Butch Walker Stats Updated

As my legions of faithful readers know, Bibi has many, many talents and skills, but understanding how YouTube gathers data is NOT one of them.  For a few days last week, the counter on Say It Isn't So was stuck on 4688.  Maybe someone reported this, or, as computer things do, fixed itself, because today, October 29, the count is up to 5145.  Whew--what a relief!  My excel spreadsheet rejoices!  Just love seeing Butch's so-happy face before and after on that one.  And, of course, to hear his beautiful voice with Daryl Hall.  Such a wonderful version!

Butch tweeted last night that he had cried and now felt great.  hmmmm.  I tried to cajole him out of any funk by joking about it.  (Important note to Bibi:  no more stupid tweet responses. Please.) Being the ever so sensitive Bibi, though, I've been concerned for him.  (Fans are SO symbiotic with no encouragement at all.) Maybe he was worried about something, got great news and cried--I've done that.  That's the way I want to think about it.  After all, if he's really sad about something, for all my wonderful abilities, there's nothing I can do to help.  It's too helplessly true, isn't it?  Some of our most painful emotional experiences, we have to endure alone.  At least for me, in those tough times, whenever someone offered their totally useless sympathy or advice, the first comment that came to mind were those immortal 3 little words from the Terminator:  Fuck off, asshole.   And today, been watching the  different numbers from LFDH, Episode 54 to reassure myself that Butch is okay.

So, for what it's worth, love ya, Butch!  Hang in there!

Had to listen to Say It Isn't So again before signing off--the count is up to 5151!

Butch Walker on Live From Daryl's House, redux

LFDH--See Butch 

One of the things that bothers me about the LFDH page is that Butch is not mentioned in the text areas as one of the stars who has appeared on the show.  Well, guess I'm just not going to get over that--and the one picture they have of Butch with Daryl screams:  I don't know the guy next to me--but VH1 currently has a promo that  features Daryl Hall and Live From Daryl's House and  Butch shows up three times!!  They're a passing sort of mentions:  in the scene with the guys eating dinner, you kind of have to know that's Butch over in the right hand corner and they show the bit where Butch is asking about singing a certain part of Why Was It So Easy (you would know this if you'd watched  Episode 54 even half as many times as I have) and one other quick glimpse of him during Episode 54.  (dismissive snort here) Fans, you gotta love 'em (or feel sorry for them).  So pathetically starved for news of their idols, any kind of way they can get it.

True, Daryl's doesn't say Butch's name, but okay, lots of the other performers who've been to DH are not even shown in this promo, much less mentioned by name.  So I take it as a WIN!  There should be lots more mentions of Butch everywhere...this is a good start.  lol 

Also noticed that the title of this clip is Artists Makes Themselves at Home at Daryls House...no spell check or anyone watching for that glaring writing faux pas:  too many "s" at the ends of words.  Along with that pesky not enough apostrophes in the world. (dismissive snort here, too)

Love you, Butch!

Butch Walker CDs Found! AC/DC RULES!

The weekend had a wobbly start (and I don't even drink...that much)--had a strong urge to listen to The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and The Spade in their entirety and could not find my Butch Walker cds. (Terrorized Bon Scott scream here!) Terrible sick feeling in my tummy--where could they be?  Made me think of the two times all my AC/DC cds were stolen--damn those thieving assholes!  They are definitely on really rutty Highway to Hell. Especially because I just hit it lucky, finding The Rise and Fall cd and Sycamore Meadows seemingly difficult to find, even on Amazon.com.  Resisted rushing to the office--why would they be there?--and had to wait until today to see that, yes, they were at the office, safely stored (whose lame idea was this?).  Since I had them in my computer at home, I made some temporary replacements, so was able to listen to the first Butch Walker cd (for me), The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Lets-Go-Out-Tonites.  Just love it.  Since I  knew Butch only from his appearance on LFDH and videos on YouTube, but hadn't heard any of his cds at the time I found this one at the HPB in Clear Lake, it was a perverse kind of revelation to me.  The music was so unlike the Butch that I knew--this album has a seen-it-all, LA noir feel to it.  He comes across as a totally  louche LA habitué, less the likable, sweet and affable Butch on LFDH.  However, we all know the irrestistable allure of that insider guy in any scene and the gritty world in which he lives the low life.  Go ahead, deeply inhale the faintly sweaty, mixed with alcohol and a soupҫon of after-sex taint in the music.  My favorites are Hot Girls in Good Moods (who doesn't like them or want to be them?) and Bethamphetamine ('Cause we're hotter when we don't give a damn) but the whole album has this 90's vibe, complete with great melodies and hip, snarky lyrics that keep the album going full speed, so also really like Ladies and Gentlemen..."The Let's-Go-Out-Tonites!" and Too Famous to Get Fully Dressed, and of course, When Canyons Ruled the City (...With her nose up in the air/Pushing up her horn rimmed glasses saying, I don't fucking care/...la da da da...).  Wouln't it be the ultimate cool if Butch did one of these songs in an upcoming concert?  BTW--when is that upcoming concert????

