YTunes Shuffle Episode 58: Eban Schletter--Song Nuggets

Eban Schletter is a phenomenal musician who writes parody and comedy songs for television, commercials  (and his own amusement). He had quite a fun #Fave5 songs!

THE ADOLESCENTS “Kids Of The Black Hole”

The Adolescents are from So Cal...Fullerton! Adolescents was one of the first hardcore punk albums to be widely distributed throughout the United States and became one of the best-selling California hardcore albums of its time. The band never toured in support of it and broke up four months after it was released in 1981.

SPIKE JONES “Cocktails For Two”

Spike Jones was a radio smash recording classical songs as satyrical parodies. A railroad restaurant chef taught him how to use pots and pans, forks, knives and spoons as musical instruments. He played a lot in pit orchestras but became bored playing the same music each night...so he started parodying standard songs with other musicians for their own enjoyment and recorded their weekly performances...which eventually led to Spike Jones and The City Slickers getting a recording contract with RCA.

HECTOR BERLIOZ “Dies Irae”

Herctor turned his back on a career in medicine to follow his passion for music. He composed works that showcased the innovativeness and search for expression that were the hallmarks of Romanticism. He produced several operas, but had to rely on his writing job as a music critic to make ends meet..but found himself feeling artistically frustrated since he wasn't working on his own art. For an artist who defined the Romanticism period musically, he sure was lonely. His first marriage didn't last, his second wife passed away, and his only child died.

THE RESIDENTS “Whoopy Snorp”

These guys figured out technology early! They produced A LOT of music... 78 albums, 39 compilations, and 41 Singles/EPs.

SHERMAN BROS & BURL IVES “On The Front Porch”

From the musical Summer Magic, out of all the songs in the show, this was Richard Sherman's favorite.

Keep up with Eban and his musical stylings on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

YTunes Shuffle Episode 57: Harry Howard--Song Nuggets

Harry Howard is an up and coming super star actor: he is the host of a podcast "Podcrashers With Harry Howard" and the host of a talk show "Harry And Kelly" PLUS he runs the Global Voice Broadcasting studios where this episode was recorded.

Check out the juicy YTunes Nuggets on Harry's #Fave5 songs:

SCARFACE “Push It To The Limit”

Record producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte wrote this song...they have a lot of credits writing for Donna Summer, Blondie,  and Freddie Mercury, as well as Lil Wayne and Beyonce. This song is so prevelant in pop culture. You've probably seen/heard it in South Park, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Grand Theft Auto III, The Simpsons, American Dad and Stranger Things.

SKRILLEX “Weekends”

His real name is Sonny John Moore. Skrillex is a nickname he had for a while...but it doesn't mean anything. The first albums he ever bought were Marilyn Manson's “Antichrist Superstar” and Nine Inch Nails “Broken” He's a fashion icon. He was the originator of the haircut where you shave one side and leave the rest of it long. He's loved by a lot of pop culture musicians, including Ellie Goulding, Kanye, and Dave Grohl!

HERMITUDE “Ukiyo”

Australian based band, Hermitude's first EP “Imaginary Friends” was released only on vinyl in 2002. It sold out and has never been transferred to CD which now makes it a collectors item! They released their first album a year later.  This song was released in 2014 without radio or video servicing, yet within a few months, it had millions of plays! Same year, the duo toured North America for the first time.

AVICII “Lay Me Down”

Tim Bergling, from Stockholm, Sweden, taught himself how to create house music on a software he downloaded called The Fruity Loops software. He started using the moniker Avicii back when Myspace was a thing. In sanskrit, Avicii means “without  waves” but in buddihism, it also is the name for the lowest level in hell. His first gig, was a prom performing for 40 teenagers.

TITANIC “My Heart Will Go On”

James Cameron didn't want to have a theme song for Titanic, and Celine Dion didn't want to record it either. She did, in one take. Kate Winslet hates the song.

Stay connected with Harry and check out his shows on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

YTunes Shuffle Episode 56: Fiona Goodwin--Song Nuggets

Fiona Goodwin is a internationally touring comedian and is currently working on her one woman show called "A Very British Lesbian." Learn more about the #Fave5 Fiona brought with her with the YTunes Nuggets:

1. The Wailin' Jennys "Calling All Angels"

The group was founded by accident in 2002 when a Winnipeg guitar shop, Sled Dog Music, brought Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft together for a joint performance. The show was so well received so the owner scheduled a follow up performance and suggest they go on tour and call themselves the "Wailin' Jennys."


2. Nina Simone "Ne Me Quitte Pas"

Nina says you can call her style of music gospel, blues, folk, or soul...just not jazz. She say "Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music."

