Day 30 - My Favorite Theme Songs

So Day 30 on the list was supposed to be "My favorite song this time last year", but that seemed lame to me. So I'm changing it to my favorite theme song. Now the real question is do I make it a TV, a movie, or a wrestling theme. It's the last day, so what the hell, here's all 3. My favorite TV theme is from a show that I literally grew up watching and basically ended up being part of a "Cheers" like bar at the Half Penny Pub of Sayville. So here's the theme from "Cheers", the extended version.



My favorite Movie theme song is from a movie that I love til this day. Here's Ray Parker, Jr with "Ghostbusters"



Last, but not least, is my favorite wrestling theme song. It needs no introduction...

Day 29 - A Song From My Childhood

Is it weird that the Beach Boys are directly responsible for getting me into Punk Music? Well here's a song from the Beach Boys, "Surfin' USA" and, fuck it, here's the Pennywise version as well. It's a 2 for 1 kinda day!

Day 28 - My Favorite Song of the Past Year

Well this was supposed to be "A Song That Makes Me Feel Guilty", but that sounds like Guilty Pleasure all over again. So I changed it. Now it's "My Favorite Song of the Past Year". This is just a fun song and was quite good to see live. This is The Creepshow with "Hellbound" off of the album "They All Fall Down". Definitely one of my favorite bands I've discovered since starting the Elvis & Alfred Show.

Day 27 - A Song I Wish I Could Play

As a bass player and big punk fan I consider Matt Freeman to be the best of the best when it comes to punk rock bassist. He's actually up there in my book for one of the best bassists overall too. Don't believe me, just watch this live version of Rancid's "Maxwell Murder". This solo is ridiculous and I don't think I could play this in my wildest dreams.

Day 26 - A Song I Can Play on an Instrument

I play my fair share of instruments at the mediocre level, but I'd say my best instrument is the bass guitar. I've been playing for a while now so I've learned a whole bunch of songs on it, but I'm gonna pick the one I've enjoyed playing the most. Even though most of the time I this song I played rhythm guitar and did vocals, but it was the most fun I had in my old band, Looking For Bettie. Who doesn't love a song where everyone gets to rock out? Here's "I'd Love to Change the World" from 10 Years After.

Day 25 - A Song That Makes Me Laugh

Here's a love song from Adam Sandler.... "At a Medium Pace"

Day 24 - A Song I Want Played at My Funeral

Well this is a given. Here's an unique version of Bro Hymn performed by Pennywise and Friends. Check out Ice-T, the guys from Bad Religion, Rise Against, and a very hammered Fat Mike.

Day 23 - A Song I Want Played at My Wedding

Well wedding DJs in general tend to suck. They all play the same songs and ignore requests from dance floor. I'm at the age where many of my friends have been getting married over the past few years and I keep thinking to myself, "wow, a DJ would really hate working my wedding cause I'd be ridiculously picky on what I want my friends and family to hear. I mean I am paying them." I'd spend so much time making a list of what crap I don't want to hear that I may never even get to the list of songs I want to hear. So here's a song that if me and the girlfriend ever decide to get hitched I want played, "Sanctuary" from Sick of It All.

Day 22 - A Song That I Listen to When I'm Sad

So luckily while a lot of the music I listen to his anger filled or about heartbreak or about corrupt governments there is a few bands that keep it positive. This song as gotten me through some tough times in my life. This song is from now defunct Long Island Punk band The Movielife called "Jamestown". The main lyrics of the song that have been a motivating factor to me are: "There's no setback that can set me back. I think the punch has worn me thin and I'm weakening. The one thing that keeps me in the ring are the people that will never exist to me... If my minds the weapon, my hearts the extra clip!... Weathered, broken, and torn. I'm still fucking here!". So here's one of my all time favorites with an actual music video:

Day 21 - A Song I Listen to When I'm Happy

And I'm Back from vacation... it's been raining in NY since I landed over 18 hours ago, so this topic is hard to pick on a rainy day. Especially after being in a desert oasis for a week listening to rockabilly music and surrounded by Pin Up Girls and hot rods. So here's a video featuring Pin Up Girls; The Fratellis with "Chelsea Dagger".

