What song are you listening to right now?

I believe that her christmas record, back in the late 80s (was she 16-17 years old?) still is among the best selling norwegian albums, at least it feels like one of those albums, which is in almost everyones album collection. 
For me however, I remember her much later on, into the 90s and early 00s, when she were involved with the 1997-98 hit single Prince Igor, (just under the name of Sissel) among with Warren G, and I remember I got the CD single from my mum in winter of 98, when I was sick from flu or cold, and it were also featured on one of the Absolute Music compilations, released around the same time.

She also had another attempt on the more pop/mainstream world of music, when Espen Lind went on to produce/write for her, and she enjoyed a bit of success in Norway with the single:

I wonder what would have happened to her career, if she had sung My Heart Will Go On (the Celine Dion version), but over the years, I still prefer her calmer and more haunting Overture:
 

I know what you mean and I am feeling better today but my flu hasn’t completely gone away yet so I am going to the Doctors this afternoon and Beccy is coming home early from work to take me just to make sure I am alright and she is just worried ‘cause the last time I had a flu that lasted this long was not the flu and turned out to be Pneumonia but I am sure it is not this time ‘cause I am not feeling as sick as I did back then and have been going to work the last two days. I think the Pandemic has had a negative impact on all our lives on all our lives over the last year and it has left some of us with more free time than we would like with the amount of people who sadly lost their jobs due to Lockdowns/ Shutdowns causing companies to go broke and close permanently and it has been very hard to avoid seeing sad and tragic news ‘cause the news has been full of it with that along with the bushfires and floods we had here in the last year and a half and it will be good when things go back to normal but I think it is still going to be a while before that happens and it isn’t going to go away overnight.

Yeah. The internet has changed the landscape of music and has been a good platform for Artists and Bands who aren’t under major labels to promote themselves to listeners around the world and some Artists and Bands from previous decades that were under small labels and didn’t get promoted much when they started out have even made comebacks due to new fans listening their music for the first time and going on to buy their albums and they have started touring and releasing new albums again which must have been a blessing to some of them and while there’s no denying the internet has had a negative impact on the music industry in some ways like the rise of illegal downloading I feel it has had just as many positives too that are sometimes overlooked. It has also brought a lot of music fans together from all around the world on sites and forums as you noted and I have been a member and a moderator on a few music forums over the years and I also talked to a few Artists and members of bands when I was on Myspace in the 00s including some that went onto become big when they were just starting out like Cassadee Pope, Luke Bryan, Lee Brice and Melissa O’Neil who become an actress.

There are so many Artists and Bands out there though that there is not enough time to listen to all of them or enough money to buy all their albums () but I am glad to have discovered all the ones that I have ‘cause there is so much variety online compared to mainstream radio nowadays and I stopped listening to mainstream radio ‘cause they kept playing the same songs over and over again and I was not a fan of what they were starting to call Pop music. No. A lot of those bands I mentioned wouldn’t have become some of the biggest selling Rock and Metal bands of all time if it had not been for their record labels giving them a chance ‘cause it took years for some of them to catch on with people and for some it was finding that right song that become a hit and then people started buying their singles and albums and discovered their older ones and yes, there some that had success straight away with their debut albums but become known as One Hit Wonders ‘cause they were never able to follow up the success of those albums and I think one of the problems was some of them tried way too hard to outdo themselves or make an album as good as the first one instead of making one naturally.

Bands like Judas Priest, Rush and Cheap Trick never had that problem ‘cause they weren’t constantly trying to outdo a certain album and I liked Rush’s albums from the 80s the most too and didn’t know there were people that disliked them but people do have a divided taste in music as you said and we don’t always like the same things. I know with Uriah Heep the fanbase is divided ‘cause you have got some fans that don’t like acknowledging the albums after David Byron left which is a lot of them and some fans that only like their albums with John Lawton from Lucifer’s Friend and some that only like the newer albums with Bernie Shaw albums but I suppose when you go through as many changes as the band did with lead singers and musical styles it is bound to happen but I am among the fans that liked all their albums and I am the same with a lot of bands like Rush and Judas Priest and I think we discussed Judas Priest having an unreleased album last year after ‘Ram It Down’ that would have had songs like ‘Fire Burns Below’ and ‘Thunder Road’ on it and I still hope that sees the light of day ‘cause the songs they later released from it like the two above as bonus tracks on other albums sound good and as much as some fans are divided over that era I think there are a lot that would still buy it.

You are right about soundtracks and there have been a few soundtracks I have got for movies and TV Shows thinking they would have certain songs on them only to be disappointed to find they weren’t on them and I think some record labels don’t want songs on soundtracks ‘cause they prefer people get the full albums so they make more money. I didn't know that about 'Married With Children' but I know the theme song, 'Love and Marriage' was one of the many songs written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn and they wrote a lot of songs for Artists around the time of the Rat Pack and Frank Sinatra done a cover of the song and I actually have a book by Sammy Cahn which is a Songwriter's Rhyming Dictionary and my Grandfather bought it for me when I was young and was starting to write poems and songs.

As of now, the unormal has in a weird and creepy kind way, become the new "normal" life or everyday, at least compared to how it was almost a year ago, when all began, and the panic soon started spreading around. Most people, thought it would probably last for a few months, or so it felt, and then we had so much wrong and false "information", that were thrown around, and seemed to overflow the internet. But even scarier, it began to take place into more serious newspapers, sites and channels as well.
Of course, the media and certain "experts" did not exactly help out, by pushing on, all kind of scary and potential situations, both when it comes to peoples health or wealth.

I barely watch the news anymore. Not because I do not care, or feel for the tragic and sad situation, but there is just too much, all at once. Where the media and news, "milk" the death numbers of people, every day. And how many are ill, or have got any symptons or similar things.

Beside family and people I hold close, music and movies have probably been my best way of trying to take a "time-out" from it all. Of course, easier said than done, but without those hobbies, or any hobby, my life would have been very empty, and sadly, there are probably very many, right now, who does not get to see their beloved ones, or enjoy spending time doing what they love the most. So I guess, I should feel glad, that I have that in my life, as of now. Without them, I would not like to think how it might have gone.

Of course, physical training, running, driving a bike, or taking long walks, into the nearby forest and wild, has been also a huge and very important everyday boost.
As I know how lucky we are in Norway/Oslo, right now, where as in other big cities, peeople must stay inside, or do only get to go out, in certain hours of the day.
Still, there are lots of young students, being crammed into small spaced apartments, miles and miles away of their family and friends, in a town or place, where they know not many people, and then of course, the many elder, who are confused, lonely and yeah, the list goes on I guess. 

Hopefully, there might be some improvement, as they have just recently stepped up a bit, or should I say, eased down, in how strict the situation in certain cities are to be, and I really hope, they will soon re-open some of the indoor gyms, swimming pools and then maybe some of the everyday stores and shops, as I sure miss going to the second hand stores, looking up music, movies, books, and all kind of weird stuff.
Oh yeah, the positives and the negatives when it comes to the internet and music and movie business. I still remember very little of the Napster era, mostly because I was not that much online during the period, and when I started taking more notice, Napster were almost done, and for me, I guess Emule or a few similar sites were more prefered later one. Still, I never stopped buying or picking up CDs or VHS or DVDs, as Emule where kind like Youtube, in where I would download or search for unheard movies/songs, that where hard to find in physical stores (I did not began to shop online, until a bit later on), so I tended to use Emule for the lesser know horror and action films of the 70s, 80s and early 90s. And those I liked or loved, would soon end up getting bought on DVD or VHS.

The music however, were quite "messy". One could search for any artist or group, and often, you would get so much wrong music in return, so for me, I prefered to download/look up movies instead of music. Not sure if Emule or the other pre-Napster sites or clones, is still up. But with Youtube going strong, since 2006, I guess the days of Emule or Napster, is not likely gonna return for my part.
And I still buy lots of movies and music, but more now, through second hand stores, as I never know what to find, and often some of the best hidden gems, have been found that way, but of course, one has to dig a bit further on, and there has also been lots of "non gems" but for such cheap prices, I really cannot complain.

The downside, with having so much to choose or pick from, as we are truly spoilt, when it comes to the extreme portions of music and movies, lying around for free, often in much better quality than the physical releases, and yeah, there sure is a limit to how many films and albums one can watch or listen to, in a week or month.
For me, I would rather fell in love with one great album, which gets better, for each listen, than only listen to a bunch of forgettable/mediocre albums, just once, and then move on, and never really settle down, for a few favorites.
A strong debut album, or a big hit early, can sure do wonders, but as you mentioned, also a lot damage. I guess if bands like Rush had put out 2112, as their debut, or Judas Priest delivered something like British Steel or Screaming for Vengeance much earlier, it is not sure, they would last so long, and hand out so many great albums and songs, over that many decades.

Sometime, it is better to start slow, and then see where it might take you. Could be quite some journey, or it could end up with just a little bright spark, and then it is all over. Anyway, I sure know what I would prefer.



From what I understand, I guess many fans of Rush and Judas Priest, did not like that they shifted away of longer and harder or more complicted songs and music, towards shorter and more synth dominated music and style, yet, I believe of the many, many 70s hard rock, metal and prog rock bands who attempted going a similar way, very few came out, in such a strong and impressive way, as Rush and Judas Priest. They seemed to love the challenge, and accept that in order to keep on going with the times, some huge changes were in need, and while several of the 70s rock and metal acts might have enjoyed a few surprise hits into the 80s, Rush and Judas Priest would deliver great and fantastic albums, over and over, which is surely harder than just handing out a one hit wonder, every now and then.

It is strange, in a fun and interesting way, to see how certain old classics, can go on to live their own life, either through the original versions, or someone else, either through a tv show theme and, maybe being featured in a movie. 
Love and Married, is certainly one of those, that the moment people hear the first seconds, I am sure most who grew up during the 80s and 90s, immediately think of Married With Children, hopefully in a positive way. 

Anyway, as of right now, I am really enjoying digging up a few of the 70s albums of Fleetwood Mac, and I had not heard them since I first got them, around 2006-07. 
Have forgotten how much great songs that were from Tusk (1979), and while I have yet to hear again Rumours (1977), there is such a nice surprise, in the variaty in music and songs, and yeah, this is what I love about music and movies. Sometimes, going backwards, hearing or watching again a film or album, which you liked, but then put away for a long while, and suddenly, many years later on, visiting them again, and it all feels so right.