31 January 2012 - Katy Perry - Hot 'n' Cold

For Scott, he was hooked at "I Kissed A Girl."  For Tony, it was this song.  For me, the song shows an awful lot of emotional depth, while still remaining fun.  Plus, any video with a zebra gets bonus points.

Bonus Katy: Here she is performing a modified version of the same song as a duet with Elmo.  This clip caused quite a stir on Sesame Street, mostly for her choice of "dress-up clothes."

30 January 2012 - Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

So, I have this black Descendents hoodie that I pretty much wear all the time. I always get a good laugh when I'm wearing it on one of my afternoon walks to the bar for happy hour because I'm usually listening to some of the most unDescendents-like music possible (usually modern country or pop music). It gets even more comical when I run into my aging hipster DJ friend who always asks what I'm listening to. My typical reply goes like this: "The cool answer would be Afghan Whigs, the truth, Katy Perry." (note: the band names obviously change based on my mood of the day). I then get an earful about how bad manufactured pop/country music is...We pretty much have this conversation once a week. And while we agree to disagree, it's a typically fun chat for the both of us.

So that long-winded story is my way of admitting that I do indeed love Katy Perry. LOVE! I'm a sucker for an infectious pop song and both of her albums are filled with them. Pure pop perfection. I couldn't decide which video to post so I chose the one that started my Katy addiction. May have to listen to Teenage Dream on my walk today. Where's my Descendents hoodie?

29 January 2012 - Phantogram - Mouthful of Diamonds

As some fine readers of this blog know, I am a member of a Track of the Day club group on Facebook.  It has been going on since the summer - right about the time Spotify hit the States - and it is the finest musical education I've ever had.  Finding out about new (and old) music from my fellow club members, scattered throughout the country (and in Japan), has been enjoyable.

As a result, I will have a lot of material for Non-Guilty Sunday.  Thanks to Frank Boscoe, this song was stuck in my head for weeks.  Anyone who has been my Facebook friend for any amount of time knows that I have, on more than one occasion, gushed over this tune. From Saratoga Springs, NY, Phantogram is a 2-piece band that sound like they are a 6-piece band.  This particular tune is from their 2010 album - Eyelid Movies. It's a great song, and a great looking video.  Enjoy.

Bonus:  Here is the band performing the song live at the SXSW festival last year.  They are really good, and I am going to catch them the next time they're in town.

Bonus:  I *did* catch them live, they did this song, and they were arguably the best band I've ever seen live.  So, here's another bonus: a 2008 performance of the song, when the band was still called Charlie Everywhere.  Yes, that was actually the band's name.

28 January 2012 - Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle/Genie 2.0/Genio Atrapado

I remember when Christina Aguilera first hit the scene.... well, I remember when she first hit the scene after doing the Mulan theme, which isn't the time I am remembering.  She was a fresh new pop star with a big voice, who everyone was comparing to Britney Spears.  They were both young blondes who were alumni of the Mickey Mouse Club.

Christina, however, had a bigger voice.  Much bigger.

And, I remember commenting that, although Britney was the bigger hitmaker at the time, that I thought Christina's career had legs, and we'd still be talking about her a decade later.  Of course, I could not have predicted that Britney would go and shave her head, but I stand by my analysis.

I gained a greater appreciation for this tune a decade later, when it was time for the Greatest Hits album, and Aguilera uncorked this:

What a fantastic, mature reinterpretation of an already clever song! 

(Edit: 16 November 2020)  As we were writing a different post (which we will link here tomorrow and explain why) we discovered the Spanish-language version of this song, released about a year and a half after the original was.  Christina deserves a lot of credit for rerecording the video so her lips matched the song.  It paid off - the woman who DID NOT SPEAK SPANISH before recording this song (she was actively learning the language) ended up with a Spanish language hit. 

27 January 2012 - Cinderella - Shake Me

First concerts are always a tricky thing. Nine times out of 10 when you ask someone what their first show was, they'll meekly shrug and admit to something truly embarrassing. And even though I was way into it at the time, I definitely do not fall into the one in 10 who can stand proud of their first concert experience (seriously, I know people whose first shows were The Clash and The Ramones...despicable sorts). Well, Cinderella was my first fist pumping arena rock concert. While I'm not ready to divulge who the openers were (those who really know me, know the answer), but I'm sure they'll find their way onto future Hair Metal Fridays.

26 January 2012 - t.A.T.u - All The Things She Said/Y Soshla S Uma

International Thursday.  I'm starting to see a theme growing here.

Remember when this song was new, and these two young Russians were in "are they or aren't they lesbians" news stories all the time.  This video did nothing to change that perception.  More than that, though, is that this was a great song with a terrific beat and a spooky hook at the beginning.

And yes, the song was originally in Russian.  "Ya soshla s uma" literally translates in English to "I have lost my mind."  Compare.  They clearly refilmed this, the original video, rather than redub.  The script, however, was the same.

25 January 2012 - David Lee Roth - Just a Gigolo

It's my birthday today! I'm hoping the shenanigans will rank right up there with Diamond Dave in this video. Bozadee bozadee bop ditty bop!