A Moody Blues Review

As I have stated before, I have a huge thirst for the music that i love and listen to. I've never been influenced by trends or fashions-the same holds true for music as well.
I have a very wide ranging taste in music; one minute I'm sitting back listening to Oasis, the next I've placed a Jewel cd in my stereo. (Yeah that's right, Jewel). To only listen to one type of music or genre, would be way to boring for me.
The Moody Blues are without doubt one of my favorite bands. Being only 31 years old, my first memory of their music is back in 1988. They realeased an album called "Sur La Mer". It spawned a couple of hits but the one song I remember most is called "Here Comes The Weekend". Definately not a classic Moodies song at all, this is a song that I still love listening to. Back in the eighties I loved my weekends away from school, so this was a perfect song for that time period.
Anyways, I just thought that I would share some of my favorite Moody Blues songs on here to serve as a review. But more than that I also perhaps let the casual fan of the band know what other song they have besides their classics. I often find that with the groups or bands that I listen to, they have more to offer than just their hit songs. So let's get started.
DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED (1967): do yourself a favor and listen to the entire album from start to finish. This record is best heard like that because all of the song s are linked together to flow into one another. It is based apon "the day in the life of one guy".
IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD (1968): LISTEN TO: Departure, Ride My See-Saw, Legend Of A Mind, Voices In The Sky, Visions Of Paradise and The Actor
ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM (1969): In the Beginning, Lovely To See You, Never Comes The Day, Are You Sitting Comfortably, The Dream, Have You Heard (parts one and two)
TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN (1969): Higher & Higher, Eyes Of A Child (part 1), Gypsy, Candle Of Life, Watching And Waiting
A QUESTION OF BALANCE (1970): Question, And the Tide Rushes In, It's Up To You, Dawning Is The Day, Melancoly Man, The Balance,
EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR (1971): Procession, The Story In Your Eyes, Our Guessing Game, Emily's Song, After You Came, One More Time To Live, You Can Never Go Home
SEVENTH SOJOURN (1972): New Horizons, Isn't Life Strange, You And Me, The Land Of Make-Believe, I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)
OCTAVE (1978): Steppin' In A Slide Zone, Had To Fall In Love, I'll Be Level With You, Driftwood, One Step Into The Light, The Day We Meet Again
LONG DISTANCE VOYAGEUR (1981): The Voice, Talking Out Of Turn, Gemini Dream, In My World, Meanwhile, 22ooo Days, Veteran Cosmic Rocker
THE PRESENT (1983): Blue World, Sitting At The Wheel, It's Cold Outside Of Your Heart
THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE (1986): Your Wildest Dreams, The Other Side Of Life
SUR LA MER (1988): I Know You're Out There Somewhere, No More Lies, Vintage Wine
KEYS OF THE KINGDOM: (1991): Say It With Love, Bless The Wings (That Bring You Back), Lean On Me (Tonight), Hope And Pray, Never Blame The Rainbows For The Rain
STRANGE TIMES (1999): English Sunset, Haunted, Foolish Love, Strange Times
DECEMBER (2003): Don't Need A Reindeer, December Snow, On This Christmas Day, A Winter's Tale, Yes I Believe
Enjoy.
Til next time
E

Obamamania Is Running Wild!

Hello again. Welcome back to the show!
Even though I'm not American and I dislike politics, I would like to congratulate the American people for making history! Barack Obama was the obvious choice for President. My only hope is that the voters voted for him based on what he plans to do for our neighbour to the south, not because of the color of his skin. (If they did, wouldn't that go against everything that Martin Luther King stood for?) But Congrats to Obama, his family and the entire United States!
O-a-sis, O-a-sis, O-a-sis! The lads from Manchester will release the second single from their new cd "Dig Out Your Soul" on December 1st. "I'm Outta Time" is the name of the track and it is awesome! Liam penned this song and it is the best one he's written so far. The song is just so good. It's got to go to number one in the charts. Anyone who hasn't seen the video yet can do so at Oasis' official website oasisinet.com. I'm assuming that "Falling Down" is going to be the third single released at some point next year.
What's this about Manchester United only tying Celtic today in Champions League play? Maybe my sights were set too high. Oh well. At least they didn't lose.
I'm not a big fan of late night television, but I will say this much: David Letterman's top ten list is fantastic. However, living in T.O. I read the list everyday in the Toronto Sun. Most of the lines are hilarious. On the other hand, there's Jay Leno with the Tonight Show. He has this one bit called "Headlines", seen only on Monday nights, I believe. It kicks the crap out of "The top ten" list any day. He takes real news clippings with funny stories, titles or captions. If you haven't seen "Headlines" before (where have you been?) check it out. As well, you can go to nbc.com/tonightshow (i think) and check out all of the headlines for yourself. However, I would suggest that you go on to youtube.com and search "tonight show headlines" and have one hell of a good laugh.
E

The Ultimate Royal Rumble

One of the hi-lites of the WWE's calender of events is the Royal Rumble. The annual event, held every January since 1988, (it started as a non-televised event; went to ppv in 1989) is arguably my favorite ppv; well, maybe slightly behind WrestleMania. Anyways, one of the reasons I love the Rumble is because of the "unpredictability" of it. I say "unpredictability" because, ironically, its wrestling and its always predetermined who's going to win. Back in "the day", years ago when good guys and bad guys were defined as such, it was fantstic to see two good guys fight each other or two heels go at one another. Back then you really didn't see too much of that going on.
It's always been a dream of mine to write a storyline for the WWE or even work as a writer in pro wrestling. So with that, and to tie into the Rumble theme I've started, here is my "Ultimate Royal Rumble", with 60, not 30, competeters.
I've decided to take the best wrestlers of all-time, in my opinion, and put them in this match. I've also decided to take them at their peak, so beside each name you'll see a year. What I mean is taking that wrestler at that time (year) and putting him in the ring with others from different eras or years. Here's my Rumble match and how I see it unfolding.
Order of entry:
1-NIKOLAI VOLKOFF ('83) 31-TRIPLE H ('08)
2-THE BRITISH BULLDOG ('96) 32-TED DIBIASE ('92)
3-"SUPERFLY" JIMMY SNUKA ('80) 33-BIG JOHN STUDD ('84)
4-PEDRO MORALES ('80) 34-"MACHO MAN" RANDY SAVAGE ('88)
5-KERRY VON ERICH ('86) 35-THE HONKYTONK MAN ('87)
6-BOB BACKLUND ('82) 36-TERRY FUNK ('83)
7-OWEN HART ('97) 37-SGT. SLAUGHTER ('91)
8-CHYNA ('99) 38-THE IRON SHIEK ('83)
9-SHAWN MICHAELS ('96) 39-GREG "THE HAMMER" VALENTINE ('84)
10-KEN PATERA ('80) 40-"SUPERSTAR" BILLY GRAHAM ('77)
11-TITO SANTANA ('85) 41-GEORGE "THE ANIMAL" STEELE ('87)
12-"ROAD WARRIOR" HAWK ('86) 42-KANE ('97)
13-THE DYNAMITE KID ('86) 43-THE UNDERTAKER ('90)
14-HAYSTACKS CALHOUN ('77) 44-MR. PERFECT ('91)
15-"MAGNIFICENT" MURACO ('80) 45-JUNKYARD DOG ('86)
16-"RAVISHING" RICK RUDE ('93) 46-CACTUS JACK ('89)
17-JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER ('95) 47-ANDRE THE GIANT ('80)
18-MIKE ROTUNDO ('86) 48-THE ROCK ('00)
19-"ROAD WARRIOR" ANIMAL ('88) 49-SID VICIOUS ('90)
20-RANDY ORTON ('08) 50-"AMERICAN DREAM" DUSTY RHODES ('84)
21-BRUTUS "THE BARBER" BEEFCAKE ('88)51-AX ('89)
22-"ROWDY" RODDY PIPER ('84) 52-HULK HOGAN ('87)
23-"STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN ('97) 53-HARLEY RACE ('79)
24-YOKOZUNA ('94) 54-STING ('99)
25-RICKY "THE DRAGON" STEAMBOAT ('83)55-SMASH ('89)
26-RON SIMMONS ('91) 56-"NATURE BOY" RIC FLAIR ('85)
27-KING KONG BUNDY ('86) 57-GORILLA MONSOON ('64)
28-CHRIS JERICHO ('08) 58-JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS ('86)
29-"HACKSAW" JIM DUGGAN ('88) 59-BRET "THE HITMAN" HART ('92)
30-EDGE ('08) 60-BRUNO SAMMARTINO ('75)

