6 May 2015 - The Darling Buds - Please Yourself

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st 
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

21 April 2015 - Charli XCX - Famous (& Sucker)

I have a problem.

I know this.

But c'mon.  This song is fun, and this might be the most bizarre, inventive and awesome video in the last few year.  And as much as I just wanted to let this one go, and stop it with the Charli XCX posts...

1. She is one of the most original pop artists today.
2. She's a reasonably prolific songwriter.
3. Charli XCX posts are usually the most widely read ones on this blog.

So, yeah, I am a fan.  I won't deny that. But this is all about pandering.  And enjoying what is a truly great pop song.

Also, check at about 2:38, to hear the one song off the Sucker album - the title track - that can never be a single.



You know I always like to give you a bonus.  So how about a live version?   Here ya go!



And, here is "Sucker" live...... Completely different style... less pop... very angry... and she pulls it off.

1 April 2015 - The Eagles - Hotel California

Seriously?   No.   Not gonna happen.

30 March 2015 - Echosmith - Cool Kids

I've been seriously deficient on the recent pop hits, haven't I?

Well, deficiency, be gone!

I think the song is a little strange.  After all, by virtue of being in a band, they are already the cool kids.  But it's a fun song - a bit of an 80's throwback, in my opinion.  It's fun, and I like that an unknown little band of kids suddenly had a top 20 hit.



Little known fact: that was actually the 2nd video for this song.  Turns out the song was almost two years old before it was a big hit.... and I like the performing-in-the-living-room aspect of this one a little better......

But, they're still a bunch of cool kids.

(22 August 2023: Update)

Echosmth rerecorded their own song.  It's different and amazing. There isn't a lot more we can say about it.  The band is a trio now, but they still slap.

27 March 2015 - Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman

A lot of people ask me, "Tony, what is your favorite song?"   It's a fair question.  It is a tough question, and something of a moving target.  I usually give an answer that is my favorite song of the moment.

I do, however, have a favorite song of all time. You might have seen me mention it - on Totally Covered.  Yes.  This is a repost.  Of a cover. 

But it's more than that. 

It's a reminder of my childhood.  During the 70's, I had a lot of Glen Campbell's music foisted upon me by my parents.  Well, many years later, I revisted some of it, and, to my surprise, I was a fan.  And now, it's a go-to song for me.

And it's a reminder of my musical failings.  Glen Campbell no longer tours.  I will never see him live.  But at least I have this recording.

26 March 2015 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion

This song has been my earworm for the past two weeks. In fact, I cannot remember hearing this song, from 2006, ever, before two weeks ago.   Before two weeks ago, I was not a fan of any Yeah Yeah Yeahs music. 

However, this is not your typical Yeah Yeah Yeahs song.  It's generally slower and more deliberate than their other material, with more acoustic guitar than you might be used to when thinking of their sound.  Lyrically, it's simple - not all that many lyrics.  It doesn't need them.   It's musically compelling enough.

25 March 2015 - MØ - Walk This Way

How the hell am I supposed to pronounce an O with a line through it?

"mew"?

"moo"?

"moe"?

I think the first is most accurate, but it's not a letter we pronounce in English.  Danish, yes.  English, no. 

It was hard enough to figure out how to type it!  (Alt-0216 on a Windows keyboard, by the way).

That doesn't matter right now.  What matters is that she is making smart music - electronic pop music with teeth.  Best known in the US for singing on an Iggy Azalea tune, MØ is making good music on her own.