Ann Romney spoke last night about her marriage to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. About love.
She tells us that they do not have a "storybook marriage" - they have a real marriage. As she put it "those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or breast cancer."
Mitt and Ann have a working partnership that has seen its ups and downs. They married despite being of different faiths, they have worked through severe medical issues, raised 5 beautiful sons and have weathered the difficult landscapes of both the business and political worlds where divorce, cheating and trading in spouses for younger models is the norm.
They have a marriage to be admired. It is exactly what I want to have, and what I will work hard to have. Derek and I may not have met at a high school dance, but we have a normal, everyday relationship. We both deposit our checks into the same account, I make sure they get paid each month on time - just like my mom did for my dad. Derek does more of the cooking, and I do the clean up on those nights. When he gets home late and tells me he's hungry, I either start cooking or start suggesting a run to McDonald's. When I get home late, he does the same for me.
Ann and Mitt married while in college. Derek is in school right now, adding an extra layer of time commitment to his schedule even as our wedding is around the corner. Mitt has stood by his wife during difficult heath crises (unlike John Edwards.) I have the responsibility to stand by Derek as he underwent gallbladder removal, as he goes to endless doctor visits in an attempt to figure out what else is wrong with his digestive system. No, that's not the same as MS or cancer but if either of those things come up, God forbid, I will be by his side.
I laugh at his jokes, and he laughs at mine (even if they aren't that funny sometimes) He drives whenever we go places 90% of the time because he knows I don't like to drive. I introduce him to new music so he has more than Janet Jackson in his car. When we have free time together we go to the mall or the farmers market or the movies or the club; or we sit at home on a Saturday night watching Bio's seemingly never ending run of ghost shows.
I love this man as much or more than myself. I work hard to make sure our relationship works. I stand by him in his times of need. And I am certain the reverse is true as well.
I don't really know Ann Romney's stance on my relationship. Her husband currently doesn't think I should be able to have the same type she does. She doesn't know me and I don't know her. I would never presume to suggest that her relationship is any less than what she claims - a real marriage.
Why can't I have a real marriage? When I sent out invitations to my wedding, I wanted to invite people to my "illegal wedding" but decided not to be glib. Because, whether it's legal or recognized by any governing entity, I WILL HAVE A REAL MARRIAGE. He will be my husband, not (just) my friend/roommate/buddy.
Because a real marriage is not a piece of paper. That piece of paper is a symbol, the rings are a symbol, the ceremony (like every other sacrament) is a symbol - an outward sign of an inward commitment. When I stand before God and these witnesses and make my vows, I will be married in the sight of God and these witnesses. The fact that I legally cannot call my marriage the thing that it is, does not make it less true. The fact that I know people will refuse to call it a marriage, does not make it less true.
Ann Romney, your marriage is a model I want to emulate. Will you tell your husband, should he become president, to let me do so legally?
Jay Brannan is the type of singer-songwriter that I often root for. The music seems personal. The lyrics are sometimes angry, sometimes silly, sometimes romantic but always seem to come from a real place. His last album is not yet in my collection due to budget cuts, but his latest single and video have me really thinking about shifting some funds back towards new tunes. "Rob Me Blind" is cute and fun, definitely worth a listen.
In the wake of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit "Call Me Maybe" and similar fluffy, fun and innocent pop smashes from Selena Gomez I was reminded of Natasha Bedingfield's UK flop "I Wanna Have Your Babies." I was a single from her first attempt at a sophomore album, N.B., which was hacked up and remarketed as Pocketful Of Sunshine in the US, sans this silly, bubbly song that for all it's innocent flirtatious was banned by BBC radio.
Unlike the rest of the blogosphere, I was not in instant hate with all things Lana Del Rey after her SNL performance. Her album Born To Die was trippy and icy-cool and I really dug songs like "Diet Mt Dew" and "Born To Die."
Her next single is "National Anthem" - a real summer song with a materialistic undertones and a chorus to die for. The video has a Camelot feel, with rapper A$AP Rocky reportedly playing JFK to Lana's Jackie O. A teaser is up, with the full video on it's way soon.
Since it is both Black Music Month and the beginning of Pride season, this is the perfect blend of both. The new single from the original Supermodel Of The World, RuPaul finds the Drag Race host teaming up with the Queen Diva of New Orleans Bounce (a regional dance genre that has been bubbling just under the mainstream for years) for a frenetic pop trifle with a dozen hot hooks.
This is booty popping music at it's twerkin' best. From the opening line ("Due to the fact her thighs spread like peanut butter") to the hot call and response verses name dropping the usual designer shoe labels, this is much fresher than much of Ru's last two discs. Spread the word:
Over the last 6 months or so my manager has decided that we should be listening to country music whenever he is working. Depending on who you are, that sounds like musical heaven or absolute hell.
The thing is, I used to enjoy watching videos on CMT and listening to country radio upon occasion. While I don't have every George Strait song memorized, I have a variety of country CDs in my collection and in my iTunes. But listening to nonstop country a minimum of 2 days a week, all shift long, is not quite my cup of tea. I start to notice there are a few templates that repeat. Maybe the old joke about playing a country song backwards and getting your truck, dog and woman back could be replaced with these stereotypes instead.
