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Pop Rock Nation

Author: GG

  • San Diego’s Bedford Grove

    Pat Benatar headlined a concert after this year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego, California. It was great to see the Grammy award winning rock legend, but I was just as interested in the opening act, San Diego’s own Bedford Grove. The group started out the evening with a bit of light funk that got my head noddin’ just a little bit. But that’s all it took to get me interested.

    Grove’s front man Marc Gould describes their music as fun and danceable, but with a jazzy, funky, kickin’ swing to it. When I pressed Gould to come up with influences, his answer was “Anything in that moment of inspiration.” He says that whatever provokes spontaneous emotion, be it a conversation, song, or movie, is an influence.

    Drew Grethel plays the drums, Andrew Saunders & Matt Davies are on the brass, and Ms. Lauren Paul adds the band’s female touch with background vocals. Gould says that Paul adds more color and sexiness to the music.

    Gould says that San Diego has seen a new wave of good music, but nothing that resembles the style of Bedford Grove. He calls it, “Mixing the upbeat feel of the beach with the gritty grooves of the city.” When I tried to get him to predict where he thought they’d be in several years, he says that he’s only got his mind on next month. But he also added, that I should ask him again in three years when the band is selling out Madison Square Garden. I’ll keep him to that promise.

    You can take a listen to the sounds of Bedford Grove by going to their website or on their MySpace page.

  • Friday Throwback – She’s Gone

    Since Money Mike’s earlier post about the mustachioed one, John Oates, made me laugh, I decided to continue with the theme.

    I was listening to sports radio one evening and the host was playing Hall & Oates. Soon enough, I noticed it was their heartbreak classic, She’s Gone. The host was talking about how this song was the greatest song in its class and how it hit him in the pit of his stomach every time he heard it. And then he started singing. And he ruined it.

    I decided to see if there was a video for the song and as it turns out, there is. But it’s the kind of video that makes the song feel a bit creepy. You see both guys staring in a stalker like gaze and I can’t seem to think that they are thinking uncomfortable thoughts. Well, see for yourself.

    – I can’t decide who is more pimp between Hall or Oates. One is naked under a bathrobe and the other is wearing a tuxedo shirt with the sleeves cut off showing off his arms. I’ll call that even.

    – Not only is Oates the stache man, but he has a gnarly beard too.

    – Ha! The devil just walked by.

    – What is Hall wearing on his feet? Striped socks? Sandals with socks on? High heels?

    – They couldn’t even use real money. The must’ve landed on Park Place with hotels.

    – I’m not even sure what playing guitar without linking the cuffs means.

    Ok, so this might be one of the worst videos ever, but hey, it was probably recorded sometime in the mid 70s. Maybe, since the song gets you right in the pit of your stomach, the video had to be the pits?

  • Friday Throwback – Basketball Jones

    Disclaimer: This animated video was made in the mid 70s and features very stereotypically drawn characters.

    When I was a little kid, my dad would at times, get into a high pitched voice and squeal, “Basaball Jones, I got a basaball jones.”

    Notice that it wasn’t “basketball jones”. It was “bas-a-ball jones”. From what I was told, this was a song performed by Cheech and Chong, who weren’t necessarily on my radar as funny men as a child.

    Later in high school, I recorded a copy of my dad’s Cheech And Chong’s Greatest Hits CD, which came out in the early 90s. I soon became a victim of a Basketball Jones.

    – Ever since I was a baby, I always be dribbling.

    – The guy with the basketball jones is named Tyrone Shoelaces (thanks Wikipedia, (by the way, check out all the folks on this song)). He kind of looks like a character from Fat Albert.

    – Sometimes I feel too that when I’m at the free throw line of life, I just need a pick. Roll to the basket, and I’ll feed it to you.

    – I didn’t think I would ever see an animated Bill Russell and Chick Hearn in my life. Thank you Basketball Jones.

    – Imagine if you really had the hops to jump and grab a quarter off the top of the backboard. Tyrone Shoelaces would even leave 15 cents change.

    – Even King Kong was rockin’ from side to side.

    Chris Rock and Barry White re-did the song for Michael Jordan’s movie Space Jam. It was definitely a G rated version of the song. Chris Rock even called Sylvester the Cat his undercover brother. Before I went searching for the song, I didn’t even know there was an animated video. Thank you Basketball Jones.