2 Boys From Philly

Todd Rundgren guests on the most recent installment of Live From Daryl's House. In between making sausage are moments of great music. Makes you want to hear a whole album from Daryl Hall and Todd. Being a fan of both of them and respecting them as great songwriters, I never realized how similar they are. Daryl talks about them growing up a few miles from each other and how they must have been listening to the same music. Their styles are so similar in phrasing, in writing and in reaching for the soul in their music. As T Bone Wolk says to Daryl, you could have written Can We Still Be Friends? They play off each other like they've been working together for years. It's actually been 37 years since Todd produced Hall & Oates War Babies. They perform only 6 songs. It should be more. Highlights: Wait For Me, Can We Still Be Friends? and a great version of AWB's You Got It. The band which includes Wolk and Zev Katz on bass is amazing.

Hello It's Tums

I've seen the Tums TV ad twice now and I'm not sure why they use Todd Rundgren's Hello It's Me in the ad. My guess is the song brings back great memories and gets your attention. I hate to think that Hello It's Me triggers heartburn. I remember being in London in the mid-80's and there were tons of pop songs being used in commercials, not what was happening in the US then. Now songs are routinely placed in commercials, not always appropriately. I know a lot of people are still pondering Lust For Life promoting a cruise. Is the jingle industry dead? I miss hearing music written specifically for a product. How many of us can still recite the Big Mac ad? Two all beef patties, special sauce....... Wasn't it great to be stuck on Band-Aids, cause Band-Aids stuck on me? I understand the money was probably great for Todd, but I hope I can put out of my head that crazy image of a person eyeing pizza and then feeling sick every time I listen to Something/Anything.