Song of the Day - Home - Naughty Boy, featuring Sam Romans

Here's a nice, soulful tune by Brit deejay/producer/songwriter Naughty Boy, featuring singer Sam Romans.  The original version is nice enough, but this Fedde Le Grand mix is even nicer.  Happy Saturday!

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Bring Me Edelweiss - Edelweiss

Today's Song of the Day is one which I had completely forgotten about until the other day, when my friend Kyle unexpectedly uttered the word 'edelweiss' during a phone conversation.  He was trying to help a friend of his answer some sort of trivia question, and when he said the word my mind immediately traversed all the way back to 1988 and this song.  Oh the memories!  

I absolutely loved this one, which is a frenzied dance tune in the same vein as Art of Noise, if you remember them, with yodeling and all sorts of accompanying sound effects set to a dancey beat. What also made it so pleasant was that it took the melody from ABBA's S.O.S. in the song's tag...so if you really love me you should bring me edelweiss.   It was somewhat of a hit here in the States for this Austrian band, hitting the #7 spot on the Dance Charts and it sure was a hit in John's World back in the day!

Song of the Day - Cheerleader - OMI

Here's a reggae jam from an artist who calls himself OMI.  The song was released in 2012 and became a hit in several countries, but not here in the U.S.  That's too bad, because even though the context of the tune is a little silly, it's got a nice, summery feel to it.  So I'm just gonna play this one a couple of times today and imagine...

Song of the Day - Geronimo - Sheppard

Here's a song by Australian indie pop band Sheppard that I only recently discovered on, you guessed it, Spotify.  The tune was a big hit in their native Australia, where it was certified five times platinum, but it barely made a splash here in the U.S., peaking at #88 on the Billboard charts.  Well, I think it is deserving of a listen, so that's why I'm posting it here.  It's got a lot of energy and it's pretty darned catchy, too, so click play and check it out...

Song of the Day - When I'm With You - Stereo, AKA AKA & Thalstroem, featuring Shimmy Timmy

Here's a nice, chill/lounge/late night dance tune I just discovered on Spotify.  I've never heard of the artist, but I love the groove and the vocals and just everything else about it.  Check it out...

Fleetwood Mac: Together Again and On Top of Their Game

It wasn't a concert I was overly enthusiastic about going to, but I'm so glad I went.  For virtually anyone around my age, the songs of Fleetwood Mac were an indelible part of growing up.  Songs like Rhiannon, Go Your Own Way, Don't Stop, and so many more are permanently tucked away inside the furthest reaches of my brain, bringing forth fond memories of younger days.  So even though I was never a huge fan of the band, I always have been a fan, and when my friend Eric asked me to join him at Nassau Coliseum for what turned out to be a night of celebration, I was only too glad to join in.

Fleetwood Mac, in its present, reunited incarnation, first came together in 1974 and almost immediately they became a success with their first eponymous album, which produced the hits Say You Love Me and Rhiannon.  The road since then has been a tumultuous one, with lineup changes, departures and feuds, solo successes and such, but today the five-some of Stevie Nicks, Christie McVie, Lindsay Buckingham, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood have reunited once again for their On With the Show Tour, celebrating the return of Christie and a celebration of their 40-plus years together.

The evening was a beautiful thing to witness, a three-hour set of performances of all their great hits over the years and then some.  The band members were talkative and playful with the audience, and they really seemed to be enjoying their time together on stage, which made for a most enjoyable night. Buckingham was the most lively of the bunch, reminiscing fondly about how grateful he was for the all the days of Fleetwood Mac, and his enthusiasm showed in his performance, especially on the tune Big Love.    

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For virtually every song the band was spot on, from the comfortably cozy Dreams to the funky, head-bopping You Make Loving Fun to the uplifting Go Your Own Way.  One highlight for me was Stevie Nicks' rendition of a song I'd never heard before called Gold Dust Woman, from the classic Rumours album.  Stevie was like a woman possessed as she crooned and moved her way through the dark, slow moving groove.  I tell you, it was one of my favorite moments of the show and I'll be downloading this one as soon as I'm done with this post.

