You see, today is the day that the Marvel Cinematic Universe returns from its forced pandemic hiatus, with the movie Black Widow. The title character is, of course, played by actress Scarlett Johansson, and it is a movie everyone wanted for YEARS.
What you didn't know you wanted was to hear her musical collaboration with Pete Yorn. Recorded in 2006, the album was not released until 2009 - the year before Iron Man 2 was released. Their collaboration was seriously good - and as much as I am making more Black Widow jokes than Captain Marvel jokes that I made yesterday, Scarlett Johansson is an excellent, nuanced vocalist.
Their album didn't do great in the States, but was certified gold in France. Here they are performing the song for French television in 2009.
In 2010, the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was released. With it came a pretty epic soundtrack. At the center of the film was a song called was "Black Sheep", by Toronto band Metric. This wasn't a new song of theirs - they had performed it live for years. The song, belted by Metric lead vocalist Emily Haines, was included on the soundtrack.
Here is the original version from the soundtrack. It's a great song in its own right.
This live performance of what is possibly their best known song from 2015 is absolutely amazing. Right?
If you have seen the movie, you know where this post is about to go.
You see, Emily Haines didn't sing the song in the movie. The song in the movie was performed by fictional band Clash at Demonhead - who were admittedly based on Metric - fronted by Envy Adams, who was played by real-life actress who can sing and future Captain Marvel, Brie Larson.
In 2010, Metric insisted that the original version, with Haines on vocal, be included on the soundtrack. As they should. It's their song. However, this made a lot of fans of the movie - and the Brie Larson vocal - very unhappy.
Fast forward to December 24, 2020. After much fan encouragement, Brie Larson released this video on her YouTube channel... I won't make you sit through the first 6 1/2 minutes....
Also, yes, those are sheep on her sweater..
Finally, in June 2021, Metric released the song as a single, accompanying an extended version of the film's soundtrack. There was much rejoicing and something of a resurgence in interest in the movie.... and it's still on the US Rock charts as I write this.
And no guitars. Some synth. But mostly percussion.
Just like every other Big Pig song.
In 1988, this song became the band's biggest hit worldwide, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and doing significantly better elsewhere in the world.
A lot of people like to request Smashing Pumpkins as posts on this blog.
What they don't know is that I was a fan from the very beginning. This song, one of the few the band still performs live from their debut album, Gish, was their second single - although the "single" was really the EP Lull. It remains to this day one of my favorite songs. It starts slow and quiet and builds to a frenzied wall of noise.
By the way, D'arcy isn't really throwing the ball backwards, people. It was filmed in slow motion and run backwards.
I did not choose a modern performance of the song for the live showcase. I *did* choose one from 1991, which highlights just how important D'Arcy's bass was to the band's sound. The song is more subdued than the original for a longer time, but eventually builds to the noise.
The most infamous song of 2020 is finally here on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.
The song itself was a huge hit worldwide, both commercially and critically, but let's look at it a little closer.
It is a collaboration between two women who rap, a field largely dominated by men. It is, in fact, arguably the biggest hit by two collaborating rap artists.
It is a very explicit song, almost to the point of absurdity. And, it is unapologetically so - neither of these women care if you're offended.
And the song is a true collaboration. As much as their music demands a bit of bravado, neither upstages the other.
Plus, the use of tigers in the video sparked a feud with Carole Baskin.... so, there's that.
I have to admit something.
I wasn't a huge fan of this song until I heard this mashup with "We Appreciate Power" by Grimes. Completely different song. Brilliant choice both titular (look at what that title spells) and musically.
Couldn't have pushed that up a little for me, Ella?
Well, people are already talking about it being the Song of the Summer. While it's still a bit early for that, the song is really cool and mellow. While it does bear a resemblance to the Primal Scream song "Loaded" (which yeah, we posted earlier this week), Primal Scream is surprisingly OK with it.
We may never do this again. It's a rare album that is worthy of such a focus and such praise. This is that rare album.
And, on this Canada Day, I chose an album that thoroughly celebrates a part of Canada.
At the beginning of June, I mentioned in a blog post an all-piano album that I could not stop listening to. I still can't. I first heard the album on its day of release, thanks to Spotify, and in fact listened to it more than once that day. I was on vacation and sitting in a hotel room, and... it hit me just right.
The artist is Cœur de Pirate, and the album is Perséides. It is, thus far, my favorite album I've heard this year. Clocking in at just over a half hour, it is 100% piano. There is no vocal. There is no other instrument I can hear.
This is a woman who, because of surgery, could (temporarily) not talk, let alone sing, and yet she found a way to compose, perform and release these deeply personal songs about places in Quebec that mean so much to her. It's truly magic.
If you are not able to hear the album using the Spotify link, here it is on YouTube. It is a playlist that starts from the first track:
