RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Here is a round-up of new music I'm feeling right now: Khalid and Normani team-up again (following their 2018 hit release, "Love Lies") for the latest single off the deluxe edition of his third album, "Sincere"; the new dance-charged song from Olly Alexander of Years and Years; the quirky sounds of the indie band, Japanese Breakfast and the first single from their upcoming fourth album; Sky Ferreira has finally resurfaced with a contribution to the soundtrack of Nicole Kidman's erotic thriller, "Babygirl" with an electro-rocker, "Leash"; the teaming of two of the hottest artists in hip-hop right now, GloRilla and Sexyy Red; and Adam Lambert is currently on Broadway appearing in the latest revival of the musical, "Cabaret" as the MC and has released his version of the torch song, "I Don't Care" from the show.













And here is a tribute to some music artists we have recently lost:

Brenton Wood, the r&b vocalist and songwriter best known for "The Oogum Boogum Song" and "Gimme Little Sign", passed away on January 3rd. He was born Alfred Jesse Smith in Shreveport, LA but grew up in San Pedro, CA. After deciding to pursue a career in music, he changed his name to "Brenton Wood" and broke through with the novelty song, "Oogum Boogum" he had written in 1967. It cracked the top-forty on the US pop chart and reached number nineteen on the soul chart. Wood would have an even bigger hit later that year with the follow-up, "Gimme Little Sign", becoming a top-ten hit in four countries. These two singles would remain the major highlight of Wood's long career as he continued making music throughout the following years. At eighty-three, Wood had embarked on what was planned as a final tour last year but became ill in May, forcing him to put the rest of the tour on pause.

Alfa Anderson, one of the vocalist for the disco group, Chic and later an educator, has died on December 17th at the age of seventy-eight. She first got into the music business performing background vocals for a variety of artists. Fellow back-up musician and friend, Luther Vandross helped get Anderson work during the recording sessions of a new dance music group created by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. They both worked on the band's 1977 self-titled debut, "Chic" and are heard on the background of the hit singles, "Dance, Dance, Dance" and "Everybody Dance". Following one of the original lead singers, Norma Jean Wright leaving the group, Anderson was asked to replace her. Along with fellow lead vocalist, Luci Martin, Chic would go on to have many more hits, including the number-one disco smashes, "Le Freak" and "Good Times" and the top ten hit "I Want Your Love" which Anderson performed the lead vocals. Anderson also worked on other Rodgers and Edwards productions at the time for Sister Sledge and Diana Ross. When Chic came to an end in 1983, Anderson continued to work providing background vocals for other musicians during recordings and on tour.

And Sam Moore, one half of the dynamic soul duo, Sam & Dave, passed away on January 10th at the age of eighty-nine. With Dave Prater (who died in 1988), they performed together for about twenty years from 1961 to 1981 and considered one of the greatest live acts of the 1960s. They were best known for bringing the sounds of the black gospel church to pop music with their call-and-response records which included such hits as "Hold On, I'm Comin'", "I Thank You", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", "Wrap It Up" and "Soul Man". Moore and Prater met while each was performing individually working the gospel music circuit. After later singing together at a small nightclub, Sam & Dave officially became an r&b act. They signed with several record labels, finding moderate success but it wasn't until they met producer, Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records that Sam & Dave would go to the next level. Recording with Stax Records (which Atlantic was distributing nationally), Sam & Dave broke through with "You Don't Know Like I Know" (written and produced by newcomers, Isaac Hayes and David Porter) which hit number seven on the US soul chart in 1966. "Hold On, I'm Comin'" reached number one on the soul chart and crossed over to the pop chart, making it to the top-twenty, that same year. The duo would make their final stage appearance together on New Year's Eve, 1981 in San Francisco. Moore went to work as a solo artist performing and recording throughout the following decades, recently appearing on Bruce Springsteen's 2022 soul covers album, "Only the Strong Survive", duetting on two songs.

