Maxwell K's Traxx

"lock and key" || lilofee || 2009

2009-07-15T17:12:00.005-05:00

When Outkast released the single "Hey Ya" in the first part of this decade, my dad told me, "Your generation now has its theme song." I agreed with him until I heard this song on the radio this morning.

It's always seemed to me that generations before mine were so easy to define! Kids of the '60s / Vietnam era were hippies and flower children, there were new wave kids and preppies in the '80s, and you had Generation X in the '90s. Our generation just seemed too ambiguous to define.

The singer proclaims herself (himself? it's hard to tell) a member of "generation sexually ambiguous," then goes on to describe the nightly process of swapping clothes before hitting the party / club scene. There's even talk of sharing eyeliner, and a nod to the fact that it's more than okay -- in fact, normal -- for girls to kiss other girls.

This generation is sexually liberated, but it's not what defines us. Lilofee seems to have used, perhaps unintentionally, the idea of sexual ambiguity to describe a generation that is difficult to define. A generation defined by its ambiguity, if you will. I can only thank them, and ask where I can buy the CD.

Listen

Current Country :: What's Awesome And What Blows

2009-06-19T17:43:00.011-05:00

It's no secret that I'm a country radio deejay, so I'm very much in tune with what's current in that market. Here are a few hits and several misses from the last couple of months:

AWESOME:

"You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift

This is a really great little tune! Swift has grown on me a lot as an artist in the last year. "Tim McGraw" and "Teardrops On My Guitar" were high school heartbreaker ballads, so I didn't pay too much attention. "Our Song" made me raise an eyebrow as an above-average attempt at high school cuteness, but was still too lyrically naive for me to take seriously."

"Should've Said No" impressed me. Quite truthfully, I haven't heard such poignant (and relevant) youthful angst since Alanis. "You Belong With Me" intrigues me in the same way, tapping into parts of the adolescent brain that aren't usually so well articulated. ("You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset / She's going off about something that you said / Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do")

I honestly haven't a clue whether Taylor will have staying power in the music biz, but right now, I'm enjoying her contributions.

Listen

"Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean

His best song since "Amarillo Sky." It's a redneck slow jam, but for Aldean, it just works. The lyric toward the beginning where he actually recounts telling his dogs, "y'all get down," is hilarious.
I'm not sure exactly what's so thrilling or romantic about riding around on a big green tractor, but Aldean manages to make it seem that way. I think that's pretty cool.

Listen

"Sissy's Song" by Alan Jackson

Ordinarily, the mention of religion in songs immediately makes me lose interest, so I really didn't give this song a fair chance on the first listen. After a second spin, though, I realized that moments of raw, unguarded emotion in music are, when genuine, very rare. This is one of those moments.

Jackson wrote the song about a housekeeper that passed away, and his love for and attachment to her sit softly in your ears during this song. I really like that the song is a bit shorter than most radio singles; it serves as a reminder that pain from death is often very quick and very direct, as are the song's lyrics.

Songs like this do not come along often, but they always become massively successful when they do, because they reach very personal areas of the heart.

Listen

SUCKS:

"Love Remembers" by Craig Morgan

Country radio is still playing the crap out of this song, and I honestly can't figure out why. Much like Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts, Morgan oversings almost every one of his songs. Toward the end, he crescendos so dramatically singing the song's title that he sounds like an old wolf in the throes of an orgasm. It's disgusting.

I will note what I see as this song's one redeeming quality: It reminds you not to take any moment with your lover for granted.

Listen

"One In Every Crowd" by Montgomery Gentry

My finger cannot move fast enough to turn this song off every time it comes on. It's a salute to being that loud, drunk guy at a party who thinks everyone loves him, when in reality, they want to light him on fire with their minds. I wouldn't hate the song so much if I thought that MG got the joke, but I know they didn't. They have no clue that everyone hates this guy. The result is just plain annoying.

Listen

I'm still here!

2009-06-19T17:40:00.001-05:00

Poor Traxx...I've been so neglectful.

Actually, I just haven't felt much like writing about music lately.

But, I'm back! I'm going to pick up right where I left off.

Single reviews to follow soon...

"that beep" || architecture in helsinki || 2009

2009-03-05T14:34:00.005-06:00

Australia has done it again!

Brunswick's Architecture In Helsinki has stolen my heart with this cute little song about being hopelessly devoted to a crush. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what "that beep" is that she so desperately wants. Is it a phone call? Even better, a ring on the pager? (If she still has a pager, no wonder no one is "beep"ing her -- no one remembers how to use them.)

I'm not going to ramble this time about well-hidden meaning in a silly pop song, because if it exists here, I haven't found it yet. It's really just an insanely cute song, and the world needs more of those.

Listen for some awesomely '80s drum and synth samples.

Listen

MySpace

"undress to the beat" || jeanette || 2009

2009-02-27T19:00:00.004-06:00

I don't know much about Jeanette, or why she apparently hasn't been making music for the last few years, but I do know that I'm glad she decided to return to the studio.

Jeanette Bidermann, aged 27, is a German electro-pop singer. She reminds me of a more club-oriented Annie. I like that I can't decide whether or not her music is good pop or good club, so it must be both.

This new single, just released today, hooked me in about 15 seconds. It's got great synth, an excellent baseline, and sexy lyrics. You honestly can't ask for more.

I'm now looking very forward to her new album!

Listen

"my life would suck without you" || kelly clarkson || 2009

2009-02-05T10:04:00.004-06:00

Upon seeing the cover to the single release of this song about a month ago, Kelly Clarkson finally got my attention. I wasn't ignoring her per se, in fact, I think she has one of the top 5 voices in current pop music, but I never found any of her songs relatable as a college-aged male.

I waited with bated breath to hear the actual song, though, since amusing single covers don't necessarily make good songs. Luckily, this was most definitely not the case.

The song delivered, and I'm very pleased. It only takes one listen to figure out the feeling that Kelly is describing, and if it's something that you've seriously felt before, you already know what she's talking about just from the song's title.

The music is very effective in carrying the lyrical buildup. The lyrics and music both begin with a soft, pensive and almost disappointed tone, as Kelly's lover has just re-entered her life. She seems frustrated. When the chorus hits, the music builds up and the lyrics convey an internal emotional explosion. It's perfect sync.

Nice work, Kelly, and since you've named your new album after this track, I have high expectations. Don't let me down!

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traxxlisting #4 :: top 11 of 2008

2009-01-06T18:37:00.013-06:00

I've been putting off this post in the interest of debating which songs earned these chart positions. I'm now happy with my list, and proud to share it with you!

"Euphoria" by Hydra Productions

This album hasn't yet earned the recognition it deserves, which is a shame, because it's very cool for a couple of reasons. First, it includes vocals from numerous '80s pop tarts: Tiffany, Gioia Bruno (Exposé), Jade Starling (Pretty Poison), and the queen herself, Stacey Q. Canadian pop singer Kim Esty also appears. (A few of them even collaborate on the last track!)

The seriously cool thing about this record though, is that the two musicians who put it together have never been in the same room with one another. In fact, they did it from different continents Shane Condo is a musician who lives in Australia. Shawn Winstian is a songwriter who lives in Pennsylvania. They met on a website. Then they released an album together.

"Euphoria" is my favorite cut on the album not just because Stacey Q does vocals in the chorus. It reminds me of roller rinks from the early '90s and the skating parties that I went to as a kid. When I hear it, I feel like I'm in a dark roller rink, lit only by a rotating disco ball, and I can hear the faint clicking of joysticks on the arcade machines that are positioned near the rink. In fact, if this song had been released in 1993, it probably would have been Top 40 material. For now, it can live in obscurity and make the people who are smart enough to notice it smile.

"Can't Shake It" by Kate Miller-Heidke

I have super high hopes for this lady. This song should be a total floor filler at clubs and college parties alike, and sadly it hasn't gotten much US attention at all.

Perhaps it will live in obscurity as a college radio classic, but it's definitely one of the best pop songs I've heard in a long while, and I look forward to the US release of her album so I can snag a copy.

She kind of reminds me of a young, Aussie version of Kate Bush. Maybe that's why I like her so much.

"Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" by Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga exploded this fall, and not without reason. She's a pop music guru. A listen through her album is proof enough that she's studied pop trends very carefully, and she certainly knows what makes a quality pop song. It's no wonder her album is so successful; she's brilliantly blended elements that equal success into a smorgasbord of cheerful yet dirty pop.

This is my favorite song on the record, because it's pure pop. Every single element of this song, from the hear-it-once-sing-it-the-second-time hook, to the spry melody, to the opening "cherry cherry boom boom," is deliberately placed, and the result is a song that's sweeter than vanilla frosting. This is ironic, too, because the lyrics to the song are quite biting, but masked behind a playful beat, much in the manner that they would be delivered in a real-life situation.

I wish Ms. Gaga the best on her way.

"Makeup Artist" by Marching Band

Ah, glorious college pop. Everyone has songs that take them back to a specific moment and place in their lives, and I can say that this will, without a doubt, be one of those songs for me. I'll think of being a college radio deejay in the fall of 2008 every time I hear this song, for the rest of my life.

Personal meaning aside, it really is a great song. Who can't relate to a tune about a lying bitch? The play on words is just icing on the cake. (I'm really into the whipped topping references tonight, huh?)

"I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" by Annie

The wait for Annie's new material was worth it. I fell in love with this track as soon as I heard it, and if you love pop music, how couldn't you? It's great stuff!

Annie has a knack for singing bitchy pop songs in such a cute voice that you don't even realize that they're bitchy. Her 2005 single "Chewing Gum" was a knock at someone who "thinks they're chocolate when [they're] chewing gum." I mean, it's an insult, but would you really be hurt if a cute girl said that to you?

"Girlfriend" is more of the same stuff. It's a direct shot at someone for having a shitty girlfriend. Annie manages to demean the chick and give the guy reason enough to ditch the dead weight and be with her, all in under three minutes. That's impressive.

"Dino Damage" by Miniature Tigers

Not since Steve Miller's "The Joker" has the world heard such a cool instance of a talking guitar. In the former, Miller used his guitar to wolf whistle. Charlie of Miniature Tigers uses his to emulate a baby dinosaur. Cute, right?

Well...sort of. The song is actually about how you should release your pet dino before he gets big enough to mutilate you in various grotesque ways, all of which are spelled out in graphic detail. It was probably written as a profound allegory for releasing something that you love and letting it off into the world to grow and be itself, but to me it's a precious song about not getting your fingers chomped the fuck off.

"Shake It (Lenny B.'s Radio Edit)" by Metro Station

I love love love love love love love love love this remix. It's a kickass floor filler, equally suited to nights driving around town, shaking it in clubs, or kicking it in cramped apartments with friends.

The original was an okay song, but it's targeted toward Hot Topic sceney-boppers. No thanks.

Lenny B.'s reworking of this song steals the show. Good remixes don't lay vocals over a completely different beat; they amplify the good elements of a song and expand upon them. That's exactly what Lenny B. did, and the result was one of this decade's best dance songs.

Listen

"Funplex" by The B-52's

They're back!

Gosh, it makes me so happy that The B-52's can still write songs like this. They've grown so much as a band in the last 30 years, but they have always been true to their signature sound, and this latest record is absolutely no different.

The members of the group have always been caricatures of themselves, which lends itself to a sense of self-parody. This track is about being old and cranky while trying to shop (or work in) the mall. It's a perfectly logical next step in their career: Noting their age, but not backing down a single step.

The only other thing I can think to say is that I hope I'm still that cool when I'm angrily pushing my way through the mall one day.

"Sounds So Good" by Ashton Shepherd

Until I took a job at a country radio station in June, I didn't know a thing about country music, except that Garth Brooks was like Michael Jackson to fans of the genre. Artists like Toby Keith and Trace Adkins had always repulsed me from bothering to give any country music a fair shot.

After forced exposure to country for a few months, I figured out that there is true artistic merit to be found in the genre, and it lies within the songwriting. Some of the greatest storytellers can be found in country music lyricists. (Jamey Johnson's "In Color" and Reba McEntire's "Fancy" are both great examples, if you're interested.)

You don't necessarily have to tell a story to write a great country song, though, and thus is the case here. Shepherd is 22 years old, and her songwriting ability is at an amazingly seasoned level.

There is something infectious about this song. I can't tell you what it is. I can tell you, however, that it was good enough to make me purchase the first and only country music CD in my music library, and that all my friends, to whom country music is a complete joke, love it just as much as I do and will sing along to it in the car.

Okay, okay, it sounds like she says "cooter" in the chorus. Hardy har. It's still a great song.

Listen

"Crimewave" by Crystal Castles

There's simply no denying the originality of Crystal Castles. They've created a unique sounds that hipsters, geeks, and sorority chicks alike simply can't get enough of.

"Crimewave" is without a doubt their masterpiece thus far, and it'll remain an underground dance classic forever. It's another classic example of a song that you'd have missed unless you 1.) paid attention to college radio, or 2.) hung out with people who pay attention to college radio. I'm honestly kind of surprised that the hipster garbage scene latched onto this group. I think the draw to that crowd is probably the band's noise-oriented tracks like "Alice Practice," whereas dance music nerds like myself latched onto the cuts like "Untrust Us" and "1991." "Crimewave" is a perfect blend of both the bands sounds, guaranteed to make anyone dance.

It's totally hilarious to me that even though nobody can get enough of this song, no one can sing along with it, either.

I would like to note that lots of cool music came out of Canada this year, and even though this was the only Canadian act that made my list, I was very impressed with many other Canadian bands. So you, up there, keep up the good work.

And the #1 song of 2008 is...

"Boyfriend" by Alphabeat

It's a perfect pop song, off of a very impressive, solid album. The lyrics are perfectly simple, and the beat is undeniably danceable. It's cutesy enough to get played on TV screens in trendy clothing stores, but indie enough to be called "college pop" by me. It's simply a perfect song.

Most people I've played the song for assume that it's from the '80s, which I don't really understand. The song definitely has a retro feel, but I'd never have mistaken it for an older tune. (Perhaps that's due to my own knowledge of music from that era, though.) I suppose the song just has a timeless sound.

This album is a super fun journey through various areas of pop, much like Lady Gaga's record, but without overlap. These Danes explore europop and indie pop, all without being cliché or unoriginal.

This band has an amazingly bright future in pop music if they keep up releases like this one.

That's the list! Here's to lots more great music in 2009!

"tom's diner" || suzanne vega || 1987

2008-12-30T10:51:00.006-06:00

A song that is incredibly fascinating in it's simple beauty, "Tom's Diner" is one of those songs that everyone on Earth has surely heard once in his or her life.

The track was originally recorded in 1981 and released in the January 1984 edition of Fast Folk Magazine. It was completely a cappella (only vocals and no music, for you n00bs). This single charted only in the UK and Ireland. She did, however, perform as the musical guest in a May 1987 episode of Saturday Night Live.

A cappella tracks are very ballsy moves by artists. They obviously require a vocal precision that is above that of the average singer. Vega's performance is most definitely solid, though. She delivers a memorable melody, a flawless vocal performance, and a narrative that non-native-New-Yorkers will find intriguing, and that natives will find familiar, but not banal.

Incidently, Tom's Diner is a real place, called Tom's Restaurant, at 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Tom's is also famous for acting as the facade for Monk's Diner, the restaurant of choice of the main characters on Seinfeld.

This track scored its highest success in 1990, when it was remixed by the group DNA. Now a club-friendly downtempo house song, it took the charts of several countries by storm, including landing at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the version that most will recognize.

Vega's voice is just so perfect for this song. It's flawlessly written and flawlessly executed. The DNA remix just took something that was perfect and made it perfect in a different world.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia that I found during my research for this post: The original track helped perfect the MP3! A computer scientist named Karlheinz Brandenburg was working on the compression techniques used in the MP3 file format to keep the file size small, without losing the quality of the music. According to this article, he heard a radio playing the song when he was working one night and decided that if his compression algorithm could work on her voice without making her sound bad, then he'd have a quality algorithm. The article notes, "When an MP3 player compresses music by anyone from Courtney Love to Kenny G, it is replicating the way that Brandenburg heard Suzanne Vega."

"amarillo sky" || jason aldean || 2006

2008-12-28T23:00:00.004-06:00

I honestly still can't figure out why I'm so moved by this song. It doesn't have anything to do with Aldean's voice, or really even much to do with the music, although the guitar buildup at the end of each chorus is nice. No, this is definitely a lyrical love.

This song is so striking to me because it offers the perspective of a struggling farmer, which is never offered in the kind of music that I normally listen to. The farmer is doing everything he can to raise his crops and achieve a profit, but he can't seem to do it. He's in desperation because he fears for his financial future.

And really, in a situation like that, who can you blame? Mother nature? Should you abandon the farm and find more lucrative work? Shutting down the farm seems like it would be more work than actually watering each acre of your farm by hand.

Clearly, I know nothing about this lifestyle. However, I most certainly appreciate a well-written song about pain, and that's what this is. Aldean does a fitting vocal delivery, and even though I'm not a fan of his voice, it does work well for this song. The guitar buildup that I mentioned earlier also adds to the desperate feelings that one gets when listening. It really makes you feel the poor farmer's struggle.

Plus, it's nice to hear a modern country song that isn't about religion, America, or lists of things that give the artist country cred.

Listen to this track in our new playlist, located in the right sidebar!

the roxanne wars

2008-12-17T21:12:00.003-06:00

I've contemplated making a post about this mid-'80s hip-hop anomaly for quite some time, and this recent post in my affiliate Kyleigh's Rare And Obscure Music blog made me decide that the time is right.

In 1984, hip-hop group UTFO released a single called "Hanging Out." The B-side was a track called "Roxanne, Roxanne," and the comical and very true-to-life nature of the song made it more popular than the single that it was intended to carry. A music video was shot for the song, and a young woman named Adelaida Martinez was cast in the role of "Roxanne."

The song is about the vocalist's failed attempts to catch the attention of "Roxanne," whom he dismisses as "stuck up" and "a crab." The single wasn't a shot at any actual person named Roxanne; it's just a silly mid-'80s hip-hop record.

