6 November 2015 - The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face

I know, this may come as a surprise, but I don't think that all music has to be deep and substantive to be good.  There's room for fluff on the radio.

This song doesn't fall into that category.  It's catchy, funky, and has pretty decent imagery.  And Mr. Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) has a huge voice that this song perfectly showcases. 

Plus, he's on fire at the end of this video.  So there's that.

1 October 2015 - My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade

For MONTHS - MONTHS! - my daughter Juliana has begged to take over my blog.  She keeps wanting to post one song.

This is that song.  It's hard-rocking while retaining its goth feel. It wouldn't normally be a song I would post - it's not terrible, mind you, but c'mon, I'm mostly posting pop music here - but I'm glad I did.

Also, it's Juliana's birthday, so if you see her, wish her a happy birthday.

30 September 2015 - Eddie Rabbitt - I Love A Rainy Night

Every once in a while, there's a song that transcends genre.  Eddie Rabbitt released one of these in 1980, with "I Love A Rainy Night".  The song topped both the Billboard Country and Hot 100 (which is pop) charts.

I mean, the song is catchy, even all these years later.  Admit it - you started singing it as soon as you saw the title of this post.

Also, I, too, love a rainy night. 

 

So catchy, even Quagmire loves it!

29 September 2015 - Ty Dolla $ign feat. Charli XCX & Tinashe - Drop That Kitty

Subtle.

I mean, we know what Ty Dolla $ign ACTUALLY means here.  He isn't talking about cats here, despite the prominent feline heads here.  He wants the ladies to drop it like it's hot.  That doesn't mean he didn't perform a very catchy song.  He seems to be competing with T-Pain in the Autotune sweepstakes (and winning).

He's kind of wasting Charli XCX and Tinashe (who both co-wrote the song - Charli was working on it for another artist before Ty came on board), though.  And they STILL manage to steal the show and get you to not notice Wiz Khalifa in the background.  I'd actually like to see what these ladies could do without anyone with a dollar sign in his name. 

But back to this subtle performance.   I mean, the real message kind of sneaks in there.....

28 September 2015 - Beyoncé - Single Ladies

You like it?

Then you should have put a ring on it.

Let's face it - this isn't a flashy video.  It was cheap to produce.  And yet everyone - EVERYONE - knows this song and this dance.



And I do mean everyone.

23 September 2015 - Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer

Back when Scott Colvin was my co-author, there's NO WAY I would have been able to beat him to this song.

Well, times have changed.  And this is the best thing she's ever done.

And so, on this first day of autumn, I give you an ultimate summer anthem.

(Update: 6 June 2023) Because we posted about the rock version of this song, I felt it was important to note that a sped up version of this song was released last March - and it's not just some YouTuber doing this.  It's an official release.

No idea why she did this.  It's fun, though.

19 September 2015 - Fifth Harmony (feat. Kid Ink) - Worth It

The day has come.  I've broken down.

First of all, I'm posting something on a Saturday.  That's because my daughter Isabella loves this song, and today is her birthday.

But really, this is exactly the type of song you're coming to this blog to see.  And Fifth Harmony has.. well, harmonies... that I haven't seen since the days of En Vogue.  These ladies will have a great career as long as they can hold themselves together.  So I'm going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

31 August 2015 - Major Lazer & DJ Snake Feat. MØ - Lean On

I almost didn't post this.   Not because it isn't a great song - it really is.  Because it is so damned hard to type MØ.

(Alt-0216, by the way, which I would have remembered had I just read my own post).

Ultimately, I determined it was worth the extra effort.  MØ (that's the woman dancing in the video, but you already knew that) is an amazing talent, and Major Lazer backs her up nicely.  Far and away the biggest hits yet for all concerned (even DJ Snake, although that's arguable), and deservedly so.

Also, the Bollywood homage is awesome.

19 August 2015 - Eminem feat. Dr. Dre - Guilty Conscience

I did see the movie Straight Outta Compton, which was excellent.  And mostly unflinching.

Except for one piece.  Dr. Dre came out looking pretty clean.  I mean, even Eminem mentioned Dee Barnes (at about the 3:05 mark of this song)! I remember admiring Dre for letting that happen back then - like maybe he was facing his bad choices honestly for a minute.

Now, let's talk about this song, which was an early Eminem single.  The call and response between him and Dre is masterful. I'm not personally the biggest fan of Mr. Mathers, but this is a high water mark for him.  Enjoy this good vs. evil masterpiece.

11 August 2015 - Alesso - Heroes (We Could Be)

Let's talk about Alesso.  He actually appears in his own video.... even though he's a DJ.  Hey, David Guetta, Skrillex, Avicii, and all you other DJs who like to remain anonymous - knock it off.  Alesso is seen as the future of Swedish EDM, the direct result of Swedish House Mafia and their demise.  I'm looking forward to hearing more from him.

But c'mon.  If you've been paying attention, you know I really posted this song because it features Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson on vocals.  This song was most people's first exposure in the US to Tove Lo, including mine. Of course, "Habits" would (pretty much concurrently) become a bigger hit, but this song shows a different, more impassioned side of her.  She's a true talent.

Let's not even mention that David Bowie got a songwriting credit here.

10 August 2015 - Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket

For a lot of years, I wouldn't have dared called Smashing Pumpkins a guilty pleasure.  They seriously rocked....

....and then they didn't.  They got wimpy.  Billy Corgan made his band into a guilty pleasure.

This song, from their 2nd album Siamese Dream, remains to this day one of my favorites of theirs.  Only recently have I learned that this was a song with a message.  You see, every grungy sounding band in the early to mid 1990's was compared, fairly or not, to Nirvana, and Billy Corgan was pretty adamant that he was not Kurt Cobain.