Now I know most of you see me as a sophisticated, cultured man about town, a worldly-wise bon vivant and raconteur. I listen to Bach and Brahms, Basie and Ellington, Gershwin and Bernstein; I sit in on Irish music sessions, I try to make it to both the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals every year; I like the movies of Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders; I can be found in art galleries and museums admiring the old masters and gazing with curiosity and appreciation at the newest contemporary works. So...
What do I listen to when nobody else is around? Who do I listen to in the earphones so the people in hearing distance can't figure out what I'm playing?
What do I listen to when nobody else is around? Who do I listen to in the earphones so the people in hearing distance can't figure out what I'm playing?
Yup! The boys from Rockford, IL - Cheap Trick! I can't help myself; they're a hoot to watch live onstage, the musicians are well-trained professionals, and their sense of humor allows them to not take themselves so deadly seriously as so many other top bands do. When I heard "Surrender" on a jukebox back in the late '70s, I was hooked, and I've been listening to them ever since. So please be patient while I indulge in some of my "good time" music.
This playlist is just two songs: the album version of "Surrender" and the live at Budokan version of "I Want You to Want Me", among their more iconic songs.
This playlist is just two songs: the album version of "Surrender" and the live at Budokan version of "I Want You to Want Me", among their more iconic songs.
Oh yes, and I have two YouTube videos for you to watch, too. The first is another of the songs that say Cheap Trick loud and clear: "Dream Police", live at Chicagofest in 1981. Oh yeah, and Rick shows off his chops and three of his vintage electric guitars.
And the second is a song that's not written by anybody in the band, but that they've made their own with their own unique, quirky interpretation: Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame", here live in Sydney, Australia in 1988:
So laugh at me all you want, but I'll bet your feet were tapping and your head was bopping while the music played. Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh, you can't fool me! And if you want to check up on Cheap Trick, maybe check out the tour schedule (you know you want to go!), look at more videos, look at Rick's fantastic guitar collection and Tom's 8- and 12-string basses, then you should go visit their website. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody!
© 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
© 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
I have a playlist I created called "One Mint Julep," and the first song on the list is Cheap Trick's
ReplyDelete"I want you to want me!" ...the second is "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash ;-)
(It's the only way I can clean my house--but I throw in a little Mozart and Bach now and then for tea breaks!)
Don't they do a good cover of The Move's California Man? That's one of the rockingest songs ever.
ReplyDeleteRoy you are truly a Renaissance man!
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna bookmark this post so I can come back tomorrow and play all the music, 'cause it's late and I gotta go to bed. Ain't That A Shame?!
ReplyDeleteIf this makes you "guilty" then I guess we're partners in crime.
;-)
Okay, I admit it. I love Cheap Trick!! A-hem. We are showing our age here, aren't we?
ReplyDeleteRoy-o! Boy-o! That Dream Police vid is the bomb! Yow!!!
ReplyDeleteAhem. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Willow, how old do you feel when you're hearin' it?! ;-DDD)))
rock on roy!!
ReplyDeleteWE LOVE CHEAP TRICK!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your polymorphism sir.