Pat Benatar scares everyone with “Get Nervous”

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Pat Benatar is one of those artists that can be angry, sweet, and in this case, insane within one album: Get Nervous.

One of the greatest things about what Benatar does is that she sings from her gut. She does this well on Anxiety (Get Nervous). As a listener, you can feel the fear and trembling in the opening lines “I feel a little shaky, I can’t control my nerves/I know you think I’m freakin’, but can’t you feel the curves?/I swear to you this feeling it scares me half to death/It gathers in my throat and it gathers up my breath.” She also screams and cries her way through Fight It Out and Tell It To Her.

Benatar and husband-guitarist Neil Giraldo are also ones that know how to write an inspiring anthem.  Shadows of the Night is a clear follow-up to her signature hit Hit Me With Your Best Shot from her 1980 album Crimes of Passion. It is a song about running into the arms of love despite anything bad happening. However, Benatar and her band return to their classic music formula with Little Too Late, which is an amazing rock song. However that’s only a warm-up to creepily amazing I’ll Do It.

Get Nervous is essentially a concept album without actually being a concept album. In this case the concept is Pat Benatar goes insane. Insane about what? From possibly her 2010 autobiography it could be a metaphor for both her relationship with her then-record company, Chrysalis, and all of their demands. Concept albums aside, Get Nervous is a keeper!

Dear MTV

Happy 30th birthday. I wish I could say that you’ve come along way baby. Who knows, maybe you have but is that a good thing?

Please play some videos!

When you started out, you were a burst of sheer amazingness. I wasn’t even born in 1981 and watching all the classic MTV stuff on YouTube & VH1 Classic is still amazing. Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, JJ Jackson, Martha Quinn, & Mark Goodman introduced everyone  to the greatest pop/rock & R&B to ever grace a television set: Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, the late Michael Jackson, Stray Cats, Dire Straits, all those amazing other new wave & rock bands. Better yet, there were also the legends like the Who, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, Heart, Van Halen, and Yes that had innovative videos that made them cooler and bigger than they were already.

Unfortunately Mtv you disgust me. You don’t air videos. Sure, you air that crap you call the Jersey Shore or those whiny rich kids that dominate The Hills. All I can say is that you no longer deserve that “M” in your title, but rather an “S” – SuckTV because you are terrible. You don’t air videos anymore and when you do – they suck. Lady GaGa is horrible and a ripoff artist – remember Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons? Does her style not remind you of Lady Gaga? You have traded your originality for unoriginal, mindless, uninspiring entertainment. The last decent video you had in this century was a Taylor Swift video in which Kanye West interrupted her VMA speech for said video. Gone are the days of “You Better Run,” “Big Love,” “Money For Nothing,” “Take On Me,” and “Thriller.” Do the math.

So MTV I have some advice for you and I want you to listen very well: PLAY SOME VIDEOS! Do not play the Jersey Shore. I know thousands of people that would love you to do this.

Baby Baby its the top 5 songs or albums to help bring on labor pains!

Let me get this clear into your head I am NOT pregnant! I need a husband – as in I want to be married to the father of my future children 1st, so I can yell at him in the delivery room and cry like a baby with me when the lay little Rhiannon in my arms for the first time. (or Matthew if it’s a boy)

I kid you not its like babypalooza at church. But babies are good despite the fact that the poop, scream, cry, spit up, pull on your ears and cry when they see the Wild Heart. They are cute! I honestly believe they are a gift from God.

I have a friend who was due to give birth yesterday – her due date was yesterday. As far as I know, she has yet to do so. Therefore I am going to do her an unwarranted favor and give her and you a list of songs or albums that could possibly spur on labor for my friend. If you are reading this and are pregnant, I’m helping you even though I am not Dr. Wild Heart. (though I did get my BA in Communications-Broadcast Journalism)

1. Tiki Tiki Tiki Room – those little birdies in the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyworld. This whole ride/experience has been known to induce labor in pregnant women at Walt Disney World. That is why we have the video for you to watch!
2. Inna Gadda Da Vida – Iron Butterfly. Wait for the 5+ minute drum solo. I’m pretty sure that will bring on the precious one along with the cursing.
3. Young Turks – Rod Stewart. Though this song is rather good, I think that Rod Stewart’s voice can deliver babies.
4. Friday – Rebecca Black.
5. Speaking in Tongues – Talking Heads. If you have heard this album, it’s annoying but fun.

More twitter trouble

Ok so we had some more twitter troubles. Please . Also, if you were a previous follower of me as thewildheart198 – I would love for you to follow me again!

Our new twitter account!

You can now follow the wild heart on twitter at @wildheart983.Follow @wildheart983

The Wild Heart on Twitter

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Sadly right now the Wild Heart’s twitter account has been suspended until further notice. If we are able to acquire another account, we will let you know what our new twitter handle is. If you followed us or subscribed to us before, we would encourage you to do so again. However, the Wild Heart as a site will still continue to be in use.

Rod Stewart proves that “Blondes Have More Fun” (or do they?)

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Rod Stewart is one of those artists that is very chameleon-like and kinda timeless: no matter what decade or genre, he can do it. He’s done punk with his former band, the Faces, disco with Do Ya Think I’m Sexy, straight-up rock with She Won’t Dance With Me, synthpop and new wave with Young Turks and finally aspects of the Great American Songbook.

On his 1974 release, Blondes Have More Fun, Rod Stewart decides to start out the album with a sexy party with the disco-tinged come-on  Do Ya Think I’m Sexy. One of the greatest things about this song is that it sounds like its song title. Best of all, like most of Stewart’s songs, it is written as a narrative – almost like he was watching as an observer. But this changes when it comes to the infamous chorus “If you want my body and you think I’m sexy/ Come on, sugar, let me know/ If you really need me just reach out and touch me/ Come on, honey, tell me so.” Stewart is clearly talking about himself.
Other songs like Dirty Weekend are kinda, well, dirty. The word “pussy” does not fit the song – it’s straight up inappropriate.  The album further falls on its face with Last Summer. It sounds like he is trying to recreate a slower version of his classic Maggie May. It’s an epic fail on his behalf.

However, the absolute best song is the title track – a straight up rock song that proves to Stewart’s critics that he still a rock & roller in his heart. He even fuses disco and rock together with Standing in the Shadows of Love – which sound great no thanks to legendary drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Phillip Chen.

Overall, this album isn’t worth buying, however some of the good tracks like the title track, Do Ya Think I’m Sexy and Standing In the Shadows of Love are worth downloading.

Hey Houston! KLOL called and it wants to be back on the air!

A few months ago I was given a book called “Rock to the Top: What I Learned About Success From the World’s Greatest Rockstars” by Dayna Steele. Steele is a former on-air personality at the now-defunct Rock 101, KLOL in Houston, TX. In the book, she talks about her time at the station and how she learned to be successful from people like Gene Simmons, Van Halen, etc.  During the 70s-90s, KLOL  was one of the most-listened to stations in Houston, TX. Not only that, they were entertaining with DJ’s like the late Steve Stevens and Jim Pruett – who got many FCC fines doled against them for their onair antics. In 2004, KLOL became MEGA 101 – a Spanish station. I was 18 at the time and just learning more and more about my much-loved classic rock.

KLOL changed formats due to low Arbitron ratings – something that radio lives and dies by, much like the Nielsen ratings for television. Low Arbitron ratings means lower ad revenue, which makes the station lose money.

However, one thing has slowly changed as my generation has come of age and as another one is waiting in the wings: music, as a whole, has come full-circle. What I mean is there is not a generational gap between what say someone’s parents liked and what the individual likes. I think this is due to many factors including well-loved movies using classic rock songs, Mtv in the 90’s when they would air the Unplugged series and other videos, Glee, television specials (Example: The Beatles Anthology airing on ABC in 1995 – thus introducing the Beatles to a new generation) as well as downloading music and YouTube.