Every geographic location has its pros and cons. A big city like New York may have Central Park and the Museum Of Modern Art and Broadway but the traffic is awful and the crime is insane. But if you listen to country music radio, not only does small town living not have any cons but it's better than any other place on earth. After all, The Big City is where bad kids run away too, according to Eric Church, when they could be sitting on a tailgate of a truck drinking beer.
But Smalltown USA is where no one calls the cops during a parking lot beatdown (this is a plus according to Montgomery Gentry) and where you can play cards on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday morning (per Little Big Town, who love small town living so much their name and debut single were inspired by it!) You cannot do this in The Big City because of the roaches that sleep in your deck of cards, and also drug dealer sleeping in your churches.
And living in a close knit rural farming community means leaving a lasting mark. Like teaching kids, helping a neighbor in need or preserving historical buildings. Right, Jason Aldean? Wait, the tattoos on this town are graffiti on an overpass and skid marks from drag racing? Well, that's good too...
Country music is unique in it's storytelling abilities and it's focus on all American values like maternal pride, long term relationships and putting boots in people asses.
That's because these are songs about every single person on earth (at least the white ones) Trace Adkins believes. They are about "loving and living [so far so good] and good hearted women [um...] and family [Sister Sledge style family?] and God [Allah? The Black Madonna?]" Besides, who doesn't like a banjo solos? LIBERALS. That's who.
After all there is a country station pretty much everywhere you could go, so Brantley Gilbert must be ashamed of his assuming that people from Idaho aren't really country. It's not like they are from Hollywood. Like Keith Urban, the traitor.
I actually like the song "Whiskey Lullaby" thanks to a beautiful melody sung beautifully by Brad and Alison. But the emotional whiplash of going between that and a song like "I Love This Bar" or the anti-drunk-driving PSA of "Nothing To Die For" segueing into Jason Aldean's enjoyment of an "ice cold beer sitting in the console" of his vehicle.
I know different artists will have different opinions of drinking but the switcheroo for the listener is uncomfortable.
Sexual objectification is hardly exclusive to country music. In fact, the genre is one of the few places where women over 40 can still be considered a hitmaker. And male artists are just as likely to be seen in tight pants and tees (or topless!) as the female ones are, creating an equality of sorts.
See?
Which is why it's so disappointing when songs like "Country Girl" get such heavy airplay. Luke asks this nameless female to shake it for everyone - the DJ, the rednecks, the young bucks, the catfish, the moon and himself. But is she ever asked if she wants to shake it for her own pleasure, for the pure joy of the dance? Of course not, she's a sex object not a person with opinions or desires. Silly homo, tricks are for chicks.
Meanwhile Trace Adkins is back, this time to pimp his country ride with a LMFAO-level crappy dance track complete with terrible lyrics and a cheesy beat. He performed this at the Grand Ole Opry. May Kitty Wells never see that footage.
Sometimes, the world needs a 50-year-old to sing about drinking from plastic cups. Wait, I meant the opposite of that. The world needs Toby Keith to leave that nonsense to talentless white "rappers" like Asher Roth, instead of a man capable of decent records like "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like That" and "She Never Cried In Front Of Me." But since he also gave us the ode to twincestuous three ways and bar fights titled "As Good As I Once Was" I guess I am expect too much. Get your Frat Boy antics on, old man.
More gratuitous shirtlessness
Ditto for Kenny Chesney. His catalog includes sweet ballads like the tale of a couple who made it to 50 years "Don't Blink" and the totally not homoerotic football tribute "Boys Of Fall." Also included? Crap like "Out Last Night" (recorded in his early 40s) about - get this - going out. Last night, even. I KNOW! If the lazy title wasn't enough, his singing is lazy on the track and his Barney Stitson aping list of fake stories to help him get laid is even lazier.
The thing is, country music is a diverse field (except skin-color-wise) with room for everyone to come to the party (except big city folks, liberals or pacifists.) So there are bound to be some really annoying music to come out of it, just like in rock or hip-hop. I just wouldn't play a rock or hip-hop radio station in a shoe store with employees who would rather scoop their eardrums with a grapefruit spoon than listen to steel guitars and banjos all day long. That's all.
Adam Lambert's new disc Trespassing is upon us in about a month, and lead single "Better Than I Know Myself" hasn't been exactly blowing up the charts or airwaves despite rehashing the winning formula of his hit "Whataya Want From Me" (Dr. Luke produced pop-rock ballad.)
Last night on the NewNowNext Awards his follow up single and title track made it's TV debut. Produced and cowritten by Pharrell, it doesn't sound like anything on the radio now, which should make it a shoo-in for a hit. But alas, pop radio is fickle and despite the glorious gospel background singers and relentless guitars it may be too far from the Black Eyed Peas template radio currently plays with. Catchy chorus and Adam's amazing vocal tricks make this a winner in my book, just not necessarily in Cumulus Radio's.
The always lovely singer/songwriter Regina Spektor returns in May with a new album What We Saw From The Cheap Seats. Russian-born and NYC-based Spektor's last two albums have been among my favorites since I first saw the "Fidelity" video on VH1, and if "All The Rowboats" is a taste of the upcoming album it doesn't change my opinion one bit. The beautiful piano and the old-world influence in the lyrics is back, as are the unusual percussion choices (I swear the "drums" at the end are mixed with her vocals tics, which is classic Regina) and the intimate theatricality. But Regi looks so much more girl next door in the video, with a basic tee, blown out hair and smoky eyeshadow as opposed to the bright red lips and black and white dress of "Fidelity" or the LBD and Lone Ranger mask in "Laughing With."
