Top 25 Musical Happenings of 2011

Last year I made a list of the top 25 different things in the music industry that made me stand up and take notice and I feel like I should keep the tradition going.  I don't really like picking strictly albums or singles because I don't think that's representative of what's happened in the industry.  I want to do more as far as live music next year so that I can post more about concerts so that's in my plans.  This blog has been a great part of my life and it's allowed me to hear music I might have never heard in the first place and I hope that you are able to learn about new artists as well from this blog.  If you've been reading my blog, you know I can be all over the place and this list is no different.  These aren't just albums or singles or anything in particular, just things that were pretty amazing.  Music is a super important piece of my life and I hope it's part of yours as well.

Samantha Newark - Something Good

Most people won't have a clue who Samantha Newark is because you've never really seen her face.  Her voice, however spoke to millions of children growing up in the 80s and for me; it's a voice that brings back so many memories of simpler days and much more of a carefree attitude.  A time when you would wake up at 6 AM on a Saturday morning with a bowl of your favorite cereal and sit in front of the television until noon and then you were kicked outside to go play.  During that time, one of the greatest of things in the world was Jem.  I am going to make my one obligatory, "Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous" because she was.  The cartoon was so far ahead of it's time and it had something for everyone.  It was full of amazing music, action and adventure, love and romance and most importantly friendship.  The stories were actually pretty mature without being preachy and they were just fun.  To this day, I consider myself a Jem Boy and I will be until I die.  Samantha Newark was the speaking voice of Jem and her civilian alter ego, Jerica.  If you aren't familiar with Jem, you can find her all over the web so I won't go into it.  I'll post some links at the end of this post to give you head start if you need it.