YTunes Shuffle Song Nuggets: Dustin David

Dustin David is a comedian, writer and performer from Maine. His #Fave5 songs narrate his life in completely unexpected ways including getting sober, living in Southern California, growing up in Maine, working with a burlesque troop and playing a game of cat-n-mouse with his  idol, Morrissey. You enjoyed the music he brought in: here are a few nuggets about each of the artists!

Because I Feel Things---Vuurwerk

From Detroit, they originally they called themselves Bears before they signed to the indie record label "Run For Cover Records," where they released a demo with three songs on it and then all they did was tour for the next three years. They got signed by "Triple Crown Records" and then finally released their first full length album in 2009.

Dom-Living In America

One guy, Dominic Cournoyer from Massachussetss. This song won "Song Of The Year" at the Boston Music Awards in 2010!

Pop That-French Montana

Karim Kharbouch was born in Morocco and immigrated to the Bronx with his family at 13 years old. He started creating a series of street-flavored DVDs. Essentially mini documentaries and released them under the name Young French. He did that for 8 years until Akon signed him to his label Konvict in 2009. Karim left that label after 2 years because of record release delays. He was then signed to Bad Boys Records and announced his new name....French Montana.

 

Bloc Party-The Prayer

Inspiration comes from everywhere. Lead singer Kele Okereke says he wrote this after watching the video for Busta Rhymes' song "Touch It." He said the he thought the beginning of Busta's song had a stamp pattern and that was a really great idea. So they toyed with it while recording their own record and wrote the song around it.

The Smiths-Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

This song was banned by the BBC because of one lyric "And the pain was enough to make a shy, bald Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder." That was considered insensitive because this song was released not long after the Hungerford massacre, when a 27-year old Michael Ryan shot and killed 16 people in Berkshire, England. The Smiths didn't release this song in the UK.

YTunes Shuffle Episode 68: Song Nuggets Of Zahra Ali's Fave5

Zahra Ali is a comedian/actress in Los Angeles  who runs a highly successful show called Facial Recognition Comedy  Here are extra nuggets on the Fave5 she brought to the show!

Mariah Carey-Always Be My Baby

Mariah's mother is an opera singer and taught her how to sing. Mariah also demands to be photographed from only her right side...cause that's the "Good Side"

Biggie Smalls-Hypnotize

Biggie was a great student. He won several awards as an ENglish student at the Queen of All Saints Middle School in Brooklyn. His mother worked two jobs to raise him as a single mother and had no idea Biggie was selling drugs until he was an adult. He transferred high schools and attended with other future rappers, DMX, Jay-Z, and Busta Rhymes.

Backstreet Boys-I want it that way

The songwriters, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson (also wrote for Britney Spears and N Sync) say that this song is proof that melody is so important. The lyrics don't make much sense but contain lots of simple rhymes to support the music "You are my fire, the one desire" "Aint nothing but a heartache, Aint nothin but a mistake" They tried rearranged the words, but still, it makes no sense. They blame this on Max Martin being a Swede and writing this song in his second language.

Sean Paul-Just Gimme The Light

Not surprisingly, this song is about marijuana. When he says "Gimme the light" he asking to pass the joint.

Green Day-Blvd Of Broken Dreams

The band wanted to stray from PUnk rock and finish the song with a more Beatles-esque vibe. Their producer was hearing them say "we want calliopes and circus music and craziness!" Producer Rob Cavallo was like, look, you're a rock band, let's just do that with guitars."

Please like share and subscribe to the show on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

YTunes Shuffle Episode 67: Adam Chester Song Nuggets

Adam Chester is a song writer, singer, pianist, author and most notably, Sir Elton John's surrogate. That means, Adam stands in for Elton to rehearse the band and sometimes, even helps Elton remember how to play some of his own songs. Through his Fave 5 we get a sense of how Adam came to be a successful musician and a family man.  Here are a few little extras, or Nuggets on the music he brought in to share.

Allan Sherman “My Zelda”

Allan is a Chicago born and raise comedy writer. This song, from the album “My Son, The Folk Singer” (1962) became the fastest-selling record up to that time. He went to University of Illinois (Maggi’s alma mater) and wrote for the Daily Illini. He never graduated because he was expelled for reaking into a campus sorority house with his then-girlfriend.

Elton John “Funeral For A Friend”

This was known as one of the first bathroom break songs on radio. It is 11 minutes long and wasn’t played very much on FM radio but still gained immense popularity.” Funeral For a Friend” is the instrumental section and transitions into “Love Lies Bleeding.” Not surprisingly, he wrote the music for this song after thinking about what he would want played at his funeral. In this episode, Adam talks about how Love Lies Bleeding is also the name of a flower! Check out the beautiful blossom here.

Adam Chester “8 Days And Nights”

A Ytunes Shuffle first and original!!!

Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love”

This was a big radio smash and broke a big record for the 70’s by staying #1 for 3 weeks and then stayed in the Top 10 for 17 weeks! The band was sued by a man named Ronald Selle, an antiques dealer in Illinois who wrote a song called “Let It End” claiming “How Deep Is Your Love” was based off of Selle’s song.  Selle’s song was never released, he just made a home recording that he had sent to publishers. The jury did convict The Bee Gees to copying Selle’s song based on similarities between songs,  but the judge nullified the verdict.

Truman Chester “Burn”

Truman Chester is the 14 year old son of our guest. This is an original recording not available (yet) for purchase or download. You can hear the song only on this episode of YTunes Shuffle.

YTunes Shuffle Episode 66: Brian Scolaro's Song Nuggets

This week's guest, Brian Scolaro, is a nationally touring comedian and television actor, recognizable from shows like Madmen, I'm Dying Up here, Girl Meets Word, Superior DOnuts, Conan, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Dexter, to name a few. These are Brian's #Fave5 songs and a little extra 'nugget' for you to further enjoy the artists as well!

WALL OF VOODOO "Mexican Radio"

This songs joins the ranks of ZZ Top's "Heard It On The X" and The Doors' "The WASP Texas Radio and The Big Beat" because it was inspired by the unregulated AM stations from Mexico that would bleed into American stations. The video for this song got tons of airplay on MTV in 1981. At the time MTV didn't have many videos to choose from and even the record company didn't want them spending any money on the video...or even do one. Lead singer Stan Ridgeway said "we had to push to get that thing out there ourselves. So in spite of the record company, whatever success it had was really the band's and mine."

EXUBA- The Obeah Man

Tony McKay moved to NYC from the Bahamas at 17 years old to study architecture. Didn't finish that and instead found himself the front of a group called Tony McKay and the Islanders. In the 1960's, he found himself performing with the likes of Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, and Barbra Streisand.

PETER GABRIEL "Washing Of The Water"

Founder of Genesis....in early concerts, they had a bad PA system so it made it difficult to hear what Peter was singing. This drove Gabriel to find other ways to impress his personality on the audience...so hestarted wearing various costumes. Everything from a dress-wearing fox head (which you see on the cover of Foxtrot) to batwings, to a Flower to "Britannia" which looks like a trans roman warrior.

ELO "Mr. Bluesky"

VERA LYNN "We'll Meet Again"

This song is sentimental and optimistically written for the British troops during WWII. This song is directly cited in Pink Floyd's 1979 Vera, from their album "The Wall." This song was used on a compliation in 2009 to coincide with the 70-year anniversary of the declaration of WWII. Suddenly, Vera, at the age of 92, became the oldest living artist to make it to #1 on the album chart.

YTunes Shuffle Episode 64 Song Nuggets Ft. Monique Wyatt

Monique Wyatt is a creative writer and stand up comedian; add wife and super mom to that and you are about to meet amazing human being. Check out the soundtrack to her life and all the juicy nuggets that come with it:

MICHAEL JACKSON "Bad"

This was supposed to be a duet with Prince. Producer Quincy Jones arranged a meeting with both superstars, and when Prince heard the song, he told Jones that it would be a hit without him. Turned down the project. Prince isn't exactly a fan on collaborations that he doesn't control...and appearing on Jackson's album would have been out of character for him.

TONY TERRY "When I'm With You"

Terry was featured in the movie Sisterella "co-produced by Michael Jackson. He also did a run on broadway as The Tin Man in The Wiz.

BEYONCE "Party"

Beyonce chose to work with Kanye West (a frequent collaborator of her husband) after she heard his song "Runaway" which she admitted made her cry. "The fact that he's belting out his pain, his confusion, and his anger with no pre-written lyrics was so moving. He's singing his heart out for five minutes. He is so vulnerable. I love when an artist can be so honest." Also, her Destiny's Child co stars make an appearance in the music video!

ALANIS MORISSETTE "Right Through You"

As a teen, Alanis suffered from eating disorders. When she went to therapy to deal with these issues, she learned she had chronic depression and plagued by anxiety attacks, which happened when she was watching movies. She was prescribed medication, but never stayed on it, since she didn't like the way the pills make her feel. She opened for Vanilla Ice on his 1990 tour.

EMPIRE SOUNDTRACK "Mama"

The song was sung by Jussie Smollett's character Jamal on the 7th episode of the third seaon in the scene where the Lyons were having dinner at Cookie's place with Angelo's family. It is dedicated to Jamal's mother, Cookie. Actually written by, Jussie Smollett.

Keep up with Monique and her stand up on Facebook! Then make sure to like and share and connect with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

YTunes Shuffle Song Nuggets Episode 63: Matt Brauning

Matt Brauning is an empowerment speaker, life coach and new author of "The Firebox Principle." He and host Maggi Mayfield are long time friends so you will hear one of these songs that is tribute to their drinkin' days! Matt is a big fan of the WWE, a 4 times successful entrepreneur, and a family man. These songs help tell the story of his life!


TOM PETTY "Making Some  Noise"

This was Tom Petty's first single! At first, that juicy guitar lick we hear (written by Heartbreaker Mike Campbell) was used only at the end of the song....making it a 7 minute song. Then, a singer on the same label, Dwight Twilley, came by when Petty was playing it and suggested they use it throughout the song. Petty liked the idea and called the band back to the studiointhe middle of the night to re-record it. The final version is 2:43 seconds long!

BIG & RICH "Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy"

This song made a big impact on the charts because it was featured in the advertisements for ESPN's coverage of the 2004 World Series Of Poker.

The shoot for the video of this song has a huge parade with dancers, marching bands, horses and friends like Gretchen WIlson and Cowboy Troy...it caused over $23,000 in damage to Nashville's Shelby Street Bridge. John RIch, the son of a preacher, told Billboard magazine, "When your dad's a preacher, and you have a song on the radio called "Save a Horse Ride a Cowby" that makes for an interesting conversation."

JOHNNY CASH "I Walk The Line"

While performing this song on his TV show, Cash admitted that his eerie hum at the beginning of each verse was to get his pitch.

LIVING COLOR "Cult Of Personality"

Much of the success of this song is owed to MTV. In the book "I WANT MY MTV, it was claimed the Epic Records, who had both Living Colour and Michael Jackson on their roster, refused to release Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" video to the network until they agree to put the "Cult of Personality" clip in heavy rotation."

You can also find a version of this in Guitar Hero 3.

TOM PETTY "Learning To Fly"

Not about drugs! Petty got the idea for it when he saw a pilot being interviewed on TV. The pilot said how it wasn't hard to fly...the hardest part was coming down.  THe song was informed by the political events at the time....mostly the Gulf War...and the band's dynamics.Into THe Great Wide Open was a Heartbreakers album, whereas the previous album, Full Moon Fever, was a solo album. He told Billboard, "I wanted that song to be kind of redemptive song, only in the vaguest way, certainly not literally."

Follow Matt Brauning's progress on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

YTunes Shuffle Episode 62- Alex D'Lerma Song Nuggets

Alex D'Lerma just finished his press tour for his latest film he wrote and directed called "Fear, Love And Agoraphobia. The five songs he chose take us through growing up in a big family where he was the youngest of 6 kids, what it was like in a small agricultural town as a kid, facing racism, meeting his best friend in 1st grade and how he got started in the arts and what his journey has been like since.

These are five life defining songs for the filmmaker.

THE BRAVE KIND "Dogs"

Fronted by sisters Megan and Lauren Sexton, from Ventura, CA. They call their style, sister friend folk band.

THE BEATLES "It's Getting Better"

The Sgt. Pepper album made pop history. It was the first album where the lyrics were printed on the back cover. And, the album was inspired by The BEACHBOYS "Pet Sounds"

BILLY JOEL "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"

Billy Joel has ranked this #1 on his list of top Billy Joel songs. Billy says this song was inspired by The Beatles, specifically Abbey Road, where a few unfinished tunes were put together to create one coherent peice.

RANDY CRAWFORD "Street Life"

Despite her American Nationality, she won Best British Female Solo Artist in 1982. She's had multiple top 5 hits in the UK but has never even entered the Hot 100 as a solo artist in the US.

VAN MORRISON "Someone Like You"

Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett was a big fan of Van Morrison. When she was dying of cancer and too sick to go to one of his shows, he taped it especially for her...and it was one of the last things she ever watched.

Keep up with Alex D'Lerma's work through his website.