But the artistic direction of the video, with the stop-motion ocean waves, is also classic Regina Spektor and I love her for following through with that. Watch:
New music videos are popping up everywhere, so I think it's time for a quick video round up:
First off, Rufus Wainwright's new album Out Of The Game features production by Mark Ronson is scheduled for a May 1 release. Wainwright mentioned wanting to go for a poppier, dancable sound but the title track is more alt-country. The song may require a few more listens to really be enjoyable but the video stars Helena Bonham Carter, so it's definitely watchable!
Meanwhile, The Gossip returns at the end of May with A Joyful Noise. Lead single "Perfect World" is glorious Duran Duran style pop, with a fierce chorus and drums. The video stars dancers in a medieval church with the stained glass windows turning like a kaleidoscope.
Scissor Sisters already dropped one single from their upcoming album Magic Hour, the Cazwell-style "Shady Love" The new single, "Only The Horses" is more sleek but equally dancable, thanks to production from Rihanna's cohort Calvin Harris and Alex Ridha. The sound is not a unique as their previous stuff, but it's good so I'll take it. Lyric video:
Apparently this Battleship film is not some bad fever dream by Milton Bradley but a real live film with Rihanna making her film debut (unless you count her cameo in one of those straight to DVD Bring It On sequels.)
We will have to wait a little while to see if the Barbados born beauty is a decent actor, but with so many hits to her name I thought she would have joined the ranks of singer-turned-actors with a film based on one of her songs. Here's my pitch for 5 films that RiRi needs to star in:
Alfre Woodard
What's My Name? - Rihanna stars in this Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation as a young woman caring for her retired CEO grandmother, played by Alfre Woodard, who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Trying to balance her commitment to her family and the demands of her boss (Downtown Julie Brown) Rihanna begins to fear the pressure will lead her down the same road.
Stand Under My Umbrella - Heiress and celebutante Missy Sunshine (Rihanna) is a party girl who has never had to learn anything about business, just pleasure. When her parent's plane crashes with the entire board of their Canada-based rain gear brand Sunshine Together she must team up with the gruff factory foreman (Mike Myers) to keep production running on schedule for a show at Fashion Week featuring a performance by Justin Beiber. But a girl still has time to mix business with pleasure when line worker Ryan Gosling catches her eye, eh? Eh? Eh?
Stand Under My Umbrella
We Found Love - From the producers of the Harold & Kumar films comes a spy comedy starring Pam Grier as veteran CIA agent Hope McGinty who doesn't have time to train upstart agent Tamera Fedora (Rihanna) as they try to track down rogue undercover agent-turned-assassin Jennifer Love Hewitt, playing herself. She's been killing off dictators for years, using her Hollywood persona and giant breasts to gain access to places no one else can. But she's going after directors now, and when she kidnaps Hope, can Tamera find Love before the world turns into a Hope-less place?
S.O.S.
S.O.S. - During pop star Sassasfras Jones' (Rihanna) South Asian tour her plane crashes with only herself, her back-up singer Miriam (Zoe Saldana) and manager/boyfriend (LL Cool J) surviving. To pass the time the three begin sexual games their relationships may not recover from and ancient grudges are dug up while they wait for rescue.
Run This Town - Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West team up again, this time for a documentary-style drama about fictional female gangster Miranda "Hot Lips" Turlington (played by Rihanna) who ran Miami Beach with an iron fist during the 1920s. An impressive roster of Oscar and Grammy winning talent joined the cast, from Meryl Streep (playing historian and Hot Lips expert Simone Creston) to Will Smith (as Turlington's grandson, trying to reclaim her legacy as philanthropist and businesswoman besides criminal queenpin) and Lady Gaga as Hot Lips' lesbian lover, jazz legend Cassandra Calliope.
In these days of class warfare, Occupying Wall Street and Mitt "Corporations Are People" Romney closing in on a GOP nom, it's easy to smear each other as heartless poor-hating bastards or spineless greedy welfare queens. And residents of red states and blue states have being branded with stereotypes that don't always fit.
But in the end, you cannot paint people with such a broad brush. Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood won the "flyover states" favorite TV show, American Idol her debut hit Country single was called "Jesus Take The Wheel." She should be everything liberal America can't stand.
But she's a proponent of adoption and as a vegetarian she has been named PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian twice. And when she appeared on 2008's Idol Gives Back she performed one of the damning song ever recorded, George Micheal's "Praying For Time." With lyrics like "So you scream from behind your door/Say whats mine is mine and not yours/I may have too much/But I’ll take my chances cause God stopped keeping score" it's a perfect theme for the Occupy generation.
Not exactly what one would expect from the biggest star in country music, a genre frequently maligned for it's "backwards" fans. Perhaps they are a little more human than people might think.
Once again, Flo Rida has a hot track with a great hook and boring, unmemorable raps. But instead of borrowing the hook from Dead Or Alive or Eiffel 65, he got David Guetta's new best friend Sia to utilize her warm vocals to great magic on "Wild Ones" - already a top 20 hit in the US and a top five hit in the UK (where Guetta & Sia's "Titanium" has been blowing up the Offical Charts of BBC1.)
But since Sia's part is, as usual, the best bit from the track I was delighted to hear "Wild One Two" which is just the chorus from "Wild Ones" with an extended dance beat. Sia's voice works so well with dance music, something different from her earlier indie-pop output.
