RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After showing off his acting chops in the widely watched yet much maligned HBO series, "The Idol" where he played the creative director for one of the biggest pop acts in the world, Australian pop star, Troye Sivan has returned to his own music career. "Rush" is a breezy, feel good dance track that brings to mind the sounds of 1980’s Pet Shop Boys. Sivan admits this song was partly inspired by that feeling that comes from inhaling poppers which a popular brand is called Rush. This is the first single off of Sivan's upcoming third album, "Something to Give Each Other", due out in October, which he promises will be a celebration of sexy, good times.



Here are some songs I'm into right now including Fall Out Boy's lyrical update of the 1989 Billy Joel classic, "We Didn't Start The Fire":

The actress and singer, Jane Birkin has passed away on July 16th at the age of seventy-six. While she was British born and raised, Birkin first found fame in France after meeting French musician, Serge Gainsbourg in 1968 while they were shooting a film. They fell in love and the couple recorded an album the following year, "Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg" which featured, "Je t'aime… moi non plus", a controversial song at the time due to it’s sexual content. And while it was banned in some countries, the song (originally written by Gainsbourg for French actress, Brigitte Bardot) reached number one in Birkin's native country, the first foreign-language song to do so in the UK. Birkin would go on to record several solo albums (mostly written by Gainsbourg) before their relationship ended in 1980. She would continue to act, appearing in French and English language films such as "Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman", "La Belle Noiseuse", "Death on the Nile", "Evil Under the Sun" and "Jane by Charlotte" which was her final screen appearance in this 2021 docu-drama directed by Birkin's daughter, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. And yes, that handbag by Hermès was created for her in 1984 and the Birkin bag has become a much coveted status symbol.

And finally, I would like to honor the legacy of the legendary crooner, Tony Bennett, who we lost on July 21st at the age of ninety-six. Since his first number-one hit, "Because of You" in 1951 and his popular, signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in 1962, the New York born and raised vocalist kept the sounds of jazz and traditional pop alive and well, even when it fell out of favor. Bennett successfully found relevance again with the MTV Generation in the late 1980s and 1990s without ever having to alter his music. He teamed-up with many contemporary artists, most notably Lady Gaga, and Tony Bennett was cool once again. Here is a highlight of Bennett performing duets with some of his biggest fans: Judy Garland, k.d.Lang (who recorded an album with him, "A Wonderful World" in 2002), Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga (who recorded two albums with Bennett which included his final album, "Love For Sale" in 2021).

BARBIE: THE ALBUM

Based on the world's most famous doll, "Barbie" is the first live-action movie of this iconic toy. Margot Robbie brings this plastic fashion doll to life and Ryan Gosling play Barbie's long-time boyfriend, Ken. Greta Gerwig has co-written (with her partner, filmmaker Noah Baumbach) and directed this comedy-fantasy and has attracted an impressive cast that includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir with Will Ferrell as a toy company CEO and Helen Mirren as the narrator.



And the movie has an upcoming soundtrack, "Barbie: The Album". Mark Ronson, who is the executive producer of this record, was asked to get involved in curating the music by Gerwig to help match her vision for the film to feature the sounds of fun, high-energy pop. Ronson set about his mission and has assembled an impressive list of contemporary musicians to participate and the line-up is impressive; Lizzo, Charli XCX, Ava Max, Karol G., Haim, Khalid, Gayle, Fifty Fifty and Dua Lipa who released the first single, "Dance The Night". And Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice teamed up to bring some hip-hop on "Barbie World" which features a sample of the notorious '90's hit, "Barbie Girl" by the Danish Europop band, Aqua. Even Gosling, who showed off his musical abilities in the 2016 movie, "La La Land", has a track on the album called "I'm Just Ken".   

"Barbie: The Album" is due out on July 21st, the same day as the movie's release. Not all of the artists on the soundtrack have been revealed yet with some surprises still left to be announced. One of the first made public on July 6th was Billie Eilish with her musical contribution, "What Was I Made For?" with more mystery musicians on the horizon.