MADONNA FRIDAY: JUMP

First of all, I must preface this by saying this is my fave Madonna song of all time.... and that is not easy for me to pick, girl! Jump was the fourth and final single released from Madge's Confessions on a Dance Floor album on October 31, 2006. Time flies. Written by Stuart Price and Joe Henry (who is Madonna's brother-in-law, by the way), the song is about empowerment and, in line with the rest of the album, has an amazing upbeat, clubby vibe to it. Jump was often compared to Madonna's big, danceable 80s hits. It became her 37th No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and her 7th No. 1 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart (the one that REALLY matters), #1 on the Hot Dance Airplay chart and was also a highlight of the Confessions tour with the dancers jumping off platforms and swinging through an aparatus set up in the middle of the stage. I absolutely worship this song. I cannot gym without it. Enjoy the jaunty, lively video for Jump and I dare you not to shake your ass to it. I DARE YOU!

THE #1 SONG 25 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS....

......Vision of Love by Mariah Carey. Though Mariah has had her ups and downs..... and downs..... and downs over the years, she started off VERY strong with her first single and first of 18 #1 hits Vision of Love. Showing off her (then) powerful belt and stunning range, Mariah swept up the public, put them in her newly bought designer purse and vaulted up the charts to hit #1 on August 4, 1990 and stay there for four weeks with VOL. Her self-titled debut would produce three more #1s, but Vision of Love is a classic, y'all. I loved this song from the first moment I heard it. Here is the #1 song from 25 years ago this very day, Vision of Love by Mariah Scary Carey. Enjoy!

MADONNA FRIDAY: MADONNA'S #1 SINGLE FROM THIS WEEK IN 1992 WAS....

.....This Used To Be My Playground. Madonna scored a role in the 1992 Penny Marhsall movie A League of Their Own starring Geena Davis and it turned out to be one of her best performances. The film was a huge hit and Madonna's song that she recorded for the soundtrack hit #1 on the Hot 100 on August 8, 1992 and held the position for one week. This Used To Be My Playground is a beautiful ballad written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone during their Erotica sessions specifically for the film. It's one of Madonna's most loved and recognized ballads. Here is the #1 song from this week in 1992, This Used To Be My Playground. Enjoy! Happy Madonna Friday!

MADONNA FRIDAY: MADONNA MASH-UP WITH LANA DEL REY: FROZEN COAST

Madonna has had influence on many artists. I am not sure if Lana Del Rey counts Madge as an inspiration (although most female artists do), but this mash-up of Frozen and Lana's West Coast is dreamy AF!! They fit together so perfectly and their moods strangely meld to make a mesmerizing track. I would say that Lana's last album Ultraviolence does have just a tinge of Ray of Light in it's sound and general feel, so this makes sense. Now if only these two would record a song together!! Until then, here is your Madonna Friday offering, Frozen Coast. [source]

LANA DEL REY OFFERS LAST MINUTE SHOCKER IN 'HIGH BY THE BEACH' VIDEO

What you think is just another slow, pretty Lana Del Rey video turns out to be something quite different in the new clip for latest single High By The Beach. I already reviewed the song, so here is the video for you to enjoy. Stay with it. Lana's new album is due this fall.

MORE NEW DURAN DURAN: YOU KILL ME WITH SILENCE

Duran Duran continue to fucking KILL IT with their new output. First came the banger Pressure Off, then a couple of days ago the title track to their upcoming album Paper Gods (click links to listen), and today we get You Kill Me With Silence, a nod to the early mid-tempo New Wave sound of their early years. An eerie quality with bubbling syths laid over a pulsing bass line sets the mood for the new track and it's a good one. Listen and get ready for Paper Gods in September.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: TAYLOR DAYNE

There were many, many 80s ladies of pop music. Some have stayed with us, some have faded away, but few had the powerful voice to stick in our brains as Taylor Dayne. This bitch could S-A-N-G, y'all!! The native New Yorker started singing professionally straight out of high school and never looked back and released two singles under the name Les Lee (A version of her real name, Leslie Wunderman) on an indie label in 1986 before signing a major record deal in 1987 with Arista and releasing her debut album, Tell It To My Heart in 1988. That album produced four top 10 hits in the US and made Dayne an international recording superstar. It didn't stop there, queen. Taylor released Can't Fight Fate in 1989 which yielded three more top 10 hits, including the #1 Diane Warren-penned ballad Love Will Lead You Back, and a fourth top 20 single. 1993 saw the release of the critically acclaimed album Soul Dancing and a top 20 hit with the Barry White cover Can't Get Enough of Your Love. Even though this album contained, IMO, her best song ever (Send Me A Lover) it failed to connect with and audience on the same level as her two previous records. Taylor took a break for a few years and came back with Naked Without You and, even though she failed to make an impact on the pop charts, she scored two top 10 hits on the US Dance chart. From that point on Taylor Dayne was mostly a  dance music artist, but still maintains a presence on that chart to this day and putting a couple of top 40 hits on the US Adult Contemporary chart along the way. There is still a big place in the hearts of those who have heard and enjoyed her music, especially the late 80s/early 90s output. Listen to this voice and try not to ruin your panties. Here are some of Taylor Dayne's best and brightest, including an amazing live version of Send Me A Lover. Enjoy.

HUMPDAY SEXY SONG: LITA FORD

Lita Ford is a hot rocking mama. She began as a member of the all-girl seminal rock band The Runaways, along with Joan Jett, in the 70s and had solo success in the 80s with her glam-metal music and her pinup girl looks. Lita is no femme fatale. She is a very well respected guitarist, garnering recognition from many guitar and music magazines, and had a no-holds-barred attitude toward having it her way in the music biz. I'd say she's a pretty good example for all these younger chicks out there now. Anyway, here are Lita's sexy Humpday Sexy Song, Kiss Me Deadly. Try not to get too excited and hump a guitar in public. Rock!

Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly by soulsurvivor25

DURAN DURAN RELEASES TITLE TRACK TO PAPER GODS

Duran Duran are not fucking around, y'all! The boys MEN are bringing to funk so far with their upcoming album Paper Gods. The first single, the absolutely amazing Pressure Off (ft. Janelle Monae) is one of the freshest sounding singles of the year and the newly released title track featuring British recording artist and producer Mr. Hudson is a seven-minute funkified opus. Lead singer Simon Le Bon describes the song like this:

"I think paper gods can be all kinds of things. That’s why it’s the title track of the album. Money could be paper gods or photographs or memories. Paper gods could be people who stand up on top of the hill, telling everyone what to do, or the people who own the newspapers and tell them what to think, or people who stand on soapboxes telling people what to say. I like the ambiguity of it and the different way it can be interpreted....It’s obviously about modern life and attitudes. What I would say is that it’s not a criticism. I think a lot of people think it’s a rant. It’s not. It’s just an observation really."
Don't worry, it takes about a minute for the groove to kick in, then you get the full Duran Duran funk experience. YES!! Can't wait for the album in September.

NEW LANA DEL REY: HIGH BY THE BEACH

Lana Del Rey is amping up the release of her next album Honeymoon and here is the second, very different single from the album, High By The Beach. The first and title track from the album was more of an orchestral situation, High By The Beach calls back to her first album Born To Die with it's hip hop beats and subtle synth backing track. I like! This is not a big surprise as Lana has stated that her new album will have a sound similar to Born To Die and it's extension Paradise. I'm excited for the new music!!!

JOANNA NEWSOM TO RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM IN OCTOBER. LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE

Avant-garde folk goddess Joanna Newsom is set to return with a new album, Divers, in October and has released its first single and video Sapokanikan. Her distinctive voice in tact, Joanna's new album was announced by her label Drag City today and the release date is set for October 23rd. I can't wait!! Her last album, Have One On Me, was truly spectacular and Joanna is one of the most unique voices in music today. Check out Sapokanikan below.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GERI HALLIWELL!! HER GREATEST SOLO HITS

For this Throwback Thursday let's take a look at some of the solo work of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. I mean, she was the best one. Everything fell apart without her, right? Geri left the other Girls in 1998 amid a media frenzy and started releasing her solo music the following year. Her debut solo album, Schizophonic, only hit #4 on the UK album charts, but ended up being a huge success, going double platinum in the UK and producing four top 10 hits, three of which hit #1!! Not too shabby, bitches. Her second album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, started off with a bang when her cover of It's Raining Men shot to #1, but the album stalled at #5. Scream did produce two more top 10 hits though and eventually reached gold status in the UK. After Scream Geri took some time off and didn't record again until 2005's Passion. Despite scoring a top 10 hit with the excellent disco track Ride It, Passion completely failed to find an audience, debuted at #41 on the UK album charts and quickly disappeared. Geri has made a couple of attempts at music since, but nothing has really come of it. I mean, this bitch has so much Spice money that she doesn't need to work another day in her life, so leave her alone!!! And, in case you were counting, that four #1 hits and eight top 10s!! How many do you have? Anyway, here are some of Geri's catchiest, cheeky-ist hits for your Throwback Thursday joy. Happy birthday, Geri!!!

Geri Halliwell - Look At Me. from Rokkit on Vimeo.
geri halliwell---chico latino by podalirius

THE #1 SONG 35 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS.....

....Magic by Olivia Newton John. After making a big splash with her film debut, Grease, Hollywood was anxious to get ONJ back in a big budget musical. Xanadu seemed like the perfect vehicle: it has modern elements, nostalgic elements, Gene Fucking Kelly and a great soundtrack. Well, all did not go well with the film, which, despite now being a cult classic, was one of the biggest flops of all time and considered one of the worst films in modern movie history, BUT the soundtrack was a huge success. Olivia hit #1 on the US Hot 100 with the song Magic from the motion picture soundtrack. It is one of her biggest, most recognizable hits and stayed at the top spot for four weeks in August of 1980. Even all those roller-skating freakshows couldn't tarnish a genuine hit, girl!!! It went on to be the third biggest hit of 1980 and Olivia's biggest hit until the release of Physical the following year. Magic is a great pop tune and a classic 80s cut and one of my favorite songs of all time. Here is the #1 song from 35 years ago today, Magic.

MADONNA FRIDAY: BEDTIME STORY

An inkling of what was to come from her Ray of Light album three years later, Madonna released Bedtime Story as the third single form her Bedtime Stories album and introduced the world to her electronic music glory. Co-written by Nellee Hooper, Marius De Vries and Bjork, Bedtime Story is an electro-ballad with hints of acid, house and ambient music tied in. The trippy, fantastic video, directed by music video auteur Mark Romanek, only upped the ante of it's Bjork-ishness and made for one of the most visually stunning works of Madonna's career. Though it just missed the top 40 in the US (#42), it was a top 10 hit in the UK and other territories and foreshadowed Madonna's massive Ray of Light incarnation that would catapult her back into critical and commercial success. It is most definitely one of the most unique singles of Madonna's career. Here is the trip-hop gem Bedtime Story. Happy Madonna Friday!

NEW KATHARINE MCPHEE: LICK MY LIPS

Relatively new. Don't know how I missed this coming out a couple of months ago, but it's too good to go unposted!!! Here is a new song from Katharine McPhee called Lick My Lips. Written by Florence + the Machine's Isa Machine and Sam Sparro, the song is giving me early 80s, pre-fame Janet Jackson, y'all!! Listen below and pass it on. She is looking HOT!!! Hysteria, McPhee's next album, is due in September.