6 February 2023 - Ava Max - So Am I

I pretty much hated pop music in my teens and twenties…well with very few exceptions.

In 2009 I turned the corner so to speak and fell head over heels for the one and only Kelly Clarkson and her song “My Life Would Suck Without You.” I actually hid the fact that I owned All I Ever Wanted for longer than I would care to admit. It was a matter of punk rock pride. Like I, a huge Archers of Loaf and Quicksand fan, would dig the first American Idol???

(For the record, I have never watched that show…even if I have friends who have done well on it…I don’t watch The Voice…anymore either…but an old friend did well last season).

So that takes us to the somewhat present. XM Radio’s Hits 1 is always on in my wife’s car. I dig it. Especially when Albanian-American artist Ava Max comes on. Her tunes are so reminiscent of Clarkson’s “rockers” but not as wholesome. “Kings & Queens” and “Sweet But Psycho” are her two big songs off her first album, but there’s something about “So am I.” It has that Clarkson vibe but throw in the empowerment of Pink and Katy Perry (two artists we here have paid tribute to in the past) and we’re talking gold.

3 February 2023 - Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day

I know we all think of "gangsta rap" as super angry and negative.... but Ice Cube, one of the godfathers of the genre, shows us that it doesn't have to be.  

This single peaked at #15 on the POP charts.  The POP charts, man.  It's his biggest hit to date...... which, given that he's also the godfather of Daddy Day Care, is likely to hold. 

The song was a reflection of Mr. Jackson's life in 1992 - it was pretty good.  He was well known, on top of the world, and not slinging constant disses back and forth with N.W.A. anymore.  Funny thing is, some people have tried to pin-point the exact "Good Day" in the song.  Note: there wasn't ONE.  It was a compilation of a lot of good days.  

2 February 2023 - Living Colour - Glamour Boys

Why this New York City band used British spelling is no mystery to me - guitarist and principal songwriter Vernon Reid was from London.

This 1988 single - a top 30 hit - was a biting rebuke of those who were caught up in fashion and lifestyle. The best part?  Produced by Mick Jagger - from a little British band himself - who was instrumental in getting the band signed to a record deal.... a fact the band found bittersweet.  In the 1980s, there weren't all-black rock bands getting major label deals, but the fact that Mick Jagger happened to see them live and "endorsed" them got Living Colour signed.

Still, I'm grateful.  This unique, funky band got real MTV airplay and attention thanks to a chance meeting with a rock and roll legend.  

Let's get to this song.  The verses are clearly reggae-influenced, with an "island" feel.  The chorus, however, ramps up the heavy and rocks hard.

The band briefly broke up in the 1990's, but got back together.  Here they are in 2019, performing this song. Personally, I don't think Corey Glover has lost a bit of his vocal power.

1 February 2023 - Aya Nakamura - Baby

Most of my readers are from the United States.  So, you've likely never heard of French/Malian singer Aya Nakamura.  In Europe, though - she's huge, without a doubt. Nakamura isn't her real last name (she lifted that from a character on the TV show Heroes, which I can't recommend enough unless you want to watch it past the first season.....).  Her fame grew out of, shockingly, her YouTube channel.

This is the lead single off her latest album, DNK, released on January 27th.  Written by Nakamura herself, it is a pretty standard R&B song both musically and thematically.  It just happens to be in French.  So, I encourage you to give it a listen, and I hope you like it as much as the last French-language artist I pushed down your throats.

31 January 2023 - Rolling Quartz - Blaze

We went down a cover rabbit hole yesterday, but in doing so, we discovered a rockin' band.

Rolling Quartz formed in 2019 when Rose Quartz and Rolling Girlz, two different bands, merged into one, creating an indie rock band that demands your attention.  

That's right.  I said "demands."   They're that good.  Jayoung's huge vocals drive the band, all of whom are both technically strong and bring personality to their performances.

This, their debut single, was released in December 2020.  

The band formed just before the global pandemic, and released their first single DURING the pandemic, so they had to adapt to a new normal in performance, but they also came back to live performances hard as soon as they could. 

30 January 2023 - Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni

It's not often we get to feature Eurovision-winning bands.  I'm happy to say that Italian band Måneskin fits that bill.

This song, written by the band, was Italian representative and winner of Eurovision 2021.  The song also won the Sanremo Music Festival the same year.  Notice how hard the song rocks.  It is an angry rebuke of an older generation who does not value the input of those younger than they - the title roughly translates to "Quiet and Good" i.e. shut up and be good kids.

The song actually started off as a ballad.  Strange to imagine that, so we'll just give you the song that won Eurovision.  Viva l'italia!

Yes, of course we're including their Eurovision performance.  C'mon now.

26 January 2023 - Hall & Oates - Out Of Touch

Daryl Hall and John Oates may be the greatest duo of the 1980s.  At least, my friend Mark thought so.  

In 1984, this song went to #1 on the Billboard charts.  It would be the duo's last trip to the top of the charts - although they still had a few hits left in them.  Oates wrote the chorus off a synthesizer riff, and the duo wrote the verses the next day. 

 It's also one of my personal favorite songs by the duo.  Which is the real reason why we're talking today.