Thinking about the famous The Butch Walker Mixtapes, some of the mis-steps I made, although I'm not apologizing for them, is that I tried to,

1. Set up the concept by putting Mixtape first

2. Give a judicious mix of Butch's different styles

Item 2 led me to include the best of each of the four cds which would give a fuller picture of Butch, but I don't know how motivated some listeners would be to listen to each song with appropriate consideration.

3.  not enough space on one cd to do this.

4.  In making II.2 with the idea of leaving out songs with the f and s words to broaden playability, had to leave out some really great songs.

5.  not enough space on one cd to do this for my specialized Butch Walker taste.

Just so glad I found the cds!

It ended up being a very good weekend:  began by taking Friday off, getting the place ready for Sarita's visit, finishing her costume--she liked it!--enjoying a relaxing, if short, visit with her.  Got some great work out of her, too!  We went through a small portion of my shoe population and got rid of 6-8 pairs--whoa!  She also loaded Rich Girl and Private Eyes to the PaperJamz guitar, so I'm almost ready for Friday's Fall Festival.  I'll be off work on Thursday, so plan to practice the moves and patter while I'm working on the other costume.  Very happy that the hat is just about done for that.  It's not professionally-made looking, but could work.  I might cave in and look for a real hat; not sure yet.

On the AC/DC front, found a news tidbit that thrilled:  the opening to Back in Black was voted the top riff of the 1980s.  Wonder what we would have thought of this in the 1980s?  http://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdcs-back-in-black-named-top-riff-of-the-1980s/ The article explains a bit about how this vote and results occcurred.  Brings to mind the polls about the presidential race--really, who's asking what questions and who are the people being questioned?  Any of those "undecided voters" aka idiots and/or voters suffering from attention deficit included in these polls? 

Greatest Guitar Riff of the 80s--and forever   I love this picture of Angus with his hair so short!                                                                                               

But I digress.  So wonderful that AC/DC is still and forever recognized.  When I saw them those oh, so few times in concert, I was surprized that BIB gets played so early in the concert, kind of like, well, let's go ahead and do it now.  I know:  they have so many hits, how to fit them all in and the new stuff.  Anyway, said it before:  AC/DC and Angus RULE.

Butch Walker' s Say It Isn't So Stats--Update

Whoa, since August 28, 1669 views of Say It Isn't So from Live From Daryl's House, Episode 54, have occurred--and believe me, not even half the views are from me (lol)!  Sure, I watch the song at least once a day, but I have rules about over-viewing.  Guidelines, really, more than rules.  Most of the time, I limit myself to watching the one song only once (or twice) and then, maybe watching the entire episode.  Butch seems so enthralled with the whole experience and really, so does the entire band, especially Daryl.  Looks like they had so much fun.  Love to see that!

If I hadn't been so besotted with Butch from the beginning, I would have kept track of the different videos I watch that showcase him; so now the stats really need some re-thinking n terms of value.  Of course, I can't identify any other videos I've watched with as much devotion as Say It Isn't So; there aren't any, really, that I watch over and over.  Geez, guess all researchers go through this--support group out there?

Have watched the Letterman performance a few times--probably no more than 10-15 instances and the video with Wooderson a few times.  I do love Sweethearts from the LFDH episode, so I've watched it a few times, maybe 20.  Such a great song, how could anyone fault me for that, though?  And, of course, watch Mixape whenever there's a bit of time.  Justification there is that he doesn't include this song in his performances so much, so that makes my revisits to that one okay.  Between all the viewing of whichever videos, makes the day better for me and we all know how important it is to keep me happy, right?  Plus, wonder again how the songs were selected for the show.

In terms of a never before seen videos, recently saw a coouple of Butch singing She Likes Hair Bands and Closest Thing to You in a California bookstore.  Of course, Butch always looks good, but he really cleaned up well for the book signing. 

