Quad Blogs

So as we speak I’m listening to the brand new Goo Goo Dolls CD “Something For The Rest of Us” and I must say that I’m enjoying it. I think it marks a step up from their previous effort, “Let Love In,” but it still lacks the alternative rock edge that the band perfected and took out a copyright on. I’m no music critic, in fact I couldn’t tell an oboe from a Sousaphone, so I won’t waste much more of your time talking about the album, but there is something about it that caught my eye.

            Track 11 on the CD is called “Hey Ya.” Now, if you’re anything like me (God help you) that title will call to mind a certain Outkast song that we all knew and loved back in the day. What happened to Outkast, by the way? Naturally before the CD came out, I assumed this was an exciting and against-type cover. Apparently, it’s not. The Goo Goo Dolls decided to write a different and decidedly brand new song called “Hey Ya.”

            Is it me or is that kind of weird? I think that sometimes a song (or a movie or painting or what have you) becomes so omnipresent that it eventually just sort of owns a title. Just like we’ll never hear another song called “Stairway to Heaven” or see another movie called “The Terminator” again. These titles are taken.

            Not that I’m comparing “Hey Ya” to either one of those things, but you catch my meaning I hope. We’re not talking about some really common or ordinary phrase here either. What the heck is “ya” anyway? I’ve never heard that anywhere other than Outkast.

            Oh well. The Goo Goo Dolls take on the topic is pretty good, but I think that the ghost of that missed opportunity will haunt me at night for the foreseeable future.

            I’ll hold off passing any further judgment on the album until I listen to it again, but here are three First Listen Highlights: “Home,” “Notbroken” and “Nothing Is Real.”      

            Let’s end this with a brand new Beard of the Day!

Sure it's not REALLY a beard, but this facial hair configuration starred a great movie and its owner is a noted hothead and great actor. Borises and Natashas, the "Christian Bale!"

 Vaya con dios!

Image Credits: cover, Bale