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BLONDIE

Blondie began as a scrappy New York punk band in the mid-'70's before "Heart of Glass", their worldwide smash rock/disco hybrid, transformed them in to a slightly glossier pop-rock outfit yet they managed to maintain their rebellious spirit. The group, with a line-up at the time that featured Nigel Harrison on bass guitar, Jimmy Destri on keyboards, Frank Infante on guitar, Clem Burke on drummer, Chris Stein on guitar and his girlfriend at the time, Debbie Harry who was the official voice and unofficial face of the band, enjoyed mainstream success for a few years before jealousy, in-fighting and Stein's near-fatal illness drove them apart by 1982.

Each member went on to explore their own musical endeavors, including Harry's moderately successful solo career, before the original five band members of Blondie (which includes Gary Valentine on bass before he was replaced by Harrison in 1977) came back together first for a few live performances in 1997, an international tour the following year and then a new album, "No Exit" in 1999 although Valentine had left the band again before the recording of it.

Now down to Harry, Stein and Burke (with Leigh Foxx on bass, Matt Katz-Bohen on piano and Tommy Kessler on guitar filling out the rest of the band), Blondie has kept plugging away ever since and are preparing to release their eleventh studio album, "Pollinator" in May.  The first single, "Fun" features the early propulsive energy of the band while feeling quite modern.



DEPECHE MODE

The members of the British band, Depeche Mode dabbled in rock and acoustic before moving on to exploring synthesisers in the early '80's. The quartet, consisting of Martin Gore, Vince Clarke, Andy Fletcher and Dave Gahan, helped usher in the new wave-synthpop scene in England and reached the top twenty on the UK chart with "New Life", "Dreaming Of Me" and "Just Can't Get Enough" from their debut album, "Speak & Spell" in 1981. Due to his apparent discomfort with their pop success, Clarke left Depeche Mode although he quickly went and formed Yazoo ("Yaz" in the U.S.) with Alison Moyet and later Erasure with Andy Bell. Clarke was replaced with Alan Wilder in 1982 and he remained with the band until 1995.

The sound of Depeche Mode has evolved over the years with the utilizing of more guitars and offering songs with far weightier subjects. The trio have just released their fourteenth album, "Spirit" and are speaking on these politically charged times. The first single, "Where's The Revolution" pretty much says it all. The band has returned to filmmaker, Anton Corbijn to create the video for the song.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After her New Year's Eve performance fiasco, Mariah Carey seems eager to put that out of people's minds with some new music. Clearly inspired by her recent break-up with former fiance, billionaire James Packer, "I Don't" is a bitter "her" side of the story backed up with an old-school r&b beat with YG adding a rap for a modern touch. I'm really digging the song but the cartoon sexuality in the music video is just too much. The forty-six year old mother of two directed this clip and it simply features endless shots of herself in ridiculously revealing outfits gyrating and flipping her hair seductively. I know the over-the-top, sexy diva image has always been her thing but it's getting a little sad now. "I Don't" is the first of several singles that will be released throughout the year with an album that will likely happen depending on how well these songs do.



And here is a far more classier Carey paying loving tribute to the recently departed George Michael with an incredible live version of his ballad, "One More Try":



Here is a collection of some dynamic music videos of recent songs I've been digging:

2017 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

Judy Garland's classic ballad from "The Wizard of Oz", Barbra Streisand's classic ballad from "Funny Girl",  the original version of "Hound Dog", a collection of the greatest hits by the Eagles and the debut album from N.W.A.  are just some of the recordings that have just been inducted in to the National Recording Registry.

Since 2002, the Library of Congress have selected sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important that informs or reflect life in the United States. The twenty-five selected this year feature a wide range of music, commentaries, radio programs, comedy albums and speeches. To date, there have been 475 recordings placed in the National Recording Registry.

Here is the complete list of the twenty-five recordings being inducted in the 2017 National Recording Registry:

The London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud (1888)

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (singles) - Manhattan Harmony Four (1923) and Melba Moore & Friends (1990)



“Puttin’ on the Ritz” (single) - Harry Richman (1929)

“Over the Rainbow” (single) - Judy Garland (1939)



“I’ll Fly Away” (single) - The Chuck Wagon Gang (1948)

“Hound Dog” (single) - Big Mama Thornton (1953)



“Saxophone Colossus” - Sonny Rollins (1956)

"The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds", announced by Vin Scully (September 8, 1957)

“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs” - Marty Robbins (1959)

“The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” - Wes Montgomery (1960)

“People” (single) - Barbra Streisand (1964)



“In the Midnight Hour” (single) - Wilson Pickett (1965)



“Amazing Grace” (single) - Judy Collins (1970)



“American Pie” (single) - Don McLean (1971)

“All Things Considered” - first broadcast (May 3, 1971)

“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” - David Bowie (1972)



“The Wiz: Original Broadway Cast Album” - (1975)



“Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)” - Eagles (1976)

“Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha” - (Gunter Schuller, arranger) (1976)

“Wanted: Live in Concert” - Richard Pryor (1978)

“We Are Family” (single) - Sister Sledge (1979)



“Remain in Light” - Talking Heads (1980)

“Straight Outta Compton” - N.W.A (1988)



“Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (All-Night Vigil)” - Robert Shaw Festival Singers (1990)

“Signatures” - Renée Fleming (1997)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARETHA AND DIANA

I didn't realize this but two iconic female vocalists (and two of my all-time favorites) celebrated birthdays over this past weekend.