As a spiritually minded teenager, completely ignorant of my sexuality and the stereotypes that come with it, I loved dance music. Old school disco, beat heavy hip-hop and contemporary techno was the thing for me. Did you know that Christian music has two of those categories covered? Few realize just how easily a good little Christian boy could bug out to some four-on-the-floor jams and still praise Jesus.
The bulk of the Christian techno I listened to has aged as badly as the rest of the turn of the millennium techno, but I still jam out to boy-girl-boy-girl vocal quartet Avalon's remix album O2: Oxygen Remixed. There was a minute in 2002 when every major Christian band was putting out remix discs. ZoeGirl, Newsboys, Racheal Lampa and the Gotee label all had remix albums with some really strong remixes, and I bought that shiz up on the daily.
But Avalon's was the best, every song on there was a triumph. I especially loved the ambient techno of "Testify To Love" and the swaggeriffic Out Of Eden collabo "Make It Last Forever" but "Can't Live A Day" was the perfect blend of pre-mainstream fame Tiesto and powerhouse vocals of Janna Long. Take a journey back to when techno was for the clubs and little gay boy's bedrooms.
Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain" is one of her greatest compositions and probably my favorite song off her 21 album. But even great songs can get a super cool update. Carlos Serrano has mashed the track up with Daft Punk's "Something About Us" leaving the world with a smooth-funk classic.
Adele's voice is so lovely in this context I would love to hear her attempt a little more funkiness on her next project.
Ultraviolet Sound is a electropop duo that has been trying to break out for over a year. After touring with Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, you would think a hot single would be the next logical step, but alas instant fame has eluded these crazy kids.
But they have an almost year old single getting minor rotation on Sirius/XM so all hope is not lost. "Girl Talk" is delightfully trashy with a real infectious hook and a touch of a J-pop sound. Exactly what we've proven is what's in vogue in this post-Rebecca Black world.
After seeing her in The Ring and Joan Of Arcadia, I never realized that Amber Tamblyn was both funny and political. But after her amusing prank email exchange with a confused Tyrese (who thought she was erstwhile Kanye flame/model/wannabe rapper Amber Rose) was posted to her Facebook page it's the tracks she was goofing around with that are replaying in my head.
Especially her Feminist anthem "All In Favor" - the line "it is now illegal to think of me topless/to keep your lotion where your socks is" is still stuck in my conciousness. All in favor of AmTam getting a record contract, say aye...
In honor of Super Tuesday, I choose a song with a political message. What that message is, I still can't figure out, but it's clearly anti-government. Or anti-hooker. Or pro-hooker. I'm honestly not sure. But she wants to fuck a government hooker, but wants the government hooker to stop fucking her. And isn't that what we really want? To screw over the powers that be instead of being screwed over by them?
I'm baking bread this afternoon, as has become a weekly ritual in my house for the first time since I was 15 or 16. If you've ever made bread (bread machine users, put your hands down, you don't count) you know it's a series of rising events. Mix, rise, punch down, rise, shape loaves, rise, bake. Yes, ma'am, it's a lot of waiting but it tastes so good and doesn't have unpronounceable chemicals in it. And it's whole wheat, so that's healthy and tasty, tasty.
Anyway, because (to quote MIA) I'm already going to hell just pumping that gas I sing a lovely old gospel song called "Rise Again" as I wait for the bread dough to rise... again. (See what I did there? SO CLEVER!) It's a rather pretty melody and I'm not ashamed to be singing it. Please to enjoy:
Another day, another black artist with an song in their heart. Black History Month continues on Pictures & Conversations!
Janelle Monae's full length debut album The ArchAndroid is one of the strangest albums of the last few years. She has an alterego, but unlike Sasha Fierce or Strawberry who exist as the sexy performer sides of pop divas, Cindi Mayweather is an android who fell in love with a human and becomes a messianic figure. Whatever, the album had some major high points even if the album as whole didn't live up to it's high concept's promise.
"Cold War" is one of those high points. One of the sadly overlooked possible Gay Pride anthems of the new millennium, the song's fast beat and Prince-y use of electric guitar belies the emotional impact of the lyrics and Ms. Monae's soulful vocal. "I'm trying to find my peace, I was made to believe there's something wrong with me and it's hurts my heart" is the moment that hits hard, even bringing Janelle to tears at the 1:38 mark in the official music video.
What celebration of the brilliant music throughout black history would complete without the hardest working man in show business? James Brown is an icon and nothing makes me happier than when "Say It Loud" comes on. I sing along, even though I'm lying through my teeth. White as Wonder Bread, this one. (Sad face) However, the children's chorus that says it loud is multicultural, as the recording session went late and they had to round up kids from the suburban neighborhood.
I may have mentioned my obsession with Nina Simone, with her gorgeously low, sensual voice and stunningly vast catalog. But Ms. Simone never had the massive pop hit she wanted, and her 1964 recording of an original song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was to be that single that propelled her out of the jazz clubs and into pop culture's center stage.
Unfortunately for Nina her slow burning, almost classically arranged version of the song failed to chart. The Animals picked up on the track the following year and got a Top 20 hit and an oldies radio mainstay out of it. It's hard to say which version is better, Nina's is fraught with pain and regret while The Animals' infused it with a live wire of rock. Both deserve a wide audience.