Also, the climate of radio in Houston is an utter disaster. When Cox radio gets rid of a rather popular 80’s radio station called 106.9 the Point, rebrands it as a classic alternative station THEN cancels that idea after a single year and simulcasts 107.5 the Eagle – Houston’s only great station. Even worse, I can pick both stations up and I live less than 5 minutes outside the 610 loop. Houston, we have a problem!

With that said, I think they should bring back KLOL – albeit with a little tweaking. It would still be an AOR station where the djs pick what they want to play – the way that it should be. If this were to happen, I would like to see some of the surviving djs return if they so choose, but also give some new blood a try. I think Houston is ready for KLOL to return to the airwaves if it ever does. There’s only 3 true rock stations in Houston – a travesty! Additionally, since the one thing that possibly killed the station was the fact that they ignored the grunge scene – I say embrace some of the new acts & the old acts. Also, don’t be afraid to play some of the new albums of the classic rock artists. Some things only get better with age and music is no exception.

The Most Shocking Death in Music

Today as I was talking to my wild heart tweeters on twitter, I saw a very interesting trending topic come up on my Twitter account: Aaliyah. I haven’t heard of that name since she died. Kinda sad because she was talented. But it got me to thinking, was it shocking? Not as shocking as what happened 9 years later – even though it probably was a shocking death to both her fans, friends, & family.

To me, the most shocking death in music was none other than Michael Jackson. His is one death that, when I found out, I was in a state of shock. It’s not something that I will forget anytime soon.

Here is my story of where I was when I found out Michael Jackson had died. I was in college at the University of Houston taking summer classes. I also worked at the campus newspaper as the beat writer for the Moores School of Music – one of the best music programs in the nation. I was assigned to write an article on the Concert Chorale going to a major music festival in Llangollen, Wales. So I had to call a few of my music school friends for help. So when it came time for me to go to my own voice lesson, it was there that I found out about his untimely death. My voice teacher told me about it and it was all over the news networks. I was rather upset, but not crying. When I finally got home, it was all over the networks from CNN, ABC had some Barbara Walters Specials airing that were devoted to the King of Pop, you name it. The next morning my friend, Jenny called me as I was getting ready for school. I had it on the local R&B station (Hot 95.7 I believe) and people were sharing their memories about him. I was sharing my memories of him with Jenny. As a newswoman, I figured that I need to jump on this so I called the newsroom after class and asked them if I could do an article and they let me do a tribute article. Needless to say, I was in for a big ride for my college journalistic career that hit me between the eyes.

I spent an entire weekend working on that article. I watched Captain EO at least 5 times on YouTube. It was probably for inspiration. I enjoyed it – but not at the cost of death.

Also, my opinion of him and whether he was inappropriate with a child changed. Like every other American, I thought he did it. Now I look back, the evidence doesn’t measure up.

I remember both when the actual article was published – I was proud of my work and still am. I also remember watching the funeral on CNN and going to a celebration of his life at school – I got a tshirt out of that one.

Needless to say, it  was an unforgettable time.

Billy Joel goes back in time with “An Innocent Man”`

Billy Joel is one of the most versatile artists that rock & roll has ever encountered. One album could be heavy-laden with jazz-tinged songs, and the next one could be something completely different. They are never dull and always keep listeners wondering “what is Billy gonna do next.” The same rings true with his 1983 release An Innocent Man – a direct homage to Joel’s influences.

The album, upon first hearing, makes you wanna get up and dance. Especially on Easy Money, which is an homage to the musical and vocal style of James Brown. Other songs such as The Longest Time – which Joel required 14 track harmony and harmonizes with himself.

However, one of the greatest tracks is none other than Uptown Girl, where Joel laments about loving a woman that is clearly out of his league as far as looks and money are concerned. rumored to be about Joel’s then-girlfriend (later mother of his daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, and now ex-wife), supermodel Christie Brinkley. However,  she is present in the video.

One of the best things about Billy Joel’s albums are that they capture what it feels like to be in New York. As a native Texan, this is a great thing because it is extremely different. To me, this album screams like it came from the borough of Queens circa 1955-1962. This is what makes this album a fun and happy album to listen to.