All-star charity singles were huge in the 80s, remember "We Are The World?" But with exception of some failed attempts post-9/11, nobody has been stepping up to the plate. Well, no more! The all-female chorus on "Just Stand Up (To Cancer)" includes cancer-survivors Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow; hip-hop chicas Beyonce, Rihanna, Keyshia Cole, Fergie, Ciara and Ashanti; multi-octave range rovers Mary J. Blige, Leona Lewis and Mariah Carey; country stars Carrie Underwood and LeAnne Rimes and pop-tarts Miley Cyrus and Natasha Bedingfeild. And, it's surprisingly listenable. Like most charity singles, the lyrics are trite, but hearing some of the best songbirds on the planet give it their all, although Leona could out-sing her duet partner Fergie, obvs! Listen below, and read the lyrics and a break-down of who-sang-what here.
Showing posts with label Mary J. Blige. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary J. Blige. Show all posts
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Betwixt The Covers: The Mixtape
Mixwit.com is a fierce website brought to my attention a while ago on the Pop Candy blog, which is a must-read blog for pop culture junkies like me. You can create a digital mixtape, which can then be posted on a blog like this one, (or on your MySpace or Facebook or personal website) I finally had time to sit down and make a mixtape of cover songs that I love, and add a spicy title: Betwixt The Covers.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Five Songs On Shuffle Vol. 11
This is the eleventh installment of my weekly blog entry series "5 Songs On Shuffle." I’ll put my iTunes on shuffle and blog about the first five songs that play.
"Last Request" - Paulo Nutini These Streets
A gorgeous and bluesy torch song from the Scottish import who should have a career like fellow Scot Rod Stewart, minus the "Great American Songbook" years. The single mix is better than the album cut, but you can't go wrong with lyrics like "I know I can't except that we're going no where/but one last time lets go there/lay down beside me"
"Carbon Monoxide" - Regina Spektor Soviet Kitsch
This is not one of my favorites from Regina's first major label LP, in fact I often get it confused with "Sailor Song" another goofy piano song from that disc. But Regina's shit is better than most people's gold. She has a nice song that closes the latest Chronicles Of Narnia film which is really weird, since Imogen Heap had a song in the last Narnia film and I bought both of their albums on the same day. Coincidence?
"No More Drama" - Mary J. Blige No More Drama
The Queen of hip-hop/soul makes the most brilliant sampling choice in hip-hop history. Utilizing the piano theme from sudsy TV daytime drama The Young And The Restless as the backdrop to song about freeing oneself from drama, ironic and hot. Plus the choir breaking loose with a cry of "No! More! Drama!" at the end would be fly on any track.
"Set Fire To The Third Bar" - Snow Patrol feat. Martha Wainwright Eyes Open
Snow Patrol's lead vocalist Gary Lightbody and sister-of-Rufus/daughter-of-Loudon Martha Wainwright duet on my second favorite Snow Patrol song. It's one of those duets where both sing simultaneously, creating a strange harmony over a slightly creepy music bed, with pianos and guitars dueling for the spot light. The lyrics are haunting in their beauty: "Miles from where you are/I lie down on the cold ground/and I pray that something picks me up/and sets me down in your warm heart"
"Knock 'Em Out" - Lily Allen Alright, Still
A funny song from the bratty Brit, lampooning barfly girls and rude boys hitting on each other and making up excuses for not passing out their digits. "Yeah, I'm pregnant/I'm gonna have a baby in about six months/I've gotta go, my house is on fire/I have herpes"
"Last Request" - Paulo Nutini These Streets
A gorgeous and bluesy torch song from the Scottish import who should have a career like fellow Scot Rod Stewart, minus the "Great American Songbook" years. The single mix is better than the album cut, but you can't go wrong with lyrics like "I know I can't except that we're going no where/but one last time lets go there/lay down beside me"
"Carbon Monoxide" - Regina Spektor Soviet Kitsch
This is not one of my favorites from Regina's first major label LP, in fact I often get it confused with "Sailor Song" another goofy piano song from that disc. But Regina's shit is better than most people's gold. She has a nice song that closes the latest Chronicles Of Narnia film which is really weird, since Imogen Heap had a song in the last Narnia film and I bought both of their albums on the same day. Coincidence?
"No More Drama" - Mary J. Blige No More Drama
The Queen of hip-hop/soul makes the most brilliant sampling choice in hip-hop history. Utilizing the piano theme from sudsy TV daytime drama The Young And The Restless as the backdrop to song about freeing oneself from drama, ironic and hot. Plus the choir breaking loose with a cry of "No! More! Drama!" at the end would be fly on any track.
"Set Fire To The Third Bar" - Snow Patrol feat. Martha Wainwright Eyes Open
Snow Patrol's lead vocalist Gary Lightbody and sister-of-Rufus/daughter-of-Loudon Martha Wainwright duet on my second favorite Snow Patrol song. It's one of those duets where both sing simultaneously, creating a strange harmony over a slightly creepy music bed, with pianos and guitars dueling for the spot light. The lyrics are haunting in their beauty: "Miles from where you are/I lie down on the cold ground/and I pray that something picks me up/and sets me down in your warm heart"
"Knock 'Em Out" - Lily Allen Alright, Still
A funny song from the bratty Brit, lampooning barfly girls and rude boys hitting on each other and making up excuses for not passing out their digits. "Yeah, I'm pregnant/I'm gonna have a baby in about six months/I've gotta go, my house is on fire/I have herpes"
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