28 October 2020 - Lena Katina - Never Forget / No Voy a Olvidarte

Frequent readers of Totally Covered already know who Lena Katina is.  Longtime readers of this blog know she's been here before.  

For the rest of you - Lena Katina was one half of a Russian duo named t.A.T.u., who played up a public lesbianism that wasn't real (evidenced by her bandmate's deeply homophobic statements about a decade later).  After t.A.T.u. went on hiatus to pursue solo careers in 2009, Lena took full advantage of the shot and made some really good pop music.  

I don't think it takes a genius to know that this song is about the death of t.A.T.u.  No, Yulia, her bandmate, isn't dead - but they didn't end on great terms (but did reform in 2014 for the Winter Olympics). The song, from 2011, was Lena's debut single and her biggest hit to date.  The video itself is a funeral for Lena and Yulia, as a symbolic and respectful end to t.A.T.u.   It became a worldwide hit.   

 

Of course, this being a member of t.A.T.u., there is an uncensored version of the video.

12 October 2020 - L7 - Pretend We're Dead

 In the early to mid 1990's, it was cool to be a hard rock band made entirely of females.  

Seriously.  This was a thing.  And, for some reason, it was a novelty.

L7 was no novelty act.  L7 was four very talented women who knew how to rock and rock hard.  That doesn't mean their music didn't have feeling.  Take this song, the band's biggest hit.  Donita Sparks (primary vocalist on the song) wrote this while going through a devastating breakup.  It was easier for her to pretend that the guy was dead - that helped her cope.  Thus, a song was born.

While they were no novelty act, L7 knew how to have fun live.  On this live television performance from 1992, you can tell they're enjoying themselves.

Also, Donita drops trou at about 2:49.  Oh yes.  I included a performance with nudity.  

By the way, I have a personal L7 live story.   I was in attendance at the 1995 Warped Tour in Northampton, MA.  I decided this time to do something I had never ever done at any show, and that's wander into the mosh pit for the last two bands - one of which was L7 (Sublime was the other).

I didn't expect the band to crowdsurf.  

They DID stay fully clothed for that experience, but I can honestly say that I've have L7 in my hands, indelicately.  This is not something I was going for - but when you have Donita Sparks surfing over your head, you don't want to be the one who dropped her.  

The Warped performance here is from the same tour, different show. 

15 September 2020 - Lush - Ladykillers

I've certainly posted about Lush in the past - but I posted about their shoegaze stuff.   

This is nearer to the end of their time together, in the mid-1990s, when they were starting to get poppy and score a radio hit or two.

3 September 2020 - Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

 Let's be very clear.

This is a very dark song.

To be clear, when Mark Foster wrote and performed the song, he was trying to write from the perspective of a homicidal kid thinking about shooting up his school.  Written in an afternoon, Foster had been writing commercial jingles and plowed through writer's block to get this song done. 

And, for a song that was just a demo, with Mark Foster singing and performing every piece, it's pretty rich and strangely beautiful.  

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Of course, Foster DID put a band together, and they made the song even richer..... but he still does pick up a couple of instruments!

2 September 2020 - 10,000 Maniacs - Like The Weather

 We're almost a decade into this blog, and we've NEVER posted about 10,000 Maniacs on this blog.

Let's fix that today.

25 August 2020 - Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé- Telephone

This video tells a story that doesn't entirely match the song.  I mean, it's set in a prison - and the song clearly isn't.

And that's OK.   It also doesn't hurt the song.  

What it is is a great song, with a great dance beat, celebrating the great dance song, co-written by Gaga and Beyoncé - and they wrote a song on which they could BOTH showcase their unique voices.  It ended up being Gaga's 6th consecutive #1 song - a feat matched by no other artist in history.  

I mention that Lady Gaga cowrote this song, and I have said numerous times that this woman has a lot of natural musical talent - enough that she uses vocal tricks to her advantage without taking away her timbre.  Which brings me to this live version - from 2017.

Clearly, Stefani really just wants to dance!  But it is the singing in which she excels on this night - and it is huge and CLEARLY pure.

 

Now, Beyoncé has also done this song live.  For some reason, they've never performed it together - but I hope that changes at some point in the future.

I wanted to close this post with this unique version of the song....  it is all on piano.

21 August 2020 - Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky

It's always good to hear from Miley Cyrus, isn't it? And this is her first single of the year - so it is assumed she made this video during the pandemic.



This song, released literally last week, is clearly about her breakup with Liam Hemsworth - and it's a deeply personal song, in only a way that Miley could be deeply personal. But this is Wicked Guilty Pleasures, not Wicked Guilty Therapy Sessions, so it's got to be enjoyable, and it is. 

Musically, it's straight ahead bass-driven pop with significant synth.  It's a great 80's throwback with a modern feel - and it's fun.  And that's enough.