27 January 2021 - Blondie - Heart Of Glass

A couple of days ago, I was writing some posts for Totally Covered in advance, and I decided to pull out a Miley Cyrus cover of a Blondie classic, as I am SURE I am going to be billing that on Twitter.  Then I realized that, although I had posted TWO covers of this song over THERE, I had never posted anything about the original.  There's no good reason for it, so let's remedy this.  

This song was built around a drum machine beat, which opens the song.  This was something that, in 1979, was not commonly seen in rock music.... but was seen in the popular disco music of the day.  As a result, Blondie did suffer a temporary backlash in the punk community that had supported them for so many years.  

Of course, this song was also Blondie's first Top 40 hit, making it all the way to #1..... and led to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so I think they made the right choice.  

Now, go to Totally Covered and check out not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different covers, all very different from each other, but all fantastic in their own ways.  

26 January 2021 - Raf - Self Control | Laura Branigan - Self Control

It is generally accepted that the Laura Branigan version of this song, which was worldwide (outside of Italy and Switzerland) a much bigger hit, is a cover of the Raf version. 

Since Raf co-wrote the song, I think it's a legitimate claim.  However, I'm including both versions on this post, and not shuttling Laura off to Totally Covered.   I'll explain that decision in a moment.  

But can we talk about this Italian classic?  This was the debut single of Raf - some consider it to be the biggest Italian worldwide hit of all time (Tarzan Boy might have something to say about that). This was a #1 song in Italy and Switzerland (more on that second one in a moment) and first hit #1 on June 24th, 1984 in Italy.

The Laura Branigan version first hit #1 in Germany, on June 17th, 1984.  Perhaps stranger, it first hit #1 in Switzerland on June 24th.  The #2 song that week was the Raf version.  The two songs switched places the next week, and switched back on July 8th, where this version would remain for the next seven weeks.  

The two songs were contemporary.  While the Raf version was recorded first, they were released at the same time.  Both had a large impact, contemporaneously, and for that reason, I am placing them both here.  

25 January 2021 - Aimee Mann - Labrador

I adore Aimee Mann. Over the last 10 years, Scott has seen her perform a handful of times. Happy to say that he saw her again on January 23, 2012! So let's go back to Aimee's "care free and light-hearted 80s days" in 'Til Tuesday.... that she remade shot for shot.

Today is my former co-author Scott's birthday.  Go to his Twitter and wish him a happy birthday..... and also read HIS original post.  

25 January 2021 - Noel Harrison - The Windmills of Your Mind

There's a lot you can say about Noel Harrison.   He was the son of Rex Harrison.  A champion of the giant slalom, Harrison went to two Olympics.

And his performance of this song won the 1968 Oscar for Best Original Song.  Featured in The Thomas Crown Affair, it is by far the biggest hit he ever had.  Here's a little bit of trivia for you - the 1967 Oscar for Best Original Song went to "Talk To The Animals" from Doctor Dolittle.   The performer on that song?  Noel's father, Rex Harrison.  

Enjoy one of the greatest songs written for a movie (according to the American Film Institute - that isn't just me making up superlatives).  

22 January 2021 - R.E.M. - Crush With Eyeliner

When Michael Stipe wrote this song, it is said he was inspired by the over-the-top style of the legendary New York City band The New York Dolls.  The song is fuzzy and glam-pop inspired....

...but can we talk about the video for a second?  Michael Stipe famously hated to lip-sync his songs for videos, and he was pretty bad at it.  So, for this video, he set it at a Japanese karaoke bar and had other people do the lip-sync for him!

I don't like posting stuff from Top of the Pops, because that show has a famous policy against live performance, instead forcing artists to lip-sync.  They aren't usually that fun.  But combine that with how terrible Michael Stipe is at lip-syncing, mostly because he hates it... well, yeah, it's entertaining this time.

Contrast this with live R.E.M., who are clearly enjoying the performance more....

21 January 2021 - Smash Mouth - All Star

I saw Smash Mouth live.  It was a miserable rainy day.  They didn't really seem to be enjoying themselves until this song.  

The song, featured prominently in the movie Mystery Men (hence the "superheroes" at the beginning - it is unclear why Janeane Garafalo did not appear), was one of the biggest hits of 1999.  And let's face it - it's darned catchy.  Heck, we could have even posted it in Positive December!

The band's hits might be in the past, but they are very much in the present.  Here they are performing the song live in 2015.

20 January 2021 - Fitz and the Tantrums - HandClap

I don't know if you were aware, but Fitz and the Tantrums are pretty sure they can make your hands clap.

The song is actually a love song - with the vocalist trying to convey enthusiasm with.... hand claps. Clearly pop and soul influenced, the song is immediately catchy and is used to get crowds fired up at sporting events everywhere to this day.  

19 January 2021 - Ednaswap - Torn

I loved having a cowriter on this blog, as well as my sister blog, Totally Covered.  Scott was an awesome partner, and we are still great friends.  He's welcome to come back and write for us anytime.

Today, I am going to tell you how we came to have the 2nd blog.

You see, Natalie Imbruglia had one big hit song in the United States, and on March 5, 2012, Scott wrote all about "Torn".  Someone made a comment that the song was a cover - which Scott had not mentioned, even though he was aware.  Since we knew we love covers, we started the 2nd blog the next week.  Yes, this one is far busier now, but I still post there as well, and you should check it out.  

The song was written by members of the band Ednaswap.  TECHNICALLY, theirs wasn't the first released version, but since they wrote it and did perform it prior to selling the song to other artists BEFORE recording it themselves, I felt they earned their place here.  

So, here you are.  Enjoy Ednaswap.  

18 January 2021 - Matchbox Twenty - Push

So you aren't hearing it, are you?  The D-A-B-F#-G-D-G-A progression doesn't exist in there at all.   I didn't hear it at first myself.  

Because Rob Thomas wrote it in a different key. Canon in F#?  Hear it now?

Well, because it was in a different key, I didn't post it last week, but I felt it was worthwhile to mention that.  

The song itself is not at all about abusing women, as a lot of people assume - if anything, the narrator of the song - be it Rob Thomas or whatever character he wrote - is the one on the receiving end of abuse.  The more likely interpretation, however, is that it's just about an adult relationship, with give and take, where there are good and bad times.  

To his credit, Rob Thomas, who not only wrote but sings the song, throws his heart and soul into the song.  Here he is with Matchbox Twenty (not 20.  They changed their name to spell out the number) in 2012, performing the song live.  

15 January 2021 - The Beatles - Let It Be

We could not end D-A-B-F#-G-D-G-A without including the single most iconic interpretation of the song in the modern era.  The song itself is an absolute masterpiece, as many Lennon/McCartney compositions were - but in this case, Paul got some help from Johann at the beginning.  

McCartney accomplished this chord progression on piano at the beginning of the song in a unique way, however.  His right hand was playing the chords.  His left was playing single notes.

The first four bars of "Let It Be"

Lyrically, the song was imagined during some hard times Paul's parents were having.  It's meant to be a comforting song - and the song nails that.

This particular version is what became the "Naked" version of the song, released in 2003.  This was originally produced by George Martin.

Compare that to the original SINGLE version - not the album version.  The SINGLE version - which was produced by Phil Spector.  We didn't lose the Canon, but we did gain a Wall of Sound.  

14 January 2021 - Vitamin C - Graduation (Friends Forever)

Colleen Fitzpatrick, better known as Vitamin C, used to be lead vocalist for a band called Eve's Plum, so named after the actress who played Jan Brady on a certain television show.  She did presumably graduate from high school at some point.  

OK, that was weak.   This, however, is a song that got played at a lot of 1990's graduations, much like a song originally composed by Johann Pachelbel around 1680.  Accompanied by the NYC All-City Chorus, the song doesn't just interpret "Canon In D" - it gives the song lyrics.  

I know that I'm being a little flippant about the blatant lifting of "Canon In D" this week, but Colleen Fitzpatrick wrote some heartfelt and reflective lyrics.  They spoke to a lot of people, and even though the music was already written - the message really transcended graduation, despite the title.  

Here she is performing the song on Australian television.  Note that a lot of audience members know the words.

13 January 2021 - Coolio ft. 40 Thevz - C U When U Get There

Sometimes, chord progressions are subtle.

Sometimes, they're straight up samples.  

Coolio samples Pachelbel's "Canon In D" pretty heavily in this slow jam, a message of peace that still resonates today.  The cellos - probably actually synthesized violins here - are accompanied by a strong bassline that brings a bit of beat to a song that's otherwise calm.

12 January 2021 - Green Day - Basket Case

This has just turned into the weirdest theme week - or the biggest one for music nerds - we've ever done.

Yesterday, we talked about the famous chord progression of Pachelbel's "Canon In D".  Turns out, there's a lot of songs that use that progression, across many genres - although some do it with more subtlety than Blues Traveler did.

Take Green Day.  People in the YouTube comments like to talk about how it's just three chords.  It isn't.  It's six.  D-A-B-F#-G-D-G-A.   The band's second single from Dookie won them a Grammy and established the band as superstars - but a lot of people missed the homage to the classics.  

Green Day was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, and guess which classical piece they decided to play? 

11 January 2021 - Blues Traveler - Hook

Despite how cynical this song might song, this is an incredibly positive tune - albeit the angriest one I'll post this month.  I'll explain.  

This song very clearly acknowledges that people are complex, and feel anger, and rage, and sadness, and yet still put on a positive face and push forward.  Yes, absolutely, it's a satire of how hit music is written - the hook truly will bring you back - but it's deeper than that.  The song is an absolute piece of art, because it works on so many levels.   

Now, usually, we talk superficially about the music, and dive deep into the lyrics on these posts.  This one is different, because the genius is just so much better.  When John Popper wrote the song, he took inspiration, and by inspiration, I mean the chord progression, from Pachelbel's "Canon In D".  It isn't anything ground-breaking that he did that - but given how much that song is used at weddings, it adds to the positive vibes of the song.

Now, over on Totally Covered, we have a tremendous cover that mashes the two together. Here, we have a little live music for you.

8 January 2021 - Pixies - Tony's Theme

As some of you know, I used to be a college radio DJ.  This song opened almost every one of my shows, regardless of format.  (This one closed most of them, as you well know). 

  

You see, the Pixies were (and are) one of my favorite bands.  And they were formed in Amherst, MA, not too far from where I grew up in Northern CT.  To have one of my favorite bands with a song CLEARLY named after me..... well, there's no way I could pass up the opportunity to use the song, a lot.  

I hope they made a fair bit of money off my incessant plays of the song.  It still makes me smile every time I hear it.  I hope it similarly brings you energy today.

7 January 2021 - Hole - Beautiful Son

It is crazy to me that we have not yet featured Hole on this blog.

Today, a lot of people think of Courtney Love as Kurt Cobain's crazy wife, but before that, she was something of a musical genius herself.  Her band Hole's first album Pretty On The Inside, released in 1991, was a gothcore classic.   

Yes, I just coined a term.  Use it.

The follow-up to Pretty On The Inside didn't come out until 1994 - ironically just days after Kurt Cobain's death (the release could not be stopped) - to satisfy their fans, Hole released the Beautiful Son EP in 1993.  It was decidedly less dark than its predecessor - and on purpose, as Courtney was trying to be a bit more accessible.  

6 January 2021 - Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen - No Diggity

(Editor's Note: This post was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but in light of Dr. Dre's brain aneurysm that occurred as of this writing, I decided to move it up a day. I hope I don't have to add a 2nd post today) 

Trivia question:  Which song ended  the epic "Macarena" run at #1 in the United States?

Answer:  This song.

However, it almost didn't happen.  Dr. Dre wrote the beat for Tupac Shakur before Dre extracted himself from Death Row Records and took the beat along with him, selling it to primary songwriter Teddy Riley.  Plus, Blackstreet HATED the song at first - so much so that it took Riley himself performing on the track to convince them to go along.

It's a good thing he did.  This song ended up being their biggest hit and made Blackstreet into household names.  Plus, it's a slammin' new jack jam.  So I'm told.   

5 January 2021 - Salt - Bluster

Nino Ramsby fronted the Swedish group Salt in the 1990s.  Back then, he was Nina Rambsy, but in 2015, he came out as a transgender man - something he had privately and internally identified as for years.  

None of that matters to the music, which is amazing.  I just wish we had heard more from Salt - this song hit US shores in 1996, and they were broken up a year later.  Ramsby is still a star in Sweden and still making music - his last few albums have been less grunge and more jazz.

At any rate, enjoy this gem.  

4 January 2021 - Ashlee Simpson - Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)

On a cold day nine years ago, my friend Scott and I were talking about music.  We were DJs at a little radio station called WSBU in the early to mid 1990s, and we shared a love of alternative music at the time.  We were a couple of old punks.   

On this day, we'd find out we shared a love of Ashlee Simpson and other fun poppy music.  And so, I started a blog, with this post - an Ashlee Simpson song.   In fact, this is exactly what I said:

Let's open up this blog with one of the guiltiest pleasure songs ever performed.  It's hard to be bad-ass in argyle, but Ashlee Simpson tries, and pulls it off to some extent.   It's really hard to say "Ashlee Simpson" and "bad-ass" in the same sentence while keeping a straight face.

That was the whole post, people.  I also made this questionable font and design choice for this blog - but in nine years, I haven't bothered to change that.  

I hope 2021 brings us some new Ashlee music, but for now, enjoy her 2007 single that was a chart disappointment but is still entertaining and pokes fun at some of the scandals that plagued Ashlee throughout her career.  

1 January 2021 - The Primitives - Sick of It

OK, enough positive.  Let's pull out an angry song that speaks PRECISELY to how we feel about 2020.

It's over now.  So enjoy a little nihilism and one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands - who are also really really nice.  

31 December 2020 - David Bowie - Heroes

At this point, I'm sure you've heard this song a lot this year.  This can be the last time, if you want.  But it seemed fitting, in a year when we've needed everyday heroes, in a year without a superhero movie, this song seems to provide an appropriate coda.   

Or you can go to Totally Covered and check out the "Heroes" special.

Not really a hit in 1977, when it was released, it DID become a worldwide hit on its posthumous rerelease in 2016.   It is seen as an inspiration for the reunification of Germany - that's how powerful a song this is.  His June 1987 performance in Berlin, featuring this song broadcast to both sides of the Berlin Wall, is seen as an early catalyst for these unification efforts, as music lovers on both sides of the wall enjoyed the concert live, together.  

I was lucky enough to see David Bowie perform this song live in 1991, on what he billed as a farewell tour to his old songs (of course, it wasn't - those songs were amazing).  Here he is in 1987 - the same tour as the one in Berlin (although not his Berlin performance).  

30 December 2020 - Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck

I know a lot of people think the Cocteau Twins sound dour and sad.  This is not a sad or dour song.  It's quite chipper. This song achieved something no other Cocteau Twins song had prior - UK radio airplay.  It cracked their Top 40 - and got some significant alternative play stateside.  

This song, the single on their decidedly more upbeat than past releases Heaven or Las Vegas, didn't happen by accident.  Elizabeth Fraser is happy... mostly because she was a mother.  This song is likely about her daughter, Lucy-Belle, who she had in 1989 with fellow Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie.  

