Category: Pop Music

BØRNS – ‘Blue Madonna’ – Album Review

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I would venture to say that I am not in the same demographic this album is geared towards.  I am a 49 year old male who does not frequent dance clubs or listen to much pop radio, but you what?  I don’t care.  I am really digging this album and the fact I say I am digging this album proves I am not the audience for this music.

The album ‘Blue Madonna’ is BØRNS second full length studio release and a follow-up to his 2015 stellar release ‘Dopamine’.  With a name like BØRNS, the sound of his music and his whole style, I thought he was some European act that was breaking in America.  Boy, I was wrong.  He is actually from Michigan and a full on American.

He has his own style for sure as you can see by that amazing outfit on the cover.  I am no where cool enough to pull off that look.  BØRNS has a whole androgynous vibe about him as well with his hair, his clothes and his very high vocal range which adds to his mystique.  His falsetto will leave Adam Levine very jealous.  Now I guess I should talk about the music.

The sound and sonic vibe of the album is a mixture of pop, psychedelic pop and electro-pop.  The album is a little moody and dark at times.  This is definitely not something I am normally drawn to, but there is something about his songs that attracts me to it.  Ever since I heard his first hit “Electric Love” back in 2016, I have been a fan.  And with his first single off the album, “Faded Heart”, I was anticipating another great album and I wasn’t disappointed.

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My Sunday Song – “Hazard” by Richard Marx

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For My Sunday Song #80, I chose the song “Hazard” by Richard Marx.  The song was off Marx’s third album ‘Rush Street’ and went on to become his third #1 song on the Adult Contemporary charts.

I love a song that tells an interesting story and this is one of those songs.  We all know Marx is an incredible songwriter and if you don’t you must live under a rock.  The song “Hazard” tells a great story.  It tells the story of a young man, who is an outcast in the town of Hazard, Nebraska.  No one seems to like him and they all feel he is a little strange.  He meets a girl, Mary, and falls in love, BUT…Mary ends up dead and he is the prime suspect.  What also is great about the story is you don’t find out if he did it or not.  It leaves you as the listener deciding on your interpretation and whether you feel he did it or not.  What do I think?  I might tell you later.

The song is at a ballad like pacing, but definitely not a love song.  The music and pacing give the song an eerie, dark tone to it which adds to the drama of the song and makes you feel the sadness the main character is feeling at the loss of his love and trying to convince everyone he is innocent.  I think it is beautiful.

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Friday New Releases – February 23rd

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Welcome to the last Friday of February for new releases.  There isn’t a whole lot of new ones that are peaking my interest.  There are a few I will listen to and as usual, they are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know if there is something that tickles your fancy or if there was anything that I don’t have on my list.  Thanks and have a great weekend.

  • 510qrK6DCuL._AC_US436_QL65_  Alice Cooper – The Sound of A E.P. – (Edel Germany):  Alice Cooper’s latest album ‘Paranormal’ is absolutely stellar.  This is really just a single release of “The Sound of A” from that album, but what makes it special is the 4 B-Sides you get as well including Live versions of “The Black Widow”, “Public Animal #9”, “Is It My Body” and “Cold Ethyl”.  That makes it worth it!!

  • 715ygsnBa6L._SX522_.jpg  CoreLeoni – The Greatest Hits Part 1 – (Frontiers Records):  Leo Leoni, guitarist from the band Gotthard, releases this on the 25th Anniversary of Gotthard to celebrate rock and bring back some songs that Gotthard has left behind.  With singer Ronnie Romero taking on the vocals this could be a very interesting project.  Worth at least a listen.

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Friday New Releases – February 16th

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Welcome back to Friday New Releases.  This week is a little better than last week, but not by much.  There are only a few I am interested in this week and they are highlighted in Blue.  I am beginning to think February for music releases is like February for movie releases, there aren’t as many and they aren’t as good.  I am hoping for a couple exceptions to that rule.  Let me know what floats your boat.

  • A1flrKrkxTL._SX522_  Pop Evil – Pop Evil – (Entertainment One):  Pop Evil is one of the few modern rock bands I like.  And based on what has come out so far this year, I need something good and heavy.  They usually don’t disappoint.  I will admit it is a little generic, but it is consistent and you know what you are going to get.

  • 51+Hcq+l4oL._SS500  David Cook – Chromance E.P. – (Analog Heart Music):  Former American Idol winner is finally back, but only with an EP.  I will take what I can get.  David is a little rock, but mostly pop and I don’t know if he has ever fully found where he wants to be with his sound. Hopefully this finds him in a good place.

