13 November 2020 - Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box

Thus far, we have avoided In Utero, Nirvana's followup to Nevermind.

That was not purposeful.  Nirvana had a short catalog, but it was deep, and so it's hard to fit everything into one week.  We're trying, though.  

This song wasn't actually a single, because DGC, their record label, didn't want to cannibalize album sales.  Nevertheless, the song got an awful lot of airplay.  But what's it about?  It is said that it is about children with cancer... but some, and by some, we mean Courtney Love, think the song is about her.... and her vagina.  

Kurt's not here to tell us what this song is about, but he did leave the song behind for all of us to question and ponder.... and enjoy.

Let's look at the song live, where you can really hear Kurt belt the song. More apparent here are Dave Grohl's harmonies (with Pat Smear adding some vocal assistance).   Most apparent to me is Kurt's reluctance to be in the spotlight.    

12 November 2020 - Nirvana - In Bloom

By the time "In Bloom" was released as a single, Nirvana was about ready to give a middle finger to corporate rock and roll.

Except they were corporate rock and roll.  So that posed an issue.

This video was their temporary solution.

Longtime fans of Nirvana know that this was the 2nd time they had recorded the song.  It was originally released as a single - with this video - in 1990.  The song was originally recorded before Dave Grohl joined the band - and the video recorded right after.  Whereas the later single and Nevermind version includes Grohl on harmonies - the scream going into the chorus and the chorus itself is actually two voices - this version contains no such harmony vocal.  

11 November 2020 - Nirvana - Sliver

From the B-sides compilation Incesticide, this song was a great single all by itself.   

Let me say that again.

This was a non-album single, not deemed good enough for Nevermind.  It was a throwaway song.  It's also a perfect Nirvana song - showing the time before the band got so large.   

Two notes on the video.  First, the song doesn't actually feature Dave Grohl on drums, as it was recorded before he joined the band. Rather, Dan Peters from Mudhoney was the drummer on this single.  Second, and cutest, that's Frances Bean Cobain dancing at the beginning of the video.

Enjoy!

However, just because Dave Grohl didn't appear on the original single, it doesn't mean he didn't perform the song......

10 November 2020 - Nirvana - About A Girl

Most of you know this version of this song.  It was recorded before Kurt Cobain's death as part of an MTV Unplugged special, and released as a single in late 1994, after his death.  It's a pretty sounding song....

.....that was actually on their debut album, Bleach, in a very different version.  What I find amazing, though, is that the same emotion shines through in BOTH versions.  

9 November 2020 - Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

It's been a long time since we've used the Hall of Fame label.  

I decided that Nirvana deserved it.  

I don't usually open a Hall of Fame week with a band's biggest hit, but this one was so intensely genre-breaking I wanted it to go first.   I want to put it in 1991 context, though.

In 1991, when Nirvana made this video, which completely mocks music videos in general, they were big in Seattle, but not really anywhere else.  They had major label money, but they didn't spend a lot of money on this video, in relative terms.   And we know the day the video was made - August 17, 1991 - because they advertised for it.

Actual casting call for "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Turns out this little video, which Kurt called his attempt to "rip off the Pixies", struck a chord with the youth of America, including me.    Here's the song that started it all.   

9 April 2020 - Daddy Yankee & Snow - Con Calma | Daddy Yankee & Snow feat. Katy Perry - Con Calma

I bet you all thought my first Daddy Yankee post would be "Despacito", didn't you?

No.

This re-imagination of Snow's "Informer" is somewhat spectacular, and Daddy Yankee had the presence of mind, as well as the respect for those who came before him in reggaeton  to INCLUDE Snow in this.  It would become a minor hit in its own right.... and the biggest selling Spanish-language single for the first half of 2019.



....but a Katy Perry remix shot this into the top 40, making Snow a THREE hit wonder..... and this a Hall of Fame post.  See if you can catch all the callbacks to Teenage Dream.



The Katy Perry version received some bad reviews - one writer implied that the person who suggested it might be trying to sabotage her career (Pitbull, for the record, and he isn't) , but a largely Spanish-language song reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 - so I think there's some credibility to the collaboration.

I mean, it can't be worse for her career than her decision to a an American Idol judge....

26 August 2014 - Katy Perry - Birthday

You know, I hadn't really been a fan of a lot of Katy Perry's latest songs.  I don't know why.  They just weren't doing it for me.   But, then again, a lot of her songs in the past have taken awhile to grow on me - "E.T." being the most noteworthy example.

