At 66 years young (I hate when people say that, so why did I?) The B-52's songstress Kate Pierson is finally releasing her first solo album. I have loved The B-52's, and specifically Kate, for as long as I can remember. My first experience was their amazing 1986 single Summer of Love, from Bouncing Off of Satellites, and I have been hooked ever since. Kate has been thinking about a solo record for years and now we get the pay off. Guitars and Microphones is energetic and lovely, full of Kate's one-of-a-kind harmonies and very personal. Three of the songs on the album are co-written by super-hitmaker Sia and she also co-executive produced by her as well. The result is luscious, fun and wonderfully wacky and addictive. Bring Your Arms, co-written by Sia, is a contemplative, emotional song about looking for support as we travel through life. Second single Mister Sister got a lot of (undeserved) controversy when Kate said she wanted it to be a "trans anthem", but Huffington Post added [gender] after trans, completely changing what Kate meant. She then was, of course, attacked by people who made assumptions about what she meant without researching Kate's history with the LGBT community . She responded in an open letter:
"I was just trying to use "trans" as this kind of umbrella term meaning anyone in the gender spectrum. It was definitely not about specifically a transwoman. It's really about a little boy who wants to play with his inner girl. He could be a future drag queen or a future transwoman, or it could be about a girl who feels betrayed by the mirror....The B-52s have spent our whole career fighting for rights of people who feel different or LGBT, the whole gay community, you know."
Anyway, that's not what this post is about. This post is about the incredible work that Kate has finally, in the sixth decade of her career, putting out for those of us who have been waiting all these years. The sensational ballads Crush Me With Your Love (the title of which Kate's partner Monica came up with) and Pulls You Under show a side of Kate we have never been able to see with The B-52's, and she doesn't disappoint with the adorably jaunty title track or the "we're all special" anthem Throw Down The Roses. I would say, without a doubt, Guitars and Microphones is well worth the wait. Check out Bring Your Arms and Mr. Sister below.
WOOHOO!!! Wanna take a peek at some man-cheek? Here's your chance. Madonna just can't help herself. She HAS to give us what we want. Madge's second single from her last album, MDNA, was grossly underappreciated but that didn't stop her from releasing one of her most glamorous, sexy videos in years with Girl Gone Wild. The electo-pop track's clip was directed by fashion photogs Mert and Marcus and features a bevy of studly men worshiping at the feet of the Queen. Madonna's looks amazing (obviously) and works it in some very high heels. What better way to get your ass moving on a freezing Friday than by looking at some ass. Am I right, ladies? Here is the excellent Girl Gone Wild. AND don't forget, Madonna's new album, Rebel Heart, comes out March 10th!!!!
There was a rash of teen pop princesses in the mid-80s due to the success of Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, but one who is much overlooked was the incredibly talented Martika. Martika became famous for being on the very popular Saturday morning show Kids Incorporated. K-I-D-S! After appearing on the show for two seasons, Martika signed to CBS records and put out her first album Martika. The song Toy Soldiers shot to #1 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1989. Two more songs from that album hit the top 40: More Than You Know (#18) and the Carol King cover I Feel the Earth Move (#25). Martika was a pop star. Her next album, Martika's Kitchen, had several songs written with or by His Purple Badness, Prince, who approached her in 1991 about a collaboration. One of the songs that resulted of their work together, Love...Thy Will Be Done, became a top 10 hit in the U.S. and kicked off the album. Also coming from that collab was the song Martika's Kitchen, which is a thinly veiled song about (in true Prince form) Martika's vagina. Of course. And it's ah-mazing! (watch it below) Subsequent singles from the album failed to match that success in the U.S., but the album did much better overseas. Not much happened after the second album for Martika, sadly. Her voice and style were very unique, not to mention how pretty she is, and I still play those old songs sometimes. Toy Soldiers went on to be famously sampled by Eminem on his 2004 top 40 song Like Toy Soldiers. Martika still writes and sings backup for other artists, but her mark on pop music has been made. Enjoy some classic Martika below.
Creator Ryan Murphy and FX have announced that Lady Gaga, Mother Monster herself, will be starring in Season 5 of American Horror Story. There is no world yet on what Gaga will be playing, but it seems like the fit is a no-brainer, right? Gaga is no stranger to acting having already appeared in Machete Kills, Sin City 2 and Men in Black 3. Here is hoping for a better season of AHS. I think it's a safe assumption that there will be singing. AMIRIGHT, LADIES?
Lana Del Rey has a thing for daddies: sugar and otherwise. Here is the video for the second single, Shades of Cool, from last year's Ultraviolence, one of the best albums of 2014. In the video Lana and her father lover are taking in the sights and sounds of their luxurious California life together and things get sexy and intense. The song and the video are gorgeous, as per usual with Del Rey's visual output. Watch and love.
Giuliana Rancic has come forward to formally apologize for remarks she made last night during Fashion Police on E! about singer/actress Zendaya's braids on the red carpet at the Oscars. The E! host said of Zendaya's hair that she must have "smelled like patchouli oil or....maybe weed" which set off a firestorm on twitter and all over the internet. To be fair Kathy said "weed" before Giuliana got it out, but anyway... While I know that Giuliana was just trying to be funny, as Fashion Police is often politically incorrect, I can see where some might think associating braids with this type of activity could be construed as racist. Giuliana apologized on tonight's E! News. Watch the video. She seems sincere and the show has a relationship with Zendaya, so I hope this settles things once and for all.
....Careless Whisper by Wham! ft. George Michael. This song, as evidenced by the "featuring George Michael" added to Wham! showed that, although relatively new to American audiences, the band was not long for this world. Included on Wham's second album, Make It Big, Careless Whisper is technically George's first solo single, though it was written by Michael and band mate Andrew Ridgeley. It's complicated, y'all. Don't ask. ANYHOO....the song was a huge success, hitting #1 in both the US and the UK and about twenty-something other countries, going on to sell six million copies worldwide. The song spent three weeks and #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and wound up the #1 song of 1985 at year's end. Work, girl! The video is typical 80s fodder with a feather-haired George Michael distraught over the end of an affair...with a woman. It WAS the 80s, after all. The song has been covered by everyone and their vagina since and is easily one of the biggest songs of the 80s. Wham!, of course, broke up and George Michael went on to a massive solo career and some carless whispers of his own in a lot of bathrooms in L.A. So take a listen to the #1 song from this day 30 years ago, Careless Whisper by Wham!
I always knew she had it in her. Lady Gaga glided onto the Oscar stage last night and gave a career defining performance of a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. Dropping all costumes and gimmicks and relying solely on her beautiful voice, Gaga not only hit the notes but gave a wonderfully emotional performance of the classic show tunes. Dame Julie Andrews herself came out on stage after and approved of Gaga's performance. Doesn't get much better than that, now does it? Lady Gaga is currently working on the follow up to 2013's ARTPOP with former collaborator RedOne and disco legend Giorgio Moroder. Can't wait!!! Check out the lovely performance below.
Taylor Swift has released my fave song from 1989, Style!!! It's about time, girl. The video for the third single from the album is very artsy and sexy, but some are complaining it's boring. WHAT? What did you expect? Taylor jilling-off while sitting a giant picture of Zac Efron's face? Actually that sounds kind of awesome, but replace Taylor with Zack Efron on his own picture. That's the boner-maker. Amiright, ladies? Anyway, here is the sexy new video for Style. Enjoy.
Because it's freezing balls in NYC, I thought a nice, warm, sun-soaked Madonna video would be appropriate for today. Madonna's third single from her Like a Prayer album was quite a gem. Cherish is a tribute to those sweet sounding girl groups from the 60s, much like the song True Blue before it. The song was released August 1, 1989, eventually peaking at #2 on the Hot 100 and becoming Madonna's 16th consecutive top 5 single, 17th top 10. Definitely one of Madonna's sweeter songs, Cherish is all about love, comparing the lovers in the song to Romeo and Juliet, but better! The video is in simple black and white, shot on the beach by famed photographer Herb Ritts. Madonna is joined by a bevy of hot, hunky mermen, including her boyfriend at the time Tony Ward (hot hot hot. see here). The song stands the test of time and is as fun to listen and sing along to as it was in 1989. Enjoy Cherish by Madonna.
