For your yuletide entertainment, may I present…
* Band Aid
* Band Aid II (and sorry it’s of rather crap quality, but since it’s a crap version of the song, it’s actually rather appropriate)
There. If that doesn’t get the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day, nothing will.
Happy Holidays!
There’s something quite appropriate about the Trash Can Sinatras performing “Obscurity Knocks” on “Onion World with Rich Hall” because, wow, talk about an obscure talk show; frankly, I’d never even heard of it until I accidentally stumbled upon this clip on YouTube. I was familiar with Rich Hall, of course, because of his tenure on shows like “Not Necessarily the News” and “Saturday Night Live,” but this series…?
Nothing but pops and buzzes.
And, apparently, I’m not the only one hearing those sounds. IMDb.com refers to it as having premiered in 1989, but Rich Hall’s Wikipedia entry claims it ran from 1990 to 1991. Though when it aired is uncertain, the wherever is at least confirmed as having been The Comedy Channel, which merged with the HA! Network in 1991 to form what we now know as Comedy Central. Apparently, Hall must’ve had a really jones for Scottish music at the time, as he managed to score an appearance from Kevin McDermott’s Orchestra as well, but let’s focus on the Trashcans for the moment, since there’s every reason to believe that I wouldn’t be writing this very posting if it wasn’t for them and their music.
That’s not as ominous as it sounds, honest. I don’t have a “I was on the verge of suicide until I heard ‘Hayfever'” story or anything like that. But I joined the E-mail list dedicated to the band’s music way back in the mid-’90s, and through that list, I met none other than David Medsker; he refuses to take credit for my entire journalistic success and regularly praises my writing ability, but the truth of the matter is that I very likely wouldn’t be a full-time, work-at-home writer today if David hadn’t gotten me an in at Bullz-Eye.com. So, thanks, David.
Stupid holidays. They make me too damned sentimental.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what the hell ever happened to Rich Hall…well, oddly enough, he’s apparently pretty damned successful in the UK. In addition to his accomplishments under his own name, which include several TV series and specials on the BBC, a couple of books, and even a play, he’s also carved out a musical niche for himself by playing a comedic country musician named Otis Lee Crenshaw. Who knew?
Rare is the girl that has been able to positively school me on music — no offense, ladies, but most girls simply don’t have the passion for it that I have — so when one comes along that can teach me a few new tricks, the lessons have been memorable ones. It is with this piece that I salute Jen Mueller, a onetime college sweetheart who made me one of the best mix tapes I have ever received. Yes, it was an actual tape. Hey, it was 1987. We didn’t even have CD players back then. No, we didn’t add using an abacus. Shut up.
Anyway, to make things even more interesting (for her, anyway; frustrating as hell for me), she covered the track listing in blue marker so I could not read the names of the songs or the artists. Listen and learn, that was the lesson. Luckily, I knew most of the songs or artists — The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, World Party, Paul Young, Dream Academy, The Stranglers and a killer Thompson Twins mix spring to mind — but a couple of them left me positively baffled. There are songs called “Dark Intentions” and “Deep Blue Sea” that I’m still trying to track down 20 years later, but I was able to weasel the artist name out of one of the unknowns: The Bluebells. Never heard of them. Little did I know, they had broken up two years earlier, though the song she gave me, “Will She Always Be Waiting,” sounded light years ahead of its time. Big, technicolor strings, lotsa jangling acoustic guitars, and harmonies by the pound. It was wonderful. Still is, in fact.
I recently came across a copy of the record that “Will She Always Be Waiting” called home, the 1984 album Sisters. It’s clearly a vinyl transfer — I’m pretty sure there’s even a small skip towards the end — but that actually makes it sound even better to me. Thanks, Jen. My life’s a little better for having you in it, even if for a brief period. I hope you’re doing well.
Well, we know there won’t be a wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance for Super Bowl 42. Well, at least we hope not. Legendary American rock band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will be playing the event, which takes place February 3 in Phoenix.
While we’re on the subject of big events, Plain White T’s have been announced as a performer at Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve show on December 31. The band will also be performing in Boston on January 14 before heading to the UK for some tour dates.
Florida rock band Yellowcard had to cancel some tour dates in Europe due to band member Longineu W. Parson’s grandmother’s illness. Parsons is very close to his ailing grandma, who raised him. Tickets are fully refundable but the shows are expected to be rescheduled.
Rockers Three Days Grace are hitting the road for a US tour beginning February 15 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Joining them on the tour will be Breaking Benjamin and Seether, and more info is available at www.threedaysgrace.com
Another New Year’s Eve show just announced is Velvet Revolver, who will be performing at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The band is also headlining the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on December 12 with Alice in Chains, and in February will head to Australia for more shows. Here are all of the confirmed Continue reading »
I’ve had the soundtrack to “Once” sitting on my desk since about May, but I refused to listen to it before I saw the movie. It’s not your typical soundtrack, and in fact some people (wrongly) consider it a musical. In truth, it’s somewhere in between a soundtrack and a musical. It’s really a movie about music. A couple scenes are shot in musical style, but that’s about it.
This, for those who don’t care if I totally spoil the movie’s finest moment, is the movie’s finest moment. Guy (not his name: the two leads don’t have names, they’re just Guy and Girl) finally gets into a studio with Girl and some fellow Thin Lizzy-loving buskers, and proceed to bang out a song that just builds and builds and builds until it explodes. How can someone with Glen Hansard’s talent go so long without anyone knowing his name? Dunno, but in an interesting side note, he was a guitar player in the Commitments as well. Gotta go and watch that again.
© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
