22 February 2021 - Superbus - Apprends-moi

For my English-language speaking audience, the title translates roughly to "Teach me".  That is about the limit of the amount of French I speak.  

Superbus is a French band, and this was a top 20 hit in that country in 2012.  However, the band got its start because their lead vocalist, Jennifer Ayache, came to America to perfect her English, after which she wanted to start a band.  I suppose the rationale was that English-language songs would sell better?  At any rate, this isn't an English-language song (although some of their stuff is) and it did pretty well.

This song, as is a lot of this band's music, is heavily influenced by 1980's music, with a synthesizer playing a strong role.  

19 February 2021 - Charly Bliss - DQ

This is the 900th post on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.  It wasn't supposed to be our 900th post.  

In fact, this was not a band I had heard OF before I posted #899 yesterday.  

I first heard Charly Bliss on February 18th, 2021.  They've been around for several years, but for some reason, I only stumbled upon them today.  They are now in heavy rotation.   This fun, perky, punky song that contains the line "I bounced so high I peed the trampoline" is perhaps my early favorite. 

The band has been compared to Weezer, and I hear it.  But they're somehow even quirkier than Weezer, and that's a good thing. 

You know that I am going to add a live version of this song, right?  From the 2017 Audiotree Music Festival in Kalamazoo, MI, you can see that the whole band is full of cohesive energy, with Eva Hendricks a solid frontwoman, and not just a vocalist.

Also, everything I hear about this band is that they are all very nice.  

For all these reasons, I rewrote post #900.  And I will revisit this band.  They are incredible.

18 February 2021 - The Smithereens - Miles From Nowhere

This isn't the first time I've posted about New Jersey Music Hall of Famers The Smithereens.  

It IS the first time I have posted my absolute favorite song of theirs.  Released in 1994 in support of their album A Date With The Smithereens, the Pat DiNizio-penned song is perfectly on brand for the band, if not a little more grungy.  This was because we were living in a post-Nirvana world in 1994, and since Butch Vig - the guy who produced Nevermind - was supposed to produce this album, it makes a lot of sense.   

However, a couple of weeks before recording was to start, Vig decided to drop the project, which prompted Capitol Records to drop the band.  RCA picked them up quickly, and with great producer Don Dixon - who had produced their first two albums - the album was back on. 

The song was far from a big hit, but it is a beautiful, angry, desperate breakup song.    

Even though DiNizio has passed away, the band lives on with guest vocalists.  Here they are in 2019 with special guest Marshall Crenshaw.

17 February 2021 - Sonic Youth - Kool Thing

"I don't think so" is a line right out of "Going Back To Cali", and this song was supposedly about LL Cool J's misogyny following an interview Kim Gordon did with him for SPIN Magazine.  Read it.  It's really cringeworthy.  

Clearly, Chuck D was OK coming along for the diss - although he seems to be friendly with LL Cool J.  

There are a lot of other LL references in this song, which was Sonic Youth's major label debut.  All in all, it's a short, digestible song that introduced the bombast of Sonic Youth to a wider audience, and it was their biggest success to date.  

16 February 2021 - LL Cool J - Going Back To Cali

No one was released slow songs in the rap genre in 1988.

No one else was James Todd Smith, either.  

This video was instantly in heavy rotation on MTV, and not just because of the Martha Quinn cameo at 3:08.  No, it was a cool song. Cowritten by LL Cool J and Rick Rubin, the song was inspired by Rick Rubin's hesitance to move to LA - because he thought the girls would be too sexually forward.  

This song did inspire a response, which will be here tomorrow.  

15 February 2021 - Commodores - Nightshift

In 1985, the Commodores were what those in the music industry may call "past prime."  Their charismatic leader, Lionel Richie, had left the band.  They hadn't had a hit in a few years.   It seemed like they were done.

And then came "Nighshift".  Initially, the band didn't want this song, which was a tribute to two legendary singers who had passed far too young in 1984 - Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, to be a single.  Their label insisted, and it ended up being not only an R&B but also a pop hit - one of the biggest of their career.  It won the Grammy in 1986 for Best Vocal R&B Performance by a Duo/Group, an honor that was well-deserved.  

Suddenly, the Commodores were no longer seen as past prime.  This song cemented their own legendary status and proved that there was a market for smooth songs like this. 

Of course, you can hear the emotion tied to this song in its live performance.  On top of being legends, the band KNEW Marvin and Jackie.  When Walter Orange sings "he was a friend of mine", he means it.  Eagle-eyed listeners will hear Wilson and Gaye lyrics quoted in the appropriate verses.  

14 February 2021 - Alannah Myles - Love Is

I wanted to post something appropriate for today.  This second single by Canadian superstar Alannah Myles, the follow up to the huge "Black Velvet", seems to be a good choice. 

Except... funny story... It was actually her debut single in Canada. In the rest of the world, the other song came first. In her home country, this one did. And THIS song also got the Juno nomination for Single of the Year in 1990 (it lost to "Black Velvet"). 

Although often forgotten, this song was a top 40 hit. Alannah Myles is no one hit wonder!!!!!!  Anyway, enjoy the video that most of the world enjoyed in 1990.

This is one of those songs with two official videos. Here's the Canadian version.