lauded Redding's take. His version was one of the first British songs covered by a black artist; usually it was the other way around.

The final take was recorded just five days after Richards first came up with the idea. Three weeks later, it was released as a single in the US. An instant hit, it made The Stones stars in America; it helped that they were already touring the US to support it.

There is a song by Chuck Berry called "Thirty Days" with the line "I can't get no satisfaction from the judge." Richards is a huge Chuck Berry fan and it is possible that this is where he got the idea for the title.

Mick Jagger (1995): "People get very blasé about their big hit. It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band. You always need one song. We weren't American, and America was a big thing and we always wanted to make it here. It was very impressive the way that song and the popularity of the band became a worldwide thing. It's a signature tune, really, rather than a great, classic painting, 'cause it's only like one thing - a kind of signature that everyone knows. It has a very catchy title. It has a very catchy guitar riff. It has a great guitar sound, which was original at that time. And it captures a spirit of the times, which is very important in those kinds of songs... Which was alienation. Or it's a bit more than that, maybe, but a kind of sexual alienation. Alienation's not quite the right word, but it's one word that would do."

This was featured in the 1984 film Starman, starring Jeff Bridges. The movie is set on a deep space probe in the '70s.

Some of the artists who have covered this include Britney Spears and Devo. Another unusual cover was by The Residents, whose version is much more intense, with distorted, raging vocals, and a heavy guitar solo courteously of Phil "Snakefinger" Lithman.

The Stones don't own the publishing rights to this song. In 1965, they signed a deal with an American lawyer named Allen Klein and let him make some creative accounting maneuvers to avoid steep British taxes. He ended up controlling most of their money, and in order to get out of their contract, The Stones signed over the publishing rights to all the songs they wrote up to 1969. Klein, who died in 2009, still had to pay royalties to the songwriters, but controlled how the songs were used.

Richards says he never plays this on stage the same way twice.

In 2006, The Rolling Stones played this at halftime of Superbowl XL.

The phrase, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," is grammatically incorrect. It's a double negative and really means, "I Can Get Satisfaction."

Keith Richards used his "fuzzbox," but he also played clean guitar during the song, with Brian Jones strumming an acoustic throughout. This meant that Keith had to switch between his two tones during the song, as multiple tracks were sparse back then and overdubs rare. If you listen to the song at :36 you will hear Keith switching on his fuzz with an audible click, just between Jagger's "get" and "no." At about 1:35, Keith is stomping his fuzz too late, slightly missing his cue, ending up playing the riff a little behind. At his next cue (2:33) he probably wants to be sure that his fuzz is on, so you can hear a short but audible fuzz note (accidentally?) played before the actual riff and slightly before Jagger's "I can't get."

In 1991, Snickers paid a reported $4 million to use a knockoff version of this song in a commercial.

The song spent four weeks at #1 in America before getting knocked off by Herman's Hermits "I'm Henry The VIII, I Am." In the UK, it spent two weeks at #1, knocked off by The Walker Brothers "Make It Easy on Yourself."

2,000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME by THE ROLLING STONES

Space exploration was big at the time, and was probably an influence on this song. Pink Floyd was making music with a similar sound.

The psychedelic sound reflected the times. It was the summer of love (1967).

Mick Jagger got the idea for this while in jail on drug charges.

The Stones played this on their Steel Wheels tour in 1989. A show in Atlantic City was broadcast with this song shot in 3D, which viewers could see using those goofy glasses.

Various echo effects and drum sounds were added in overdubbing.

Brian Jones played the Mellotron, an early synthesizer. He died in 1969 when he drowned in his swimming pool.

'90s Psychedelic group The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded a tribute to the Stones' Psychedelic period (and this song) called Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request.

JUMPIN' JACK FLASH by THE ROLLING STONES

Who is "Jack Flash"? His name is Jack Dyer, and he was Keith Richards' gardener. Richards explained to Rolling Stone in 2010: "The lyrics came from a gray dawn at Redlands. Mick and I had been up all night, it was raining outside, and there was the sound of these boots near the window, belonging to my gardener, Jack Dyer. It woke Mick up. He said, 'What's that?' I said, 'Oh, that's Jack. That's jumping Jack.' I started to work around the phrase on the guitar, which was in open tuning, singing the phrase 'Jumping Jack.' Mick said, 'Flash,' and suddenly we had this phrase with a great rhythm and ring to it."

