8 June 2021 - Mandy Moore - Candy

On this very blog, in 2012, my friend and former co-author Scott Colvin posted a surprising XTC cover as performed by Mandy Moore.  This song was actually one of the catalysts that sparked our OTHER blog, Totally Covered, but we didn't have that back then, so this is where he put it.  

My immediate internal reaction when I saw that was, "you mean that girl who sang 'Candy'?"

There is a large subset of you reading this who are a little surprised that the mom from This Is Us was not only a pop star - at 15! - but a peer of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who was actually making the same kind of music.  And she was mentioned in the same breath as those huge stars, because her music was that catchy, and her voice was that strong - and still is.

So, big TV star Mandy Moore, who does XTC covers and classy folk-pop music now..... you might think she'd be embarrassed by this song now..... right?

Wrong. 

I've got to be honest.  When I started writing this, I expected to find an old performance of this song from year 2000 late night television - and I found a LOT of those.  I didn't expect to find this. This incredibly solid performance that brings a fair bit more soul to the song is from February 2020.  

7 June 2021 - Lorde - Perfect Places

Next week, we post our 1,000th blog entry.  Let's spend some time looking back on some of the more important posts on this blog.

Lorde has always been popular on this blog.  Our post about her song "Tennis Court" is the most popular by any solo artist on here.  You would have thought it would be a different song, but no.  Every Lorde post has done well, though.  

In 2017, Lorde released her long-awaited 2nd album, Melodrama.  She hasn't released anything since, despite the critical acclaim she received for songs like this, which was co-written by Lorde and Jack Antonoff.  

While this song didn't chart in the US, it was a minor hit worldwide... and it's an incredible, epic song.

Lorde performed this song live many times, in different versions.  In this version, she stripped it down, making it less epic and more intimate.  I almost like it better. 

4 June 2021 - Sheena Easton - Strut

This 1984 single, the lead single from her album A Private Heaven, was a huge hit almost everywhere in the world.... but not her native UK.  Go figure.  It was a departure from her more innocent love songs to a more adult, more suggestive sound - a sound she'd continue to pursue in a future collaboration with Prince.

I found early Sheena Easton to be boring, but 12-year-old Tony really enjoyed this song... and I still do.  Also, great, now you know how old I am.  

It seems noteworthy to say that she performed the song in a 1986 commercial in Japan while dressed as a geisha.  

3 June 2021 - Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother

We posted about Tracy Bonham on this blog almost nine years ago.  It i incredible to me that I am still writing this so far in the future from that.  

We referred to the fact that she was a one hit wonder.  This was that hit.  In reality, she had a 2nd hit - which I will post another day.  This was by far her biggest one, however, and for good reason - it takes a completely relatable story of a girl who has moved out of her mother's house and is trying to reassure mom that EVERYTHING'S FINE, even though it isn't.

This video, which got a lot of MTV airplay, features Tracy's actual mother on vacuum.

This version of the video was made for VH1, which had an audience that skewed older and more family-friendly.  I guess trying on clothes in a closet mutes the primal scream that EVERYTHING'S FINE. 

The VH1 video makes it a little clear, but this live performance makes it more abundantly clear that Tracy is playing a fiddle, and uses it to convey a tone shift and to punctuate the fact that EVERYTHING'S FINE.  

I miss you.

I love you.

2 June 2021 - Lit - My Own Worst Enemy

You were about thisclose to forgetting this song even existed, weren't you?  

And yet this was Lit's biggest hit, in 1999.  It was only a moderate hit, but it was a hit nonetheless.  It is the epitome of post-punk power-pop, but it was also a catchy tune.  It's OK to enjoy it.  

1 June 2021 - Cœur de Pirate - Plan à trois

It has been a hell of a year already for Béatrice Martin.  

She bought her record label - Dare To Care Records - and renamed it Bravo Musique.  SHe is now its owner, President, and A&R Director.... 

She had vocal cord surgery - to treat a hemorrhagic polyp. She seems to have recovered, although it left her completely silent for a while..   

She dropped a surprise instrumental album on April 30th (Perséides), recorded while she was recovering from vocal cord surgery.  It's a delight.  Highly recommended. I cannot stop listening to it. 

Plus she keeps getting featured on this blog written by some silly American fellow who discovered and fell in love with her music accidentally.  Seriously.  We've posted more Cœur de Pirate music here than any other artist thus far - this is the fifth post and I promise you there will be at least a 6th.  I want to make sure I say that loud enough for the people in the back.  A French-languange artist is making compelling, catchy music that transcends language barriers - again and again.  

And today, I am launching a campaign to make this single, released May 28th, 2021, the 2021 Song of the Summer, in the United States.  This is a catchy, mature, piano-synth heavy song that really deserves a lot of attention.  

Whether I am successful or not, this song is MY Song of the Summer, because it is a delight.  

31 May 2021 - Doja Cat - Say So

I have made an awful lot of Doja Cat jokes in my day. 

However, this is a clever and catchy song that brings a warm summer vibe, and, on this unofficial first day of summer, I felt it was a great choice. 

In writing this post, I gained a lot of respect for Doja Cat. You see, when you have a big hit song, your record label is going to push you to perform it EVERYWHERE.  Well, that's what RCA Records did to Doja Cat when it came to the 2020 MTV European Music Awards... 

So, in response, she made a genre shift.... and it was really good.