Here's the story of the first Roxanne response record, as legend has it: One day, 14-year-old Lolita Shanté Gooden was walking down the street and overheard producer Marley Marl talking to radio deejay Mr. Magic. The two were discussing UTFO and how they'd recently cancelled a performance that Magic's radio station was promoting. (As a radio deejay myself, I completely understand why Magic would have been frustrated by such a maneuver.) Gooden told them that she'd make a record to get back at UTFO, and they accepted her offer. The result was a single called "Roxanne's Revenge," produced by Marley Marl and recorded by Gooden under the name Roxanne Shanté, released in late 1984:

Strong words for such a young girl, but the record was instantly noticed, because controversy always begets popularity. Notice that the beat is lifted directly from UTFO's song. That's because Shanté recorded the song in Marley Marl's bedroom, right over the instrumental cut of UTFO's song on their record. (Due to copyright infringement, the song was re-recorded with a different beat and cleaner lyrics and re-released in early 1985.)

The next player in this game was none other than Adelaida Martinez, who played "Roxanne" in UTFO's original music video. Donning the monkier The Real Roxanne, Martinez worked with UTFO to release a single also called "The Real Roxanne." Rather than directly lashing out at Shanté, The Real Roxanne's single was more of a response to UTFO's original single, told from the fictional Roxanne's perspective:

These three records seemed to open the floodgates for countless other emcees to take shots at either of the Roxannes. Here's one of my favorites, a track by an emcee who called herself Sparky D, entitled "Sparky's Turn (Roxanne You're Through)":

Totally fearless attack on the Roxannes. This is the stuff that emcee battles are made of.

Both Roxannes issued a second battle single (sort of). Here is Roxanne Shanté's, which was called "Queen Of Rox (Shanté Rocks On)":

The Real Roxanne's second single didn't really come from her, but from UTFO. It was called "Roxanne, Roxanne Part 2: Calling Her A Crab," and I can't find a copy of it to post here.

The Roxannes then turned focus to their respective careers. You can read about The Real Roxanne's career in this post in Kayleigh's blog. Roxanne Shanté released a couple of hardcore gangsta rap albums, but nothing too impressive. The Real Roxanne doesn't do music anymore, but the respect that she earned herself lives on in the rap community. Roxanne Shanté is still at it, releasing her latest album just two years ago.

One final note: Check out this very hilarious entry to the Roxanne series by rapper Ralph Rolle, which gives us a whole new spin on the Roxanne story:

"breakaway" || big pig || 1988

2008-11-13T11:55:00.004-06:00

Just a classic Aussie track post to prove that they've had it going on for quite some time.

I'm sad that "new beat" music didn't stay new for very long and subsequently tuckered out, because it was really neato stuff. It sounds like it was concocted by the Germans, but really, who the hell knows? It was acidic yet mellow music, which is most definitely an odd amalgamation, but it worked.

This song is one of the few gems of that era and that sound. Big Pig was a sizable band at six or seven members, but they certainly have a "big" sound, so the high member count makes sense. The remixed version that appears in the music video is exceptionally cool, and the 12" mixes of this song will blow your mind. If you dig bassy dance music with lots and lots of drums, this is right up your alley.

Although new beat music is few and far between, its better-known cousin big beat is very much alive and well. Groups like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, and even Crystal Castles (on some of their songs) are very much a part of that style. In fact, "Breakaway" almost sounds more like a big beat song than a new beat song.

You decide.

NOTE: If you think you've heard this song before, you're probably remembering it from the opening credits of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Listen

"paris is burning" || ladyhawke || 2008

2008-11-12T09:41:00.007-06:00

Another Aussie that excites me!

Ladyhawke's sound is a perfect blend of '80s new wave and modern chick-indie rock. Her vocals and the drum rhythms are all modern, but the synth in her songs gives them a perfect retro tinge without being obnoxious. It's no wonder that she's captured the heart of every thirtysomething gay guy who listened to The Motels and 'Til Tuesday in middle school.

Again, my hat is off to you Australia. Please keep this great music coming our way!

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MySpace

"can't shake it" || kate miller heidke || 2008

2008-11-12T09:30:00.004-06:00

Here's a lovely lady from Aussieland who's showing a lot of promise.

Whatever has inspired Australia to make such awesome music as of late, please, keep it up. I think the government must be adding something to the water that's giving them the ability to make fabulous danceable music, which is always something that the world needs.

I stumbled across Ms. Heidke online and fell in love with her gorgeous voice immediately. She is very obviously inspired by Cyndi Lauper in both voice and style (check out the clock in her hair!), but Lauper is an inspiring soul, so that's certainly not a criticism. Her latest single, "Can't Shake It," is a total college party song. It's about being self-conscious about one's own dancing ability; a spiritual successor to Genesis's famous 1992 hit, if you will. I heard it at about 9 a.m. one morning a few weeks ago, and it was in my station's rotation by lunchtime. Yes, it's that good.

According to anchor commentary before her live performance on the Aussie morning-TV show Sunrise, Heidke abandoned a folkier sound for this record. I've yet to hear her previous material, but I'm gonna take a leap of faith and say that this is a step in the right direction. Let's just hope she doesn't pull a Goldfrapp and improve her sound drastically for one album, only to return to completely inaccessible music on her next record.

I look forward to hearing lots more from her. And hey, check out her Sunrise performance to hear her do some super cool live vocals. This girl can sing!

Listen

MySpace

"surfin' bird" || the trashmen || 1964

2008-10-08T23:56:00.003-05:00

Family Guy finally forced me to include this song in my blog. No complaints, though, because it was indeed a very important tune for rock n' roll music.

A glorious gem from the glorious era of surf rock, "Surfin' Bird" is just one of many examples of the genius thought put into pop music in the early 1960s. "Pop" was still a fairly new idea at the time, and I don't really believe that it was swallowed by other genres until the British Invasion happened in the mid-'60s. Really, before the boys from Liverpool came along to do their thing, pop music in the states was influenced by black jazz and r&b singers from the '40s. I once heard a record store clerk (who specializes in 45s from the 1950s) say that rock & roll was invented by black jazz musicians, and I agree with him.

Surf rock was a not-so-clear progression of that sound. I'm not just saying that because this song is the result of combining two '50s songs by The Rivingtons (a black r&b group from the '50s). Take a surf rock 45 and play it on the 33 rpm speed. You'll hear doo-wop music, the sound of which has a very clear correlation with early r&b music.

OK, enough of a music history / theory lesson.

Seriously, surf rock is really cool stuff. I also love that Family Guy's cultural influence extends as far as it does; as of this post, this tune is #9 on the Top Sellers in Rock on iTunes.

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"everybody wants to rule the world" || tears for fears || 1986

2008-10-08T23:36:00.003-05:00

This song is a bit mainstream for me to post about it, but it's earned its place here.

This is quite simply one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

Hearing this on the radio tonight totally took me to another dimension. It's one of the first songs that I remember listening to very intently as a little kid; I had it on a mixtape that my dad made for me in his studio/office and I listened to it on the bus and in my little tape player at home. I remember the lyric "Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down / When they're through I'll be right behind you" totally blindsiding me with imagery even at that very young age.

Lyrically this song is very important. Right from the opening lyrics of "Welcome to your life / There's no turning back," you know you're dealing with some serious material. There is no fucking around. Congratulations, you're in charge of your own destiny. Now wake up, and get to work. So indicative of the mid-'80s Wall Street era.

The song could be about so many things! It could be about those annoying co-workers who kiss ass and act snidely appropriate at all the right times to get noticed by the boss. It could be an outcry about how capitalism creates greed. It could even simply be about the fact that everyone has a natural inclination to try to take over their own little worlds.

What I love so much about the vocals is how they follow a rigid, almost corporate-like structure in the first couple of verses, and then suddenly erupt into an almost volcanic outpour of emotion at the bridge. It's like the anarchy that breaks down the existing, structured society and restores power to the people. The vocals tone down again for the last verse, but not completely, the singer maintains the edge in his voice for the rest of the song.

It's simply a brilliantly crafted piece of music, and it needs to find its way into your collection.

Now.

Listen

"boyfriend" || alphabeat || 2008

2008-09-29T08:48:00.003-05:00

Hooray for well-crafted European pop music!

I'm sad that I haven't stumbled across Alphabeat before now. They've apparently been making records in Denmark for a few years now, but I just came across "Boyfriend" about a month ago. It took the song a few spins to stick with me, but now I'm addicted.

Definitely a throwback to mid-'80s pop music (no complaints from me), "Boyfriend" almost sounds like it was written by a modern girl-pop group in a "write an '80s song" contest.

When the song started, I was digging the groove of the music, and then I was thrown off-kilter by the singer's vocals. They were warbly, just like all modern female pop singers, but not warbly enough to make me turn off the song. (Warbly girl vocals almost always make me immediately shut off a song during the first listen.) The song is also in a minor key, which gives it a very moden touch.

The Europeans are masters of melodic pop music. I'm absolutely exhausted with American pop, because it's all spawned from R&B music, which I've had enough of, and the vocals all suck. Europe seems to put more emphasis on vocal ability, but more importantly they spotlight producers and bands who know how to write quality pop music. That's why Europop doesn't suck.

One final point I'd like to say about modern USA pop vs. modern Europop: If you hear a pop single by a European group and then go buy the album, you're likely to find an album filled with quality songs. This doesn't seem to hold true with modern USA pop albums. For an example, compare Alphabeat's album alongside Madonna's latest Hard Candy. I can get through MAYBE two songs on Hard Candy, but I can find something redeemable about every song on this album.

Listen

"i'm always manic (when i'm around you)" || a big yes and a small no || 2008

2008-09-23T14:49:00.003-05:00

Another song that falls into this "college pop" genre that I discussed in the previous post.

This is a surefire college radio classic. The first time I heard this tune, I complimented our station's music director on what I thought was the best song she'd chosen since taking the position four months ago.

College radio is built for tunes like this one. You'd never hear this on MTV, or on your local Top 40 station, but for college radio, it's a superhit. (If you're looking for another great example of college radio superhit, check out the song "Beard Lust" by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head from just a few posts back.)

Another tune that falls somewhere between indie rock and ska, "Manic" leaves you feeling sugary and delightful. It almost sounds like a tune that would have played in the background during an episode of Ren & Stimpy. I could just be saying that, however, because it makes me think of angular furniture, cookouts, and shag carpeting, but in a totally cool way.

If I were making compilations of college radio classics about 10 years from now, I'd include this track on my first release. I think it's a perfect milestone for this moment in modern music, and a song that should be tucked in the backs of anyone's mind who works in college radio during this era.

A final thought: The title of their album will make you smile.

Listen

"makeup artist" || marching band || 2008

2008-09-23T14:29:00.004-05:00

Songs like this serve as reminders why college radio is the place to find the coolest music that you'll never hear anywhere else.

"Makeup Artist" is deliciously infectious, from its agreeable drumline and guitar riff to its dainty sing-along hook. There's definitely a heavy ska influence, but without the undertone of douchiness that usually comes with ska tunes.

I must admit that I feel a bit dirty liking the song, because liking it puts me on the fringe of indie hipster territory (to use a scientific term). The song is carefully crafted to be neither a ska song nor an indie rock song, instead landing safely in the middle. It's one of those tunes that's cool enough for the skater crowd and mellow enough for the singer-songwriter acoustic crowd. It sounds like a college party.

I'm glad that this is one of the prevalent sounds in college radio, because it's taking the idea of "pop" to a new dimension. When examined alongside another trend in college radio, rock music with powerful electronics (mainly drum machines and synths), I'd say that the whole lot could be grouped into a "college pop" category. This stuff is today what the Spin Doctors and 4 Non Blondes were in the '90s.

Listen

Buy it here

"i know ur girlfriend hates me" || annie || 2008

2008-08-31T14:24:00.003-05:00

While Crystal Castles' "Crimewave" remains my favorite song of the year thus far overall, I think this is now my favorite pop song.

A friend of mine sent this to me about two months ago, and I started playing it on my club/dance radio show. It's now very easily my most-requested song.

Annie has a knack for making songs that seem to spill over you like cool milk. She's cute, she's sleek, she's Swedish. What's not to love?

"Girlfriend" is a perfect follow-up single to "Chewing Gum," from her last album, which has a similar feel, but is slower. This song cranks it up a bit, making it more likely to hit club floors across the countries. It's about having a guy friend with an overprotective girlfriend, a topic to which I was even able to relate as a male. Nobody likes a bitchy girlfriend.

For some reason, I can't help but make a comparison between this tune and the so-called "sophisti-pop" sound that was cool in the '80s for acts like Swing Out Sister and Scritti Politti. I feel like if those groups were to make modern electropop, it would sound like this.

This song will land in the annals of music as an underground electropop classic. It's just too cute not to love.

Listen

Available On:
I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me	CD5"	Buy It Here

the traxx that defined my summer

2008-08-22T16:00:00.003-05:00

Enjoy these songs that were critical in defining my summer. Some have received previous Traxx entries, so if the title is a link, it'll take you back to the post where it was previously featured. Enjoy! Lots more Traxx coming in the next few days!

"Crimewave" by Crystal Castles

I got this CD right at the beginning of summer, and it didn't leave my car stereo until mid-June. It's the most solid album I've heard in years. It remains consistent from start to finish, but not too consistent, as is the fatal flaw of many electronic albums. There's enough variation in the tracks to establish a mood and a character for each song, yet they all share similar qualities that tie them together as an album. "Crimewave" is the masterwork, and I know that any time I hear it for the rest of my life, I'll be instantly transported back to this summer.

Listen

"Breakout" by Swing Out Sister

A friend of mine asked me about this song toward the beginning of summer, and although I've known this song since I was a little kid, I hadn't thought about it in a long time. It's a really great tune, and I'm glad that it re-entered the forefront of my mind.

Swing Out Sister is an exceptionally unique group. They took the "sophisi-pop" sound that brits like Scritti Politti and Spandau Ballet had been playing for years and gave it a more jazzy twinge. They also have very colorful outfits and crazy, stylish music videos. "Breakout" is the shining star of their first album, It's Better To Travel, but if you did contemporary jazz that uses electronics without becoming smooth jazz, then you'll like the entire album. I don't think American audiences were open at the time to swallowing jazzy pop music, which is probably why Swing Out Sister stuck to their guns in the UK and not here. With modern acts like Norah Jones and Colbie Caillait though, who knows? Maybe they should give it another crack.

The video for this song is a riot. The way my friend describes it, it's as if two well-dressed mobsters kidnap a seamstress and put her in a fashion show. I think my favorite part about it is the extremely uncomfortable look on singer Corinne Drewery's face when her bandmates shuffle in from either side to help her sing the song's chorus. Priceless!

Listen

"Johnny & June" by Heidi Newfield

This was one of the first tunes that I latched onto when I started working at a country radio station at the beginning of summer. I still think it's a timeless love song that will become a country classic.

Listen

"That Song In My Head" by Julianne Hough

Another song that I know because of country radio, but that doesn't stop it from being a quality pop tune. I remember playing this on the jukebox at Froggy's one night, and all the waitresses were quite shocked that this was my choice, but I think they thought it was cute.

Listen

"Beard Lust" by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

This is Revolution 91.7's superhit of the summer. This goofy little indie electro band has come up with a catchy tune about facial hair, and you could not ask for anything more perfect for college radio. The lyrics revolve around the singer's lamenting the costliness of maintaining quality facial hair, an issue which never occurred to me, but I suppose it's true. Who wants to look at a nasty, scraggly beard or a moustache that's unkempt and has food stuck in it?

These guys will probably never have another superhit, but this one is worth it. They've created a college radio classic, and I hope every college kid drops their Weezer disc and buys this album, even if they just buy it to have this song. The band has earned it.

Listen

"I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry

This song should be on everyone's summer 2008 playlist, if they were awake. Every summer has this song. Summer 2007's song was Rihanna's "Umbrella," and this was our song this summer.

I'm really proud of Katy Perry. I first heard her last October or November, when the station got a copy of her "Ur So Gay" single. I found the title track and its remixes atrocious, but her cover of The Outfield's song "Your Love" was incredible, and I hoped that she'd do more great things like that.

She did, and now she has a #1 single to her name. In fact, here's a random bit of music trivia: "I Kissed A Girl" is the 1,000th song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. I think that's pretty freaking cool.

And hey, extra cool points to Katy for bringing some lesbian action to the mainstream.

Listen

"Downtown" by One 2 Many

This is one of the many artists to which I was alerted by my good buddy Nasty G over at The Isle Of Failed Pop Stars. I snagged this album from his blog because it was a later project of one of the members of Norwegian powerhouse a-ha (yes, the "Take On Me" guys). When I heard this song, I was in love.

"Downtown" combines all the best elements of power pop, pop rock, and a general '80s pop sound, all while remaining very Norwegian. It starts with a bright piano riff, but very quickly builds up and makes you want to slam your foot up and down to the beat. The rest of the album is pretty synth heavy, which is great, but this single was obviously the band's shining moment. It's a shame there wasn't a follow-up album.

Listen

"All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike + The Mechanics

A few weeks ago I was with some friends in a very southern bar. I was tired of hearing Skynyrd and Soundgarden playing from the jukebox, and for some reason, I had this song caught in my head. After looking through 50 CDs (no exaggeration), I found it. After thirty minutes of other requests, it played, and we all sang along happily.

I've since tracked down Mike + The Mechanics' first two albums, which are much more heavily into the synth-pop/power pop sound than I would have guessed. In my mind, they were always a lite rock band with a couple of uptempo tunes, but the opposite turned out to be true. It just so happens that a few of their lighter tunes ("Silent Running" and "The Living Years") were released as singles. The albums as a whole are actually quite danceable.

As an added bonus, the song has a story music video that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Listen

As summer comes to an end, this is always a very important reflection. Now, I turn to you.

What were your traxx for summer 2008? What traxx will you hear in 20 years and remember this summer?

"live to tell" || madonna || 1986

2008-07-23T20:05:00.003-05:00

I realize that it's kind of unusual for me to be posting an entry about such a well-known song, but I heard this tune earlier today and suddenly appreciated it in a way that I never had before.

I can't say that I related it to a particular event, situation or instance in my life. It's really just a beautiful song. Madonna gets to show off her voice, and ballads for her are somewhat of a rarity. In fact, this one, "Rain," and "Crazy For You" were the only ballads released as singles until 1998's "You Must Love Me."

Madonna really does perform a hell of a ballad, as is shown on her I'm Breathless album, so I love catching her in this (somewhat) rare form. The lyrics are poppy enough to be accessible, but still offer what may or may not be an interesting window into Madonna's soul. She did, after all, write the song with producer Patrick Leonard.

What's your secret? Will you live to tell it? If not, how will they know?

Listen

Available On:
The Immaculate Collection	Sire	7599-26440-2	CD

"ride captain ride" || blues image || 1970

2008-07-19T11:45:00.005-05:00

I'm not a fan of most music from the '70s. In fact, I once made the argument to my brother that one is very hard pressed to find a hit song from the '70s that wasn't campy or ridiculous in some way. Obviously, there are exceptions ("Imagine" by John Lennon, I suppose), and I don't really consider this one of them.

British music was really really really really really cool in the early '70s, so I think it's neato that this little band from Tampa was able to pull off a hit song amidst all the Brit-hype. Singer Mike Pinera has a very unusual voice for this kind of music. He almost sounds like an aging blues singer who can't fully break from his gutteral nature to sing a rock song. The really cool thing, though, is that it totally works.

I read this quote from Pinera about the process of writing this song, and I absolutely need to share it here:

"I went into the bathroom, and I shut the door, and I just meditated. I calmed my mind, and I started hearing music. I went out and sat at the piano, which was a Rhodes Model No. 73, which had 73 keys. So I say, 'Okay, I need a first word.' And what came into my head was 73. I liked the rhythm, and I went, '73 men sailed in, from the San Francisco Bay.' The song sort of just wrote itself from there." (Source)

It's a cool little story that matches one of the coolest, if not the coolest song from that era.

It's a shame that Blues Image was never able to match the success of their hit song, but really, did they need to? This song is still an icon of the '70s, and it still often appears in '70s flashbacks in popular movies and television shows. And if that doesn't tell you that you wrote a cool song, I don't know what does.

Listen

Available On:
Anchorman (Soundtrack)	Universal	B0002864-02	CD

"bandages" || hot hot heat || 2002

2008-07-07T11:22:00.006-05:00

Indie rock meets jumpy jangle rock in this cool tune from the earlier half of our fine decade.

Hot Hot Heat are an indie rock band from Canada. They have a huge fan base, but to me they're just one of the many indie bands that managed to write one or two absolutely killer songs (the other being "Goodnight, Goodnight") and then failed to deliver anything else nearly as cool. Their latest album, Happiness Ltd. was pretty disappointing after hearing those two killer singles from previous albums.

"Bandages" is the kind of song that you hear on the radio for the first time, and do everything in your power to find out who's singing it, because you know you'll be dying to hear it again.

I wish indie rock would lean more in this direction: Catchy, cutesy rock songs, as opposed to wanky bullshit that no one cares about (read: From First To Last). I think songs like this are pushes in the right direction for modern rock music.

Listen

Available On:
Make Up The Breakdown	Sub Pop	SPCD 599	CD

traxxlisting #3: A Review Of 7 Current Country Hits

2008-07-05T18:13:00.006-05:00

One genre of music that I've certainly neglected thus far in my blog is country. However, a couple of months ago I started working at a country radio station, so now I'm pretty much an expert in the current music of a genre about which I had previously known next to nothing.

In an effort to expand horizons in all ways possible, I now offer you:

A Review Of 7 Current Country Hits

"Johnny & June" by Heidi Newfield

I'll start with one of my favorites from our rotation. This is Heidi's lead-off single; she's been the vocalist for country group Trick Pony since 1996 and has just launched her solo career. As you may have deduced from the title, it's (sort of) about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. The singer expresses a desire to have a "love like [theirs]," complete with "rings of fire, burning with you." She even adds that "when you're gone, I wanna go too."

What makes the song extra cool is to know that it isn't written from a distant perspective. Newfield was actually a friend of both Johnny and June in the last few years of their lives, so she witnessed their relationship firsthand. She then wrote the song with two other songwriters.

The lyrics and guitars are both a little strong for a country song, making them an interesting contrast to Newfield's very soft vocals. The song almost sounds as if it were written as the most-definitely-necessary power ballad on an '80s hard rock album. Don't be mistaken though: It's definitely a country song.

This is a hell of a lead-off single for Heidi, and I sure hope to hear more from her in the years to come.

Listen

"Good Time" by Alan Jackson

He's the king of honky-tonk and has been for years, thanks to songs like "Chatahoochee" and "Don't Rock The Jukebox." Alan's latest single certainly isn't about anything serious; he's just looking for a party when he's off work. The song does wonders to capture the spirit of being off work on a Friday night and wanting to nothing more than kick back and hang out with friends. We've all been there, right?

I do have a problem with one of this song's lyrics: "...beer on ice / Just like 'ol Hank taught us about." I mean...did Hank Williams really have to clue you in to the fact that beer is better cold? How did that conversation happen?

Extra cool points to Alan for shooting the video on the Kentucky / Tennessee border, right near where I live!

Listen

"All I Want To Do" by Sugarland

This song would be cuter if the vocals weren't so annoying. It appears to be the summer song of choice for fans of country radio, so I guess I can't argue with that. It's not about anything, in the sense that it's about a desire to do nothing. No depth here, so this one gets a short review.

Listen

"Every Other Weekend" by Reba McEntire & Skip Ewing/Kenny Chesney

Reba's latest album is a collection of duets. On the album she sings this one with Kenny Chesney, but the single version (with which I am familiar) is done with Skip Ewing, who co-wrote the song. It's about a divorced couple who see each other only every other weekend, when their children transition from one house to the other.

I have a really hard time relating to country music of this nature. I guess I can't comprehend not expressing my feelings for someone if they were as strong as these folks' seem to be. It's still a well-written song, and it does seem to make many callers happy, so obviously there are plenty of people out there relating to it. For that reason, I'm glad it was written, and I hope that it's giving hope to someone who may have lost hope.

Listen<--This is the Kenny Chesney version.

"In Color" by Jamey Johnson

It's no secret that country singers (males especially) love to write about old shit. They love to sing of the way things used to be, the way things were when they were kids, or when their kids were kids. Country music has an overwhelming longing for the past, which makes sense considering the primary listening audience.

This Jamey Johnson tune seems like a nice diamond in the rough among those other songs of that nature. The tune begins when the singer comes across an old picture of his grandpa as a young teenager. The grandpa proceeds to explain to him what life was like back then, down to small details like what the weather was on his wedding day. Each set of details concludes with, "You should have seen it in color."

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only person who has deeply pondered on what the world used to look like, complete with vivid colors. I think it's a really interesting thought, and I'm glad someone else agreed enough to write a song about it.

Listen

"International Harvester" by Craig Morgan

I'm trying really, really hard to like this song. It seems like it should be likeable, and I should sure as heck like Craig Morgan for all the charity work that he does. I'll be honest though; I'm struggling.

Craig is a veteran of the US Army; he served in the 101st Airborne Division (same as my grandpa!), and he still helps raise money for veterans' affairs organizations. So what's the problem? I think his songs are annoying as fuck.

This one, to me, is a total takeoff of Dolly Parton's "9 To 5." Maybe it's intentional, but I haven't seen documentation anywhere to prove it. And, I mean, come on: Does Morgan really look like he's a combine driver who drives a p-p-p-p-plower? I'm just not buying it, dude. If I watched the video and saw a guy who looked like a farmer, maybe I'd be more in on the joke, but Craig just looks like a manager at Hollister to me.

The song is cute for what it is, I guess.

Listen

"Last Name" by Carrie Underwood

After "Before He Cheats," I never thought that Carrie would release another single that would make me smile. I was wrong.

This song is sort of a spiritual predecessor to "Before He Cheats," telling the story of how she met the dude whose 4-wheel drive she'd later beat to pieces. What makes the song so cute is the subtlety with which the story is told. Pop songs are usually spelled out as if they were written for a child (because, I mean, they usually are), but this one isn't quite as insulting to the listener, and I certainly appreciate that about it.

Having said that, it's still a Nashville pop song, which distances it from "true country music" to most fans of the genre. I totally understand this sentiment, but I can't really wag a finger for it. Carrie, like other Nashville poppers (Taylor Swift, Ashton Shepard, even Sugarland, etc.) is just trying to appeal to a wider audience. Who knows? Country music may gain a new listener from hearing a song like this and doing some deeper digging into the genre.

Listen

That's the list! Hope you enjoyed!

"strange but true" || times two || 1988

2008-06-27T10:32:00.005-05:00

This is a lost gem from the era of late '80s power-pop.

Times Two evidently hit it big with their cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Cecilia," but after hearing this track I'm not really sure why this wasn't a bigger success. It's a much better song, with a catchier hook and a sound that was more fitting to that time. This has powerful bass & synth and sounds more like a rock song than "Cecilia," which leans toward a poppy reggae sound.

The songs on this album were very obviously written with a lot of care. The songwriters and producers really took their time to produce something special, and for that reason it stands out to me as more than a silly pop album. They were trying to appeal to several different crowds of listeners, and the result that they created is somewhat of a pop music smorgasbord. In addition to the power-pop of this track, "Hey Mr. D.J.," and "3 Into 2," and the reggae tones of "Cecilia," we hear glorious pop ballads that are quite soulful in "Only My Pillow Knows" and "L.O.D." They even tap into youthful electro energy on "Romeo," which could have easily been a floorfiller at school dances.

The album is very obviously geared toward emotional youth, but that doesn't make it any less brilliant. It's incredibly well written and well produced, and I'm sad that we never got to see a followup.

Maybe "Strange But True" was a big radio hit on the coasts, as I hadn't ever heard it until I got this single in a lot of 7-inch singles that I bought on eBay about a year ago. I'm honestly surprised that it's not heard on the radio today on '80s flashback stations, as it seems like a perfect sign of the times, in addition to being a quality pop song.

Listen

Available On:
X2	Reprise	9 25624-2	CD

traxxlisting #2 :: albums that need to be (re)released on cd

2008-06-19T22:11:00.003-05:00

I will preface this Traxxlisting by saying this: If you know something that I don't, and any of these albums listed below are actually on CD somewhere (except Ta Mara), PLEASE drop a comment and let me know!

Top 7 Albums That Should Be Released On CD

10¢ A Dance by The Flirts

I'm actually surprised that this album hasn't ever made it to CD. It contains the classic track "Passion," which has been sampled by countless DJs, including the legendary Felix da Housecat. "Jukebox" is a classic as well, but it's been released on a bunch of compilation CDs, as it's somewhat of an '80s radio classic. The rest of the album is beachy surf-party-rock fun, but "Jukebox" and "Passion" alone justify a CD release of this album.

Einzelhaft by Falco

If It weren't for an old friend of mine, I never would have appreciated Falco's musical talent. Everybody who knows '80s music is familiar with his track "Rock Me Amadeus," but few remember that he originally recorded the song "Der Kommissar" before it was made famous by the group After The Fire just one year later. Aside from that track though, there are several golden early rap numbers on this LP. My personal favorite is "Zuviel Hitze" (German for "Too Much Heat").

Flashbeagle

An absolute favorite from my childhood! Snoopy goes flashdance as he sneaks out at night and breakdances in the local discotheque. Mega '80s and totally tubular! The title track would have fit right into Top 40 radio in 1983. The female vocals on it (and the other songs on this record) are sung by Desiree Goyette, who also holds a special place in my heart for doing music for some Garfield specials as well. She's a talented lady with a beautiful voice. She now runs her own publishing company.

This record is an absolute piece of '80s gold and needs to be preserved forever in a digital format. DO IT, WARNER BROS.!

Trans-Atlantic by Jon St. James

A classic synthpop record, and one of St. James' two solo albums, both of which are genius. This one sticks more to a solid synthpop/new wave sound, while his second album, Fast Impressions, was more of an exploration in MIDI programming and instrumentals. This one sports some killer vocals and melodies, and an awesome version of the Q classic "Playback," sung as a duet with Miss Q herself.

I'm not surprised that this one hasn't made it to CD, but I think it's time.

Ta Mara & The Seen by Ta Mara & The Seen

I'm cheating a bit on this one, as it has indeed been pressed on a CD, but only in Japan. When it's on eBay it sells for ridiculous amounts of money.

That's simply not right! This is a classic piece of Minneapolis funk, and it deserves a re-release. The fact that Jesse Johnson produced it merits a re-release automatically!

"Everybody Dance" is available on a couple of compilations, but I've never seen "Affecttion" on one, and people seem to remember it just as much. "U Turn Me Up" is another great tune. These all need to be on a CD!

Wolf & Wolf by Wolf & Wolf

Every single track on this record is brilliant. It's from the golden era of new wave. It's a perfect blend of electronic new wave and new wave rock. Bottom line, it makes you want to dance your ass off. I'd love to have this one on CD so I can crank it super loud without hearing "s" distortion, and so I can hear the full instrumental quality of "Talk Of The Town," "Katmandu," and "Don't Take The Candy."

Playback by SSQ

Executives at EMI Records, heed my words: If you re-release this album on CD, it will fly off of the shelves. This album has such a cult following that I'm stunned that it's never been pressed on a CD. Maybe I'm biased because I consider it to be the soundtrack of my life, but I'm not going to accept that that's the only reason I want this on a CD. I think these songs deserve to be heard by today's ears again, because they're the masterwork of the artists that worked on them.

There you have it!

"i love you cause i have to" || dogs die in hot cars || 2004

2008-06-16T19:49:00.006-05:00

The title of this one already makes you want to hear it, no?

I was so pleasantly surprised when I heard this song back in 2004. It reminds me of early-'90s alt rock, but the influence of a ska sound is absolutely undeniable. Odly enough, I've never heard a more pleasant combination of two SUCH different styles of rock music! It's such a healthy blend that I can't even say that it leans toward one sound over the other.

The song's lyrics are just precious. The guy is depressed over his crappy relationship, so how does he cope?

"Now I spend most of my time playing computer games"

Yes, you heard correctly.

Hilarious.

I really wish these guys would pop out another album. I didn't really find any other winners on this record, but "Godhopping" isn't a bad tune. It definitely leans more toward that '90s alt rock influence.

Listen

Available On:
Please Describe Yourself	V2	63881-27204-2	CD

"dancing on my grave" || ghostland observatory || 2008

2008-06-12T16:46:00.005-05:00

Another cool modern track that fits nicely into this blog.

Ghostland Observatory are an indie electro group from Austin, TX. Robotique Majestique is their third album, and by far their most solid work.

This song sounds like it's the missing track from the soundtrack to The Return Of The Living Dead. It's part punk, part electro, part party, and definitely very '80s.

All in all, a fun song that I hope becomes a classic.

Listen

Available On:
Robotique Majestique	Trashy Moped	TMR-004	CD

"big butt" || bobby jimmy & the critters || 1985

2008-05-29T22:47:00.004-05:00

Where do I even begin with this song?

It's an early hip-hop song about a guy with a fat ass.

I mean, is there really much analysis to be done here? Probably not, but that's what I do, so let's proceed.

Our giant-posteriored friend's first dilemma is the very small seat into which he must cram his fat ass when an attractive young woman (who seems inexplicably interested in our hero) asks him to "come have a seat." Our poor friend's giant ass shatters the chair. I suppose that's happened to all of us at some point, right?

Next, we learn of our friend's problems on the bus. Apparently, his wide posterior causes the very asympathetic driver to charge his giant ass for two seats. A relatable problem, I suppose.

Finally, we learn of his inability to squeeze out of the elevators at the stadium where the L.A. Raiders play. To make matters worse, the hot dogs he's purchased at the concessions stand are making him gassy! A typical quandary for all of us when we go to the ballpark.

Okay, enough of my overbearing and outdated sarcasm. Bobby Jimmy is hilarious. His tunes are indicative of an era when not all rappers took themselves so seriously and considered themselves either kings among men or social philosophers. Songs like this certainly help prove my point that today's rap is completely tainted by the narcissism of rappers. Seriously, why can't we have rap songs like this anymore?

Is anyone besides me ready for a revival of '80s electro? I've been ready for quite some time.

Come on rappers, if you're with me, start the revolution! I'll be on the front lines! Not as a rapper, of course, but I'll carry the torch with the best of you.

Listen

Available On:
West Coast Rap - The First Dynasty Vol. 3	Rhino Records	R2 70592	CD

"the honeythief" || hipsway || 1987

2008-05-26T08:05:00.004-05:00

Hipsway produced two albums of unique funk-synth music in the later 1980s. They sound like a cross between a new wave band and a '50s/'60s blues tribute group. Like, imagine if Huey Lewis & the News teamed up with Scritti Politti.

Needless to say, the sound was (and still is) unique. In fact, the only other group I can ever think to compare them to is Black Britain, who are unfortunately equally obscure.

This one single received considerable radio airplay in California in 1987, so many folks who were in high school in that era will recognize it. It's a shame that their second album didn't do so well, or they might have continued to make music. In fact, the two original founding members of the band were gone before the second record hit shelves, so it appears that they had one foot out the door anyway.

This track is cool for what it is. It's another of the many lost gems of the 1980s that get buried under piles of ridiculous pop music.

Listen

Available On:
Hipsway	Columbia	CK 40522	CD

traxxography #1 :: the b-52's

2008-05-25T20:09:00.008-05:00

My sincerest apologies for the lack of posts for these last few weeks. I've been collecting some new ideas for this blog. I plan to write different kinds of posts from now on, while continuing with my original intention to review specific tracks. This new feature, Traxxography, is one in which I will rate & review a band's entire discography. My only criterion is that the group have completed at least three studio albums.

The subject of my pilot post for this new type of entry will be one of my all-time favorite groups: The B-52's. I saw them in concert a few weeks back, and they were absolutely phenomenal. I consider them to be one of the most influential artists of modern music, so it is with a very humble nature that I approach this review of their discography.

NOTE: When I do a Traxxography post, the albums are rated purely on my personal feelings about how the album performs as a collective entity. It's not based on any sort of commercial success or critical acclaim. I don't rely on anyone's opinions but my own. ;-)

Good Stuff (1992)
This album ranks lowest on my list because it's the only LP that they did without Cindy Wilson. You can't have the B-52's without Cindy! They just weren't complete, and I think her creativity was missed on this record. Other than "Good Stuff," there really wasn't any single potential, and even it was too darn long to make a good song for radio airplay. It's totally effective as a party song, though, which is certainly what they're all about.
"Bad Influence" is also a surprisingly good track, which is probably why it was chosen as the b-side to the aforementioned "Good Stuff." That track really allows Kate Pierson's powerful voice to have a few moments of glory.
Altogether, the album just seems kind of slow and way too low key for everything that I'm used to about The B-52's. I consider it their career's lull, and considering it was followed by 16 years of silence before we got another album out of them, a lot of people probably agree with me.

Favorite Traxx: "Good Stuff," "Bad Influence"

Bouncing Off The Satellites (1986)
This album produced what may be my favorite B-52's song of all time, "Summer Of Love," but it just falls short of being a solid album. I can't even really think of anything to write about it, other than I think it's worth owning for two reasons: 1.) It contains "Summer Of Love." 2.) It's an album by The B-52's.

Favorite Traxx: "Summer Of Love"

Mesopotamia (1982)
I think the group was tapping into extra weirdness on this little EP. When I saw them, they surprised me by performing the title track as a member of their set. It's on this record that you'll hear them begin to transition from their surf-rock new wave sound to their louder, more in-your-face loud party rock sound that still carries them to this day.

Favorite Traxx: "Mesopotamia"

Wild Planet (1980)
When you mention The B-52's in conversation, most people (those who aren't fanatics like myself, anyway) seem to remember them as "that 'Love Shack' band" or "that 'Rock Lobster' band." To someone like me, those represent the two major eras of The B-52's career. Wild Planet falls into the former.
It's a very effective follow-up to their smashing and innovative self-titled debut, but as a whole in kinda ends up being more of the same stuff. In their case, though, that's (mostly) a good thing. This album contains a couple of classics that are still recognizable today by folks outside their fan base. The rest of the songs sound appropriate for a long drive on a hot desert road. A couple are almost eerie harbingers of The Raveonettes' distinctive sound.
"Strobe Light" is one of this group's all-time greatest songs. It does appear to be at least mildly well known, and it's extremely deserving of all its new-wave street cred. Songs like that are what made new wave rock the entity that it became by 1981. What's amusing to me is that I don't believe that they set out to pioneer new wave music at all! They just wanted to write awesome party songs like "Strobe Light," and their influence ended up stretching farther than their expectations reached.
Cindy's vocals on "Give Me Back My Man" will absolutely knock you on your ass. She owns that song, and it's a rare shining moment for her, almost to the level of her iconic "Tin roof, rusted!" in a famous track from a later album.

Favorite Traxx: "Private Idaho," "Give Me Back My Man," "Strobe Light," "Quiche Lorraine," "Party Out Of Bounds"

Funplex (2008)
They showed the world that they've still got it. This LP starts off with a kick and ends on an equally high note. It left me with nothing but a giant smile on my face and the entire title track stuck in my head.
I'm asking you kindly to buy this album from your music source of choice, because I think they deserve to sell millions upon thousands of copies of it. The fact that, thirty years after their debut, they can still turn out an album like this is absolutely wonderful! They might be the hardest-working party band of all time.

Favorite Traxx: "Funplex," "Pump," "Juliet Of The Spirits"

The B-52's (1979)
Their legendary first album. Imagine being a kid in high school in 1979 and seeing this record on a shelf at the record store. You were bound to see it thanks to its tasty sunshine-yellow cover. Imagine being drawn to it and seeing those five cosmonoids on the front of it. Wouldn't you have bought it?
Now imagine taking it home and putting it on your turntable. Would you have known what to do when you heard it?
This album established the band's style, which still remains with them today. It was with this record that they invented and made cool that sort of retro, pastel, angular style that's cool for pool parties where you grill out with friends and watch television on one of those rounded-screen floor-model TV sets.
"Rock Lobster" is obviously one of the most important songs in music history, and c'mon, you know you have a classic place in pop culture when you've been referenced on Family Guy. Anyone who has unwisely doubted that Kate Pierson is one of the greatest singers of all time should listen to her impersonation of a sea creature as she sings the word "lobster" during the bridge of the song, and they'll quickly be turned around. This track will be known for generations to come.
"Planet Claire" is a great way to start this record. It was their introduction to the world, and they immediately established their cosmic presence with the first of many of their songs on the subject of space life and interplanetary travel. When they performed this live, Fred actually brought out a two-way radio or scanner of some sort and used the Call button to make the beeping noise during the first part of the song.

Favorite Traxx: "Rock Lobster," "Planet Claire," "Dance This Mess Around"

Party Mix! (1981)
I debated whether or not to include Party Mix! on this list because it's an EP, much like Mesopotamia. Furthermore, it contains material that appeared on other albums. However, I chose to include it because it is indeed part of their discography, and it's a nice selection of songs. I'm not doing a "Favorite Traxx" section on this number because I like all of them too much to pick favorites!
Incidentally, this was released on a CD with the tracks from Mesopotamia by Warner Bros./Reprise in 1991, and it's pretty easy to find. It's a great mix of a lot of their early songs.
Cosmic Thing (1989)
By far, this is their most well-known album. It contains "Love Shack," their infamous karaoke bar hit that's not at all indicative of their sound. While a great pop rock song and definitely a great party song, it's just not really them. It is fitting, though, that this song is seen as a party anthem, because partying is what these characters are all about. Their repertoire extends far beyond this, though, and it's a shame that a lot of bar patrons in the world won't ever realize that.
"Deadbeat Club" is another of my all-time favorite B-52's song. It's youthful, carefree, and shining. Works for driving around with the top down or sweating on a barroom dancefloor as a jukebox plays.
A rare moment in their discography appears on the track "Roam." It's a beautiful song, and I didn't notice the first several times I heard it that Fred is nowhere to be found. This one is all Kate & Cindy, and they own it hard. It was cool enough to make it into Rock Band!
This record was their most successful, and probably deservedly so. They achieved party group superstardom thanks to it. Many artists are stuck with a one-album image to the public. This may be the case here, but luckily for The B-52's, this is a really solid record. It's not a bad memory to have stuck in people's minds.

Favorite Traxx: "Deadbeat Club," "Roam," "Love Shack," "Channel Z," "Cosmic Thing," "Follow Your Bliss"

Whammy! (1983)
Their most solid album. It's a party from start to finish! From the beginning, with a song about making counterfeit money in your basement, to the skirt-smashing closer, and a random song about butter beans in the middle somewhere, this album is just fantastic for a night of partying, barbecuing, and dancing with close friends. It represents, to me, everything that this band is about.
It's definitely a transitional album, which may be another reason that I like it. It has elements of their "Rock Lobster" sound, while very obviously moving forward into a more electronic new-wave sound, headed toward that Cosmic Thing in the sky that would allow them to achieve fame.
"Song For A Future Generation" may be the most important song they've ever written. When I listen to it, I try to imagine kids 100 years from now hearing that song, and thinking about what people were like during this time. I trust The B-52's and that song to give them a proper image, don't you?

Favorite Traxx: "Song For A Future Generation," "Legal Tender," "Whammy Kiss," "Butterbean"

That's it for my first-ever Traxxography! Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Expect more new stuff soon!

"nth degree" || morningwood || 2006

2008-05-12T12:31:00.002-05:00

A guy that I used to work with in radio told me that this song reminds him of the theme music from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I think that comparison may be a bit dramatic, but he's certainly not far off base.

This song is the kind of cutesy pop-rock that you can sing along to the chorus with after only having heard it once. What makes this track exceptionally delicious, however, is its risqué lyrics; this definitely isn't a track to sing along to with your parents in the car.

Another plus: This band is an absolute blast live. When I saw them a couple of years ago in Austin, TX, a girl in the audience made singer Chantal Claret mad, and Chantal spent the next two songs reaming her in between verses. It was an absolute riot!

Morningwood is the kind of sexy rock music that's great to listen to while driving, dancing, or gettin' busy. Hopefully not all three at the same time, though.

NOTE: If you recognize at least three of the album covers that they're making fun of in the video, you are a NERD. And I probably think you're hot. Congratulations.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Morningwood	Capitol	7243 8 64753 2 9	CD

"everything about you" || ugly kid joe || 1992

2008-04-23T09:29:00.004-05:00

Everyone has a soft spot for music that reminds them of their childhood. As adults (or even older teenagers), a lot of people may grow fond of songs that they didn't like as a kid, simply because the song reminds them of being a kid. This song isn't a specific example of that for me, because I didn't know it when I was a kid; I was 20 when I first heard it. However, this is NOT the kind of music that I was listening to until 1992; in fact, I'm pretty sure my favorite artists at that time were The Bangles and Rick Astley. But hearing this song instantly throws me back to that era.

Alt-rock was extremely cool in the mid-1990s, and I don't mean cool-popular, I mean cool-quality. The stuff was such a far cry from the Top 40 music of that time, which if you ask most people was also very high-quality. This was just a great era for music in general.

College radio did a lot for artists like Ugly Kid Joe. In fact, if you think back to your own personal favorite alt-rockers from the early 1990s, I'm willing to bet that they were first played on college radio. Let this be a lesson to you: Listen to your local college radio station. You'll know about your new favorite band months, even years before your friends and everyone else do.

The lyrics to this track make me smile. Any guy who's ever dated a really annoying girl will appreciate them, and may even wish that you'd recited a verse or two to her. Hell, maybe you already did, and if you're still alive to tell your story, I'd love to hear it.

The greatest moment of the song comes right near the very end, with the singer's final belt of the song's title.

I'm very curious to hear what my blog buddy over at The End Of Hard Rock thinks of this song.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
America's Least Wanted	Mercury	512 571-2	CD

"spring love" || the cover girls || 1987

2008-04-18T22:16:00.003-05:00

Alright, since it's spring, I decided to pull out one of my favorite cheesy spring love songs. I mean, let's face it, the title of this one speaks for itself.

This post was also partially inspired by fellow blogger Will of Will For All, as he recently featured this album in one of his posts.

The Cover Girls had a handful of really cool songs on their debut record. They had a huge club hit with the bumpin' freestyle track "Show Me," and an equally hot follow-up with "Inside Outside." Strangely enough, even though I'm always a total sucker for a dance groove, this slow(er) jam was my favorite cut on the album. I think I like it so much because listening to it automatically puts you on a busy suburban street with friends in the early evening of a spring night, much like the summer night I described in my entry about The Passions' "I'm In Love With A German Film Star."

This just seemed right for the time of year. I promise that once summer gets here I'll feature one of their dance tracks to do them justice, but for right now we're staying spring-y and groovy.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Show Me	Fever Records	SFD 004	CD

"crimewave" || crystal castles vs. health || 2008

2008-04-16T00:00:00.002-05:00

Very rarely do I get the chance to brag about a cool track that's current, so rest assured that when the opportunity arises, I'm all over it.

Crystal Castles are a glitch/chiptune group from Canada. They've just released their self-titled debut album, which includes this awesome track.

HEALTH is a noise rock group from Los Angeles, and from what I can gather, they originally wrote and performed the song "Crimewave." Crystal Castles then either remixed, covered, or made a mashup of it with one of their songs; I still haven't quite gathered the logistics of how this Crystal Castles version came to be. But I can tell you one thing for sure: It's the coolest piece of glitchy electro music with chiptune overtones that I've ever heard.

I hope to hear more from these guys in the near future, and I'm glad that music like this is getting attention from today's youth and not being written off as soulless electronica. This may be proof that the rock revolution is stagnant for the moment, and we're sending the synths and drum machines to the forefront to play.

I'm game.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Crystal Castles	Last Gang Records	CD

"floating city" || y kant tori read || 1988

2008-04-14T18:35:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows the story of Y Kant Tori Read may skip the next paragraph. For those who have never heard of them, please read on.

Y Kant Tori Read was piano rocker Tori Amos' first foray into recording music on a major label. After winning a songwriting contest as a kid and having her song pressed on a 7-inch single, Tori continued to write music and finally landed a deal with Atlantic Records in 1988 with a group that was essentially a rock outfit to play music to words that she had penned. They were called Y Kant Tori Read as an allusion to the fact that Tori had difficulty reading sheet music when she was in school. The album was not commercially successful, but there were singles released of the songs "The Big Picture" and "Cool On Your Island." A music video was shot for the former featuring Tori clad in leather and wonderfully large '80s dresses (check it out here). Tori doesn't consider the work on this album true to her style, and to this day I've only seen one interview where she even acknowledges its existence, only in the form of a reference to "her rock chick years."

While Tori and her current fans may not dig it, I actually think that the Y Kant Tori Read LP is one of the most brilliant works that I've ever heard. I love hearing Tori's silky voice and her gentle piano melodies over the amazing drum work. The sound of the album is almost forest-y; I feel like I'm in the woods near a beach when I listen to it. It's relaxing, yet exuberant, and it totally rocks.

"Floating City" is my personal favorite track from the album, so that's why it's featured today. I'm not going to follow my wont and deconstruct the song's lyrical content, because I think it's much too personal. This song could easily call different images for different listeners, as with any great track.

I will say, though, that the song does seem like an odd harbinger for Midgar, the city that's home to the main characters of the game Final Fantasy VII. Midgar is a big floating city, just as the song describes.

If you plan to track down a copy of this album, your best bet is to get the LP. Plan to pay about $50, but rest assured that you won't end up with a bootleg. DO NOT buy the Y Kant Tori Read picture disc LP. It is a bootleg. The official Atlantic LP was only on black vinyl. It was released on cassette and CD as well, but both are even rarer than the LP and you can expect to pay much, much more, and you're very unlikely to find a genuine Atlantic CD. Good luck hunting! You can do it! I found one!

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Y Kant Tori Read	Atlantic	81845-1	LP
Y Kant Tori Read	Atlantic	81845-4	Cass
Y Kant Tori Read	Atlantic	81845-2	CD

"echo in my head" || holiday || 2005

2008-04-11T09:26:00.003-05:00

This is an example of what is, to me, perfect pop rock.

Holiday was a band from Fargo, ND. They got noticed after the release of a 2004 album called Living With The Fallout, which had a couple of radio singles in their area and on college radio stations. This track is from their 2005 followup, Fashionably Late, an ironic title as it describes something that the album was anything but. By then they were based out of the USA's greatest city for music: Minneapolis, MN.

There is nothing more to making a great pop rock song than what you hear here. It's relatable, youthful, and easily remembered. It's also extremely easy to get stuck in one's head, which brings new irony to the title.

I wish I knew more about this band ~~or even had a MySpace to link you to,~~ but all I can do is send a cry for help to citizens of Minneapolis to give me more info about this band. I've read in a couple of comment areas that they've broken up, and their lack of Internet presence supports that theory, but I don't have any concrete evidence.

Help?

UPDATE: Here's their MySpace!

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Fashionably Late	Blueday Recordings	CD

"it's my party" || lesley gore || 1963

2008-04-04T09:22:00.006-05:00

The 1960s seem like somewhat of an anomaly to me in regards to its popular music. Comparing what was popular in 1963 versus what was popular just a few years later in 1968 will heed interesting results. To me, it sounds like completely different universes. In the later 1960s, psychedelic rock had taken over the youth culture, and the hippie movement thrust a lot of folk rockers into the limelight.

The early '60s, however, seemed still caught in the '50s pop music sound. This was probably due to the fact that "pop" music was really a new concept in the '50s. Before then, youth culture stuck to swing music and easy listening, which actually annoyed their parents because they only listened to classical music. By the '50s, though, World War II was over, and so was the love of "war" music (See Glenn Miller's "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree" if you're not sure what I mean by this term.). Youth culture sprung out with Rock & Roll and Doo Wop, two very cool styles of music that became cornerstones of American culture and still inspire musicians today.

It's no wonder that we were still hearing '50s-esque sounds by the time 1963 got here. It was still cool! If you ask most people, it's still cool today!

Everyone knows this Lesley Gore song, and I'm willing to bet that most will sing its chorus if you ask nicely. It's absolute Maxwell K Certified™ pop music perfection. The story is simple: Singer has a birthday party, supposed-boyfriend (Johnny) shows up with new girlfriend (Judy), who is now wearing his ring. Singer is devastated and cries at her own birthday party. Today this concept would be the making of lyrical content to a new Taking Back Sunday single, but in 1963 it became a swinging, clapping, danceable pop song.

Gore was a 16-year-old high school student in New Jersey when she recorded this song. She sacrificed a head-on music career to go to college, but remained in the industry by performing on weekends and during the summer. In spite of her unwillingness to devote all her time to a recording career, she still managed to land a bevy of singles on the Billboard charts by the end of the '60s. She even recorded a sequel to this song, called "Judy's Turn To Cry."

For me, though, "It's My Party" is her masterwork, and it's still one of my 10 favorite songs of all time.

And, just a bit of amusing irony: In 2005, Gore officially came out of the closet. Certainly gives a new spin to the song, doesn't it? Maybe she was jealous that Johnny had her Judy.

Here's a cool video of her performing it live.

Listen here.

Available On:
Malt Shop Memories - Jukebox Gems	Time Life Music	21077-2	2xCD

"look! a dollar" || quit your dayjob || 2006

2008-04-03T09:20:00.003-05:00

Only the Swedes could come up with a group like Quit Your Dayjob. Their sound is a healthy blend of very fast surf rock with the vocal stylings and mentality of in-your-face punk rock.

This song, just like oh-so-many other great tracks that I've posted, is fucking ridiculous.

I don't even know what further commentary I can give on this song, as it's just over a minute and a half long and the lyrical content is three words long. Just skank around and enjoy it.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Open Up, Coconut	Bad Taste Records	CD

"that boy freud" || pobi || 1993

2008-04-01T09:15:00.005-05:00

Oh man. Is it any wonder why I look back so fondly on the early '90s? Songs like this just bring a huge smile to my face.

The whole euro house movement was just damn silly. There is absolutely nothing serious at all about this style of music, and back in the '90s people couldn't get enough of it! Maybe it's just because Clinton was the President, so we all just kicked back and had a goofy-ass decade. For the life of me I can't understand why the '80s are seen as so ridiculous, and everyone just overlooks the '90s completely. I can remember girls in my class in middle school talking about how stupid '80s fashion was, as they re-laced their Doc Martens and re-tucked their army-green cargo pants over them while re-checking their metallic silver nail polish. "Please, babydoll," I now reflect to myself, "you look like you're either an employee at Area 51 or a laser tag arena."