The Go-Go's initial run of success may not have been too long, but wow did they make an impact and change the game. To this very day they are the ONLY all female group to write their own songs and play their own instruments to top the Billboard charts. I know what you're thinking: HELLO!! THE BANGLES!! But no. The Bangles did not write either of their #1 hits and none of their albums hit #1, so suck me. Anyhoo....The Go-Go's were formed in 1978 by singer Belinda Carlisle, guitarist and vocalist Jane Wiedlin, bassist Margot Olivarria and drummer Elissa Bello. Olivarria and Bello were not long for the band and were replaced by lead guitar and keyboard player Charlotte Caffey and Gina Schock on drums, and guitarist Kathy Valentine. The band started getting traction playing famous L.A. venues like Whiskey A Go Go andThe Masque. The band signed to I.R.S. records in 1981 and released their debut album, Beauty and the Beat. The album was a sudden surprise hit, topping the US charts for six weeks and going triple platinum by 1982. The girls were off and running as America's sweethearts. Their singles We Got the Beat (#2 US) and Our Lips Are Sealed (#20 US) shot up the charts as the album sat at #1. They were nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys that year, losing to Sheena Easton. Their follow-up album, released just one year later, was Vacation. Though it sold less than it's predecessor, Vacation went gold and contained the top 10 title track. By the time their third album, Talk Show, was released in 1984 behind the scenes drama including in-fighting and drug abuse were beginning to tear the girls apart. Talk Show did manage to produce one of their most enduring hits with Head Over Heels (#11 US) and a minor hit Turn To You (#32 US) with a gender-bending video. Wiedlin was the first to leave the group in the fall of '84 citing her dissatisfaction with not being allowed to sing lead on their albums. She was replaced, but soon after Schock and Caffey left the group and it seemed that was it for The Go-Go's. The original line-up reunited in 1990 to play a benefit concert. They gelled again and played some more dates upon the release of their greatest hits set, recording a cover of Cool Jerk by The Capitols for the album. 1994 brought about a two-disc set Return To The Valley of The Go-Go's that included three new tracks, including The Whole World Lost Its Head (#21 US Modern Rock, #108 Bubbling Under charts) which became the band's first and only top 40 UK hit, making it to #29. The band toured again and then separated for a few years. 2001 saw the return of the group with its first new album of new material since 1984, 17 years earlier, God Bless The Go-Go's. The album was a critical success, hit #57 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, Unforgiven, co-written by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, hit #22 on the Adult Top 40 chart. The band continues to tour to this day, though Kathy Valentine left in 2013, suing the band for "breach of fiduciary duty and abuse of control...in an attempt to deprive [her] of her position and interest in the group, including her right to receive her full one-fifth, 20% share of the benefits and revenues generated by the group substantial reputation, fame, and goodwill." Yikes. Of course, Belinda Carlisle has had a very successful solo career over the years and the other members have had varying degrees of success, but The Go-Go's will always hold their place in pop music history as pioneering ladies of pop. Here are some of my fave hits of The Go-Go's for you to enjoy. Love these women. Rock on!!
Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair. Who were The Wild Pair and why were they played by MC Skat Kat in the video. Was that cat actually into scat? Great mysteries of pop. Anyway, by the time Opposites Attract was released in 1990, Paula Abdul was a superstar and her album Forever Your Girl was H U G E! Opposites attract was the SIXTH and final single from the album and its FOURTH No. 1!! Hot damn! Paula went all out on the video, mixing live action and animation as inspired by Gene Kelly's movie Anchors Aweigh. The video won a Grammy award for Best Short Form Music Video. Opposites Attract took the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 10, 1990 and stayed for three weeks. The song and the video became one of the first big hits of the 1990s. Anyway, here is the #1 song 25 years ago today, Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul.
In case you missed it, Annie Lennox showed everyone how to sing it from the kitty on The Grammys last night. Accompanied by Hozier (do they make pantyhose?) Lennox tore into her version of I Put A Spell On You and, well, did just that to the audience. Her vocals, at the tender age of 60, were absolutely the strongest and most impressive of the night. The old gal still has it, and then some. Watch her command the stage in a performance they outshines everything Mr. Kardashian did in his entire career. Enjoy and if you don't have her latest album Nostalgia, get up off your patootie and get it NOW!!