Butch acoustic, She Likes Hair Bands

Butch acoustic, Closest Thing to You I'm Gonna Find

Conjured up that scary fan fear:  what if I were somewhere innocuous--the mall, the grocery store, the car wash, at the doctor's--and Butch was there and I didn't recognize him????  Awful feeling!  He has different looks, depending on whatever, so it's a bit worrisome for me.  I feel the same way about Angus--really think it could happen.  Guess it works out well for my sanity that neither one of them is anywhere near Houston...sad, but true.  Oh, well, just means that I need to find/watch other videos to console myself until I can see Butch in concert--somewhere.

The Butch Walker Mixtape II (feels like version 2.879)

I'm very happy with my Butch Walker Mixtape II, but honestly, have already been thinking of improvements, especially in regard to giving it to a less edgy crowd that could (might) still enjoy listening to his music and spread the word around.  Funny thinking of the people I have already given the cd to as edgy, but there it is.  Plan to give copies to the food trucks at the University Center and those versions should be sans the s and f words, just to be sure there's no violation of University policy, right?  Thought of adding She Likes Hairbands and Freak of the Week to replace Summer of '89 and Sucker Punched, as much as I like those two songs.  All that energy and attitude are so alluring and make them total, raucous sing-alongs.  Talk about feel-good music!

Then, I really listened to She Likes Hairbands and wondered if there were some University policy violation in the lyrics, what with all the sex. lol  Such a great song, though, and one of the standards at Butch's concerts.  Integral to my marketing plan is to showcase his range and include songs that often show up in concert set lists.  That way, if Butch did come to Houston and some of those who received the cd attended with me, they could sing along with me--and Butch, of course.

Sent off copies of BWMII to Sarah and Tommy, so the San Antonio and Las Vegas markets are covered. ha ha  Also, to Cactus with a cover letter.  Will send one to Raymond with the shower gifts for Sanne so that the Sneek/Friesland music market is alerted.  I know.  His review of Butch's LFDH episode did not resound with "I REALLY LIKED IT".  For me, episode 54 was dynamite:  such a burst of exhilaration, excitement, love of music, great example of Butch's voice, song writing, charisma, charm, who wouldn't fall all over it like I did?  Once Raymond listens to the broader mix in the cd, though, I'm still convinced he's a Butch Walker fan in the making. 

Bought more blank cds--this is getting a bit bigger than I anticipated.  BUT, not buying anymore, my career as a tastemaker for Butch Walker's music is just about complete.  I've planted the seeds in as many places as I can, now have to settle down for the flowering of my efforts. 

PLUS, Halloween is coming!  Usually by this time in the semester, have the costume planned and well on its way to realization.  This year, don't even have the beginning of a concept for work or Carol's party.  Sarah's got me started on her costume and I have to make the baby shower gift(s) and get it/them to Holland by mid-October.

So, work on the Butch Walker Mixtape II, (revised) and get it out there!

Butch Walker--Live From Daryl's House

So there may be a few of you who haven't already heard me extol the virtues of watching Live From Daryl's House on tv or on the web.  If not, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN LISTENING!!  For the rest of my legion of readers, here's the highly anticipated blog about Butch Walker's appearance on LFDH.

It's a really good show--Daryl Hall (yes, from Hall and Oates) invites musicians to come to his house in upstate NY to jam with him and his band.  So far, the beauty of the show for me has been a re-introduction to H&O songs and getting to hear new music.  A lot of the guests are complete unknowns to me.  Not their fault; I just don't listen to new music.  Remember:  this blog is called bibilovesangus, referring to my  relatively recent discovery of AC/DC.  Although not a metal head or anything like that, mostly I like old school rock n roll.

Anyway, episode 54 of LFDH really, really changed stuff up for me.  (what a great sentence! LFDH didn't do much for my ability to express myself verbally)  Here it is, just in case you haven't seen it:

LFDH, Episode 54, May 15, 2012

Once you've watched, I'm sure you'll react just like I did and watch it over and over.  At first, I was just so taken with Daryl and Butch's version of Say It Isn't So--you can just see the joy the two shared in singing together!  Truly, incontrovertibly, a gem among versions of this song!  From August 28, when I began keeping track of the youtube viewings of this video, to today, it's moved up from 2340 to 2903.  And, no, it wasn't just me viewing it repeatedly.  It's addictive listening/watching.  Butch has such a feel for the song--very close to that sense of regretted, but understood and inevitable love fade in some of his own work.  Right now, my current fave of the episode is Sweethearts--just love it!!!!!  Sure, Butch is cute and all and of course he can sing his music with an passion and immediacy that's absolutely enthralling AND endearing, but to watch  Daryl, getting off to the song, the shared performance--man, it's fantastic!

