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Pop Rock Nation

Category: New Music

  • Back from Europe!

    Back from Europe!

    Hello folks! Bill and I are back from Europe!

    We had a fine time mostly in France, but also in Germany. I’ve been blogging like a fool for the past few days! On many of my trips, I’ve come home with new music. I find street musicians who are talented and deserve to be heard. This time, I didn’t find any street musicians whose music particularly moved me. Instead, my musical ear worm came from a video I happened to see posted on a blog post linked to Facebook. One of my friends is a militant atheist and he shared a hilarious blog post about the worst Christian videos of all time. Naturally, I had to read the post and watch the videos. Three out of the five highlighted ended up intriguing me so much that I kept watching them throughout our trip through France. I suppose I should be ashamed that now my memories of France are linked to a ridiculously catchy song by Sonseed, a Roman Catholic band that existed in the late 70s and early 80s and spawned one viral YouTube hit, thanks to an old videotape of an obscure religious show in New York.


    This video got into my head in a big way during our travels. It’s hilarious in all the wrong ways!


    About twenty-six years after the above video originally aired, Sol Polichetti, the bassist who wrote this song appeared in a club and recreated the magic.

    I also got obsessed with this very bizarre video by adherents to “The Way”, a rather culty group that I know little about. The video below doesn’t make me want to join up, though it did prompt me to find out more about the faith’s beliefs.


    The dancing in this video is just… too much.

    The video below is so true to the original that I can’t help but notice that the people who created it were obviously fans of the original…


    Oh my dear lord…

    Aside from becoming obsessed with these bizarrely cheesy Christian music videos, I did listen to quite a bit of my own music on my iPod… stuff I’d had on my iPod for ages and never got around to reviewing. There were a few times I couldn’t do much of anything but listen to music, like when we were on the very long flight back to the United States. I discovered some new songs that I’ll need to add to my playlist.

    I probably should have taken the time to listen to more French music while we were there. I have a great album by Laura Fygi (who is actually Dutch). I found it courtesy of an Epinions review a couple of years ago, written by a fellow top music reviewer on that now defunct site. Maybe I should have taken more time to familiarize myself with the music of France.


    Laura Fygi sings “Autumn Leaves” in French…

    I did get exposed to a lot of French pop and also Michael Jackson’s latest song, “Love Never Felt So Good”.


    Michael Jackson is still very popular in Europe.

    I wish I’d found someone to buy a new CD from while we were traveling, since I find that music is one of the best souvenirs on trips abroad. But at least I’ve been exposed to the previously obscure Sonseed, which created a song that makes me smile really big.

  • Music survey…

    Music survey…

    This morning, I had an interesting experience while taking a music survey…

    And I didn’t take the survey because I write about music. I actually took the survey because I am a member of MySurvey.com, which is a site where members take surveys and earn points that can be traded in for cash or gift cards. I’ve been on MySurvey.com for about ten years and it’s been an interesting experience. Sometimes I test products. Sometimes I watch videos or commercials, then answer questions. Sometimes the surveys are really boring and tedious and sometimes they’re pretty interesting. This morning’s survey was one of the cooler ones.

    The first thing I liked about the music survey was that it was visually very appealing. It used bright colors and graphics, which I found engaging and exciting. I was asked about a variety of popular music artists, everyone from Andrea Boccelli to Lady Gaga. The questions on the survey asked if I had ever heard of them, liked their music, or owned their music. I was asked if I bought CDs, downloaded albums, or listened to “free” music sources like Spotify. I was even asked if I used a peer to peer music service like the old Napster. Next, I listened to fifteen music samples from a variety of different artists– everything from reggae to modern country. I heard a few folks for the first time that I actually really enjoyed. In fact, I found that I liked a lot of the music that was sampled, even though I’ve fallen out of touch with really mainstream pop music. Another part of the survey was about how much of certain types of music I own and whether or not I ripped CDs owned by other people.

    I noticed that the people who made the survey were probably British, based on the language they used and the way they spelled some words. And I noticed that they seemed to be pitching U2 and Lady Gaga…


    As this classic U2 song played during the survey, I realized how awesome and iconic U2 is… But maybe that’s just because I’m old.

    Those two artists got several clips dedicated to them.

