Late Night Music Part 11...............80's Hair Band Power Ballads

We all remember them- the "slow songs" heavy metal, glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock bands would put out to A- get on the Top 40 and B- build a wider fanbase. We all remember the lit cigarette lighters, arms swaying, the tears, and the hair blowing in the wind machines. I always thought the "Monster Ballads" CD commercial was hilarious in saying "every bad boy has a soft side". To qualify for this list, the song had to be released in the 80's even if the band existed in other decades. Also receiving votes in this category were "The Flame" by Cheap Trick, "Heaven" by Warrant, "Easy" by Faith No More", and "Fade to Black" by Metallica, but I was afraid of getting sued by Lars Ulrich. On to the list.

Tesla- "Love Song". This song DRIPS of power ballad-ness. Seriously, can this song be any more emotional? It's seriously almost like a country song. Interesting fact- I know someone who walked down the aisle to this song at her wedding, and I am SO serious. I guess I could see the redneck aspect of this song. Tesla is one of those bands that always seems to be forgotten in the 80's hair band talk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_2w4vl9mt8

Poison- "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". One of the last power ballads, Brett Michaels just shows how awesome he was before he turned into the idiot on the trailer trash of America show "Rock of Love". This is one of the few on this list that actually sounds REALLY good with just a guy sitting down playing on an acoustic guitar. Also one of my favorite karaoke songs, it is not only Poison's biggest hit, it was also their last. Ironic, I guess every rose DOES have its thorn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIKPGVTwEY

Europe- "Carrie". Europe is barely good enough to be on this list. Other than this song and their contribution to NBA jump ball's "The Final Countdown", what did these guys even do besides be another really bad band with geography in their name (America, Little Texas, Kansas, Boston, Miami Sound Machine, Londonbeat, etc.). Hilarious opening to this video though- the opening lyrics are "when lights go down", but what happens right when these words are sung? Watch and see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj1JXL-zvyw

Foreigner- "Waiting For a Girl Like You". Another great forgotten band of the era. Lou Gramm had the perm for the white man rockin' and kept it flowing even in his old age. This performance from 1993 is included because I saw Foreigner perform at a water park, yes you read that correctly, a water park in Jackson on this same tour. For some reason I remember those two cars being on the stage set. Just goes to show how much power ballads were in demand just a few years later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXjJCbA5qc4

Bon Jovi- "Wanted Dead or Alive". We all remember this song and the accompanying movie "Young Guns". This song put "Slippery When Wet" on the map and jumped into every karaoke joint in America after Jon Bon Jovi became spokesman for the geriatric rockers of America and trying to steal camera face time watching Philadelphia Soul Arena Football, which he owned. Only problem- I really can't see Jon Bon Jovi as a cowboy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFro05ieV5c

Scorpions- "Wind of Change". Our friends from Germany really made a huge splash with this hit. I love the fact that lead singer Klaus Meine is really whistling. No crackers for him before the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Eyao-2KWo

Motley Crue- "Home Sweet Home". Some people call this 1985 mega hit "the original power ballad", and it's a great song, but I have NEVER really been on the Motley Crue band wagon. Also, how can you really think this song is heart felt when it's on the album "Theater of Pain"?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4457H6Gxd8

Def Leppard- "Bringin' On the Heartbreak". Great pre-mainstream Def Leppard. Also before Phil Collem joined the band and officially disqualified them from being a "hair band". If you are wondering what I'm taking about, look at any picture of Def Leppard from "Pyromania" or "Hysteria" and tell me if I'm wrong. Also, Rick Allen is one of the best drummers ever, but will he please put a shirt on sometime this millenium? Joe Elliott also fails the fashion test with his Flock of Seagulls-esque outfit. Anyway, these guys still rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1-j9hEPenM

Aerosmith- "Angel". Aerosmith's 1987 power ballad put them back on the map along with their comeback album "Permanent Vacation". Steven Tyler absolutely ROCKS this song. For my money, I don't think any band can do a power ballad better than Aerosmith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQV2m6QyBE

