This video is from the album version of the song and not from the soundtrack. I think the difference is the R+J version has clips from the movie. I’m not sure because I have never seen either of them before today.

Also, in the YouTube comments (yes, I know I should avoid them like ball hungry Great Danes) someone mentioned “OMG justin bieber ruined this song!” I take the statement to mean he made a cover of the song. If that is the case, I don’t know what the big deal is. This isn’t 199-something, there are as many options to avoid hearing a song as there are to hear one. It’s not like back in the day when you had to listen to radio in order to hear new music. Subscribe to some cool music blogs and podcasts and avoid the FCC-neutered radio industry.

And now that my “You kids have it easy, why back in my time…” moment is over, everyone listen to the video and have a good day.

The first song from their debut album ‘12 Jealous Roses’ is called ‘Pleasure’. The first two times the chorus was sung, it included the phrase “I smash my own bones just to hear them crack…”, which I thought was a great line.  However, on the third go around, that part of the chorus changed to “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die…” This was definitely a bit of a departure and I had never heard that line before.

Years later I found out the “shot a man in Reno” line came from ’Folsom Prison Blues’, and was written by Johnny Cash. When he was writing the song, he was trying to think of the worst possible reason for one person to kill another and just to watch someone else die was pretty much it.

I sought out a copy of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and I liked it. In fact, I liked it so much I bought the three CD set, ‘The Essential Johnny Cash (1955-1983)’, which quickly became one of my favorite collections of music. I compare all other country artists to Johnny Cash and if they don’t come close to his sound, then I don’t like them. Needless to say, I haven’t liked much country music that has come out since 1983 and I don’t feel bad about it at all.

While I am a huge fan of the earlier Johnny stuff, I respect what Rick Rubin brought to the table with the ‘American Recordings’. I know that ‘Hurt’ was the big hit of those sessions, but my favorite song of Older Johnny was ‘Ain’t No Grave’, which is Johnny Cash’s final studio recording and the music behind The Johnny Cash Project.

Here is Pleasure by The Dancing Hoods:

Here is Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash:

And here is Ain’t No Grave by Johnny Cash:

Mates Of State cover The Replacements

I wasn’t that familiar with The AV Club before this, but I think I will spend some time on their website.

Alicia Keys is one of those artists. I have liked a good 85 to 90 percent of all the music I have heard by her and I have liked all of the music videos I have seen from her. ‘Un-thinkable (I’m Ready)’ is no exception. Not only is it a great song, but there is also a beautiful video to go along with it. Chad Michael Murray from ‘One Tree Hill’ is the male lead and the two of them have a lot of chemistry together. The lady who plays Tara’s mother on ‘True Blood’ also has a brief cameo and it seems like I have been seeing her in a lot of stuff lately. So much that I might even learn her name one day.

Check it out and let me know what you think:

The only problem I have with the video is the song itself. In my head I keep hearing the chorus to ‘Bustin’ Loose’ by Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers.

The biggest thing that puts me on the fence is the theme music. I know it may sound a little petty, but the music sounds a lot like the theme music for ‘Eastwyck’, a show that was unfortunately overlooked by a lot of people. I’m pretty sure they want to be ironic with the music, but if ‘Happy Town’ wants to be truly scary, then the lighthearted music needs to go away. As evidenced by the rampant misuse of the word, people don’t really like irony.

As I was typing this, I thought of another truly scary TV show, it was a Fox show called ‘Point Pleasant’ and dealt with a mysterious girl who came to a beachside town.

Anyway, here is a glimpse of the first fifteen minutes of ‘Happy Town’ from the ABC website:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ol1qLyYwE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3fCFkl-BFU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJP2PH8WKaI