3. Sydney Bachet "Petite Fleur"

Sydney was known for his erratic temperament. Before he passed away, he dictated his autobiography "Treat It Gentle" to the record producer and radio host, Al Rose. Al and Sydney worked together many times in concert promotions...they had a very difficult relationship. Sydney's view of himself in the autobiography was different than what Al would report. In Al's book "I Remember Jazz: Six Decades Among The Great Jazzmen"---The kindly old gentleman in his book was filled with charity and compassion. The one I knew was self-centered, cold and capable of the most atrocious cruelty, especially toward women."

4. Missy Higgins "Where I Stood"

MIssy learned classical piano at the age of six and gave it up by the time she was 12 because she wanted to be a singer. She appeared in the school musical "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and became bored with piano and gave it up. She did pick up piano again, but started playing jazz. She found that as an introvert, it helped her cope with living at boarding school.


5. Ziv Zaifman "A Million Dreams" (From The Greatest Showman"

PT Barnum wrote one of AMerica's first celebrity autobiographies. He wrote many in fact. Then, in 1880, he pioneered the celebrity "how-to-get-rich" book called "The Art Of Money Getting," LONG before the very original DOnald Trump title "The Art Of The Deal." Barnum was a genius of hype, advertising, and self promotion. Everything he did has his face and his slogan "The Sun of the Amusement World From White ALl Lesser Luminaris Borrow Light."


Stay in touch with Fiona Goodwin on Facebook.

Episode 55: Mia Korf

YTunes Shuffle is in full swing of Season 3! We've added something new: YTunes Nuggets. Little delicious facts about each of the songs our guests have chosen. This week, we talked to Mia Korf about her Fave 5 songs.

Mia Korf is an actress from upstate New York, most notably from "One Life To Live." Check out the Nuggets from Mia's #Fave5

1. America-West Side Story

Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for the song, which he says years later after th 1957 original release don't hold up. It's "embarrassing." He quesitoned at the time whether he was the right person to write the lyrics. He said he had never even met a Puerto Rican, yet he had to capture the racial tension of the city and the era.

2. David Bowie--Life On Mars

Bowie came up with this song after he was asked to put English lyrics to a French song called "comme d'habitude." The rights were bought and it was rewritten as "My Way," made famous by Frank Sinatra. "Life on Mars" uses the same chords and the song was inspired by Frankie.

3. Stevie Wonder--Master Blaster

Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley were good friends and talked about holding a huge concert event where Marley would play his Survival album and Wonder would play Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. (Both came out in 1979). Marley got cancer, then injured his toe playing soccer and refused to have it amputated due to his Rastafarian beliefs, which led to the disease. The Hotter Than July album was released in 1980 and Marley passed away 8 months later. It is the opening lin eof this song that inspired the title o fthe album "Everyon'es feeling pretty, it's hotter than July."

4. The Weepies--Can't Go Back Now

The Weepies released this song on their album "Hideaway" in 2008. You can hear their music on films like Sex and The City, Adam, and shows: Life Unexpected, and The Fosters.

5. Yo Yo Ma and Katryn Scott

Yo Yo Ma's career spans 58 years...he has 18 Grammy awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011).

Keep in touch with Mia and see her live in Los Angeles as she plays bass with her band, Play'N Lucky

Episode 54: Theo Manhattan's Fave 5

YTunes Shuffle is in full swing of Season 3! We've added something new: YTunes Nuggets. Little delicious facts about each of the songs our guests have chosen. This week, we talked to Theo Manhattan about his Fave 5 songs.

Theo Manhattan is a nationally touring comedian based out of Los Angeles. Check out the YTunes Nuggets about Theo's Fave 5 songs!

1. THE WHO "Boris The Spider"

This was the first WHO song written by their bass player, John Entwistle. To encourage the band to write their own songs, the record company offered them 500 pounds advance if each member wrote a song. Well, John was afraid of spiders as a kid and wrote this song about seeing a spider crawling from the ceiling and squishing it.


2. WEIRD AL YANKOVIC "Amish Paradise"

This is one of Al's favorite videos--it's a family affair because his parents and a few other relatives appear in it!

3. SOUNDGARDEN "Ty Cobb"

You never hear the words or name "Ty Cobb" in this song, but, bass player Ben Shepherd wrote this song and thought it reminded him of the baseball player Ty Cobb, who holds the all-time batting average record (also known for being an outspoken racist, womanizer and alcoholic). The song was originally titled "Hot Rod Death Toll."

4. ESCAPE THE FATE "Not Good Enought For Truth In Cliche"

The lead vocalist, Ronnie Radke, wound up getting involved in an altercation in Las Vegas that resulted in the fatal shooting of Michael Cook. Ronnie didn't shoot him, but he had past troubles with narcotics and rehab which got him a sentence of 5 years probation. He didn't report to his probation officer and was arrested in Jun 2008 and served 2 years in prison! He was fired from ESCAPE THE FATE in mid 2008.

5. ALT J "Matilda"

This song is about Matilda Davies...a friend of the band; she was an art teacher at a grammar school in Birmingham, UK.

Connect with Theo Manhattan on Facebook or Instagram to talk music and find out where his next shows are!

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