Paul McCartney-Wakes up the Astronauts

NASA is asking your help in choosing which songs will wake up the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle during its last mission in November. Head to SongContest.NASA.gov to see a list of all the songs played during previous missions — the top two vote-getters will be used. Among the choices are songs by The Beatles, John Lennon, U2, Tom Petty, Rush, Jimmy Buffett, Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen. Voting ends on November 1st. –Sal Cirrincione

A selection of the classic rock songs NASA is asking you to choose from:

• Beautiful Day – U2
• Homeward Bound – Simon and Garfunkel
• Roll With It – Steve Winwood
• Bright Side of the Road – Van Morrison
• Imagine – John Lennon
• She Blinded Me With Science – Thomas Dolby
• Countdown – Rush
• Learning to Fly – Tom Petty
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? – The Clash
• Enter Sandman – Metallica
• Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf
• So Far Away – Dire Straits
• Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
• Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
• Start Me Up – Rolling Stones
• Good Day Sunshine – The Beatles
• Rendezvous – Bruce Springsteen
• Time for Me to Fly – REO Speedwagon
• Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
• Rocket Man – Elton John
• Window on the World – Jimmy Buffett

I’m not gonna put you on a Desert Island and tell you these are the only albums you can have.  But, I will put you under house arrest for a couple of months and frame it that way.  So, if you only had 7 albums from the 70’s you could enjoy while locked away…I submit to you my “Magnificent 7″

Led Zeppelin-Zeppelin IV

Fleetwood Mac-Rumours

The Who-Who’s Next

Eagles-Hotel California

Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon

Bruce Springsteen-Born to Run

Rolling Stones-Exile on Main Street

Now, since there is only room for 7…what would you add, and what would you drop to make room?  Let me have it!

#10: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

The lyrics for George Harrison’s first truly great Beatles song began with him choosing the phrase “gently weeps” from a random book. It wasn’t until Harrison pulled Eric Clapton in to play guitar that the arrangement was finished.

#9: “Come Together”

Originally intended by Lennon as a campaign song for LSD guru Timothy Leary when he ran for California governor in 1970, this became the last song all four Beatles cut in the studio together.

#8: “Let It Be”

McCartney channeled Aretha Franklin’s soul in “Let It Be,” recorded during the peak of the Beatles’ troubled times. A month after its 1970 release, McCartney announced the band had broken up.

#7: “Hey Jude”

McCartney’s lyrics for “Hey Jude” were inspired by John and Cynthia Lennon’s five-year-old son, Julian — but Lennon first thought McCartney was singing to him about his relationship with Yoko Ono.

#6: “Something”

Before it became the second-most-covered Beatles song behind “Yesterday,” Lennon said this unexpected Harrison track was “the best track on [Abbey Road]” and McCartney called it “the best song [Harrison has] written.”

#5: “In My Life”

“In My Life,” featuring Lennon’s most personal lyrics up until that time, is one of only a handful of Lennon-McCartney songs where the two strongly disagreed over who wrote what.

#4: “Yesterday”

The most covered song in history began as something called “Scrambled Eggs.” It also began in a dream of Paul McCartney’s.

#3: “Strawberry Fields Forever”

Lennon once said growing up “was scary because there was nobody to relate to.” Strawberry Field, a Liverpool youth’s home near where Lennon grew up, represented those haunting childhood visions. With this song, Lennon conquered them forever.

#2: “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the first exposure most American had to the songwriting magic of Lennon and McCartney. It set off Beatlemania, and represented what producer George Martin calls “the apex of Phase One of the Beatles’ development.”

#1: “A Day in the Life”

The ultimate Lennon-McCartney collaboration, “A Day in the Life” wasn’t recognized as the band’s masterwork until the Eighties, after Lennon’s death. It pairs lyrics inspired by the newspapers and Lennon’s own life with McCartney’s idea to have classical musicians perform what producer George Martin called an “orchestral orgasm.”

-The Rolling Stone Magazine Edition with the Top 100 Beatles Songs is now available at fine booksellers and magazine racks everywhere!

Last week was a rough one for Aerosmith. First Joe Perry accidentally nudged Steven Tyler off the stage in Toronto, and then, two nights later, Tyler accidentally clocked Perry over the head with his microphone stand, cutting the guitarist. Perry writes on his Twitter page, “Living through [my recent] motorcycle accident, getting bashed on the head with [the] mic stand [and] almost flying off end of ramp, I know I’m gonna see this through.” As for reports that Perry intentionally pushed Tyler off the stage, a spokesperson for the band says, “Joe wanted his fans to know that he would never deliberately push Steven off the stage.” Perry writes on Twitter, “It’s a contact sport, but when they make me out to be the villain it pisses me off. At least now you just gotta use your own eyes and ears.” Aerosmith are in Holmdel, New Jersey tomorrow night. –Sal Cirrincione

Video of Perry getting hit over the head with Tyler’s microphone stand:http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=4d8f7465-84d0-4e4c-bfb2-7397f3e0f509

Well, it’s tunes with some of the most memorable lines in rock history tonight.  Or, in some cases, lines I think are deep enough that we should all ruminate on them once in a while to see where our thoughts wander.  So here you go;

• Golden Slumbers-Beatles-”And in the End, the love you take is equal to the love you make”
• Everybody Hurts-REM-”Everybody Hurts, Sometime”
• My My Hey Hey (out of the Blue)-Neil Young-”It’s better to Burn out than to Fade Away”
• Tears in Heaven-Eric Clapton-”Time can bring you Down, Time can bend your Knees”
• Me and Bobby McGee-Janis Joplin-”Freedoms just another word for nothing left to loose, and nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ honey if it ain’t free”
• Smells Like Teen Spirit-Nirvana-”I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us”
• My Generation-The Who-”Hope I die before I get old”

And there you go…just a smattering of the lyrical pursuits in the music we love.  What quote would you add?  Tomorrow, I’ll celebrate Robert Plants birthday on The List.  Zeppelin, Plant Solo and Bob’s other band from the 80’s that featured Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck will all be turned up to 11!

Tonight on The List-I played 7 of the most memorable songs from movie moments. Highlights included a fat suit, a bus ride, a boombox and a lip syncher who go the seemingly the whole of Chicago to join in…so here’s tonights List;

Your thoughts…what did I miss?  Shoot me an e mail and we’ll blog it out!

The Broncos are locked onto training camp now at Dove Valley, with all eyes on number 15-rookie Tim Tebow, he of the top selling rookie jersey in the history of the NFL.  He will be scrutinized by those who are irked by his highly visible faith based stance, simply tolerated by others, and hailed as a stellar and heroic role model by those who agree with his views.  Either way, Tim Tebow will be watched.  I personally am excited to see an athlete of Tim’s ilk in a Denver uniform.  Skill set aside, it may be that we have a genuine roll model for our children,  playing a game in our our home town. 

Did you catch “The List” tonight?  It was “Rocks Greatest Frontmen”.  I chose Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen and David Lee Roth.  Freddie Mercury is my pick for number one!  That’s my take…what’s yours?  Who would you add to this list and to make room…who would you drop?  Hey, shoot me your suggestion and tune again tommorow night for a 1985 Class Reunion…on The List!

You can take a look at two of the performances from Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming DVD, London Calling: Live in Hyde Park, before it goes on sale on June 22nd. Log onto www.BruceSpringsteen.net for clips of “Glory Days” and “Out on the Street.” You can listen here to Out in the Street…enjoy!Bruce Rocks Live