8 April 2013 - Queens of the Stone Age - 3's and 7's

I never thought a video game would introduce me to a song, let alone one that would become a fast favorite.  But that's exactly what Guitar Hero did.

I was familiar with, and even liked, Queens of the Stone Age prior to owning Guitar Hero.  Somehow, I had missed out on this song.  And there it was, in the game.  The song is a fantastic straight-ahead driving rock song - a little bit of a throwback to an older era, but still with a modern sound.

What pushes this song over the top into Wicked Guilty Pleasure is this video, an homage - parody? - of 70's grindhouse chicksploitation movies.  Brilliantly done, complete with the guy with a hook for a hand! Oh, and the buckets of fake blood.

And yes, I checked.  The actors seem to be  properly credited in the video.



By the way, an uncensored version of this video exists.  I didn't post it, because I could not embed it, but here it is, if you want to see it.

5 April 2013 - Kelly Willis - I Don't Want To Love You (But I Do) & River Of Love

I wasn't in the mood for anything truly guilty today, although, as far as this artist goes, these are about as guilty as they get.

I saw Kelly Willis at the Iron Horse Cafe in 1991.  I went with my mother.  Don't judge.  It's the only time I ever sat in the balcony there.  By the way, no better place to see live music.  She was touring in support of her 2nd album, Bang Bang, which was  not a bad album - at all - but her weakest, in my personal opinion.  Her record label, MCA, didn't really market her well.

Anyway, this song was from her 1st album - this performance is from Austin City Limits.  She very clearly states that this is her favorite song to perform.  Having seen the song performed live, I can testify to the fact that she does, indeed, enjoy performing this song, and it shows.



This song, also from her first album - Well-Traveled Love, which qualifies as my favorite country album of all time - wasn't exactly as much fun to perform, I imagine.  It's beautifully sung and performed - by now, you all know I'm a sucker for a lapsteel.  Lyrically, the song - written by the great Paul Kennerley - speaks to a subject matter we all know well - falling for the wrong person.  Kelly was married to her drummer at the time.... she divorced him the next year, so her rendition of the song was.... well, poignant.

4 April 2013 - Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better

It's 80s Thursday. So here's a Howard Jones video. Because really, when was the last time you actually thought about Howard Jones?

3 April 2013 - Len - Steal My Sunshine / Andrea True Connection - More, More, More

It was 1999.  Limp Biskit were the toast of the world.  Hip hop and metal were crashing into each other.  It took a bunch of Canadians slacking off in SoCal to take the metal back out.

That's right.  Len isn't a California band.  They are a Toronto band, built by Marc Costanzo (ex of Sum 41) and his sister Sharon - the two vocalists on this song, their biggest hit to date. It's chill and fun.  I'm sure you're all humming the song already.



Of course, this song would not exist if not for the fact that... "blue" movie star Andrea True (her real name) didn't take a trip to Jamaica in 1975 and decide to sing a song about her day job.

That's right.  The song is about porn, people.

The song is a disco classic - it's fun, it's energetic, and it has a great wood block beat and a fantastic bassline.  I know Marc Costanzo agrees - he chose it for his song as well.  And now, these two great, fun song are linked forever.

2 April 2013 - Dido - No Freedom

Admit it, at one point, you liked Dido's hit song Thank You (and not just because Eminem used it in his song Stan). Heck I did. I even bought her second record, but for the life of me I can't seem to name one song on it (that's not entirely uncommon for me, I do remember liking the album). Anyway, her latest record, Girl Who Got Away, came out last week. Here's the video for the first single. Sounds good to me in that Beth Ortonesque kind of way.

1 April 2013 - Colin James - Just Came Back

No April Foolin' here.  Instead, we give you the biggest US hit by Canadian superstar Colin James.  Of course, it's about a man who's being played for a fool by his lady, so maybe it IS an appropriate song.

You're hearing this song because I heard it yesterday for the first time in about 15 years.  Now, you can enjoy it, too.

29 March 2013 - All Saints - Never Ever

All Saints were an all-girl group consisting of members from the UK and Canada. In the US, All Saints are essentially one-hit wonders. In the UK and elsewhere, they're much better known for a cover they did that I'll have to put on Totally Covered one of these days.  They were one of the most successful groups of the late 90's there.

This is the one US hit.  It starts as a typical R&B ballad, which in itself would not make it a Wicked Guilty Pleasure.  Actually, that's not 100% true.  It starts off really quiet, spoken-word, and really sad.  But it gets stronger and louder as the song winds on. It also is the rare song that specifically speaks both to a US ("The alphabet runs right from a to zee") and a UK/Canadian ("The alphabet runs right from a to zed") audience.  As someone with a zed in his name, I appreciate that.  All in all, the song is well crafted and well performed.

Plus, there are LOTS of explosions in the video.



As is often the case, the group made a special video just for the US and Canada.  Who knows why, but here it is.  There aren't as many explosions, but there's a car on fire.