31 July 2024 - Rolling Quartz x AleXa - Pink Drop

This song is maybe the most compelling reason why we're starting to post covers here.  You see, yesterday, I talked about my favorite album of 2023 - and my favorite song on that album.

My favorite SONG of 2023 was this one.  And I wrote about it in December of 2023 on Totally Covered. It never felt like it belonged there, at all.  Mashups are weird - the band took two songs and shoved them together and made something that was strangely better than the two were apart.  I did such a good job writing that, and so few of you read it, that the rest of this post is quoting HEAVILY what I said in December.

And, when I opned the post with, "I'm not going to lie.  Today's feature was SUPPOSED to be the other blog", it was a Rolling Quartz original song that just was not as good as this one.  

As you know, as part of my wiring process, I look for live performances of a featured song.  And, I found one.  I was looking for a second and I found a full performace by the band.... which I decided to watch.

This mashup cover of "Pink Venom" by BLACKPINK (I wrote the "Pink Venom" post two days after this one, because I needed the contaxt, but this is SO much better!) and "MIC Drop" by BTS was featured in that performance.   It blew me away.  

So, I started looking for the cover individually.... and I found it.... not realizing that it was not just a live thing, but something the band ACTUALLY did, with AleXa coming in to share vocals with Jayoung.  AleXa is a Korean-based performer from Oklahoma, and is best known as the winner of the NBC competition series American Song Contest.

Of course, AleXa has her own career and can't tour with Rolling Quartz all the time, despite being unofficially called the band's 6th member.  Jayoung, however, is perfectly capable of shouldering the vocals herself.

And no, this is not the same live performance I used before.   This is one where Jayoung is not doing an AleXa impersonation during her part.

By the way, this was the full performance, and it is spectacular - "Pink Drop" starts around 9:20.

30 July 2024 - Patrick Hernandez - Born to Be Alive

I didn't say I wouldn't post the original. It is an amazing song and was a worldwide hit in 1979.  It was a top 20 hit in the US, and number one in many countries, including his native France and his father's native Spain (it was #2 in his mother's native Italy).

The song was just fun, and it changed his life - he found success in Europe, if not the US.

And yes, he's still around, and he still performs the song with just as much aplomb.

30 July 2024 - Elisapie - Inuuniaravit (Born to Be Alive)

The changes to Totally Covered and Wicked Guilty Pleasures have been a long time coming.  I had thought about merging the two for about two years now.  It's a lot of work to maintain TWO daily blogs, and I had neglected Totally Covered.

Then, March 2024 happened.  You know, I do the whole #MapleLeafMarch thing every year, and in the lead up to that, I try to discover new Canadian music.  One thing I discovered was that Elisapie - an artist I was not previously familiar with but I sure as hell am now - had in 2023 recorded an album of covers, translated into Inuktitut - which is a language spoken by some First Nations people who happen to live in the far north.  The album was, in fact, called Inuktitut - and, as will be a recurring theme this week, I own it on vinyl now - and it is my favorite album of 2023.

I went on to post five covers by Elisapie between the end of February and the beginning of April of this year - on Totally Covered.  You need to go check those out, because they are amazing.  

I posted nothing about her on this blog, and that bothered me a lot.  A lot of times in the past, when I discovered a song was a cover, I would often post the original here, and the cover on Totally Covered. In these cases, it just didn't feel right to do that.  I really wanted those songs over HERE.  

So, this is a song I held back - mostly because it didn't have an official video, but it is also my favorite song from my favorite album of 2023.  I want you to hear it and see it - so that's why it's here.   This version is absolutely sublime.    

29 July 2024 - Phantogram -- Mouthful Of Diamonds

I know what you're thinking right now.  

"Did you run out of ideas?  You posted this one already!!"

I sure did.  In the first month of this blog.  I wrote it, and it was one of the first significant posts on this blog.  

So why am I revisting this? 

Because I think more can be said.  And, since I have recently purchased Eyelid Movies on vinyl, I felt it was time to revisit the pride of Saratoga Springs and tell you where I've been since this time, and what's going on with this blog.  So, this week, I will talk about the future of Wicked Guilty Pleasures and Totally Covered, and also revisit some of my favorite posts from the past.  

Don't worry.  There is a future. We're not going away.  At all.  By any stretch.  I literally already have posts written that you won't see until 2029.  So, there's a clue. 

Before I do that, though, let's talk about the coolness of this song.  Because it is seriously cool.  And in the 14 years since its initial release, it has not gotten less cool.   But since we wrote our initial post, Phantogram have become something of an industry darling.  The members have been in high-profile relationships (and Sarah Barthel somehow made it onto NBC's Olympic coverage because of that).   

