Whoppy And Streaker Present The Best Videos And Websites Of 2006!

All in one place…Top 10 You Tube vids, Top Viral Videos Of All Time, Justin, Mary J., Rihanna, U2, Best Rock Archives, Viral vids, Top art museums, best websites What do a couple of cats know about videos and websites? Let’s find out!

BEST MUSIC ARCHIVES

I wanted to locate a video I’d seen on MTV of the group OK GO performing, “Here It Goes Again”. They do imaginative, synchronized moves on four moving treadmills, filmed by a single camera in one continuous shot! You can imagine how I felt when I discovered the FatAdam.Com’s collection of ” The Top Ten Viewed You Tube Videos Of All TIme”. Not only did I find the video I wanted, I found the Token’s “Lion Sleeps Tonight”, performed by a CGI Hippo and dog, Plus eight other internet smashes I’d never seen before!
http://www.fatadam.com/2006/12/03/top-10-viewed-youtube-videos-of-all-time/

IFILM.Com never ceases to amaze me with it’s constantly updated coming attractions, previews and Viral Videos! http://www.ifilm.com/

Top Viral Videos Of All Time!…The title says it all! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15958470/

Then I found some incredible videos on my Spectropop pal, Laura Pinto’s website!
“In 2001, A&E’s Biography presented a fantastic documentary called ‘Hitmakers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music.’ This documentary, which is available on home video under the name ‘Songmakers,’ covers the work of the gifted composers and producers from the Brill Building era, early 50’s to late 60’s. Biography launched the weeklong series with a 90-minute special featuring a wealth of historical information, archival photos and footage, and interviews with dozens of singers, songwriters, producers and insiders – among them, Carole King/Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller, Neil Sedaka, Jack Keller, Don Kirshner, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, George “Shadow” Morton, Mary Weiss, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Steve Lawrence, Shirley Alston Reeves, and so many more including a 1991 interview with the late Doc Pomus. Recently, the Hitmakers special was added to the popular video site YouTube in nine parts, approximately 10 minutes in length each. Being a huge fan of the Brill Building music in general and Jeff Barry in particular, I wasted no time in posting all nine videos to my Oldies Connection MySpace blog. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!” http://blog.myspace.com/oldiesconnection

Spectropop… One of the main reasons I joined Spectropop, was the appreciation, by its members, of the well-crafted Pop song, the kind that dominated the Top 40 charts in the 1960s. The site is full of information and entertainment that has brought me back dozens of times this year! I personally want to thank “Spectrotopper”Mick Patrick for helping to create and maintain one of the best music sites on the web.
http://spectropop.com

Wolfgangs Vault…Bill Graham, the unequaled concert promoter and humanitarian, who died in a helicopter crash in 1991, has left quite a legacy. Not only did he loom larger than life in the careers of the Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Janis Joplin, ad pop infinitum, he was astute enough to extensively document most of the acts that performed concerts along the way.

Bill was always nice to me and let me and my pals in backstage to watch his shows from the wings…even though he knew I was there to probably pitch a song or impress some girl. I can’t tell you how surprised…and happy I was to see a segment about him on the CBS Network show “Sunday Morning”, that spotlighted his vast collection of memorabalia that includes millions of posters, unused concert tickets, photos, high quality audio and videos from concerts at the Filmore West and Filmore East.
http://wolfgangsvault.com/

Coverville…Creator and host, Brian Ibbott, is one of the most consistant podcasters around. His twice weekly show spotlights new covers of older songs, that never cease to amaze me! This week is his 277 th show (all of which are downloadable), which features the official 2006 Coverville Countdown!
http://coverville.com

BEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

The Smoking Gun…One of my faves! “The Smoking Gun brings you exclusive documents–cool, confidential, quirky–that can’t be found elsewhere on the Web. Using material obtained from government and law enforcement sources, via Freedom of Information requests, and court files nationwide, everything here is 100% authentic.” http://www.thesmokinggun.com/about.html

TMZ…Harvey Levin and pals seem to get the scoop on celebrity mis-behavior, and is quoted often as a source on news and entertainment shows.
http://tmz.com

BEST MUSIC VIDEOS

I grew up with top 40 music listening to Pop, R&B and Country side by side. Today to get that kind of diversity is impossible, so now I must get my music from 4 different sources.

