OT - Hit Me Baby One More Time (80's Music Show)

[Rockindeano]

You know who really should be on this show?

Yep,

Michael Jackson. This turd hasn't done anything worth a shit for 20 yrs..Ooops, I almost forgot, he is going on a long, secluded vacation(hopefully).

[onestilllearning]

I saw week 2 and all I can say is the show and performers are an emarrasment. If my 13 year old Daughter saw the show I would loose all credibility in my preaching the virtues of classic rock. - Night Ranger was smart to pull out as the only band with talent , they would probably lose to an audience of lalaland.

[styxfanNH]

from Melodic Rock

HIT ME BABY NO MORE TIMES:
I asked Jack Blades about Night Ranger's decision to ditch their scheduled appearance on the NBC show Hit Me Bay One More Time. His reply: "We were too busy doing our new CD and we ran out of time...".
Good decision Jack...we want that new CD done and having watched the show myself, I have to think that Night Ranger would have been out of place on the show. It was a serious cheese-fest and even though I enjoyed seeing Loverboy perform (their cover of Hero was very good), I don't think this show is going to do too many artists any favors. And what about the host? Yikes!

[swwskj]

For anyone interested in seeing more of Loverboy 2005, Charlotte's fireworks display festival will feature Survivor and .....Loverboy. Wow! Free Styx in May and free Loverboy in July. Summertime and the living is easy.

Scott

[ek88]

Scott: There are sure some perks to getting older. It does seem a lot more affordable to go see some of the bands I once paid top dollar for! Loverboy would probably be decent enough to go see, if for nothing else than they have a lot of recognizable hits! Besides, you can just people watch and see what a hard-core Loverboy fan looks like! (Or maybe you're one of them, I don't know). If it wasn't so far away, I'd be there!

[DarrenUK]

The Motels ?......didnt they do the soundtrack to the movie "A Room With A View" ?

[swwskj]

Oh, I failed to mention that A Flock of Seagulls will be in town that weekend too. Just think the chance to catch two of the first weeks bands during the same weekend.

On the flipside of getting older, there is a reason why 'older' bands can make more money with less of an audience...its called $275 tickets to see the Rolling Stones. How 'bout $125 U2 tix? Sure the bubble gum artists can make a ton by selling 10 million albums, but the REAL $ for the artist is touring and they know that the middle aged fans have alot more disposable income. So $8 beers ad $45 t-shirts are part and parcel with the more established acts anymore.

But if you're in the Loverboy boat, any port in the storm tends to do it.

Scott

[styxfanNH]

From the front page of melodic rock

JEFF WATSON TALKS COMPLICATIONS BEHIND BABY ONE MORE TIME:
Subject of some debate last week was Night Ranger's decision to pull out of the NBC music program Hit Me Baby One More Time.
I contacted Jack Blades at the time, who offered the comment: "We were too busy doing our new CD and we ran out of time...".
But guitarist Jeff Watson hasn't left it there. He is sending out a rather excellent and detailed reply to anyone that enquires and I thought it important to feature that here. I confirmed that with Jeff, who replied: "Please feel free to post my response, as it's important for people to know how things work regarding TV, etc., so that rumors don't get started." So with that in mind, read on:
"Allow me to set this story straight, and feel free to share this with anyone or any site that may be misconstruing this issue.
Night Ranger was slated to appear on "Hit Me Baby One More Time" on NBC, and we had already interrupted our recording schedule to record and turn in to NBC the edited TV track of Sister Christian.
We also spent an entire day filming interviews and background video material to be used on the show.
What precluded us from being able to do the show at that time was that, as you know, the bands need to pick a second recent hit song by someone else to perform and we were without a second song.
We chose and re-chose, and submitted and re-submitted 7 to 10 songs to perform (from a list and guideline of songs provided us) that NBC couldn't get cleared to use. (all songs have to be cleared for use on Television, Film, etc.,. by the composer and publisher).
As of Friday morning, less than 48 hours before we were supposed to fly to Hollywood to film, NBC still hadn't cleared a song, and it would have been physically impossible for us to learn, re-arrange, re-record, and then perform live, someone else's song to any degree of our standard of professionalism and talent within that space of time.
The process of getting done all that we did in preparation for the show was a fun, mad scramble, and had we had enough time to get a second song together you would be seeing us on the program next week.
We're still slotted to go on the show if NBC picks up the program for future episodes, and we appreciate all the fans that want to see us, as well as recognize the importance of being out there in TV land for those that don't get to see us live in concert.
As we all learned from this experience, the process of clearing a song is somewhat painstaking, in that you must go through managers, agents, producers, publishers, writers, etc., and that is very time consuming. To their credit, the people associated with the show and NBC really went to bat trying to get the songs for us, and went out of their way to make the whole process as painless as possible.
They also worked hand in hand with us on the scheduling and logistics. It was simply a matter of bad timing, in that it fell over the Memorial Day weekend, and no one works in Hollywood around that holiday (or any other holiday), so there was no one available to get us the clearances, which cost us precious time.
We also learned that many people don't like to clear their songs for others to perform on TV. We picked a bunch of songs that we were going play the hell out of, only to be told that we couldn't use them. We got excited about every one of our picks, after listening and carefully considering how we would approach it, only to days later find out they weren't available. It was a little disheartening but we kept on trying.
Our pullout from this show is neither the fault of Night Ranger, Hit Me Baby One More Time, or NBC. This is one of those things that happens now and then in this business that's out of everyone's control, and no one is more disappointed in the outcome than I.
I sincerely hope this clears up any ongoing misunderstanding regarding this situation.
All the best, Jeff Watson / Night Ranger"

[classicstyxfan]

It would be most interesting to know what songs they wqere going to play, both as an indication of what new music has some appeal to them, AND to know which current makers of today's mostly mediocre music
are so uptight they wont let themselves be covered !

[NealIsGod]

Very interesting. I figured NR saw the first episode and said "No way." I think any band who is still recording and touring should not bother going on that show. The first two weeks the winners were Arrested Development and Vanilla Ice. What does that tell you? No classic rock act will ever win, and I doubt there is much benefit from the TV exposure. The reason people watch that show is the same reason they watch NASCAR -- to see a wreck. And by that, I mean comparing the how the bands/artists look and sound today vs. back in their hey day. Styx, Journey and NR do not belong on that show. One hit wonders like The Knack, Tommy Tutone, and Flock of Seagulls do.

[styxfanNH]

Show Brings Back Big-Hit Wonders


This week's "H1t Me Baby" artists:
Howard Jones | Cameo | Wang Chung

The Associated Press

Big '80s pop star Howard Jones has a message: He's still around and getting another chance at stardom.

Jones is taking part in the new NBC show called "H1t Me Baby One More Time," where musicians get to perform their big hit along with a current song, while viewers vote on the winner. In the case of Jones, it's "No One Is to Blame," his 1985 hit.

"I just find that in general, in pop music and rock music, there's far too much snobbery," Jones told AP Radio. "So I'm not gonna go there. I don't believe in it. Everyone's the best at doing their own thing."

Jones was on the British version of the show and he said it definitely helped renew interest in his music.

"The Web site went mad; a huge amount of interest," Jones said. "I think record sales did move forward, yeah. And the old record company wants to put out a 'Best of' now. It's just like reminding people that you're still around."

Jones said pop music seems to be too into what's cool and what's not, and he just doesn't care.

"I just see everything as an opportunity now and I don't judge situations like I used to," he explained. "Thinking, 'Oh, this is cool and that is cool.' All that is to me is just a kind of bigotry and a lack of respect."

Jones will also perform Dido's "White Flag" because he likes the sentiment of the song and how it will be a little different coming from him.

"It's interesting for a guy to sing a woman's song," he said. "Because it brings something different to it. It just doesn't sound like the original. It's never going to sound like the original. So, I like the idea of putting my own stamp on it."

Other performers this week include: Irene Cara, Cameo, Sophie B. Hawkins and Wang Chung.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

I've been hitting everyone's website that has been appearing on that show. I thought The Knack did a great job last week!!

[ek88]

This show sounds interesting just to hear how the artists will interpret newer songs. BTW, No One Is To Blame is a great song! Anyone else like that one besides me?