    I’m sure the music survey I took this morning is about finding out what people like and what people are willing to buy. For me, it was kind of an interesting discovery process. I kind of wish I had written down the names of a couple of the singers I was introduced to on the music survey, even though they seem like they might be a bit trendy for what I usually like. But then, I don’t pay attention to what’s hot as much as I do to what I like. If I’m somewhere out and about and hear a song I like, I use Shazam to find out what the title is and who’s singing it.

    I don’t often enjoy the surveys I take on MySurvey.com, though I have made some money and scored some freebies doing them, which makes it worthwhile for me. I hope they send me more music surveys, though. This morning’s experience was very intriguing. It makes me realize that I probably ought to turn on the radio more often.

  • New discovery! Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana!

    New discovery! Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana!

    Zucchero “Sugar” Fornaciari’s La Sesion Cubana gives me a taste of Havana!

    One of the greatest things about being a music blogger is that I occasionally get to discover artists and promote them. Italian rock star Zucchero “Sugar” Fornaciari has been around a long time, but I just discovered him days ago when I scored a promotional copy of his latest album, La Sesion Cubana. I really knew nothing about Zucchero when I agreed to review this album, but was impressed by his Latin flavored cover of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”, a song that was originally a hit in 1980. Since I am a sucker for retro hits from the 70s and 80s, I wanted to hear more of Zucchero’s music.

    I played Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana for the first time on Sunday afternoon. As soon as the music started, I immediately felt like dancing. This album was obviously a labor of love for the Italian blues-rock singer, who has long dreamt of recording in Cuba with the best native musicians in Havana. The end result is a fun mix of Latin, Cuban, Tex-Mex, and Mexicali sounds that practically beg you to get to your feet. This album was released on February 18, 2014 and includes music recorded live at the Legendary Concert in Havana, Cuba on December 8, 2012. La Sesion Cuba features seven brand new songs and six newly arranged versions of Zucchero’s previously released European hits.

    My deluxe copy of La Sesion Cubana includes a DVD. As much fun as it is to just listen to the CD, watching the DVD really adds to the experience. Zucchero and his band have a lot of fun with their live performance, which includes festive backup singers dressed in colorful Cuban inspired costumes. I enjoyed watching the horn section accompany Zucchero’s soulful singing, and the acoustic guitar player’s fingers nimbly dance across the guitar strings with intricate Latin infused melodies. The DVD is a treat for the eyes as much as the music is a gift for the ears.

    Interspersed within concert footage, there are video clips that depict Cuban people and the complexities of life there. Besides the docufilm, the DVD also includes bonus videos for two songs, “Never Is A Moment” and “Quale Senso Abbiamo Noi”. Though you can purchase the CD or download alone, the deluxe CD/DVD package is definitely worth it– you get more than two solid hours of entertainment and the pleasure of watching Zucchero perform with his excellent band.


    Zucchero sings one of his new songs, “Guantanamera (Guajira)”. Try to sit still for this one!


    Zucchero’s haunting cover of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”, a song that was originally made popular by The Korgis in 1980.

    Zucchero actually first covered “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” in 2004, when he performed it as a duet with Vanessa Carlton. The version on La Sesion Cubana is a new one, performed as a solo with subtle Latin accents.


    Zucchero performs “Pana”.

    The song “Pana” features Spanish singer “Bebe”, who adds even more spice to this very saucy number. I’m listening to this song in my office this morning and I have to admit, it’s getting the blood flowing! The music is so festive and energetic that I can’t help but wake up and greet the day. I am especially impressed by the high octane horn section on this song.


    “Ave Maria No Morro” is an inspirational duet with Brazilian star, Djavan.

    I really enjoy the soulful collaboration of Zucchero and Djavan, another artist with whom I was not acquainted before I listened to La Sesion Cubana. The slower, more emotional sounds of this song nicely complement the lively salsa rhythms on the rest of this album.


    By contrast, there’s the very frisky “Baila”, which I think is my favorite song on this album!

    “Baila” is remade Latin style for La Sesion Cubana and from the looks of the way the audience reacts to it, I think it’s a hit! This song reminds me a little of something I might hear by Santana.

    While La Sesion Cubana is my first taste of Zucchero’s music, I can say without hesitation that it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed La Sesion Cubana and now I want to hear more by Zucchero! It gets five stars and a hearty recommendation from me!

    If my review has turned you on to Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana, you should try to catch him live. He’s on tour in the U.S. and Canada this spring!

    I received a complimentary copy of this album in exchange for my honest opinion of it.