Ms. Simone also recorded the folk standard "House Of The Rising Sun" a full two years before The Animals made a hit out of it. Nina couldn't catch a break!
As Black History Month winds down, we continue our look at black music. Grace Jones is the most unique artist I think the world has produced so far. Her sound has always been contemporary even as her look is forward thinking. Indeed her look is as integral to her fame as her music, and her blend of extreme high fashion and extreme androgeny spawned imitators from Annie Lennox to Lady Gaga. Even at age 60, when she recorded her latest album Hurricane, she is exploring modern industrial sounds in dance. "Corporate Criminal," the lead single from that album, is one of the spookiest and captivating things I've heard in a while.
Hey kids and kittens, I'm finally back! My computer was giving me fits and I haven't mastered the art of embedding video via my Windows Phone so no new Soundtracks for the past couple of weeks. I had intended a series of music from my favorite black artists for Black History Month but alas February is almost over. Since we should really be celebrating black art and music year round, however, I am still going for it!
First up is a new single from Philly native Santigold. Her debut album Santogold was one of my favorites of 2008 and I am getting excited as new songs arrive to herald the May release of her sophomore solo album Master Of My Make Believe. Here is "Disparate Youth"
I was never the biggest fan of Whitney Houston, but even a casual radio listen cannot escape the plethora of musical offerings the daughter of gospel music legend Cissy Houston has brought to the world.
A one-time model, Ms. Houston was married and divorced to R&B star Bobby Brown and leaves behind a teenage daughter. She is a legend who crossed over from pop to gospel to r&b to club. These are my favorite Whitney tracks:
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - a great track for dancing to in the privacy of your bedroom, with or without a hairbrush mic.
How Will I Know - ditto
I Will Always Love You - whether you prefer this version or Dolly's original, one of the most beautiful breakup songs in history
When You Believe (duet with Mariah Carey) - One of the greatest inspirational songs of the 90s, from the gorgeous Prince Of Egypt film (I owned the cassette single at one point)
It's Not Right, But It's Ok (Thunderpuss Remix) - the whole reason I bought the Fired Up 2 compilation. Gay club music at it's finest.
Million Dollar Bill - should have been a much bigger comeback single, written by Alicia Keys and sung with that early Whitney sound ala I Wanna Dance or So Emotional.
What is your favorite Whitney Houston song, or film appearance. (I personally have a soft spot for Rodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella)
While I am still not sold on the dubstep revolution that is sweeping the UK right now, this remix by the Grammy nominee Skrillex has grown on me. The original mix is a little generic, but this take some of the hydraulic sounds that dubstep is know for and sprinkles them lightly to amp the vocals and beat. Much more of it would be kinda nauseating, but I like it in brief bits like this and the bridge on Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me." I know, so gay...
My sister Naomi's birthday is today. I can always tell when she's out imbibing on adult bevs because her Facebook blows up with song lyrics from the songs she and her bestie play on the jukebox. It usually starts with the original mix of this Wheezy jam, so when an evening begins with "Shawty wanna thug" we know what's going down.
I like this mix better, just because of Kanye's opening line: "Lollipop, Lollipop, Breastes just like Dolly Part-en."
The world learned this week that erstwhile Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger has been fired from the US's X Factor along with hottie host Steve Jones. (Go ahead, click on that link. I'll wait. NSFWish) She's not a great singer, but that seems to be the requirement for judging. Paula Abdul and J.Lo don't have great vocal either. But during her time in the Pussycat Dolls, where did all the lead AND background vocals for the first album, and a solo artist she's released a handful of decent singles. Here they be:
Don't Hold Your Breathe (solo single)
Hush Hush; Hush Hush (Pussycat Dolls)
Buttons (Pussycat Dolls) - Best song to soundtrack a strut down a store aisle like a runway.
Scream (Timbaland ft Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger)
First off, let me just say I don't know what the fuck is going on in this trailer for The Hunger Games. I've not read the books so I don't know why Nazi Germany hired Dolores Umbridge's little sister and some bit rate storm troopers to train children to play Rollerball or whatever is going on. Don't worry, it'll be just like "Twilight" and I'll catch up on all the books after everyone else in the world has already read them.
Anyway, this is a music post and so we must get to the song! Taylor Swift should really hook up with The Civil Wars more often, or at least not always sing about some boy that broke her pretty blonde heart. This song is so lovely, so uplifting with such beautiful harmonies and a haunting melody. I love Taylor's music normally, but this is whole 'nother level. Also on another level? Her February Vogue cover. She is giving me Carly Simon realness here, and I am living for it.
I like to think of myself as a person with broad taste. I like all kinds of music from Euro club tracks to doo wop to power ballads. I love it when genre get mangled together like musical gumbo. But I surprised myself by really digging Nickel Creek's blend of classic bluegrass instruments and alternative rock song structures. "When In Rome" never really decides if it's bluegrass or country or alt-country or alternative rock. And I like that a lot. Plus that mandolin player Chris Thile is smoking hot. Never said that about a mandolin player before.
Ke$ha is working on her sophomore full length album but since releasing her debut Animal she's popped out an EP and a remix disc. "Sleazy" was one of the highlights of the Cannibal EP and "The Sleazy Remix" (which featured Andre 3000) was a highlight of I Am The Dance Commander... And I Command You To Dance. So when another rap remix of "Sleazy" released I was a little sleazed out. But this video, which features drag queens, old men and Pedro (of Vote For Pedro fame) lipsyncing for their lives to the ratatat rapping over the dumdum drums I found a new appreciation for the long game of the sleaziest lady we know. Get sleazy, miss lady. Get sleazy.