Journey- "Open Arms". Ok this one is iffy. Was Journey really a hair band? They were abunch of guys with long hair that claimed to be a hard rock band, but made all of their hits from power ballads, even on their "comeback tour" in the late 90's. Tell me if you can watch this video and notice something that should stick out like a sore thumb to you that is different than all the other ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfYInIWoO1k

Starship- "We Built This City on Rock n Roll". Just for good measure and a good laugh, this is how you DON'T make a power ballad. How funny is it to believe that this is the SAME GROUP that while called Jefferson Airplane, had the psychedelic Woodstock hit "Don't you want somebody to love you"? Seriously, Starship might be the biggest embarassment in the history of "rock n roll", and should have set a precedent in changing your band name too many times. Anyway, enjoy the video, thanks for reading everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsdj9NRzqC4

That's not Larry Bird in the back, it's Phil Collem, see what I mean?

If I could only be this cool......

Still rockin' hard after all these years

From Woodstock to this......congratulations!

Late Night Music Part 10.........Summer Time!

It's about that time this year. The dog days of summer. Waiting for football season, no school, hot temperatures, vacations, and sunglasses. Or, if you're around me.......CAMP! Anyway, I thought we should celebrate the songs of summer that were found on youtube tonight as LNM enters entry #10. Also receiving votes in this category were "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock, "The Summer Sends Its Love To You" by Sherwood, and Aerosmith "Girls of Summer".

Don Henley- "Boys of Summer". This Don Henley song performed with the Eagles here is a good reminiscent song about summer pasts. Who in the heck is that guy playing the drums? I always love when the drummer of a band takes the lead singer mic and some poor guy is stuck back there behind the drum set. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE Eagles fan- I mean HUGE, but from the looks of this 2004 video, does anyone else seem to think they need to just keep it in the studio and not on the stage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD7_fRN6poo

Bryan Adams- "Summer of 69". Interesting fact- Bryan Adams was 9 years old in the summer of 69. It's kinda fun to listen to this song and picture a 9 year old doing all the stuff he sings about in this song. Oh, those funny Canadians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f06QZCVUHg

Grease- "Summer Nights". Confession- this is the ONE karaoke song I have never done that I DESPERATELY want to do! (Inferred request for karaoke partner for this song). Anyway, I get cracked up watching this because it was before John Travolta turned into a fat slob, and Olivia Newton-John is even more sexy now! Talk about two different directions! I always enjoy musical scenes like this because all the tough guys start singing and dancing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blcvkFqeKac

The Party- "Summer Vacation". Ok, this group is one of my ALL TIME guilty pleasures (see the original Late Night Music Post). These former MMC cast members actually tried to be cool in this song. Did anyone ever do any of this stuff?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73eqYUBJhjI&feature=related

The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff- "Summertime". The original summer time hit. How many times did you blare this song on your tape deck? Will Smith just drips with cool, man I love this song. However, again, why did every rap/r & b video of the 90's have little kids running around? Seriously, I laugh at it, but it's almost feeding a negative stereotype.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_PDns23RWY

New Kids on the Block- "Summer Time". Or, as my mom so lovingly calls, "The New Geriatrics on the Block". You gotta give these guys credit for coming back while really really risking serious embarassment. I still kinda feel bad for these guys for not coming about about 3 years later. This is a catchy song though, and they still sing pretty good. Good one to drive to work in the summer listening to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25qiZy7vmqY

The Beach Boys- "All Summer Long". Kind of a forgotten hit by the original summer time group. No list of summer music is complete without inclusion of the Beach Boys. Great song right here- thanks for reading everyone, have a great summer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jtThSIv26Q

The original summer party guys

The new summer party guys

Steve McNair, A Legend and a Lesson

After seeing tonight's funeral broadcast, I can finally have some closure. After 16 years of idolizing this quarterback, his life has come to a tragic and bizarre end. Being in the land of Titan fans, I have to really convince people that Air McNair may mean alot to Nashville, but they forget he's from my beloved home state of Mississippi.