LANA

SZA has just released "Lana" which is the deluxe version of her critically acclaimed and award-winning 2022 second studio album, "SOS". This album came about during the writing sessions for "SOS" with the singer creating almost one hundred songs. The singer had planned on using some of these that didn't make it on the final record for a future project, teasing possible tracks and releasing a single, "Saturn" back in February.

With "Lana" (born Solána Rowe, this was her family nickname during childhood), there are fifteen new songs that precede the standard tracks from "SOS".  This includes "30 for 30" that features Kendrick Lamar and another recent single release, "Drive", a guitar-driven ballad with the music video featuring actor, Ben Stiller lip-syncing to the tune.

As for the exact meaning of the album's cover which features a barely clad SZA with an insect-like creature face surrounded by tall grasses, your guess is as good as mine.







And in addition to new music, SZA will be making her acting debut in the upcoming comedy, "One of Them Days" with Keke Palmer. They play best friends who discover that their rent money has been spent by a boyfriend, forcing them to go on a wild race to come up with some cash before they get evicted. "One of Them Days" is due in theaters on January 17th.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM. . .

COCO JONES

Coco Jones began her career as an actress, appearing as a teen in several programs on the Disney Channel. Throughout this time, she had an interest in making music, releasing a self-titled EP in 2010. Twelve years later, Jones signed with Def Jam Records, releasing another EP, "What I Didn't Tell You". She had a breakout hit with "ICU", earning her five Grammy nominations (winning Best R&B Performance) and the single selling over a million copies.

Although we're still waiting for her debut album to arrive, Jones has delivered a four track EP, "Coco By The Fireplace" that features all-original songs to fill you with holiday cheer. These tracks are smooth and soulful, offering Christmas themed songs on love, empowerment and desire.



CLAY AIKEN

Clay Aiken may have placed second during his time competing on the second season of "American Idol" but he still went on to have a moderately successful music career. He recorded six studio albums and sold over five million records. When his music career cooled down, Aiken would make a move into politics, running as a Democrat for the US House of Representatives in his home state of North Carolina in 2014, winning the primary but losing the election. He tried again nine years later yet failed to win the primary. But he never completely abandoned his love of music. It's been twelve years since his last album and now Aiken has released his second Christmas record, "Christmas Bells Are Ringing". This collection has the now forty-six year old singer delivering his distinctive pop style to versions of classic holiday tunes like "Most Wonderful Time of the Year", "Merry Christmas, Darling" and "Ava Maria".



Last year, Cher released her very first Christmas album which included a disco tune that proved to be very popular. Now she has taken "DJ Play A Christmas Song" up a notch by releasing this as a newly remixed duet with Kelly Clarkson. These two legendary voices are trading verses to make this Christmas dance song even more thrilling.

NEW SOUNDS

SADE 

Sade Adu, the reclusive pop artist who has largely been out of the spotlight since her last album, "Soldier of Love" with her band also called Sade and the world tour that followed to support the record about fourteen years ago. Without her long-time band, she has unexpectedly released a new song that is very important and meaningful to her. In 2016, Adu's only child, now named Izaak, came out as a transgendered man. Sade has contributed the song, "Young Lion" that will be a part of the compilation album, "Transa", which features forty-six songs from over one hundred musicians in celebration of the trans community. This moving song, written by Adu with Aaron Taylor Dean and Ben Travers, offers a mother's apology to her son for not giving enough support during his early days of transitioning. "Young Lion" is based on a letter Sade gave to her son on his 21st birthday. And after deciding the message was so important, especially during these fraught times with attacks on the trans community, the song was created to share with the world.



TYLA

Tyla burst on the scene with her breakthrough single, "Water" last year. This Afrobeat track helped build excitement for the debut album by the twenty-two year old South African performer. With her self-titled album released earlier this year, there is now a deluxe edition of the record, simply titled "Tyla +". There are three new track included; the African drum driven, "Shake Ah", the ballad, "Back to You" and the reggae-fused single, "Push 2 Start". The music video for this track delivers a visual vibe of r&b from the beginning of this century, bringing to mind the colorful styles of Rihanna and Beyoncé.



OMAR APOLLO

The pop singer, Omar Apollo makes his acting debut with a supporting role in director Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film, "Queer". Based on the novella by William S. Burroughs, Daniel Craig stars as William Lee, an American living in 1950's Mexico City and becoming infatuated with a younger American, played by Drew Starkey. Apollo appears as a hombre that Lee picks up in a bar and proceeds to have an intimate encounter. The singer has also provided a song for the soundtrack, "Te Maldigo" which is produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. This mournful ballad (which roughly translates to "I curse you") is about damning a former lover for no longer loving him. Guadagino  as directed the music video for this song which is set, much like the film, in a smoky Mexican bar.

QUINCY JONES (1933 -2024)

Quincy Jones, the legendary producer and musical visionary, has passed away on November 3rd at the age of ninety-one. The Chicago-born artist began his career as a jazz arranger and conductor in the 1950's before moving into producing pop music with his first major hit, "It's My Party" for a then-sixteen year old singer, Lesley Gore which went to number one in 1963.

Throughout his extraordinary career, Jones had worked with many of the greatest musical performers of all time with the most notable being, Michael Jackson who he went on to produce his albums, "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad" which together sold well over one hundred and twenty-five million albums worldwide. Jones also composed numerous musical scores for film and television ("In Cold Blood", "Roots", "The Wiz", "The Color Purple") and was involved in organizing the artists and co-producing the 1985 US charity single, "We Are The World" to help the victims of famine in Ethiopia, raising more than eighty million dollars for the cause.

Jones helped create so much music during his time that it would be extremely difficult to try and cover even a fraction of the recordings he went on to produce. To pay tribute to this musical genius, I will focus here on the studio albums that Jones would release under his own name over the years. Here is just a tiny playlist of my favorites:

2024 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The 2024 Grammy Award nominations have been announced and once again, women are dominating in this year's race which includes, for the very first time, that no men were nominated for "Best Pop Vocal Album". And with eleven nominations, Beyoncé has become the most nominated artist in the history of the Grammys (breaking the tie with her husband, Jay-Z) for her alt-country album, "Cowboy Carter". This album is just one of eight competing for Album of the Year with the other nominees are the flute driven, instrumental album, "New Blue Sun" from André 3000 who has been best known as a hip-hop performer; "Short n’ Sweet", the breakthrough album by the latest pop sensation, Sabrina Carpenter; "Brat", the British pop artist, Charli XCX's first major hit on this side of the Atlantic; fellow Brit, Jacob Collier and his breakout collection of alternative jazz, "Djesse Vol. 4"; "Hit Me Hard and Soft", the latest from the edgy pop artist, Billie Eilish; the alt-pop debut from Chappell Roan, "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" and last year's winner of this prize, Taylor Swift for her album, "The Tortured Poets Department".

The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be presented live on Sunday, February 2, 2025 from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+. Here is a partial list of this year's nominations:

Album of the Year:

"New Blue Sun" – André 3000
"Cowboy Carter" – Beyoncé
"Short n’ Sweet" – Sabrina Carpenter
"Brat" – Charli XCX
"Djesse Vol. 4" – Jacob Collier
"Hit Me Hard and Soft" – Billie Eilish
"The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess" – Chappell Roan
"The Tortured Poets Department" – Taylor Swift

Record Of The Year:

“Now and Then” - The Beatles
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Beyoncé
“Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter
“360” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Chappell Roan
“Fortnight” - Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Song of the Year:

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Die With a Smile” - Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” - Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“Please Please Please” - Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)

Best New Artist:

Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims

Best Pop Vocal Album:

“Short n’ Sweet” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Hit Me Hard and Soft” - Billie Eilish
“Eternal Sunshine” - Ariana Grande
“The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” - Chappell Roan
“The Tortured Poets Department” - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Solo Performance:

“Bodyguard” - Beyoncé
“Espresso” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Apple” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Good Luck, Babe!” -Chappell Roan

Best Pop Dup/Group Performance:

“Us” - Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift
“Levii’s Jeans” - Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone
“Guess” - Charli XCX & Billie Eilish
“The Boy Is Mine” - Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica
“Die With a Smile” -Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"À Fleur De Peau" - Cyrille Aimée
"Visions" - Norah Jones
"Good Together" - Lake Street Dive
"Impossible Dream" - Aaron Lazar
"Christmas Wish" - Gregory Porter

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

“Brat” - Charli XCX
“Three” - Four Tet
“Hyperdrama” - Justice
“Timeless” - Kaytranada
“Telos” - Zedd

Best Dance Pop Recording:

“Make You Mine” - Madison Beer
“Von Dutch” - Charli XCX
“L’Amour de Ma Vie [Over Now Extended Edit]” - Billie Eilish
“Yes, And?” - Ariana Grande
“Got Me Started” - Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:

“She’s Gone, Dance On” - Disclosure
“Loved” - Four Tet
“Leavemealone” - Fred Again & Baby Keem
“Neverender” - Justice & Tame Impala
“Witchy” - Kaytranada Featuring Childish Gambino

Best R&B Album:

"11:11 (Deluxe)" — Chris Brown
"VANTABLACK" — Lalah Hathaway
"Revenge" — Muni Long
"Algorithm" — Lucky Daye
"Coming Home" — Usher

Best R&B Performance:

“Guidance” — Jhené Aiko
“Residuals” — Chris Brown
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Coco Jones
“Made For Me (Live On BET)” — Muni Long
“Saturn” — SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

“Wet” — Marsha Ambrosius
“Can I Have This Groove” — Kenyon Dixon
“No Lie” — Lalah Hathaway Featuring Michael McDonald
“Make Me Forget” — Muni Long
“That’s You” — Lucky Daye

Best Rap Album:

"Might Delete Later" — J. Cole
"The Auditorium, Vol. 1" — Common & Pete Rock
"Alligator Bites Never Heal" — Doechii
"The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)" — Eminem
"We Don’t Trust You" — Future & Metro Boomin

Best Rap Performance:

“Enough (Miami)” — Cardi B
“When The Sun Shines Again” — Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
“Nissan Altima” — Doechii
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Like That” — Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar

Best Rock Album:

“Happiness Bastards” - The Black Crowes
“Romance” - Fontaines D.C.
“Saviors” - Green Day
“TANGK” - Idles
“Dark Matter” - Pearl Jam
“Hackney Diamonds” - The Rolling Stones
“No Name” - Jack White

Best Rock Performance:

“Now and Then” — The Beatles
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” — The Black Keys
“The American Dream Is Killing Me” — Green Day
“Gift Horse” — IDLES
“Dark Matter” — Pearl Jam
“Broken Man” — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Album:

"Wild God" — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"Charm" — Clairo
"The Collective" — Kim Gordon
"What Now" — Brittany Howard
"All Born Screaming" — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Performance:

“Neon Pill” — Cage The Elephant
“Song Of The Lake” — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
“Starburster” — Fontaines D.C.
“Bye Bye” — Kim Gordon
“Flea” — St. Vincent

Best Country Album:

"Cowboy Carter" — Beyoncé
"F-1 Trillion" — Post Malone
"Deeper Well" — Kacey Musgraves
"Higher" — Chris Stapleton
"Whirlwind" — Lainey Wilson

Best Country Solo Performance:

“16 CARRIAGES” — Beyoncé
“I Am Not Okay” — Jelly Roll
“The Architect” — Kacey Musgraves
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey
“It Takes A Woman” — Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

“Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini With Noah Kahan
“II MOST WANTED” — Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus
“Break Mine” — Brothers Osborne
“Bigger Houses” — Dan + Shay
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen

Best Americana Album:

"The Other Side" — T Bone Burnett
"$10 Cowboy" — Charley Crockett
"Trail Of Flowers" — Sierra Ferrell
"Polaroid Lovers" — Sarah Jarosz
"No One Gets Out Alive" — Maggie Rose
"Tigers Blood' — Waxahatchee