In case you missed this performance at the Grammy awards last night, here is Sia performing her amazing single Chandelier with help from Maddie Ziegler and none other than Kristen Wiig. Kristen really goes for it too and the result, in my opinion, is quite moving. Sia, as usual, faced away from the camera as she has done for all the performances for her album 1,000 Forms of Fear. Her voice is so powerful that she doesn't have to face the audience, y'all!! Enjoy the excellent performance below.
Following her royal performance of Living For Love on the Grammys last night (see below) Madonna gave yet again to her loyal subjects and released three additional songs from her upcoming album Rebel Heart. The anthemic and melodic Hold Tight has a driving beat and a soft delivery from Madonna. It's about holding on to the people/person who is always there to support you. Joan of Arc finds Madonna responding to harsh critics over an acoustic guitar. Sure, it may at first seem like a "poor famous person" song, but what Madonna is talking about is, despite her confident public persona, she too can be hurt by ugly words. "I'm not Joan of Arc, not yet. I'm only human." Iconic features Chance the Rapper and an unlikely spoken word part by Mike Tyson. Might sound pretty random (and maybe it is) but it fits with the come-out-swinging attitude of the hard-hitting track. So we are now nine songs into the nineteen tracks off of Rebel Heart and it sounds like it's turning out to be her most vital and urgent in years. 56 and still nailing it. Watch Living For Love from the Grammys below.
Madonna was still pretty new on the scene when Live Aid happened in 1985, but there she was with Tina, Mick, David, and every big name on the planet, commanding the stage and having a great time for a good cause. Bette Midler comes out to introduce Madonna and makes some jokes at her expense, but it's all in good fun. Madonna takes the stage, fresh from the recently released nude pics that she never consented to, FULLY covered up despite the 95 degree temperature and declares at one point, "I ain't taking shit off today! You might hold it against me ten years from now." Ha. Oh, Madge!! We'd see a lot more of you after that, girl. She then takes the crowd on a rousing romp with Holiday and her then-latest single Into the Groove followed by future True Blue track Love Makes the World Go Round, where she is joined by Nile Rodgers and Thompson Twins. Work, Queen! You can see that, even early in her career, she was perfectly comfortable in front of the crowd of 100,000 people. The rest is history. Watch an early live 22-minute performance by the Queen of Pop and have a great Madonna Friday!
Madonna has become the first major aritst to debut a video on the app Snapchat. Always ahead of the game, Madge premiered the video for Living For Love, the first single form her upcoming album Rebel Heart, yesterday on the social app in the "discovery" section. Now I am NOT going to post a crappy copy someone video'd off of Snapchat for you on here. I have too much respect for The Queen, but other have posted it and it's good, y'all! Madonna takes the role of matador -- Matadorna? I tried -- and wrangles a bunch of shirtless "bulls" around her. The clip is directed by the French duo Julien Choquart and Camille Hirigoyen, also known as J.A.C.K. I'd say the 56-year-old lady is still the sexiest bitch on the block. No word yet on when the video will be available for download, but Rebel Heart is coming March 10th. CAN'T WAIT!!