Well, then came "Birthday".  And my faith in Katymanity was restored.

The video - Katy Perry in disguise crashing birthday parties - is amazing.  And don't worry, folks - she didn't really ruin anyone's day.  (Check out 5:40 in the video to see how she made a whole bunch of kids happy.)   But, even without the video, it's a fun song, worthy of our Hall of Fame.

17 September 2013 - INXS - Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)

When I first bought the Listen Like Thieves album in 1985 or 1986, this was instantly my favorite song.  It remains one of my favorites to this day.  The jangly guitar, Michael Hutchence and his powerful vocal.

But what makes this a classic is the sudden tempo change at about 2:15.  It's a completely different song - more urgent.  The new tempo lasts for about a minute and then returns you to the original speed and mood.  It's expertly done, and it's a shame this song wasn't a bigger hit.

26 August 2013 - P!nk - True Love (featuring Lily Allen (Lily Rose Cooper?))

We haven't done a Hall of Famer in awhile, have we?  No, we haven't.  We really should.  In the meantime, enjoy the latest single by our last HoF honoree, P!nk, who duets with potential future HoF honoree and co-author Lily Allen (who we featured on Friday).

Except that Lily Allen had changed her professional name to her real (married) name, Lily Rose Cooper (why she added the middle name I don't know), so my confusion was in the billing of this song, which clearly uses the old professional name.  So, when Mrs. Cooper's new album finally drops... who knows who it will be billed to.

But I digress.  This song is brilliantly and darkly crafted, and speaks to what a real relationship might look like in Pink's world... Plus, it stars her kid.  And Carey Hart.  And a bunch of toys from Ikea.  And Lily... whoever she is.... with a blender and a knife.  Despite the darkness of the song, it's generally happy and enjoyable, and not as dark as a couple of her recent hits.

9 January 2013 - Katy Perry - Wide Awake

Last year, we honored Katy Perry as our first Wicked Guilty Pleasure Hall of Fame honoree.  Since that time, she reissued her Teenage Dream album, adding a few songs.

Also, she did a documentary - Part of Me.  The documentary was shockingly and stunningly powerful.  It did a fantastic job in humanizing Katy Perry, big star.  She's just Katy Hudson, people. She's a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a friend... and, at the beginning of the movie, a wife.  Not by the end.

This song played over the closing credits of that documentary.  The power of Katy's vocal - the woman can sing, doubtless, and she makes sure you know it with this huge song - and the heartbreak of the lyrics really match well with the 2nd half of the movie.  Really, the video is an allegory for her high and low points of the past year, starting with scenes from the first video from Teenage Dream ("California Gurls") and ending with the opening scene from the movie.  It's a dark, dark song, to be sure, but still enjoyable.



I strongly recommend the movie.  Here's the trailer.  At about the :33 mark is the day that Russell Brand filed for divorce.  I choked up a little at that part.  It was difficult to watch.

20 September 2012 - INXS - Original Sin

Let's head Down Under for today's 80s Thursday video. I really wanted to post the video for The One Thing if only so I can say Shabooh Shoobah (hey, look I still worked it in!). Unfortunately I couldn't find a decent version of the video. Original Sin from 1984's The Swing works though.

27 July 2012 - P!nk - Get The Party Started

We continue Hall of Fame Week by showcasing P!nk's first major hit, off her 2nd album.  Her first album had a decidedly pop/R&B sound, but starting with this song, the R&B was replaced by a rockier, harder-edged sound.  This song is an ultimate party song - high energy, lots of fun, the word "party" in the title - but still keeps a uniqueness about itself.

The video is a little bit on the obnoxious side, but at least there's still a little pink in P!nk's hair....

25 July 2012 - P!nk - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

This is about as fresh as a Hall-of-Famer gets, people.  So new that it doesn't have a real video yet.  P!nk's current single is just as salacious and clever and pop-rock great as anything else she's ever done.  In its 2nd week on the Billboard Top 100 (as of this writing), it sits at #9.

This isn't a real video, but it is official.  As soon as a real video comes, I will post it, but until then, enjoy.


   

27 July 2012: We finally have a real video!

24 July 2012 - P!nk - Sober

As you may or may not have read yesterday (and I hope you did), Tony and I have decided to add P!nk into the Wicked Guilty Pleasures Hall of Fame. She now joins our first inductee Katy Perry. I had no idea we were going to do this last week when I posted my two favorite P!nk videos, but you can revisit the magic here.

On to today's video. As I'm sure I mentioned before, I started to casually listen to pop radio a few years ago, mostly out of boredom with the local rock stations (including a mostly indie/hippie station). Something new, as odd as it sounds. While I had previously heard of P!nk, I really didn't know her music beyond Get The Party Started (which really didn't register in my world when it came out). But the new stuff I was hearing (off her Funhouse record) really impressed me and I started to pay attention. Here's one of my Funhouse favorites (and it's a pretty cool video to boot).

23 July 2012 - P!nk - Trouble

Today, we would like to induct P!nk as our second Wicked Guilty Pleasure Hall of Fame honoree.  Her volume of output alone has made her worthy.  Her willingness to replace the I in her name with punctuation makes her more so.  The fact that she hasn't had pink hair in years but still hasn't reverted back to calling herself Alecia ices it for me.

We know Scott featured P!nk last week, and we're going to have P!nk for you all week.  We start with my favorite P!nk song and video.  It's the first time in my memory that she truly steered away from pop and into straight-ahead rock.  From a chart standpoint, it wasn't her biggest success, but from the standpoint of establishing her voice, it was spot on.  Also, it highlights the range of her husky voice, better than any other song.

Plus, it features P!nk riding a horse.  No horses were harmed in the making of this video.

17 July 2012 - Pink - Please Don't Leave Me/F**ckin' Perfect

How the hell is it possible that we've had almost 180 posts here at Wicked Guilty Pleasures and not one of them dedicated to Pink? Friends, we've done you a great disservice. I'm sure many of you have heard her songs, but I wonder how many of you have seen her videos which have been quite entertaining over the last few years?

The first video is one of my favorites off her fantastic Funhouse record (think of it as a humorous version of the movie Misery...and for those who thought that Misery was a comedy...what the hell is wrong with you?).



The second video is for one of my favorite pop songs of 2011 (yeah, I know it was "released" in 2010, but it really didn't blow up until last year). And yes, this is the NSFW version (I really don't like the radio version), so if you're at work and watching this, good for you! Stick it to the man!

13 June 2012 - INXS - Not Enough Time / Suicide Blonde

I was, at one time, married to the biggest INXS fan this side of the Mississippi River.  A truly underrated 6-piece band from Australia, they were really big hit makers for awhile.  I got a great chance to appreciate all of their music, including the stuff that no one else heard because it came outside their hitmaking window.

One of these songs was the 2nd single off their 1992 album - which I think is their absolute high water maker - Welcome To Wherever You Are.  It peaked at #28 on the US charts, and was also featured on the official 1992 Summer Olympics CD.  It's also a densely layered, clever pop-rock power ballad. Instant, underappreciated classic.

That's not to say that some of their hits weren't really fun songs.  Take this one, one of their last big hits, from their album X - it was meant to designate a ten year anniversary.  This song, which peaked at #9 in the US - it would be their penultimate top 10 hit here - is a great, jangly, fun song. The title was reported coined by fellow Wicked Guilty Pleasure Kylie Minogue (who Michael Hutchence dated for awhile) who had to bleach her hair for a movie role.

I don't care that Suicide Blonde was a big hit.  I still love the song.

8 June 2012 - Katy Hudson - Search Me

Katy Hudson was a reasonably popular Christian recording artist in the early 2000's.  She had a powerful voice, and was well-regarded as an artist.  Russ Breimeier told us in 2001 that we'd be hearing more and more from her.

Russ was right.  However, this record didn't do well, mostly because the record label she was signed to folded.   We'd just have to wait a little longer.



By now, I am sure you have figured out this is Katy Perry. After this record, she changed her name to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson.

5 February 2012 - Katy Perry - Electric Feel

I promised you a tune that you could listen to without guilt.  Here it is.

Katy Perry did a live in-studio cover of the MGMT tune "Electric Feel."  Before I heard this song, I couldn't stand Katy Perry.  After this, I enjoyed almost everything she did.  It's that well done.

Long time readers of my blogs know that this isn't the first time I've gushed over it. Sadly, there still isn't a real video of this song, recorded in a 2008 BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge session.  However, the audio is so good, I still think you'll enjoy it.

 

 I think Katy's version even beats the original. By a mile.  However, I'll let you judge that for yourself.


For me, the original gets even more enjoyable with this video.

4 February 2012 - Katy Perry - Firework

OK, here's my final Katy Perry post (thanks for indulging us this week, we'll be back to as normal as we can be on Monday). I really liked Firework when I got Teenage Dream, but this stunning video brought my fandom to another level.