15 October 2014 - Zedd (feat. Foxes) - Clarity / Foxes (feat. Matthew Koma) - Clarity

I waited an awfully long time to post this.  Mostly because I got really sick of it when it was overplayed.  I mean, it's a well-written song, and Zedd is a pretty good DJ, and Foxes has a pretty solid voice, and was able to own this very emotional yet heavily electronic song despite being so young and untested.

Then I heard this.  And I heard the ache and longing.  I heard the power of Foxes's voice - who really makes this song hers with a simple piano accompaniment - and I heard the power of Matthew Koma's (who wrote the song and is an excellent performer in his own right) (and who still couldn't stand up to Foxes) and suddenly I wasn't sick of it anymore.

10 October 2014 - 5 Seconds of Summer - She Looks So Perfect

Forget that these very photogenic boys are being compared to and adored to the levels of One Direction (they are colloquially known as 5SOS).  Forget all the comparisons to Blink 182 and Green Day. Forget how absolutely boring "Amnesia" was. Forget the clear American Apparel name drop.  Forget how ridiculous this video is and how many people they got to take off their clothes for it.

This song absolutely rocks, from the opening rift to the last chord.  No one can forget that or deny that.

9 October 2014 - Transvision Vamp - I Want Your Love

I don't know why I haven't posted Transvision Vamp, one of the most underrated bands of the 80's and early 90's, before today.   Why were they underrated?  Probably because Wendy James was too sexy, had hair that was too blonde, and showed too much boob and leg.  Oh, yeah, she was blonde AND British AND dared to be the front person of a rock band, so they must be just like The Darling Buds (let's not even get into the fact that Andrea Lewis is Welsh here.  We'll do that on May 6th.) and The Primitives (Tracy was going more Marilyn with her look than sexpot). 

The fact that Transvision Vamp had their roots in Agent Orange and X-Ray Spex (Anthouny Doughty), and members went on to somewhat successful solo (Wendy James) and band (bassist Dave Parsons was in Bush after TV) careers... that doesn't seem to matter.  But the fact is, they were an excellent power pop band with two great albums and a 3rd that wasn't awful.

And I'll say it.  I'd love to hear a 4th.

This is a song so good, it was on both of their first two albums, the excellent Pop Art and the woefully underrated (in the United States) Velveteen (in my opinion, one of the five best albums of all time) The song was only included on US pressings of Velveteen, but I still have my copy purchased on the day of its release to prove it was there. 

But this song is just a perfect piece of power pop that will get you going even on your worst days.  A top 5 hit in most of the civilized world in 1988, it failed to chart in the States.  Which is just a crime.

3 October 2014 - Natalia Kills - Zombie

I am on a bit of a Natalia Kills kick of late.  Scott posted one of her songs more than a year ago, and that is a gem.  Of course, that song is called "Problem", which just happens to have the same title as a little Ariana Grande song that did a little better on the charts (and was also a gem).

18 Septenber 2014 - Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment

When the Canadian band Barenaked Ladies released their Born on a Pirate Ship album in 1996, it signaled a new era for the band.  More to the point, it was far darker than the lighthearted fare that had been the hallmark of their earlier songs ("If I Had $1,000,000" comes to mind).  While Steven Page had not lost his penchant for obscure words ("blending into dull tableaux") and Canadian references ("the Danforth" refers to Danforth Ave. in Toronto), he used it not for humor but for drama and nostalgia.

The resultant song is a gem, full of emotion and angst, that would be the first of several US Top 100 hits for the group.   That's right.  This was the first. This is the song that paved the way for "One Week", one of the very first songs posted on this blog. 

27 August 2014 - Charli XCX - Break The Rules

True story - I did consider starting a Charli XCX-centered blog.  I mean, I post enough of her stuff here.  

But I didn't.

I am, however, a fan of hers on Facebook, and I was discussing with other fans who were bemoaning the end of True Romance-era Charli, calling songs like "Fancy" and "Boom Clap" a "different kind of creative."  Others shouted down that comment, but I agreed.  Evolution isn't necessarily bad.  Sucker - her upcoming album - will be poppier but solid.  We had already heard the sugary "Boom Clap" (which is also on the new album) and the pop/EDM of "Superlove" )which is also presumably on this album - Charli said that it was there last year, but it isn't on the pre-announced track list, which I find odd).  So we are looking at a more mainstream pop record. So I thought.

I wish I had heard "Break The Rules" first. This song here is why I never should have posted "Boom Clap".  This should have been the big hit song, not that.  But this could be a big hit song.  I'm hoping this is a big hit song.  This song reminds me of the great "Nuclear Seasons" - dark and punky, while retaining its pop edge.  By the way, that song will be your #1 suggestion at the end of this video.  Thanks, YouTube!

Back to this song..... so far this and others I have heard from Sucker (NOT named "Boom Clap") really have a straight-ahead rock feel - very Runaways-inspired.  This song is what I think what we would hear if Joan Jett discovered EDM. 

Also, she quite famously cannot dance. Any number of live performances of "Fancy" should have told you that.  Or the first 30 seconds of the "What I Like" video. This video leaves no doubts. Just check out her moves on the top of that bus.  Or this live performance of the song..... which I'd like to add sounds really good even without all the effects on Charli's voice....

26 August 2014 - Katy Perry - Birthday

You know, I hadn't really been a fan of a lot of Katy Perry's latest songs.  I don't know why.  They just weren't doing it for me.   But, then again, a lot of her songs in the past have taken awhile to grow on me - "E.T." being the most noteworthy example.

Well, then came "Birthday".  And my faith in Katymanity was restored.

The video - Katy Perry in disguise crashing birthday parties - is amazing.  And don't worry, folks - she didn't really ruin anyone's day.  (Check out 5:40 in the video to see how she made a whole bunch of kids happy.)   But, even without the video, it's a fun song, worthy of our Hall of Fame.