Category: Music
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 145 – Alfred E Neuman wins American Idol
It seems that MAD Magazine’s Alfred E Neuman won American Idol. His name is Scotty McCreery. I know nothing of his music, but if he won, he must be at least somewhat popular. Apparently he and the other 4 contestants that make up the top 5 will be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios some time on Sunday. And I’ll likely end up going to see them, despite the fact that I didn’t watch any episodes of the show this season. Hopefully they’ll sing at the park, unlike when last year’s winner Lee DeWyze answered a few questions on stage… then left.
The photo here is of my Alfred E Neuman action figure and the USB drive I was given at the American Idol Experience opening a couple years ago.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 123 – Rockin’ to British tunes at Epcot
I hopped over to Epcot today to check out one of the first performances by the new band English Channel, replacing The British Invasion in the UK pavilion. While music of The Beatles performed by costumed soundalike musicians was fun, this new band simply rocks. They do a great job playing not only The Beatles’ catalog of songs but also many other British rock ‘n’ roll hits. The band members aren’t British, but it doesn’t matter. They’re a tight band that plays well together and have fun doing it. They also throw in a few facts about songs and artists between them, so it’s a bit educational, even if only a little.
While they may not be costumed, they still fit into the Disney vibe as they’re all smiles and quite nice. I unfortunately didn’t think to get my picture WITH them today, so instead today’s photo is the group shot I took just after their 6pm set. You can watch video the whole performance here.
My Top 10 Most-Played iTunes Songs for 2009 and 2010
A couple years ago, I posted a list of the Top 10 songs I listened to most in 2008. I meant to create such a list as an annual tradition, but forgot in 2009. So now that we’re in 2011, I’m back with lists for 2009 and 2010.
The lists were created via a Smart Playlist in iTunes, based on play count, rating (only songs with 3-5 stars), and part of my “Music” playlist, which excludes podcasts, audio books, and anything related to Disney. In other words, they’re lists of “good” to “great” songs that are part of everyday listening.
This is how the original 2008 Smart Playlist was set up:
One more note: For both years, I had to also exclude the Nine Inch Nails album, Ghosts I-IV. It’s an instrumental album I often play while working on projects and its songs dominated both lists to the point of making them uninteresting. So technically, that is my most-listened to album of both years.
So here we go…
My Top 10 Most-Listened-To Songs in 2009
1. “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. “A Different City” by Modest Mouse from The Moon And Antarctica
3. “#1 Crush” by Garbage from Romeo + Juliet
4. “Ikons” by KMFDM from Xtort
5. “Tourette’s” by Nirvana from In Utero
6. “A Night Like This” by Smashing Pumpkins from The Aeroplane Flies High
7. “Change” by Blind Melon from Blind Melon
8. “Deserted” by Blind Melon from Blind Melon
9. “Priceless” by Boxelder from Seed
10. “everything zen” by Bush from Sixteen Stone
It looks like 2009 was an odd year for me in iTunes music selection. The top 2 songs on this list are unfamiliar to me, which means iTunes must have randomly chosen to play them more often than any other. The rest is an assortment of tracks I enjoy, but would never have suspected they’d be the most played for the year. But I suppose it’s good to have a variety of music year-to-year.
My Top 10 Most-Listened-To Songs in 2010
1. “A Boy’s Best Friend” by The White Stripes from De Stijl
2. “Any Colour You Like” by Pink Floyd from Dark Side Of The Moon
3. “Queer” by Garbage from Garbage
4. “Miss World” by Hole from Live Through This
5. “About a Girl” by Nirvana from Unplugged in New York
6. “Time” by Pink Floyd from Dark Side Of The Moon
7. “In the Flesh?” by Pink Floyd from The Wall
8. “Disarm” by Smashing Pumpkins from Siamese Dream
9. “Birdhouse In Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants from Flood
10. “DLMD” by 311 from 311
The 2010 list is a complete contrast to the 2009 list. Apparently I listened to more singles in the past year than in years prior. I like that KMFDM and They Might Be Giants each made one of the two lists, as both are bands I thoroughly enjoy but don’t listen to nearly enough (or at least… I didn’t think I did). I’m not sure how The White Stripes topped the list, as I almost never listen to them. It must have been another iTunes anomaly.
But it’s clear from both lists that my musical tastes are still firmly planted in the 1990s, with many tracks from Nirvana, Hole, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins, 311, and more bands from that era.
What were your most-listened to songs in the past year? Launch iTunes, recreate the Smart Playlist above, and post your Top 10 for 2008 in the comments below!
A holiday divided: Pomplamoose does Hyundai Christmas commercials and the Internet erupts in flames
Christmas time has come and gone for 2010 and I’m sure plenty of us spent the majority of our vacation plopped on a couch watching television and generally spacing out. I sure did.
Well, amidst the reruns and obligatory Christmas specials (Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!) some new entertainment emerged in the form of Hyundai car commercials featuring catchy renditions of classic Christmas songs. And if you watched more than 10 minutes of TV this holiday season, you likely saw at least one of these ads, as Hyundai seemed to be airing them during almost every commercial break on every station.
In case somehow you didn’t see them, here they are:
Up on a Housetop:
TweetWizarding World of Harry Potter opening date is – not to be revealed yet
UPDATE: Within minutes of posting this message, a rep from Universal Orlando contacted me to ask that I remove all references to the grand opening date of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Apparently the released image and date were accidentally put up on their media site today – one day earlier than they had planned. Their big reveal will be tomorrow, 3/25, at 12pm EST.
Obviously, anyone who read this post (or my messages on Twitter and Facebook) already has the information, so it’s out there. But for now, I will remove references to the specific opening date until the official announcement is made tomorrow. Here’s the remainder original, but edited, post:
Today the Universal Orlando Resort [briefly] released an image [captioned as] the boarding area for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction, which will be part of the new addition to their Islands of Adventure theme park. The [now-removed release] reveals that the “Room of Requirement” from the book and film series will act as the loading area for the ride.
But more importantly, buried embedded in the image is the following caption:
[removed caption]
Universal Orlando had previously announced that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening date would be revealed tomorrow, March 25, at 12pm EST, but it looks like the cat’s out of the bag now.
Here’s a look at the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey’s “Room of Requirement” loading area:
[photo removed]
The official announcement will still take place tomorrow at www.UniversalOrlando.com/HarryPotter.
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