MTV…The pioneer in pop videos where you can see videos on line! The best artists to watch, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, JoJo, The Killers, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, All American Rejects, Cold Play, Black Eyed Peas and Jay-Z http://www.mtv.com/ Here’s Justin Timberlake and, “Sexy Back” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgtmETjMT7Y

VH1…Check out…James Blunt, John Mayer, John Legend, Nelly Furtado, Pussycat Dolls, Shakira, Ne-yo, Riianna, Mary J. Blige, Green Day, Danity Kane, and the Fray http://www.vh1.com/ Here’s one of my personal favorites…Rihanna, “Unfaithful” http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1154844957034870481&q=rianna+unfaithful+video&hl=en

BET…The Black Entertainment network A bit rap heavy, but diverse within the Genre. This is the place where artists break out! Chris Brown, Timbaland, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, Emenem, 50 Cents, TI, R.Kelly, Fat Joe, Jaimie Fox and Kanye West.
http://www.bet.com/ Here’s the Artist of the Year, Mary J. Blige and “One” featuring U2 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3297419603290460058&q=Mary+J.+Blige+videos&hl=en

CMT…Country Music Television plays the best country videos. Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Allison Krauss, Sugarland, and Shania Twain. http://www.cmt.com/ My favorite of the year, Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbvZlfTulYc

BEST ART MUSEUM WEBSITES

The Louvre in Paris…Still one of my favorite museums in the world, even though I was once thrown out for trying to photograph my hand puppet Kah-Kah on the shoulder of the Venus De Milo! Take A virtual tour. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en

New York’s Museum of Modern Art…Where many of my romances began and ended in front of Monet’s “Water Lillies”. View permanent collection http://www.moma.org/

Los Angeles County Museum…finally has become a world class destination!
http://www.lacma.org/

BEST DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY VIDEOS

My longtime friend, Ken Schaffer, inventor of the “Wireless Microphone and Wireless Electric Guitar”, put a video up on that he and his son , shot at the launch of the Columbia Space Shuttle. I asked Kenny to describe what you’re about to see.

” I’d done some work with NASA, so we (Kenny’s then-wife and then 8 year old son) got front row seats in the VIP bleachers – a mile and a half just west off launch complex 39A. anyone closer was a bird. It was an hour before dawn, so the view to the east was amazing – and you can see the dawn-coming glow framed around the pad. All NASA guys were ecstatic in their agreement that this was the most beautiful launch in shuttle history.

It was the first day of March 2003. The mission was to fix the Hubble Telescope (which you can actually see near the moon at the start of the video!). It was beautiful – brighter than the sun, louder than ay train Woody Guthrie rode – bone rattling – awesome in the same way as St. Basil’s Cathedral in St.Petersburg “How can human bubbleheads create something so beautiful!?” It was the last successful mission of the Columbia. You know the rest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdjID2osZ0A

To see what Kenny Schaffer up to these days http://tv2me.com/

The next video, my friend and journalist Ellen Sander created about Amsterdam. An unpretentious look at one of my favorite cities in the world. In her words,

“The Van Gogh Museum was one of my most coveted destinations and it did not disappoint. In the lobby a quartet was playing a Dutch version of Hank Williams’ Cold Cold Heart as we walked in, and they continued with a gentle repertoire of country and folk music. The exhibit upstairs was small, the Van Gogh family’s collection of around 70 of Vincent’s paintings. I was thinking of the consonances between the works of Bob Dylan and Vincent Van Gogh as I walked around. They both broke the mold, they both crafted their work out of inference and references that embodied their images. The portrait of Vincent by Gauguin was there as was Van Gogh’s canvas of Gauguin’s Chair, the emptiness of which almost echoed with sobs.

In the exhibit you’re so aware of light and shadow and brushstroke, how a drip of multiple colors from the same paintbrush defined the grain in the trunk of the Small Pear Tree in Blossom. Vincent. You were here, you are here.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh2FnQRDIqU

Here’s an inspiring video, that author and composer, Patti Dahlstrom sent me. She writes, “Having a nephew who is #1 in his class as a Marine Lt. flying Harrier jets and another nephew who is an Honors junior at West Point, has enlightened and educated me about military service. This is more than a choice, it is a calling, as many who are reading this were called to music.

We would not have what we have today, any of us, without people who were willing to fight and die to protect our loved ones, our families, and our freedoms. Unfortunately, negotiating has never solved anything with a tyrant; we tried it with Hitler and Hussein. The only temporary peace we receive is a grace from those who are willing to defend us from those who wish to dominate and/or destroy us.

Today’s military is voluntary, which means they are there because they want to be. They don’t want to kill or be killed, they want to defend freedom. If they pay the ultimate sacrifice, so be it. It is their calling, and they understand the consequences of such a path. I once read that spiritually the souls who come to fight our battles are the same throughout history. This is the job they come to do. Please take a moment to view this wonderful video and to hear this wonderful song in tribute to those who allow us our reality.” http://www.managedmusic.com/php/BYGIndex.php?page=Listen_To_BYG_Introduction#

The last video is produced and directed by Sebastian Prooth. It’s the updated demo version of Alan O’Day and the Late Johnny Stevenson’s number one hit, “Rock And Roll Heaven”, featuring singer Ronnie Kimball. Prooth humbly says,

“I’m very pleased it affects so many people on such an emotional level. We all remember at least one of the people featured in Alan O’Day’s song. This video serves to remind us of not only the artists remembered in pictures, but also the ones that we remember personally. I hope it will be enjoyed and appreciated for years to come.”
https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2006/08/20/rock-and-roll-heaven/

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Artie Wayne on the Web and Whoppy and Streaker on the couch!

Website http://artiewayne.com Blog https://artiewayne.wordpress.com

To reach Alan O’Day http://alanoday.com

Sebastian Prooth http://sebrt.com

Ellen Sander http://ellensander.com/crackpot.html

Copyright 2006 by Artie Wayne

You’re In A Coma With MTV!

No, it’s not ex-Congressman Mark Foley about to turn a new Page.. it’s Howdy Doody and “Buffalo” Bob Smith!

I’ve known about the power of television since I was seven years old, and charged other kids five cents to watch “Howdy Doody” at my uncle’s, who had the only set in the neighborhood! I also remember performing in grade school every wednesday at “Show and Tell”, with jokes I learned the previous night from my other uncle, “Uncle Miltie”. In 1956, however, my whole world changed when I saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show! Up until then I wanted to become either a nuclear physicist or a clown…now I wanted to ROCK!

Unfortunately, I was a “Rebel Without Applause”, until I performed Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe”, at a High School talent show. Now the girls started paying attention to me. I don’t know if it was my Ed “Kookie” Byrnes cool way of talking or my red Elvis jacket, but even the neighborhood gangs started to respect me and would give me a head start before they’d chase me home from school! My role models were high school bon vivant, “Dobie Gillis” and “Love That Bob”Cummings, who portayed a photographer/ playboy. I even sucessfully used many of their characters outrageous “pick-up lines” that me got me close to some of the most beautiful girls in the world!

I was in for a big shock though when I got married and realized that real life wasn’t, “I Love Lucy”, and problems weren’t always solved in a half hour. Unfortunately, we wound up in “Divorce Court”…but fortunately for me, I lost the TV in the settlement! For the next 2 years, my creative abilities and productivity increased significantly. I no longer sat in the front of a tv set and watch negative stories on the news, or look at a sitcom, where the laugh track would tell me where to respond! I read, I bowled, I had actual conversations, and then I moved to Hollywood!

