19 June 2018 - Kasey Cisyk - You Light Up My Life

If you read this blog yesterday, you probably saw this coming a mile away. This is the song that denied "Nobody Does It Better" an Academy Award and a #1 spot on the Billboard charts.

If you didn't read this blog yesterday, you're probably wondering who Kasey Cisyk looks like Didi Conn (she doesn't - Cisyk sang, Conn lipsynced in a brilliant movie performance) and, more importantly, why this isn't Debbie Boone (her immense hit was a cover).

Either way, yesterday's blog got me to listening to this song, and I remembered how well-constructed it was.  Give it a listen and a chance.

18 June 2018 - Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better

James Bond movie themes are a different animal than most other movie songs.

Before this one, they all shared the name of the movie. In this case, although the Marvin Hamlisch-penned song referenced the movie's title, it wasn't called The Spy Who Loved Me.

This song, although fondly remembered today, only made it to #2 on the Billboard charts... because the biggest hit of all time pre-Whitney was Debbie Boone's version of "You Light Up My Life", which spent 13 weeks at #1, in front of this song for three of them. "Nobody Does It Better" went on to also lose the Academy Award to Kasey Cisyk's version of "You Light Up My Life". AAAARRRGGGGGHH!

But enough about THAT song.  This song is great.  We should enjoy it today.  Tomorrow is another day.

15 June 2018 - Coolio feat. L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise

From the 1995 movie Dangerous Minds, this was Coolio's biggest hit by far, and one that he took very seriously.  I'm sure you've heard it, but I always want to give you a fact about these songs you didn't know.

This song doesn't have a clean version - because it doesn't need one.  There's no profanities in it, at all.  This is because the song leans heavily on a sample of the song "Pasttime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder, who wouldn't approve the sample unless there was no profanity used in the song (which, by the way, was loved by Stevie in its last version).

So, feel confident that Stevie Wonder is keeping your kids safe.

14 June 2018 - Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive

It's a little hard to believe it's taken us THIS LONG to post The Bee Gees, arguably the most underrated group in history. Because of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that they put together, and largely because of this song, the group is remembered for their dated disco work. However, they were producers and hitmakers long BEFORE and long AFTER this song.

Unfortunately, they also did that ill-advised Sgt. Pepper movie, which probably hasn't helped with their reputation.

Back to this song, though.  It set the mood for the whole movie and, really, the entire disco era.  It's now remembered fondly, although Barry Gibb's extreme falsetto was frequently ridiculed in the years immediately following the death of disco.  Now, I wish I had his voice.

 

The song is so awesome, they did a 2nd video for it, in a pre-MTV era where a video wasn't a foregone conclusion.

13 June 2018 - B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

If you've seen Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, you know this song comes as a jarring and unexpected but pleasant surprise in that movie.  If you haven't, you might be surprised to learn that this song was written for a movie, by the famed songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It would be the first of many Number 1 hits for B.J. Thomas as well.

It's justifiably considered one of the greatest movie songs of all time, even winning the Academy Award for Best Song in 1970.

12 June 2018 - Dolly Parton - 9 To 5

This song (and movie) was the first that a lot of people outside of country music fans had heard of the well-established Dolly Parton. The movie itself was the brainchild of co-star Jane Fonda, but Dolly's song (and acting) propelled the working-class movie to another level.  It was a huge crossover hit - one of the biggest of 1980 - and remains a pop-country classic to this day.

11 June 2018 - Olivia Newton John - Twist Of Fate

This was ONJ's last US Top 10 hit, and it was a doozy.....

 A synth-pop classic to accompany a movie she did with the-fading-star John Travolta, in kind of a Grease reunion. Two of a Kind was a terrible film - and everyone knows it - but this soundtrack, which was a bigger hit than the film, saved it.

8 June 2018 - Lea Thompson and Cherry Bomb ｰ Howard The Duck

Yes.

That is REALLY Lea Thompson singing this song. The "band" is mostly Thomas Dolby in a studio.

And it was nominated for a Razzie. Which is pretty much the exact opposite of the Oscars.  The movie itself was a critical and commercial flop.  The movie itself did win the Razzie for Worst Picture - its abysmal reception led Thompson to accept a role in the movie Some Kind of Wonderful, which she had initially rejected, just to get the stink of Howard the Duck off her career.  (I like both movies.  I liked Howard the Duck more).  The movie has gained a greater cult following now, but not off the evenness of story or quality of Tim Robbins' acting.

Is it a great song?  Hell, no.  But it's fun, and you can just look at the title bar on this blog to see that we don't really care about greatness here. 

7 June 2018 - Irene Cara - Fame & Flashdance (What A Feeling)

Fame was a 1980 movie about a high school for the performing arts in New York City. While this song - Irene Cara's first hit - won an Academy Award for Best Song, that's a songwriter's award, so Irene Cara didn't win this one.



She DID win one for this song, which she performed and wrote for the movie Flashdance. Cara, however, did not ACT in this movie, despite a rumor that she was the lead actress. Jennifer Beals (the actual lead actress in that movie) was not thrilled with that rumor. No matter - the movie, while critically panned, was a huge hit. And so was this song.

6 June 2018 - Joe Esposito - You're The Best

Most people think this song is called "You're The Best AROUND", but it isn't.  It was originally written for Rocky III (which you learned yesterday) and was also rejected for the movie Flashdance, in favor of Michael Sembello's "Maniac".

That's OK.  It suits Daniel-san better anyway. It makes for the perfect fight montage theme song (even if it doesn't completely work in this case lyrically.  Just don't listen too closely).



Magically, it also works in this It's Always Sunny In Philadephia montage, where the gang takes a LOT of steroids.

5 June 2018 - Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

The famed song for the theme from Rocky III, now in video format.

While not the first choice of song for this movie (Joe Esposito's "You're The Best"), it ended up being a huge hit for the fledgling band.  And it was all because Sylvester Stallone liked their early stuff.  That's quite the endorsement!

It's a reasonably standard straight-ahead rock-and-roll song, but it kick-started the band's career, as they went on to have a number of hits after this initial burst of great.

4 June 2018 - Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)

It probably won't surprise you that Simple Minds wasn't the first choice to perform this song. The Fixx and Billy Idol both turned it down.... and so did Simple Minds! They didn't like performing songs they did not write, and they did NOT write this.

It ended up being their biggest hit by far, propelled by, of course, The Breakfast Club. So, at the end of the day, it ended up being a good thing they changed their minds.

21 May 2018 - Lindsey Buckingham - Holiday Road

You know all that Fleetwood Mac we just posted a couple of months back?

That all started because I was looking for this video. It was worth the search - it really has nothing to do with the National Lampoon's Vacation movie that made it famous. 

17 May 2018 - BIGBANG - Fantastic Baby

Wow.

Honestly, after watching this video, I'm not sure there's much more to say.

But there is so much more to say.  This is arguably the biggest K-Pop hit of all time.  It was released in 2012, and was on the US World Digital Singles year-end charts - so, charts for the whole year - in 2012, 2013, and 2014.  No song has charted on that chart (which is a weekly) longer than this one.

The song is a pretty standard dance-club banger, with a Sly and the Family Stone tribute mixed in for good measure.  Or did you think the boom shakalaka was just there because it sounded good?  The beats draw you in - it's a catchy song lyrically as well, especially if you know Korean.   

But this video.  My God.  It's a bit much.  And amazing. And a bit much.

 

16 May 2018 - BTS (방탄소년단) - MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)

I was going to try to ignore BTS. I mean, they're really good for a seven-piece boy band.

This song is popular because an American of Japanese descent remixed it.  And let's be clear - this song was a big hit.  It made mainstream pop radio Top 30, which is rare for a song with very few English words.  However, BTS is pretty front-and-center in this very visually-interesting video.  At the end of the day, Steve Aoki's remix gives the song some polish, but their singing and dancing skills carry the day.

Also, no, guys, I have not seen your bag.

 

Incidentally, this song does exist in a version without remix. This Japanese version of the video shows a side without Aoki.

15 May 2018 - BLACKPINK - '붐바야'(Boombayah)

Today, let's talk about Korean girl groups.  Specifically, let's start with the new kids on the block.

BLACKPINK are a somewhat manufactured band that debuted in 2016 with this video.  From a Global chart standpoint, few Korean acts have done nearly as well, and they've done all this in a very short time.  With names like Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa, very easily translated to English, it's my suspicion that this was always the plan.They were always meant to take over the world.

Mission accomplished. Their songs historically perform stronger on the US Global Chart - with all five of their singles thus far making the top 5 on that chart, with 3 #1 hits - than even in Korea. But let's be fair - they're big stars back home. too. 

This song is catchy, even in Korean.  I mean, there's a fair amount of English in here.  You'll be singing about BLACKPINK in your area before you know it!

 

14 May 2018 - HYUN-A (현아) - '빨개요 (RED)

Let's start our K-Pop week with Hyun-a, Korea's Madonna - the big diva of their music scene. We've featured her here in the past.

In pop star terms, she's been around forever.  Really, it's only been about 10 years, but in the K-Pop world, that's a long time.  As someone who appeared in the video for PSY's worldwide hit "Gangnam Style" (and, if you are a long time reader of this blog, you know she recorded her OWN version), she's also arguably the first female Korean artist to have worldwide recognition.

This song isn't "Gangnam Style" and not even "Bubble Pop".  It's a more mature pop song from a serious artist.  Who likes to shock people in her native country (this video is borderline risque and Korean broadcasters refused to air what Rolling Stone called one of the ten best videos of 2014).

All in all, it's a great tune with both electronic and Middle Eastern influence.  Give it a listen.

9 May 2018 - Meat Puppets - Backwater

In 1980, the Meat Puppets formed.  They were indie rock darlings for a decade, attracting the attention of a lot of other musicians, but not really growing their audience.  In the 1990s, they decided to give major label music a try.

And then Nirvana invited them to participate in their Unplugged performance and covered three of their songs in 1993.

Which led to this 1994 hit, the biggest of their career.   And while the video hits all the 90's grunge cliches, the song itself doesn't.  It's rich and deep and has great harmonized vocals. 

6 May 2018 - The Darling Buds - Sure Thing

Admit it. You thought this was a one year joke. You thought I'd run out of material.

No. It's a real thing. And Darling Buds Day is actually noticed.  We'd like to think we are responsible for their new material.  I'm not sure that's true, but we're happy to take credit.

18 April 2018 - Eddie Rabbitt - Drivin' My Life Away

It's no secret that I grew up listening to a lot of country/rock fusion in the 1970's.  My mother was a big fan.

Eddie Rabbitt was one of the leaders in that genre.  This was one of his biggest crossover hits, hitting #1 on the Country charts and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.  But this ode to long-haul truckers  wasn't just a hit in the moment, though - it remains one of the most recognizable songs of the era.

11 April 2018 - The Knife - Heartbeats

This song has been called a "great opening to a creepy movie".

Accurate. But this song from the Swedish duo in 2003 also throws back with a synth-heavy 80's sound. 

3 April 2018 - Olivia Newton-John - Physical

This was by far Olivia Newton-John's biggest US hit. Heck, Billboard ranked it the 6th biggest hit of ALL TIME.   All for a trendy song and video made possible by the early 80's aerobics craze. A great song, to be sure.  A song full of double entendre and, well, suggestive lyrics and an accompanying video (let's just say ONJ wasn't talking about the latest Jane Fonda video when she was talking about a "suggestive movie"). A cultural phenomenon, which is still fondly remembered today.



It was such a cultural phenomenon, it was featured thirty years later on an episode of Glee, where Olivia did a duet of the song with Jane Lynch, somewhat parodying the video, and EVERYONE GOT THE REFERENCE.



Of course Juliana Hatfield covered this song, too.  Go over to Totally Covered and check that out!

26 March 2018 - Tove Lo - Disco Tits

I've got to be honest.  I've been hesitant to write a post about this song.