I just discovered this song, which appeared on Delerium's greatest hits album 3 years ago. I have always really enjoyed Leigh Nash's vocals with Sixpence None The Richer, her voice is unique in it's childlike tone. It is great to hear it with a chill dance sound, which is not such a stretch after so much dreamy pop music like "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name."
Today is my sister Rachel's birthday and in honor of the day I have chosen a song that we both love. I took Rachel to see Reba when she was touring with Kelly Clarkson, we both loved it.
"Fancy" is a tale of a young woman whose mother sends her off to be "nice to the gentlemen" in order to avoid a life of poverty. It's not sad, in fact it's defiant. In the end we see the quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To thine own self be true." It's a quote that Rachel has tattooed on her wrist and the one we should all have tattooed on our minds and hearts. I might have been born poor white trash but Fancy was my name...
This song has been stuck in my head for a couple of days now. I really enjoyed Santi's first album and had high hopes for the next one. I don't know how I feel about the single that was just released, but I do know "Anne" is pretty cool. "My name is Anne, I have a plan. I may lack virtue but I'm penitent."
Nicki Minaj was THE breakout artist of the last year. Pink Friday finally hit number one; "Super Bass", "Moment 4 Life" and "Fly" were everywhere, as were her guest spots on singles by Sean Kingston, Big Sean, Birdman and others. She comes back with a new album performed by her alter-ego Roman Zolanski, and "Stupid Hoe" is the second song and first video to be released from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.
I wanted to love it. Roman was responsible for some of the best rhymes Nicki has done, from "Roman's Revenge" to the guest rap on "Bottoms Up." And the rap isn't bad, even though the use of "hoe" is tired and slightly misogynistic. However that epitaph is nothing compared to Hype Williams' awful sexist direction on the video.
If it had just been a video ripping off giving homage to Lady Gaga's giant eyes, Jessie J's oversized chair, Shakira's cage dancing and Grace Jones' stretch pose I would have been amused. But I am disgusted by the naked large bootied Barbie-style doll that doesn't even show her head (Junior talked about this misogynistic trend a few years back) and Nicki's utterly joyless stripper dancing. I don't have a beef with strippers or ladies who want to shake what their momma gave them. But when they don't even seem to enjoy what they are doing, then it's not sexy, it's sad.
Nicki is a brilliant rapper, miles ahead of her competition. She doesn't need to resort to the tacky flesh market moves of the average rap video. She should be doing videos like many of OutKast's and Kanye's clips, visual insanity that matches her talent. She isn't a stupid hoe, she shouldn't sell herself short like one.
I recently purchased Amy Winehouse's posthumous record Lioness: Hidden Treasures. It features some never before heard songs as well as alternate takes of her singles. I featured "Like Smoke" last week, and I can't stop digging into the late Ms. Winehouse's catalog and missing her.
"Tears Dry On Their Own" was one of the more upbeat tracks from Amy's breakthrough Back To Black, and one of my favorites. The album mix features a sample of "Ain't No Mountain" for the beat, but it was originally called "Darkness" and was a slow, sad ballad. That version makes an appearance on Lioness, and it's beautiful and haunting.
Since I missed the chance to wish Ms. Dolly a Happy Birthday on Thursday, I figured I would do so today. Happy Belated Birthday! In honor of the Queen of Country, I figured I would post one of my favorite Dolly songs. "Down From Dover" is an incredibly sad story song about an unmarried pregnant woman longing for the return of the child's father. Each verse the longing gets more frantic, until she finally gives birth in the tragic finale.
In case you didn't know, I work retail. Which means I don't get weekends off hardly ever because someone has to man the store while the rest of the 9-to-5ers shop til they drop. Remember that, kids. When the line is long for the register and you're freaking out because you have better things to do, remember I do to. But I have to be there to serve you and the 580 other people who need shoes on a Saturday afternoon.
But this weekend, I get a Saturday off! Hooray? I still have to work Sunday, so I'm not really working for the weekend. In fact next Tuesday and Wednesday I have off, I guess that is the "weekend" I'll be working for...
I have been quite obsessed with Nina Simone for the last couple of years, after hearing her haunting version of "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair." Her voice is deep and throaty yet warm and her arrangements of jazz and pop classics were innovative and captivating. Most people probably know her from her version of "Feeling Good" - which is the basis for most modern versions, or other jazz standards like "My Baby Just Cares For Me."
But Nina got political after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama left schoolchildren dead and a KKK member murdered Medgar Evens in Mississippi in 1963. While "Mississippi Goddam" doesn't have the subtle meditations on race in America that her later song "Four Women" does or the joy of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," it has a heat and an anger that Nina would also channel into covers of "Pirate Jenny" and "Strange Fruit."
This isn't an easy song to hear but it's honest about the frustrations that many in the civil rights movement felt. They "dressed real fine and talked like a lady" yet still did not get the respect they deserved. They were told to "go slow" but all they wanted was "Equality for my brother, my sister, my people and me." While "threats" like "we're all gonna get it, we're all gonna die and die like flies" might alienate those whose hearts and minds need changed, that's a real feeling that others could identify with.