And the band has changed.  This is the band performing the song in 2014.  I feel like they were still breaking out of their shell then.  Sarah is behind the keyboards.

By 2019, she's on the bass.  And, as synth-heavy as the song is, you can hear the bass now.  

In 2023, she's interacting with the crowd.

Much like Sarah Barthel, we're growing and changing.  NO, we did not go blonde.  We ARE looking for opportunities to get bigger and better.   To that end, we want your comments.  We are going to grow this blog to a real source for music, and not just a guy regurgitating his thoughts on old songs.  OK, this week, it's gonna be old songs.  

Going forward, this blog is going to be the focus.  You'll not see Totally Covered go away - it's way too much fun - but you're going to start to see covers over here.  There's too many good ones, and I think too many were getting turfed over to the other blog - and people read this one. 

This isn't the only change.  Stay tuned.

26 July 2024 - Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing

You know, I sometimes sit on drafts for a very long time, especially when they are unexpected.  

And the unexpected pieces of this, the fourth single and title song from her second album, are as follows:

1) Suzanne Vega, usually a solo songwriter, co-wrote this song with her backing band, who feature prominently in the video.

2) This song was her 2nd trip to the Billboard Hot 100 (her first being "Luka", of course).  The third single from Solitude Standing - you know, the one that preceded this one - "Tom's Diner" - in it's DNA remixed version, would go on to become her third.  

I bought Solitude Standing in 1987, on cassette - it came in a longbox, which was a type of packaging to prevent theft - and this song, which personifies solitude as a woman, was quickly one of my favorites.  

Somehow, when performed live, the song becomes a little angrier, sharper - more focused.  The cool, laid-back version jumps to life when there's a crowd.

Vega recorded a sparser version of the song in 2011 - she did a series of four albums called Close-Up - each labeled by volume.  This version is a live version of the one recorded on Close-Up Vol. 3.  

The Close-Up albums are really cool and interesting, by the way, and if you are a Suzanne Vega fan, you should seek them out.  

25 July 2024 - Maná - Lluvia Al Corazón

What?  We're ending our hiatus on an obscure Spanish-language song?

Yes.  Yes we are.  

You see, Maná has been around since the early 1980s (in 1981 as Sombrero Verde, adopting their later name in 1986) - and yet, this 2011 song, literally thirty years into their career as a band, was a breakthrough single for them in their home country of Mexico.  They had other singles, and a couple of other hits - and a ton of US Latin Chart hits - but this one - this launched them into the upper stratosphere of hitmaking.

But, this is a band that has won many awards, including four Grammys and eight Latin Grammys.  

It's a mournful and still an upbeat song.  And it doesn't matter that you don't speak Spanish.  Enjoy the emotion.

Of course they did a pandemic live version, 9 years after its release.  And of course it sounded just like the original.   Maná has been nothing if not consistent!

1 July 2024 - Charlotte Cardin - Passive Aggressive

Happy Canada Day for those who celebrate.  

Here's Canada's own Charlotte Cardin, with her 2020 hit that established her as a credible artist and a Canadian hitmaker - the first single from her album Phoenix.  The Montreal-born singer-songwriter, has been making waves in the music industry with her unique blend of pop, jazz, and electronic elements. Her track "Passive Aggressive" offers a raw and honest look at the complexities of modern relationships. 

The song deftly tackles a common yet often unaddressed issue in relationships. The song's lyrics paint a vivid picture of the frustration and confusion that arise when direct communication breaks down. Cardin's portrayal of passive-aggressive behavior is both relatable and uncomfortable, forcing listeners to confront their own experiences with this destructive communication style.

Charlotte Cardin's background as a French-Canadian artist adds an intriguing layer to her music. Growing up in bilingual Montreal likely influenced her ability to convey complex emotions through her songwriting. The city's rich musical heritage, blending North American and European influences, can be heard in the sophisticated pop sensibilities of "Passive Aggressive."

The production of "Passive Aggressive" is a masterclass in creating atmosphere through sound. The track opens with a sparse, almost eerie piano line that sets a tense mood from the outset. As the song progresses, layers of electronic elements and percussive beats are added, mirroring the building frustration in the lyrics.

Cardin's vocals are treated with a light touch of reverb, giving them an intimate yet slightly distant quality that perfectly captures the emotional state of someone dealing with passive-aggressive behavior. The chorus explodes with a fuller sound, representing the release of pent-up emotions.

One of the most interesting production choices is the use of distorted, chopped vocal samples in the background. These create a sense of internal dialogue or conflicting thoughts, adding depth to the song's exploration of communication issues.

You didn't expect such an in-depth analysis from this blog, did you?   Well, expect it now.