John Radcliff

I know this probably sounds like a crazy idea for a song, but then again I am the guy that brought you Plastic Lover. So maybe you aren’t shocked.

Anyhow, Ole Miss is looking for a new mascot and I can think of no one better to lead the Rebels than Admiral Ackbar. Neither can the fine folks at Not A Trap. They’ve started a campaign to have the good admiral re-assigned to the leadership of the Ole Miss Rebels. I just want to do my part because I think it would be awesome, and it would give me and my friends and relatives in Mississippi something to talk about.

I may no longer be welcome in Mississippi after this song gets out or I may be asked to never do anything that approaches hip hop again. Either way, here it is. Enjoy.

Ackbar’s Theme

Lyrics after the jump

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The trouble with songwriting is that if you’re doing it right, every song is different. In fact, you should be conscious that this song can’t be the same or even somewhat like the last song. You can be a little too conscious of that sometimes, like now for me, and every chord is speculated upon. Every word is over analyzed.

Joe came over last night, and we literally cranked out our Rock n Roll All Night and Party Every Day song in about 30 minutes. There wasn’t a whole lot of thought put into it, much like Kiss I’m sure. Joe just said he had an idea for a song, and before you know it we were done.

I feel like I have a lot of things I want to say, but at the same time I don’t want to say them. It’s a conundrum for sure, and has ground me to a halt as far as stuff I want to do away from Ovada. I’ve got volumes of music, but no words.

The obvious choice is to simplify things a bit and quit worrying so much. Perhaps even to write a song about not being able to write again. It’s worked sometimes in the past. I don’t know, it’s just that when you write a song without much thought it is just like a drug. A high that you don’t want to come down from. But you always do.

Yeah, I can imagine how you got here from a google search.  But before you get too excited, this was written for  the Demented Love Song Invitational last week at the Court Street Grill via Songwriter Night. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have written this song. Anyway, here it is. Leave you thoughts in the comments.

My Plastic Lover

After I wrote this one, I wasn’t real happy with it and kind of let it stew so I could write a demented love song for the invitational tomorrow night via Songwriter Night. Hope everyone can make it out for that! Should be some interesting songs.

So once I had My Plastic Lover finished, I came back to this and changed the way I was singing it. I still have a ways to go, though. It needs something different half way through the second and third verses. Just to change it up a little more. We’ll get some drums and bass in there and record it again. Duh, Joseph Hale is playing keys on this. I liked his part so much that I didn’t want to waste it. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Naked Souls

Before I get to the Songpull, I want to announce that we have a new writer here at John Radcliff dot com. You may remember him from the Richard Marx cover band, Don’t Mean Nothing. He’s incredibly talented, but he has such a horrible sense of timing. But that’s why we love him and asked him to join us in this pointless grouping of words. Please welcome Richard Sparx and be sure to compliment him on the beard. He worked really hard on it.

I always want to say this, and it’s true again. This was the best group of songs, and such a wide variety of styles and subjects. The really nice thing is that I get so many people thanking me for hosting. I’m really grateful for everyone that comes and helps me to enjoy it. Remember songpullers, you make this happen as much as I do! Hopefully the videos will be out soon. Of course, I will post here, there, and everywhere about it when they do.

The funniest thing I hear about why people don’t use twitter is the 140 character limit.  I think the easiest and best way I can describe it is a stream of consciousness. If you’re interested in sports, you can follow all kinds of ESPN reporters and get interesting thoughts or info that cause discussions and links to stories. More so if you know who to follow in the blogging world.

Obviously, you can use it if you are a musician, a music fan, etc. You can give and get info about song and cd releases, copy and paste (retweet) what your favorite musician’s are up to. The best thing is that you don’t HAVE to be on it all day. Consume when you want! Same price, free.

