In 2000, a skit appeared on Saturday Night Live depicting a 1976 recording session of the rock band Blue Oyster Cult. The band is recording its biggest hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and Christopher Walken plays a music producer who encourages a fictional member of the band, played by Will Ferrell, to better use his talent for playing the cowbell. Ferrell, whose character's name is Gene Frenkle, is already playing the cowbell distractingly loud, but Walken, whose character's name is Bruce Dickinson, eggs him on by telling the band, "I gotta have more cowbell!"
I missed the skit when it aired on April 8, 2000, but I saw it on YouTube a couple of years ago. I never realized the cowbell in "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" before the skit, but have since kept an ear out for the use of cowbells in other songs. Surprisingly, the cowbell has been used extensively in the music industry. Below are several I have "discovered" over the years. See if you can add to the list.
"A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles
"Drive My Car" The Beatles
"Pink Houses" John Cougar Mellencamp
"Couldn't Get It Right" Climax Blues Band
"The Logical Song" Supertramp
"Get This Party Started" Pink
According to FIQL (www.fiql.com), there are at least 150 songs that feature a cowbell. Hit songs by artists like Aerosmith ("Sweet Emotion"), Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Down On The Corner"), Asia ("Heat Of The Moment"), The Dixie Chicks ("Goodbye Earl"), The B-52s ("Love Shack"), AC/DC ("You Shook Me (All Night Long)"), The Bee Gees ("Jive Talkin'"), Billy Idol ("White Wedding"), Bon Jovi ("It's My Life"), Britney Spears ("Hit Me Baby One More Time"), Bruce Springsteen ("Born To Run"), and The Carpenters ("Superstar"), to name a few, feature the cowbell.
Fascinating instrument. I wonder why they don't teach it in the public schools.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A Day In the Life
I think it's safe to say that music plays a big part in most peoples' lives. I know it does in mine. For me, music has the ability to soothe, motivate, inspire, degrade, entertain, lull, and get my toes tapping. Music has provided the soundtrack to my life.
As a child, my older brother introduced me to musical artists such as Cat Stevens, Boston, Gerry Rafferty, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Kansas. As a teen, I branched out on my own and delved into the music of The Cars, AC/DC, Van Halen, Prince, Wham!, Madonna, Run DMC, Whodini, and a whole host of other 80s bands and artists.
Mingled in all of this, my dad introduced me to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and John Phillip Souza. With my mom, I listened to artists like Kenny Loggins, Elvis, Dan Fogelberg, and Linda Ronstadt.
As a young adult, I discovered music by U2 and have been hooked ever since. Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, and nearly every album they've done has gotten a lot of play time on my cassette players, CD players, iPod, and iTunes.
Lately, thanks in part to the TV show American Idol, I've rediscovered the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo...aka, The Beatles. Help, Long and Winding Road, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Get Back, A Day In The Life, Here Comes The Sun...great stuff!
As I've rediscovered The Beatles' music, it has become apparent how heavily those four men have influenced musical artists over the past 40 years. Even my boys in U2 have been heavily influenced by the boys from Liverpool.
I am confident The Beatles' music will outlive the men who comprised the band.
So, who are some of your favorite musicians, bands and albums?
As a child, my older brother introduced me to musical artists such as Cat Stevens, Boston, Gerry Rafferty, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Kansas. As a teen, I branched out on my own and delved into the music of The Cars, AC/DC, Van Halen, Prince, Wham!, Madonna, Run DMC, Whodini, and a whole host of other 80s bands and artists.
Mingled in all of this, my dad introduced me to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and John Phillip Souza. With my mom, I listened to artists like Kenny Loggins, Elvis, Dan Fogelberg, and Linda Ronstadt.
As a young adult, I discovered music by U2 and have been hooked ever since. Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, and nearly every album they've done has gotten a lot of play time on my cassette players, CD players, iPod, and iTunes.
Lately, thanks in part to the TV show American Idol, I've rediscovered the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo...aka, The Beatles. Help, Long and Winding Road, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Get Back, A Day In The Life, Here Comes The Sun...great stuff!
As I've rediscovered The Beatles' music, it has become apparent how heavily those four men have influenced musical artists over the past 40 years. Even my boys in U2 have been heavily influenced by the boys from Liverpool.
I am confident The Beatles' music will outlive the men who comprised the band.
So, who are some of your favorite musicians, bands and albums?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Press Box?
There are several ways to witness a sporting event. Participants witness sports where the action is taking place. Fans witness sports from the comfort (or discomfort) of bleacher seats. Fans also view sports via television or the Internet. I have witnessed sports from each of these vantage points, however, there is one point of view that I have found that offers the best view, one that enables me to see things more for what they are: the press box view.
From the press box, it is easier to see things as they truly are, not as they appear to be amdist the emotion and excitement on the field, the court, the sideline or in the stands. I first experienced this point of view while covering high school and junior college sports for the Los Angeles Times. As a rule, the mood in a press box is much different than in the stands and on the fields of competition. The people there are generally trying to be objective. The cheering is minimal (limited usually to the coaches who work from the press box, whose presence shows that even coaches know they can benefit from a press box point of view) and the mood is mellow.
Simply put, the view from the press box is the best way to see sports.
With this in mind, I titled this blog "Press Box Observations" with the intent of using it as a way to see life and its various situations for what they truly are; a looking at life in the bigger picture.
The inspiration behind this mindset came to me in 2001 when I first started writing for Meridian Magazine. Here's the link to that initial article entitled, "Observations From The Press Box."
http://www.ldsmag.com/sports/010716press.html
I would be remiss if I didn't give credit to the late Alan Malamud, a sports writer for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and Los Angeles Times, whose "Notes On A Scorecard" article greatly influenced me in my early days of sports writing.
So, there you have it. A baby step in the direction of where this blog will eventually end up.
On a personal note, my oldest son, Josh, got his drivers license today. Yes, the State of Utah has deemed him worthy and ready to maneuver the highways and byways of our great state. I have been the main instructor as Josh has learned to drive the family vehicle. This may explain the upcropping of gray hair on my head of late.
From the press box, it is easier to see things as they truly are, not as they appear to be amdist the emotion and excitement on the field, the court, the sideline or in the stands. I first experienced this point of view while covering high school and junior college sports for the Los Angeles Times. As a rule, the mood in a press box is much different than in the stands and on the fields of competition. The people there are generally trying to be objective. The cheering is minimal (limited usually to the coaches who work from the press box, whose presence shows that even coaches know they can benefit from a press box point of view) and the mood is mellow.
Simply put, the view from the press box is the best way to see sports.
With this in mind, I titled this blog "Press Box Observations" with the intent of using it as a way to see life and its various situations for what they truly are; a looking at life in the bigger picture.
The inspiration behind this mindset came to me in 2001 when I first started writing for Meridian Magazine. Here's the link to that initial article entitled, "Observations From The Press Box."
http://www.ldsmag.com/sports/010716press.html
I would be remiss if I didn't give credit to the late Alan Malamud, a sports writer for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and Los Angeles Times, whose "Notes On A Scorecard" article greatly influenced me in my early days of sports writing.
So, there you have it. A baby step in the direction of where this blog will eventually end up.
On a personal note, my oldest son, Josh, got his drivers license today. Yes, the State of Utah has deemed him worthy and ready to maneuver the highways and byways of our great state. I have been the main instructor as Josh has learned to drive the family vehicle. This may explain the upcropping of gray hair on my head of late.
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