Day 20 - A Song I Listen to When Angry

Well this is an easy one. I have a go to album when I'm angry. It helps take the edge off when you scream along with it. That would be From Autumn to Ashes 2001 release "Too Bad You're Beautiful". If you know the album, you know it's good for being angry, especially if that anger is woman related, but it doesn't have to be, just an added bonus. Here is the song "Reflections" off of that album. Love how it starts out slow and mellow and then builds into the song. By far my favorite off of an excellent album. On a side note, I'm off to Vegas til the 27th so my selections will be on hold til then, which will give itsJoeMeyer a few days to catch up.

Day 19 - Song from My Favorite Album

Picking a song from my favorite album is almost as hard as picking my favorite album in general. I have to think about which albums I've had to repurchase because I wore out the vinyl, tape, or CD. I also have to think which one got the most plays on my iTunes as well. Unfortunately for me, that's not easy since there are quite a few albums that fit this criteria. So I'm just gonna let my iTunes go on random until one of those albums pop up... and here's the winner, from the Brand New album "Deja Entendu" here is "Sic Transit Gloria".

Day 18 - A Song I Wish I Heard on the Radio

I wanna hear this song on the radio mainly because it would mean George Carlin won. Here's Blink 182 with "Family Reunion".

Day 17 - A Song I Hear Often on the Radio

Well I don't really listen to the radio anymore other than at work. Rock radio in general is dying in my opinion, but there is occasionally a glimmer of hope on WRXP 101.9 out of NYC. Luckily, music genius Matt Pinfield is in charge over there, so no matter how dumb management can be, he can steer the ship away from the iceberg that K-Rock hit. Basically the only radio I listen to anymore is a free form radio show entitled "Anything Anything" hosted by Rich Russo. Who I had the pleasure of meeting on Record Store Day. I'll say this no matter how much I think radio is dying, the people who work in the industry are mostly good people and I thoroughly enjoyed my time working in it. Here's a song I discovered thanks to "Anything Anything", Girl in a Coma with their cover of "Walking After Midnight".

Day 16 - A Song I Used to Love, But Now Hate

When I grew up I listened to a lot of classic rock thanks to my parents. Which is definitely not a bad thing, but then I went on to work for a classic rock station, hang out at karaoke bars, and DJ. Those factors helped make a song I liked growing up into one I would, at the very least, not need to hear for a long while. I'm speaking of course of Meat Loaf's 8 minute long "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Like I said, it's a good song, but overplayed and butchered by too many people at bars.

Day 15 - A Song That Describes Me

Well this one was hard to pick, but then I realized I named my blog after a song that sums me up. That would be Bad Religion's "Against the Grain". This is one of my all time favorite bands and favorite songs since I was a wee little Junior High reject. Growing up in an area where most people listened to rap music people who even listened to basic rock music were considered outsiders and if you listened to punk/metal like I did you were a complete outcast. This song is about staying against the status quo and doing your own thing. Even though now that I'm older and have surrounded myself with like minded people from all across Long Island and NY, I still feel this song sums me up.

Day 14 - A Song That I Like to Sing While Drunk

So day 14 was supposed to be a song that no one would expect me to love, but I took care of that yesterday with the guilty pleasure one. So I changed day 14 to be a song I like to sing when drinking is involved. So here's myself, Alfred, and other assorted Late Night Warriors from the Half Penny Pub of Sayville drinking and singing our rendition of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Day 13 - A Song That is a Guilty Pleasure

Well it's hard to have a guilty pleasure when you put music into two distinct categories... good and shitty. I guess this song that I enjoy playing when I DJ is a bit of a departure for me musically and makes no sense compared to everything else I've posted so far in the 30 Day music challenge. Here's Ducksauce with "Barbara Streisand".

