The Music of My Life – 2004

Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year.

I turned 34 in 2004. By then, we had figured out that there was something not right with my son’s development. We went through a ton of testing with him. Blood work ruled out a lot. We began intensive therapies. They helped. As time progressed we moved from “developmentally delayed” to “autism” and finally to “Asperger’s.” He overcame so many obstacles and today has a job and is ready to move out on his own.

When you deal with something like this, it is difficult to remember all that was going on at the time. You are consumed with all the various therapies and appointments. As I tried to look back on 2004, I felt a disconnect to much of it. There were things I remembered, but most of the year was a blur.

How about we dig into the tunes?

I was on the phone one day catching up with my old country Program Director Brian. They had let him go and it didn’t take him long to land another job. It was at an Adult Contemporary station. He joked around about trying not to laugh whenever he had to say “Hoobastank.” This phone call would be recalled by me years later. I was working part time at an AC station and had to talk into or out of The Reason.

It was the first time I had really heard the song. I related to it so much now. Here is a guy who admits to his lover that he isn’t perfect. He is going to disappoint and hurt them, but he wants to change. The reason for it – is his lover.

“I’ve found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you”

It is often a struggle to deal with our personal issues. Those things that you’ve carried around all your life. Things that are almost habitual. For the right person, you want to do whatever you can to move past those things and be a better person. I try this daily – and don’t always get it right.

The Reason

The next song is one that I wrote about for a round of Turntable Talk. In 2004, one of the hottest country songs introduced us to Gretchen Wilson. Her debut was like an M80 exploding. It was huge.

Rather than writing it all again here, you can click below to read the original blog.

Turntable Talk – “Out of the Blue”

Redneck Woman

My son loved Shrek. So naturally, he loved Shrek 2. The next song was written especially for the movie. It wasn’t an easy song to write.

Counting Crows lead singer, Adam Duritz, told the story of Accidentally in Love to Billboard magazine:

“I was really struggling with it. I generally don’t write songs on demand, and I almost got to the point where I thought I wasn’t going to do it. They just told me that the song had to be uplifting. They actually said, ‘Don’t write a song about Shrek. Write a song that’s about you.’ The funny thing is, the song ended up reflecting a lot of what was going on in my life at the time: falling in love with someone you’re not supposed to fall in love with because it’s inconvenient. My songs for Counting Crows are mature and generally don’t get a chance to reach kids. To be part of something like that is pretty cool.”

The song appears toward the beginning of the movie and barely broke the Top 40 (#39). It is an uplifting song that is fun to sing along with. It baffles me that it didn’t do better on the charts.

Accidentally in Love

The next song is one that not many have heard. It only went to #40 on the country chart, but it really connected with me. I have been accused of being a hoarder. I tend to save a lot of things that are special to me. Some of those things caused riff between my wife at the time and me.

I had old prom pictures, ticket stubs and mementos from past girlfriends. I had cards from my grandparents and many other things that really held a special meaning to me. I was told that those things meant more than she did and stuff like that. That wasn’t true, but I can see how it might be taken that way.

Chely Wright wrote the song with then-unknown songwriter named Liz Rose. (Liz would go on to co-write a lot of early stuff with Taylor Swift.) The lyrics of the song were written from Wright’s own experiences of saving mementos in small spaces. “I’m 33 years old, I’ve got a couple of champagne corks, and those are my stories, and I don’t have to tell about it.”

Again, it was a song I could totally relate to.

I don’t keep these things ’cause I’m longing to go back
I keep them because I want to stay right where I’m at
I’m reminded of my rights and wrongs
I don’t want to mess this up
But I wouldn’t know where I belong
Without this box of stuff

I am who I am today because of my past. You cannot delete your past. The things from it helped to shape you. They helped you to grow. They helped you to think a bit more before you acted. It really is amazing how something like a ticket stub can bring change in your behavior based on what happened when you used it.

Back of the Bottom Drawer

The next song is here only because I played it at almost every party, dance, or wedding I DJ’d. Sometimes a line dance will come and go, but this one is still being played at events. What is funny to me is the story behind it.

When you do the Cha Cha Slide, does it count as a workout? Apparently it does. DJ Casper created this song for the American health club chain Bally’s Fitness, who developed a workout routine around it. The song caught on with gym members, which led to its release as a single. In 2001, the song gained traction in America at dance clubs, weddings and other celebrations.

It had been around a few years prior. According to DJ Casper: “I wrote Cha Cha Slide in 1996 as an aerobics workout program for a gym trainer friend of mine, David Wilson, and I recorded and released my own version in 1998.”

In 2003 the song resurfaced in clubs across Europe and All Around The World Records picked it up for a UK release. On March 20th 2004 this rose from #2 to #1 on the UK singles chart.

Cha Cha Slide

I laughed when I first heard the name Bowling For Soup. I had forgotten about them after this song. Then I realized that they were the band singing the theme song to the cartoon Phineas and Ferb.

1985 wasn’t a big hit, but I remembered hearing it on the radio. It only went to #23 on the charts. I liked it because of the nostalgia factor. This song is about a woman who is still living in the past. She is reliving her glory years when she was a teenager in 1985. She had big dreams, but now spends her time immersing herself in ’80s pop culture.

Jaret Reddick, the lead singer for Bowling For Soup told Songfacts:

“‘1985’ was interesting because we were coming off our biggest record, which was Drunk Enough To Dance. And we went in thinking that we had a complete album, and we recorded a complete album. We did Hangover You Don’t Deserve, and it was pretty much done. Butch Walker produced three songs on that album, and we recorded the whole record at his place. And his manager called and said, ‘Hey, a song came across my desk. You know Mitch Allan, right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Well, he wants you to call him.’ So I call Mitch Allan from SR-71, he’s like, ‘Dude, I’ve got this song. It’s a freakin’ hit for you guys. It sounds like you.’ And evidently that whole conversation happened because Mitch was pitching his band to Jonathan Daniel, who is Butch’s manager, trying to get this record that they had put out in Japan released here in the United States. And JD said, ‘Dude, that sounds like a Bowling for Soup song.’ And Mitch said, ‘You know what? You’re right.’

So anyway, he sends me the song. And I’m actually like, ‘Man, we’re done. We’re literally leaving tomorrow. This album is complete.’ We had a little studio apartment that we were staying in and I listened to the song a few times, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s good.’ And the night goes on, had a few more beers, me and Gary (Wiseman – BFS drummer) sat in our kitchen and listened to it twice. And we’re just like, This is a great song. We don’t really know that it’s going to be a single, but it is great. We might as well just do it. So we went back in the next day and we cut it.

1985

I DJ’d a lot of Daddy/Daughter dances before having my daughter. I remember watching dads dancing with their little girls and tearing up. It made me understand why so many father’s cry when the dance with their daughter on her wedding day.

John Mayer’s Daughters was a song that was always requested at Daddy/Daughter dances. Sometimes, more than once. It took on a whole new meaning to me when I danced with Ella to it. The bond is a special one.