It's very familiar to other maligned groups today, being told to wait while our rights and freedoms are put on hold. It leads to anger that isn't always productive, but it's a real emotion that is valid.
"This is a showtune, but the show hasn't been written for it yet," Nina says after the chorus. That's because she was living it then, as we are living it now.
Click on the "Four Women" link above for another brilliant performance by Nina!
I like to dance. I like to listen to music in the car. I don't usually mix those two hobbies together, which is why I surprised myself by listening to Sirius/XM's dance music station BPM quite frequently.
This awkward yet bouncy track has been taking over that channel. "Loca People" is a NSFW spoken word track over a blippy beat, and it's really stupid. Like in that LMFAO braincell burning, eyes glazing over stupidity. But I can't stop listening to it. The video is just awful, too. So listen, yeah?
I was on vacation when I heard the news last summer, but Amy Winehouse's death was both sad and unsurprising. The British songbird was so full of promise and pain, as evidenced by the posthumous collection Lioness that was released last month. "Like Smoke" is one of the few brand new tracks, nestled among covers and alternate versions of her singles. RIP, Ms. Winehouse.
I hadn't heard this song until yesterday, but it's been around for a couple months. Just in time for a new season of Jersey Shore to infect us with more brain herpes, Oh Snap!'s comedy(?) single "Who Let The Douchebags In?" is just the kind of song the fistpumpers would be doing the Jersey Turnpike to if it wasn't making fun of them. In fact, I thought the premier maker of douchebag dancefloor anthems, Will.I.Am was involved. But I was wrong. Anyway, who the hell let the douchebags in? Not me.
There is no great mystery behind the song I chose for the Soundtrack today. I heard this song on the radio at work yesterday, as I often do. It seems to be a favorite of the retail radio networks, as it's lovely and unobtrusive. k.d. has such a lovely voice, it's warm and enveloping, not unlike fellow Canuck Sarah McLaughlin. Please to enjoy:
The Soundtrack Of The Day is brought to you in honor of my Aunt Laura. Yesterday was her birthday, and Keith Urban is one her favorites. I know she's seen him live more than once, but I honestly don't know which is her favorite song so I picked one of my favorites, "Kiss A Girl."
I remember her being less than enthused when he performed on an awards show and a large group of Hurricane Katrina survivors came on stage to sing with him and BLOCKED HER VIEW OF HIS AUSSIE HOTNESS! We still have not forgiven those "Katrina people." (PS, you can find his Playgirl spread on the internets if you're into that sort of thing.)
In case you hadn't noticed, I've been writer's blocked, lazy, uninspired, and a lot of other things for the last year or more. I've been really bad at keeping up with the blog, so I've been considering my options. I don't want to stop writing but I don't seem to have the time for full-length posts. So I am beginning a new feature that will allow me to write in short bursts, post daily, and keep this thing rolling until I figure out what to do.
The boyf bought me a notebook for Christmas with a graphic cover that says "Music is my addiction." He knows me so well. I still love music but I haven't been as excited over new stuff recently, hence the lack of posting. But everyday of my life has a soundtrack, a little Nina Simone here, a little Janet Jackson there, a little Relient K everywhere.
That brings me to the new feature. I will be posting a song each day with a little blurb. Sometimes the song will be inspired by that day's events, other times it will be new music that has grabbed my ear (watch for the Freshness Edition in those cases) and other times it will be in honor of someone's birthday, anniversary or holiday.
If you have a request for Soundtrack Of The Day, leave 'em in the comments. If you are a band or artist who would like to be featured, let me know where I can find embeddable players with your music (YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.)
So, this could be fun. Soundtrack Of The Day starts... today!
I've been slacking with bringing the year end list that I never quite managed to put on paper, so let's do a stream of consciousness type run down of the music that had me dancing, crying and lip-synching... for my life!
I was into some pretty mainstream shizz this year, including Billboard's number album of the year 21 by powerhouse British soultress Adele. You couldn't escape "Rolling In The Deep" or "Someone Like You" and the latest single "Set Fire To The Rain" is probably my favorite track. Rolling Stone named called the plus-size stunner a Heartbreak Superstar but upbeat songs like "Rumour Has It" also allows that voice to expand over a slinky Soul Train beat.
Speaking of that voice, Kelly Clarkson's 2011 album Stronger had some great songs on it as well. The title track is the closest thing to dance pop Miss Independent has done, while "You Love Me" has a Tina Turner vibe that fits Kelly to a tee. Other standouts are "Honestly" and "Dark Side" - both firmly in the love-is-hard power ballad genre that Clarkson has reigned over for the last ten years.
Britney Spears also had a good year, "Hold It Against Me" was a total jam. As was Beyonce's "Countdown" - the one B jam I remember from her lackluster LP 4.
But 2011 was also the year for Disney pop tartlets to take the charts by storm. Selena Gomez & The Scene went new-wave with the dance chart smash "Love You Like A Love Song" after rocking a more subtle inspirational teen pop sound with "Who Says." Meanwhile Selena's one-time BFF Demi Levato bounced back from a battle with bipolar and eating disorders with a heartbreaking ballad recorded before a stint in rehab. "Skyscraper" sounds every bit like the cry for help it turned into, simply gorgeous with a string and piano backing a vocal that is raw and sorrowful. It is my first nominee for Song Of 2011. But not all was tears, the funky collabo with Missy Elliot and Timbaland "All Night Long" is ripe for dancefloors.