I had read that Butch no longer did Mixtape in concert and felt sad that I hadn't discovered him early enough to attend a concert where he did sing it, so when he sings it on LFDH, OMG!  So heart rending, so close to pretty much everybody's experience with unrequited love, soooooo beautiful. The mix-cd that I've made of Butch's songs begins with Mixtape.  Closest Thing, apparently a Butch concert mainstay, is also here--guess it's the closest thing for me to getting to see Butch do it live--and again, Butch gives it his soulful all and Daryl is right up there with him.  These two are just great together!

Daryl's band comes through on all the shows, but their strengths as musicians really show up with Butch.  You expect them to be good on the ballad-y love songs, but their back up on Bodegas and Blood--killer, total rocker song--is so strong, tight, so UP, makes you want to jump up and dance around!  At home, when this song comes on, I do dance around--the cats run and hide as a safety measure.  FYI:  they LOVE Butch Walker, or at least they've come to accept that they're going to hear at least Say It Isn't So, at least once or twice a day.  Wonder if they thinkButch is better/worse than AC/DC???

Finally, during the food portion of the show, Butch and Daryl cook paella with a noted chef and Butch is wearing the LFDH apron--I have one now!!!

So, enjoy episode 54, it's great!  Discovering Butch Walker, even greater!  Paella anyone?

Butch Walker: Will He Ever Play Houston? What To Do About This?

OBJECTIVE:  Bring Butch Walker to Houston. 

HOW TO?  I had a plan to make a BW cd of my favorite songs--as long as they were on The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonights, Letters,  or The Spade cds--and if I could figure out how to download the video of Say It Isn't So --you know, my own Mixtape, and give it out to everyone I know.  Okay, that plan wasn't that well-baked--but it is still a project to tackle--otherwise how to stage a Butch Walker music domination putsch among those I know? 

To actually see Butch live, other strategems (or singular, strategem?) are /is needed.

So, what if...the local bar/club scene doesn't know about Butch and people like me that want to see him?  I devised a generic email I sent to The Last Concert, Numbers, Fitzgerald's--really, what do I know about the local bar scene?--but anyway, it's a start. Using that email, tweaked it a bit and sent a version to Butch's management today:

Even though I read Drinking with Strangers very carefully, I'm unfamiliar with how music acts are booked into venues in Houston. Hope I'm contacting the right person--if not, please pass this email on to them.

A couple of months ago, I was watching Live From Daryl's House, locally shown at 1 and 1:30 am, (Saturday nights, really Sunday mornings). Right, I don't have cable. Daryl Hall has invited some cool musical guests, but little did I know that episode 54 would lead me to writing this email. I enjoyed the other episodes and new artists--who were/are Chromeo, Neon Trees, The Dirty Heads, Train?--I've asked people a good bit younger than me and they didn't know, but when I saw Butch Walker's turn, well, as is common in parlance now, OMG!! I spent hours afterward watching the show over again on the web and then searching for and watching BW videos. Not to sound too over the edge, I must watch at least parts of that show every day now. Butch's performance was outstanding, incredible, just killed! And his version of Say It Isn't So---I mean, gee whiz, omigod--he has to incorporate it into the live act, really!
Since then, I've talked about him on my fb page intent on making my friends and family Butch Walker fans, posted videos--LOVE the ones everyone loves, won't bore you with the obvious--bought Live at Budokan on the strength of online raves, two cds (Letters, The Spade), talked about Butch to just everyone. Like anyone else with Internet access today, I've also blogged about Butch--even though the blog is entitled Bibilovesangus (as in Angus Young). Read the book, thought about making a mad trip to Berlin for the upcoming concert. Realistically, though, can't go to Berlin on such short notice and honestly, it is exhausting devising Lucy-Ethel schemes to see Butch live.

So, long story longer, I sent emails to a few local bars/clubs extolling Butch to the celestial skies [oops, redundant], believing it's not in vain to think that one of these venues has been wanting to book Butch somewhere in Houston, they've just been waiting for a raving lunatic fan to let them know the market is there for the exploiting.
As you are well aware, his stuff is out of this world great, he can rock like a billybejesus, belt out a heart wrenching ballad like there's no tomorrow cause he lost the girl, and completely suck you into his performance like cannot be believed. (Some of this energy is coming from "just watched Live at Budokan today") The point is, PLEASE have him play here in Houston, the sooner the better. I don't know if Butch wants to come to Houston and someone has to make an offer or if it entails someone convincing Butch to come to Houston, but anything your organization could do in either scenario, PLEASE DO IT. I'm convinced that a Houston audience will instantly recognize that Butch has talent out the wazoo, a fantastic crowd-pleasing voice and material, has proven indie cred, AND to top it off, he's real easy to look at and has loads of tattoos--what more would an audience need to respond positively?