The song won Mayer Grammy Awards for Song Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

I wonder if people know his inspiration for the song. According to Songfacts:

Part of the inspiration for this song was a Chris Rock comedy bit. In the bit, he talks about how a father’s main responsibility is to keep his daughter “off the pole.” In other words, to make sure she doesn’t become a stripper.

Daughters

The next song was originally done by the group Supertramp in 1977. It was written by singer/guitarist Roger Hodgson. He told Songfacts in 2012:

“That song has really taken on a life of its own, and I think it’s even more relevant today than when I wrote it. Because we really are needing to value love in a much deeper way, and also we’re needing to care. The song is basically saying: just show you care. You know, reach out and show you care. So in concert it’s the perfect show closer, because what I try to do in my show over two hours is unify the audience and unify all of us. So that at the end, when everyone stands up for ‘Give A Little Bit,’ they’re open and ready to open their hearts and sing at the top of their lungs and go away with a smile on their face. And that song really does, it has a very pure energy. The moment I start, people just start smiling. It’s amazing.”

The Goo Goo Dolls released it on their 2004 album Live From Buffalo. Their version had a lot of success on Top 40 and light rock stations. It made #37 on the Hot 100. It is on my list because I love the song and I think this is a great cover!

Give a Little Bit

One of my favorite country bands was Montgomery Gentry. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with them when they were touring. They were so good! The next song is probably my favorite track from them.

Eddie Montgomery and the late Troy Gentry often swapped singing lead on their songs. Troy is doing the singing on Gone. It is a classic “break up” song.

Songfacts says:

Bob DiPiero and Jeffrey Steele wrote the song. DiPiero explained to the Tennessean that he and Steele had arranged a writing session at his place on the Florida Gulf Coast. After a fruitless morning, DiPiero wanted to come up with something simple and quick so they could go to lunch. He suggested they write a song with a one-word title and two chords that tip a hat to old time country tunes. They came up with “Gone.”

The song starts off by explaining his lover has walked out on him and is definitely not coming back.

This ain’t no temporary, typical, tearful goodbye
his ain’t no breakin’ up, then wakin’ up and makin’ up one more time
This is gone (gone), gone (gone), gone (gone), gone

For the rest of the song, a series of similes is used to illustrate how his baby has certainly departed forever.

She’s gone like a:

Freight train
Yesterday
A soldier in the Civil War
A ’59 Cadillac
And like all the good things, that ain’t never comin’ back

The writing on this one is just SO good.

Gone

My last pick is one that has brought me to tears on many occasions. It is a song that makes me think of my mom and those who have passed away. Homesick by MercyMe.

The song is an expression of grief and longing. It was written after the band experienced the deaths of nine people they were connected to in a short period of time.

Wikipedia states:

Lead singer Bart Millard initially wrote the chorus to “Homesick” following a funeral service for two infants that died in utero. He did not finish the song, as didn’t want to fake his way through writing the song. However, following the death of Millard’s brother-in-law, Chris, in a car accident, Millard finished the song so as to play it at Chris’s funeral. Millard and the rest of MercyMe intended the song only to be played once—at Chris’s funeral—but Millard’s mother-in-law encouraged them to record it.

It was a top 5 song on the Christian charts and a top 10 song on the Adult Contemporary charts.

When I hear this song, I remember that there is a reunion with my mom and others who have passed on. I cannot wait for that day.

Homesick

So there are my ten picks from 2004. I’m sure that I left a few of your favorites out. Let me know which ones you loved from 2004 in the comments.

Next week, we will head to 2005. My list includes an amazing duet, a band people love to hate, a song that is the subject of October first jokes, a song that mentions ME, and the song my mom used as her ringtone the last year of her life.

Thanks for reading and listening! See you next week.

The Music of My Life – 2001

In 2001, I turned 31. It is a year that I will not forget. It was that year that I found out I was going to be a father for the first time. To say that I was freaking out a little was an understatement. My mom continued to get treatment for breast cancer. There was a time where I prayed that she would be around for my wedding. Now I was praying that she’d be around to meet her first grandchild. My first song was inspired by, coincidentally, a mother with cancer.

It was also the year of the 9/11 attacks. I, of course, was around for the Challenger accident. Many folks called that the “JFK assassination” of my generation. As sad as the Challenger accident was, 9/11 was on an entirely different level. I remember sitting alone wondering about the world we were welcoming our baby into. The event caused many of us to think … more on that shortly.

Train’s Drops of Jupiter came from devastating loss for lead singer Pat Monahan. In a VH1 interview, he revealed that he wrote this song about the death of his mother. Train was were touring in 1988 when Monahan’s mom was dying of lung cancer – she was a heavy smoker. Cell phones had not yet become widely used. This found Monahan making many stops to pay phones on the tour to speak with his mom. It was in December of that year, his mother died.

In early 1999 Train was working on their next album when their record company started pressuring them for a hit. Monahan returned to his childhood home in Pennsylvania, and woke one morning with the words “back in the atmosphere” in his head. Beginning a time of healing, he started to compose the song. Pat said: “Loss of the most important person in my life was heavy on my mind, and the thought of ‘what if no one ever really leaves? What if she’s here but different. The idea was, she’s back here in the atmosphere.”

He recorded a demo of the song and played it for the president of their record company at Columbia. The president loved it and told him it was his Grammy song. He was right: It won Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocalist. The label had Train record the song quickly. That way they could put it on the album and use it as the title track.

Pat Monahan is quoted as saying, ““It was an obvious connection between me and my mother. ‘Drops of Jupiter’ was as much about me being on a voyage and trying to find out who I am. The best thing we can do about loss of love is find ourselves through it.”

That is SO true.

Drops of Jupiter

I mentioned when I did my list in 1999 that I’ll Be by Edwin McCain is hard to listen to. It was the wedding song my ex and I used. In 2000, Edwin released I Could Not Ask For More, which is a more beautiful song, in my opinion.

This song itself is about spending time with your true love. It is about realizing you do not need anything else in life to make you happy. The song was written by Diane Warren, who has written quite a few songs that I have written about. McCain said that he had to speed the song up to suit his voice. He said, “The tempo of the song was actually half of what it is now. At first, I wasn’t into it. Now it’s a popular wedding song; every night on tour people tell me that it was their wedding song.”

It was in 2001 that country singer Sara Evans covered the song. While not too different from McCain’s version, I love her version more. I have always felt that she has one of the best female voices in country music. She is also one of the most beautiful singers I have met. I loved watching her perform this live.

I Could Not Ask For More

This next song is on my list for one reason and one reason only – the video! I can still remember the first time I watched it and was blown away by Christopher Walken. I had no idea he could dance like this!

Weapon of Choice appeared on Fatboy Slim’s third album and featured Bootsy Collins. Bootsy is, of course, known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. Boosty co-wrote the song and plays bass on it.