All in all, Fleetwood Mac provided about 16,000 people with a pleasurable walk down memory lane, and I couldn't help but feel grateful for having the opportunity to witness this great band back together again and on top of their game.  If you ever get the chance to catch them, definitely do so, and to whet your appetite, here's the setlist:

The Chain

You Make Loving Fun

Dreams 

Second Hand News

Rhiannon

Everywhere

I Know I'm Not Wrong

Tusk

Sisters of the Moon

Say You Love Me

Seven Wonders

Big Love

Landslide

Never Going Back Again 

Over My Head

Gypsy

Little Lies

Gold Dust Woman

I'm So Afraid

Go Your Own Way

(Encores)

World Turning

Don't Stop

Silver Springs

Songbird

And here's a clip of Gold Dust Woman from Atlanta, GA:

  

Song of the Day - Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

I took my love and I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills

Till the landslide brought me down

Oh mirror in the sky, what is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Better late than never, ay?  Today's Song of the Day is very late, due to unforseen circumstances and partially because of Fleetwood Mac themselves, but I couldn't miss a day.  Besides, this is a very special song, not only because it is beautifully written, but because it takes me to a point in my life, just like Stevie when she wrote it, of a harsh realization that would change my life forever... 

Well I've been afraid of changing

Cause I've built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Children get older

And I'm getting older, too

I take my love, and I take it down

I climb a mountain and I turn around

And if you see my reflection in a snow-covered hill

Will the landslide bring you down?

Song of the Day - Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

Tonight I will be heading to the Nassau Coliseum with my friend Eric to see none other than Fleetwood Mac.  Though I've seen Stevie Nicks in concert before, I am sure this one's going to be an entirely different kind of show and I am really looking forward to it.  Here's one of my favorite songs of theirs, and one of their biggest hits, in a video that I hope to be some sort of preview of what I'll be seeing this evening.  Stay tuned...

Song of the Day - Come Get It Bae - Pharrell Williams, featuring Miley Cyrus & Tori Kelly

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Here's a down home funky groove from Pharrell Williams that I completely missed last year. Thanks to Spotify, I've been lucky enough to find gems like this one, which features an uncredited Miley Cyrus and Tori Kelly on backup vocals. It's one of those tunes that ya love the first time you hear it. Check it out...   

Pink's You + Me Project - Meh!

Okay, I know that this is somewhat blasphemous (?) of me to say, but I just listened to P!nk's latest entire project, You + Me, and now I'm looking for a bridge to jump off of. I can't help but ask why?

— feeling confused.


That was a status I posted on Facebook just the other day. About a week ago, I finally obtained the entirety of P!nk's latest effort, a project with Canadian folk singer Dallas Green called You + Me, and I finally had a chance to listen to it. The album is called Rose Ave., and I just got to it now because probably like most P!nk fans, I didn't think it was as exciting as a follow-up to The Truth About Love would have been...and I was right.

I posted the debut single, You + Me, back in September upon its release, and though news of the tune and the project left me less than enthusiastic, I gave it a try and I liked it. I didn't love it, but it did grow on me after a few listens. Next came the follow-up single, Break the Cycle, which had the same style as the first. Not bad! Still, I never downloaded the album. I must've known something.

Finally the other day, my pal Sean let me download his copy of the whole record onto my iPod and a couple of days after, I took a listen...and hated it! My interest had been piqued when had told me that one of his favorite tunes off the project was a remake of Sade's No Ordinary Love, but I was less than impressed. Being the faithful P!nk fan that I am, I trudged through the long trek to work listening to the entire thing and yeah, it did make me want to jump off a bridge. Most of the songs had the same, slow, depressing sound and I'll probably never listen to it again.

So to P!nk, I apologize for saying all of this, because I do love you and I think that you are one of, if not the most talented singer/songwriter out there today, but I must. The Truth About Love was...is one of my favorite albums of all time, and this one...eh! Still can't wait for the next one, though!

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Centipede - Rebbie Jackson

Today's Flashback Friday is a tune I had long forgotten about, and then one day last week for whatever reason it popped back into my memory.  Wikipedia says it is the eldest Jackson sibling's highest charting single ever, though I don't know of any other song that she ever made. Centipede came out in 1984 and hit #24 on the pop charts.  It was written and produced by Rebbie's lil brother Michael, and features he, sister LaToya and The Weather Girls on backing vocals, a fact that I never knew.  Anyway, if you were around in 84, then you should certainly remember this one...