Day 12 - A Song from a Band I Hate

So for this one I was gonna choose Eminem feat. Rihanna, but that's not really a band or a group. It's just pop garbage. So I had to think about groups who actually play their instruments and then I remembered how bad Creed is. So here's Creed... wait, I'm not playing the actual version... here's Dave Grohl doing his version of "With Arms Wide Open".

Day 11 - A Song from My Favorite Band

Well I already played a song from my favorite band, H2O, for my favorite song, which was "One Life, One Chance", but I'm sure I can think of another one and I have. This song is off their latest album Nothing to Prove. Here's the video for "What Happened?" featuring Lou from Sick of It All, Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, and Michael Rappaport. Whatever happened to CBGBs? Whatever happened to the passion?

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Sleep

Here's a song that doesn't necessarily make me sleep, but it can help me go to sleep. Here's Pink Floyd with "Comfortably Numb"

Day 9 - A Song I Can Dance To

Well I'm not much of a dancer, but I have hopped on stages and led groups of people through the "Fresh Prince" dance for this song for years. So here's one of the few songs I can dance to that aren't the "Macarena", the Sugarhill Gang with "Apache (Jump On It).

Day 8 - Song That I Know All the Words To

I worked in retail for a long time, pretty much for a full decade. If there is one thing that really sucks in retail other than the customers and managers, it's the crappy music they play over and over and over again. This song as actually come in handy while creeping out people at karaoke. So here it is... the Backstreet Boys with "I Want it That Way".

Day 7 - A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event

Trying to pick a song that reminds me of an event is a tough one since I'm trying to make it a positive one. I can recall plenty of songs that remind me of negative events like 9/11, the loss of family members and friends, and break ups. So I'm just gonna let the inner hockey fan in me choose today. So here's the goal song for the 2010-11 NY Islanders. Don't like them? I don't care.

Day 6 - Song That Reminds You of Somewhere

I figured I could've went a lot of different ways with a topic like this one, but then I thought where do I spend most of my time... the bar! This song in particular reminds me of my old watering hole, Butcher Boys, in Holbrook. The bar doesn't exist anymore, but when I was in my early to mid 20s this was the place to be during the week. Always packed during the mid week and full of people from all walks of life and we were all one large dysfunctional family. If an outsider came in and tried to pick a fight with one of the regulars we all stood up for each other. Sadly, during the last couple years of the bars existence the crowd changed and many of the regulars found new places to go, including myself. Still, nothing quite reminds me more of my old bar than drunken sing a longs on the jukebox at 2 AM to songs like The Proclaimers "I Would Walk 500 Miles", Iron Maiden's "Run To The Hills, and, of course, this Butch classic that we still sing along with the old crew at Public House 49... Mr. Big's "To Be With You" (the guitarists pants and guitar are hilarious in this live performance).

Day 5 - Song That Reminds You of Someone

Well this one's easy and really needs little explanation. My girlfriend's name is Kate. Her favorite band is the Bouncing Souls. So here's "K8 is Great" from their self titled album.

Day 4 - Song That Makes You Sad

Everyone who listens to music as much as I do as a song or two that reminds them of something sad and depressing. Long Island's Brand New has quite a few songs like that over the course of their albums. I chose "Guernica" off of their Deja Entendu album. I found a video with lyrics to post on here for those of you unfamiliar with it. Basically this song reminds me of when my Aunt passed away from cancer in her late 30s. My Aunt Cathy was as much into music as I am and played guitar in the 1980s all girl Long Island band The Persuasions. So she did have a good amount of impact, along with my parents, into the music I was introduced to growing up. R.I.P. Cathy Gallo, my family's original punk rocker.

Day 3 - Song That Makes Me Happy

Happy Happy Joy Joy! Happy Happy Joy Joy!! Happy Happy Joy Joy JOY!!! Today's song on the 30 Day Challenge is a song that makes me happy. A song that reminds me of my favorite place, my home away from home, the barren desert known as Las Vegas. A song that takes me away to a better place, a place where I can ride a dolphin and do flips and shit... taking that big blue watery road... Fuck land, I'm on a boat muthafucka!