According to Songfacts:

The official music video for “Weapon of Choice” reveals a surprising side of Christopher Walken, known for his intense, often villainous roles in films like Pulp Fiction, The Deer Hunter, and True Romance. What most of us didn’t know until this video appeared is that Walken is a great dancer – he trained at the Washington Dance Studio and appeared in musicals such as 1981’s Pennies from Heaven. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Walken said he accepted the role before he became “too decrepit to dance.”

He choreographed the video with Michael Rooney, son of Mickey Rooney, and performed stunts, including flying across the mezzanine in a harness. Reflecting on the humor and playfulness of the video, Fatboy Slim told Higher Frequency in 2006: “I think it’s full of irony, and to see an actor that I really admire but who’s famous for playing psychopaths, to see him do that silly un-psychopathic dancing made me smile and made everyone else smile.”

The “Weapon of Choice” music video was a huge hit! It won six MTV Video Music Awards in 2001. It won for Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. It also went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Music Video. To top it all off, it was named the greatest music video of all time by VH1 in 2002.

Weapon of Choice

I recently saw where Brian Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, and Frankie Muniz announced that they will reunite for a reboot of Malcolm in the Middle. The show debuted in 2000 and did very well. I always watched it because I could relate to the constant fighting between the brothers. I also loved the humor of the show.

They Might Be Giants recorded this song specifically for Malcolm in the Middle, and can be found on the show’s soundtrack. The show used other songs from the band throughout the run of the show.

The rumor is that the song is about guitar player John Flansburgh’s brother. I can totally see this. We may not have used the exact phrase growing up, but I know my brother and I often said that the other couldn’t boss the other around. It hits home in that way for me.

Boss of Me

The next song was a triumphant return for Weezer. Their fans were a little worried about the band in the late ’90s. After touring for their 1996 album Pinkerton, they took some time off and went through some lineup changes. It was during this time that Rivers Cuomo was taking classes at Harvard. He enrolled there in 1995 and attended sporadically when it suited his schedule. “Island In The Sun” was welcome relief for fans, showing that the band was back and in a good place. (Cuomo did eventually graduate Harvard, earning a degree in English in 2006.)

Songfacts says, “Unlike many Weezer songs, there’s no trace of pathos and no deeper meaning, making it an easy song to enjoy even if you’re not a big fan of the band. It became one of their most popular songs, although it was never a bit hit, reaching a chart peak of just #111 in the US.”

This is another one of those songs that I remember hearing a lot on the radio. I find it hard to believe that it only reached #111 on the charts. It was obviously good enough for them to play on TV. Weezer played it along with “Hash Pipe,” when they were musical guests on Saturday Night Live, May 19, 2001. It was their only guest appearance on the show.

Sing along…. “Hip. Hip.”

Island in the Sun

What do Neil Diamond, The Monkees and Smash Mouth have in common? One MONSTER hit!

Neil Diamond wrote I’m a Believer in 1966. Don Kirshner was looking for material for the Monkees to record and liked it. Neil was allowed to record it as well as part of their deal and did so in 1967. The Monkees version went to #1in ’66.

Jump ahead 35 years to 2001. Smash Mouth recorded a version of the song for the Dreamworks animated movie, Shrek. The song was picked because it fit the movie’s theme, as it was a sort of fairy tale. The opening line of the song is “I thought love was only true in fairy tales.”

Smash Mouth’s version is a great modern take on the song and still fun to sing along with. When I hear it, I am taken back to watching this movie with my oldest son. He loved Shrek and we watched it MANY times.

I’m a Believer

The next song was one that I often used as a first song at parties and weddings. It was a good one because it was the “kick off” song and literally got the party started.

Songfacts.com says: Get the Party Started was written by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes. After the group broke up in the early ’90s, Perry released two solo albums and started writing for other artists. She learned that hits of the ’00s were made digitally. She bought Akai MPC and Korg Triton digital workstations and started experimenting with them. As she was learning how to use them, she came up with the track by adding layer after layer, then she quickly banged out a lyric with every party cliché she could think of, arriving at lines like:

I’m your operator, you can call anytime
I’ll be your connection to the party line

It worked: “Get The Party Started” was a huge hit for Pink and launched Perry’s songwriting career. Her next hit was “Beautiful” for Christina Aguilera.

The song is synonymous with Pink, but it was almost offered to another singer. Thankfully, a phone call changed that. Perry initially thought this could be a hit for Madonna. However, Pink happened to call her the week after she wrote the song. Pink was a huge 4 Non Blondes fan. She sought out Perry, who was very surprised to get a call from a pop star. When they met, Perry gave Pink an MP3 copy of the “Get The Party Started.” Pink’s management loved the song and arranged for them to work together on her second album.

Get The Party Started

When an artist’s first single is a ballad, it is usually because the ballad is amazing. Most record labels want uptempo songs. (Honestly, most radio stations want uptempo stuff, too!) There are no shortage of ballads waiting to get airplay!

When it came time to release his first single, Enrique Iglesias fought to get “Hero” released. “Everybody thought first singles at the time had to be uptempo,” he told People. “But I knew that it was one of those songs that when I wrote it it just felt special.” It was, and he was right. Iglesias attributes the success of this song to a combination of good lyrics, melody, and excellent production. He feels those three qualities need to work together to make a timeless hit.

The song took on a whole new meaning shortly after it was released. This song was released on August 14, 2001, just a month before the September 11 attacks on the US. The song doesn’t describe the type first-responder heroes, but the theme of standing by a loved one resonated at this time. The song became quite popular because of that, reaching a chart peak of #3.

One pastor taught a message on husbands and wives. He stated that what a husband wants is to be his wife’s hero. That’s the guy who will take away her pain and be there through thick and thin.

Hero

MercyMe is a contemporary Christian group. They had an Adult Contemporary crossover hit with a song that was written by their lead singer Bart Millard. I Can Only Imagine is simply about imagining what it will be like meeting Jesus for the first time.

In a Songfacts interview, Bart said that he that he wrote the song in about 10 minutes. He said that it was one of just three songs he wrote where he felt like he was “a spectator watching the song being written.”

Regarding the song’s meaning, Millard stated: “When my father died of cancer in 1991, he left me with the assurance that he was headed to a better place. For several years following his death, I would find myself writing the phrase ‘I can only imagine’ on anything I could find. That simple phrase would give me a peace thinking about what my dad was finally experiencing. Years later, in 1999, MercyMe was writing songs for an independent project. I remember coming home from a show and being wide awake on our bus at 2 o’clock in the morning. I was trying to write lyrics in an old notebook of mine, when all of a sudden, I stumbled across that phrase. About ten minutes later, the song was written. Some people say it’s amazing that it was written in ten minutes, when really it had been on my heart for almost ten years.”

This one means a lot to me personally. I am so grateful for my faith and my Savior. It is an amazing thing to imagine….

I Can Only Imagine

I can still vividly remember the morning of 9/11. I was in a meeting with my boss at the radio station when the morning gal came in and told us that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We went into the newsroom and were shaken to the core when we watched the second plane it the Twin Towers. That would be one of the longest and most emotional days in my radio career.

