I mentioned the “dog days” in last week’s column, but this week’s set of releases appears to be just as, if not more lame than the one that preceded it. Anyway, since we’re about making lemonade out of lemons here, here’s this week’s hotlist.
The cover of Conor Oberst’s self-titled new album.
Conor Oberst “Conor Oberst”-Since Conor Oberst basically is Bright Eyes, isn’t this a little like Trent Reznor making an album as “Trent Reznor”? I dunno. I can’t say that I know much about Bright Eyes except for the fact that the rock press loves him. Tons of friends have tried to get me into him on mixtapes and I just don’t get it. Too pretentious for me. But you can go ahead and like him. I won’t hate you.
Something even more embarrassing than getting caught soliciting an undercover cop?
A video from the early days of a popular singer/songwriter’s career that finds him sporting a white tee, a leather jacket, and no shoes…RAPPING.
While I’d been aware of Wham!’s “Fantastic!” album (and have owned it for years), I had no idea that a video existed for the duo’s first single, “Wham! Rap”, until my friend Dave alerted me of the fact a week or so ago.
If you need some comedy to start off your week, look no further, my friends.
How sad is it that George Michael circa 1982 raps better than most emcees on the charts today?
Those of you who are familiar with “Wham! Rap” will also notice that George re-wrote the lyrics for the single/video version.
Still shaking your head, huh? Don’t say that MHW has never brightened your day.
A year before she had her biggest hit with a cover of a Prince album track, the woman whose momma named her Yvette Marie Stevens joined forces with her old band Rufus for the last time and produced this electro-soul classic. If they were gonna go out, I guess why not go out with this, right?
Some of you may remember “Ain’t Nobody” from the movie “Breakin’”,which it made an appearance in after it’d already become a hit. What some of you may not know is that the song, which was written by Rufus member David “Hawk” Wolinski, was originally earmarked for use on “Thriller” by Quincy Jones (I can hear Michael singing it). However, Wolinksi decided to keep the song and use it as one of the two studio tracks on “Live-Stompin’ at the Savoy”. Add Chaka’s unusual phrasing and one of her most powerful vocals, you wind up with one of the best-loved songs of her career, although it’s chart position (#22 pop) wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. Nevertheless, the song won Rufus & Chaka a Grammy, and to this day, no Chaka concert is complete without it.
I did not realize this song had a video until, you guessed it, I popped over to YouTube earlier today. No big surprise that the rest of Rufus appears nowhere in this video. Nevertheless, witness Chaka in her full-fledged big-haired glory. And bust a move like Turbo and Ozone.