29 December 2002 - Incubus - Drive

"Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there."

Has a more positive line ever been written in music?

(The answer is, yes. "I can't outshine your radiance or undermine your silliness."  But still.)  

This song was a breakthrough and crossover hit for Incubus, even making the POP top 10, which was an achievement for the rock/hip-hop fusion band.  But great, motivational songs tend to be inspirational, no matter the genre.  

28 December 2020 - Kool & The Gang - Celebration

I'm going to tell you something about this great song, the only #1 hit for Kool & the Gang, and one of the biggest hits of 1981 and every roller rink since.

This song is a religious song.

That's right.  The celebration they speak of was inspired by a Quranic sura.... but a story Christians know well, and that is the one of the creation of Adam.  A mild irony here - when the hostages held in Iran returned home in February`1981, this song was the one chosen to be played for them. 

I think they made a great choice.  It's a happy and celebratory song, even if you miss the religious overtones.   

25 December 2020 - Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa

Clarence Carter released a happy but quite unsavory song in 1968 for Christmas.  Now, he lost the beat to Run DMC several years later.  But, since we just posted that Run DMC song, it makes sense to give you the sampled song.  

25 December 2020 - Run DMC - Christmas In Hollis

Admit it.  You're already smiling.   

Run DMC certainly had a lot of bravado, but this song was nothing but positive and honest.  Recorded for the benefit album A Very Special Christmas, the song heavily samples Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa" as well as other popular Christmas carols.  How many can you spot?  

As a little bonus, here's the group performing the song on Nickelodeon, several years after its release.  Needless to say, the crowd still loves the song.

24 December 2020 - Amy Grant - Emmanuel

I felt that, for Christmas, a song celebrating the holiday was in order.  

In 1985, the world changed.  Christian pop superstar Amy Grant released an album - Unguarded - that had some secular success - and it made the sales of ALL her albums go up.  That INCLUDED her 1983 A Christmas Album, which finally broke through in 1985.  In fact, I believe I brought the album myself in 1985.  

This song - written by Michael W. Smith - was the single from that Christmas album, and ended up being something of a holiday hit as well.  It is clearly a song about, well, the son of God (Matthew 1:23). It is quite celebratory, and joyous, without getting overtly preachy or melancholic.   It remains one of my favorite religious songs to this day.  

23 December 2020 - Cake - The Distance

This is the most active we've been on this blog in seven years.  And our dedication has shown - you are reading the stuff that we're crapping out on the page.   Some days, we do a better job than others, but we always persevere.  We keep going, and we will keep going for a few more years.  

(Spoiler: we have some posts scheduled for the next two and a half years, at least)

We take special motivation from this song, about a protagonist who doesn't quit, and... well, goes the distance.  We hope you do as well.

22 December 2020 - Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride

Matthew Wilder released this song in 1983..... his debut single ended up being his only hit.  

Even when I was 11, I recognized that this song was great and happy and brought me more joy than a Marie Kondo book.  The message of the song is positive and uplifting, and that's probably why it was such a huge hit that endures to this day.  

And by the way, this is absolutely the performance of this song from Solid Gold.  Ah, Solid Gold.  Ah, Marilyn McCoo.  

21 December 2020 - Cranes - Everywhere

I need to open this with the fact that I have had this video sitting in my drafts for five years.  

Five.  Years.

It is one of my favorite songs of all time - a simple love song.  Alison Shaw's voice makes this very simple song all the more appealing.  It's even sweeter when hearing her light voice that brings comparison to a small child singing lullabies at the bottom of the well with a background of grinding guitars.  This is actually something a reviewer said.  

Anyway, I like the combination of her ethereal voice and the driving guitar, and I think you will, too.

18 December 2020 - Three Dog Night - Joy To The World

The song isn't called "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog", despite how you know the song.