"The Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin turned seventy-five on March 25th while MISS Diana Ross turned seventy-three yesterday. I know it may not be polite to tell a woman's age but there's no reason for them not to be proud. I could go on and on about what amazing talents they are or how much each has greatly influenced popular music but there is no need. It's simply old, wonderful news.

To celebrate the day of each of their births, I have presented my very favorite songs from each performer. Enjoy:

25 SONGS THAT TELL US WHERE MUSIC IS GOING

It's a pretty bold move to try and identify what direction popular music is heading but for the New York Times Magazine's annual music issue, they have selected twenty-five songs that may possibly let us in on that idea. Not all of these songs are new, as some are a few years old or have been remixed to address our modern times but what many of these songs appear to share in common is a search for identity and where do we fit in this complicated and increasingly isolated planet.

I know this will sound like a really scratched record but there is no denying that this current state of political turmoil has made that question even more relevant and will effect the type of music that will come from artists in the future. Songs that reflect unease, desperation, sadness, outrage and anger will certainly be a more common occurrence as the divisive actions of this administration continues to unfold. Time will tell but in the meantime, check out these innovative and powerful songs.

Click below to read:

The Music Issue: 25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going

CHUCK BERRY (1926 - 2017)

Chuck Berry, the guitarist who took country and rhythm and blues and merged them with his inventive guitar solos and dynamic showmanship to help create what we know as rock & roll, passed away on March 18th at the age of ninety. With his signature "duck walk" he did when he played, Berry was an innovative artist who broke down the deep musical and racial divide at the time in this country and helped integrate teenagers through his music.

Berry was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and was interested in music at an early age, performing for audiences while a student in high school. However, his fledgling career as a professional musician was briefly derailed after he was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to a reformatory for young men until he was twenty-one. Berry formed a singing group while there and was so good, he was allowed to perform occasionally outside of the detention facility. After he was released, Berry started his music career again, developing his unique guitar style and played with giving country music a blues makeover.

Berry's big break came in 1955 when he traveled to Chicago and met blues great, Muddy Waters. He suggested that Berry meet Leonard Chess of Chess Records and the record executive became very interested in the young musician. The first single released was "Maybellene", a reworking of a traditional country tune, "Ida Red" that was made famous by Bob Wills in 1938. The song went straight to number one on the R&B chart and sold over a million copies. The following year a song Berry wrote, "Roll Over Beethoven" actually crossed over and reached the top forty on the pop chart. Berry soon went on tour with other popular rock acts of the day like Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers and he became a major music star.

More hits followed, "School Days", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "Rock and Roll Music", "Little Queenie", "Back In The U S A" and his most famous, "Johnny B. Goode". Berry even made appearances in two early rock & roll films, "Rock Rock Rock" and "Go, Johnny, Go!". But his successful career took a hit when he was convicted of violating the Mann Act and eventually sentenced to a year and a half in prison in 1962.

By the time Berry was released from jail, the British Invasion in the U.S. had begun and these acts were covering many of his hit songs which brought interest back to the originator. While he did record several albums during this period, they were not nearly as successful as in his glory days. But Berry remained a top concert draw and went around the globe performing. In 1972, Berry released a live recording of an innuendo-laden, novelty song, "My Ding-a-Ling" and this would become Berry's first and only number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Chuck Berry received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2000 and was one of the first group of musicians to be inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Berry had continued to perform all these years although he was recently only playing once a month at a restaurant bar in St. Louis.

Here are a few classic moments from the pioneering musician, Chuck Berry:

STARGATE PRESENTS "WATERFALL"

You may not know who Stargate is by name but you are very familiar with their music. What do Beyoncé‘s "Irreplaceable", Ne-Yo's "So Sick", Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music", Katy Perry's "Firework", Selena Gomez's "Come & Get It", Fifth Harmony's "Worth It", Wiz Khalifa‘s "Black and Yellow" and Coldplay's "Hymn for the Weekend" all have in common?

These are just a very small number of songs that the Norwegian production team of Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen have been creating that have found their way on the international pop charts since 2001. Now after years of writing and producing for other artists, Stargate has decided to release some new music under their own name.

And for the official first single under their recording contract with RCA Records, the duo have brought together two of the hottest singers in pop music right now; Sia and P!nk. On "Waterfall", these two vocal powerhouses do not disappoint with them trading verses in this slinky love jam of yearning for another touch from a lover. I certainly think that Stargate has another hit on their hands. Have a listen: