Annie Lennox has been a musical hero of mine since she was of course part of the Eurythmics. ALL of her solo albums are amazing. My voice and her voice are polar opposites I fully realize, but I wanted to give this one a try despite straddling my comfortable vocal range into my falsetto voice within the song. Something I did not consider when embarking on this tune.

This song is one of my absolute favorites of hers along with the music video that features John Malkovich(!) I added harmonies and backing vocals to this scratch track as well as there were none on the backing karaoke track.

Please enjoy my scratch track version of Annie Lennox's "Walking On Broken Glass"

Today's Carolaoke tune pays homage to Canadian Rock 'n' Roll!

A long time ago, I was supposed to go to Ontario's Sheridan College International Summer School of Animation program. I think it was a two or three year program if I remember correctly. You needed two years of art school to get in, I was in fact accepted based on the portfolio I submitted, but that year there was some type of trade embargo between Canada and the USA which more than doubled the tuition for United States students and made it impossible for me to attend.

Before this, all through junior high and high school, I made animated films on my grandfather's Super 8 camera and dreamed BIG TIME of getting into that school. During high school, the animation studio I was working at at the time (Karen Johnson Productions) had many alumni from Sheridan, and they'd fill me in on how amazing it was to attend. Most of them were alumni from the 1970's (tuition was dirt cheap apparently) but this was now the 1990's.

Not being able to attend the program crushed me on multiple levels. I'd stare at my acceptance letter thinking what a cruel joke that all was. Luckily I was working at the animation studio as an assistant animator at the time, but my spirit was seriously crushed. Even my grandmother was super excited at the prospect of me going to Ontario Canada to continue my education, which is where she was actually born and spent her early childhood.

Why does this matter even in the slightest? It created a type of affinity in me for our northern neighbors, their culture, art and music that never left my heart. And in later years, a deep appreciation for their music (especially pop) and their musicians. This song was extremely popular in the states while starting my band. It's important to point out that all members of Sweet Jelly worked at that Racine, WI animation studio. I loved singing along with this tune to warm up for band practice in the car while commuting the two hours (one way, once a week) it took me to "get" to practice from where I live. It's feisty, snarky, angsty and just a really fun song to sing.

Please enjoy my scratch track version and rudimentary recording skills of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" and all the baggage that comes with it.

I absolutely adore Sheryl Crow. Sure, her name and my name are practically the same, that's not why, but it sure makes things interesting. She was a backup singer for Michael Jackson while he was on tour back in the day, her song "Leaving Las Vegas" was appropriately popular on the radio while I was living in Las Vegas working for Paramount Pictures as an art assistant in 1994, and in the early 2000's, while trying to achieve something with my band, I ran across her quote that really motivated me in a new way and offered some perspective of trying to create something:

"I was turned down by every record label in L.A. Perseverance is three quarters of the game. Talent's only a quarter. Being able to withstand the word 'no' over and over can build you a pretty tough skin. I knew if I just kept at it, at the very least I'd get better at my craft."

-Sheryl Crow

I have a few of her songs planned for Music Monday's; this is my scratch track version of Sheryl Crow's "There Goes The Neighborhood"

Enjoy.

Every Monday I will be posting a "new" song that will be a tune I've always wanted to sing and record. New is in quotes because these will be covers that I am singing for solely therapeutic reasons and have nothing but the utmost respect for the artists who created the original music and lyrics.

Why bother? That's a great question I ask myself every day. About everything. Why bother with anything especially in this highly dysfunctional timeline we all seem to be finding ourselves in. I've missed singing and performing for some time now, but today's events have put that part on hold indefinitely but really I’m too old, jaded and tired to start a new band with new personalities, skill-sets, egos and opinions, so I'm going this route instead: Karaoke backing tracks which I purchased and my vocals recorded on top as a sort of tribute to my musical heroes. Life is what you make of it.

Think of these recordings as slightly polished scratch tracks. Quincy Jones I am not nor ever will be, so I did my best with the tools I have and what little knowledge I have of recording.

A little information on today's offering - I was a kid growing up in the 1970s. My parents like to have fun, which also included lots of parties and music. Linda Rondstadt's album (or vinyl, as the hipsters say now) was in heavy rotation at those things. I remember hearing this angry song being sung in the most beautiful way - angelic yet strong, powerful & triumphant and that always stuck with me. Along with the photo of her in roller skates.

Here's my version of Linda Rondstadt's, "You're No Good."

Enjoy.