I admit that you do need to be careful about what links you follow. For this reason, you need to follow people you know or people you trust at first. Also, check to see if your favorite websites have Twitter accounts. It becomes very easy to see who is and isn’t trying to deceive you. I mean, if you follow a link that just says “check out this video”, and they have a name like @Apple_Bottom, well you’re probably living on borrowed time on the internet already.

That’s the negative. The positive is that there are clever people out there that run fake accounts. Like my two favorites, @ GaryJBusey and @Nick_Nolte. Don’t follow those unless you don’t mind the weird and sick that goes along with it.

I follow Todd Burge, Rob Szabo, Gary Floater, Owen Temple, Adam Carroll, Kevin Montgomery. Gary is a lot like GaryJ and Nick, but less with the sick and more with the life lessons.

I also follow so many of the sports bloggers that I have known from their blogs. Actually, for me, the bloggers are the most interesting and funny on the spot. They were built for this, and I think I would go crazy without them. But for all the reasons I’ve given you, it’s the people and things I don’t know about on there that is the best reason for you.

Picture via Corporate Eye

I’ve had this picture to the right for about 6 months, or so it seems. Anyway, I took it at the fireworks and because of my shaky camera style it turned out kind of cool.

My friends Art and Katie suggested that I call it Naked Souls. Thus this song I’m getting ready to play at Songpull Saturday night. I wanted to use that name for the longest time, but didn’t want to rush it. I might still be rushing it. Anyhow, it’s about cabin fever and how little things seem to get to you when they normally wouldn’t. The thought for the chorus is that we’d be better off without our bodies sometimes. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either, but it’s finished.

So yeah, when I woke up this morning I didn’t have my “will” face on. Compounded only by my stop two doors down at Hardee’s. This morning was one big white flag. The thought is that I should treat it more like a fight. So I was thinking that I should flex every time I want a cig. Being that I have such a sculptured body to begin with, it could be like my gift to the world. Free hugs are so yesterday. I’m talking free flexes, brother! Then, of course, the Youtube sensation followed by the guest appearance on Craig Killborn’s show. What? … Not the host anymore? Sigh.

Anyhow, I’ve got the Songpull coming up this Saturday. Looking forward to that! I finished my song last night and did some touch ups today. Did some painting. Sat around trying to think of something witty to say between sentences. The usual.

So yeah, tomorrow is another day. Maybe I’ll have my “will” face on when I wake up.

So that’s me, I guess. Hate being sick…I’m missing RJ Cowdery tonight at the Galley. Today was a beautiful day, but a little too beautiful for my sinuses. Besides that, music seems to be going in a good direction. Spirits are up despite the start to this post. I started working out again, and my body feels much better. But I think I’m ready to quit the smokes. When I stop and think about how much I smoke, how it can be a constant thing sometimes, I don’t have a problem with the idea of quitting. Besides, think of the stuff I could buy if I wasn’t spending $5 a day on cigs. Well, 5 x 365= $1,825. Too bad my pack is full. I guess I’ll smoke the rest of the night and go from there.

I’ve been listening to Midnight Oil a lot lately. Great band! I hate that their most popular song is Beds Are Burning. It’s a good song, but I think a lot of people missed out on all the other songs. They really kick ass! So go give them a listen sometime. Or start now.

Some day in the future, I will write a post or hell, maybe a book about this morning that I’m having. Because of a promise I made I have to remain vague about what I have built up inside of me. It’s about love. The love of being alive and sharing something so special it’s beyond comparison.

It’s more important than a subject, it’s transcendent. We all have it inside of us. It manifests itself in many different ways. But the end result for me is that I’m smiling through my tears. You can understand that and you can share it with someone. That’s what I would encourage you to do today and every chance you get. Because you never know who’s life you’ll change. Don’t be afraid.

To change the subject just a bit, I have wanted to post something to encourage people to donate to aid for Haiti. I donated to the Red Cross. You can also donate to Doctors Without Borders. I have concerns about suggesting anyone else because there are always profiteers out there. So if you choose to go in a different direction, make sure you do your research to make sure the donation you make has the most impact.