Willie Simpson

Tag: 80s rock

  • AC/DC Week, Hells Bells

    And thus the bell tolls for the end of AC/DC week, and what better way to close it out then with “Hells Bells” from Back in Black. A lot of my fellow baseball fans know this song mainly from all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who used the song whenever he entered a game for…

  • AC/DC Week, Back in Black

    So Bon Scott died and in comes English native and Geordie lead singer Brian Johnson.  Johnson never would match Bon’s rock star charisma, but he would out sing him in every demonic capacity.  Scott had a high raspy McCartney/Plant like voice, not nearly as good as those guys, but similar.  Johnson had something altogether different;…

  • AC/DC Week, Highway to Hell

    AC/DC week won’t stop, but Bon Scott’s contributions will.  Highway to Hell was released in 1979, and it would be the last album to feature the legendary front man.  Ten days after the video below was created, Bon Scott died from choking on vomit.  Whether it was his vomit or not, no one knows, because…

  • Carl Perkins and Friends, Rockabilly School

    It’s a star studded part 97 on my youtube countdown, and the stakes are getting higher, and the stars are getting hotter as we close in on 100!  This time I have the undeniably fantastic performance of Carl Perkins and his super friends from the 1985 concert Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session.  Get this. …

  • The Beach Boys, The Ramones, Do You Wanna Dance?

    Part 95 is a double dose of glorious rock and roll.  I’ve got the Beach Boys and the Ramones rocking the Bobby Freeman classic, “Do You Wanna Dance?.”  In the Beach Boys version, drummer Dennis Wilson takes the lead vocals, and man is he good.  Dennis was the only Beach Boy that actually surfed, and…

  • Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart

    The final countdown is underway with part 91!  It’s the immortal Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” one of the greatest singles of all time.  Joy Division were pioneers of the flashy dark kind of rock and roll known as post punk, a genre known for its angular introverted style.  The band was fronted…

  • Michael Jackson, Pepsi Commericals

    We’re the Pepsi Generation in part 79 of my youtube countdown.  I’ve got Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Randy, Tito, and Jermaine all pitching soft drinks in the height of the 80s soda craze.  These 3 awesome videos to take you back in time to a more magical place where if you were drinking a Pepsi and…

  • R.E.M., It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

    Part 67 is all about the Apocalypse, the end of the world AS WE KNOW IT, because as you know, the world is supposedly ending on Saturday according to some radio host in Denver or something.  What better way to ring in the end of all things then with R.E.M.’s 1987 alternative rock classic, “It’s…

  • The Top Ten Most Played Songs on my iPod

    Did you know that when you plug your iPod into your computer, iTunes can arrange your iPod’s mp3s by plays, from most played to least? It’s pretty fascinating to see what you’ve been listening to exclusively, and how many thousands (yes thousands of times) you’ve clicked play on certain songs. Well, I’d thought it’d be…

  • Oingo Boingo, Dead Man's Party

    Welcome loyal readers, to part 58 of my youtube countdown!  Today, I’m in the mood to party, party with the DEAD!  Normally, I’d be locked up for such a notion, but at least groups like Oingo Boingo are there to supply the soundtrack with their hit 80s song “Dead Man’s Party.”  This group, fronted by…