31 January 2024 - Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam

You probably didn't even know that Kylie Minogue was making music.  

Let alone be a Grammy-nominated artist - in the Pop Dance Recording category, for this song.  

This song, from her 2023 album Tension (her 16th!), was a huge hit all over the world, and got real airplay.  Written by Ina and Lostboy (who produced it as well), the title isn't just gibberish, but rather an onomatopoeia for a heartbeat.

It's really good and my pick to win the Grammy in this category, by the way.  It will be an upset win, but still.

At 55, Kylie is still touring and performing live, which I think is just great.  Also, if anyone doubted me about it being a worldwide hit, just listen to the crowd, who are singing along.   It's a hit.

30 January 2024 - SZA - Kill Bill

SZA is an overnight success story who has been around for a decade.

Nominated for nine Grammys this year - three for this critically acclaimed song from her critically-acclaimed album SOS - SZA finally scored a #1 US hit on the pop charts (#3 on the year end chart!) with this song.  Written by SZA with Carter Lang and Rob Bisel, the song is definitely named after the Quentin Tarrantino movies - and SZA emphathized with Bill, who didn't really know why he did what he did (at first.  Clearly, it was love).  

Anyway, the song is cool and nuanced and, well, it took me a while to get into it, but it grew on me.

When you perform a song like this live - like SZA did a lot - you don't even have to sing the song.  Everyone knows the words.  I mean, she did sing the song, but everyone knew the words.

Doja Cat and SZA are frequent collaborators, so it was not a surprise when Doja Cat remixed "Kill Bill" with a new video and her own vocals....

Still, pretty cool.

29 January 2024 - Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero

I purposefully posted this after the Ravens-Chiefs game.  Not because I'm sick of seeing Taylor Swft's face on NFL broadcasts (she brings positive attention to the game, so she's a good thing for the games)

Congratulations to whoever won last night.  You're going to the Big Game or something. (edit: Kansas City won that game).

This was the lead single from Taylor's album Midnights, which might be her best yet (I'm partial to Lover, honestly), written by Jack Antonoff and Swift.  Swift herself is nominated for six Grammy awards this year, three of them for this song.  The song was #4 on the Billboard 2023 year-end Hot 100.  It is her longest-running top Ten hit (spending 29 weeks there but destined to lose that crown to "Cruel Summer")

Anyway, it's a good song and this post will make the Swiftie that lives in my house very happy.

On January 12, 2023, the band The 1975 performed live in London.  As a surprise to the audience, Taylor Swift walked out on stage and performed this song live for the very first time.  It was just Taylor with a guitar.

And these fans of a DIFFERENT BAND knew every word.

Blah blah Eras Tour blah blah.

Just kidding.  Enjoy this more traditional live performance.

26 January 2024 - Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

So this 2003 single came out at a time when I wasn't into new music.  I felt the "alternative" wave that was being pushed was nothing more than power pop-rock repackaged as somehow outside the "mainstream".  

Fountains of Wayne epitomized that for me.  

But this song, about Stacy's clearly hot mom, was a cultural icon.  Written by Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, the song owes a debt to "Just What I Needed" by The Cars, for sure - and they even tried to get Ric Ocasek's wife Paulina Porizkova to play the titular role in the video (they failed and instead cast band and song fan Rachel Hunter - who really was a good choice).  

The band essentially broke up in 2013, but before that, they performed the song a lot.  I find it endearing that they just look like normal guys and clearly have fun with this song.

Adam Sclesinger passed away at age 52 in 2020 from complications from COVID-19.  It is a horrible loss and we hope you're taking this disease, which still persists, seriously.   

25 January 2024 - Culture Beat - Mr. Vain

You were thisclose to forgetting this song, weren't you?

That's why we're here.  

Culture Beat was a German group. I say "was".  They still exist.  They've just changed lineups a LOT.  Vocalist Tania Evans, heard here, led the group from 1993 (the year this single hit it big) to 1997, their most successful period.  Jay Surpreme, also heard here rapping the verses, is also long gone. 

This was by far their biggest international hit, and their only hit in the US.  

24 January 2024 - Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing

This song was the debut single by Dire Straits - which I didn't know before writing this.  It also hit #4 on the US pop charts - which would end up being their 2nd biggest hit - and was a huge hit worldwide.  

And it sat on Mark Knopfler's shelf until he played it on a '61 Strat with open tuning.  He found the song boring until that guitar made those chords come to life.  

His finger-picked guitar solos in this song are some of the best known in music.

Of course, this 1978 hit was huge, but they became much larger in 1984 with another song that MTV still uses in promos.

So, in 1985, they were a star at Live Aid - and their performance of this song is absolutely iconic.  Knopfler's guitar solos here are amazing and a thing to see.

And yes, there's a sax break.

23 January 2024 - Jewel - Who Will Save Your Soul

Most of the world first heard of Jewel Kilcher with her debut single... this song.

I am part of most of the world.  

Did you expect some hipster "I heard her so much earlier than that"?

No, no one did.

Jewel has been very clear that this was the first song she ever wrote - and wow, it was a doozy - while hitchhiking through Mexico at age 16.  This version of the song was a radio-friendly version that removes a verse - and since it hit #11 on the US pop charts, it was probably a decent call. 

The iconic video was recorded in the LA City Hall ladies room - so, if you are in the Los Angelas area, you can see a music video set, too.  

Of course she performs this huge hit live, and it takes many forms.  For example, this performance from Woodstock '99 is soulful, extended, and not at all encouraging people to break stuff.

The performance from 1997, on Later with Jools Holland, is sparse and folky, with just a guitar and faint piano.  It showcases the beauty of the song and the unique style of Jewel's vocals.

This performance from 2022 - SHE IS STILL PERFORMING - is a little more laid back, and has a bit of a western flair (even down to the cactus motif of her outfit and the turquoise on her hat).  Stick with it.  It actually rocks by the end.