I was General Professional Manager at Viva music for two months before I learned how to drive. I guess I had too much time on my hands, and against my better judgement I bought my first color tv set. I was just like a recovering alcoholic, testing ing himself with just one drink…then craving a half dozen more! All I needed was one more game show, one more made for TV movie or one more talk show then, I’d be able to go to bed.

When it became no longer enough to watch TV…I had to Live TV! I started flirting with sitcom stars I’d run into at the Hollywood market, Anne ( “Honey West”) Francis, Denise ( “Room 222”) Nicholas, have dinner with Yvonne ( “Batgirl”) Craig, go dancing with Linda ( “Happy Days”) Purl or just hang out with Sissy ( “Love American Style”) Spacek. In case there would be trouble at some of the wild parties I went to, I made sure to be around TV tough guys like Michael ( “Streets Of San Francisco” ) Douglas, Bill ( “I Spy”) Cosby, Max ( “Beverly Hillbillies”) Baer and David ( “Kung Fu”) Carradine. It was during this time that I also became friendly with a couple of TV comedy writers who “appropriated” some of my real life stories and used them on “The Bobby Sherman Show”…the adventures of a songwriter! Instead of suing, I settled for a few of my songs to be used on the program.

Then I got bored with TV and all the bullshit that goes along with it, even relegated my set to a little used room in the house. That’s when my career started to flourish at Warner Brothers Music, which had recently bought Viva music. I didn’t pay much attention to television for the next ten years.

Then one day in 1982 I was invited to the launch of a new 24 hour cable music network, called MTV…and that’s when I saw the future! I’d been a fan of Scopitone, a european jukebox that played musical film clips, but I knew it could never succeed in the US because of the “stronghold” American jukebox operators had on the market. I looked at “this” MTV, not just as another place to promote music but as having the potential to become the primary means of delivering music to the masses!

In less than 25 years, MTV not only fufilled the prophecy, but actually helped to change the music itself. In the first few years the network played the ubiquitous videos of English artists, Duran Duran, David Bowie and Phil Collins, Austrailian artists Men At Work and whet the appetite of the American public for more of the same! In addition to music, fashion and slang started to travel around the world at a record pace, but it took Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and a near boycott by CBS Records to break the color barrier at the network! Soon Lionel Ritchie and Billy Ocean were being played as much as Blondie and became regular staples of MTV.

For years , the network thrived on it’s legitimate pop content, then something odd happened. There were fewer and fewer music shows aired in favor of reality shows. After the success of “The Real World” ten years ago, the “Reality” floodgates opened. Today when we watch MTV and it’s sister network VHI, we see endless episodes of “Laguna Beach”, where horny teens fuck with each others heads, and “Punk’ed”, where Ashton Kutcher plays practical jokes that would get him an ass kicking in real life! Then we have “Next”, “Breaking Bonaduce”, ” Road Rules”, “Made”, “The Fabulous life of…”, “Flava’ Flav”, “Best Week Ever”, and “Celebrity Deathmatch”. The most obnoxious, though, is “Sweet Sixteen”, which feature rich little bitches-in-training conning their parents out of expensive sweet sixteen parties and lavish presents. It’s a series that’s an argument for an official sanction of corporal punishment!

As far as the music goes, when you can find it, most of the groups have a sameness about them. if you don’t look at the lower left hand corner of the screen you might mistake Panic at the Disco for the Killers, or All American Rejects. It’s just about impossible to tell what rap video you’re watching, since Kanye West, “Diddy”, Lil’ Jon and “Snoop” Dogg appear in almost all of them, as either a guest or a featured artist!.

It seems like most of the artists today are conciously making music to please corporations and music directors who have narrow taste and program for an audience who prefers not to think too far outside their electronic boxes. I’ve read studies on how too much TV eventually overwhelms the viewer and diminishes productivity. I don’t want to be lulled into complacency, so I’ve decided never to watch MTV again…after I see the finale of “Laguna Beach!”

