A Blast from the Past

Well I guess a lot of you won't be expecting this at all. For those of you who do not know about this band let me give you the lowdown. Kidd Video is band that came from the cartoon series of the same name back in the mid 80's. The synopsis of the series was that the band gets together to practice their music and end up being sucked into a land known as the Flipside by the villain known as Master Blaster and they are rescued by a fairy named Glitter. Most of the episodes deal with the band trying to find a way home and their encounters in the strange world they find themselves in.

Viewers were drawn to the show because it also featured popular music and music videos that were played during the series original run. The band even showcased their own music videos. And to top it off our beloved characters from the cartoon were so popular that they made an album which was only available in Israel. Which brings me to the point of my blog, the Kidd Video Album. No, I do not own a copy but I do have all the songs from someone online.

Why am I blogging about a stupid cheesy fake 80's Band you ask? Because as cheesy as they are, they make me smile and laugh at the times when I thought the songs were cool, being only 4 or 5 when I watched the cartoon.

So to begin I have to say that this album is not bad but it is dated and they lyrics speak for themselves. The album cover features the cast in their cartoon selves and real counterparts. Robbie Rist, Bryan Scott, Gabriele Bennett-Rozzi and Steve Alterman are the cast/band. Yes, Robbie Rist is also known as Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch, but here he is known as Whiz the Whiz. :P

Most of the songs are of the men singing, but there are 2 songs which feature Gabriele on lead vocals which are Turn Me Up and It's Over When the Phone Stops Ringing. Interesting note, the song It's Over When The Phone Stops Ringing, was written by Bernie Taupin - friend and co writer of Elton John and Holly Knight who has written numerous hit songs such as "Better Be Good To Me" for Tina Turner and "Ragdoll" for Aerosmith.

There are a couple songs on the album that could have been radio friendly such as the ever popular "Where Did Our Love Go" which Diana Ross and the Supremes did originally. "A Little TLC" and of course the main theme music "Video To Radio" would have been good choices for radio tunes. But the album lacks strong songs to keep it more accessible and more popular. Had there been another song by Holly Knight that they could have covered, this so called band could have made a bigger impact on American audiences.

Overall the album is a classic in its own right, just for a younger crowd and for those die hard fans that need to cover every inch of the 80's. I think its a fun concept and by listening to the music you can tell what songs were inspired by famous stars of that time. Don't take the music seriously folks, its just good fun music to laugh or sing along to. To check out some tunes from the album go to:

http://www.kvflipside.org/

I haven't visited the site in a long time but I think they should have some of the songs posted and some maybe available for download. Since I am on a slow connection I am not able to open the site to tell you.

Enjoy!

Spoon Song Review

At first I wasn't a huge Spoon fan but now they have me wondering what other gems are they hiding. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" by Spoon, is one very catchy song. I found myself tapping along to the beat and doing a little office chair dance. Silly as it may seem, I am liking this song the more I listen to it.

What is so appealing to me is the the song layout. It sounds like a Motown revival song. If I listen to just the music and shut out the man singing, I can almost picture Stevie Wonder singing the song and playing along with piano at hand.
The kicker in the song? The awesome xylophone or vibraphone playing during the whole song. Only Spoon can pull that off. :)

Yes, the song is that cool! Cool enough to be ranked #16 by Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. Way to go Spoon!

A Strange Education

I am a little late to pick up this band, as they started around 2003 and their first album out in 2007, which is the one I have been listening to recently.
I have found myself in love with those bands that are punk rock influenced and this is one of them. The Cinematics are an original band hailing from Scotland. Yahoo! I love bands from Europe. They seem to be more unique than those from the US. Sorry to those who are offended, I am just voicing my opinion.

Now yes they may seem just like your average band that throws out a good tune but when you listen to tracks like "Race to the City" "Break" and "Alright" you quickly forget that and are lost in the beats, rhythmic bass lines and interesting arrangements. They also do a good job of covering Beck's song "Sunday Sun" from his Sea Change album. A Strange Education is a nice collection of songs to keep the mood up and in forward motion.

Think of an upbeat version of Interpol without the droning vocals. The singer Scott Rinning is in control of his voice and at times he reminds me of Adam Ant when singing higher notes. With Scott at the helm and infectious tunes to rock out to, I hope their sophomore effort is as good as this one. Now if more US newbies were more indivdualistic as this group is, I would be listening to the radio more often. But then again I don't think the Alaska is up to date with the rest of the continental US or the rest of the world.

If you are a fan of Bloc Party, Shiny Toy Guns, Interpol or The Bravery, you just might like this group.