Bill Wyman wrote some of this song, but it was still credited only to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which Wyman was never happy about. He explained: "We got to the studio early once and... in fact I think it was a rehearsal studio, I don't think it was a recording studio. And there was just myself, Brian and Charlie - the Stones NEVER arrive at the same time, you know - and Mick and Keith hadn't come. And I was just messing about and I just sat down at the piano and started doing this riff, da-daw, da-da-daw, da-da-daw, and then Brian played a bit of guitar and Charlie was doing a rhythm. We were just messing with it for 20 minutes, just filling in time, and Mick and Keith came in and we stopped and they said, 'Hey, that sounded really good, carry on, what is it? And then the next day we recorded it. Mick wrote great lyrics to it and it turned out to be a really good single."

Mick Jagger: "It's about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things."

As Richards explained in Rolling Stone, he's very proud of his guitar part in this song. "When you get a riff like 'Flash,' you get a great feeling of elation, a wicked glee," he said. "I can hear the whole band take off behind me every time I play 'Flash' - there's this extra sort of turbo overdrive. You jump on the riff and it plays you. Levitation is probably the closest analogy to what I feel."

A promotional film, which was an early music video, was shot with The Stones performing this wearing body paint and outrageous costumes. The paint and costumes would become a trend in the '70s with bands like Kiss.

For The Stones, this was a return to the blues style of their early years. Their previous album, Her Satanic Majesties Request, had more of a psychedelic sound.

In the US, this was a hit for Aretha Franklin in 1986. Her version was produced by Keith Richards, who also played guitar. It hit #21.

The title was used for the name of a Whoopi Goldberg movie in 1986. Aretha Franklin's version was used.
This was intended for Beggar's Banquet, but they left it off the album and released it as a single because The Stones were very pleased with the results.

This was rumored to be about drugs - a "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is supposedly a way to inject heroin into the tear ducts. It was also thought to be about speed - the same pills that were mother's little helpers.

Keith Richards: "I used a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic tuned to open D, six string. Open D or open E, which is the same thing - same intervals - but it would be slackened down some for D. Then there was a capo on it, to get that really tight sound. And there was another guitar over the top of that, but tuned to Nashville tuning. I learned that from somebody in George Jones' band in San Antonio in 1964. The high-strung guitar was an acoustic, too. Both acoustics were put through a Phillips cassette recorder. Just jam the mic right in the guitar and play it back through an extension speaker."

Don McLean referenced this in "American Pie" with the words "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick, 'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend." The 'Devil' was rumored to be Mick Jagger.

Like the other songs he used in the movie Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese played this song from his original album, giving it more of a raw sound.

In 2004, Chevy used this in a commercial for their Corvette, but the ads were quickly pulled over objections from viewers. The ad showed a young kid driving the car in a very dangerous manner. It was meant to portray the kid dreaming about the car, but a lot of people didn't see it that way.

This song was used as the finale in the rhythm-action game Elite Beat Agents for the Nintendo DS. It is the second half of a two-part scenario, the first half being "Without a Fight." In the scenario, evil aliens known as the Rhombulans invade Earth and ban music, and the game's characters band together to summon the Elite Beat Agents. In "Without a Fight," the Elite Beat Agents help to free the prisoners in the Rhombulans' concentration camp (while simultaneously making music to injure the Rhombulan guards), then dash into the path of a gigantic laser beam to save the newly-freed prisoners. This results in the EBA being turned to stone, but the game's characters chant out "EBA" repeatedly while clapping in unison. As "Jumpin' Jack Flash" begins, the stone EBA statues crack, allowing the EBA to break free. They then proceed to sing and dance, leading Earth's populace into a high-school-prom-like celebration. At the end of the song ("Jumpin Jack Flash is a gas"), the agents and the people harness the power of music to fire a huge laser at the Rhombulan lead UFO, utterly destroying it and saving the planet.

This is the most performed song by the Rolling Stones. The band have played this during every tour since its release in 1968.

In his autobiography, Life (2010), Keith Richards wrote about the mysterious power of this song: "I love 'Satisfaction' dearly and everything, but those chords are pretty much a de rigueur course as far as songwriting goes. But 'Flash' is particularly interesting. It's allllll right now. It's almost Arabic or very old, archaic, classical, the chord setups you could only hear in Gregorian chants or something like that. And it's that weird mixture of your actual rock and roll and at the same time this weird echo of very, very ancient music that you don't even know. It's much older than I am, and that's unbelievable! It's like a recall of something, and I don't know where it came from."

PRODIGAL SON by THE ROLLING STONES

This song was written by Robert Wilkins, a reverend who recorded Delta Blues in the 1920s and 1930s. Keith Richards enjoyed Blues music and discovered the work of Wilkins in the '60s, which is how The Stones came across this song.

The Prodigal Son is a story told in the Bible about a father who has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance early, and goes off to spend the money on hedonistic pursuits. After wasting all the money, he comes home repentant, and the father welcomes him with a feast in his honor. This doesn't go over well with the older son, who feels that he should be rewarded for good behavior, but the father stresses the value of forgiveness.

Robert Wilkins' original version was titled "That's No Way To Get Along." The Stones gave their version the title "Prodigal Son."

In 1928 Wilkins wrote another song called "Rollin' Stone."

This is the only cover song on Beggar's Banquet. The Rolling Stones wanted to be a Blues band when they started out, but they became more Pop-oriented soon after they formed.

STONED by THE ROLLING STONES

This was the first original song The Stones recorded. They stuck to covers of blues songs until then.
The Stones released this as the B-side of "I Wanna Be Your Man."

An obvious title for The Rolling Stones, "Stoned" is far from their signature song. There are very few lyrics on the track, which is indeed about being stoned.

The music is based on the instrumental song "Green Onions" by Booker T. & the MG's.

The songwriting credit on this went to Nanker Phelge, a goofy name for a Mick Jagger/Keith Richards composition. "Nanker" was a wacky face they would make to amuse each other, "Phelge" was a roommate of Keith Richards whom he considered "The most disgusting person ever."

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Reviews O-o

Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 sedan 1.jpg

Volkswagen Jetta

Likes: Fresh new redesign, almost Audi-like rear tail lamps, class leading trunk and rear passenger space.


Dislikes: Styling bland, interior quality very disappointing for a Volkswagen, base engine is embarrasing for a mid-sized sedan.


Overall: The Americanized Jetta loses all that it was known for to please an audience it really didn't need to.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze LS -- NHTSA 2.jpg


Chevy Cruze

Likes: A drastic change from the lackluster Cobalt, largely improved interior, plenty of space for five.


Dislikes: There are mid-sized sedans with more horespower for less money, two engines with the same output makes no sense, unsupportive front seats.


Overall: GM is in the right direction. Only if this change could've occured two years prior.

2011 Saab 9-5 UWS.jpg

2011 Saab 9-5 sedan

Likes: Fantastic new design, interior still reflects aircraft heritage, interesting new features, turbo six-cylinder welcome addition.


Dislikes: Priced rather high, much of its sport sedan dynamics are no longer there, rather disappointing effort if you're a diehard Saab Fan.


Overall: Its still offers that 'something' no other automaker can bring to a driver's face. A smile that other drivers won't understand.

2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS -- NHTSA 1.jpg

Hyundai Sonata

Likes: Large step forward for the brand, offers a turbo four-cylinder in a sea of six-cylinders, much improved everything including looks.


Dislikes: Styling rather polarizing for a mid-sized family sedan, turbo form doesn't offer a manual transmission, styling rather similar to Mercedes CLS.


Dislikes: Hyundai has become a very competitive player in the steadily growing market. With quality improving drastically, driving pleasure shouldn't disappear.



Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Likes: Compact crossover that's stylish and overloaded with features.


Dislikes: Lacks in horsepower, really needs more than stylish looks to stand out in this segment.


Overall: Offer the turbo engine from the Lancer Ralliart, and price it competitively with the Volkswagen Tiguan. You'll have a surefooted winner.


Devon M