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My Sunday Song – “Black Coffee in Bed” by Squeeze

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For My Sunday Song #78, I am going with one of my favorite Squeeze songs “Black Coffee in Bed”.  The song didn’t do that great in the U.S. (#103 on Billboard) and for some reason the band never really broke it big here either,  but I always loved their songs and this one in particular.

“Black Coffee in Bed” was released in 1982 and was from their fifth album .Sweets from a Stranger’.  The song really wasn’t a big hit.  It only reached #52 in the UK and only #23 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.  It never broke the Top 100 on the Billboard Pop chart.  However, there was something about the song that I liked whether it was a little bit of Glenn Tilbrook’s vocals or the lyrics or the slow pacing of the music and the jazzy little feel to the song.  It all worked.

The funny thing is that Glenn really didn’t like the song.  According to Glenn from his interview with songfacts.com:

“It’s far too ponderous. It could never be a fast song, but it certainly had the opportunity to be slightly perkier. My vocal is mannered and not very good at all, and I can’t stand to listen to it now. It was influenced by what Paul Carrack had brought to the table but without Paul’s voice it didn’t sound right. We recorded a great demo with Gus Dudgeon but we really f–ked it up for the record, which was entirely down to me. This is one of the few Squeeze songs I’d happily re-record because I think I could do a better version.”

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Friday New Releases – February 9th

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Happy Friday!!…or is it?  Well of course it is, it’s new release Friday.  There is not a whole lot I am pyched to listen to this week.  Some I might give a spin, but only one will get listened to today for sure and it is highlighted in Blue.  Otherwise, not much else that is exciting me.  Let me know what floats your boat.  Thanks.

  • 41VSwhV-ZFL  Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending – (Domino Recording Co.);  The Scottish indie rock band is back with their fifth album.  I have been a fan since the beginning which is strange for me as I usually don’t like the whole indie rock vibe, but Franz gave me a nice retro rock feel with a lot of distortion.  I don’t know what this one has to offer yet, but I will give it a listen.

  • 61CbMAk5zzL._AC_US320_QL65_  Toto – Greatest Hits: 40 Trips Around the Sun – (Sony Music)

  • 51O8TIeBEuL._SS500  Sister Hazel – Water – (Croakin’ Poet Records)

  • 51xgRMToKcL._AC_US320_QL65_  Voodoo Circle – Raised on Rock – (AFM Records)

  • 51cKSEatsBL._SS500  Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows – (Fueled by Ramen)

  • 61l+GoCpryL._SS500  MGMT – Little Dark Age – (Columbia Records

  • 5130EnGGISL._SS500  Elevation Collective – Evidence – (Elevation Worship Records)

  • 61By-XPHFoL._SS500  Social Club Misfits – Into the Night – (Capitol CMG Label)

Friday New Releases – February 2nd

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Welcome to February’s First Friday of new releases.  There is a little Metal, Rock, Pop, Country and even Frank Zappa (he is his own category).  Hopefully something will float your boat.  There is only one I am really interested in and I might check out some others, but too early to say.  My choice is highlighted in Blue as always.

  • 61AHx4Gb31L._AC_US436_QL65_  Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods – (RCA Records):  Is it no surprise that Justin is back with a new album as he is performing as the headline act for the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday.  The first single is a little different and took some getting used to, but I think I am digging it a little now.  I am interested to see what he has to offer.  I will admit I am a fan of his music so this one is a no brainer for me.

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1979 – The Greatest Year In Music?

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We are now on the fourth year in this series.  I have already covered the following years:

1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1987 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1991 – The Greatest Year in Music?

My theory is simple…Every 4 years you have one of the greatest years in music.  I agree with the three I have already done.  Will I agree with it for the next year 1979?  We will have to first examine the evidence.  What were the top albums of the year?, What were the debut albums from some of the great rock bands? and What was going on in the world of music that year?

The Sony Walkman:

walkmanOn July 1, 1979, The Sony Walkman goes on Sale in Japan and the way you listen to music is changed forever!! (at least until the CD and then the MP3).  Who didn’t have one of these if you were a kid in 1979 or the 80’s.  I definitely did.  It helped spur my love for music as it now was more portable  It was better than just the radio, I could listen to what I wanted to wherever and whenever I wanted.  I used mine while I mowed the lawn (and every now and again I would snag to cord and pull my headphones off). I had a boombox, but that wasn’t the same as the Walkman.  Nothing better (until my iPod).

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Lady Gaga – Gaga: Five Foot Two – Documentary Review

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Amazingly, I have a had time to watch a few documentaries I have been wanting to see.  First it was ‘Hired Gun’ Review and now it is the Lady Gaga documentary, ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’ which I have been wanting to watch since its release in September 2017 on Netflix.  The documentary covers the time in Stefani Germanotta’s life (aka Lady Gaga) between the making of her outstanding album ‘Joanne’ and her Super Bowl appearance in 2017.

The style of the video takes a minute to wrap your head around and understand why it is being filmed that way.  The style is called Cinéma Vérité which is an observational style of filiming.  Click on the name to learn more.  Once I got passed the style, I really started enjoying the film.  It is an in depth, behind the scenes, look into her life.  It doesn’t look like she was too worried about how she came across.  You see her happy and smiling, crying, with or without make-up or even clothes at times.

Lady Gaga bares it all and doesn’t hold back anything which really draws you into her world and makes her feel authentic.  You start to feel what she is going through and she becomes relatable.  The thing I got out of it, being a rock star is not glamorous at all.  It is grueling work, it is brutal, it is exhausting, it is painful and it is not a life for the faint of heart.

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Friday New Releases – January 26th

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We are already to the end of the first month of the year and some good ones so far.  And we are ending the month with some even better.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  There should be a little something for everyone this week.  Let me know which ones you want or if I missed something. I have a lot to get through this weekend. Have a great weekend!!

  • 51drvzx1HXL._AC_US436_QL65_  Rick Springfield – The Snake King – (Frontiers Records):  I love me some Rick Springfield.  I am not afraid to admit it.  I was a fan as a kid and he was my first concert my sister and I went to go see.  Back in 2004 with his album Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance, I garnered a new found respect for him and have been following him with more gusto.  The new album is more blues rock and a nice change of pace.  He keeps trying new things and keeps getting better.  I enjoyed the single “Little Demon” and expect great things to come.

  • 51v+QhAMSAL._AC_US436_QL65_  The Poodles – Prisma – (GAIN/Sony):  The Poodles have returned after a little break and some little side projects.  My only disappointment with this album is it is not new material.  It is a cover’s album which I am not always a huge fan of.  I will listen, but worried.  I don’t want it to be karaoke and from what I hear with “It’s No Good” tells me it won’t be.

  • 71D3-gx6QWL._AC_US320_QL65_  Phil Campbell & the Bastard Sons – The Age of Absurdity – (Nuclear Blast):  Motorhead guitarists has his own band and they come at you with dirty, gritty rock and exactly what you need.  I am looking forward to devouring this release and blowing out the speakers!

  • 81ecqHGgigL._AC_UL320_SR320,320_  Delta Deep – East Coast Live – (Frontiers Records):  Delta Deep delivers their first live album which is great considering I was unable to attend a show they did last year.  Def Leppard’s own Phil Collen is on guitar and Stone Temple Pilots’ own Robert Deleo on Bass, Forrest Robinson on drums and the great vocals of Debbi Blackwell.  I got in to them thanks to my Bro-in-law as he did the sound for all their live shows.  This should be good…no great!!

  • 51G7Rl0IUQL._SS500  John 5 & The Creatures – It’s Alive – (60 Cycle Hum Records):  As much as I loved his last solo release with the Creatures, a live version is a no brainer.  Can’t wait to dive into this and to see what I missed when they came to town last year.

  • 51Yxg96OwEL._AC_US436_QL65_  Ammunition – Ammunition – (Frontiers Records):  Former members of Wig Wam together again…enough said.  This will get some spins for sure.

  • 610iD9H20BL._AC_US436_QL65_  Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa – Black Coffee – (J&R Adventures)

  • 610nS59X3WL._AC_US436_QL65_  Loudness – Rise To Glory – (Frontiers Records)

  • 81fzC5lehlL._SX522_  Steve Hackett – Wuthering Nights: Live in Birmingham – (Inside Out Records)

  • 61rO-rGDKCL._AC_US436_QL65_  Armik – Pacifica – (Bolero Records)

  • 513h3-GeRCL._SS500  Machine Head – Catharsis – (Nuclear Blast Entertainment)

  • 51wWqRI4uCL._AC_US218_  Craig David – The Time is Now – (Insanity Records)