Best Folk Album:

"American Patchwork Quartet" — American Patchwork Quartet
"Weird Faith" — Madi Diaz
"Bright Future" — Adrianne Lenker
"All My Friends" — Aoife O’Donovan
"Woodland" — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Best Gospel Album:

"Covered Vol. 1" — Melvin Crispell III
"Choirmaster II (Live)" — Ricky Dillard
"Father’s Day" — Kirk Franklin
"Still Karen" — Karen Clark Sheard
"More Than This" — CeCe Winans

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Journey In Black" — Christie Dashiell
"Wildflowers Vol. 1" — Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner
"A Joyful Holiday" — Samara Joy
"Milton + Esperanza" — Milton Nascimento & Esperanza spalding
"My Ideal" — Catherine Russell & Sean Mason

Best Jazz Performance:

“Walk With Me, Lord (Sound/Spirit)” — The Baylor Project
“Phoenix Reimagined (Live)” — Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Randy Brecker, Jeff “Tain” Watts & John Scofield
“Juno” — Chick Corea & Béla Fleck
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” — Samara Joy Featuring Sullivan Fortner
“Little Fears”— Dan Pugach Big Band Featuring Nicole Zuraitis & Troy Roberts

Best Latin Pop Album:

"Funk Generation" — Anitta
"El Viaje" — Luis Fonsi
"GARCÍA" — Kany García
"Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" — Shakira
"ORQUÍDEAS" — Kali Uchis

Best Comedy Album:

"Armageddon" — Ricky Gervais
"The Dreamer" — Dave Chappelle
"The Prisoner" — Jim Gaffigan
"Someday You’ll Die" — Nikki Glaser
"Where Was I" — Trevor Noah

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television):

"American Fiction" — Laura Karpman, composer
"Challengers" — Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, composers
"The Color Purple" — Kris Bowers, composer
"Dune: Part Two" — Hans Zimmer, composer
"Shōgun" — Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross & Leopold Ross, composers

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

"Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma [From “Twisters: The Album”]" — Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs & Jonathan Singleton, songwriters (Luke Combs)
"Better Place [From “TROLLS Band Together”]" — Amy Allen, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (*NSYNC & Justin Timberlake)
"Can’t Catch Me Now [From “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”]" — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
"It Never Went Away [From “American Symphony”]" — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
"Love Will Survive [From “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”]" — Walter Afanasieff, Charlie Midnight, Kara Talve & Hans Zimmer, songwriters (Barbra Streisand)

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

"The Color Purple" — (Various Artists)
"Deadpool & Wolverine" — (Various Artists)
"Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein" — London Symphony Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bradley Cooper
"Saltburn" — (Various Artists)
"Twisters: The Album" — (Various Artists)

Best Music Video:

“Tailor Swif” — A$AP Rocky
“360” — Charli xcx
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar
“Fortnight” — Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Songwriter Of The Year:

Jessi Alexander
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Raye

Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical):

Alissia
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Ian Fitchuk
Mustard
Daniel Nigro

GOT A STORY TO TELL

Thee Sacred Souls are a trio of musicians based in San Diego who have taken the sounds of classic r&b, doo-wop, Chicano soul and Motown and smoothly spun it into their own distinctive style of neo-soul. First formed in 2019 when guitarist/drummer, Alex Garcia and bass player, Sal Samano met and began jamming together. Some time later, Josh Lane would join them as their vocalist. Together, Thee Sacred Souls would write music and began performing locally around the San Diego area. After Bosco Mann, head of the indie soul imprint, Daptone Records which was the home of the vintage soul act, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, caught their performance, he offered them a place at his label.

Their self-titled debut was released in 2022 and it was well received, helping Thee Sacred Souls widen their audience and draw larger crowds at their live shows globally. Now the band has just released their follow-up, "Got a Story to Tell". The album expands their sound even further with original songs created from their personal experiences and vivid imagination. Thee Sacred Souls are now out on the road on a largely sold-out international tour so be sure to catch them when they're in your neighborhood.