Speaking of dancefloors, Ellie Goulding lit them up with the shimmery title track of the album on every Anglophile's lips this year,Lights. Ellie is sure to follow in the footsteps of Robyn and Annie in the foreign-lass-that-has-gay-boys-dancing subgenre of pop. Another great dance track is Beth Ditto's solo single "I Wrote The Book" - replete with a video that doubles as a tribute to Madonna's "Justify My Love." Super producer David Guetta released another bloated pop-star-studded disc this year, but even among the generic pop sounds of Usher and Flo Rida comes a great dance track "Titanium" featuring the lovely Sia. It's a wall-to-wall dance track with a chorus that gets the blood pumping. But the dance song that gets my vote for Song of 2011 is Rihanna's 90s retro club banger featuring British producer Calvin Harris "We Found Love." That line in the chorus, "We found love in a hopeless place," is one of the most breathtaking moments in pop this year.
Meanwhile, saxophones took over the dancefloor and the pop charts. Dev's "In The Dark" utilized the sexy brass as a beat sample, as did Alexandra Stan's "Mr Saxobeat" - both great stripper music. More sex and more Sax can be found in Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" but skip the Missy Elliot remix. Also saxing it up was Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" - the best eighties power ballad since the decade ended.
I always wondering the fact I'm being pandered to should prevent me from enjoying the queer-bait music that always seem to come across my screen. But when it's silly, harmless and catchy fluff like X-Factor reject Simone Battles' "He Like Boys" I don't mind. The cutesy tale of a girl realizing her boyfriend likes boys the same way she does is fun and catchy and a little dumb, kind of like Rebecca Black's awful/awesome sandwich "Friday." Hey, don't judge. I also like Drag Racer Pandora Boxx's "Cooter" which is ten time worse, and also ten time more awesome.
Two slightly more serious gay-friendly singles also had a sway over me. Punk band Rise Against's "Make It Stop (September's Children)" is the first mainstream rock effort I know of to reference the 2010 suicides of LGBT youth. The lyrics seriously make me cry every time I hear them, especially over the bridge where lead singer Tim McIlrath recites the names and ages of the most well known bullying victims. It's unexpected and an important moment in rock music.
Lady Gaga has never been afraid to spread the word on love and acceptance of LGBT people. "Born This Way" also gets a nod for Song of 2011. It's simple, obvious message holds the power: "I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way." Yes, she jacked the melody from "Waterfalls" and "Express Yourself." But who else has the balls (and rumored dick) to say things like "no matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life" and take it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It's a legendary move. She may not have been the first queer-friendly pop star but, by golly, she is the most visible person on the planet and she uses her fame for good. Born This Way is probably my favorite album of the year as well, I still love "Bloody Mary," "Government Hooker," "Sheisse" and "Highway Unicorn."
I also got scads of enjoyment out of Florence + The Machine's "Shake It Out", Rye Rye feat Robyn's "Never Will Be Mine" and Grace Jones' "Corporate Cannibal" which finally saw it's US release this year. From the Breaking Dawn soundtrack came the lovely ballad "A Thousand Years" by Christina "Jar Of Hearts" Perri. "Pumped Up Kicks" came out of nowhere, but the whistle-happy rock single by Foster People got me singing along about people running "faster than my bullet." Gangsta. Glee didn't inspire me to download as much this year as the past two, although Lea Michele and Diana Agron's mash up of "Unpretty" and "I Feel Pretty" was inspired, and like every gay boy I swooned over Darren Criss and The Warbler's a capella take on "Teenage Dream."
Country sounds that I was digging included the legendary Dolly Parton's single "Together You And I" and genre-hopper Kristin Chenoweth's "I Want Somebody (Bitch About)." But it was the sweet, sad sounds of romantic duets that had me putting a tear in my beer. (Yeah right, as if I'd ever drink beer. Make it a Smirnoff Green Apple.) Lady Antebellum followed up "Need You Now" with the misty eyed "Just A Kiss" - an ode to a chaste peck at the end of a date. Jason Aldean and my girl Kelly Clarkson considered a slightly more carnal end to the night with "Don't You Wanna Stay" - another contender for Song of 2011. But Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley explore what happens when sexual fireworks end and humdrum marital life replaces it in the steamy "Remind Me."
On the hip-hop tip, despite Nicki Minaj blowing me away with the bubblegum sounds of the surprise hit "Super Bass" (the final selection to battle for Song Of 2011) and Kelly Rowland sexing the place up with "Motivation" I wasn't really that excited by any rap/hip-hop jams this year.
So, what will be my pick for Song of 2011? Find out Tuesday!
Those New York Sisters who Scissor, and make the kind of filthy/gorgeous music that makes the queer kids dance, are apparently back. "Shady Love" is the new track from a forthcoming album, but it sounds totally different than anything the Sisters have done before. Kind of Cazwell meets latin freestyle, and much heavier dance influence than usual. I'm just not sure if I love it, and I'm really not sure why Azealia Banks (aka Krystal Pepsy) was used on the song for a guy/gal back'n'forth when Ana Matronic is always perfectly perfect.
But it may grow on me, and I'm definitely not counting out this album based on this song. Scissor Sisters' Night Work was one of my favorite discs of 2010 despite the lead single being a snooze. Take a look-see at the video:
