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  • SongPop slowdown…

    SongPop slowdown…

    This was an obsession for awhile...
    This was an obsession for awhile…

    About a year ago, I was hooked on Facebook’s SongPop game. But lately, I’ve experienced a SongPop slowdown…

    You know how it is. You’re on Facebook and a new game comes out. Pretty soon, your friends are bugging you to play. I got hooked on a few Facebook games, but the one that really captured my attention was SongPop. I am a certified music nerd and I’m pretty good at guessing the names of songs and the people who sing them. When SongPop first came out, I was really into it. Some of my friends quit playing with me because I would often beat them pretty soundly. On the other hand, a few of my friends are every bit as music nerdy as I am and our matches would get pretty heated.

    But, as with almost everything on Facebook, the fad seems to have faded somewhat. There was a time when I’d have a whole lot of people wanting to play SongPop with me to the point at which it was annoying. I could open the game and be assured that I’d have several games waiting. I’d even have a few folks who would bug me to play. One player in particular was even worried about how I would keep up with our SongPop challenges while I was visiting Europe last year. Now? I’m lucky if I play a couple of times a week. People seem to have lost interest, the same way they lost interest in Mafia Wars and Farmville.

    SongPop video…

    The game is pretty easy to play. You pick a category and then listen to ten second snippets of songs. You either guess the title or the artist. Some of the categories can be pretty obscure. I, for one, enjoy playing the Eurovision category, much to the annoyance of some of the people who play with me. It’s not that I know a lot of Eurovision songs. I just like trying to figure them out. I feel the same way about the National Anthems category, on which I seldom do particularly well. On the other hand, I get annoyed when people send me hairband or rap challenges. I suck at those categories.

    Sadly, I don’t do that well on categories featuring 90s era music or today’s hits. I ought to listen to newer music more often if only so I can be a better SongPop player. But if you challenge me in 70s or 80s hits, prepare for a fierce battle. I also rock on the classic rock songs. Not long ago, it didn’t take me too long to save up “coins” so I could buy new song lists. But right now, things have kind of stagnated.

    I guess I’m not too sad that SongPop isn’t as blazing hot popular as it was a year ago. I mean, there are certainly more productive ways I could be spending my time. But SongPop definitely has its place, especially when you blog about music. Sometimes when I play SongPop, I’m reminded of songs I had long forgotten about. Then I end up downloading them. Of course, that is ultimately the whole point of Facebook games… the developers hope you’ll spend some money.

    Well, I just checked Facebook and no one has issued me a challenge. Maybe I should get on the stick and invite someone to play.

    Have a good weekend, everybody!

  • Carole King honored as MusiCare’s Person of the Year!

    Carole King honored as MusiCare’s Person of the Year!

    Carole King to be honored as MusiCare’s Person of the Year 2014

    Carole King’s music has been around for decades and she, along with her ex-husband Gerry Goffin, wrote some of the biggest hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin to Amy Winehouse have covered her music. Now, MusiCares, an organization that provides critical resources for musical people in need, is going to honor King as its 2014 Person of the Year.

    King’s friend, James Taylor, who won the MusiCares Person of the Year award in 2006, had huge hits with King’s songs, “You’ve Got A Friend” and “Up On The Roof”. Taylor will be performing on Friday, January 24, 2014, when King receives her award. Other artists scheduled to perform in King’s honor include Lady Gaga, the Dixie Chicks, Bette Midler, Jason Mraz, and Steven Tyler.

    Since my very youngest years, I have loved Carole King’s music. One of the first songs I remember hearing and loving by her was the song “One Fine Day”. “One Fine Day” has been done by a number of artists, from The Carpenters to The Chiffons to Natalie Merchant. But the rendition I remember best was the one Carole King did herself back in 1980. By the time she recorded it, it had already been covered by many people and I have to admit, when I listen to King’s version today, it sounds very 1980. But I still like her rendition the best because she wrote the song and it really was the first time I heard her name, even though I had heard her songs long before she performed “One Fine Day”.

    I love watching Carole King play this.

    Carole King’s hit “It’s Too Late” has such wise lyrics set to a melody that really captures the mood of a woman who has a “come to Jesus” talk with her lover, letting him know that it’s time for them to part ways.

    Carole King performing “It’s Too Late” with Danny Kortchmar in 1971.

    Carole King and James Taylor perform “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, her very first hit written when she was just 18 years old.

    Carole King is being presented MusiCares Person of the Year award in recognition of her outstanding creative accomplishments and generous charity work. King has been involved with many philanthropies, particularly those supporting wilderness conservation. She has also supported a range of political causes. I know I’m not the only one who believes Carole King deserves this great honor. Carole King’s Facebook page has been alive with posts about the award, as well as all the amazing covers of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” that have been done by other artists over the years.