One of the biggest, quirkiest British bands to invade the US during the 1980s were Thompson Twins. Named after the detectives from the The Adventures of Tintin comics, the group actually consisted of three members: Tom Bailey, Joe Leeway and Alannah Currie. The group formed in 1977, but their big break didn't come until 1981 when the song In The Name of Love hit #1 on the US Dance Chart. More mainstream success came in the UK with their 1983 album Quick Step and Side Kick and the UK top 10 hits Love on You Side (#7 UK) and We Are Detective (#9 UK). It also placed their first song on the US Hot 100 when Lies hit #30. Their next album, Into the Gap, released in 1984, would prove to big a huge international hit, placing Thompson Twins in the top 10 in the US and UK with the undeniable classic Hold Me Now (#3 US, #4 UK) and vaulting Doctor! Doctor! (#11 US, #4 UK) up the charts. Another hit from Into the Gap, and one of my personal favorites, You Take Me Up was their biggest UK hit to date (#2) but just missed the top 40 here (#44). It was also during this time that the group contributed the song If You Were Here to the soundtrack of the John Hugh's Film Sixteen Candles. That song is played during the climax of the film and, IMO, fits so perfectly I want to cry thinking about it. There. I said it. Thompson Twins next album, 1985's Here's To Future Days, kept their streak of chart hits running in the US, but saw a slump in the UK. First single, the excellent and gospel tinged Lay Your Hands on Me, and the second single King for a Day both reached the top 10 in the US hitting #6 and #8 respectively, but only #13 and #22 in the UK. Don't Mess with Doctor Dream was released in the UK only and reached #15, but their cover of The Beatles' Revolution failed to reach the top 40. Leeway left the band in 1986 and Currie and Bailey continued on as a duo. They managed two more top 40 hits in the US; 1987's Get That Love (#31) and 1989's Sugar Daddy (#28) before the group disbanded in 1993. With a very distinct sound and look, Thompson Twins left an indelible impression on 80s pop culture and made music that stands the test of time for sure. So here are Thompson Twins biggest hits and some of my most beloved 80s pop songs. Enjoy!!
Jimmy Fallon has a knack for bringing people together and the cast of the camp classic kids show Saved By The Bell are no exception. Jimmy revealed on The Tonight Show that he went to school in Bayside and to prove it he did a flashback. Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and even Mr. Belding himself, Dennis Haskins, join Jimmy for some early 90s nostalgia and a little bit of fun and surprises. Watch and adore. I guess Lisa Turtle was at the mall.
Is this a tease of the video for Living For Love, the first single from Rebel Heart, or is this a tease of her upcoming Grammy and BRIT award performances...or all three!!!? Whatever it is, it looks cool. You can hear people cheering on the dancer featured and there is a mirrored effect on the video, so anyone's guess is as good as mine. Anyway, here it is!! Rebel Heart is released in the US on March 10th. The Grammy Awards are this Sunday at 8 PM on CBS and the BRIT Awards are February 25th.
This is what sexy looked like in the 80s: Oversized earrings, big hair, MTV realness and a lot of dancers in very little clothes. Sheena Easton started off as a good girl with songs like Morning Train, For Your Eyes Only and Telefone, but in the mid-80s -- and with the beginning of her "friendship" with Prince -- all that changed. First came the Prince-penned song Sugar Walls about...well....her...how do I put this delicately?...VAGINA, and then came The Lover In Me. Produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface at the height of their careers, the song was released in 1988, reached #2 on the Hot 100 and became her first top 20 hit in the UK after an eight year absence from that chart. The Lover In Me is one of Sheena's most successful and memorable singles of her career. Now sure, there's some pretty awkward dancing going on with Sheena, but she makes up for it by being FLAWLESS!! Anyhoo, here is the sexiest hit of 1988, The Lover In Me.
Tik Tok by Ke$ha. Though she has since dropped the "$" from her name, Kesha's hit Tik Tok stuck around and is still pretty great five years later. Kesha's debut single from her album Animal was a huge -- and I mean HUGE -- hit. The song was #1 for nine consecutive weeks, was named the Hot 100 song of the year and sits as the 56th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Chart. Not too shabby for the first time out of the gate. Tik Tok hit the top 10 of pretty much every chart on earth and taught us all that brushing your teeth with a bottle of Jack was just as good as toothpaste. By the way, 0 out of 10 dentists agree with that, so take it for what it's worth. Anyway, here is the #1 song from this week in 2010, Tik Tok by Kesha.
The Disco King, Giorgio Moroder, has a new album coming out soon title 74 Is The New 24 and its first single is the disco-lectric Right Here, Right Now with Kylie Minogue. It is a delightful romp that features ethereal vocals from the Aussie diva and enough electro-groove to get your frozen ass moving today. Check out the brand new clip below and watch Kylie be Kylie. Love!! No word on the official release date for 74 Is The New 24, but it will also feature collaborations with Sia, Britney Spears, and Charlie XCX, among others. Can't wait.
