MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2016

2016 was a difficult, challenging year in more ways than one. From a musical standpoint, it was upsetting due to the loss of some pretty important artists from Natalie Cole, David Bowie, Glenn Frey of The Eagles and Prince at the early part of the year to George Michael near the end. The only real comfort is that we still have their music which will keep them with us forever. I won't even get in to that crazy election and the tragic outcome. So, I'm just going to share some of the music from the previous year that I loved but didn't have a chance to cover here:

"Closer" - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (2016) mp3

"One Dance" - Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla (2016) mp3

"Too Good" - Drake featuring Rihanna (2016) mp3



"My Church" - Maren Morris (2016) mp3

"80's Mercedes" - Maren Morris (2016) mp3







"Gold" - Kiiara (2016) mp3

"Close" - Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo (2016) mp3

"Me Too" - Mehgan Trainor (2016) mp3

2016 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Beyoncé's alt-r&b record, "Lemonade" leads the way with nine nominations at this year's Grammy Awards including Album of the Year. She faces some stiff competition for that prize from pop superstar, Justin Bieber's "Purpose", country singer, Sturgill Simpson and his "A Sailor's Guide to Earth", Canadian hip-hop artist, Drake with one of the most popular albums of the year, "Views" and the now eligible "25", the 2015 pop release from the British singer, Adele. Kanye West, Rihanna and Drake each received eight nominations while Chance the Rapper earned seven for his debut, "Coloring Book" which he only managed to receive due to a Grammy rule change as it was issued only as a music stream rather than on a CD or digital download. David Bowie, who we lost in January, earned four posthumous nominations for his final album, "Blackstar" and recent Nobel prize winner, Bob Dylan earned a nod for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

With a total of twenty previous wins, Beyoncé could possibly make history by surpassing Alison Krauss, who is the female artist with the most Grammy wins at twenty-seven. And with sixty-two career nominations, she now has become the most nominated female artist ever.

It's sad to say goodbye to LL Cool J, who has hosted the show for the last five years, but a new host has been named. James Corden of the "Late Late Show" fame will host this year's ceremony. The 59th Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, February 12th on CBS.

Here is a partial list of the 2016 Grammy nominations:

Album of the Year:

“25” — Adele
“Lemonade” — Beyoncé
“Purpose” — Justin Bieber
“Views” — Drake
“A Sailor's Guide to Earth” — Sturgill Simpson

Record of the Year:

"Hello" — Adele
"Formation" — Beyoncé
"7 Years" — Lukas Graham
"Work" — Rihanna featuring Drake
"Stressed Out" — Twenty One Pilots

Song of the Year:

"Formation" — Written by Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles & Michael L. Williams II (Beyoncé)
"Hello" — Written by Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin (Adele)
"I Took a Pill In Ibiza" — Written by Mike Posner (Mike Posner)
"Love Yourself" — Written by Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin & Ed Sheeran (Justin Bieber)
"7 Years" — Written by Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard & Morten Ristorp (Lukas Graham)

Best New Artist:

Kelsea Ballerini
The Chainsmokers
Chance the Rapper
Maren Morris
Anderson .Paak

Best Pop Vocal Album:

“25” — Adele
“Purpose” — Justin Bieber
“Dangerous Woman” — Ariana Grande
“Confident” — Demi Lovato
“This Is Acting” — Sia

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Hello" — Adele
"Hold Up" — Beyoncé
“Love Yourself” — Justin Bieber
“Piece By Piece (Idol Version)” — Kelly Clarkson
“Dangerous Woman” — Ariana Grande

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

“Closer” — The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
“7 Years” — Lukas Graham
“Work” — Rihanna featuring Drake
“Cheap Thrills” — Sia Featuring Sean Paul
“Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots
“Culcha Vulcha” — Snarky Puppy

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

“Skin” — Flume
“Electronica 1: The Time Machine” — Jean-Michel Jarre
“Epoch” — Tycho
“Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future” — Underworld
“Louie Vega Starring. . .XXVIII” — Louie Vega

Best Rock Album:

“California” — Blink-182
“Tell Me I'm Pretty” — Cage the Elephant
“Magma" — Gojira
"Death of a Bachelor” — Panic! at the Disco
“Weezer” — Weezer

Best Rock Performance:

“Joe (Live From Austin City Limits)” — Alabama Shakes
“Don't Hurt Yourself” — Beyoncé featuring Jack White
“Blackstar” — David Bowie
“The Sound of Silence (Live On "Conan")” — Disturbed
“Heathens” — Twenty One Pilots

Best Alternative Music Album:

“22, a Million” — Bon Iver
“Blackstar” — David Bowie
“The Hope Six Demolition Project” — PJ Harvey
“Post Pop Depression” — Iggy Pop
“A Moon Shaped Pool” — Radiohead

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

“Lemonade” — Beyoncé
“Ology” — Gallant
“We Are King” — King
“Malibu” — Anderson .Paak
“Anti” — Rihanna

Best R&B Album:

“In My Mind” — BJ the Chicago Kid
“Lalah Hathaway Live” — Lalah Hathaway
“Velvet Portraits” — Terrace Martin
“Healing Season" — Mint Condition
“Smoove Jones” — Mya

Best R&B Performance:

“Turnin' Me Up” — BJ the Chicago Kid
“Permission” — Ro James
“I Do” — Musiq Soulchild
“Needed Me” — Rihanna
“Cranes In the Sky” — Solange

Best Rap Album:

“Coloring Book” — Chance the Rapper
“And the Anonymous Nobody” — De La Soul
“Major Key” — DJ Khaled
“Views” — Drake
“Blank Face LP” — Schoolboy Q
“The Life of Pablo” — Kanye West

Best Rap Performance:

"No Problem" — Chance the Rapper featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz
"Panda" — Desiigner
"Pop Style" — Drake Featuring the Throne
"All the Way Up" — Fat Joe & Remy Ma featuring French Montana & Infared
"That Part" — Schoolboy Q featuring Kanye West

Best Country Album:

“Big Day In a Small Town” — Brandy Clark
“Full Circle” — Loretta Lynn
“Hero” — Maren Morris
“A Sailor's Guide to Earth” — Sturgill Simpson
“Ripcord” — Keith Urban

Best Country Solo Performance:

"Love Can Go to Hell" — Brandy Clark
"Vice" — Miranda Lambert
"My Church" — Maren Morris
"Church Bells" — Carrie Underwood
"Blue Ain't Your Color" — Keith Urban

For the complete list of nominations, click below:

2016 Grammys

NEW SOUNDS

MAXWELL

It's quite clear that Maxwell likes to take his time, After an eight-year gap between his 2001 release "Now" and 2009's "BLACKsummers'night", the neo-soul vocalist has finally returned with a follow-up. This sequel, "blackSUMMERS'night" arrives seven years later and is certainly worth the wait. With his reliably smooth voice,  Maxwell delivers more lovely ballads and inspirational songs on love and relationships. Despite the still quite striking forty-three year old artist calling this new collection "progressive soul" which is a merging of gospel, disco, rock and a touch of psychedelic pop, the album doesn't offer any real surprises or major shifts in sound, just his sensual, old-school, funk-driven vibe that made him a major player back in the '90's.

The first single, "Lake By The Ocean" has been riding high on top of the adult r&b chart and I'm sure there will be more to come.



BLOOD ORANGE

Dev Hynes, or as he's better known, Blood Orange, has been devoting much of his time of late working on music for several pop artists. Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA Twigs, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kylie Minogue are just a few of the artists that have benefited from the dynamic writing and producing talent of this thirty-year-old Brit. Now, he's ready to focus on himself with a third Blood Orange CD, "Freetown Sound". Far removed from the lightweight fizz of hit-making pop, this record explores the racial, sexual and political tensions happening in the world today. Adding to the quirky rhythms and hook-less tunes are a collection of eclectic guest performers ranging from the expected (Jepsen and Debbie Harry) and the unexpected (author, Ta-Nehisi Coates and slam poet, Ashlee Haze).

I love that a track now on this record, "Hadron Collider" (that features a long-absent, Nelly Furtado) was first released only as a promotional cassette tape last December and sold during his shows at the Apollo Theater. Have a listen:

"Hadron Collider" - Blood Orange & Nelly Furtado (2016) mp3

Fergie is once again back with some new music. Much like what happen with Gwen Stefani, Fergie dropped a song, "L.A. Love (La La)" way back in 2014 after a long absence from the scene but nobody was feeling much love for the tune.

After regrouping, the forty-one-year-old singer is giving it another try with a sexy little ditty called "M.I.L.F.$" (pronounced "MILF Money"). If you don't know what a M.I.L.F. is, well, let's just say it means someone that would enjoy an intimate encounter with a mature woman with children. To be perfectly honest, I'm not really feeling this song but I do love the music video. The colorful, hyper-sexual clip, directed by Colin Tilley, is littered with hot fashion models like Alessandra Ambrósio, Chrissy Teigen, Amber Valletta, Devon Aoki, Angela Lindvall as well musician, Ciara and the notorious, Kim Kardashian who all happen to be mothers. And model, Jon Kortajarena plays the milkman lusting after all these women. You must check this out:



Finally, here is that infamous video by Kanye West for his latest single, "Famous". Inspired by the painting, "Sleep" by Vincent Desiderio, the clip features notable figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bill Cosby, Taylor Swift, Rihanna (who provides vocals on the track), West, former girlfriend, Amber Rose and his wife, Kim Kardashian, all sleeping nude in a bed together (with the help of synthetic look-alike bodies). Personally I think all the outrage and shock about this video is much ado about nothing but take a look and see for yourself.  BE WARNED: NUDITY MAKES THIS NSFW:

2015 VMAS

Since when has a MTV Video Music Award been worth fighting over?

First, Nicki Minaj was offended that her video wasn't nominated for Video of The Year (despite earning three other noms) and complained that it was because she wasn't skinny or white enough. Then, Taylor Swift (rightfully assuming Minaj was referring to her) took the bait and publicly defended her honor against the rapper's slam for her receiving a nomination. Recently, this year's host, Miley Cyrus scolded Minaj (through the New York Times, of all places) about her comments while alluding to the performer's well-known unpleasantness.

All this childish drama over nothing has lead to this year's VMAs. It was another spectacle of raunchy irreverence, wacky excess and some old-fashioned weirdness. The one and only Nicki Minaj kicked off the show with a performance of "Trini Dem Girls" and "The Night is Still Young" and guess who made a surprise appearance during the number? The one and only Taylor Swift, proving to the world that they have squashed their fifteen minutes of beef. However, it appears a new one has started after Minaj's win for Best Hip-Hop Video when she calls Cyrus out on stage for her NYT comments. I'm not sure if this bit was staged but if not, I strongly urge Cyrus to watch her flat backside.

The evening had a few other solid musical moments with my favorites include a video recreation on the streets of downtown L.A. by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis of their new single, "Downtown", The Weeknd worked the crowd with a fiery take of his hit, "Can't Feel My Face" and an amped-up version of "Should've Been Us" by rising talent and vocal powerhouse, Tori Kelly. I have never been a fan of Justin Bieber with a performance of his comeback single, "What Do You Mean" and an overly emotional outburst at the end still left me feeling unimpressed. But I will admit that the boy can dance.

And then there was Kanye. He's the recipient of this year's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and guess who presented the volatile artist with this honor? The one and only Taylor Swift who gave a touching tribute, proving to the world that they're on good terms after the rapper drunkenly interrupted her award victory six years ago. West, who virtually issued a public apology to Swift without ever uttering the words, gave a semi-coherent speech that went on about his career and impact as an artist before ending with an announcement of a future run for president. In the age where Donald Trump is considered a serious candidate, why not?

I nearly got whiplash over the rapid speed of how Miley Cyrus went from a sweet, Disney pop princess to a pot smoking, tongue wagging, profanity-laced, sexually outlandish provocateur. I'm not really buying this act. Her wild antics don't feel organic. I seem to recall when Cyrus mentioned Jay Z in her hit, "Party in The U.S.A.", it was revealed that she had never even heard his music. Now, the hardcore stoner is hanging out with Snoop Dogg and other rappers. The whole thing comes across more like another costume, like her previous Hannah Montana one. Perhaps the real Cyrus falls somewhere in the middle or perhaps we will meet another "Miley Cyrus" sometime down the road.

Our host closed out the show with a extravaganza of a performance. It was a new song (part of a free album that Cyrus is giving away to her most fervent fans) that featured a parade of colorful drag queens made famous on RuPaul's talent show. Although the constant sight of Cyrus' tongue got on my nerves, it was fun, bizarre and over-the-top. Just exactly how you expect an evening of the VMAs to be.

Oh, and Taylor Swift took home Video of The Year, proving to the world that she was actually skinny and white enough to win.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

2015 is off to a great start with some exciting new music hitting the airwaves.

Paul McCartney has certainly been busy. First, the former Beatle plays piano on Kanye West's surprise single, "Only One", a touching ballad about his late mother and new-born daughter. Now, both Sir Paul and Mr. West appear on the just-dropped new song from Rihanna. "FourFiveSeconds" displays an unexpected acoustic sound from the pop superstar. I'm not sure how her fans will respond but I think it's a great creative move:

"Only One" - Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney (2015)

"FourFiveSeconds" - Rihanna featuring Kanye West & Paul McCartney (2015)

Thanks to Daft Punk's tribute to him on their Grammy-winning album, "Random Access Memories", the legendary producer, Giorgio Moroder has decided to stage a comeback. At the age of seventy-four, the man responsible for helping usher in the era of disco music has assembled some of today's hottest vocalists including Britney Spears, Sia, Mikky Ekko and Charli XCX for his first new album of dance music in thirty years. Listen to the sizzling single from the upcoming, "74 Is The New 24", "Right Here, Right Now"  which features Kylie Minogue:

Here is the video for the title track from Giorgio's new album:

D'Angelo quietly released his third studio album, "Black Messiah" after a fourteen year absence from the music scene last December. It has received a lot of love from critics and fans alike. The reclusive singer plans to embark on short European tour beginning in February with his band, The Vanguard. Listen to "Sugah Daddy", the track that was given away as a free download a few days before the album's release:



"Sugah Daddy" - D'Angelo (2014)

I'd been wondering what had happened to Stephanie Mills? The theater veteran and popular recording artist hadn't been heard from in quite a while but made a very welcome return at last year's BET Awards performing a stirring rendition of her hit, "Home" that she first sang when she starred as Dorothy on Broadway in "The Wiz" many years ago. She's one of my all-time favorite singers. Enjoy a few of her lesser known songs that I love:

"You Can Get Over" - Stephanie Mills (1979)

"Try My Love" - Stephanie Mills (1980)

"Keep Away Girls" - Stephanie Mills (1982)

Finally, here's a new music video I love from Danish electronic band,  Kadie Elder:

LORDE OVERSEES "HUNGER GAMES"

While the world has to anxiously await the third installment of the "Hunger Games" franchise until tomorrow, you can hear some of the music from the film right now. The eighteen year-old New Zealand artist, Lorde was approached to once again contribute a song but this time she wanted to have a bigger role in creating the soundtrack. She was given the reins to curate the music for "Mockingjay, Part One" and assembled an impressive list of artists to participate.

Lorde brought together veteran cutting-edge musicians (Chemical Brothers, Bat For Lashes, CHVRCHΞS) and offbeat rising stars (Charli XCX, Tinashe, Tove Lo) to create a moody, hard-hitting collection that will enhance and work perfectly with the dark themes of the film. There are also some inventive musical pairings including EDM outfit, Major Lazer with Ariana Grande, Simon LeBon of Duran Duran joins Charli XCX on "Kingdom" and Lorde herself with a crazy team featuring rap artists, Q-Tip and Pusha T and the rock group, Haim on Belgian hip-hop artist, Stromae's song, "Meltdown".

She even got Kanye West involved to remix her track, "Yellow Flicker Beat" and re-titled the tune as "Flicker". My favorite part of this whole enterprise is the inclusion of the legendary Grace Jones with the song, "Original Beast". The idea that Lorde was aware who she is, let alone, wise enough to have this incredible performer a part of this project makes me love her even more.

Listen to a few of the tracks from the soundtrack:



"All My Love" - Major Lazer featuring Ariana Grande (2014)



"The Leap" - Tinashe (2014)



"Flicker (Kanye West Re-work)" - Lorde (2014)



"Meltdown" - Stromae featuring Q-Tip, Pusha T, Haim and Lorde (2014)

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:

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC FOR 2011

This is a collection of some of my favorite tunes from 2011. I had posted other songs that I had luved throughout the past year, so these are the best of the rest:

Nicki Minaj - "Super Bass" from "Pink Friday"

Foster The People - "Pumped Up Kicks" from "Torches"

Ledisi - "Pieces of Me" from "Pieces of Me"

Lykke Li - "Get Some" from "Wounded Rhymes"

Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Niggas In Paris" from "Watch The Throne"

Florence + The Machine - "Breaking Down" from "Ceremonials"

Cee-Lo Green featuring Melanie Fiona - "Fool For You" from "The Ladykiller"

Adele - "Rumor Has It " from "21"

Mayer Hawthorne - "Work To Do" from "Impressions - The Covers EP"

Mayer Hawthorne - "No Strings" from "How Do You Do"

Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - "Look At Me Now" from "F.A.M.E."

El DeBarge featuring Faith Evans - "Lay With You" from "Second Chance"

Coldplay - "Hurts Like Heaven" from "Mylo Xyloto"

Lalah Hathaway - "If You Want To" from "Where It All Begins"

Little Dragon - "Nightlight"  from "Ritual Union"