RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

The US Supreme Court's recent overturning of Roe V. Wade has left many Americans frustrated and angry. This disturbing turn of events has inspired many artists to creatively express their feelings about this decision, some through music. Pink had tweeted strongly worded opinions regarding this reversal of abortion rights, then was told by some online trolls to just "shut-up and sing". So the singer promptly went and did just that, writing "Irrelevant" with Ian Fitchuk who produced the track. This protest song pushes back against people telling her that as a woman or entertainer, her thoughts and opinions are not important and feels she has every right to be heard. The music video for "Irrelevant" visually displays various protests from many different movements, ranging from civil rights, LGBTQ, #MeToo as well as a call to end gun violence.

Billie Eilish was in the middle of her world tour in support of her second album, "Happier Than Ever", performing in Manchester, England when she received word of the Supreme Court's decision. She had debuted a new song, "TV" during the concert, which had been written with her brother, Finneas O'Connell. They had written part of the song earlier and after Roe V. Wade was overturned, "TV" was completed to include their distressed thoughts about what has happened to women's rights. The song was recorded along with another new track, "The 30th" but instead of waiting until the next album, they were promptly released as an EP, "Guitar Songs".



Here is a collection of some new music from some of my favorite artists:

And a tribute to William "Poogie" Hart, the smooth lead vocalist for the soul group, The Delfonics who has passed away on July 14th at the age of seventy-seven. With his brother, Wilbert Hart and Randy Cain, the trio enjoyed their biggest success during the late 1960's and early 1970's with the hit singles, "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)". Founding member "Poogie" Hart (who had co-written many of the band's songs with their producer, Thom Bell, one of the creators of the "Philadelphia soul" sound) had continued performing with The Delfonics over the years, most recently in 2020.

ELLIE GOULDING'S NEW RELEASE

British artist, Ellie Goulding's hit song, "Lights" finally sits in the U.S. top five although it was released here as a single in May 2011. "Lights" is the title track from her highly successful debut album which came out in the U.K. in 2010.

The follow-up album, "Halcyon" is due out in October with the first single, "Anything Could Happen" just out now.

Here is the music video for slow moving hit song, "Lights":

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

"OH LAND" - OH LAND

I first became aware of Nanna Oland Fabricius or as she is known professionally, Oh Land by seeing the music video of her single, "Sun Of A Gun" on the NewNowNext Music channel and I loved her sunny pop sound.

This Danish musician began as a ballet dancer but an injury put an end to her career and she turned to music. Oh Land has just released her second recording, the self titled, "Oh Land" and her first here in the U.S.

Here is my favorite song from the CD:

"We Turn It Up" -  Oh Land

Enjoy the quirky video for "Sun Of A Gun" where Oh Land got to utilize her dancing abilities:



"ALL YOU NEED IS NOW" - DURAN DURAN

Duran Duran has returned to the music scene with four out of the five original members along with their thirteenth album, "All You Need Is Now".

The record was produced by Grammy Award-winner, Mark Ronson and he has stated that he wanted to bring the band back to their more avant-garde style of their first couple of albums. He has done that but also brought Duran Duran right in to the present.

This is a great track from the new release:

"Girl Panic!" - Duran Duran

"LATE NIGHTS & EARLY MORNINGS" - MARSHA AMBROSIUS

Marsha Ambrosius began her music career as one half of the British r&b/hip-hop duo, Floetry along with Natalie Stewart. After releasing two successful albums, "Floetic" (2002) and "Flo'Ology" (2005), the group separated. Ms Ambrosius was briefly signed to Dr. Dre's label, Aftermath Entertainment but left in 2009.  She worked as a singer and songwriter with a variety of r&b and hip-hop artists, including Alicia Keys, The Game and Jamie Foxx  before signing with Clive Davis and his, J Records.

Her first solo project, "Late Nights & Early Mornings" has just been released and it has not only topped the R&B charts but it debuted at number two on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. I really enjoyed her work with Floetry but I'm not at all impressed with her new album. It's too ballad-heavy with a collection of fairly standard r&b songs that I had difficulty telling apart.

This is the first single from the album:

"Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)" - Marsha Ambrosius

"WOUNDED RHYMES" - LYKKE LI

"Wounded Rhymes"  marks the second  collection of music by the Swedish songstress, Lykke Li. The album was written and recorded while she lived in Echo Park (my neighborhood), outside of Los Angeles.

Although, Lykke Li was surrounded by California sunshine, the record still maintains a dark and moody feel that is occasionally colored by classic pop styling. She continues to expand her musical sound while sticking to the themes of the sadness, pain and anger that can come from sex and love. While not everything worked for me on the album but, I find Lykke Li to be one of the most compelling and fascinating artists making music today.

This is one of the tracks that I liked from the new album:

"Love Out Of Lust" - Lykke Li

I love this video for the first single, "Get Some":



"LIGHTS" - ELLIE GOULDING

This twenty-four year old British singer/songwriter released her first album, "Lights" in 2010 in her home country where it debuted at number one and sold almost over 40,000 copies in it's first week. The record had four hit singles and by the end of the year, the album was re-released as "Bright Lights" with six new tracks including her version of the Elton John classic, "Your Song" which went to number two on the UK pop charts.

Finally, the U.S. edition of "Lights" has just came out that includes songs from both of the previous albums. This version is full of some great pop songs but she might get lost in the shuffle with this recent wave of British female vocalists invading these shores.

"Starry Eyed" is a fun track from the album::

"Starry Eyed" - Ellie Goulding