So, the question of the day is; do the guys still get shirts...or tattoos and piercings?

I don't think Ace wants to hear the phrase "the guys get shirts" ever again...

Hmmm . . . am I the only one who envisions Mr. Anka playing in some small nightclub venue, with ace and Allah sitting upfront and sharing a tiny table for two?

Didn't Pat Boone do something similar?

Pat Boone's "In A Metal Mood", with covers of Stairway to Heaven, Panama, No More Mister Nice Guy, and others. I'm a proud owner and it's cool stuff.

...and is it more, or less bizarre than Willie Nelson doing a reggae CD?

I heard Mr Anka on a radio interview this morning.
They were ribbing him about all the women he knew when he was a young star, Brigitte Bardot, etc.

They asked him how he was 'doing' these days, he said, "Well, when you get older you get wiser, and I'm glad it happens that way, because I really enjoyed being young and foolish!"

Unfortunately I had to leave and couldn't listen to the rest of the interview, but he did say some funny things that I can't remember right now...

But he seemed like a nice guy, funny. Nothing like the pep talk recording.

Somebody needs to inform Canada that Anka converted -- he's been an American citizen since 1991.

OT: But it must be said, Barbara Boxer, shut the fuck up. What an obnoxious stupid woman. Last night I listened to some schmuck from NOW attempt to smear Janet Rogers Brown. What a liar. I use to be a democrat. But after one term with Clinton, I voted Republican. I still split the ticket locally, mind you, but these asshats have driven me farther and farther to the right. Nice job, jerks. Now I want to vomit every time I see a "D." I wouldn't hold it against a canidate but for the fact that they all spew the same dishonest, insulting party line.

I heard a snippet of "Jump" on the radio news last night, and the only word that came to mind was "INTEGRITY".

On a related note, was it just me, or did some Euroweenie band already do a cover version of "Jump" in the mid-80's? I'm thinking it was a kind of folksy guitar minimalist bit, but that's been a whole ocean of tequila ago, so I could be wrong.

...and is it more, or less bizarre than Willie Nelson doing a reggae CD?

Less. Way less.

Seriously: I haven't listened to any of his recent work, but I admire Mr. Paul Anka. The guy still wants to expand his horizons, grow his audience, try new things rather than just becoming a parody of himself, and bring a little joy to the people who pay to listen to him. And he believes that quality work matters. And he believes that he owes his best effort to his audience.

What's not to like?

How many people get that far into a career without starting to just go through the motions?

God bless Mr. Paul Anka.

DaveP. wrote:

Pat Boone's "In A Metal Mood", with covers of Stairway to Heaven, Panama, No More Mister Nice Guy, and others. I'm a proud owner and it's cool stuff.

I also bought it, thinking it would be hilariously bad (a radio show had played some clips, and it did indeed sound terrible).

Then the damn thing started growing on me. Next thing I knew, I was really enjoying listening to it as music, not as something to laugh at.

And the liner notes actually make you buy into the concept. He's not just doing covers, or even doing covers in a certain style. He says that he thought the songs he did were fantastic songs, but the people that normally listen to Pat Boone music would never get the chance to appreciate how good they were, so he redid in a more familiar style while retaining the spirit of the originals so his fans could appreciate these great songs.

The Paul Anka thing just sounds terrible to me from the samples I've listened to, but perhaps it too would grow on me if I gave it a chance. I probably won't, though, so I guess we'll never know.

I heard the Stern interview too. He's actually a very good interview. He's pretty cool about the tape of him on the internet and actually did a pretty good job of justifying his reactions.

Amazon has audio samples, too, Ace...

...and if you had an Amazon Wish List then I bet someone would buy it for you. BUT I think that would ruin your anonymity unless you had a PO box.

Later,
bbeck

...and is it more, or less bizarre than Willie Nelson doing a reggae CD?


More bizarre, I imagine. Any one who smokes da chronic gotta be doing a little reggae too.

In the interest of research, and with considerable risk to myself, I just downloaded the album (Napster subscription) and listened to most of it.

It's, well, Paul Anka being Paul Anka doing some rock songs. If you thought Van Halen couldn't be translated into swing (and I didn't) you'd be mistaken. Whether that's a good thing will have to be up to the individual listener.

Now I just need 50 Cent to cover some Gregorian Chants and I'll have lived a complete (if odd) life.

Russ from Winterset asked:

On a related note, was it just me, or did some Euroweenie band already do a cover version of "Jump" in the mid-80's? I'm thinking it was a kind of folksy guitar minimalist bit, but that's been a whole ocean of tequila ago, so I could be wrong.

You're probably thinking of the version by Aztec Camera, the Scottish neo-paisley group. Clearly some brain cells have survived. Get back to drinking.

Yep. Anka on Letterman tonight.

If you thought Van Halen couldn't be translated into swing (and I didn't) you'd be mistaken. Whether that's a good thing will have to be up to the individual listener.

Well, since my last comment, I listened to a bunch of the samples that are available from bbeck's link. It's not a good thing. It's a reeeeally bad thing.

I don't care.

I LOVE YOU, MR. PAUL ANKA. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO COUNTS ON THAT STAGE! KEEP BEING MR. PAUL ANKA.

In regards to the Pat Boone album that someone mentioned earlier: The really funny part about that album is who he actually got to play on it with him. If you have it, read the liner notes. As I remember, Ronny James Dio appears, as well as Dweezil Zappa and a few other notables. I was pretty surprised... I wonder if Mr. Anka will have Edward and Alex Van Halen rippin' it up Vegas style as guests on their tune....hmmm....

Dave's on right now, he's got Russell Crowe up first.......Rupert G brought Dave & Paul slushies......................Paul & the band played "Mr. Telephone Man" as Russell walked out, but Russell seems pretty contrite and a good sport about the whole thing............Russell's kid & Dave's kid are the same age, yadda yadda yadda..............commercials.............................Now they're back, looks like he's going with "Smells Like Teen Spirit"................apparently the guys didn't "get shirts" before this performance...............VERY strong performance, but he's limited by the source material.......I'm going to have to check out the whole album.

Richard Cheese does the same thing, except it's deliberately hilarious.

Finally! I understand all the words to SLTS!

He needs to tone down the tan a notch, or else my tv is seriously out of whack.

hmmm... I'm not so sure about the integrity. He changed

Load up on guns
Bring your friends

to

Load up load up
Bring your friends

That's just wrong.

Wow, he's short. Barely comes to Dave's shoulder.

If you have itunes this link will play 30 second snippets of the original and Paul for each song. You have to click on them to make them play.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=369426