It is a drinking song, and a happy one at that.  Is it a serious song?  No, of course not.  It's just a lot of fun.  It's a song specifically written to elicit a smile, and it succeeds tremendously.

As I write this, I have learned that it is featured in a current JCPenney holiday commercial.  It's fitting, but I am rarely this accidentally timely.  

17 December 2020 - The B-52's - Channel Z

This.  This song is why I was excited about Cosmic Thing.  

By the way, it's just as upbeat and happy as "Love Shack".  Why wasn't this the big hit?  

No worries.  Just enjoy this bonus post today, too.

17 December 2020 - The B-52's - Love Shack

I HATED this song for a lot of years.  

There were few people more excited than me over the release of the Cosmic Thing album in 1989.  You see, 1) I had been a fan of the band for years prior to this and 2) their first single, "Channel Z", was one of my favorite songs at the time.  Also 3) it was their first album in four years, and the first since the death of Ricky Wilson

I purchased the album on cassette at a record store in Cheektowaga, NY, while on vacation soon after its release, and I was not at all disappointed.  Top to bottom, every song was great.  Even this one.  

And then this song was released as the second single, and it was EVERYWHERE.  Now, everyone was a fan of this quirky little band from Georgia that I had been a fan of for a very long time.  This song was largely responsible for that, and I resented that for a very long time.  

I grew out of that eventually.  This song is one of the best illustrations of the three-part harmonies that make the B-52's great and unique.  Plus, it's a song that you can't help but sing along with.

I will admit that I was not a huge fan of the single edit.   Even though cutting out a few "bang bang"s might have seemed like a good idea, I do think it took something away from the song - the build-up to Cindy Wilson's famous line.

You know it.  You just said it in your head.  I don't need to.

I could not resist sharing this version that the band performed with Sugarland, making it a FIVE part harmony in spots.  This is faithful to the album version and you can hear what I mean when I say that buildup is important.   It makes the whole song better.

16 December 2020 - Edie Brickell - Good Times

This solo debut by Edie Brickell - because, let's not forget, she was in a BAND called New Bohemians - was included with each copy of Windows 95 when it was released.   

That's right.  If you have a Windows 95 CD, you have a copy of this video.

The song itself is a pleasant song about someone who doesn't want the good times with her lover to end - in that moment.  In Ms. Brickell's case, that would be Paul Simon.  This song is about Paul Simon.  And it's a very happy song as a result.

15 December 2020 - Sugarland - All I Want To Do

"Hey, let's skip work and just love each other."

That's pretty much a synopsis of this song.

That's all they needed to make a big hit song that was the feel-good song of 2008 and a huge country-pop crossover hit.  

That, and this video, which was really working hard to sell Jennifer Nettles as a sex symbol....  

14 December 2020 - Bill Withers - Lovely Day

I think it's pretty obvious why we're posting this song this month.  It's one of the happiest songs ever written.  A moderate hit in the late 1970's, it's fondly remembered as a classic today.  

It's also got a single note that Withers sustains for eighteen seconds.  This is one of the longest ever sustained in a pop song.  

The song has experienced something of a resurgence in 2020, largely due to its placement in this Allstate commercial. Admit it, you're smiling now, aren't you?

12 December 2020 - Charlie Pride - Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'

Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Pride, the first black country superstar and a favorite of my mother, has passed away at age 86 of complications from COVID-19.  

It's real, people.

Anyway, here he is performing one of his sweetest songs on Marty Stuart's show.

This song, released in 1971, was Pride's only Top 40 pop hit, but his 8th country #1, and endured as one of his signature songs.  

I grew up listening to Charlie Pride because my mother and father were fans of his.  He will be missed.  

11 December 2020 - KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See

OK, folks!  It's time for a history lesson.  Today, we're going to learn about Queen Boudica.