Hope you can do something about this, aka bring/send Butch Walker to Houston. Please.

Sincerely (and with no stalker intentions),

Helen (aka Bibi)

We will see, right?  In the meantime: 


Say It Isn't So started it all

The Best Thing I Didn't Know About: Butch Walker!

Huge announcement:  Bibi has discovered Butch Walker and WHOA what a fabulous enlightenment it has been.  Due credit to Live From Daryl's House for this, episode 54, originally aired on May 15, 2012. 

OK, for those of you who don't know LFDH, Daryl Hall (yes, that Daryl Hall, from Hall and Oates) does a live webcast that is later aired on tv.  He invites musical guests, old friends or new acquaintances--wonder what elements go into the decision process on this--to play with him and his band at this house in upstate NY.  Cool idea, right?  Looks like lots of pre-activity for both sides selecting mutually agreed upon songs from both the guest's and Daryl's repertoires and practicing a lot before the broadcast.  OR, these folks are all just phenomenally talented:  they meet and over the span of a day, jam, come up with new arrangements, with, btw, egos checked at the door, and for the benefit of the viewing audience, come up with 4 to 6 songs in terrific shape.  This is along with (usually) having a chef come by and cook an incredible meal which they enjoy in the middle of the show.  Thinking about it, the meal probably comes at the end of the day, but small point.  Again, great concept, which I applaud.  If you're wondering, yes, John Hall has appeared on the show, looks like they still have a very good working relationship.  And, yes, Daryl Hall has aged very well--I think he looks way better now than he did back in the day.  His voice is still so impressive, smooth, a bit smokier than in the past, hitting the falsetto notes effortlessly, really, for me, relaxed, but loving it.  He's a gracious host, giving the guests all the leeway they want with his songs and enjoying himself immensely when he sings their songs.

Every show I've seen has been really good, reminding me how great the well-known artists are (Smoky Robinson, Booker T, Todd Rundgren, Jose Feliciano, etc.) and showcasing people I've never heard of who are very good musicians/performers--Meyer Hawthorne, Neon Trees, Train, Ceelo Green, but the one with Butch Walker, just blew me away.  His songs were instantly hits to me (Sweethearts, Bodegas and Blood, Mixtape, Closest Thing) and when Butch started in on Say It Isn't So, with Daryl just killing it as he and Butch traded verses, OMG!  OMG is really not telling you the half of it.  Butch's voice is fabulous, clear, so melodic, evocative and he can ROCK!  I watch/listen to at least parts of this episode every day, have put all the videos on fb, recommended them to everyone.  He and Daryl cooked singing together--to me it showed in their faces and in their sound together.  Truly a great show and a new interest for me.

Butch is apparently an east coast darling, England and Germany love him, too.  He's produced other performers--all popular today, just not my music--but for me, it's all about Butch's work as a solo artist.  He's currently working with a band, The Black Widows; they released an album in 2011, singing one of the cuts on the Letterman show, Synthesizers.  It's another side of Butch, not apparent on LFDH, sort of cool, hipster style here.  (Check out the Synthesizers video with Matthew McConnaughey reprising his Dazed and Confused star turn, so beyond cool.  That's Butch as the bartender.   Cute, right?)  You can see a lot of Butch on Youtube--interviews, so many of his songs, I highly recommend searching for him.  For your convenience, I've compiled my current favorite Butch Walker songs, including Say It Isn't So, which is from LFDH:

Best Butch Walker Songs, September 2012

Here Comes the Heartache

Sweethearts

Bodegas and Blood

Hot Girls in Good Moods

Maybe It’s Just Me

Mixtape

Closest Thing

The best thing you never had

Cigarette Lighter Love Song

Synthesizers

Say It Isn’t So

  When it comes to Bibi finding a new obsession (nothing really scary, stalking-level stuff), you know it includes learning all about the idee fixe.  So, now reading Butch's book:  Drinking with Strangers (Music Lessons from a Teenage Bullet Belt) and having a great time learning about his influences, past music lives, etc.  AND, listening to more and more of his music, so the list above could change.  I will let you know.    The grand plan right now is to make my own mixtape of Butch's music and distribute copies to the unschooled.  It won't be as heart searching as Butch's Mixtape, but it will be some choice material, for sure!  And YOU may be one of the lucky recipients!  I know you will be converted.  Once there's a local tribe of us, we can form a club, then a Facebook page, and start a campaign to get Butch to Houston.  Don't know what we could do about the prevailing, stultifying music and life-in-general malaise over the city, but we can work on that later.