I digress. Sure, the fashion that coupled with the massive euro house craze was ridiculous, but the music was still awesome. I can still go to parties and crank songs like this one, and everyone dances without a second thought. Euro house was probably the first really accessible dance music that people my age remember, as it was starting to get big right as we started listening to popular music.

I absolutely love this Pobi track, as it's a shining example of how goofy euro house music can be. And who wouldn't want to dance to a song about Siggy Freud? I was hooked immediately after hearing the first lyrics, and I think you will be too.

I don't know much about her other than what my good friend Nasty G posted in his entry about her over at The Isle Of Failed Pop Stars. To summarize: She's Canadian, and at some point in the '90s she dated Mark Wahlberg. Nice.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Send Me An Angel	Ha! Ha! Productions	HACD-1323	CD

traxxlisting #1 :: hottest all-girl groups

2008-03-30T18:00:00.013-05:00

I'm introducing a new feature to the blog today: Traxxlisting. It's pretty much a Top 7 list of whatever I feel like counting down on that day. I'm starting with a simple topic for the first list:

Top 7 Hottest All-Girl Groups

The Spice Girls

Yeah, I mean they pretty much had to make the list. No guy my age didn't get through middle school without picking a favorite. Mine was Baby at the time, but as an adult now I must say that Sporty had a much better voice and is honestly quite the looker as well.

Fem 2 Fem

I'm aware that they're lesbians. Why the hell do you think they made the list? Seriously, hotness.

The Flirts (10¢ A Dance Lineup)

I wish I could find a real photo of the ladies from The Flirts, but this odd album cover caricature will have to do. They're hot because they have this strangely awesome combination of being hot chicks that look like they can hold their own in a fight. I, for one, find this incredibly attractive.

All Saints

Definite hotness here as well. They're definitely '90s chicks, but I'm okay with the cargo pants / metallic silver nail polish look.

Dream (Original Lineup)

Remember Dream? They had a semi-hit with the song "This Is Me" back in 2001. There was also a commercial where a little girl was singing the song and dancing with a cardboard cutout. It's completely mindless pop music, but they were definitely a bunch of cute girls. I like the readhead in particular because she looks like the quiet nerdy chick from science class that was probably really good at making out.

The Eyeliners

Hot sisters are always a plus. They aren't too well known as a band, but I remember seeing the front of their CD a couple of years back and their cuteness sticking in my mind. Très sexy.

Bardeux

Do I really need to make a commentary here? Let the photo speak for itself. These ladies are HOT. The only way a girl group could be hotter than Bardeux is if Acacia & Jaz each had an equally hot daughter and then they made a hi-nrg supergroup. *cough* Please?

"grazing in the grass" || cc: DIVA || 1988

2008-03-22T17:08:00.003-05:00

I must admit that I'm totally a sucker for awesome covers. This is definitely one of them.

The song "Grazing In The Grass" was originally a soul tune recorded in 1968 by an African trumpeter named Hugh Masekela. His early work had been very political, focusing on struggles faced by citizens of South Africa. When he made it to the United States in the '60s, he made friends with Harry Belafonte and his work became much more oriented toward mainstream jazz. "Grazing In The Grass" was instrumental as recorded by Masekela.

The Friends Of Distinction recorded their version a year later, which would go on to become the most well-known version of this song to American audiences.

cc: DIVA's version is unforgivingly '80s. It's a healthy blend of garage house and Italo-disco, two genres which fit surprisingly well together. It brings a nice '80s attitude to a song whose lyrical content was already surprisingly '80s, despite having been written 20 years prior. It's just a nice tune for a summer day.

Thanks very much to my blog buddy Nasty G for turning me on to this track!

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Yowusupwidat?	EMI-Manhattan	CDP 7 48832 2	CD

"love to run" || firefox ak || 2006

2008-03-22T14:21:00.004-05:00

This song has taken almost two years to see release in the United States, but it was worth the wait. I can't really explain what's so special about the music, but the chorus is some the most intoxicatingly catchy melody that I've come across in new music in years. It's in the classic pop vein of snippets that you can hear one time and sing for the rest of the day.

After a raindrop-synth opening melody over ambient rainfall, we're suddenly greeted with a shotgun cock, effectively making the drum machine sound like a gunshot when it kicks in. The song's first verse is in a minor key, which, when coupled with the gun-blast effect, gives the song an immediate sense of disharmony and longing. Suddenly, the chorus hits, we're in a major key, and the lyrics explain the gunshot effect. It eases a little bit of tension that we may have felt at first as listeners, and brings about a sense of joy for the rest of the track. The song ends rather abruptly, which leaves me feeling as if something is unresolved.

Firefox AK is Andrea Kellerman, a Swedish lady who got her cool stage name from seeing "firefox" written on a fire hydrant and "AK" from her initials. She seems to be inspired to write music by the slightest oddities, such as living in Berlin for three months and "not seeing a single bird" during that time. She details this and other things about herself on her MySpace page.

She just released her second album, If I Were A Melody, in Sweden, and hopefully it'll see US release before too long. Until then, Madame, Madame can certainly tide me over. Really, "Love To Run" can do the job by itself.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Madame, Madame	Minty Fresh	mf81	CD	Buy it here!

"i'm in love with a german film star" || the passions || 1981

2008-03-20T14:36:00.003-05:00

A gorgeous blend of soft rock & new wave rock. This song is perfect to play late on a summer afternoon, right as the sun is going down, but while the coals are still hot on your grill and before everybody's decided it's too dark to continue throwing a frisbee.

It glows. I swear it to you, this song glows. It warms your skin and you feel as if you're immersed in a warm bubble bath.

This song gained The Passions one-hit wonder status in the UK, but the song didn't even get them that much attention in the US. It's from an album called 30,000 Feet Over China, and I wish I could say that there are other gems like this one on it, but there really aren't. The sound is pretty much consistent throughout; it all sounds like very early British new wave rock (and with good reason, because that's what it is), but the other tracks just don't give me warm fuzzies the way "German Film Star" does.

I wanted to save this one for a nice summer evening in a couple of months, but I figured I'd plant the seed in your heads now. Don't worry, when it comes time to spin this one in July, I'll be here to remind you.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Electric 80's	Sony BMG	82876 70538 2	CD

"just one kiss" || maria vidal || 1985

2008-03-08T13:42:00.004-06:00

Eighties movie soundtracks are so cool. Many of them are gems that contain songs from scenes at high school dances, the kinds of songs that make you wish you had bands that cool playing at your high school.

Today's track is from the soundtrack to the 1985 Jim Carrey movie Once Bitten, which follows his virginal teenage plight to escape the fangs of a hungry vampira (played by '60s model Lauren Hutton), and, of course, get laid in the process. The soundtrack is ripe with the goofy '80s pop rock & new wave rock sound, pausing only for a funky electro number ("Makes Me Crazy") and the movie's title theme, which was very pleasantly included as the last track on the album.

The song I chose for today, though, is the one from the school's Halloween dance. Maria Vidal performs it live in the movie, complete with her backup band, as the costumed kids do their thing on the dance floor. After the song is over, the vampira shows up, Maria strikes up the band and a ridiculous '80s movie dance-off ensues between Carrey's character Mark, his girlfriend, and the fanged wonder. (Check out that scene here, complete with the very unusual live version of that song.)

This album is kinda tough to find. Beware of CD copies that circulate on eBay -- the only ones I've ever seen are bootlegs from Germany. I'm not certain that an actual MCA factory-pressed CD exists of this soundtrack. I got extremely lucky and found my first copy on cassette at a thrift store downtown. It still plays perfectly (I even listened to it just this morning)! I've seen several copies the LP on eBay, and I have a golden rule that it's much safer to buy an LP as the odds of your winding up with a bootleg in that case are slim to none. If anyone has info on whether or not a factory CD does exist of this soundtrack, information would be much appreciated.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Once Bitten Soundtrack	MCA Records	MCA-6154	LP
Once Bitten / Just One Kiss	Ariola Benelux	107.918	7"

"i saw it on your keyboard" || hellogoodbye || 2006

2008-03-04T17:38:00.004-06:00

Okay, time for an overload of cute.

Hellogoodbye disgusts me. I find their saccharine music so overwhelmingly syrupy that it leaves my lips feeling like they've just made out with a girl who wears too much cherry lip gloss.

But my gosh is it quality pop music.

This adorable little tune samples Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" and turns it into a sugary pop confection. The synth calls to mind images of neon hard candy crunching in teenage mouths, as young lovers chat with each other on AIM and Facebook. The lyrics are about the inevitable longing that comes with teenage puppy love, so there's of course no depth whatsoever.

This one is purely carmelized fun.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!	Drive Thru Records	DTR 69	CD

"synchronicity ii" || the police || 1983

2008-03-02T23:26:00.015-06:00

I'm trying a new section in the bottom of the blog, where I inform you where you can purchase a copy of the day's track, i.e. what album or compilation it appears on. I don't want to promote the purchase of music from any certain media outlet, so I probably won't post direct sales links to online music stores unless items are only available specifically from one company. You probably already have a favorite place to shop for music, and I'm not trying to lure you to another site. I will, however, always include a "buy it here" link if the item is available for sale directly from the artist on their website, as I firmly believe that music should be purchased that way whenever possible. I've also added a new link list of sites that I find useful when shopping for music, and you may employ them at your own discretion.

Any feedback on these changes would be most appreciated.

This song forced tears to the backs of my eyes the first time I heard it. To call it hauntingly beautiful sounds almost insulting, as I don't know that it was Sting's intention to write a song about haunting beauty. It's an extremely powerful insight into the philosophical theory mentioned in the title, and it's sure to leave you with a spine tingle and a cold chill or two.

The theory of synchronicity, as I understand it, explains that sometimes two events occur simultaneously but very distantly, and that the fact that they're synchronous has meaning. For example (and please bear with me, as I'm making this up, quite literally, as I type), imagine that I get out of my bed here one day to go for a run, only to throw on my iPod and discover that its hard drive has died. Now imagine a woman in Seattle who's just discovered that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She's furious, and is throwing all of his CDs out the window of their apartment and they're smashing on the street below. Now, of course, I don't know this woman in Seattle. We're miles apart; we've never met. She doesn't know who I am or even that I exist. But my iPod crashed at the same moment that her boyfriend's CDs are being destroyed. Synchronously, we're both losing our music, and that makes the theory of synchronicity applicable here.

Now of course the connection between events in question is almost never this blatant, but you get the idea, right?

The lyrics of this track present members of a "suburban family" who are miserable. The father hates his repetitive life and his family & job make him miserable. The mother threatens suicide as a call for help to the others, but they think she's full of crap. The grandmother won't shut up. As this picture is painted, we're also thrown brief glimpses of a lake in Scotland, from which a nondescript creature is rising.

The song is quick and driving, almost to the point of fury, which gives it a sense of immediacy, discomfort, and recklessness. I love that the song has no conclusion, as I feel any ending to this story would have been a disappointment. Instead, we're left to ponder what will become of both family and creature.

I hope you now understand why the adjectives "haunting and beautiful" are applicable yet are mere litotes when trying to describe the lyrical contents of this song.

"Mother chants her litany of boredom and frustration / But we all know her suicides are fake"

If a more potent lyric were ever written in a song, I've yet to find it.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
The Police	A & M Records	B0009080-2	2 x CD
Synchronicity II	A & M Records	CD 3735	CD

"seven boom medley" || freezepop || 2001

2008-02-29T14:34:00.004-06:00

Throughout the last decade, Freezepop have established themselves as a valued presence in the electronic music scene. The best I can tell, they're just three kiddos from Massachusetts who love synth. Honestly, what more do you need to make a band than that?

Their sugary, sweet synthpop melodies have been making hearts sing since 1999, when they formed in Boston. After a couple of EPs named after various colors, they released a breakthrough LP entitled Freezepop Forever in 2000. It contained "Plastic Stars," which remains to this day one of the purest love songs I've ever heard. Another EP called Fashion Impression Function followed the next year, and about this time the band really began to get noticed by neon kids like myself. Their second LP on the Archenemy label was 2004's Fancy Ultra Fresh, which contains the French-flavored "Parlez-Vous Freezepop" (a personal favorite).

Thanks to their songs landing in video games like Guitar Hero II ("Less Talk More Rokk") and Rock Band ("Brainpower"), Freezepop are doing pretty darn well for themselves, and I think it's fantastic. These kids are living the synthpop dream! If you like today's track, I recommend their entire collection to be added to your library. All of it can be purchased (at very nice prices) right from the band on their website.

This track never actually appeared on a Freezepop album, but it's one of their most well known. It's a cover of the songs "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)" by Paul Lekakis (which I wrote about back in December) and "Boom Boom Boom Boom" by Vengaboys. It's much less in-your-face than either of those songs, but I think that's what makes it so cool. Freezepop's songs are incredibly mellow, and bring to mind images of sitting on a cool neon beach sipping some sort of electric limeade, but they still make you want to dance!

Listen to it here (and sorry for the stupid anime clip, but there is no music video).

Available On:
Popaganda Vol. 1 - The Speed Of Sound	Souvenir Records	SVNR'CD 04	CD	Buy it here!

"stop" || data || 1985

2008-02-25T13:47:00.003-06:00

The 50th track!

This adorable little song employs what I can only think to refer to as an "airhorn synth," as that's exactly what it sounds like. It's new wave synthpop at its finest, and it's simply blissful.

The lyrical content is, of course, morose, but not without reason. I find them to be a ginger slice of life. It's about the hopeless search for fault in a relationship that's failing, and how in the end it really solves nothing to do so. We hear it from the perspective of the lover that's just realized this, and is begging the other to chill out.

The vocals are haunting and beautiful, and the drum machine is irresistible. Definitely a lost gem!

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Elegant Machinery	Sire	1-25297	LP
Stop	Sire	7-28932	Promo 7"

"inside a dream" || jane wiedlin || 1988

2008-02-22T11:07:00.006-06:00

Jane Wiedlin is an entertainment curio. She began her music career in the '70s with some fairly hardcore punk rock bands in LA and went by the moniker "Jane Drano." (How awesome is that?!‽) She rose to fame as a member of The Go-Go's, who had a handful of '50s throwback pop rock hits in the early-to-mid 1980s. She also made cameos in numerous movies and television shows, and continues to do so until this day. (Check out her impressive imdb page!)

My personal favorite of her capricious movie roles has to be that of the Singing Telegram Girl in the 1985 big-screen rendition of Clue. After singing just one line of her telegram, she gets shot, and it's hilarious. (Watch it!)

The thing I love most about Jane is her cute, squeaky little mouse of a voice. She sounds youthful, but not infantile; airy but not piercing. In fact, the softness of her voice is very reminiscent of Kate Bush, one of my all-time favorite performers. (I should feature one of her songs one day soon...) If Kate Bush were more pop-rock oriented and had a voice closer to Stacey Q's, you'd have Jane Wiedlin. Come to think of it, I think a duet between Kate and Jane would be both blissful and exciting. Throw Stacey in the mix and you'd be talking all-time classic!

Fur was Jane's first solo album, released on EMI-Manhattan Records. She was very likely seeking to make a footprint all her own in the vast mudpit known as the music industry, and I think she nailed a bullseye. This record is refreshing, vibrant, funky, and still manages to stay heartfelt. Jane's lyrics are often unusually morose for pop music, but I find the placement of her lyrics with upbeat music an interesting juxtaposition.

This track is one of these unusually sad-sounding songs. It's about being miserable while one is awake, and finding enough solace to continue living only while asleep and dreaming. It sounds awful on paper, I know, but the song is truly beautiful. It speaks of life in a very frank matter, almost a nod that it's okay -not- to be okay all the time.

Jane, I agree. Dream on.

Listen to it here.

"should i say yes" || nu shooz || 1988

2008-02-20T18:54:00.004-06:00

There have been many songs written about the anguish that romance can bring. This particular tune deals with the difficult decision that one must face sometimes when faced with an ex that wants to give things another shot. It taps into feelings of mistrust and disdain, yet still there's a longing for things to be right and happy again.

The lyric that hits hardest for me is: "We may be different but there's one thing that stays the same / I know I need you in a way that I can't explain."

I mean, geez, what a mouthful.

How horrible a feeling is it to know that someone is just awful for you, but to feel like you can't live without them? This song is about working through those feelings, and he insecurity that one inevitably feels about making their final decision. It can be the toughest one you'll ever have to make.

This is one of the only songs on this subject that truly captures the painful emotions that one must suffer through during a time like this. The entire Told U So album helped me through the worst breakup that I've ever been through, and it remains my favorite breakup LP to this day.

If you've ever had your heart broken, grab this album and hold it close to your heart. It'll help you. I promise.

Listen to it here.

"boy" || book of love || 1985

2008-02-16T17:58:00.008-06:00

I love songs that deal with gender issues.

This Book Of Love tune was the group's first single, released one year before their amazing self-titled debut LP. They're known in the synthpop community for their signature sound that revolved around heavy drum machines, churchy-sounding bells, and a chick lead singer with a deep voice. As far as I can tell it was a decent hit in the clubs, which makes sense as socially relevant dance music was huge in this era.

The song's lyrics, sung by the unusually baritone Susan Ottaviano, explain that "It's not my fault, that I'm not a boy." They proclaim this fact several times before the end of the song. The lyrics express a desire, though, to be amassed with this group of "boys" in the "boys' bar," but evidently to no avail.

I've always had the same interpretation of this song's lyrics, but as I've discussed it with friends there appears to be a more popular opinion than mine, so I'll present both and leave the decision up to you:

Most people seem to think that the song is a simple ode to penis envy. The lady wants to hang with the boys, but she can't, and it's not her fault that she's a girl. Not exactly a step forward for women's lib, if you ask me.

For me, the opening lyrics say it all: "I want to be where the boys are, but I'm not allowed." The song was written by Ted Ottaviano, the only male in the group. This song seems to me like Ted's personal lament for feeling left out when surrounded by groups of manly men.

