9 December 2013 - LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out

Don't call it a comeback.

But, for reals, it was part of a comeback - more on that in a minute.  LL Cool J had dropped out of sight for years.  Gangsta rap was dominating the scene.  And LL was being dissed - DISSED - by other artists.    So, he did what any big hip hop star would do.

He whined to his grandma.

Who told him to "knock out" his critics and dissers.

So he wrote this and proceeded to dis Kool Moe Dee.  "How you like me now?!"

This was by no means LL Cool J's biggest hit - it actually was the single that preceded this one, "Around The Way Girl", which was the ACTUAL comeback - but it is one of his most bombastic and memorable songs. 

And yes, that's Grandma at the end, asking Tom to take out the garbage.

6 December 2013 - Kitten - Like A Stranger

2014 will be the year for Kitten - really, Chloe Chaidez, the sole current member of the band.  Fresh off an opening stint with Charli XCX, here is their latest single.  It's a pop-rock L.A. sound, to be sure, a throwback to the 80's, but it's also fresh and new-sounding.  I urge you to check them out, and now.

5 December 2013 - Nitzer Ebb - Hearts and Minds

I always liked Nitzer Ebb. Just abrasive enough to be cool, but melodic enough for the clubs. Not many electronic bands back in the 80s could say that. Here's the video for Hearts and Minds off their 1989 album Belief. They certainly don't make videos like this anymore. I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing or not.

4 December 2013 - Tanya Donelly - Pretty Deep

After Belly, and before her career as a doula - I'm not joking about that, by the way - Tanya Donelly had a brief solo career.  It wasn't bad.  Enjoy her first single and biggest hit.

3 December 2013 - Rachel Griffin - Over The Moon For You

Discovering new music is one of my favorite things about Twitter. One of the many simple rules I abide by is to always follow back musicians who follow me and then make an effort to check out their music (that last part sometimes takes a while, but I usually get around to it). My most recent "Twitter discovery," Rachel Griffin, is a fantastic singer/songwriter from Maine who now resides in New York City. She just released her first "official" video for the title track to her latest EP Over The Moon For You. When I first heard this song I was immediately reminded of the pop goodness of Kat Parsons (an artist who I discovered last year on Twitter and ended up making my Top 10 best of 2012 list). Will Rachel make my list for 2013? Only time will tell. I'm certainly enjoying the heck out of this song/video and plan on picking up the EP as soon as possible.

2 December 2013 - Mala Rodríguez - 33

You know, American males do not have the market on angry cuss-filled hip-hop cornered. 

Mala Rodriguez is from Spain - Sevilla, in Andalucia, for those trying to identify the accent - and she's definitely not a male.  And those of you who understand Spanish know that she's using a LOT of swear words.  For those of you who don't understand a word she's saying - it's an angry, boastful song, with quite a bit of reference to having casual sex and talking an awful lot of mierda.


For the record, she's 34. I assume she was 33 when she wrote this. 

26 November 2013 - Scotty McCreery - See You Tonight

Season 10 American Idol champ Scotty McCreery released his sophomore album See You Tonight last month. I think those who are tiring of the current trend of "frat boy" country performed by mostly 30-somethings will be pleasantly surprised to hear this remarkably mature set, ironically enough, by a 20-year-old college student. Go figure. Anyway, it's a solid album and I'd highly recommend it to fans of country artists like Josh Turner or Easton Corbin. Check out the video for the very catchy first single See You Tonight.