Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, collectively known as Pet Shop Boys, have been creating music together since 1981. Throughout this time, the British music duo have never strayed too far from their original sound: electronic dance music. Pet Shop Boys have just announced their upcoming fifteenth studio album, "Nonetheless", due out in April. With producer, James Ford, the Boys continue to explore the diverse emotions that makes us human through dance-oriented beats and their sound has expanded to include orchestral string arrangements. The first single, "Loneliness" from the album takes me back to the time of their breakout song, "West End Girls" which will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the original dance club version with the song re-recorded two years later and becoming a worldwide pop music smash.
Here is a collection of recent dance songs which includes the latest from Charli XCX (with a wild, crazy music video that I love); the inspired pairing of Sia and Kylie Minogue; another sexual, dance-floor ditty by Kim Petras from her recent EP, "Slut Pop Miami", a sequel to her 2022 release; Olly Alexander of Years & Years just dropped a romantic, beat heavy track and the latest dance anthem from the queer performer, Vincint.
Miley Cyrus has dropped a new song yet it's not actually new. Back in 2013, Cyrus teamed up musician, Pharrell Williams during the recording of her "Bangerz" album where the pop star played with a more musically funky style. An outtake from those sessions, "Doctor (Work It Out)" has just been released. Why is this song seeing the light of day at this particular moment in time? Who knows and who really cares because "Doctor" sounds just as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. For the music video, Cyrus seems to be channeling Las Vegas showgirls who stomped on the casino stages like Ann-Margaret and Lola Falana (look 'em up) back in the '70's, right down to the choreography.
Frankie Goes to Hollywoodburst on to the music scene back in 1983 with the song, "Relax" which not only topped the charts in their native Britain but became an international sensation. But what made this band really stand out beyond their popular music was that they were unapologetically queer, which was not at all common by pop artists to reveal at this time. Two following singles, "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love" impressively also reached number one on the UK pop chart . Not long after this incredible success, Frankie Goes to Hollywood imploded and went their separate ways in 1987. In the recent film, "All of Us Strangers", filmmaker, Andrew Haigh effectively uses Frankie's ballad, "The Power of Love" to close out his deeply moving dramatic fantasy about loss and acceptance. Haigh has stated that this song was an important part of his music playlist from his youth in the '80's during a time when he was trying to come to terms with love and his identity as a gay teenager.
Whether you like them or not, 'tis the season for Christmas songs to be played on an endless, relentless loop. You will hear the same songs involving 'ole Saint Nick, a deformed reindeer, a jolly, talking snowman and chestnuts roasting over an open fire many times over from a wide variety of musicians covering these tunes. Some of these versions are certainly better than others but it's really the songs themselves that take us back to memories of the childhood excitement on Christmas morning and the family coming together to celebrate the holiday.
The Christmas Songbook, which are now cherished classics, where largely written throughout the 1940's, '50's and '60's. There are more recent songs that have become Christmas standards like "Wonderful Christmastime" from Paul McCartney, Wham!'s "Last Christmas", The Carpenters', "Merry Christmas, Darling" and of course, Mariah Carey's '90's holiday earworm, "All I Want For Christmas". The Los Angeles Times has complied a list of what they consider to be the best songs of Christmas over the last fifty years. It is a diverse collection made up of songs, old and new, covering various genres of music. Some of these songs I am very familiar with while others I had never heard before but they are all great songs to help celebrate the holiday.
I am feeling some comfort in the synthpop sounds from the 1980's right now and here are a few of my favorites that take me back to the seemingly simplier, calmer days of my youth:
With marital woes, financial problems, personal health issues and a popular reality show involving her family drama, Toni Braxton has had many distractions over the years that has prevented her from creating the smooth r&b that first brought her fame and acclaim. In 2018, the singer finally returned to music with "Sex & Cigarettes" (her first in eight years) and the album received a rapturous response which was in part due to the hit single, "Long As I Live". The song reached number one on the US Adult R&B Songs chart and earned Braxton three Grammy Award nominations including Best R&B Album. Now the fifty-two year old vocalist is back with an upcoming album and a second single is now out, simply called "Dance". The track (set to a disco beat) is another classic Braxton staple about catching a cheating partner but instead of being upset, will simply dance her troubles away. The music video has Braxton impressively keeping up with her back-up dancers and there is even a remix of "Dance" from Dave Audé that pushes the throbbing beat even further. Braxton's tenth studio album, "Spell My Name" is due out at the end of the month.
And here are a couple of recent songs from two artists I enjoy who also happen to bring an openly queer perspective to their music; Orville Peck, the mysterious country artist does a twangy cover of Bronski Beat's 1984 gay anthem, "Smalltown Boy" that retains the original's moving power. The British nu-disco performer who goes by the inventive moniker, Bright Light, Bright Light (real name, Rod Thomas) has the song, "I Used To Be Cool" with the video offering a decidedly different take on summer romance.
With her sixth studio album, "Lemonade", Beyoncé continues to form her own path on how she will present her music to the world. First, on April 23rd, she released an hour-long HBO film that presented all of the new songs together as a "visual album" which featured striking imagery and poetic interludes covering many subjects involving race, gender and marriage. Shortly after the television premiere, the album was released exclusively for on-line streaming on Tidal (which she's a co-owner) before it became available to everyone two days later.
The title of the album references that old saying that when life serves you lemons, you gotta make some lemonade and that's exactly what the multiple Grammy winner has done. Without ever being specific, Beyoncé seems to have used some difficult times in her marriage as well as her parent's acrimonious break-up to create a searing collection of songs involving betrayal, anger, revenge, hope and ultimately, forgiveness. The music blurs and twists together many genres, perfectly complementing the lyrics with edgy and offbeat sounds. "Lemonade" is far from comfortable, easily digestible pop music. The album makes a bold statement and I think it's the singer's strongest work to date.
PET SHOP BOYS - "SUPER"
I can't believe it's been thirty years since Pet Shop Boysreleased their debut album, "Please". The record featured the now classic tunes "Suburbia", "Love Comes Quickly", "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" and still my favorite track from them, "West End Girls". There is no doubt that their early sound can be attributed to the current popularity of electronic dance music. Now, the boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, are back with their thirteenth album. "Super". With production duties once again handled by Stuart Price, the band dives deeper in to pure electronica yet retain much of their pop sensibilities. The first single, "The Pop Kids" takes a nostalgic look back at the dance scene in the '90's when they first started out. This song also became Pet Shop Boys' eleventh number one song on the U.S. Dance Club chart.
Tegan and Sara, those formerly alt-rocking Canadian twins, continue to move in an eletropop direction. With their eight album, "Love You To Death" due out in June, the ladies may be seeking commercial success but only want it on their terms and the single, "Boyfriend" clearly indicates that. The song involves a love triangle with a confused girl caught between a boy and another girl.
After taking some time off to have her second child, Alicia Keys is finally back with some new music since 2012's "Girl On Fire". The first single, "In Common" is a smooth dance hall-flavored track that should easily put the artist back on the charts. For the music video directed by Pierre Debusschere, Keys is lovely and fresh-faced in this slick black& white clip featuring energetic dancers in a pseudo-cityscape.
Finally, Justin Timberlake is not only lending his voice to the upcoming animated film, "Trolls" (due out later this fall) but he has also just released a song for the soundtrack. "Can't Stop The Feeling", co-written and produced by pop wizard, Max Martin, has already reached the the top of the charts in seven countries including the U.S. The song feels very similar to "Happy", another catchy, feel-good song for an animated film that swept the globe. Even the music video, directed by film maker Mark Romanek, features average people dancing and singing along to the song.
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:
V. D. is upon us again today, making it's yearly visit.
This is that so-called "holiday" where people feel obligated to scramble around to buy expensive gifts or forced to go out to dinner where restaurants rob people blind by hiking up the prices to obscene levels, all of this in a commerical way to show someone how much you truly "love" them. Like JLo wisely said,"My love don't cost a thing" Worst still, people who don't happen to have a lover are made to feel particularly lousy today.
Despite all of this nonsense, Valentine's Day is a great excuse for me to share a few love songs that I love.