"It's not my fault, that I'm not a boy." But does "boy" mean "male" in this text? I don't think so at all. I think Ottaviano's definition of a "boy" is the kind of male who likes sports, enjoys jock talk, scratches his balls, and objectifies women with his friends when they're out in groups. Sure, this kind of male is annoying, but speaking as a guy who is most certainly not a "boy," it can make you feel left out sometimes in social situations to not be a "boy."

I understand where you're coming from, Ted. I'm not a "boy," and yes, on rare occasions it sucks, but in the end I still don't want to be one.

Listen to it here.

"baby baby (7" heart in motion mix)" || amy grant || 1991

2008-02-14T09:17:00.006-06:00

For my inaugural Valentine's Day post, I obviously wanted to pick a love song. For what are probably more than obvious reasons, when we hear the phrase "love song" we end up thinking of romantic love. While understandable, it's not really fair, as there are scads of beautiful love songs in the realm of music that have nothing to do with romance at all.

This Amy Grant tune is one of my all-time favorite love songs because it's so pure. She wrote the song about her daughter Millie, and tells us in the liner notes that her "six-week-old face was my inspiration." Romantic love may be fleeting, but the love that a mother feels looking at her brand new child is one that doesn't fade.

Keeping in fashion with this blog's theme of bringing to light songs that haven't had their chance in the sun, I chose this mix of the song because most people have never heard it. It was stashed on the b-side of the 7-inch single and the cassette single. Most people my age were buying cassette singles instead of vinyl singles at this point, and even then most people never listened to the b-side, so here it is. Amy Grant meets breakbeat. Ha!

I encourage you to take this day of love and use it as an excuse to tell your friends that you love them. While you're at it, call your mother and tell her you love her, since you probably haven't talked to her in a while. Radiate neon waves of love.

So, here goes mine: Mom, Dad, this one's for you. Thanks for all the love you've given me over the years, and here's to plenty more to come.

Love is a beautiful thing, and not one whose many forms are spoken of often enough in today's society. So use the day, and don't just make someone you love smile; make everyone you love smile.

Listen to it here.

"nite and day" || al b. sure! || 1988

2008-02-12T09:01:00.000-06:00

A bit of soulful New Jack Swing to fill up this rainy Tuesday morning.

Ah, Al B. Sure. What a ridiculously high voice this guy had! Doesn't matter a bit though, since he totally rocks it.

This is the sort of song that makes you want to cuddle up next to a beautiful lady and slow dance, but not too slowly.

I love hearing soulful singers like Al go on about the ladies of their affections. They do so in a way that's definitely romantic, but also manages to be provocative and even at times aggressive (but not in a bad way). Guys like Al almost sound like it pains them to sing about a beautiful woman; in fact, the more in love with her they are the more pain you hear in their voice. This amuses me so because it's not even an unhappy breakup song, just a goofy love track, but he sings it like a painful breakup song.

Soul singers abound making music like this in the late '80s and early '90s, and while New Jack Swing is just all kinds of awesome, few singers achieved Al's level of coolness. Al and his flattop were suave.

Listen to it here.

"serious" || donna allen || 1986

2008-02-10T13:51:00.000-06:00

Sunday comes, and I bring the funk.

Donna Allen is a tiny little woman with a lot of hair and a voice from heaven. I love the way she thrashes herself around in the video clip for this song, because it just furthers the image that I have already of defiance. The familiar subject matter in the lyrics suggests that Donna is through taking crap from a man who may or may not be faithful to her. Now, while I realize that this isn't the pinnacle of originality, I also realize that if we were to focus on this song's lyrics we'd be missing the point.

The bass line in this song is delicious enough to bring tears to my eyes. It actually makes my mouth water if I listen to it loud enough. I also love the male backing vocalist's raps; they're the type that you can hear once and remember the words forever. This song also employs a vocoder, which, as we all know, takes awesomeness to a whole new level in any song.

Not much depth to this one, it's just a brilliant dance song. Enjoy!

Listen to it here.

"the river" || stacey q || 1988

2008-02-04T18:37:00.000-06:00

It's very tough for me to articulate the brilliance that is Stacey Q.

Never in my life have I come across an artist that moves me the way that she does. Her repertoire pulls from a variety of genres and styles, everything from Hi NRG (arguably the style for which she is best known) to synthpop to freestyle, to more surprising styles like pop rock and new wave, and even folk rock & acoustic rock.

Stacey's first album as Stacey Q was 1986's Better Than Heaven. It's a solid Hi NRG album, pausing the groove only briefly for the album's one downtempo ballad: "Don't Let Me Down." The album did fairly well commercially mostly thanks to the Top 40 singles "Two Of Hearts" and "We Connect."

Then Stacey did something that forever rid her of any "teen pop" label that one may try to slap on her: She released 1988's Hard Machine, an album that strayed far from the Hi NRG sound of the last record (except "I Love You," which kicks ass anyway). The album is filled with glorious rock music, but not without the synthesizers that are a staple of the Stacey Q sound. The album even has a downtempo number that's borderline R&B music ("Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself"), and was even remixed on the 12" by the great Shep Pettibone.

"The River" is where the album takes its most surprising turn. It's a raging, anger-and-lust-filled new wave track that makes you want to drive your car at dangerous speeds. Stacey is foraging new musical territory with the track, but she doesn't miss a note. This track alone proves that the girl can rock just as well as the big boys, and she's not afraid to knock 'em down a few pegs.

Stacey actually performs this song in the 1989 movie One Man Force, where she makes a cameo as Leah Jennings, a rock singer who gets kidnapped. Her part in the movie is tragic, but watching her rock out on the mic singing this song is magical (even if she gets kidnapped in mid-lyric).

Ah, Stacey Q. Why can't the world be made of your music?

Listen to it here.

"jolene" || strawberry switchblade || 1985

2008-02-01T09:58:00.000-06:00

Strawberry Switchblade were a duo from the UK that surfaced in 1985 with a self-titled LP, and then disappeared completely from the music scene shortly thereafter. That one album was enough to gain them an almost cult following, and not an undeserved one, either. Their gorgeous blend of goth glitz and synthpop is undeniably pretty awesome.

They had a decent hit in the UK with "Since Yesterday," which is fantastic song, but I chose instead to spotlight their cover of this Dolly Parton classic.

"Jolene" is a song that's surely stood the test of time, and I'm positive that it's due to the unusual attitude and tone of its lyrics. So prevalent in pop music are songs (usually sung by female singers) that threaten onlookers to stay away from their mate. ("You can't take my man, because I'm way hotter than you," blah, blah, blah) That's not the attitude of this songwriter, though. This time, the lady in question is pleading with another woman (Jolene), whom she obviously views as a threat to her relationship, "begging" Jolene not to steal her lover.

It's hard not to feel a little heartwrenched after hearing this song. We feel pity for the poor housewife, because clearly the man is all she feels like she has. She thinks that if the sultry Jolene swoops in to steal her husband that her life will end, and she'll never pick up the pieces and move on. The worst feeling for me is thinking that the wife already knows that her husband has slept with Jolene, and rather than feeling strong enough to confront both of them and deal with it, she's instead begging for Jolene's mercy. It's heartbreaking.

I think two things have kept this song alive for so long: 1.) It gives the listener extreme emotional catharsis. 2.) Countless women have probably felt the wife's helplessness and find the song relatable.

Strawberry Switchblade laid down the ultra-sad vocals over one of their signature drum machines, and an underground synthpop classic was born.

Listen to it here.

"boom swagger boom" || murder city devils || 1996

2008-01-29T13:38:00.000-06:00

Even though we're way past the punk rock era, the genre still, to this day, continues to forward itself in ways that are often exciting (even if they aren't always new). Since the late 1970s, punk has existed in the rock scene in some form or another. It's a genre that simply will never die.

Why? Simple. Because youth will always have something to be pissed off or excited about.

The Murder City Devils are one of the many, many, many youthful punk bands that emerged onto the scene, made some noise, then disappeared. It's almost textbook, really. They did make some fun music, though, so that's why they're here today.

"Boom Swagger Boom" sounds like it came from a '50s themed Broadway musical that was written by a demon of some kind. It sounds like a song that zombies would have some sort of co-ordinated dance to before they munch your fucking head in.

A staple for Halloween mixtapes.

Listen to it here.

"i think i'm paranoid" || garbage || 1998

2008-01-28T23:04:00.000-06:00

Garbage is one of those bands that got lost in the sea of alternative rockers and grungers that was abound in the '90s. However, I maintain that they deserve their own cruise liner to stay afloat.

This Scottish-Wisconsin band is something special. As I noted, their music is a very healthy blend of grunge and alternative rock, and Shirley Manson has a very unique set of pipes, which takes their music to a new and exciting level. If anything, one might refer to is as "fem post-grunge," because that's essentially what it is: Their lyrics have the cynical grunger mentality of failed relationships and a bleak world, but their music strays from the grunger form and becomes very "hard candy," which to me qualifies them as alt rockers.

Shirley Manson is downright sexy. There is simply no way around it. I have no idea if its her unusual voice, her abundance of eye makeup, her dark image, or her angsty lyrics, but my goodness...she turns me on.

I chose this track because I think it's their most accessible, which is interesting as it wasn't their biggest hit. Everyone in the US seems to know "Stupid Girl," which is a fantastic track in its own right, but I think this one is much more intriguing. It begins in typical grunger fashion, with minor-key lyrics, melodies and chorus, but then turns suddenly into a bridge that is so upliftingly alt-rock that it almost brings tears to the eyes. It's almost as if Shirley goes straight from defiance to suddenly pleading with a lover whom she wants so badly that she'll change herself in any way they wish. The final verse is angsty and defiant, yet it still sounds like she's pleading, which leaves us feeling a little paranoid ourselves.

Garbage might win my all-time award for Most Under-Appreciated Band. Think about it. You knew who they were before you started reading this post, didn't you? You could name at least two of their songs, right? You knew that Shirley Manson was the lead singer, right?

And now you're going to give them another listen, right?

As a side note, this song was a fantastic choice for inclusion in the video game Rock Band.

Listen to it here.

"hello" || the beloved || 1993

2008-01-27T15:21:00.000-06:00

Remember that Wings song "Let 'Em In"? You know the one I'm talking about: "Martin Luther, Phil & Don, Brother Michael, Auntie Gin, etc."

OK, take that song, and combine it with the new beat sensibilities of EMF's "Unbelievable," and you'll have today's track.

This song is such a sign of its time. This is the early '90s in a nutshell, folks! In fact, I'm willing to say that this takes me back even more than the hip-house tracks that I've posted do (but not as much as New Jack Swing does; we'll get to that glorious goodness soon).

Turn this one on, smile, and see lots of pretty early '90s colors. Think about white shorts and cutoff jeans and tye dye and overalls.

Listen to it here.

"spacehead" || the primitives || 1988

2008-01-26T12:37:00.000-06:00

The Primitives' 1988 album Lovely is one of music's finest examples of indie rock. It's perky, definitely has a punk influence, and is glorious in its ability to be sung-along with. The lyrics are also very well constructed, which is a staple of indie rock.

It's probably safe to say that many Americans recognize the song "Crash" from the Lovely LP thanks to the film Dumb & Dumber. "Crash" is, to me, one of the most perfect songs ever written, so I'm saving my rantings about it for another post. My point in bringing it up here is to assure you that you're more than likely familiar with this group, even if their name doesn't strike a chord right away.

"Spacehead" is the only song I've ever heard that I thought might be about me. I hear people say that sort of thing all the time (usually they're intoxicated), and I just roll my eyes, because usually the song doesn't apply to them at all. After I heard this track, though, I stopped the eye rolling. The song is about a guy who walks around singing to himself, and who is seen by the singer as someone whose head is, quite literally, up in the clouds. Aside from the fact that the guy in this song lives in a van, I'd say we have a winner here.

The Primitives are great because their guitars are spry, as are Tracey Tracey's vocals. Incidentally, she also pulls off a really cool pseudo-Marilyn look on this album.

This album isn't one that you pick up if you see in a bargain bin. This is an album that you track down purposefully and purchase, because anyone who loves rock music needs it in their library.

Listen to it here.

"romantic" || jo joe || 1987

2008-01-24T23:07:00.000-06:00

This may be the second-most mysterious artist I've encountered in all my musical journeys (Q. Lazzarus is still tops).

I've been unable to track down any information about Ms. Joe. I bought the 7" single of this song from a record store in Germany, and was pleasantly surprised to open the package and find a picture sleeve with a little picture of her glaring right back up at me. She looks young, probably not over 25. I can't tell her nationality from her voice on the song. She was new to Discogs when I submitted the Prime Cuts single on which she appears.

The only lead I have on this chick (and it's a pretty crappy one) is that the people who produced her song also produced this record, which has a suspiciously similar title. Unfortunately, I can't track down a clip of it to hear exactly how similar the songs are, and really, even if I did, it wouldn't tell me anything about Jo Joe.

She'll just remain a mystery in this blog for now.

As far as the song, it's absolutely fantastic. It's downtempo and it's funky as hell, the kind of song that makes your ass move completely independently from the rest of your person. The song is also very defiant. It's sung by someone who is tired of being trapped in a failed relationship, and I'd venture to say that you can hear the grating irritation in her voice (even though she didn't write it). Hey, if nothing else, she's a good actress; she carries the pain of the songwriter well, without distracting our dancing.

Maybe that's what she's up to now.

Listen to it here.

"everywhere" || cranes || 1993

2008-01-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine inspired today's post by bringing up Shoegazer music in conversation earlier today.

For those who don't know, Shoegaze is an interesting little blend of ethereal rock, indie rock, and mellow, droning vocals. My friend referred to it as a musical release of "burning teenage angst."

OK, so that could probably describe a lot of indie rock. But seriously, this stuff is something different. It hit its peak in the early 1990's, right before grunge and alternative rock took over the college mainstream. The sound is very early '90s, which is pleasant for anyone my age, as well know that those sounds can easily bring to mind childhood memories.

Cranes got attention when they toured with The Cure back in 1992. That's really all I know about them. The singer has an extremely juvenile quality to her voice, which adds an unusual element to the Shoegazer style.

One final note: Fans of this group are very insistent that the name is simply "Cranes." No "the"!

Listen to it here.

"bad, bad boys" || midi, maxi & efti || 1992

2008-01-22T12:38:00.000-06:00

Part two of today's double-shot of ragga hip hop.

Midi, Maxi & Efti are three soul sisters from Sweden. Well, they're as soulful as Swedes can be, I suppose.

This song is really bouncy and groovy (yes, I think that word applies here), but goodness, they sound like they need a shot of espresso. They don't even look excited in the video clip! Hey, I'm not pointing any fingers, but if I got signed to Columbia Records to release a goofy song about "bad boys," not to mention having said song appear in a movie with Christian Slater & Marisa Tomei (Untamed Heart -- worth a watch), I'd probably be a little more excited than these chicks appear to be.

The thing that drew me in about this track were the lines that go "just be positive, don't be negative." They made me smile.

Listen to it here.

"mary's got a baby" || maxi priest || 1999

2008-01-22T09:42:00.000-06:00

To make up for my lack of posts over the last few days, I'm doing a double-shot of ragga hip-hop today.

First up is Maxi Priest, who made a bit of noise on the pop scene back in the '90s. In fact, I think he made the perfect amount of noise; the average American can recognize his name but probably can't name a single one of his songs.

His most well-known track is almost certainly 1996's "That Girl," on which Shaggy did some rasta-vocals, which no doubt helped propel the single. The provocative video with crotch shots of women pushing shopping carts helped too, I'm sure.

The thing that I like most about Maxi Priest is that he seems like a classy dude. I think that's why I found "That Girl" a bit awkward; it just seemed too "dirty" for him. "Mary's Got A Baby" seems much more appropriate for him. It's an interesting message: Dude wants to help chick who just had a baby (not his), not because he has the financial faculties to do so, but because he knows it's the right thing to do.

What a classy guy!

Maxi's voice is smooth, and the ragga-raps by Beenie Man add a nice rasta feel to the song.

Listen to it here.

"popcorn" || m & h band || 1987

2008-01-17T14:51:00.000-06:00

I noticed while passing a bulletin board today that it's "National Popcorn Day," so I'm paying appropriate tribute.

"Popcorn" has one of the richest histories of any song you'll ever hear. It was written by Gershon Kingsley in 1968, and he was also the first artist to record it. Four years later, a group called Hot Butter re-recorded it and released their version, and it became a minor radio hit. Theirs is arguably the most well-known version of the song.

Since then, over 60 different covers of the song have been recorded. Don't believe me? It's all detailed on this intensely cool webpage, complete with sound samples of nearly every mix of every version.

I chose M & H Band's version as today's track because it fits my style, and it's my personal favorite version of the song. It's notoriously miscredited to Kraftwerk on peer-to-peer file sharing networks, but to my knowledge Kraftwerk never did a version of this song. The advantage of writing a song with a simple yet memorable melody is that it really can be recorded in just about any style. The Hot Butter version is very leftfield and skiffly, and this version is straight-up Italo Disco. There have been house versions, pop rock versions, ambient/experimental versions, and many other styles as well. Browse the site for a while and I'm sure you'll find a favorite!

Listen to it here.

"boogie woogie bugle boy" || company b || 1989

2008-01-17T03:11:00.000-06:00

I find something intoxicating about swing music. It's got a very lighthearted spirit, and carries a tone of youthful jubilation that conjures images of 1940s youth cavorting wildly with one another in dancehalls.

One of my favorite songs from that era is the Andrews Sisters' 1941 track "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." The song tells the story of a young man drafted into the army who had a jazzy, funky way of blowing the morning reveille, which in turn forced his captain to "draft a band." Campy '40s humor indeed, but it has to make you smile.

Fast forward 45 years. A girl group called Company B, named after the song, releases the greatest dance song of all time: a single called "Fascinated." They have a mega-super-ultra club hit. After a few more freestyle-oriented releases, they decide to pay homage to the song from which they took their name.

Company B's cover of this song isn't really a genre crossover. If anything, it updates the '40s "swing" sound and brings it to more of an '80s "jazzdance" sound. The result is pleasing, and this one no doubt provided the soundtrack for many a young lady's dance recital in 1989.

It's a neato throwback and a respectful homage.

Listen to it here.