WINNER: ANDRE THE GIANT ('80)
TIL NEXT TIME.
E

My Favorite Wrestlers

Welcome back to the show!
One of the many things that I've been "in to" for almost all of my life is professional wrestling. I'm not sure how I got interested in it. I think a childhood friend of mine started me on it around 1985 (right around the time that WrestleMania took place). Anyways, over the years, like many other mat fans, I became a fan of some many different wrestlers. Here's my list of my fav's:
1) Hulk Hogan: back before he became "Hollywood", Hogan has this "look" about him. He had something that no one (and I mean no one) else had. HE was the total package; he had the muscles, the ability to talk a good fight, and a presence like no other. Back in the day, Hulk was the WWF. No other superstar in the mid-80's could touch his level. Why did he have the belt for just over four years straight? Because nobody else had the charisma that Hogan had. The guy was "sports entertainment" before anyone else new the meaning of the term. The WWF put out merchandise such as (and I had this) the Hulk Hogan work out set. It came with two "dumbbells", a head band, and an audio cassette tape of Hogan "inspiring" the listener to be just like him. Hogan was one of the best ever and will always be regarded by many as just that.
2) Bret "The Hit Man" Hart: this guy was the best technical wrestler of his generation. He was way more believable then say Hogan or Andre the Giant, because of what he did in the ring. He actually had wrestling talent. He lived and breathed this business. I would say to any mat fan go and read this guys book: "Bret Hit Man Hart: My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling". It's the best wrestling autobiography I've ever read. It's a must read for any wrestling fan. Unlike others, Bret didn't need to shout or yell during his promos; he kept his cool almost all of the time.
3) Owen Hart: if his brother Bret was the best technical wrestler, Owen wasn't far behind. Owen had just as much talent as Bret, with the exception being that Owen couldn't cut a promo as well as Bret could. But what Owen lacked in mic skills, he made up for in mat skills. The match that the Hart brothers had at WrestleMania 10 was the best match on the card. Unfortunately, due to a stupid wrestling stunt (way to go McMahon) Owen is no longer with us. He died in an in-ring stunt gone wrong (again, way to go Vince) on May 23rd, 1999.
4) Andre The Giant: how would you have liked to have been in a scripted match with this guy, eh? It might not have seemed like it all the time, but Andre loved wrestling. In his younger days he could move around the ring like a mid-weight. He was an awesome sight to behold. he was indeed wrestling's first international superstar.
5) The Rock: What can anyone say about "The Rock"? I hate to admit this, being the Hulkamanic that I am, nut the Rock could cut better promos than Hogan could. He didn't need a script writer to tell him what to say. All of the things that came out of his mouth were his own creation: "Jabroni", "If ya smell what the Rock is cookin'", etc. Much like Bret, the Rock had unbelievable talent, while all the time being a believe in-ring character.
Check out wwe.com for more on these superstars.
As time goes by, I'll update this site with info that goes more in-depth then just a couple of lines.
E