I worked at a country station at the time. We saw a lot of patriotism come out of those attacks. Songwriters wrote songs about being an American and such, but none of the equaled the contribution made by Alan Jackson.

The 9/11 attacks made a lot of us stop and think about life. We were left with so many questions. We were left shocked and scarred by the images we watched on TV. It was constantly on our minds. Alan Jackson seemed to be on the same page as everyone else, and conveyed it all perfectly in the song Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)

He wrote the song alone, with the idea coming to him at 4am in the morning. He explained to The Boot that the lyrics really “came out of nowhere.” “It was just a gift,” he said. “I got up and scribbled it down and put the melody down so I wouldn’t forget it, and the next day I started piecing all those verses together, thoughts I had or visuals I had.”

The song made its debut on the Country Music Association’s annual awards show on November 7, 2001. I still cannot believe that he was able to sing the song without breaking down. Alan considers this to be one of his biggest (if not the biggest) accomplishment. He said in an interview: “I [recently] did a radio interview, and the guy was talking about being at the [CMA] Awards the night I sang ‘Where Were You,'” he explained. “Even though that was a hard performance for me and an emotional time, I still get so many comments about that. Of all the awards, and all that kind of stuff, the music is still what I like. To be able to create a song that really affects people and makes a mark in the music industry, I would have to say that would be a highlight.”

To this day, the song still gives me chills. I’m sure you will never forget where you were when the events of that day unfolded either.

Where Were You

Sorry to wrap up the year on a somber note, but that wraps up my list. How about you? What song from 2001 did I miss that was your favorite. Mention it in the comments.

Next week, we’ll head to 2002. My list features movie music, an in your face patriotic song, a song full of 70’s and 80’s nostalgia, a cover song, an appearance by the Muppets, and the return of the King! I hope you’ll check it out.

Until next week, thanks for listening and for reading!

The Music of My Life – 1999

In 1999, I turned 29 years old. In September of that year, I would venture into a marriage that would fail years later. Two great sons came out of it though, and that was a great thing.

1999 was also the year that I began receiving monthly CDs with new music on them. It was a great was to always be sure to have clean edits of songs and be current. I received my first CD in May of that year and thankfully so!

I had been hired to DJ a prom. It was the first one I had ever done. I had been able to scrounge up some of the “newer” songs thanks to friends. However, a lot of the brand new stuff not in stores yet. (This is probably before I got my iPod and iTunes). Two days before the prom, that CD had the hottest song on the radio at the time. The song was Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca.

That night, I had requests for it and was surprised (and thankful) it was on the CD! I played it at least three times that night and knew my investment was a good one. Those CDs saved me plenty of times.

Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, which was around the time this song was conceived. Co-writer Desmond Child told Songfacts that Sinatra’s music was a strong influence on this song. He said, “Frank Sinatra’s music was coming out of the airwaves, and we were all of a sudden into this Rat Pack idea, and also the Latin Elvis concept that we had for him. So we put that into the songs, as well – there was a swing aspect to it. So the verses were more like that, and then the choruses were all out rock anthems, with horns. Because horns had fallen out of favor, we brought horns back.”

Paul McCartney’s guitarist, Rusty Anderson, played on the song. Co-writer Robi Rosa asked him to put some guitar on some sections that were blank slates. He remembers: “I was thinking more of a James Bond vibe actually. But I kinda liked the way it counter-balanced the song.”

Anderson recorded his guitar work at his studio intending it to just be a demo. “I didn’t have a reverb to print that I was happy with so I figured the mixer would have the perfect reverb in mixdown,” he explained. “That recording turned into the single. When I heard it on the radio, I was shocked that they left it dry!”

Many years later, the song re-entered my life when I took my son to the movies. In Shrek 2, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) sing it as the credits roll.

Livin’ La Vida Loca

Next is a song that I always felt should have been a bigger hit. I Know How The River Feels was a song that was recorded first by country singer Ty Herndon in 1996. His version was never released. Diamond Rio recorded it for their Unbelievable album and it was their third single from it.

I liked it because it gave Diamond Rio a different sound. This was the first song of theirs to feature outside instruments as they added a string section to the arrangement. The song, however, was met with some negative reviews from critics. It only went to #33 on the Country charts.

I love the way the song uses a river with its twists and turns to describe the search for love. Finally, when it reaches the sea – the search, the twists, and the turns – you reach the final destination.

Now I know how the river feels
When it reaches the sea
And finally finds the place
It was always meant to be
Holding fast, home at last
Knowing the journey’s through
Lying here with you
I know how the river feels

I Know How The River Feels

Hey Leonardo by Blessid Union of Souls is a song that I liked for a few reasons. First, the parenthetical title is “She likes me for me.” Isn’t that what love is about? It’s not about the physical things, the status and such. It is about loving a person because they are that person. Next, I like when a song tosses in some pop culture references.

Songfacts says: This song is written in the form of a letter to someone named Leonardo – a reference to actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In the song, the singer lists many celebrities and the qualities they possess making them attractive to women. He emphasizes that while he does not have the same qualities, his girlfriend loves him just the way he is.

The celebrities that are referenced include: Tyson Beckford, Robert Redford, Steve Buscemi and the movie Fargo. It also references opera singer Pavarotti, model Cindy Crawford, Clint Eastwood’s characterization of Dirty Harry, and Jim Carrey in the movie The Cable Guy.

Hey Leonardo

For the longest time I had only ever heard the clean edit of the next song. When I downloaded “Why Don’t You Get a Job” by the Offspring, it was the album version. It certainly was not edited. As I think of the words that are edited from it, I chuckle. They seem tame compared to what words are allowed on the radio today.

Offspring’s Americana album was a concept album. It examined the unpleasant side of life in America. Songfacts says, The song fits the concept by examining how so many people get by in the country without being productive and contributing to society.

If you listen closely, the melody might sound familiar. That is because it is based on The Beatles song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” with some elements of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia.”

Why Don’t You Get A Job

I’ve told this story before. When the Dixie Chicks first hit the radio, I did not think they would last. I felt that they had too much of a traditional sound and that listeners would not like it. I was wrong and I am glad that they went on to have radio success.

Their album Wide Open Spaces was full of hits. I came to really love the harmonies of the Dixie Chicks, especially on the last single from the album.

The Chicks’ version of “Tonight the Heartache’s on Me” was released in April of 1999. It had been recorded in 1994 by singer/songwriter Joy Lynn White, whose version was much slower. The Chicks version has a tempo and attitude that conveys all the feelings of the lyrics.

I love the play on words in the title. “The next round’s on me” is something you might hear in bars all over the country. The story of the song takes place in a bar. A gal sees her ex walk in with another woman and “Boom” – the hurt is there. “Bartender, pour the wine, ’cause the hurtin’s all mine. Tonight, the heartache’s on me!”

The song is a guilty pleasure, I suppose.

Tonight The Heartache’s On Me

I hate to say that Sheryl Crow is a cover artist, because she is not. However, her cover songs are really good! Take for example, her cover of 1987’s Sweet Child ‘O Mine.

It was originally done, of course, by Guns N’ Roses. The lyrics came from a poem Axl Rose was working on. Songfacts says that “he wrote the song about his girlfriend, Erin Everly, the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers. After dating for four years, they got married at a quickie wedding in Las Vegas on April 28, 1990, but just nine months later, the marriage was annulled, with Everly claiming abuse.“

The Sheryl Crow version appeared in the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. It earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 2000. Her version appears near the middle of the movie right after they take the kid away. The Guns N’ Roses original is also played in the movie (at the end with the credits.)

I think her voice compliments this song very well. Her voice is much better than some of the folks who attempted to sing this when I hosted karaoke!

Sweet Child O’ Mine

The aforementioned green ogre, Shrek, ties in with my next song. I think this is the one that most people associate with the Shrek films. I’m talking, of course, about All Star by Smash Mouth.

Like most Smash Mouth originals, it was written by their guitarist, Greg Camp. He said in a Songfacts interview:

“When we were on tour for the first record, it’s still when people were writing fan mail, like, in the form of paper and pencils and typewriters and stuff,” said Camp. “We would get these big bags of fan mail and we would take them to the Laundromat and do our laundry and read all this mail while we were sitting around waiting for our clothes to get dry. And about 85-90 percent of the mail was from these kids who were being bullied or their brothers or older siblings were giving them s–t for liking Smash Mouth or liking whatever they’re doing or the way they dressed and stuff. So we were, like, ‘We should write a song for fans.’

Before I stopped DJing a couple years ago, this song was still being requested at high school dances.

All Star

It is always great to see an artist from the past make a come back. 1999 was a great year for Carlos Santana!

Most music people are aware of Clive Davis. He is a legendary record executive who has worked with many artists and even appeared on American Idol. He was the mastermind behind Santana’s Supernatural album.

Santana hadn’t had a hit since “Hold On” in 1982, so Davis teamed him with contemporary musicians like Wyclef Jean, Everlast and Lauryn Hill to make sure the younger generation took notice. The result was a wildly successful album that went over well with Santana’s old fans and created a legion of new ones. “Smooth” was the first single; it spent 12 weeks at #1 in the US.

Rob Thomas sang lead on “Smooth,” but that wasn’t the plan. He had never written a song for someone else before, so he jumped at the chance to write a song for Santana. When he finished it, Thomas suggested George Michael, one of his musical heroes, as the vocalist. Arista Records ended up asking Thomas to do the vocals, and when he did, it was in Michael’s style. “If you listen to the melody and the cadence, it’s an attempt to emulate his style in so many ways,” Rob said.

Smooth” won Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Supernatural also won for Best Rock Album and Album Of The Year. Santana picked up a total of eight awards that night.

Fun fact: Santana has the distinction of waiting the longest between his first charting single and first #1 hit. In 1969, “Tango” hit #56 in the US, and 30 years later, “Smooth” was #1.

Smooth

The next song was probably THE ear worm of 1999. It was certainly one of those songs that got into your head. Believe it or not, Lou Bega’s “Mambo No 5” was a cover song! The song was originally done in 1952 by the Cuban-Mexican bandleader Perez Prado. Known as the “King of the Mambo,” Prado recorded numerous mambos. When he ran out of inspiration, he would simply number them. “Mambo No 5” was one of a series of eight.

The difference between the two versions? Perez Prado’s version was instrumental. In 1999, Lou Bega added lyrics to it. By doing so, he transformed it into a love song for several women. Those women: Angela, Pamela, Sandra, Rita, Monica, Erica, Tina, Mary and Jessica. It was reported that the girls he mentioned were all Lou’s former girlfriends. It is probably beyond coincidence that eight of the girls in the song have names that end in “A,” making them quite singable.

Why is it on my list? Because I will forever link it to Barbara Eden. Let me explain. My buddy Steve said to me one day, “Hey. Did you know that you can sing the I Dream of Jeannie Theme song to Mambo No 5 and it fits perfectly?” I looked at him like he was nuts…until I heard it.

So, when you give it a listen, when Lou says, “A little bit of (Girl’s name)…” when he says the girls name, start singing the theme song and watch how it fits. It’s uncanny and it is ridiculous! Now, every time I hear it, that is ALL I hear!

If you’d like me to punch my friend for you, I will.

Mambo #5

Finally, this week a song that I literally just mentioned because of a birth anniversary. Last Tuesday, I featured this for Tune Tuesday and Robert Goulet’s birthday. I didn’t realize that it would coincide with this week’s list. You can read about that here:

Tune Tuesday – A Pixar Classic

…or you can just listen to it here.

You’ve Got A Friend In Me

Alright, which one of your favorites did I miss from 1999? Tell me about it in the comments.

Next week, we enter a new decade with the year 2000. It was a year that seemed SO far away for many of us. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the world didn’t shut down at midnight on January 1st (the Y2K fiasco!). Remember that?

My list next week is straight forward, and has no cover songs on it (I may have to double check to be sure). There are a few songs that strike a chord with me, especially as I celebrated birthday #30. Another good mix comes your way in 7 days.

Thanks for reading.

Movie Music Monday – Shrek

The Shrek movies were such a big part of my older boy’s childhood. They loved them, and I did, too. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a tad bit excited that they just announced a 5th installment to the series. I can relate a bit to this ogre!

They’ve always seemed to work some classic tunes into the series. Bad Reputation, Funkytown, On Top of the World, I’m On My Way, The Immigrant Song, Holding Out For a Hero, and so many others fit perfectly into the scenes of this fairy tale.

It was a Leonard Cohen song that struck a chord with me from the first movie – Hallelujah. It was released on his Various Positions album and had little success. However, when John Cale’s 1991 version appeared in the 2001 Shrek film it gained a whole new life.

I’m sure there are more now, but in 2008, someone estimated that there were at least 300-350 versions of the song that had been recorded. Randy from Mostly Music Covers may have a more accurate and current number.

According to Cohen, he estimated that he had 80-180 versions of the song that he wrote, mainly because of the various renderings of the same line. After his death, his notebooks showed at least 150 versions.

Cohen was asked the meaning of the song many times and gave plenty of answers. One of them was: “This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by ‘Hallelujah.’”

Another time he stated, “there is a religious hallelujah, but there are many other ones. When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s hallelujah”. k.d. Lang, who also recorded the song said in an interview shortly after Cohen’s death that she considered the song to be about “the struggle between having human desire and searching for spiritual wisdom. It’s being caught between those two places.“

Rufus Wainwright, who turns 51 today, recorded his version with an arrangement that was almost identical to John Cale’s version. Wainwright’s version was the one that appeared on the Official Shrek Soundtrack, despite the fact that Cale’s version appears in the movie. The soundtrack went on to go 2 times platinum!

Happy birthday, Rufus Wainwright!

I Hope These Won’t Suck, But They Probably Will

When it comes to new stuff coming to TV or the movies, there hasn’t been much for me to get excited about. However, this week, news broke of a couple things that seriously have the potential to be good. Sadly, more often than not, these great ideas are a major disappointment.

A good example of this was when Disney brought the Muppets back to the big screen (and later, the small screen). The reinvented Muppets lacked so much of what the movies and original Muppet Show had. You can bring in every big name celebrity for cameos and it just wasn’t going to save any of those projects.

Now, there is news of a new Muppet feature coming to Disney Plus. The premise is solid and I really hope that it will be worth watching. The Muppets Mayhem will feature the house band from the Muppet Show – Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

The show will be a mockumentary about Dr. Teeth and his legendary bandmates, will be available to stream on Wednesday, May 10th. According to Disney plus, “the series “follows The Electric Mayhem Band — Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet — on an epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album. With the help of a driven young music executive, Nora Singh, the old-school Muppet band comes face-to-face with the current day music scene as they try to finally record their first studio album.”

Seriously, this really has the potential to be something cool – and I hope it is.

The other project is not anything new. They have been talking about a fifth installment of the Shrek franchise since 2016, but it looks like it may be happening soon.

In past interviews, Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy have both said that if another Shrek movie were to happen, they’d do it in a heartbeat. Rumors are that the original cast members are in talks to be a part of it. Eddie Murphy was quoted as saying he’d be interested in a Donkey spin-off movie. He noted the success of the Puss In Boots movies, and said it could work with Donkey. The rumors also say that the spin-off is a very good possibility.

Both of these projects peak my interest, and I will probably check them out if/when they are released.

Finally – A Movie I Can Get Excited To See !

If you were to ask me “What is the last movie you saw in a theater?” I wouldn’t be able to give you an answer. Honestly. I don’t remember.

For what it is worth, there really haven’t been any movies that have really made me want to go to the theater to see them either. I have become extra picky about what I will drop down money to go see. For quite a while, it seemed like I’d go to see a movie that looked good in previews, but ultimately, the trailer was better than the movie itself.

While I can’t remember the last film I saw in a theater, I do know the last GOOD movie I saw in one. The Incredibles 2. I realize that “good” is my opinion and also subjective, but really it was the last movie I felt was worth the money.

Sam has watched the Downton Abbey show on Netflix (or some other streaming service) and really likes it. I’ve never seen the show (as a matter of fact, I actually called it “Abbey Downton” instead of Downton Abbey). It is, however, one that she wants to go see. We had planned on doing it for her birthday, but time got away from us. I still plan on going with her, before her schedule changes.

The two movies that seem to be getting all the “hub bub” this year are: The Batman and Top Gun Maverick.

I’ve been a Batman fan since I stumbled on to the 1966 TV show. I enjoyed the first few movies with Michael Keaton, but now it seems so dark that I have no desire to see it.

I saw the original Top Gun in the theater. I liked it. It seems like every one wo has seen it says the new one is superior to the original. I’m sure that it is an exciting movie with more CGI/Green Screen stunts than they can pack into it. It’s just not one that I am going to run out and see.

I Guess I Have Changed

The change happened long before Covid threw the world into an uproar. I used to love going to the movies. Not so much anymore. Especially since I can usually watch them at home now. I can pause the movie when I need to use the restroom or rewind it if I didn’t understand what an actor said. Refreshments are free at my house and I can wear whatever I want when I watch it.

I had found myself walking out of the theater more disappointed than I used to. The stories just weren’t good. There was an over abundance of special effects. Often times, the sound effects drowned out the actors talking. It wasn’t fun anymore.

Dad Life

Then I had kids. A trip to the movies was never to see something YOU want to see anymore. A year or so ago, I wrote blogs about movies I loved from each year of my life. As I got older, more and more kid movies made the list: Shrek, Up, Sing, Cars, Toy Story, etc… I actually found myself enjoying wonderful stories with things for kids and adults.

All of that being said, I saw a preview for the next film that I am actually excited about:

I was BEYOND excited to see that there is a new movie featuring Puss in Boots. From the moment he made his debut in the Shrek series, he became my favorite character. His solo film was not excellent, but it certainly had a lot of great moments. Antonio Banderas will once again provide the voice.

I can only hope that it is not something that was thrown together. From the looks of the trailer (and you know hoe deceiving those can be), it looks like a good premise. It should be a fun one.

I’m looking forward to it!

“Bad Days Build Better Days”

I don’t feel like blogging. I don’t feel like being here. I have so many thoughts running through my mind. I feel like my insides are being torn apart. I am sad and want to cry. I am mad and want to scream. I am tired and need to sleep. I am frustrated and don’t know what to do. I am a huge mess. I don’t feel like blogging, but maybe it will be good to just vent.

I keep telling myself all the things that have helped me over the past 4 years:

“Control what you can control.”
“Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Be strong and choose to be positive.”
“Stay Positive – better days are on the way.”
“Let it go.”
“Pay no attention to toxic words. What people say is often a reflection of themselves, not you.”
“Life becomes easier when you delete the negative people from it.”
“You never fully see how toxic someone is until you breathe fresher air.”
“Let people do what they need to do to be happy, mind your own business and do what you need to do to make you happy.”
“Forget the negative and focus on the positives.”

Man, that’s just a handful of quotes that have helped in the past. To a degree, they helped a little today. Basically, though, as I thought on them, all I could say was, “I know.” It was just extremely hard to follow the instructions in those bits of wisdom.

Once Upon a Time – A Fairy Tale

In life we all have monsters or ogres that cause us trouble. The ogre in my life was working overtime over the past 48 hours. My days consisted of text messages, e-mails, phone calls, and communication from the ogre and its believers. To say that those things have exhausted me is an understatement.

As I thought about ways to describe my ogre, I was immediately reminded of the biblical person of the Antichrist. If you are unfamiliar with him, all you need to know is that this person is set to come in very peaceably, speaking kind words, promising to get things right, and leading people astray in belief of his lies. Then, this peaceful man will seek to destroy the world. He will do terrible things. My ogre is like that.

“If it is easier on you …” “Oh, that’s no trouble at all….” “I’m glad to help you with that …” and then, when the time is right, it turns on you. Suddenly, everything you thought was being done in kindness, is used against you. Things that you thought you’d agreed on, are now twisted and turned to make you look bad. The ogre begins to spread lies, and telling half truths to make situations look like something they are not. The narcissistic ogre is like a category 5 hurricane or an EF-5 tornado, looking to destroy anything in it’s path, while looking angelic to it’s followers.

What is truly sad is the effect that this has on the innocent. The pawns in the beast’s game of chess. These poor clueless pawns are brainwashed by the control of its words. They say if you tell someone something enough, whether it is true or not, they will start to believe it, despite no proof. The manipulation and the subtle way that the ogre controls these pawns is invisible to those under the spell of its black magic. Woe unto those poor souls!

If the ogre only affected me, I think I would be able to cope with things more. However, the ogre is a powerful beast. It knows how to work its way into my circle. It not only affects me, but my friends and family. It is not happy unless it is making others unhappy. I’ve seen this first hand. It’s not just with me as the ogre loves to cause trouble in the lives of others. Planting seeds which causes others to argue, gossip, or throw someone’s life into chaos. Once the seed takes root, the ogre sits back and watches the madness, the struggles, the anger, and chaos with great delight. How sick is this beast that it gets such pleasure by hurting and destroying others?!

Sadly, the ogre is not something I can just cut out of my life, though I wish I could. The ogre will be around for some time. Perhaps there is some mythical creature that can be used as a mediator, but alas, I have not found it. I’ve never felt like my life was that entertaining, but it seems like it must be, as the ogre spends a lot of time worried about me and what I am doing. All I can do is to continue to pray that with time, the ogre will leave me alone and find someone else to focus its attention on.

The End – I hope.

As they used to say on old radio shows – Any similarity to persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Scarlett O’Hara

Though I have never seen Gone With The Wind all the way through, I am familiar with quotes from the movie. I’d like to close with one. While today was a bad day, I have to remember what Scarlett O’Hara said, “…tomorrow is another day.”

Favorite Films – The 2000’s

It’s been a couple of weeks since I picked back up on this series of blogs, so I thought I had better. A while ago, I saw a post that suggested you pick one favorite film from every year of your life. So far, I have covered 3 decades. Some years were easier than others. Some years were very difficult, because there were many “favorites”. One quick reminder – the movies are movies that I have seen. There may be a monster hit movie from a certain year that I wasn’t inclined to see, or just didn’t see it.

As I move into the fourth decade of my life, I noticed something that I want you to keep in mind. In 2002, my oldest son was born. As I began to look through the movies of the 2000’s and even in the 2010’s, I noticed the amount of animated and kid films increased. What I also noticed is that in many cases, those movies ended up being better than some of the adult films of those years. Agree with me or not, remember this is MY list. While many of my readers are from Facebook and do not have blogs, many of my readers DO have blogs. It has been fun to revisit each year, and I would love to see the list of some of my blogger friends (hint hint).

That being said, let’s dive into the 2000’s!

Ashton Kutcher became a household name in 1998 as Kelso on That 70’s Show, so it was only a short time before they had him star in a feature film, and naturally it was a comedy – Dude, Where’s My Car? While I found it mostly stale, there were a few laughs. 2000 brought us the funny sequel to Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis were both very good in Unbreakable, Harrison Ford wound up being the bad guy in What Lies Beneath, and Russell Crowe starred in the visually brilliant Gladiator (although at times I was bored with it).

A runner up for my pick for this year was the very funny Emperor’s New Groove, the animated feature that starred David Space, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, and the amazing Eartha Kitt. I loved this movie and Kitt’s voice work is just amazing. However, music is what made me pick my favorite for 2000 – O Brother, Where Art Thou?

George Clooney plays a convict who escapes from a chain gang and ends up recording a hit record. I loved the story, and loved the soundtrack. I was working in country radio when the movie came out. The phones were constantly ringing for Man of Constant Sorrow! The sound sounded so out of place among the current country hits of the time, but maybe that’s why it did so well. It reminds me of when the Dixie Chicks first hit radio – their sound was so unlike anything on the air at the time that it stood out and sounded great! I still have the entire soundtrack of this movie on my iPod!

In 2001, Morgan Freeman reprised his role as Alex Cross in the movie adaptation of Along Came a Spider. David Spade introduced us to Joe Dirt. Amanda Pete, Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black and singer Neil Diamond all starred in Saving Silverman. Much like Titanic, they tossed a love story into a real life historic event for Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck. We also got the first installments of some BIG franchises – Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Wes Anderson offered up a gem with The Royal Tenenbaums with Gene Hackman, the Wilson Brothers, and Ben Stiller. Wes Anderson’s films always have a very unique look to them and I almost chose this one as my pick, but instead, I chose Shrek.

The film is based on the 1990 book by William Steig. Chris Farley was supposed to be the voice of Shrek, but his death led them to re-cast the role. Word is that Mike Myers did the voice straight, and was unhappy with it. He recut the voice with his Scottish accent and the rest is history. Now add the talents of Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow and it’s magic! It was a fun movie to watch and remains a favorite that I still watch with my kids.

There were a few animated and kids films in 2002: Ray Romano starred in Ice Age, Disney brought us Lilo & Stitch, and there was a live action Scooby Doo movie. The second (or fifth) installment of Star Wars hit the screen with Attack of the Clones, while other sequels included Men in Black II, Analyze That, and Austin Powers 3 – Goldmember. Two big sequels were Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Sitting here in 2019, who could have known that there would be a gazillion more super hero movies to come … but my pick for 2002 is Tobey Maguire as Spiderman.

As a fan of Spiderman since I was a kid, I was excited to see this one. I thought Tobey was a good Peter Parker. The rest of the cast was great, too (James Franco, Willem Dafoe, JK Simmons)! I always thought Kirsten Dunst was pretty, and thought she was great as Mary Jane. It was a fun movie to watch with good special effects and a good story.

The Lord of the Rings saga continued with the Return of the King in 2003. Will Ferrell appeared in Old School, which I felt was “Animal House crossing the line”. Uma Thurman starred in the first Kill Bill, and Johnny Depp appeared for the first time as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. A clown fish named Nemo stole the hearts of many in Finding Nemo, while Disney offered up the action adventure film Holes. Again, music played a factor in my favorite – School of Rock.

Jack Black is a rocker who gets tossed out of his band. He fills in as a substitute teacher and teaches his class all about Rock and Roll. He also uses the kids to form a band in hopes of winning a Battle of the Bands contest. The soundtrack includes cuts from the Ramones, The Darkness, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks, and the song they play at the end is the classic AC/DC song, It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll).

Damn you, 2004! There were so many great movies that came out this year!! 7 of them easily could be my top pick! Adam Sadler brought us 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore. Mel Gibson brought us the controversial Passion of the Christ. Uma Thurman returned to Kill Bill again in part 2. Harry Potter was back with the Prisoner of Azkaban. Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan gave us a look at public school in Mean Girls. We enjoyed some high school football with Friday Night Lights. Shrek and Donkey were back with a new friend (Puss in Boots) in Shrek 2. Will Ferrell donned a mustache as he told the Legend of Ron Burgandy in Anchorman. Harold and Kumar went to White Castle for some sliders. Zombies were all over the place in Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the Dead (which I loved!). A very funny cast (Vince Vaughn, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor) told us an underdog story in Dodgeball (Chuck Norris has a funny cameo). Nick Cage stars in a great film that makes you rethink history in National Treasure. Jamie Foxx was just brilliant as Ray Charles in the biopic Ray.

