It would be fair to argue that one of the defining attributes of Mary J. Blige as an artist is her passion. Whether it’s been channelled into songs of anguish, heartache and pain, and the understandable willingness to fight back, such as “Enough Cryin’”, or articulated in songs of Continue Reading
Music
Now this is music #20: Zendaya, Seinabo Sey, If You Say So, Dornik, Lifelike
Yes everything is beginning to look a LOT like Christmas but don’t forget it’s also sounding a lot like Christmas too! Now even if you love carols as much as I do, you’re still going to need a wee break from all the Christmas music so I have pulled Continue Reading
ABBA’s Ring Ring Deluxe Edition (history of the album + review)
After over 40 years in the public spotlight, it is easy enough to assume that ABBA were always ABBA, four talented Swedes who somehow emerged from the womb as a joint entity, their fates already intertwined, their birthright already sealed as the creators and purveyors of some of the Continue Reading
Not just for birthdays … Pharrell Williams wants you Happy all the time
I come across an extraordinary amount of songs as I graze across the vast new digital musical landscape but rarely does a song make me so euphorically, well, happy as Pharrell Williams new single, appropriately titled “Happy”. It is a joy to listen to, to dance to, to put Continue Reading
Now This is Music #19: Jonas Oakland, Layla, Ida Corr, Kele, Neneh Cherry
Though we’re almost on the cusp of wall to walls renditions of “Deck the Halls”, “We Three Kings” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” – all of which by the way is fine with me, the Christmas Addict – there’s still time for some funky, cutting edge pop music Continue Reading
Gather the children: What Does the Fox Say is going to be a kids book
Not content with their accidental novelty song “What Does the Fox Say?” clocking up 215 million views on YouTube, making it the biggest pop phenomenon on the planet since Psy’s über-popular “Gangnam Style”, and inspiring a host of affectionate parodies in the process such as the delightful one between Continue Reading
Can you hear the ABBA reunion talk Fernando?
ABBA are a unique group in many ways. The first true supergroup to emerge from Sweden, back in the 1970s when Scandinavia generally wasn’t regarded as the sort of place you looked to for emerging music trends (as opposed to the present where it stands head and shoulders with Continue Reading
Now this is music #18: Bombay Bicycle Club, Yeo, Glass Lux, Rainer, Diafrix
You would think that at the end of a very busy year – to be fair is there really such a thing as a quiet uneventful year ever? – that music releases would be slowly to a stately crawl, winding down to the enjoyable lethargy of the southern hemisphere Continue Reading
Hooray for Halloween #1: Funny or Die’s pop culture fright night
You think werewolves, and skeletons and goblins and vampires (oh my!) are truly scary? You don’t know scary! Wait ’til you’ve seen Billy Eichner and Rachel Dratch from Funny or Die, a “comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s production company, Gary Sanchez Productions” (wikipedia) go through Continue Reading
Now This is Music #17: Eleanor Dunlop, Chelsea Lankes, Odesza, The Royal Concept, Client Liaison
I love the modern age we live in. So much wonderful music from so many wonderful artists is available to us at the flick of a switch, so to speak, artists that we previously would never have come across unless we were possessed of infinite funds, time and indestructible Continue Reading