"the dominatrix sleeps tonight" || dominatrix || 1984

2008-01-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite songs.

"Dominatrix" will forever be a club classic because of its infectious, oddball beat and its remarkable chanting. The track almost sounds like a harbinger for Michael Cretu's work with Enigma in the 90's. It's exotic, it's sexual, and it makes you want to move all around the room (or the dance floor).

The original Streetwise 12" single of this song (the one you should look for) includes two mixes of the title track, along with an a cappella version called "Chants" and an instrumental track called "Beat Me." A staple in any DJ's or fan of club music's collection.

Sounds best when played at a very high volume.

Listen to it here.

"you should hear how she talks about you" || melissa manchester || 1982

2008-01-13T10:56:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the lack of posting for the last few days. I was in a car accident on Thursday, but everything is (mostly) back to normal now, and the traxx must go on.

I thought this would be a nice follow-up to the Louise Tucker track in the last post. Melissa, like Louise, has a powerful voice, but uses it in a different style of music. She's very much of the "soft rock" vein of music, which is cool because she totally does rock.

Most people have probably heard her song "Don't Cry Out Loud" (I'm quite sure it's been in a movie or two), but this song blows that softcore ballad about domestic abuse right out of the water. The subject material here is something quite happy: Guy likes girl, but isn't sure if girl likes him back, and singer is assuring guy that girl has him on the brain. It's a really cute notion, something that sounds like it should apply to middle school students.

I think the beat in this song is unique, because it's the only time that I've ever really wanted to dance to a soft rock song. Melissa's band uses a really cool kick drum that I've never heard replicated on another track, or at least in the way that it's used here.

And, as a closing note, I would like to extend my thanks to all those who have read this blog thus far and given me feedback of some sort. Thank you for your ongoing support as this blog graduates into its sophomore stage of life. Srsly...you should hear how I talk about you guys.

Listen to it here.

"george" || louise tucker || 1983

2008-01-09T12:21:00.000-06:00

Today we examine a track that truly defies genres.

Louise Tucker is from Bristol, a town in the southern UK, where she studied opera before meeting producers Tim Smit & Charlie Skarbek. The three of them collaborated on a project that became Louise's first album, Midnight Blue, released in 1982. It was a completely new idea: The fusion of Louise's operatic vocals and downtempo synthpop music. The result was a frothy, almost gossamer album of easy-listening synth music.

Don't get me wrong, though. This album may be filed under "easy listening" in the (most likely few) iTunes libraries in which is appears, but it rocks. When I play Louise through a powerful amplifier and hook up some refrigerator-sized speakers with 15-inch woofers to it, she could blow down the Astrodome. Her voice is one of the most powerful that I've ever heard in any genre of music, and although it's extremely bizarre to hear it with all of the synths, the output is undeniably fantastic.

The follow-up album, 1983's After The Storm, was more of the same frothy goodness. It almost could have been released as a double set with Midnight Blue, in fact. Many artists who create something wonderful and unique with their debut album completely screw themselves over by trying something totally different on the second LP (see: MC Hammer). Louise, however, avoided that plague. She made another solid record of this ooey-gooey-synthy goodness, and then disappeared into complete obscurity.

The last track on After The Storm is a lengthy number called "Bluesy," which is little more than Louise's voice with a faint, ambient synthesizer and a more prominent drum machine. When it ends, we as listeners are practically begging for more, and it seems almost criminal that her final album ends on this note.

The track that I've chosen for today is just a personal favorite of her repertoire. It's a waltz that sounds like it merits being played on "a liner that is cruising the Atlantic," but it rocks hard enough to crank in your car while driving around town, dramatically yelling the title of the song as it's barked in the lyrics. It also features a bridge that's borderline histrionic, as it sounds like it's lifted from a death scene in a Rossini opera.

You'll laugh, you'll dance, and you'll most certainly "GEORGE!"

Listen to it here.

"murder on the dancefloor" || sophie ellis-bextor || 2002

2008-01-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

Here's another modern club track that I'm certain will become a classic.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor weaves a tell of felony and flamenco over a creamy house groove with a disco overtone. How cool is that? I mean, disco is so dated, but when you mix it with house music (which some would argue is dated too), it masks it enough to make you forget that you're listening to disco. And life is groovy again.

So rarely do I agree when I hear people refer to things as "groovy." Especially when those "things" are hemp necklaces, Henna tattoos, Phish albums or anything with a mushroom on it. (OK, I have no idea where that came from or its relevance to today's track, but you get the point.)

This song IS, in fact, "groovy." It's a groove. It makes you feel groovy, and even if you don't know what it means to groove, or if your definition of grooving differs from another person's, it doesn't matter as you can both groove to this song.

The video is hilarious, which is just icing on the groovy cake.

Listen to it here.

"overdose" || tomcraft || 2001

2008-01-06T18:04:00.000-06:00

Back in the later 80's, ravers had acid house music to listen to at their parties. This same crowd still exists today, but most of them seem to listen to trance. Trance music has a massive following all over the world. Trance DJ's (and listeners too) seem to have been quite successful in creating a subculture that surrounds their hypnotic tunes.

I'll be honest though; the stuff doesn't do a lot for me. I find it machinist and repetitive, which, from what I can tell, are the same qualities that trance fans adore about this music.

It's hard to say why this one trance tune struck a chord with me, when no others have ever been able to. It's sexy. It's macabre. It also tells the story of a girl who suffers a fate that's probably due to a lot of people who live this trance lifestyle. It's an amusing thought that people hear this song in clubs and more than likely don't take its story to heart. They just keep moving their bodies to the trance groove, dancing the night away.

There's something sickeningly pleasing about a song that warns of the dangers of a certain lifestyle while providing its soundtrack at the same time.

Listen to it here.

"magic carpet ride" || bardeux || 1987

2008-01-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

Alright, I'll admit it: I'm having a love affair with Hi NRG music, and what's worse; I'm emotionally attached. I often think about it before I go to sleep at night, or while I'm on a long car ride. Sometimes I think about its absence from today's music scene and I have to watch Seinfeld reruns to make myself feel better.

Okay, so it's ot quite that extreme, but you get the point. I love the stuff. It's my favorite style of electronic music. The structure of the beat in Hi NRG is what I find so fascinating. If you listen closely, you'll hear two distinct rhythms to which you can dance: a quicker, "high energy" beat (if you shake every beat, on the beat), and a slower, sexier groove (if you shake every other beat). That subtle amalgam of dancing and sexual energy is sublime.

Bardeux were more than two pretty faces; they were two extremely sexy faces. Actually, by the time they broke up, they were a total of four sexy faces. Stacy "Acacia" Smith (the blonde) was the only one who remained with the group through both of their albums. Her first partner in the duo was Tairrie B., who sang only on the single "Three-Time Lover" before leaving the group (in what would eventually surface as not-so-good terms) and pursuing other musical interests. Lisa "Jaz" Teaney then stepped in and sang the rest of the tracks on Bold As Love with Acacia. For Bardeux's second album, 1990's Shangri-La, Acacia sang with Melanie Taylor.

Acacia continued working as a producer of dance music into the 1990's. Tairrie B. went on to record a gangsta hip-hop album called The Power Of A Woman, on which there appears a track called "Ruthless Bitch." In the song, she takes several shots at both Acacia and Jon St. James, the group's producer (and a member of SSQ). She then fronted the hardcore death metal band Manhole / Tura Satana and is currently the lead singer (if you can call it that) of My Ruin. Jaz faded into complete obscurity, and Melanie Taylor appeared in liner notes as a vocalist as recent as 2001.

Bold As Love and, more importantly, today's track represent Bardeux as they were at their prime. They're youthful, extremely attractive, full of energy, and offering an irresistible dance floor invitation. Watching the clip below will give you a window into what it looks like to HAVE FUN making music.

Listen to it here.

"fred vom jupiter" || die doraus & die marinas || 1982

2008-01-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

The beautiful thing about new wave music was that the listener really never had any idea what he or she was in for. "New Wave" might indicate a nice chip off of the post punk block, with gnashing political lyrics, hard guitars and a minor key. It might also indicate machinist, robotic synthesizer music with disharmonious (or sometimes eerily harmonious) lyrics about the bleakness of life.

It might also indicate complete fucking ridiculousness.

Which brings me to today's track: "Fred Vom Jupiter."

Do you even have to hear a single note of this song to know that it's going to be ridiculous? Of course not. (That's the beauty of new wave.) I would rate this song near the absurdity level of Nina Hagen's "New York / N.Y."

I don't speak German, but I did run the lyrics through an online translator. From what I can gather, Fred was a very dapper alien who came from a star near Jupiter and swept the Earth ladies off their feet with his golden hair, much to the dismay of the fellas in town. Sounds sort of like the plot to Earth Girls Are Easy, doesn't it?

Any way you look at it, this song aims to please, and does so in a quiet, simple manner.

Listen to it here.

"goodtime romeo" || price jones || 1985

2008-01-03T11:30:00.000-06:00

I stumbled across this song completely by accident, and it turned out to be one of the coolest results from any accident I've experienced. I found the 7" single of it while cleaning up around the stereo shop where I work, and threw it on a console I was testing just to hear some music. I fell in love with the song and asked my boss if I could take it home to make some MP3s. Within a week or so, I offered her two bucks for it, and Price Jones was mine.

I can't really explain why this song has such a hold on me, but it definitely does. It's a blues song, but it's still got a deliciously electronic undertone that makes me tingly. I also appreciate the fact that it probably sounded exactly the same when played live as it does on this record.

And, yes, I'll go ahead and say it: It would make an awesome stripper song.

This is one of the many singers I that listen to that I know virtually nothing about. I know that she didn't fade into obscurity after this single was released, as I have a full album of hers from 1993 called Oooz N Oz. It's much more traditional in its performance of the blues than this record, which to me doesn't make it quite as special.

Jones is a talented songwriter, though, and it's a shame that I can't even locate an album that "Goodtime Romeo" was on. Nevertheless, the single lives on, and it continues to make me smile.

Listen to it here.

"chelsea" || stefy || 2006

2008-01-02T23:36:00.000-06:00

Why was this not a bigger hit? Am I missing something here?

We have all the makings of pop perfection:

Easy-to-sing-along-with vocals
Memorable synthesizer hook
Relatable subject matter (bitch stole my man)
Goofy outfits
Hot lead singer chick
Adam West in the music video

What more does America's youth WANT?

People, this is how pop music SHOULD be. This group has nothing to hide. There is no image. There's no pretense. They're making music, and they're having fun doing it. They were even ballsy enough to make their first album a concept album! Sure, the concept is just a color, but it's getting a tip of my hat!

Okay, I'll admit it, they completely lose me with the song "Orange County," but that's probably because I'm not a rich white kid from Orange County. Hey, the rest of the record freaking rocks. "Hey School Boy" was definitely a perfect follow-up to this one.

"Chelsea" will make you dance right from its opening measures, probably thanks to the sample of the bassline from Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)." Crank it up...they're about to be your new favorite flavor of the month.

Listen to it here.

"shake the house" || misa || 1990

2008-01-02T23:26:00.000-06:00

Just a few entries back I promise more hip-house music in future writings. This evening I'm cashing in that promise.

This song is everything that hip-house should be: It's lighthearted, the vocals are crisp, the hook is memorable, and the bass is so intense it could literally carry out the promise implied in the song's title.

Misa seems at first glance like a harbinger to Icy Blu (who would show up the next year), but she's got something that Icy doesn't: more than one or two other good tracks. As far as I know, Misa never cracked the charts with anything but this song, but I must say that with the right exposure, she damn well could have. This won't be the first time we hear from Misa in this blog, as I'd like to spotlight at least one other song on her album.

Today, though, we shake the house. If you loved anything about the early 90's, then you will love this song. And you'll probably end up like I have, with it landed somewhere in your top five most played songs in iTunes.

Listen to it here.

"synthicide" || ssq || 1983

2008-01-01T00:42:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I've made it this far in this blog without writing about SSQ.

The word "brilliant" doesn't even begin to describe this band for me. I find myself in the position of trying to describe an entity that I find beyond any greatness that words could possibly describe. Their music is the soundtrack to my life. It was after my discovery of SSQ in 2005 that I started to listen to more interesting music. They started it all for me.

They are, to me, an immaculate musical machine.

SSQ began as a smaller operation called simply "Q," named after the James Bond gadget man. Producer Jon St. James was embarking on a new project in 1982 when he met Stacey Swain, a dancer and former circus performer in her early 20's. Although he brought her into the project as a producer, he ended up asking her to sing on the group's first recording, a track called "Sushi." After that, she was the group's official vocalist and eventual focal point.

Jon & Stacey added a few other members to their entourage, and by 1983 they were the mighty SSQ -- a synthpop powerhouse, set to write music that would change my life 22 years down the road. They released only one album, entitled Playback.

Today's track was the only song off of Playback that really got any radio attention, which is extremely unfortunate, as every song on the record is perfect. The cassette version even has two additional tracks of perfection: An early, instrumental version of "Synthicide" called "Synth Samurai," and an extremely killer cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" that employs synth quite liberally.

I wish for everyone reading this that you discover your own SSQ in 2008. I hope you discover a band that, to you, is so brilliant that you find them indescribable. I hope you discover your own life's soundtrack.

Listen to it here.

"new age girl" || deadeye dick || 1994

2007-12-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

Growing up in the 90's was a lot of fun, wasn't it? Everything was so brightly colored, since the 70's randomly got cool again and people were wearing lots of tye-dye beneath their overalls. It's not surprising that with this resurgence of the "peace" era came a bunch of damn hippie chicks.

That's exactly what today's song is about, too: Hippie chicks. But it certainly doesn't seek to knock them or point out the unoriginality of their nature. It instead embraces their subculture and points out many of its endearing qualities, such as a long lifespan thanks to a vegetarian diet or the economic consciousness of "spending lots of cash."

It's a good thing that the "new age" culture exists, too. I can't imagine what my neighborhood would have been like growing up without it. Just about every little corner store sold herbs, oils, hand-made jewelry, all that new age loveliness. (And they're all still there today!)

You've probably heard this song thanks to the film Dumb & Dumber, or perhaps thanks to its highly recognizable chorus about "Mary Moon," the girl mentioned in the song's title.

It's a personal favorite of mine for being the only song I know that uses the word "septuagenerian."

septuagenarian (n.): A person between the ages of 70 and 79, i.e. "in their seventies."

Don't say you didn't learn anything today.

Listen to it here.

"you're in love" || wilson phillips || 1990

2007-12-27T23:46:00.000-06:00

Ugh...I know, I know. Wilson Phillips. Deal with it.

The subject matter of this song interests me because it deals with a certain type of relationship issue that's not often found in pop music (well, pop music that isn't emo). It describes the moment at which you've moved past a former relationship just enough to be genuinely happy for an ex-lover upon seeing them happy with someone else. Suddenly, pain surrounding the relationship subsides, and a bubble-bath feeling of comfort washes in, providing solace to you as you gaze happily at someone for whom you truly no longer have romantic feelings. It's the ultimate relief.

The reason I'm writing about this track right now is because today is the first day in about seven or eight years that I've actually been able to listen to it in its entirety. I took comfort in the fact that I could listen to it again, and not feel painfully saddened by it as I had in years past. I took comfort in that knowledge, and I thought it was a nice parallel to the song's subject matter.

That's really all I want to say about it. It's a pretty song. Enjoy.

Listen to it here.

"don't take the candy" || wolf & wolf || 1983

2007-12-26T22:44:00.000-06:00

Gosh, where to even begin with today's track?

To say that this song is bizarre would be the litote to end all litotes. It would be like saying that Warheads are "a little sour," or that Brokeback Mountain is "a little gay."

Get it? The song is effing peculiar.

The story is that of a young girl from Idaho who moves to L.A. to become a star, but soon finds herself the victim of a "candy uncle," who's offered her candy that just "ain't sweet." The singer apparently tried to warn the girl about the infamous L.A. Candy Uncles, but said warnings went unheeded and the girl shall never again roam the potato pastures of Idaho.

"Don't take the candy from the uncle in the street." Okay, I can do that. But wait, what uncle are we talking about here? Does she mean bad agents? Bad lawyers? Porno directors? Pedophiles?!

And what became of our young actress? Is she just a failed actress? A waitress? A porn star? (read: A failed actress.) Is she dead?

The thing that makes the song so creepy is its open-endedness. It would appear that not even the singer is sure what happened to the girl.

Believe me, at first listen, this song is ridiculous. But if you give it a chance, it is actually a pretty interesting story, and one that's no doubt happened millions of times to young ladies with Hollywood aspirations. The bizarre way in which the tale is told is what really makes this track unique.

Listen to it here.

"sleigh ride" || bubblyfish || 2006

2007-12-25T21:19:00.000-06:00

I've never been a fan of holiday music. But hey, I'm the first to admit it: Throw a synth behind anything and I'll listen.

Bubblyfish did more than just "throw in" a synth though. She composed a full-blown, 8-bit version of this holiday classic, and words simply aren't sufficient to acquiesce its awesomeness.

If you've never found holiday music to be too boring for your ears, give this track a try. Hey, even if you don't like it, it's not even two minutes long, so it's not much to sit through.

I must say, though, that it really doesn't need to be any longer than that. I fear that it would enter the Daft Punk territory of repetitiveness if it were even a minute longer. It's perfect the way it is.

As for Bubblyfish herself, all I really know about her is that she's an electronic artist from Korea who currently lives in New York. This track is by far the most upbeat I've ever heard from her, as her other works that I've played (including the droning "Morph 02" and the overwhelmingly saccharine "Kite") are extremely minimal in nature, which is, of course, not a bad thing at all. She seems quite the talent, and I hope to hear a lot more from her.

Listen to it here.

"goodbye horses" || q. lazzarus || 1991

2007-12-24T16:42:00.000-06:00

Umm, so let's talk about obscurity. This song is pretty much the definition thereof.

No one seems to know anything about Q. Lazzarus. The only tidbit of information about her that repeatedly seems to turn up on random websites states that she was, at some point, a cab driver in NYC. I've even tried to contact Ms. Lazzarus through this MySpace profile, which purports to be run by the husky-voiced heroine herself, but to date I've gotten no response.

I'm calling BS: I think she's not real.