A word about a film from 2004 before I announce my pick. I saw the DVD cover for Napoleon Dynamite in the video store. I am not sure what made me get it. Someone may have mentioned it to me, whatever the case, I rented it. We popped it in. I watched it all the way through. When it was done I remember saying “What the hell did we just watch?!” I literally sat there scratching my head. I just couldn’t figure it out! It was so dumb! But here is the weird part – after it ended and after I sat there for a minute – I started the movie over!!! I watched it all over again. The second time I watched it – I laughed like hell!! All of a sudden, it was a funny friggin movie! When I would recommend it to people, I would tell them “you may have to watch it twice”! LOL

Ok, so my movie picking credibility may forever be tarnished because of that last paragraph….but here is my pick for 2004 – The Incredibles.

Brad Bird (who does the voice of Edna) wrote this masterpiece. Craig T. Nelson is Mr. Incredible and Holly Hunter is Elastigirl (also Mrs. Incredible). Samuel L. Jackson is super cool as Frozone. After getting sued for injuring a citizen, Super heroes are banned from performing their duties. They go into the Super Hero Relocation Program and live as ordinary citizens. Syndrome is a super villain (voiced by Jason Lee) and his antics bring the “Supers” back out into the public eye. The music soundtrack is just amazing. I was SO excited when the sequel was announced. Just LOVE this movie!! No Capes!

There weren’t many films I liked from 2005. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was good, as we see the “birth” of Darth Vader. DreamWorks had fun with the animated film Madagascar. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were Wedding Crashers. Goblet of Fire was the next installment of the Harry Potter series. My pick for favorite of 2005 is a remake – I know, I know! I have dissed many remakes, but I found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be different enough that I liked it.

Johnny Depp is one of those actors who amazes me. When I look at the various roles he has played, each one of them is very unique. His take on Willy Wonka is so vastly different from Gene Wilder’s in the original. It is almost creepy – ok, it is creepy! The whole movie is a bit darker than the original, too. While the story is basically the same, it is different enough that it stands alone as being worthy of my pick.

The success of animated films becomes apparent by 2006. DreamWorks put out two animated movies this year – Flushed Away and Over The Hedge, while Pixar released Cars. Ben Stiller interacts with history in A Night at the Museum. Johnny Depp is back as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men’s Chest. Little Miss Sunshine is a delightful film with Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, and Alan Arkin. My pick for favorite stars Jack Black as Nacho Libre.

While it is a comedy, it also has heart. Jack Black is a cook at a monastery. He grew up there. There are many orphans that live there, and there is little money to feed them properly. He decides to wrestle after hours in an effort to raise money for the orphans. I love this movie, because while there are moments you laugh at loud, there are also heartwarming moments.

Animation movies continued to be big in 2007 – Jerry Seinfeld had Bee Movie, Shrek was back for a third (and probably weakest of the series) movie, and Pixar had the marvelous Ratatouille. Jack Sparrow returned in At World’s End, and Simon Pegg offered up the comedy Hot Fuzz. Harry Potter returned in the Order of the Phoenix, and Nick Cage was back for the sequel to National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Jon Heder, coming off the success of Napoleon Dynamite, teamed up with Will Ferrell for Blades of Glory. The gang from TV’s Reno 911 got their own film Reno 911:Miami. My pick for favorite – The Bucket List.

Admittedly, I did not see the movie until recently, I am glad I did. This movie made “the bucket list” a phrase everyone now uses. We all have items on a list that we want to do before we die. Going to Italy is on mine. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are just wonderful in this film. If you haven’t seen it – you have to!

Comedies from 2008 included Simon Pegg’s Run Fatboy, Run, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. starred in Tropic Thunder, Rainn Wilson was The Rocker, and Will Ferrell and John C. Riley were Step Brothers (Boats and Hoes!!) Animated films from 2008 included WALL-E, and Kung Fu Panda. Tom Cruise starred in a great story about the plot to kill Hitler in Valkyrie. Harrison Ford reprised his role as Indiana Jones in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (I didn’t care for it). Will Smith was a guy with super powers in Hancock.

Vantage Point was almost my pick for favorite. Dennis Quaid stars in the film about an assassination attempt of the President. The movie shows all the different views of the event – all the different vantage points. It was a very cool film to watch. I hate to say it, because it is kind of a remake, but my pick for favorite is Get Smart.

TECHNICALLY, it is NOT a remake. It is just based on the TV show. At first I was angry to hear they were making this movie, because of my love for the TV show. Then I heard that Steve Carell would be playing Maxwell Smart. I thought he was perfect for the role. Alan Arkin is great as the chief (I like him in almost everything he does). Anne Hathaway is 99. James Caan is the President. The Rock is also an agent. Great cameos from Bill Murray and Bernie Kopell, the orginal Seigfried (although I wish Bernie’s cameo had been longer). Over all, it was a good story. I loved the nods to the TV show, that earned bonus points for me.

As we enter the final year of this decade, three films all stand out as ones that could easily be my pick. Two of the dumbest films I saw were Paul Blart Mall Cop (which even got a sequel!!) and Year One. I am stupider for watching both of those films! Animation and kid films included The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and the Monsters VS Aliens. Harry Potter was back with the Half Blood Prince. Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw starred in The Blind Side. Woody Harrelson kills the undead in Zombieland. I’m gonna be honest – I NEVER saw Avatar, it just didn’t look interesting to me. I was impressed with the new Star Trek movie – I felt the characters stayed very close to the original star’s portrayals. I really enjoyed Inglorious Basterds (always been a fan of WWII movies).

That leaves me with four films – one that I disliked and three I loved. I know that I am in the minority here, so I apologize in advance. I didn’t care for the Hangover. It obviously was major hit which spawned quite a few sequels. Everyone kept saying, “You’ve got to see this movie”, so I did. I really didn’t find it as funny as everyone else did. I don’t know what it is, I just didn’t find it to be the great film everyone else did.

Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law was VERY well done! I enjoyed it very much. I really felt that it captured the Sherlock Holmes from the stories. I found it funny, exciting, and thought it had a great story. When I discovered Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch, I felt that it was done in almost the same vain as this film.

I almost picked A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey as my favorite. First of all, it is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I am sure that I have blogged about it in the past. Second, Jim Carrey does the majority of the voices in it and it just amazing. I loved the animation and it has been one that I watch each and every Christmas season. My pick for 2009, however, is another animated film … Up.

Pixar continues to bring out amazing movies for the whole family. Up is the story of Carl Frederickson(voiced by Ed Asner), and his quest to go to Paradise Falls to fulfill a promise to his wife. The montage that shows the love story of Carl and Ellie is done with no voices – just action and music. It is the most moving thing I have ever seen. Yes, I cried. It is beautiful.

The adventure that Carl ends up going on with his newfound friends Russell, Doug, and Kevin is exciting and heartwarming. I truly wish that Pixar would give us a sequel to this film, just to see more of this wonderful friendship that Carl and Russell have. I LOVE this movie!

9 more years to go and I will pick up the series next in 2010. I hope you enjoyed reading this!