Happy Sunday peeps! I was going through some older playlists and I came across this cool little dance number from about a year ago. The song stands well on its own, but this is one of those songs where the video makes it even better. So check out Out My Mind...
I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to this, but for those of you who are out of the loop, P!nk has two new songs AND a new album dropping April 26th. The second single, Hustle, just dropped Thursday and the lead single from Hurts 2B Human has already been out about a month. Here's the uplifting, foot-stomping Walk Me Home...
A couple of weeks ago, when I went to see Robyn at MSG, a friend asked me if it was Robin S. I understood the confusion, especially since they both had songs, in the 90's, called Show Me Love. Though my love for Robyn came much, much later, it was Robin S. whose Show Me Love still crowds dance floors whenever it's played. So here we go with that one. Enjoy...
Another day, another belated birthday, and another oldie but goodie! I tell you, I really should keep a better track on birthdays of music artists I like instead of waiting to see something on social media a day later. Ah well! Yesterday was the 49th birthday of one Ms. Mariah Carey and we celebrate with one of my favorite tunes, and videos, of hers. Featuring classic music from Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love and my very first roller coaster, the Dragon Coaster at Rye Playland, I could watch this one over and over again. Here's Fantasy...
I tell ya, it feels like oldies week here at John's Music World. First it was KISS, then The Verve, Queen, and now Diana Ross. I feel remiss that I didn't post a Diana song yesterday, for it was her 75th birthday. Like KISS, Miss Ross was one of my earlier musical favorites and she will always have a special place in my musical heart. Here she is performing one of her best hits of the disco era, the sultry, fun, dancey Love Hangover...
Well, I finally got to catch at least a little bit of Bohemian Rhapsody the other night at my mom's, most notably the end footage of the band's legendary performance at Live Aid back in 85. It's funny, but theirs (and Madonna's) performances are the only two that I clearly remember from that day. Of course when I got home from dinner I had to check out the real thing once again...it's been, ugh, 30 years plus. Such a great performance! Magical! Relive it here...
It's been 20 years since the release of the epic film, Cruel Intentions, with Sara Michele Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Ryan Phillippe, and I just saw it for the first time on Saturday. (I know, right?) Anyway, great movie, nice soundtrack, and this song played perfectly as the background to an epic ending. Here's Bittersweet Symphony...
It's funny, but two days after, I've still got KISS on my mind and especially this song, which they didn't even play the other night. I think that over the years, this one's become my favorite KISS song ever...I love the lyrics and the mood of the song and I especially love Peter Criss' raspy vocals. Once again, this time spotlighted, Hard Luck Woman...
Normally the day after I see a concert, I'll usually post a song from the artist I'd just seen (see P!nk, Lily Allen, Robyn, etc. etc. etc.) along with some commentary and maybe even a supplemental post on the show itself. Today, I thought I'd try something a little different...
You wanted the best, you got the best
The hottest band in the land,
KISS
Last night, I saw KISS, my very first musical heroes, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. It was to be their very last performance there. The band, who's been rocking and rolling for over forty years now, is taking a "victory lap" of sorts before unmasking it forever. The End of the Road Tour, which began in January, will see the band perform 105 shows on three continents through the end of the year and that will be it for these most master entertainers of the rock world.
I first discovered KISS way back in the late 70's. I was a kid of about 15 and my very first musical inclinations were definitively towards the rock side of the spectrum. The foursome of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and the personas they embodied were a wondrous way to go all in to a band and its music and everything in between.
Not long after I'd been inculcated into the KISS Army, my favorite band came to the Nassau Coliseum, and my mother was gracious enough to take me and my little brother. It was September 1st, 1979 and KISS was touring in support of their latest record, Dynasty. I came to the show armed with a special cardboard and aluminum foil KISS logo I had made for the occasion, as well as a fire hat to wear during the performance of their song Firehouse. This was my very first concert experience ever and looking back, wow was I lucky for that to have been my intro to what would become a lifetime of concert-going.
The disco era was in full rage and many KISS fans were upset over the album's debut single, I Was Made For Loving You, which many took as an affront to the hard-driving rock and roll the band was known for, but I didn't care. Maybe it was because I would soon change gears musically, but I loved the song...
In the years that followed, I discovered both my sexuality and Diana Ross, lol, and my interest in KISS began to wane. Being my first musical love, though, forever endeared them in my eyes and though I stopped listening regularly, every once in awhile I would pop them into either the tape recorder, the CD player, and on iTunes, and whenever they came to town, I would most always try and catch them.
When End of the Road was announce back in the fall, my brother immediately called to ask if I was interested in going. The answer was a resounding YES! Though the Ace and Peter are long gone and replaced by current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Carr, the magic of a KISS live show has not waned a bit. Having been a fan of them for, gulp, forty-plus years, I've come to expect the various parts of a show filled with fireworks and explosions, blood-letting and fire-throwing, Paul Stanley's iconic interactions with the audience and much, much more, it's still a spectacle that everyone enjoys and they have always loved giving their fans what they want.
The audience was filled with forty and fifty-somethings like myself, and like me, I'm sure they all came for the same reasons I did...their love of the band. We all got to experience two hours of non-stop multi-sensory entertainment and we all were loving it.
Though they didn't perform this next song last night, here's one of my favorite KISS tunes of all time. Written by Paul Stanley and sung by Peter Criss (and once covered by country sensation Garth Brooks!), it's one KISS song that is one of the best rock ballads of all time. Please enjoy Hard Luck Woman...
So a big thank you to KISS for the music, for the excitement and wonder, and most of all for the entertainment and joy you still bring to millions around the world. You will always have a dear place in my heart!
It's really hard to believe it's been that long, but this week Madonna's Like a Prayer turns 30. I remember the song's release like it was yesterday...lots of buzz, lots of controversy, lots of excitement. The song is still my favorite Madonna song of all time and I am only too happy to share it always. Here's Like a Prayer...
I'm not really sure whether I'd ever even heard of Vampire Weekend earlier than like a month ago, but they're one of my newest favorite acts. Just a coupe of weeks back I posted their great Harmony Hall, and now this newer song's gaining quite the buzz. Check out the smooth, cool Sunflower...
A few years back, in 2013, Dutch deejay/producer Afrojack put out an epic album of dance gems of all sorts which I played out pretty much all that year and beyond. One of my favorite tracks off of Forget the World was his remix of a beautiful tune by LA-based singer/songwriter Wrabel. Check out the beautiful Ten Feet Tall...
Former X-Factor contestant Bea Miller teams up with Grammy-nominated rapper 6LACK on this infectious, R&B track. This one's very smooth! Check out It's Not U It's Me...
Over the weekend, my bf hacked my Facebook, saying I was playing for the "other team," which got a lot of attention, though everybody who matters in my life already knew, but hey. Anyway, here's a cute lil song about that very subject. Check out The Other Team...
It's St. Paddy's Day and I wanted to play something bouncy and fun, so here's something that totally fits the bill. Check out KDA, Tinie Tempah, and Katy B with Turn the Music Louder....
It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Jonas Brothers reunited with a new single that's been so well received it earned them their very first Billboard Hot 100 single. Check out the catchy Sucker...
This superstar collaboration has taken too long to get onto this blog. A very welcome return of Katy Perry, along with super producer Zedd is most welcome. Here's 365...
John Mellencamp is one of my favorite artists of all time. I know that might sound hard to believe, considering the types of music I usually post here. Sure, dance/pop music is my favorite type, but being a former disc jockey and a lifelong music lover, I can work a dance floor like nobody's business, but I can also rock with the best of em.
Anyway, I remember going to see John Mellencamp at Jones beach in the late 90's or so. It is still one of the best concerts I've ever seen. So when I saw his name on my Spotify playlists yesterday, I hit play and jammed to it all, from the hard-driving Crumblin' Down and Paper In Fire to the boogie woogie of Wild Nights and of course, the Mid-American classic, the story of Jack & Diane...
Here's a recent discovery by new artist Big Wild, AKA Jackson Stell, whose debut album, Superdream, dropped just a few weeks ago. The tune 6's to 9's is a throwback, 70's-style, inspirationally groovy and oh so kinda dancey. I know I'll be keeping an ear out for this artist in the coming weeks. Check it out...
If you got something to do, do what's right for you
If you got somebody to love, give that love today
Know you got nothing to lose
Okay, soo I'm still on a Robyn high and I thought I'd share just one more tune from the Honey album. Send to Robyn Immediately is her latest single and also her show opener from the other night. Very cool, very chill, very late-night dancehall. Oh, and the video is hella cool! Check it out...
I was sort of ambivalent about going. My boyfriend had to work and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go it alone. But then again it was Robyn...
There's Madonna, there's P!nk, and then there's Robyn! These are three ladies, all of a different stature in the world of pop music, and Robyn surely holding the least, but none of these three are more dear to my heart than the other. Each of these ladies have had an indelible impact on the soundtrack of my life and so how can any of them visit my town and me not go see them? As the week wore on and Robyn's first ever visit to the "World's Most Famous Arena" drew closer, I became more and more excited at the prospect of watching once again what I believe to be pop music greatness in action. I bought myself a ticket yesterday afternoon and excitedly boarded the train into the city straight after my workday.
This was the third time I've seen Robyn in concert, and though each of the three concerts were very different, they were all great in their own way. Robyn has a knack for making pop songs that actually mean something. They're thoughtful and real, and the dance undertones of her music make her a very special entity in the pop/dance music world. During her over 20-plus years in the business, she has amassed quite a base of adoring fans, as evidenced in my Song of the Day post from this morning, and her energy and enthusiasm while performing is largely unmatched.
Back in November, Robyn announced the Honey Tour in support of her first album since 2010's monumental Body Talk series. The tour started and will finish in her native Scandinavia, but in between she included shows across the U.S., and her New York stop would bring her to Madison Square Garden.
I am not a professional concert-reviewer by any means, but I do what I can, and this headline from the NY Post's Chuck Arnold says it best. For more than two hours last night, a sold out crowd of Robyn's fans, including me, danced and sang along as if they were in the more intimate setting of a late-night club.
The Swedish songstress segued perfectly through the songs of Honey, blending them with tried and true favorites from Body Talk, 2005's Robyn, and even her 2015 collaborative dance floor jam with La Bagatelle Magique, Love Is Free, a definite highlight for me. Indeed, from the moment she entered the stage performing her new Send to Robyn Immediately/Honey, the crowd was on its feet, where it stayed until the very last of five encores.
The entire evening was a euphoric experience which by now has famously carried over into the subways after the show was over. Check out the two videos of impromptu dance parties down below MSG on Billboard.
Well, that's all I've got to say about my wonderful Friday evening. I can't wait till next time! Please check out some photos of the show, as well as the set-list below...
Send to Robin Immediately
Honey
Indestructible
Hang With Me
(Paola cover)
Beach2k20
Ever Again
Be Mine!
Because It’s in the Music
Between the Lines
Love Is Free
Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do (The Mekanism Remix)
I am basking in the afterglow of Robyn at Madison Square Garden in NYC last night and though I was going to post the lead single to the Honey album she is supporting on the tour, Missing U, I accidentally came across this video, posted by one of my fellow concert-goers after the show last night. It is a scene that gave me goosebumps and one which I recorded myself, not only because it is probably one of my favorite Robyn tunes, but the mutual adoration in the building between singer and fan was obvious. Of course this is not exactly the same as being there, but it's still pretty darned special! Here's Robyn and Dancing On My Own...
Tonight's the night...Robyn returns to NYC in support of Honey, her latest set of soon to be classics. It is Friday, though, and so we go way back...all the way back to the 1995 and the fabulous Show Me Love. Enjoy!
I don't know why, but all of these alternative bands have been piquing my interest lately. This new one by Kentucky-based band Cage the Elephant is just a good song, plain and simple. Here's Ready to Let Go...
In case you haven't heard this, alternative band Weezer recently put out a really cool album of cover songs. The Teal Album contains new versions of such classics as Toto's Africa, Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World, and several others. One of the coolest covers on the album is their version of A-ha's Take On Me, complete with a tribute-ish video to one of the most iconic music videos of the 80's, featuring the band Calpurnia playing a younger version of the band. Here's Take On Me...
Yet another former Fifth Harmony member hits the airwaves with a solo effort. Ally Brooks' debut single is quite catchy, don'tcha think? Check out Low Key...
Robyn. One of my favorite singers of all time is coming to the Garden this week, and I don't have tickets! After such a long wait for something new, we Robyn fans were finally rewarded last October with Honey, her first solo studio album since Body Talk, which is one of the most precious of gems in the soundtrack of my life.
Honey has been lauded as one of the best records of the year, and admittedly, I haven't given it the attention it deserves, neither in my listening habits or on this blog. But having her on the horizon in my neighborhood brings her back to my forefront and I'm going to pay her some attention now. Here she is, looking as fabulous as she's ever looked, performing the perfectly chill Ever Again, on the Ellen Show. Check it out...
Here's a relatively new tune by indie band Vampire Weekend from their forthcoming fourth studio album, Father of the Bride. Comparisons to Grateful Dead and Paul Simon have been made regarding this song, and I could see that, but still it's a unique in its own right. The pleasantness of this tune grew on me really fast, and if you don't know it, maybe it will on you too! Here's Harmony Hall...
The story of this song is very unique. Electronic duo Empire of the Sun recently celebrated the ten year anniversary of their debut Walking On the Sun with a vinyl release containing a bonus track called Chrysalis, which I absolutely love! Check it out...
Happy Friday...and Happy March! With each passing day we are one step closer to warmer weather and I cannot wait. It's a great day for a great song and today that would be Kelly Clarkson's classic, Since U Been Gone. Enjoy...
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