In short words, Boudica was a Celtic tribal queen in what is now eastern England in the early A.D. times.  Around 60 A.D., she led an uprising against the invading Roman Empire (who had killed her husband and raped her daughters), by uniting the warring Celtic tribes for the first time in history.  That's right.  A woman led that uprising.  It was an uprising that they eventually lost and ended in her death, but it was 1) enough to make the Romans consider withdrawing and 2) enough to make her a folk hero to this day.

She did not mess around.

10 December 2020 - Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good

In the words of Dr. Stephen Strange, in the Marvel movie Dr. Strange, Chuck Mangione "charted a top 10 hit with a flugelhorn."

This is an undeniably uplifting instrumental by a Rochester, NY native - the same place where I am writing this blog right now.   As I write this, it is cold and there is snow on the ground - but the most famous song for flugelhorn ever written is warming it up in here today.

Mangione rerecorded the song (albeit more guitar-heavy) in 1982, with a vocal by his longtime guitarist, Don Potter.  The song takes on a different meaning, but it's still a sweet song.  

9 December 2020 - Lizzo - Good As Hell

This very uplifting song was a huge hit in 2019.   

The weird part about that?  The song is from 2016.  It took three years and a performance at the MTV Video Music Award to make it a big hit.

 

That unexpected 2nd life for this great song meant that a new video was in order..... given that the first one was a movie tie-in for a movie that didn't enjoy the same resurgence.     

8 December 2020 - The East Pointers - Wintergreen

The YouTube comments on this song say everything you need to know:

"Top 10 Crossovers Nobody Expected: Canadian folk music and the Wiggles."

Yes.  That's Emma from The Wiggles.  And she visualizes a song about recognizing the light in someone else that they might not see in themselves well.  Not that the lyrics needed the help.

If you aren't Canadian, chances are you haven't heard of The East Pointers, a delightful folk group from Prince Edward Island.  Juno Award winners in 2017, if you know anything about Canadian geography, you'll understand their name.  Even if you aren't, you can't help but smile when you hear this song.... can you?

(Update: 26 January 2021): I don't often update posts this quickly, but 1) this song is so amazing I wanted to post a 2nd version of it and 2) I wanted to answer one question I've gotten more than once from our mostly American audience.  Emma is using AUSLAN, which is Australian sign language, and not ASL, or American sign.  That's why you don't recognize all the signs.

Now enjoy this live performance.  

7 December 2020 - Dido - Thank You

Have you ever had a day that was going just terribly and then someone says something that turns it around?

That very feeling is why this song was such a big hit.  That, and the fact that Eminem sampled it.  

The song itself starts out with a string of bummers - and then makes a super positive left turn.  Dido's light and airy, yet powerful voice makes you appreciate the positive message even more.   

By the way, Dido didn't go anywhere.  She's still around.  And still performs what is inarguably her biggest hit song.

4 December 2020 - The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl

This song makes me smile literally every time I hear it.  It's a minute and half of pure joy.  Really, it's 45 seconds of joy repeated twice.  Lyrically, it's somewhat beautiful - about quick, pure and true love.  It is as hyper and energetic as the actual emotions.  Truly, this song is a short masterpiece.

And if you aren't smiling at a LEGO-mation video, then I don't know if I can help you.  

3 December 2020 - Owl City - Good Time (Acoustic)

It isn't often that I blatantly repost a song I already posted....  

....and given my recent self-covers week over on Totally Covered, you'd think I'd put this THERE.

This is Adam Young doing his big hit song without Carly Rae Jepson.... and it takes on a different meaning - one of equal optimism, sure, but more reflective optimism.  The first version of the song was rapidly released in the wake of "Call Me Maybe".  In my post about that song, I said the following:

"Owl City has put together a song that benefits from Carly's presence, but doesn't require it."

Thank you, Adam Young, for proving me right.  

By the way, even though this song is billed as acoustic, it isn't.  There's a fair bit of electronic enhancement.  THIS VERSION, on the other hand, is ACTUALLY acoustic, and a gem.