This record’s got a 90’s flavor with some influence from Marky Mark and The Prodigy thrown in. (He’s substantially less threatening, however.) And since we’re talking 90’s influences on a song, let’s acknowledge that the song is called “I Wish I Was A…” While he’s at it, he might want to wish he was a little bit taller as well. Fun, high energy tune.
Not crazy about the Auto-tune, but I’m willing to put up with it for a well-crafted song. No trails being blazed here; just a nice pop record.
Sarah Griffiths, also known as “Griff,” is an English singer/songwriter. Here, she teams up with musical duo Honne for a nice mellow feel-good record called “1,000,000 X Better.” The only thing I don’t care for is rhyming “now” with “now,” but I’ll let it slide. There’s a live version on YouTube that’s worth a listen as well.
If the family of Marvin Gaye can sue Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke and make them pay $5million for Blurred Lines because it replicates the “feel” of a song, then Pat Benatar could certainly go after David Guetta on this one. “Love Is A Battlefield” anyone? Both are great pop tunes. Guetta has proven his studio craftsmanship time and again and this record is no exception. It sounds just like my radio did in 1984, which is clearly what he was going for (and the video confirms this.) Speaking of copying ideas, the video is clearly borrowing from Ready Player One as the protagonist’s avatar interacts with with someone in a virtual online world who isn’t who they would purport to be.
Tiësto is back with another hitter. This record would not leave anyone wondering why Tiësto has been called the Godfather of EDM. Great song and a great video to go with it. Two disembodied thumbs up. 👍🏻👍🏻
Here’s a woman who is dripping with talent. She has excellent intonation, and expression. I couldn’t find out for sure whether she wrote this song, but if she did she’s got a tremendous ability there as well. If I had to offer her any advice, I would say be careful not to typecast yourself as an angsty teen. Relax, smile, and have a little fun once in a while. Hopefully we’ll hear more good stuff from her in the months and years ahead. You may like her cover of Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now.”
Tired of Taylor Swift’s narcissistic bullshit? Here’s a great pop tune and a great music video from Norwegian singer Dagny. I really like Backbeat too. Besides expertly written and produced pop records, Dagny has some other things going for her as well: she presents herself with class and doesn’t feel the need to act like a slut / stripper, she brings a wholesome, positive vibe with her genuine smile and friendly disposition, and thankfully she hasn’t yet foisted her politics on us (yet.) Hopefully she can stay on her current course which seems to be working quite well for her.
Here’s British singer Paloma Faith with a terrific vocal performance and a well-crafted song. I’m much more into music than I am music videos, so I rarely comment on music videos. But WOW this one is bad! She’s standing in front of a bunch of old TVs singing. The first thing I notice is how ugly her mouth is. Then I’m treated to random stock footage of civil unrest. Neat! Why? I guess the director didn’t think that was quite bad enough, so about half way in, her nose starts bleeding. She just continues to sing while blood trickles out of her right nostril and down into her mouth. Gross. I’m not sure what point they were trying to make here, but whatever it was I did not get it and have no desire to. I sure hope Palmoa Faith does a lot “better than this” on her next music video.
A sexy, down-tempo groove from Pvris and 070 Shake.
Nothing too ground breaking here, but a solid, melodic pop dance tune from British born Gracey who hails from Brighton.