How can you be friends with Her Ladyship and not watch American Idol? I can't watch it but I enjoy her posts about it anyway, it's like television by proxy.
The Byrnes and I have a strong friendship despite the fact that I hate 90210, cats, and American Idol. Ours is a deeper bond that includes drinking, sitting around, and talking shit. Also, I love Henry more than I hate all three of those previous things combined.
How can you call yourself an Elton John impersonator ("tribute singer," whatEVER) and not sing Levon? That's like an American flag with no stripes.
The only similar thing I've ever witnessed was at the Trevi Fountain in Rome one spring night about 10 years ago. There was a huge crowd, various nationalities, mostly under 25, just sort of milling around, and two guys were playing guitar and singing without getting much attention from anyone until they started doing "Hey Jude," at which point the entire crowd, including the non-English speakers, joins in almost at once and stays with it all the way through the na-na-na-nas.
That rocked.
Um...yeah...Kristen McNamara can yodel on my pipe anytime. God Damn!
God, I love Levon. I want to get a cat and name it Levon but I think the cat I already have would kick it's ass. So maybe a fish! Or a hamster!
I am getting riled up about this now. I have too much time on my hands.
LEVON!!
The grey-haired dude on American Idol this season sang Levon a few weeks ago. Full circle!
Big ugly link:
http://www.gofish.com/userVideoPlayer.gfp?gfid=30-1020117
When I was thirteen my mother started laughing while listening to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." When I asked her why, she told me about the other interpretation you could put on the title of the song. "It just sounds so painful," she said.
Thanks, Mom! Now every time I hear that song, I imagine Elton John getting a BJ from a giant flaming ball of gas!
Clearly, the best Elton John song is "Someone Saved my Life Tonite", b/c not only does it have that good whiny sensibility, it also has that line: "Just one more beer/and I can't hear you anymore". Which is just straight up gold.
Damn, that girl really can yodel. I'm kind of speechless about it.
The next Celine Dion or the NEW Patsy Cline? What does that even mean?
I stopped by here earlier today, enjoyed your excellent post -as usual- and then went on my merry way without commenting, as I really had nothing to contribute. But now, after "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer" have been taking turns in my mental jukebox all afternoon, I felt I had to come back and say thanks.
The only thing is that "Tiny Dancer" is in my head as "Tony Danza," and I know that substitution comes from somewhere, but for the life of me I don't know where. Why do i know so many people who sing it like that?
Ok, well, back to the plough.
Okay, story that's probably not going to translate well in the comments: I once worked with my best friend at a bar that had these preselected tapes that played over and over in a loop every 3.5 hours. That version of 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' was on it. After about a year of listing to that song 2-3 times a shift it became the focus of our evening, so that in the midst of serving a table, in the midst of cutting bread, in the midst of doing whatever the fuck you were doing when that part came on you had to stop what you were doing, raise your hand in the air and yell "Ladies & Gentlemen MR ELTON JOHN!!!!!!" And to this day it gets yelled pretty much every time I'm drunk. And it gets put on every road trip CD, like, EVER. Oh the good times...
Did everyone realize that Tiny Dancer was an amazing song and a great way to build communitas because of that scene in 'Almost Famou'? I know I did.
Also, sometimes you have to give American Idol a chance.
Levon is on Greatest Hits Volume 2!!!
(And it's also what uma and ethan named their son, much less noteworthy, I'll grant you...)
You had me at the plough. I have always been frightened to listen to the words to Elton John songs and now I regret that.
Once, while visiting Seattle in the height of grunge, I punched up Benny and the Jets on the jukebox. The throw-back got a few happy nods from the hipster crowd. Feeling bold with the off-the-wall choice, I went back to pop on 3 more songs. As I was walking back to my table I realized that I must have pushed the wrong number/ letter combo, because it wasn't the song I had chosen blasting from the speakers, it was Benny and the Jets...again. That was a long walk back to the booth.
it is with no little juvenile pride that I always hear George Michael _warning_ you:
"Don't let your son go down on me!"
giggles every time.
I get really happy when another human has even heard of Levon because it's my favorite Elton John song, yet it seems no one else in the world has heard it.
You're obviously not an American Idol fan, which sadly I am, but you might be happy to know that one of the better contestants sang Levon a few weeks ago. Does that salvage the show at all for you? Probably not.
I'd just like to point out that said American Idol contests said he chose "Levon" because "it's about family values". FAMILY VALUES! TAYLOR HICKS, WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?!
I love the, "Ladies and gentlemen..." thing too! It kind of makes me happy to hear it -- I tend to get really happy for musicians when the crowd really responds. It makes me want to go hug them (seriously, can you imagine how much it would kick ass to have people think you're that amazing?!)
I've never done this on your site before, but I stopped reading that post 1/3 through because I could not bear the thought of thinking about those songs. Which of course I didn't manage to avoid anyway. Dang you.
Vague, the Tony Danza swap in your head might have come from Phoebe on Friends. At least I hope that's where it came from.
It's true that Elton John takes good care of people with his lyrics. For example, if you, like me, have a brother named Daniel, you can used one particular Sir Elton song to torment him. Never fails to un-bum me out.
Also, from one vague to another: If memory serves, Dooce has mentioned that Tony Danza thing before. Maybe that's where you heard it?
Elton John will no doubt be played at my wedding. There's a huge history of EJ between my bf & me that I can't help but feel deep love inside my heart every time I hear any song by EJ, no matter how rainbow some of them are. I wish I could ask him to be the godfather of our children, but I'm sure he's been asked this like, a jazillion times. EJ ROCKS! Also, anyone who hangs with Kiki Dee is alright in my book. She's the coolest! & I was totally there when you requested Levon, of which I'm extremely proud! Remember me, Sarah? Miss you!
Oh yeah & since you mentioned the "Holiday Inn Select" you might check out the song on "Madman Across the Water" called "Holiday Inn." I have always thought that this song SHOULD have been in Almost Famous when they are walking off the plane after getting a scare & almost crashing. But my name isn't Cameron Crowe.
Sonia and Vaguely Urban--thanks for the suggestions. Honestly they both sound completely plausible, but I can't say it was either one for sure. This is going to besome one of my life's needling little mysteries, I can feel it already.
You like DBT....Ive always thought that was a southern thing.....
I love Levon, too. In fact, I love most of "Madman across the Water." But maybe my favorite EJ song will always be Tiny Dancer, because it was my first REAL introduction to Mr. Elton John. And you know how that introduction took place? (And does anyone care? Probably not. But I'm going to tell anyway.) It was an episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati." There was a Russian guy in town, at the station, I have no idea why, and he fell in love with Bailey (whom I loved, as well), and that was, like, their song. And even though at the end of the episode he left and went back to Russia, SHE WAS STILL HIS TINY DANCER.
Omigosh! Kristen is your cousin? Because the other day I was flipping channels, and I saw her performing, and my fingers froze BECAUSE I COULDN'T TURN AWAY. Her voice! So beautiful! I think the song she performed sounded so much better than the original artist!
And, that is all.
I LOVE LEVON!
I am that excited right now, that yall did that to faux Elton, and that you love Levon too!!
Jesus wants to go to venus...me to Jesus!
I went to a college bar a few months ago and felt really old and out of place--I wasn't wearing a tube top and I am not a metrosexual. The last song of the night was "Tiny Dancer" and to my amazement everyone in the place stopped trying to hook-up, raised their glasses, and belted out the song. It was great.
Seamstress for the band