Day 2 - Song That I Hate

Song that I hate, song that I hate, song that I hate. This was kind of a difficult one. I needed to find a song that when I heard made me want to punch a baby. The kind of song that you just wonder what the hell were they thinking when they wrote, recorded, and released this pile of shit? How did this song get approved by the band members, management, and the record execs? Basically the kind of song that proves record company executives are completely useless for anything other than losing half their money to female pop singers through failed marriages. After thinking about this I decided on picking one of my favorite bands of all time. A band that I basically worshiped in my formative years... Metallica. There early stuff is hands down awesome, but after the Black Album they released Load and ReLoad, which were bad, but not horrific. They proved they could make an album that could make their fans hate them more than when they took out Napster. That album was St. Anger. I was so pissed when I bought this hoping it would at least be slightly better than Load/Reload, but I was disappointed beyond belief. This album had out of tune everything and lyrics that a 13 year old kid who cuts himself can write. I can go on and on about how bad this album was, but I'll let the music speak for itself. Here is the title track from Metallica's "St. Anger". It does make me angry, so maybe that was the point...

Day 1 - My Favorite Song

Well my favorite song is what I have tattooed on my right upper arm, "One Life One Chance" from NYHC veterans H2O. I've been listening to this band since 1996 and the band has been one of the few consistent groups that I've played on mix tapes, mix CDs, and now my iPod playlists over the years. It's an upbeat positive song that the lead singer Toby Morse even uses today when he does public speaking about being Straight Edge (which I am not) and having a Positive Mental Attitude (aka PMA) in life. Luckily for me they've even made a real music video for the song. Which doesn't necessarily always happen with songs I like.

30 Day Song Challenge

So I've seen all those "30 Day Challenges" and finally my bass playing buddy from For The Taking, ItsJoeMeyer, posted this little challenge over on his blog. So this seems like as good as any to do.

Everyday for the next 30 days, I will post a new music video according to the guidelines below. So open you’re mind up to some new music, and see what makes my head bang and my heart beat.

The 30 Day Song Challenge

1. Day 1 - Your Favorite Song
2. Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song
3. Day 3 - A Song That Makes You Happy
4. Day 4 - A Song That Makes You Sad
5. Day 5 - A Song That Reminds You of Someone
6. Day 6 - A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
7. Day 7 - A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event
8. Day 8 - A Song That You Know All the Words To
9. Day 9 - A Song You Can Dance To
10. Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Sleep
11. Day 11 - A Song from Your Favorite Band
12. Day 12 - A Song from the Band You Hate
13. Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure
14. Day 14 - A Song No One Would Expect You to Love
15. Day 15 - A Song That Describes You
16. Day 16 - A Song You Used to Love, But Now Hate
17. Day 17 - A Song You Hear Often on the Radio
18. Day 18 - A Song You Wish You Heard on the Radio
19. Day 19 - A Song from Your Favorite Album
20. Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
21. Day 21 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Happy
22. Day 22 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Sad
23. Day 23 - A Song that You Want Played at Your Wedding
24. Day 24 - A Song that You Want Played at Your Funeral
25. Day 25 - A Song that Makes You Laugh
26. Day 26 - A Song that You Can Play on an Instrument
27. Day 27 - A Song You Wish You Could Play
    
28. Day 28 - A Song that Makes You Feel Guilty
29. Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
30. Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this time Last Year

Well let's get started with the first one...

1

Well since my podcast co-host Alfred and my tattoo artist Tom Tap It are both doing blogs, I figure I may as well start writing on the interwebs again too. Our podcast The Elvis and Alfred Show even gets it's own blog. I have nothing real to write tonight so I'll just ramble a little. The title "Against The Grain" is from my favorite Bad Religion song. Not one of their big songs or even one they play consistently in concert, but just a song I like. Anyways, that's it for now. I promise to be just as non entertaining in the future.