Long before Steve McNair played for the Tennessee Titans, he was the quarterback at Alcorn State setting NCAA records, putting Mississippi on TV, and being one of the few football players I would absolutely adore. I still remember him watching work absolute magic in front of nearly 68,000 fans in Jackson in the Capital City Classic in 1993. I still remember him being absolutely ROBBED of the Heisman in 1994 by the "superstar" Rashaan Salaam. Steve McNair was rare. He was the last of the great legendary SWAC players before the big business of blue chip recruiting. I guess that's what made him stand out so much. Like most of the Magnolia State gridiron stars from small towns, Steve McNair was among the most exciting players to ever watch play the game. I sometimes think as I pass by his tiny hometown on Hwy 49 that instead of being at Mount Olive High School in Mississippi, what could have been if he could have gone to nearby Mendenhall, Collins, or even Hattiesburg? Maybe McNair then goes to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, LSU or another big BCS school just due to his exposure in high school. But I don't know if that would make the story as fun.

I think in alot of ways Steve McNair was the NFL's version of Mickey Mantle. Always injured, he would always play recklessly enough to win even if it meant his own body being destroyed in the process. I can't help but think of the many times he scrambled behind a lackluster offensive line at Alcorn and even for the Oilers so determined to win the game. He had to, he didn't know how to quit. Of course I'll never forget his gutsy performance in Super Bowl 34. I still remember where I was and who I was watching that game with like it was yesterday. You sometimes forget that the Rams won the game just due to the magic McNair made on the field that night. He was just that kind of player. I'll never forget the look on his face walking off the field after losing the following season to the Ravens in the playoffs. I'll also never forget the image that is tattooed in our minds of him smiling with the MVP trophy in 2003. It was truly the look of a man who had been through the tough times, but had reached the summit.

I was glad to see the emphasis of the charity work McNair did in Mississippi and Nashville in the funeral service. You never saw Steve McNair on the camera or the Steve McNair foundation on TV, but you always heard about the thousands of people he helped. I thought it was appropriate that Don Weatherell, a former college professor of mine, who spoke at the service often spoke of how McNair wouldn't tell his agency or the media where he was going just because he wanted the people he helped to get what they needed, but didn't want them to be made a spectacle of. It wasn't covered, but NO OTHER CELEBRITY did more for Hurricane Katrina relief than Steve McNair. Coach Jeff Fisher also hit the nail on the head by saying that Steve McNair wasn't just a hero, he was a friend.......to everyone.

However, I can't leave this without shedding SOME light on the negative aspect of all of this. Obviously, I was not in the inner circle of McNair nor do I know exactly what was going on with the murderer nor do I know the extent of his relationship with her. I think the unfortunate and horrible tragedy can be a lesson to everyone. How are his children and wife feeling tonight? What are they thinking about the side of their daddy/husband they never knew? What about his two previous children that live in Mississippi? Will they ever have a positive image of daddy? Yes, Steve McNair obviously made a terrible mistake that wound up costing him his life. However, a misstep in the decision process doesn't warrant his death or the complete humiliation of his widow and sons. Those of you who have ever been around me know that I like to tell the children in my summer camp that their decisions do not just affect them, but they affect EVERYONE. Sadly and tragically for all of us, Steve McNair's bad decision has not only taken away one of my heroes, but one of the guys who made you proud to be a Mississippian.

However, from what I know about Steve McNair, and similar to what Jeff Fisher said at his press conference this week, Steve McNair would want all of us to learn from this and would want all of us to cherish those people we know we can trust. I always really admired how he would use his off the field mistakes as a learning experience for his fans and would take full responsibility for his actions rather than making excuses, so I think he would want the same thing in this.

As I continually travel down my own mental "memory lane", I finally have closure, I've accepted what's happened and what we can learn from it.

Goodbye, Air McNair, thanks for being a legend, and thanks for teaching us all a lesson.

Truly a legend

The Air McNair I remember before the NFL