HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

Fresh off her dazzling performance in the Disney live-action musical, "The Little Mermaid", Halle Bailey is here to remind us she has not abandoned her music career. After spending much of her professional life with her sister, Chlöe (who had released her debut studio album, "In Pieces" in March), the twenty-three-year-old singer has released a single, "Angel" which is the first song off her own upcoming solo album. This uplifting ballad (written by Bailey, Sebastian Kole, and the song's producer, Ron "Neff-U" Feemster) explores her experiences of growing up as a Black woman in this world. And Bailey will be back on the big screen soon as she will make an appearance in the musical adaptation of "The Color Purple" due in theaters on Christmas Day.





"Freak Me Now", the latest single from Jessie Ware's euphoric, disco-inspired, "That! Feels Good!", is a now remixed and features fellow Brit dance floor veteran, Róisín Murphy. This pairing does not disappoint, with these fierce vocalists tearing up on this retro track and team up together in a fun, campy music video.

And the latest song from Doja Cat's upcoming fourth studio album has dropped. Coasting along on a sample of the Dionne Warwick's classic, "Walk On By", "Paint The Town Red" is about the singer not caring what her haters think, ignoring them all and enjoying her life. The accompanying music video certainly give you the impression that Doja Cat is "the Lady Gaga of Hip-hop" with the clip featuring outrageous imagery that includes scenes of her dancing intimately with "Death", throwing bloody chunks of meat and riding on a giant dragon through the sky. And there is still no release date or title of Doja's next album.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

"Unholy" is a new release that features the inspired pairing of Sam Smith and Kim Petras. First teased on TikTok back in August, this hyper-pop dance track (which was co-written by the non-binary performers) is about a family man leaving his comfortable life behind for a brief moment so he can sneak off to secretly get his freak on. "Unholy" just came out a little over a week ago and has already reached number one in four countries including the UK. This is the first single from Smith's upcoming fourth studio album but no release date has been revealed yet. 

The New York-based, indie band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs first emerged during the turn of the 21st century, at a time when alt-rock was still a major presence in the pop music scene. The single, "Maps" from their 2003 debut, "Fever To Tell" brought worldwide attention to the band, receiving rapturous praise and award recognition. It has been almost ten years since their last album, "Mosquito" and the trio that makes up the band: Nick Zimmer on guitar, Brian Chase on drums and lead vocalist, Karen O, had not planned on taking such a long break but the starting of families, other artistic pursuits and the pandemic created an unexpected delay in coming back together.

But the wait is over and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with "Cool It Down". While the band has certainly matured (with the members all now in their 40's), they have lost none of their edge. This bold yet brief collection (running a little over thirty minutes) is filled with offbeat, punky electro-pop, taking on themes involving the global climate crisis and concern for future generations. The singles, "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" (featuring art-pop performer, Perfume Genius) and "Burning" are both accompanied by stunningly vivid music videos.





Here are some new songs that are enhanced by visually exciting music videos:

And I am sad to report the passing of Coolio, the rapper who was one of the early winners of the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance for his 1995 single, "Gangsta's Paradise", on September 28th at the age of fifty-nine. Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. and raised in Compton, CA, he began making music after working a variety of odd jobs. Making connections in the local rap scene in Los Angeles, Coolio recorded a few singles and later became part of the group, WC and the Maad Circle in 1991. He was signed as a solo artist to Tommy Boy Records and released his debut album, "It Takes a Thief" in 1994. The single, "Fantastic Voyage" became Coolio's first hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Sampling Stevie Wonder's 1976 song, "Pastime Paradise", "Gangsta's Paradise" was part of the soundtrack for the Michelle Pfeiffer-lead, 1995 movie, "Dangerous Minds" and became an incredible worldwide success, reaching number one in nineteen countries and selling over six million copies. Coolio's follow-up album, also called "Gangsta's Paradise", featured two other hits, "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" and "Too Hot".

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

"CIARA" - CIARA

To be honest, I never paid much attention to Crunk&B goddess, Ciara as I thought her music was just too generic for my taste. With the release of her self-titled fifth album, this artist has now gotten my full attention. I was already loving the sexy single, "Body Party" and Ciara has delivered a beat-heavy collection that is from the heart.

L.A. Reid (who first signed her to his own label, LaFace back in 2004) is now the president of Epic Records and brought Ciara on to the label and executive produced this new project. The singer co-wrote and produced much of this adventurous record along with production assistance from Rodney Jerkins, The Underdogs, Mike Will Made It and rap vocals provided by 2 Chainz, Future and Nikki Minaj, who is featured on the second single, "I'm Out".

Have a listen to the track:

"I'm Out" - Ciara featuring Nikki Minaj 

"ELECTRIC" - PET SHOP BOYS

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have been performing together as Pet Shop Boys for an incredible thirty years and have just put out their twelfth studio recording, "Electric". This is their first album to be released on their own label, x2 and the duo have enlisted Grammy-winner, Stuart Price to handle production duties on this dance-heavy record.

The album reliably delivers everything you love about Pet Shop Boys but the boys have always offered something a little unexpected and this new release is no exception. They have included rap for the first time to their electro sound with Example providing his vocals to the track, "Thursday" and have taken on rock-god, Bruce Springsteen with their own spin of his song, "The Last To Die".

Enjoy the first single from the new album:

"Vocal" - Pet Shop Boys

Take a look at the trippy video for the follow-up single, "Axis":




"WHERE DOES THIS DOOR GO" - MAYER HAWTHORNE

With the release of his third album, Mayer Hawthorne has decided to shift directions and expectations on "Where Does This Door Go".  He first made his name as a retro soul artist so, now he's ready to show the world what else he's got to offer.  While classic r&b is quite present on this record but there is also 70's style rock, hip-hop beats and more modern soul sounds. The hot producer of the moment, Pharrell Williams contributed his skillz to a few tracks but his presence doesn't overwhelm this record. The end results remains a impressive collection that is still pure Hawthorne.

This track features one of my favorite singers of the moment, Jessie Ware:

"Her Favorite Song" - Mayer Hawthorne featuring Jessie Ware

"YEEZUS" - KANYE WEST

Kanye West has made it clear that he's now no longer interested in following any musical trends, winning awards or even if the public buys his new music. With this proclamation coming from the man with the biggest ego on the planet, you would have every reason to be highly skeptical. However, the controversial title of Mr. West's latest disc and his insistence that there be no traditional promotion indicates that his self-destructive tendencies are working on overdrive. Sales began briskly but soon dropped off just as quickly with the album becoming his lowest selling ever of his career.

"Yeezus" is the name of his sixth studio release and presented without album art. Mr. West has assembled an impressive list of producers and musicians including Daft Punk, Mike Dean and Rick Rubin who came on board as an executive producer just fifteen days before the release date of the album. Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, Kid Cudi and Charlie Wilson (formerly of The Gap Band) lend their voices to a few tracks. As for the music, it is just barely over forty minutes of stripped-down, wildly experimental sounds and noises. The lyrics of these songs are clearly meant to provoke as they are filled with rage, aggression and an abrasive sexuality that will most certainly be off-putting to some listeners. I greatly appreciate his willingness to take chances, begin conversations and shake up pop music but most of the tracks are just too out there for my taste.

Here is one tune that I really like, "Bound 2" which features Charlie Wilson:

"Bound 2" - Kanye West Featuring Charlie Wilson

This is the dark and eerie music video for another song I like, "Black Skinhead" or as it's also known, "BLKK SKKN HEAD". This is really fantastic clip that features a computer generated version of Kanye (with a body he wishes he actual had):



It appears that Disney pop princess, Miley Cyrus has officially and completely shaken her good-girl image. In the video for her latest single "We Can't Stop", the heavily tatted Miley is now a hardcore party chick as she "twerks" and makes out with a female mannequin. I don't know how accurate all this bad girl behavior is to the real-life Cyrus as it comes across as she's trying just a little too hard but it's still a great vid:



Finally, here is the powerful clip for "Same Love", the latest single by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The song already touched me deeply but this music video just enhances it even more. I'm so glad that radio is beginning to play this important tune about love and tolerance:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Once again, here are a few sights and sounds that I'm digging at this particular moment.

"Pillow Talk" - Sylvia (1973)

"Give Me You" - Tamia (2013)

I have to admit that I've never gotten in to the music of Ciara but I'm really in to the latest single, "Body Party". Written by the proclaimed, Princess of Crunk&B and her boyfriend, the rapper, Future, the tune is a slow-burning ballad that samples one of my favorite songs, "My Boo" by the Ghost Town DJ's. Look for it on her next album, "One Woman Army", due out in June:



The British electropop artist, Little Boots has dropped some new music from her forthcoming second album, "Nocturnes".  Although there was a music video made for the song, "Headphones", it does not appear listed as a track on the album. Perhaps it might show up on some future deluxe edition or something but no matter. It's a great tune and a fun video:




"Attracting Flies" - AlunaGeorge (2013)

"Sacrilege" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)



Phoenix, the French alt-rock band, has finally resurfaced following their 2009 world-wide smash album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix".  The first single, "Entertainment" is off of their fifth studio album, "Bankrupt!", expected later this month: