17 December 2024 - Danna Paola - 1Trago

Yes, I watched Élite right until the end, and yes, it was a huge letdown at the end, although I *loved* the very ending. 

I mention this because, as I have mentioned previously, Danna Paola acted on that show for several seasons. Her performance as Lu was underrated and transcendent and should have made her a global star.

Thankfully, her music has done exactly that. Her latest album, Childstar, an allusion to the fact that she was, indeed, a child star, is a platinum-selling hit in her native Mexico.  If you are watching a Latin American Spanish version of the movie Wicked, you'll also recognize her as the voice of Elphaba, a role she also played on the stage (at age 18, already pretty deep into her career).

But can we just sit back and appreciate the banger?  It doesn't matter if you don't speak Spanish.  It rules.   

16 December 2024 - Adina Howard - Freak Like Me / Girls On Top - We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends / Sugababes - Freak Like Me

It's been a while since I did a special post like this.   But when I was reminded of this Adina Howard classic (more on how I was reminded in a second), I remembered how sexy and hot and freaky this song was. Relying heavily on George Clinton and Bootsy Collins samples, the song just slaps.

It was also a HUGE hit in 1995, reaching #2 on the US pop chats and charting similarly worldwide. 

In 2001, producer Richard X put together a bootleg mashup that combined Adina Howard's song with Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric".  He released it under an alias, Girls On Top, and called it "We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends".   It became a huge underground hit. 

Adina Howard was not a fan of releasing this version commercially, which Richard X wanted to do.  

So, he called the Sugababes.  

Who recorded this. 

It was well recieved in the UK, where it was a #1 hit.  

Now, for some reason, the Spotify AI DJ thought I would want to hear this song last week, and boy, was the Spotify DJ.... spot on.  It made a hot and sexy song so much better.

By the way, Sugababes are still together, and performing, and getting a bit of a bump. Here they are performing live this summer at Wembley Stadium. 

 

Adina Howard is also still performing her song live, as she did last summer in Rochester, NY.  Sure, it isn't Wembley, but hey, it's still pretty awesome. 

13 December 2024 - Jenny Owen Youngs - Hot In Herre

On my Spotify Wrapped, this cover of a Nelly classic is #79.

It has, in fact, been in pretty heavy rotation for me for YEARS.

And yet, this was NEVER posted.  On EITHER blog.  

You know my new rules - covers can live here, too.  

I think this song really translates incredibly well to acoustic guitar. 

Here's what I really love about this: Jenny sings it so earnestly.  She's got some respect for the source material.  She doesn't shy away from the curse words, especially live, which is an even livelier version that I love even more. 

By the way, the full band version also works. 

12 December 2024 - Connor Price & Bens - Spinnin'

This was literally the #100 song on my Spotify Wrapped Top 100.   Which makes me happy.  I've been on a bit of a Connor Price kick lately. 

This song is from his 2023 concept EP Spin The Globe.  The concept is that Price would literally spin a globe and put his finger down on the globe, collaborating with an artist from the country he landed on.  In the case of this song, his finger landed on the Netherlands, and he made Bens TikTok famous as a result. 

The song itself is lively and catchy - and does experiment with world beats, as is his style. 

Connor can spit them mad beats live, too!  He started his career as a child actor, but really, I think he found his calling, and he's also good to his fans. 

11 December 2024 - Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings

On my Spotify Wrapped, this song landed at #61, but when I posted a different Caroline Polachek song back in January, this was almost the pick.  Since then, this has been the more listened-to song. 

Released in 2020, the song was not initially a hit song, but did get TikTok famous in 2022 and hit the alternative charts then.  Co-written by Polachek, producer Dan Nigro and singer/songwriter Teddy Geiger (from Rochester, NY!), the song was really kind of an extension of her Chairlift days (that was her former band). 

Also, the song AND video are both very cool. 

Anyone who doubts that Caroline Polachek can sing (and we admit we had doubts - her Jimmy Kimmel performance was too perfect) need not doubt any further - because this stripped-down version is absolutely beautiful. 

We do prefer her performance when she interacts with a live crowd - who react to her and know every word.

10 December 2024 - The Lonely Island ft. T-Pain - I'm On A Boat

This summer jam was my #59 song on my Spotify Wrapped this year.  It was only the fifth song I had not written a post about - and three of them were by Charlotte Cardin and I'm debating the other one right now. 

Anyway, this song started off as a Saturday Night Live skit, a parody of the over-the-top hip hop videos and matching angry-sounding lyrics about flippy-floppies.  The song ended up charting on the Billboard Hot 100 - and in other places, too! - and got a Grammy nomination!

It's also a great jam to crank when you're on a boat.  

If you prefer your songs without curse words - you don't know how hard it was to post this without saying "motherfucker!" repeatedly - check out this performance featuring classroom instruments, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.

To be fair, they were NOT afraid to curse when they performed the song on The Tonight Show with the Roots. 

9 December 2024 - Charlotte Cardin - Jim Carrey

Last week was the week that the entire world got their Spotify Wrapped.   Shockingly, mine is dominated by songs and artlists I post about on this blog.  

This includes my most listened to artist according to Spotify, Charlotte Cardin.  I dispute that somewhat, and I will angrily discuss that more someday, but going on their word alone, that's it.    But I definitely did listen to a LOT of Charlotte Cardin, without shame.  

I started going down my list of most listened to songs in 2024, and said I would make posts about the ones that have not yet been posted.  I did not think I'd have to go all the way down to 16 (to be fair, one of the top 15 is a scheduled post for 2025, but it is already written).  And it's a great song!

It's also not REALLY about marrying Jim Carrey.  In her words in an interview with the Globe and Mail: 

"I was always a fan of Jim Carrey’s acting, and I was going through a bit of hard time during the summer we were writing this album, so my producer suggested I listen to some of his talks about the ego. I went home that night and watched all his interviews and speeches about how our fears and desires to fit the mould are the main things holding us back from achieving our goals and growing into the person we should be."

The song is about her letting go of her ego.  And, her multiple-Juno-award-winning Celine-comparing ego was probably being fed pretty abundantly.  But instead, she turned it into a fantastic song.  

About marrying Jim Carrey. 

By the way, YES, he knows about the song, and YES, he loves it.  

Of course she performs the song live.  It is performed without a hint of ego.