6 September 2013 - Ashlee Simpson - L.O.V.E.

It's been a good week.  You've been very good to this blog.  You've earned yourself some Ashlee Simpson.

You know, for someone who lived in the shadow of her supposedly prettier (whatever), more talented (not true), bigger hitmaker (who actually had exactly as many top 10 hits as her), reality show (who had exactly as many MTV reality shows as her sister (we aren't counting Fashion Star)) acting superstar (Big deal. Jessica did "The Dukes of Hazzard" terrible piece of crap movie. Ashlee was on "Melrose Place" and "7th Heaven"!), we think Ashlee's done pretty well for herself.   Besides, we aren't putting any Jessica Simpson on here..... yet.

So let's listen to the slightly funky Gwen Stefani influence in this song, a minor hit in 2005, and celebrate the great talent that is Ashlee Simpson.



Trust me.  This isn't the last time we're featuring Ms. Simpson on here.

5 September 2013 - 808 State (featuring Bjork) - Oops

Believe it or not I used to actually like electronic music in the 90s and Manchester's 808 State were one of my favorites. I saw them live twice when they toured for their fourth album Gorgeous in 1993 (one show they opened for New Order and the other they opened for Meat Beat Manifesto). Sadly, I never saw them play my favorite song Oops, which featured vocals by Bjork, but I'm equally relieved that bands back in the day had the sense not to play a tacky video of the not present vocalist which is all the rage these days . . . well that and holograms. OK, maybe a Bjork hologram would be cool. Or not. I really don't know. Just watch the video.

4 September 2013 - Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait

This remix was a hit for one hit wonders Nu Shooz in 1986, and a boon for Casio keyboards everywhere.

And now the song is stuck in your head, too.  You're welcome.

Seriously, this is a song that has always made me smile, and I hope it does the same for you.


Did you know that Nu Shooz were actually a husband and wife team?  And that they're still together? Here they are, performing the song live, and still sounding great and happy and upbeat.

3 September 2013 - One Direction - Best Song Ever

The 2013 VMA Award Winner for Song of the Summer.  And this angered a lot of people.  I don't understand why.  And so, I am going to embark upon my defense of One Direction.

When I was a kid, we had boy bands.  Specifically, we had a singing group named New Kids on The Block.  Those five kids from Boston made boy bands a little cool.  The next generation of kids had N*Sync and the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees and Take That and a whole bunch of boy bands that will probably all be featured on this blog sometime.

These boy bands all had two things in common.  First of all, they were made up of a bunch of mates who harmonized well together, VOCALLY, but were primarily vocal groups.  Second, they sang nice, quiet, sanitized pop songs, with little variation.

These five guys who just barely beat Cher Lloyd on X Factor (she came in 4th, they came in 3rd) have become a huge worldwide sensation, for real.  But they did it a little differently than boy bands that came before.  There's a pop sensibility -sure - but these guys clearly have a stronger rock influence than the boy bands that came before them. I'm not saying they're AC/DC here, but there is more of an edge than we've seen before.

More to the point, though - these guys are five very powerful vocalists who advanced on X Factor as soloists in their own right.  And some of them even played and play instruments.  They aren't just a vocal group.  They've got musical talent.

I mean, there's no doubt they were a little manufactured by Simon Cowell.  But they've grown much better than that.



And if you doubt my claim on them playing instruments.... well, here they are, some of them with instruments.  That they are actually playing.


Now that you've seen this, go over to Totally Covered and check out a cover by these guys.

2 September 2013 - Grimes - Oblivion

My path to discovering this artist, who has been around for a few years, is a bit of a convoluted one.  You see, this post started off life as a post by another artist.  That artist's name is Brooke Candy.  She's quite the character, with long pink dreadlocks, a wild wardrobe, and a foul mouth.   And, in my research about her, I found out that she is best known for appearing in a video by Grimes.

Well, that got me thinking - who is Grimes?  And I checked out that video - the song is called "Genesis", and it's a decent song in its own right, but it's not the song we're posting today - and it was good.  Then I found out she was signed to 4AD Records.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a 4AD junkie.  (There's a special post coming someday dedicated just to that record label.  But that's for another day)

That got me investigating more music by Grimes, and it led me to our song today.  Born Claire Boucher, and raised in Vancouver, meet your 2013 Juno Award winner for Electronic Album of the Year.  This video was filmed at McGill University, in Montreal, where the artist attended. And yes, this is a real football game and a real motocross exhibition, where she's walking around with headphones and a keyboard and singing.

And now that you've enjoyed Grimes, check out Totally Covered today for an acoustic version of this song by Franz Ferdiannd

(Update: 10 Jan 2014): I had the song stuck in my head.  So here's a live version.

30 August 2013 - Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness

August is ending.  School is starting again.  So why not a super depressing song to end the summer?!

That would be the end of this post, except this song has become kind of a big hit.... because it's kind of good and deep and beautifully done.  Sure, we are still talking about Lana Del Rey's Saturday Night Live debacle (which I think was overblown, but that's opinion), but this song.... so stirring.

As of this writing, this song, at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, is Ms. Del Rey's biggest hit to date.



To be fair, it is this remixed version by Cedric Gervais that has been getting all the airplay.... it's kind of a depressing song to get a lot of club airplay, and yet that's exactly what has happened.

29 August 2013 - The B-52's - Rock Lobster

Yeah, I could have easily posted the campy original Rock Lobster video by The B-52's, but this even campier "live" in-studio performance from Countdown is WAY better. I've watched this video three times today and I still can't stop laughing . . . Man, I'd kill for Fred Schneider's mad dance skills.



Five years ago I saw The B-52's in Virginia Beach on the beach. This weekend I get to see Daughtry at the same venue. Not quite the same now is it?