Soundtrack Of The Day [Freshness Edition]: "Safe And Sound" - Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "When In Rome" - Nickel Creek

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day [Freshness Edition]: "Get Sleazy 2.0 (Get Sleazier)" - Ke$ha ft Wiz Khalifa, Andre 3000, T.I. & Lil Wayne

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Innocente (Falling In Love)" - Delerium ft. Leigh Nash

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."

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Fancy" - Reba McEntire

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...

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Anne" - Santigold

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."

Soundtrack Of The Day (FRESHNESS EDITION): "Stupid Hoe" - Nicki Minaj

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Tears Dry (Original Version)" - Amy Winehouse

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Down From Dover" - Dolly Parton

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Working For The Weekend" - Loverboy

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...

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Mississippi Goddam" - Nina Simone

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!

Soundtrack Of The Day (Freshness Edition): "Loca People" - Sak Noel

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?

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Law And Order Theme"

Absolutely no reason why I'm posting this today. But is there any reason not to post the greatest theme song in TV history? I thought not...

Soundtrack Of The Day (Freshness Edition): "Like Smoke" - Amy Winehouse ft. Nas

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Who Let The Douchebags In?" - Oh Snap!

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.

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Constant Craving" - k.d. lang

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:

Soundtrack Of The Day: "Kiss A Girl" - Keith Urban

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.)

New Feature: Soundtrack Of The Day!

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!

What is THE Song of 2011

Yesterday I teased five tracks that were in the running to be named the Song of 2011. Here they are:

Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

Born This Way - Lady Gaga

We Found Love - Rihanna

Skyscraper - Demi Levato

Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean feat Kelly Clarkson

Each song played over and over in my car, at work, in my head. But only can be the Song of 2011...

For plumbing emotional depths and giving me the thrill of sing-crying along on my many commutes, I name "Skyscraper" by Demi Levato the Song of 2011.

2011 Musical Year In Review

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!

A New Track & Video From Scissor Sisters? Why, Yes, I Will Listen To That.

 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: