22 March 2013

22 March 2013 - Human League - Don't You Want Me (with a Sassy bonus)

This is the first song I can remember being my favorite song.  I outgrew it for a little while, but the song still endures for me.

The song itself is heavily electronic from a musical standpoint, but it isn't terribly sparse, like other electronic songs from 1982 were.  Human League were able to keep a deep sound, almost like a full band (more on that in a minute).  What made this song really intriguing, though, was the dual lead vocal.  It wasn't a traditional call-and-response song - the two vocalists each get a separate verse, with the male lead taking the chorus - but you still got both sides of the story, including a very dark and sinister possessiveness.



This song has been covered several times.  My personal favorite cover isn't going to wait for Totally Covered. It was done for a 1992 covers compilation that benefited Planned Parenthood.  Chia Pet's members included Christina Kelly on vocals, Jessica Vitkus Weeks on bass, Mary Ann Marshall on drums and Jane Pratt on violin.   Those names might ring a bell, if you were a fan of the magazine Sassy - Jane Pratt was the founding editor, and the others were writers and editors for the magazine.

This version was 100% NOT electronic, and didn't have a male lead vocal (there is a 2nd woman singing), but, because the song was so well-written, this still worked! Also, Christina Kelly was kind of bad-ass - still is - which helped pull off the sinisterness of the vocals.


21 March 2013

21 March 2013 - G Love - Shooting Hoops

Awwww yeah . . . The NCAA Basketball Tournament really starts today (those play-in games do not count). For me, filling out my brackets and the first weekend of games are better than Christmas, my birthday and St. Patrick's Day combined. And even if I'm forced to miss the late afternoon games today and tomorrow due to my own tennis coaching responsibilities (would it kill y'all to pray for rain for me so I can cancel practice?), my three TVs in my basement bar (I refuse to call it a "mancave") will be working overtime for the next four days.

Oh yeah . . . music. Here's some G Love to get you in the mood.

20 March 2013

20 March 2013 - Young MC - Bust A Move

I always thought the lyrics in this tune were so absurd.

"Food is served and you're stone cold munchin'"

Seriously?!!  Seriously?!?!

Still, this was, and still is, a fun, mindless dance jam... and Young MC had serious hip hop chops.  I want you to seriously listen to this song, but ignore the lyrical content.  He's not just lazing through the tune.  This is a high speed, high tempo song, with four verses (which isn't common in this day and age).  And he used a lot of big words not commonly used in hip hop, even in old school days.

Plus, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers plays bass on the song and appears in the video.  So, bonus.

19 March 2013

19 March 2013 - They Might Be Giants - Icky

I'm fairly certain that everyone at some point in their high school days was a They Might Be Giants fan. Most of us made it through those years with fine memories and can probably still recite every lyric on records like Lincoln and Flood. Many of those fans though, likely moved on. I know I certainly did. I do think it's cool that they are still making fun music that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Their new album Nanobots came out earlier this month and while I likely won't be picking it up, the first song fits quite nicely in their extensive catalog. Check it out.

18 March 2013

18 March 2013 - The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

A song written expressly for the point of being a guilty pleasure?  Well, why would it not be on this blog?

Formed in a post-grunge era - in the year 2000! - The Darkness were a glam rock band and a throwback to an earlier era.  And these guys really understood glam rock, with the over-the-top guitars, the screaming vocals, and the sweet-ass costumes!

Here's their biggest hit.  Enjoy!



The band reformed in time to do a Super Bowl comercial in 2012..... They hadn't lost their touch.  Or their glam rock sensibilities!

15 March 2013

15 March 2013 - Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child

And with this, we complete our Swedish trilogy, with our Neneh Cherry and ABBA posts. It's fortunate that this one also happens to be a big current hit.

This is a little different than other music we've heard out of Sweden in the past.  Sure, we've had dance music, but such electronic sounds normally come from the New York, LA, Toronto, and London clubs..... not Stockholm.  But these three DJs indeed did meet in the clubs of Stockholm, and together have developed a huge following and interesting, progressive yet mainstream music.

This has been their biggest hit so far worldwide - currently at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, after a peak position on #6 - but they are on their last tour together.  Here's hoping these three gifted DJs bring us more exciting music individually.

14 March 2013

14 March 2013 - Kate Bush - Pi

Today is Pi day. I was going to post about the significance of pi, but I can't really explain what it actually means (I think it has something to do with circles . . . math is hard). Needless to say I scrapped that idea. Then I thought about going with a dessert joke and posting a Cake video. But I really don't like dessert (or Cake for that matter). So instead, here's a fan-made video (that's actually pretty good) for Kate Bush's song Pi off of her Aerial album.