Let's Talk Music

So, in my first blog I wrote about a couple of the bands that I listen to. I'd like to go a little more in depth about one of them: The Moody Blues.
I guess you can say that I've been listening to these guys all my life. They are a band from my parent's generation, but I couldn't care less; I think they are amazing.
First off, let me just tell you that if you care to check out the band's web site, it's located at http://www.moodybluestoday.com/. They started out way back in 1966. In 1967 they release an album called "Days Of Future Passed", which was the very first rock album to ever be recorded in stereo sound. The band recorded the album with a symphony sound coming from the fore-runner to the keyboard, the melletron. All of the tracks for the album ran into each other via orchestral parts perform by the London Festival Orchestra (a made-up orchestra). Let's take a moment to review the album.
Track 1) The Day Begins: the orchestra takes off with the opening of this album with a kick start before slowing down to a mellancoly flow. It's as if you could just picture the sun coming up in beginning hours of the day. Drummer Graeme Edge's poem "Late Lement" starts up and really sets the mood for the first half of the album.
Track 2) Dawn Is A Feeling: a beautiful song by Mike Pinder, with Justin Hayward sharing the singing duties. This is a song literally about lying in a feild and breathing in the early morning air.
Track 3) Another Morning : for this Ray Thomas track, you could just picture yourself sitting by lake, lazying about.
Track 4) Peak Hour: John Lodge wrote the only rocker on the album. Some have said that it really doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but I feel it's a great kind of "bridge" between the first few songs and the remaining ones. Its a good song that I wish the band would play in concert. It builds up really fast, has o slow middle and then winds down really fast.
track 5) Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?): commonly known as just Tuesday Afternoon, this was the second single taken from the LP. (the first single in The States). On the video "Legend of a Band: The Story of the Moody Blues" Justin describes that he wrote this song in the middle of feild by his home in London.
track 6) (Evening) Time To Get Away: this is another Joh Lodge song, that slowly builds up towards a ending.
track 7) The Sun Set: this mike Pinder tune has a very eastern influence to it. Very slow and methodical, it seta the table for the ending of the album
track 8) Twilight Time: this is Ray thomas' other effort on the album and it's more of a rocker than "another morning". Again, this song, much like the last one, sets the table for what comes next
track 9) Nights In White Satin: the moodies most popular song by far. this is what made them who they are today. great melody, great words and great music. Yes it is a slow ballad that alot of rockers mighjt think is too soft, but it has become the moodies signature song and "sound".
coupled with late lement it is the highlight of the album.
Until next time
E

Welcome To The E Show!

Hello and welcome to the first edition of "The E Show".
First off let me say thank you to Chris, I friend of mine who I basically copied this idea from.
Chris has a very cool site located at http://thedayafterart.blogsot.com. Be sure to stop by his site and check the fabulous art from a heck of an artist. I don't want to spoil anything for you, so all I will say is that if you like art, horror films, zombies and teddy bears all rolled into one, then you will love the art located at his site. (I didn't spoil it for you did I?)
I don't want to come on here and tell a boring story about who I am, where I'm from and where I plan on going, so lets just say it like this: my name is Ian. Music plays a very big part in my life. My ipod's gonna get worn out soon. I am, without a doubt, not a believer in God or anything like it. Love my Leafs, Blue Jays and Manchester United; Oasis are the best rock band in the world (and always will be); John Lennon is my hero.
On this page I plan on writing (or blogging, I guess) about anything that I feel passionate about. I want to give the surfer something to read; something to think about; something to make you say "I couldn't disagree more with you Ian". I'm not looking for people to agree with everything I write (cause that would be just too boring). So let's get started!
I started to write on my Facebook page about thedayafterart.blogspot.com and something or someone didn't like the site (which is their right not to) and somehow stopped me from mentioning it on Facebook. I have an open challenge to the individual(s) to contact me on my Facebook page, just because I would like to know who they are and why they stopped me.
I have always been passionate about my music. Oasis; The Moody Blues; The Beatles; Nirvana.
Those are just four of the bands that I listen to. I'm all over the place when it comes to the music I listen to. When my one of my bands updates their site I'll make sure to mention it with a link to the site so you can check it out for yourself.
This is definitely going to be a "magical mystery tour". Hop on board folks, hop on board!
Til next time.
E