Copyright 2006 by Artie Wayne

If you want to hear a recording that Terry Mace and I wrote and perform called   “You’re in a coma with EMPTY -V” click onto http://artiewayne.com/music/coma.wma

Special thanks to Alan O’Day http://alanoday.com for helping with the re-mix

Giving “Props” to Spectropop!

One of the main reasons I joined Spectropop http://spectropop.com was the appreciation, by its members, of the well-crafted Pop song, the kind that dominated
the Top 40 charts in the 1960s. I’m formerly a “Colored”, “Black”,
“Negro”, and currently a “Bi-Racial”, African-American songwriter/
producer/publisher, who started in that era, who is still interested
and active in all kinds of music today. Every weekend I religiously
listen to the Top Ten on MTV, VH1, Country Music Television, and the
Black Entertainment Network, to stay aware of the market. I’ll admit,
the last few years have been very discouraging.

The only genre in which the Pop song, as we knew it, has consistently
evolved is country music. The song is still well-crafted, cleverly
written, and heartfelt. It is also universally considered the most
important ingredient in the recording process. The field is currently
dominated by some of the best singer/songwiters, coming from all
around the world, including Gretchen Wilson (USA), Keith Urban
(Australia), and Shania Twain (Canada).

As far as music that might have evolved from ’60s bubblegum hits
Levine/ Resnick produced, Fountains of Wayne and Bowling for Soup
are really satisfying. Over the last year or so, I’ve watched bands
like Coldplay emerge who might be considered the grandsons of The
Left Banke. As I’m writing this I can hear Coldplay singing “Walk
Away Renee” in my head.

As far as the current state of rap goes, Its glorification of
inappropriate behavior and pursuit of things I care little about
overshadows everything else. How many times can you, “Raise your
hands in the air and wave ’em like you just don’t care”? Then, about
a year ago, I heard what Kanye West was doing and I knew from that
point on the genre had been elevated!

As far as R&B goes, the listening and viewing public is starting to
demand more from today’s artists. Check out by R. Kelly’s brilliant
“Trapped In A Closet”, which rivals anything Marvin Gaye ever
released. I can’t wait to hear what Usher, the Michael Jackson of his
generation, is going to come up with next.

Personally, I’d like to hear some more ’60s and ’70s songs covered by
today’s artists. Can you imagine “Happy Together” being done by Tim
McGraw and Faith Hill? or “Rock And Roll Heaven” being revived by The
Foo Fighters or American Idol Taylor Hicks? Alan Gordon, Alan O’Day …
are you listening?

One thing that I’m certain of for the rest of my life I will love songs — past, present and future. That’s why I want to thank Mick Patrick for helping to create and maintain one of the best music sites on the web… Spectropop!

Regards,
Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com

special thanks to Whoppy (pictured) for helping to make this announcement.

My Friend Shel Talmy- The Man Who Discovered, Inspired, And Produced The Who And The Kinks

When I first went to London in 1965, Bess Coleman – one of the Beatles’ press officers and one of my co-writers – introduced me to Shel Talmy, a five star general in the British invasion of the pop culture. I was anxious to meet the legend who discovered, inspired and produced the Who, the Kinks, Chad & Jeremy and the Easybeats. About an hour before I met him, I was shocked to find out that he was a fellow American! When I knocked on his apartment door, in fashionable Knightsbridge, his beautiful assistant led me down a long hallway that was filled on both sides with more gold singles and albums than I’d ever seen in one place! As I sat sipping tea in his office, I heard someone playing a guitar and singing in the other room. The door opened, Shel introduced himself, as well as the singer I heard through the walls, Cat Stevens, who was there to play a couple of his new songs. Over the years Shel and I became good friends. He was one of the few people I could play a song for and get some good constructive criticism. Here he shares some stories and insights with me in this revealing Spectropop interview. Just click onto http://spectropop.com/sheltalmy/index.htm