    Here Carole King performs “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman” with Aretha Franklin, Shania Twain, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Gloria Estefan in 1998. I have to admit it’s funny to watch Aretha and Celine try to outdo each other at 3:08. Carole, of course, stays very classy.

    Congratulations to Carole King for winning MusiCares Person of the Year award in 2014!

  • More Star Search memories…

    More Star Search memories…

    Now that America’s Got Talent is over for 2013, it’s time for more Star Search memories…

    Like a lot of other people, I was tuned in to NBC on Wednesday night, waiting to find out who won America’s Got Talent. I was kind of rooting for Cami Bradley and Taylor Williamson, though I have to admit that everyone who was a finalist deserved to win. Season 8 of AGT was remarkably good, though there weren’t as many hilarious auditions as there have been in prior years. I will admit to not being as into America’s Got Talent or other talent shows as I once was into Star Search, a show that was famously hosted by Ed McMahon and ran for years. I wrote about that show several months ago and that post gets a lot of hits. That tells me that readers are as interested in Star Search and the stars it spawned as I am.

    Like America’s Got Talent, Star Search offered a platform for a variety of talents. Unlike America’s Got Talent, which pretty much allows anyone who can make a show of their talent come on the stage, Star Search had categories. In the early days, there were singers, comedians, actors, spokesmodels, dancers, and bands. As time went on, the acting category went away, and the singers and dancers were divided by age. If memory serves, the spokesmodels were all pretty much women, though they might have tried a male spokesmodel category at some point. I think the spokesmodels were supposed to be “presenters”, not so much actual models. I do remember them having cheesy photo shoots, though, as they introduced the commercial breaks and interacted with Ed McMahon.

    Here’s a pretty funny video of spokesmodels Laura Ballad and Theresa Ring. Theresa Ring was one of the more successful contestants. I wonder what Tyra Banks would think of this photo shoot set to “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles… I apologize for the out of sync video.

    Here’s 4 Boys and a Babe from Mesa, Arizona dancing to Buster Pointdexter’s “Hot Hot Hot”. I remember they were very successful on this show and even twenty years later, I remember where they were from. I wonder what they’re doing today…

    Here, 4 Boys and a Babe are back on Star Search doing an exhibition.

    Jarrod Spector was six years old when he became a big winner on Star Search. I remember getting a little tired of his big show tune schtick because he won for weeks on end. Then he came up against Countess Vaughn, who later starred on the show 227 with Marla Gibbs.

    Gotta say, vocally speaking, Countess Vaughn pretty much kicks Jarrod Spector’s ass in this video…

    Of course, one of the earliest future stars on Star Search was Sinbad, who later got a recurring gig on NBC’s A Different World, a spin off of The Cosby Show, as well as a successful stand up career. I couldn’t find any Sinbad Star Search clips, but I did find one of him guesting on a talk show.

    Right after he got his knees replaced, no less…

    Even Dave Chapelle was on Star Search. I found this out today, because by 1993, when he made his first appearance, I had quit watching the show as often.

    He was just 19 years old and was the youngest comedian in Star Search’s history at the time! I believe this is the first time I’ve heard Dave Chappelle do such a clean routine.

    Drew Carey made his first appearance in 1988. Who would have thought back then that Drew would one day be hosting The Price Is Right?

    Drew Carey is the ultimate party guest… leading to his cameo appearance in the first incarnation of The Sims.

    Man, I miss this game… even though my Sims’ parties were never good enough to rate a Drew Carey appearance.

    Star Search was such a cultural phenomenon in the 80s and 90s that it was even written into an episode of the hit ABC sitcom Full House!

    Looks like it was a tie between real life comedian Steve Oedekirk and “Joey Gladstone” as portrayed by Dave Coulier, the same guy to whom former Star Search competitor Alanis Morrisette allegedly dedicated her hit song, “You Oughta Know”… or was that just a nasty rumor?

    Yikes! Alanis was just 14 years old in this clip from her Star Search days. And this clip was from Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show… Guess what? Rosie was also a Star Search contestant back in the day!

    Here’s Rosie O’Donnell appearing on Star Search after she was cast on Gimme A Break as the late Nell Carter’s neighbor in New York City. I’ll be damned. She’s pretty funny in this clip.

    People love America’s Got Talent and the $1 million prize is bigger than the $100,000 prize Star Search was offering. But in all honesty, aside from Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent, have there been as many stars spawned from the Got Talent franchise? Time will tell. For now, it’s fun to watch these old clips of a classic talent show.