VAB5

I was listening to "American as Apple Pie", and it got me to thinking, there are no Raspberries songs with cowbell. How come?

Release it on iTunes, and let us worry about what to do with the extra songs!

What, no Bay City Rollers doing Let's Pretend??

HOUSE OF FREAKS - This Is It HOUSE OF FREAKS - Sun Gone Down HOUSE OF FREAKS - I Want Answers

Eric, what do you feel was your most creative period? I remember reading somewhere that artistic creativity peaks around age 27. Your mileage may vary... Paul

Anthony and Jeff Wiggle were in an Australian band in the 80s named the Cockroaches. Several of Anthony's brothers were in it too. I bought a copy of their Best Of CD, and many Wiggles songs are based on Cockroaches songs. It's pretty cool. Wiggles is one of the kid-targeted bands I really don't mind listening to! We even went to a concert.

Darlene, it IS amazing! My wife and I love music (we were both Band Geeks), and we try to expose them to everything. It's great to listen in on them just singing to themselves while they're playing. Or to hear them singing along to the new McCartney. Sounds like we need more teachers like you to make the extra effort! -Paul

Eric, what do your kids like to listen to? My son is 5 and my daughter is almost 4. They can pick out Beach Boys harmonies within a few notes, McCartney and Ringo (not Lennon or Harrison, yet...), Wally's distinctive opening riffs, any Van Halen riff (love the Brown Sound! ), R.E.M., Geddy Lee's wailing, Elton John, and any of the popular Kelly Clarkson songs. It's really funny to see 20 kids at daycare milling around during the verses, then in unision jumping and screaming "SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GOOOOONE!". At night they like to fall asleep to classical music. We're trying to instill a love for all music, and while my daughter isn't crazy about Van Halen, she can pick it out (daddy, that's your ringtone song!). XM is on all the time in the house and car, and we mix it up quite a bit.

It is amazing sometimes to see what "sells". But then again some good ones do slip through and make it big. Things are cyclical...as I think several people have pointed out, the new delivery streams should institute justice. And we can pull whatever we want, rather than being pushed crap. If you don't have it, I highly recommend satellite radio. We're getting exposed to so many new artists, and we can simply go get 'em from iTunes. No more middle man making our decisions for us.

Simply stunning. Very nice work.

Nice bonus, huh?

Back in '73, I used to listen to my Side 3 8-track over and over. Ca-chunks and all. I was 8 years old. I was listening to it today on my iPod, and I realized, my parents really shouldn't have let me listen to that song! "Mommy, what does 'wrap your love around me and move so gently' mean?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Carmen And for those who don't like to click: Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio) is a Jewish American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist. In 1970, he formed The Raspberries, a rock and roll band who were amongst the chief exponents of the power pop style. In 1975, after the breakup of The Raspberries, he started his solo career, deemphasizing harder rock elements in favor of soft rock in the style of Elton John. His first solo single, "That's Rock 'N' Roll" failed to chart, but was later remade as a hit for Shaun Cassidy. His next two releases were both hits in 1976. Both were based on melodies by Sergei Rachmaninoff: "All By Myself", based on Piano Concerto No. 2 hit #2 in the US (and #12 in the UK, where it would be his only charting hit); "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", based on Symphony No. 2 reached #14. Carmen followed up with three more albums (and declining chart fortunes, though the singles "She Did It" and "Change of Heart" broke the top 40) between 1977 and 1980, before temporarily withdrawing from the music industry. Five years later, after Mike Reno and Ann Wilson topped the charts with the Carmen-penned ballad "Almost Paradise," he resurfaced on Geffen with a second self-titled album and a further top 40 hit, "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips." A track from that album, "Maybe Your Baby," later became a country hit for Louise Mandrell. However, it was a few more years before Carmen made a real pop culture comeback with two songs: 1 from the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, "Hungry Eyes" and also "Make Me Lose Control". Both songs became Top 5 hits on the music charts. However, Carmen did not follow these hits with a new album, and disappeared from view for the next decade. In 1997, Celine Dion remade Carmen's "All By Myself" for a #4 hit. 1998 finally saw the stateside release of a new album, Winter Dreams, which had been previously released in Japan. Carmen eschewed the use of a band on the recording, playing most of the instruments (and programming the drum parts). The album did not find a large audience, but Carmen has continued to enjoy success placing songs with other artists over the years. In 2004, Carmen, along with original Raspberries members Jim Bonfanti, Wally Bryson and Dave Smalley, reformed the band for a series of sold-out live performances in cities across the United States. Carmen has stated that he planned to write new harder-edged songs for the band to perform in the same vein as those which the Raspberries performed in the 1970s.

Eric, what's your take on Rob Thomas and John Mayer? I think they fit the mold of singer/songwriters, and for the most part they pass your acoustic test. Although Rob Thomas does have his share of throwaway pop, I think the songs will stand up.

What an extraordinary opportunity! Thank you, Eric, for more than 30 years of dedication to your craft and to your fans. And thank you Bernie for your tireless dedication. The Definitive Collection is my favorite "crank it up and work around the house" CD. One day last April, when the wife and kids were out of town, I was hanging blinds upstairs and had the CD blasting. Loud enough to be heard from the sidewalk. My neighbors Helene and Becky popped their heads in the door, stifling their laughter, and yelled to see if I was ok. They had pictured me in the bathtub, surrounded by candles, sobbing to ABM because I was lonely and missed my family. I made no apologies. Eric, again Thank You for your wonderful music. My 5 year old son can pick out Raspberries riffs. So the next generation of fans is on their way!

Got Genius?

- God Only Knows - In My Life - Let's Pretend - The Spirit of Radio Those 4 are all I would need for a lifetime on a desert island.

Are you kidding? I have The Best of Sweet in regular rotation. My kids love "Little Willy". I think I still have the original 45 of that somewhere... Here's a little treat for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYz8URqB-o&search=sweet%20little%20willy

And here's Helter Skelter: http://www.youtube.com/w/paul-mccartney-...artney%20grammy

Wow. That was really cool. Here's a linky to the JayZ/Linkin Park (sp?)/McCartney piece: http://www.youtube.com/w/2006-GRAMMYS--J...amp;t=t&f=b

Worth it, indeed! Cue the goosebumps!

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=Y0dnXA-by7E&search=eric%20carmen

I set to sea on a ship called Emptiness Cast away on the Island of Loneliness Lookin' for love Ooh, and I was lookin' for love (You know) I didn't think she could hear my S.O.S. But she appeared like an angel of tenderness Sent from above Oh, she was bringing me love

I've asked periodically for years here (my login used to be GATW but I lost it when I dumped AOL...) if anyone has a recording of that Go! show. I was 8 or 9 years old when I saw it the first (and only) time and I still remember it vividly. Here's a screen shot: http://tinyurl.com/9ewn4

Message sent! Should I get TiVo queued...?