Think about it: How could you create the most obscure song of all time? Simple. Invent a fake singer. Milli Vanilli had the right idea, but I think at the last minute Frank Farian decided to throw two German models into the spotlight. Big mistake, Frank; the folks behind Q. Lazzarus had the right idea: Invent a singer, invent a producer ("William J. Garvey"), and slide it into an iconic scene in an iconic film that will no doubt become both a cult and pop favorite. Then take a picture of some random staffer around the office (the Pepsi machine restocking chick, the head of corporate development, and the front-desk receptionist are all good suggestions) wearing a goofy cowboy hat, and throw it on the cover of the 12". Boom! Instant club / cult / college radio sensation, and lots of annoyed folks on the Internet 15 years later, looking for info about your non-existent, illusory singer.

The song itself is, naturally, beautiful. Lazzarus has an encapsulating, velvet voice, and the subject matter itself is quite interesting. The singer of the song is kissing goodbye to reality (which, in some mythology, was represented by horses). The singer has obviously been through something very tragic, and the lyrics indicate that she doesn't see things getting better anytime soon. So rather than trudge on with life and continue to deal with pain, she says, "Screw this, I'm outta here." Could it be a nod to suicide? Maybe, but I don't think so. I think it's about creating a new reality when the one in which you exist ceases to please you.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Ms. Lazzarus does indeed exist, and I hope that this blog entry alone will inspire her to record more music (or at least shoot me an e-mail). But hey, even if I'm right, wouldn't that be awesome if I uncovered some massive musical sham? Gosh, even if it is a sham, kudos to the Q. Lazzarus team for pulling this off.

Listen to it here.

"i'm not perfect (but i'm perfect for you)" || grace jones || 1986

2007-12-19T22:48:00.000-06:00

Sometimes a song's lyrics can be so amazingly poignant that you'd swear you heard them before, but you can't prove it. Thus is the case with today's track.

Miss Jones (along with Bruce Wooley) wrote this very cleverly titled track for her 1986 album Inside Story. The album is smooth as silk, and this track is the perfect kickoff.

For once (in this blog), today's track was chosen based more on its lyrical content than its musical content. The music really isn't anything too special, but the lyrics are simply brilliant.

This song is the perfect way of telling someone, "Sure, I love you, but I am an imperfect being, and I wish to be loved in return as such." It's begging someone to love you in spite of your flaws. It seems like such a simple thought, but no other song has, for me, ever worded it so carefully and precisely as this one.

Listen to it here.

"silver screen shower scene" || felix da housecat || 2001

2007-12-16T00:51:00.000-06:00

Leftfield club classic from the earlier part of this decade. While I'm not big on modern dance music, I think this track deserves a round of applause for sheer kitchy-ness.

Hear this one once and you'll remember all the words (it's not too tough -- there are four lines of lyrics that repeat, plus an interlude). More importantly though, you'll be extremely inclined to move around.

This track is a refreshing take from the monotonous, machinist music that prevails in today's clubs. It's creative, exciting, and, just to be repetitive, kitchy!

Listen to it here.

"maggie's last party" || v.i.m. || 1991

2007-12-16T00:32:00.000-06:00

The first time I heard this track, I was driving around with an older friend of mine, listening to one of his old club mixtapes from his days as a club kid & barback. After a few pretty basic hi-nrg and techno tracks, Margaret Thatcher was suddenly telling me that I was invited to an acid party. "Rave, rave, rave, MURDER," she cooed, and then proceeded to tell me about "love," "peace," and how "this party is BEST."

I smiled, but I had no idea that I was hearing an underground club classic.

This track hit the acid scene in 1991, when ravers were looking beyond acid house music for the next thing to listen to while tripping. To my knowledge, it's the only track ever recorded by V.I.M., and really, it's all they needed. The track is simply unforgettable; hear it once and the rest of the day you'll be chortling "acid party" as you march about your routines.

It's one of those club songs that sticks out like a sore thumb, but not at all in a bad way. It's the kind of track that sends people running to the DJ booth, demanding to know title and artist.

I'm terrified that this song will get lost in the annals of time, so I'm going my part to keep it alive. Pass this one on to your friends! Spread Maggie's love!

Listen to it here.

"gratitude" || danny elfman || 1984

2007-12-16T00:07:00.000-06:00

I'm convinced that everything Danny Elfman touches with his voice turns into musical gold. One of new wave's most distinctive voices, Danny fronted Oingo Boingo until the mid-80's, when he split and put out a solo album called, well, So-Lo. He then went on to score numerous Tim Burton films (OK, so he's done others, but who cares about those?), including Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Corpse Bride.

While Elfman's movie scores are cool and all, we can't hear his totally rad voice!

That's where today's track comes in. This was his first solo release, and it probably only gained the notoriety it did because it landed on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. If it hadn't, college radio would have been all over it and it would have become a lost radio classic. Thankfully though, many 80's connoisseurs remember this track quite well, and some radio stations are cool enough to still spin it (like mine).

Definitely one of Elfman's finer lyrical pieces as well. A simple reflection on life, but done in a manner that is simultaneously condescending, self-deprecating, boastful and demanding. It's not bad to dance to, but this jam is more suited for playing very loudly in your car if you're driving around in an angered state because someone just let you down. A "steering-wheel pounder," if you will.

Listen to it here.

"return to innocence" || enigma || 1993

2007-12-13T10:30:00.000-06:00

Enigma was a revolutionary musical act when it arrived in underground clubs in 1990. The whole project is driven by French producer Michael Cretu, who came up with the idea of placing Gregorian monk chants over downtempo, ambient, tribal house music. As pretentious as that idea sounds, the result is quite fascinating.

Enigma represents, to me, the whole point of electronic music. There are 10,000 producers, deejays, etc. out there in the electronic realm who, quite simply, suck. They think they're original for making one cool loop and then distorting it beyond all recognition, putting some (usually unintelligible) vocals over it, and then getting it pressed onto wax.

To these icemen and icewomen, I say: EPIC FAIL.

I also tell them to go buy an Enigma CD.

Thank you, Michael Cretu, for actually using electronic equipment to make musical art. Thankfully, Enigma is anything but unrecognized by electronic music fans; most fans of modern trance & house music will likely have Enigma in their collections somewhere.

I chose this track today because it's always been a personal favorite. Sure, it was one of their biggest "successes" (I use quotes because it wasn't heard outside clubs or Pure Moods compilations), but I think it was so successful because it was one of their best tracks.

This track is about nature's cruelest impossibility: The inability to go back to one's youth. When you finally figure out one day that you'll never be young again, it's not an easy thing to cope with. It seems as though Enigma has written this track as a way to tell everyone, "Don't worry, it's going to be okay; getting old doesn't mean anything bad."

Stopping the wheels of time is life's inattainable golden ring. The music video for this song demonstrates that very concept; we see what life would look like if time did indeed run backwards. It's one of the most visually intriguing music videos I've ever seen, and I'm very pleased to share it here today.

Listen to (and see) it here.

"heterosexual man" || the odds || 1993

2007-12-08T15:24:00.001-06:00

Sometimes in songwriting you just have to be blunt.

This lovely little alt-rock track from Canada's The Odds is a shiny little tune about how the gentleman simply cannot resist himself around ladies, as he is, well, quite heterosexual. It's the antithesis of gay pride. We've all heard some individual of great political import say that there really should be such a thing as "straight pride," and to those forethinkers, I say, "It's been done. Check out this track."

It's really tough not to smile at this song. It's absurd, yet it really makes perfect sense for a song like this to exist. I suppose every girl-crazy guy needs to have a song for his heart, and by golly this is the one.

The real question for me is this: Are they serious? That's the great thing about the way the song is written; it's really impossible to tell if these guys are poking fun at men who are insistent of their desires towards women, or if they are indeed amassed in that group of individuals.

Listen to it here (UPDATE: This is now the original video clip. Enjoy!).

"boom boom (let's go back to my room)" || paul lekakis || 1987

2007-12-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

Sex and dance music have always gone hand-in-hand. The pounding rhythms, the titilating synth melodies, and, of course, the lyrics can all be related to the ultimate act of love. While some songs try to mask their adult subject matter, others embrace it and throw it right out onto the dancefloor.

Take today's example. A pounding rhythm that's half Hi-NRG, half Italo-Disco, and 100% sexy. "Let's go back to my room." Why, you ask? "So we can do it all night."

There's definitely no B.S. about this tune. Paul wants to do it, all night, in fact, and he'd like you to accompany him. Lekakis was a perfect choice to sing this song; no one can make the young ladies (and probably lots of young men as well) get into a sexy song faster than a bouncy little well-built blonde guy with a surfer thing going on.

The producers of this track definitely cashed in on the fact that sex sells. They were right, it certainly does, but it clearly can also make one of the greatest dance tracks of its era.

Listen to it here.

"love is on the way" || saigon kick || 1992

2007-12-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

Everyone can appreciate a beautiful ballad.

Hair metal was all the rage in the later 80's, and by the early 90's it had become a sort of novelty. However, although we as a mainstream audience kicked away the "hard" side of hair metal, we were still very willing to embrace power ballads.

power ballad (n.): A rock song, performed by a hair metal band, that's much "softer" in nature than their other songs, and often deals with the heartache of a metal lifestyle.

Florida-based Saigon Kick churned out this gorgeous number right as the 90's were going grunge, which was probably a great time for it to hit MTV and Top 40 radio. The really cool catch? It also fared well with the metalheads' moms. Like I said, everyone can dig a ballad, and when you're an adolescent male, you don't lose any badass points for liking a ballad if it's a power ballad.

The beauty of this track lies in its simplicity. There's nothing more to it than vocals, soft guitar (which in no way overwhelms the voice), and a few cymbal buildups. No drums, no bass, no backup singers, no high production values. Just fantastic singing and soft instrumentation.

Defenders of the hair metal genre like myself could very easily point to this song when confronted by those who don't take this kind of music seriously. There's nothing but pure talent behind this track, and it's tough to argue otherwise.

And, one final note: This song is fun to lie on your bed and listen to in total darkness.

Listen to it here.

"pump it (nice an' hard)" || icy blu || 1991

2007-12-04T15:05:00.000-06:00

If there any style of music that makes me unadulteratedly and genuinely nostalgic, it's hip-house.

Songs like this make me long for simpler days. They beam youthful jubilation, and bring to mind images of arcades full of brightly-dressed kids in cutoff jean shorts drinking Big Gulp sodas and shoving tokens into the Mortal Kombat II machine, in hopes of finally dominating Shao Khan. I think of roller rinks, and how they were very much the "place to be" at one time.

OK, back to reality.

Sure, Icy Blu is goofy. But who the hell cares? This music is fun. By the end of the song you're rooting for Icy to go ahead and find a dude that can "pump it, nice and hard." The rest of the disc has a similar feeling of adolescent ridiculousness. Rich kid adolescent ridiculousness. Icy's problems are certainly not high class, which is just more reason to giggle. (A fair warning though: Stay the hell away from "I Wanna Be Your Girl.")

Although the lyrics are charming, the jewel here is clearly the music. Hip-house dance beats are so delicious, and yet they go completely unnoticed by today's masses. The only hip-house artist that most will recognize is Technotronic, who are fantastic in their own right. Hopefully, though, you've learned by now that hip-house was an extremely rich style of music at a point in music history, and rest assured that there will be more of said glory found in later entries.

Listen to it here.

"caroline's a victim" || kate nash || 2007

2007-12-03T18:03:00.000-06:00

A song so deliciously ironic that it deserves at least a few moments of everyone's attention.

Kate Nash is annoyed by MySpacers. I certainly hope that I don't need to explain myself in regard to this term; you know exactly who I'm talking about.

"Like, wearing five sweaters and big hoopy earrings with dinosaurs on them while listening to Radiohead cassettes is totally cool, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?"

"Caroline" pokes fun at these folks. Our title ~~heroine~~ is extremely unhappy with her life status. She doesn't understand why she can't make friends with all the other people that dress like she does, even though she makes all these "killa killa killa killa beats" and takes tons of Polaroids of herself. I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who owns turquoise 7" Netherlands-only pressings of their favorite band's singles (probably without owning a turntable to actually play said singles)?

The beautiful irony of the song is that Nash owes all of her fame to MySpace. After breaking her ankle and winding up in the hospital, she started writing music and created a profile on MySpace, where she caught the eye of Lily Allen. Her first single (a 7" of this song) sold out almost instantly, and she's now one of the UK's rising stars. She hasn't (yet) gotten the attention that she deserves over here.

I have no idea if Nash's future material will live up to "Caroline," as the other songs on the Foundations maxi are a decent cry from it. My hope is that this track goes down in music history as a college-radio classic.

Listen to it here.

"everybody dance" || ta mara & the seen || 1985

2007-12-01T00:57:00.000-06:00

Clearly I'm on an electro-funk kick.

This snappy tune typifies the mid-80's Minneapolis sound that I adore oh-so-much. Maybe it's just because I think Minneapolis is such a cool town, but I just don't think a bad musician has ever come out of that town. Prince, of course, would be a prime example, and he is indeed linked to this group.

Ta Mara & The Seen were actually produced by Jesse Johnson, one of Prince's primo dudes and a member of The Time. He worked on this record right around the same time he was initiating his solo career, and it turned out to be a fantastic outlet for his funky creativity.

This song opens with ambient jungle noises, but a synth soon kicks in and flows us right into a downtempo groove. Ta Mara's vocals are flawless, but would Prince hang out with a lady that can't sing? I think not.

My only complaint about this song is that it isn't longer!

I'm off to look for a copy of the 12"...

Listen to it here.

"the homecoming queen's got a gun" || julie brown || 1984

2007-11-28T09:44:00.000-06:00

Before she played Candy in Earth Girls Are Easy or the gym teacher in clueless, comedienne Julie Brown recorded a couple of records in the early 80's. The result: Hilarity, and having Julie's undeniable valley-girl personality pressed on vinyl.

"Homecoming Queen" was the first of Julie's songs that got her any attention, mostly thanks to it being played on novelty & college radio. It first appeared on a mini-album that she recorded for Rhino Records in 1984 entitled Goddess In Progress.

The song recounts a fateful homecoming eve at a very doomed high school. Debbie, the singer's best friend, suddenly becomes disgruntled (for reasons that are never disclosed), and begins to blow her classmates away with a pistol as she stands on the homecoming float. And, of course, at the end of the song, she has an epic, old-western-style death scene.

Only Julie Brown could have the vision to make school shootings funny.

Of course, this was pre-school-shooting era, so I'm quite certain that if this song were written and released today, FOX News would be up in arms about it. Thankfully, it was written at the right time, and everyone can look at it with the same chuckle.

Listen to it here. (The uncensored version!)

"party train" || the gap band || 1983

2007-11-26T20:49:00.000-06:00

Ah, funk music. Why hasn't there been anything quite like it since the 1970's?

Oh wait, there was. It was called P.Funk, and it extended into the 80's.

Take the classic funk sound, pump it up with some hefty synth drivers, and you've got P.Funk!

Now put that sound in the hands of an already-established funk act, and you've got one of the greatest P.Funk songs of all time -- The Gap Band's 1983 single "Party Train."

I must admit: This song holds a special place in my heart thanks to my on-campus residence. This year is my fourth as a resident of McCormack Hall, which is placed ever-so-delicately right next to a set of railroad tracks. Hence the common nickname for the train: The Party Train!

After I snagged a copy of this song's 7" single, it became custom for me to stop what I was doing and throw it on the turntable every time I heard the PT approaching. And every time I'm boogieing to this groove, I still hear the rumbling train behind McCormack.

Listen to it here.

"new york / n.y." || nina hagen || 1983

2007-11-25T16:09:00.000-06:00

Warning: Today's track is not for the faint of heart.

German art-rock princess Nina Hagen looks like she's insane. In fact, she probably is insane. But it doesn't matter; bitch pulls it off.

After messing around with some German punk bands in the 70's and a brief struggle with the German border patrol (read about it...it's interesting), Nina finally split off on her own and release her first album, Angstlos (english: Fearless), in 1983.

She had a breakout alt-radio hit with "New York, New York," -- a track consisting of simple synth-pop music and screechy, screaming, operatic vocals. You might be frightened the first time you hear it, but one thing is certain: You know damn well that Nina loves New York.

Listen to it here.

"carmé" || rockwell || 1986

2007-11-24T21:43:00.000-06:00

Everyone who knows anything about music has heard Rockwell's 1984 track "Somebody's Watching Me," a haunting downtempo funk number about a paranoid dude.

But I'll bet you've never heard any other tracks from that LP, let alone any tracks from his 1986 follow-up, The Genie.

Subtract Michael Jackson singing the hook and add lots of production value, and you'll have Rockwell's not-quite-so-successful single from The Genie, "Carmé." It too falls under the snappy electro funk guise, but it's oh-so-much-more than his only hit. It's slightly more uptempo than "Somebody's Watching Me," but the lyrical content is equally obfuscated. I couldn't tell you what the hell a "Carmé" is, but it sure does make me want to dance.

This is the type of song that you know requires a video clip with bright colors, ridiculous hair, and would probably do best against the backdrop of a shopping mall.

Listen to it here.

Welcome to Traxx!

2007-11-19T20:59:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my land of Traxx.

I'm Maxwell K, and I love music.

When I was two years old, my dad was speeding down Poplar Level Rd. with me in the backseat. Smokey Robinson's "Tears Of A Clown" was playing on the radio, and I began to yell the word "shield" after I heard it in the song, because I'd recognized it from the brand of soap that my dad had pointed out to me earlier that day.

This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between me and car stereos.

I do nothing in life without music. Almost every day, someone explains to me how they saw me on campus and tried to say hi, but I couldn't hear them because my headphones were in. Although I'm always apologetic, I know my ways will never change.

My life needs a soundtrack.

This is where I'll share my soundtrack with you.

I have a reputation of being "that guy who likes weird music." Friends often remark that although they've never heard of most of the music that I listen to, they enjoy it profusely. Thus the inspiration for my blog; I'll be sharing this "weird music" here.

Each post will be about a track of which I'm particularly fond on that day. Hopefully you've never heard of any of the songs that I'll write about, and if you have, hopefully you haven't thought about them in a long time.

Enjoy my traxx.