15 February 2012 - Fuel - Hemmorrhage (In My Hands)

In the late 90s/early 2000s I spent many a day listening to the DC area's legendary WHFS in my office. At this point, the station had strayed away from it's mostly free-form heyday years and "grew" into the template for pretty much all corporate modern rock stations (which likely led to the station's downfall in 2005...it returned last August and it's pretty good when I can get the signal in my town).

Anyway, my indie snob friends (I mean that in the nicest way, I kind of was one at the time, but cast a much wider net amongst music genres...it's obviously WAY bigger now as this blog has shown) used to mock many of the bands played on the radio. Fuel was one of those bands. I never quite got why as I enjoyed those first two records. So, here's one of my favorite tracks by this Tennessee band.

14 February 2012 - The Corrs - Breathless

For Valentine's Day, I had to go with something somewhat... sweet.  So, I went with the Corrs.

How this band is a one-hit wonder in the United States is beyond me.

Actually, no it isn't.  Before this song, the band relied on their musical talents, which were (and are) substantial. For this particular video, the three ladies (and one man) - all siblings, by the way - turned up the sex appeal and seductive poses.  And hung out at a hot desert airport.  Sex sells, people.


By the way, Corr really is their family name.  Andrea Corr has a pretty successful solo career.  But they haven't broken up.  I'd expect to hear something from them this year.

Oh, and lest you think I was kidding about their substantial talent.... here's the same song, same musicians, less airport, all acoustic.  It really is a well-performed song.
 

13 - February 2012 - Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down

When the bass player marries Ashlee Simpson (WGP's first inductee), you know your band has hit guilty pleasure status. I kid. Fall Out Boy was a guilty pleasure for me (as well as a punk zine/message board punchline) long before that failed marriage happened. None of that matters though as they had some pretty damn catchy songs. Here's a video for one of them.

12 February 2012 - Adele - Chasing Pavements and that other song (Special Grammy Edition)

In 2009, Adele won the Best New Artist Grammy, largely on the strength of this powerful song.  Then, she was forgotten for a couple of years.  That's pretty typical of a Best New Artist.  48 of the last 50 Best New Artists have not gone on to ever with Record, Song, or Album of the Year.  Norah Jones and Natalie Cole, by the way, are the two notable exceptions.



I first heard this song when she performed it at the 2009 Grammy awards, and I was instantly hooked.  What a powerful voice!

I'm not going to say that Adele will be breaking that so-called curse, but she is nominated for all three awards at tonight's Grammys.  And there was this little ditty that I am sure none of you have ever heard....



In all honesty, I was such a huge fan of "Chasing Pavements" - and all of Adele's 1st album - that I had a lot of trouble accepting Adele as a big hitmaker.  And although there are some gems on it - like this song - I still say 19 is a better album than 21.  Having said that, in 2011, 21 sold three times more units than any other album, worldwide AND in the US, and 19 was the 7th best selling worldwide, so others are discovering her first album, too.

11 February 2011 - Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. - Give Me All Your Luvin'

If you watched the Super Bowl, you know that this is Madonna's new song.  If you watched the Super Bowl coverage afterwards, you know that M.I.A. is the one who flipped off the camera.  She went with the finger gun in the official video, where Madonna really doesn't have to move much.  It's really kind of a fun song, and I am happy to see Madonna still making fun music. I've been a fan for a long time, and this won't be her last appearance here.



Also, I think that if M.I.A. wanted to get attention, perhaps she should have done her performance while nine months pregnant... Oh.  Wait.  She already did that.

10 February 2012 - Warrant - Down Boys

So in an act of guilty pleasureness I saw Warrant play a free show in Virginia Beach a few years ago. To say it was a car crash is putting it very mildly. Singer Jani Lane was wasted beyond belief. On two separate occasions he insisted that a roadie strap an acoustic guitar around his shoulder. He would start to strum and then mumble something like "I don't know how to play this FN' thing" and then put it down. TWICE. I felt bad for the guys in the band as they sounded great. Lane, meanwhile, struggled to remember the words to fan favorite Cherry Pie. Days later, Lane would be kicked out of the band for the last time and two years later he died of alcohol poisoning at a Comfort Inn. A sad end to a once promising musician. But let's forget all of that and remember when Lane and Warrant was at the top of their game.

9 February 2012 - Leighton Meester feat. Robin Thicke - Somebody To Love

So, I am sure you are all getting over the shock that a song by Blair Waldorf and Alan Thicke's kid has made this blog.  But hear me out.

This song is never going to be a Grammy contender.  Leighton Meester has a recording career not because she can - she can, but that's not the reason - but because she's on Gossip Girl - itself a guilty pleasure of mine (and not badly acted).  Whether or not she can sing, this song doesn't stretch her talents all that much.  The video is more about what Universal Music is trying to sell when it comes to Ms. Meester.

Robin Thicke is a decent vocalist.  He's got quite the vocal range.  Sure, every song of his pretty much sounds like any other cheesy come-on he's sung in the past - and this isn't the last time you'll hear from him on this blog, by the way.  This song - at least, his part of it - fits right into that genre.

Somehow, these two vocals together just work in this song.  I don't understand why.  But it's a fun song with a fun beat, and I refuse to apologize for including it here.