Enjoy them alone or with someone you care about:
"I Think I Love You " The Partridge Family
"My First Love" - Rene & Angela
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)" - Janet Jackson
Brandy Norwood was raised in Carson, California and first started her career as an actress. She first appeared on the short-lived television show, "Thea" and later would star in her own hit sitcom, "Moesha" that ran from 1996 to 2001.
Music was in her blood however, as her father was a gospel singer, her brother, Ray J. who also is a singer, has made some hit recordings and rapper, Snoop Dogg is her first cousin. Although she attended the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center, she managed to get a recording contract with Atlantic Records on her own after auditioning.
At the tender age of fifteen, she released her self-titled debut, "Brandy". Despite her age, the album was mature sounding, hip-hop flavored soul that was filled with great songs and a solid production. It spawned three top ten hits, including "Best Friend ( LP Version )" and "Baby ( LP Version )". and had two number one's on the R&B charts. The album would go on to sell six million worldwide.
Brandy has released a total of five albums and won a Grammy award for her hit duet with Monica, "The Boy Is Mine" (1998).
This was her first single and one of my favorites:
This English pop-rock band was formed in Birmingham by keyboardist, Nick Rhodes and bassist, John Taylor with original lead singer, Stephen Duffy in 1978. The band's name was inspired by a villainous character in the film, "Barberella".
After numerous personel changes, drummer, Roger Taylor, guitarist, Andy Taylor and new lead singer, Simon LeBon were added and became the final line-up. None of these "Taylors" are related, by the way.
The band released their first album, "Duran Duran" in 1981. The album had hit singles in the UK with "Planet Earth" and "Girls On Film" which was helped by the controversial music video that featured scantily clad women mud-wrestling plus depictions of sexual fetishes and it would end up being banned by the BBC. An edited version would be played on the new U.S. music channel, MTV and it did create some buzz for the band here but not much radio play.
Duran Duran released their second album, "Rio" in 1982. While it enjoyed huge success in England and the rest of the world, it stalled in the United States. After re-releasing the album, promoting it as a more dance oriented rock record and putting out a stylish music video for their single, "Hungry Like The Wolf", the band finally hit. The song went to number three on the U.S. charts and Duran Duran became one of the first bands to capitalize on the music video to help create their image and as an extension of their music. "Rio" also landed in the top ten of the albums charts and started a long string of hit albums and singles in the United States and around the world.
Members of the band over the years have departed, been replaced, returned and left again but Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon have remained throughout.
Duran Duran has gone on to sell over one hundred million albums and have released thirteen albums so far, with a new one being produced by Mark Ronson to be out, possibly later this year.
This is the music video, that was shot in Sri Lanka, that helped shape their image:
PET SHOP BOYS - "PLEASE" (1986)
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met at an electronics store in Chelsea, London in 1981. Discovering that they both had an interest in dance music, they decided to team up and create some music together.
At first, they were going to call themselves, "West End" because of their love of the area in London but eventually settling on the "Pet Shop Boys", which came from friends working in an actual pet shop.
Neil worked for Smash Hits, a British music magazine and he was assigned to interview the Police in New York. While there, Neil met up with dance producer, Bobby Orlando and gave him a demo tape of his band's music. Bobby O loved it and produced a song, "West End Girls". It became a minor club hit in San Francisco and Los Angeles though it did not do well in Britain.
They signed with Parlophone Records after a lengthy negotiation to sever contractual ties with Bobby O in 1985. Stephen Hague produced a re-recorded version of "West End Girls (2001 Digital Remaster)" and although the single got off to a slow start, it eventually went to the top of the charts in the UK, as well as many other countries including the United States. Their debut album, "Please" was released shortly after and would go on to sell three million copies.
The Pet Shop Boys have released ten studio albums, which their latest, "Yes" came out in March 2009, as well as four best selling remix albums all entitled, "Disco". They would also produce music for Dusty Springfield (who also did the smash hit duet with the boys, "What Have I Done To Deserve This? (2001 Digital Remaster)"), Boy George ("The Crying Game") and Liza Minnelli ("Losing My Mind").
They are even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful duo in UK music history.
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