Category Archives: Music Review

Song of the Day: The Touch by Mark Wahlberg

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy birthday, Mark Wahlberg!

You got the touch
You got the power

After all is said and done
You’ve never walked, you’ve never run
You’re a winner

You got the moves, you know the streets
Break the rules, take the heat
You’re nobody’s fool

You’re at your best when when the going gets rough
You’ve been put to the test, but it’s never enough

You got the touch
You got the power

When all hell’s breaking loose
You’ll be riding the eye of the storm

You got the heart
You got the motion

You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch

You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You’re a fighter

It’s in the blood, it’s in the will
It’s in the mighty hands of steel
When you’re standing your ground

And you never get hit when your back’s to the wall
Going to fight to the end and you’re taking it all

You got the touch
You got the power

When all hell’s breaking loose
You’ll be riding the eye of the storm

You got the heart
You got the motion

You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch

You’re fighting fire with fire
You know you got the touch

You’re at your best when when the road gets rough
You’ve been put to the test, but it’s never enough

You got the touch
You got the power

You got the touch
You got the power

Lyrics: Stan Bush

Music Video of the Day: Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (1991, directed by Scott Kalvert)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Mark Wahlberg, the man once known as Marky Mark, is 54 years old today.  That’s the type of news that really makes you realize how quickly time passes.

Good Vibrations was Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg’s first MTV-promoted music video.  The woman in the video is model Traci Bingham, who later went on to appear on Baywatch.  Boxer Mickey Ward was brought in to show the 18 year-old Marky Mark how to convincingly throw a punch in the ring.  Years later, Wahlberg would play Mickey Ward in The Fighter.

I would love to be able to go back to 1991 and tell everyone that Marky Mark was destined to be an Oscar nominee.  They would be so shocked that they probably wouldn’t even flinch when I told them that, when Marky Mark turned 54, Donald Trump was serving his second nonconsecutive term as President.

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Dust (What I Know) by Downtown Sasquatch

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Shane Kippel!

Shane Kippel, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, played Spinner Mason on Degrassi: The Next Generation.  He started out as the school bully but, by the time the third season began, he was pretty much the heart of the ensemble.  How cool was Shane Kippel?  He was so cool that Spinner ended up getting held back three times just so there would be an excuse to keep Kippel on the show!

(“What type of idiot fails his own language!?” Spinner once said when confronted with his grade in English.  Oh, Spinner!)

Today’s song of the day features Shane Kippel on drums.  From Degrassi, here is Downtown Sasquatch with Dust!

(The other members of the band are Jake Epstein on vocals, Aubrey Graham on guitar, and Adamo Ruggiero on bass.)

Music Video of the Day: Communication by The Power Station (1985, directed by Julian Caidan)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The Power Station was one of the best supergroups of the 80s.  Made up of Robert Palmer, Chic’s Tony Thomas, and Duran Duran’s John and Andy Taylor, this group may have started as a whim (with Thomas and the Taylors specifically wanting to to do a cover of T. Rex’s Get It On) but it’s first record was such a hit that it led to the band going on tour and also singer Robert Palmer leaving the band to pursue his solo career.

Originally, the band wanted to have a rotating list of lead singers.  Palmer was recruited just to sing Communication but when Palmer also said he wanted to sing Get It On, it led to Thomas and the Taylors hiring him to sing on all the songs on the album.  After Palmer left, he was replaced by Michael Des Barres.

Communication was one of three music videos that The Power Station released for their debut album.  It was directed by Julian Caidan, who is better-known for his work as an editor.  Caidan went on to direct several music videos for Robert Palmer’s solo career and he also did the video for Iron Maiden’s Stranger in a Strange Land, which is about as far away from Robert Palmer as you can get.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Only by Anthrax (1993, directed by Paul Elledge)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Rocking with Anthrax!

This song is off of Anthrax’s sixth studio album, Sound of White Noise and it was one of their bigger hits from the John Bush era.  No less than James Hetfield referred to this as being a “perfect song.”  The video mixes surreal imagery with clips of the band playing.

If the man with the mirror looks familiar, that’s because he’s played by Frank Silva, who was also Killer Bob on Twin Peaks.  This was Silva’s only role outside of Twin Peaks.

Director Paul Elledge was a photographer who also directed videos  for Ministry.

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Oops! I Did it Again, covered by Nouveau Lounge and Amanda Stewart

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve always liked this cover version of the classic Britney Spears song.  Plus, I actually got to see these guys perform in London a few years ago!

Here is today’s song of the day.

Music Video of the Day: I Miss The Band by Alanis Morissette (2021, dir by Victor Indrizzo)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is Alanis Morissette’s 51st birthday.

Today’s music video of the day is for a song that she wrote about not being able to tour during the COVID lockdowns.  The song is all about how much she misses traveling with her band.  When the song was released, it was used to raise money for Morissette’s backing band, who couldn’t work because the governments across the world tried to ban mass gatherings.

Seriously, I think some people have forgotten — or have chosen to pretend to forget — just how insane things got with the COVID lockdowns.  We were all missing our friends, our family, our lives …. our band.

(Sorry, I’m not yet ready to forgive and forget.  15 Days To Slow The Spread because 48 Months To Do What You’re Told Or Else.  I just spent a week and a half watching Clint Eastwood films so I’m definitely not in a rule-following mood right now.)

Enjoy!