Blog Archives
Is the album dead and why vinyl is great…
In the digital age, almost everyone streams or downloads, or does both. In this same age, vinyl is completely back. Two things that seem totally different and almost can’t go together, are happening next to each other. Read the rest of this entry
Song of the day: Level 42- Running In The Family
In 1987, Level 42 released its seventh studio album, and one of the singles is the title track. It was a number 6 hit in the UK, and that’s not strange: there were some UK singles that had a fault in the pressing, making it skip some times. In the US, the single did number 83. It made them famous in quite some countries that they had not yet reached. The song was there already in 1986, live with different lyrics. Enjoy
Level 42- Running In The Family
Song of the day: Joe Jackson- Is She Really Going Out With Him
This song was Joe Jackson’s first single ever! He released it in 1978 as the first single of the album Look Sharp! The song would hit the charts in 1979, when the album was released. Joe Jackson said he first heard the title, and then started thinking about the content with the pretty girls who meet monsters. Later live versions would also be hits, and often you hear the live version on the radio rather than the studio version. Enjoy
Joe Jackson- Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Song of the day: The Doors- People Are Strange
I think it’s one of the best bands that existed: the Doors. In 1967 they released their album People Are Strange, and the title song reached number 12 in the US. The song shows how the Doors were fascinated by the European cabaret, and the content of the song is about drug users, the hippie culture or outsiders in general. A great song, enjoy
The Doors- People Are Strange
Song of the day: Jason Mraz- Hello You Beautiful Thing
Jason Mraz released his fifth studio album this year, named Yes! The song of the day is the third track of this album, and it is not an official single (as far as I know). Therefore, I could not find any chart positions. However, it’s a great song and it once more establishes Jason Mraz as a good singer, this time acoustic! Enjoy
Jason Mraz- Hello, You Beautiful Thing
Song of the day: Eric Clapton & Friends- Call Me The Breeze
There was a lot of new talent this year, but the established names also made music. Eric Clapton, for example. He invited his friends Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Tom Petty, Don White and Willie Nelson to play a tribute to JJ Cale with him. The result is really fantastic, the album even went to number 1 in the Dutch album charts! Enjoy
Eric Clapton & Friends- Call Me The Breeze
Song of the day: First Aid Kit- My Silver Lining
Sweden is completely back! It seems to go in waves, with some years less music, and then in one time a lot of good music comes from Sweden! Just like these two girls, who form the folk duo First Aid Kit. They had their first success this year, though they did not appear high in the charts. Their new album, Stay Gold, sold very good, and on that album is one of the best songs from last year, if not the best song! It’s enchanting and very very very good! Enjoy
First Aid Kit- My Silver Lining
Song of the day: ABBA- Summer Night City
Yes, a seventies hit today! And one with a strange story. The song was intended to be the lead single of the album Voulez-Vous. However, it never appeared on the album! In recording and mixing the song, ABBA was not happy with the sound of it. They could not find what was wrong, and after some months, they decided to still release it. That’s why it was not included on the album. Whether they liked it or not, the public had no problems finding the single and buying it. In most countries it entered the Top 5 after some weeks, and it has even charted as number one in some countries! I think it’s a great song, maybe one of their best. Enjoy
ABBA- Summer Night City
Song of the day: Manu Chao- Me Gustas Tu
A more recent summer song today. The song was made in 2001 and is the second single of the second album Manu Chao made. It’s a Spanish song, of which I do not understand a word, and in the chorus French is spoken. The music used in the song is the same in two other tracks of the album, which makes one fade into the other. This really brings up the summer feelings! Enjoy
Manu Chao- Me Gustas Tu
Song of the day: Lois Lane- It’s The First Time
I woke up this morning with the total lyrics of this song in my head, including the music and the intro. I have strange moods, sometimes, and I can’t tell why it was just this song. However, their album, which is on CD at home, is a very good album, although it only has 6 songs on it. One of these songs, the first one, is the song which was one of their biggest hits. In the nineties, they had another big hit, but they never had as much success as with their first album, which featured a lot of hits. Enjoy
Loïs Lane (In America Loïs L.)- It’s The First Time
Song of the day: Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield- What Have I Done To Deserve This?
Oops! I forgot to feature one of my favourite bands, and that while I’m running song of the day for almost one and a half year. A shame. I know. But now it’s their turn, which means that I have to put on the Pet Shop Boy alarm for a moment. Wait… WHIEOHWIEOHWIEOHWIEOHWIE That’s enough for now, I thought. This song was on their album Actually, which was a great album, including It’s A Sin (which would have been here if this song wasn’t there), Hit Music and One More Chance. This is one of the best songs from the album, so enjoy
The Pet Shop Boys (WIEOHWIEOHWIEOHWIE … The alarm works good, now…) & Dusty Springfield- What Have I Done To Deserve This?
Song of the day: Chic- Le Freak
Man! Ever since the album Random Access Memories from Daft Punk was released, I heard the name Nile Rodgers everywhere. He played on a track on the album, produced the hits of Sister Sledge, he made music for David Bowie, he played on some other new hit, and of course he was in Chic! What a man can do in a life…
And what did I hear yesterday? The nominations for the Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame are known: Nirvana, Yes, Kiss and…. Chic!
My preference? I really wouldn’t know. They are all great bands, but okay, Chic. I like disco…
Chic- Le Freak
Music Documentary 7: About Fleetwood Mac
I was looking into the TV guide to see what was featured tonight on the Dutch TV (as usual, not much which was interesting to watch) and I saw that they would do a re-run of the Fleetwood Mac documentary I saw last year. It’s a documentary about the great album Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. It’s part of the Classic Albums series, which is of course by itself a success and great! I have to see if they are available on DVD, since they are very interesting…
This documentary shows how strange the album Rumours is. As you probably know, Fleetwood Mac was a band where there were two couples, but they both were divorcing and the songs they wrote for each other were about how difficult the time was. Ironic is that the persons singing the songs were singing about themselves…
Luckily I found the documentary online, so if you’ve got a spare hour:Fleetwood Mac- Rumours
Song of the day: Mumford & Sons- Thistle & Weeds
What a good album this is! I was listening to it one of the last days, and I must say: it does not get boring. Sometimes the songs are powerful, while other songs are smaller, more fragile. My absolute favourite was not one of the hits, but I think it’s the best of the album. So I want to introduce it to you.
Just listen to it and maybe write your comment:
Mumford & Sons- Thistle & Weeds
Song of the day: Spandau Ballet- True
Talking about the eighties, this was one of the characteristic groups of the eighties, with quite some hits! No wonder of course, because it’s a very good group, with very good songs. One of my favourites is the song of the day, namely Gold. It came from the album True, which itself also was a hit! But why do you like Spandau Ballet, you would ask. Maybe that’s got something to do with the sound of the songs. This one is powerful, has a nice piano piece (around 2:50), it has got nice percussion, and very important: a saxophone. Since I’m a big fan of hearing a sax in a song, songs with a saxophone have an attraction to me. So for today, let’s enjoy:
Spandau Ballet- Gold
Song of the day: Nirvana- Come As You Are
It’s maybe one of the most famous albums from the nineties, and of course one of the few Nirvana made. Probably this is also their greatest hits album, because the other albums have not made big differences in the music. Nirvana was a grunge band, and they had a big hit album with Nevermind. Even today it’s sold a lot. It contains songs like Lithium and Smells Like Teen Spirit, but I want to focus on another hit, not as big as Smells Like Teen Spirit, but it’s my favourite from the album.
I’m talking about the song Come As You Are, a more relaxed song, but with the sound of Nirvana. According to me, it’s Nirvana’s best song…
Listen to
Nirvana- Come As You Are
Song of the day: Pearl Jam- Just Breathe
Pearl Jam… rock/grunge music from the nineties, but I don’t know a lot of songs by Pearl Jam… This is actually one of these songs, but I don’t know more by Pearl Jam. Well, they made the album Ten, which is quite famous, but their music is a mystery to me. Anyone got any ideas which songs to listen to explore the world of Pearl Jam?
Okay, what do I know by Pearl Jam? This relaxed song with a very good text. Listen carefully, because it is really about something serious: death… (that’s my interpretation)
Pearl Jam- Just Breathe
Song of the day: No Mercy- Where Do You Go
Well, I must confess: this is another cover from a song originally made by La Bouche. It only appeared on one of their albums, but was never released as a single. Well, and then No Mercy must have thought: well, sounds good enough to record ourselves. Actually I have no idea what they have thought, but I know that they recorded the song and released it on single. And what didn’t happen to La Bouche with the song, happened with No Mercy: they scored a big hit. Yes, that was quite a good idea: they ended high in the hit charts, but in the Netherlands they stuck to the seventh place. No problem for me, since I can feature it as a song of the day. So let’s enjoy today:
No Mercy- Where Do You Go?
Song of the day: Bellini- Samba De Janeiro
Okay, today no difficult meanings of songs, no difficult lyrics, just music. And a few words, okay. But it’s not important to understand those, because it’s more about the happy feeling you get from the song. It makes you feel like you are in Rio De Janeiro, especially when it’s carnaval and they are playing such tunes as the samba. Try not to dance then. I guess you won’t succeed.
I don’t know for sure, but I thought Samba De Janeiro was the only song Bellini made. As far as I know, they made just one album, consisting of this song and several remixes of the song. After that, Bellini dissappeared…
Luckily, they made this hit which is song of the day!
Bellini- Samba De Janeiro
The answer of Duke
Remember that I had Duke’s So In Love With You as song of the day a while ago? He sent me an e-mail to tell that So In Love With You will be released again soon, as a remixed version.
Of course I like to hear something about new music as well, and especially mixes are always welcome! I tried to contact him, but my e-mails returned to sender, so I wrote a post. And yes, a reaction followed!
New material is coming soon, and you can hear something on the following links to Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/markadamsuk (the album Fixing Broken Pieces)
and
https://soundcloud.com/duke_music (the remixes from So In Love With You + Lover Man)
I have already listened to some of the material, and it sounds great! I will keep you up-to-date about new material.
Song of the day: Hanson- Mmmbop
When I was looking for some information on this song, I saw the date of release: April 15, 1997. Just one day before I was born! Actually I was thinking it was from the early nineties, but that turned out to be the complete different side. The message is something which mostly gets lost with singing along with the MMMBop, etc…
So what do they want to say? Friendships come and go in a MMMBop, so in a short time. Hold on to friendships! That’s basically the message. And there’s more: they made a whole list of albums, but I only know them from this song, as one-hit wonders. Again, I’m wrong. Again? Yes, I had the same with Akcent. But let’s keep to this song. Enjoy:
Hanson- MMMBop
Song of the day: Bakermat- Vandaag
Sometimes you hear a song which grabs you: you know that you find it very good, you want to know more! I had that one, two weeks ago when listening to the radio. I heard a (relatively) new song on the radio, it was the first time I heard it, and I thought: wow! This is it. This is going to be a hit, and I want his album. It stopped there, there was no album… not yet.
So you start googling around: more music by this artist, where does he get his inspiration from, etc, etc, etc.
I found his YouTube-channel, listened to the songs that were on there, and decided to buy his album as soon as it was there.
The strange thing about his music is that it is new, but it is familiar, too. It has to do with the influences. Jazz, blues, Nat King Cole, to mention a few.
Those are the things I know. Those are the things I like. And the saxophones in his songs, I like those, too.
To give him an extra impulse (which he maybe doesn’t need), I give the honour of the song of the day to his song Vandaag. Because it was the first thing I heard of him. And because I hope he will make a lot of good music in future. And that he will make a record on CD, since I don’t download…
Summer Song of the Day #6: Madonna- La Isla Bonita
Mmm… do you remember the album by Madonna called True Blue? Yes? Really good, wasn’t it, huh?
It’s my personal favourite of her studio albums, and this song is one of my personal favourites by Madonna, too.
However, it could have been that not Madonna was here, but Michael Jackson. The song was firstly offered to him, but, according to Gaitsch, he refused taking the song for his Bad album.
Madonna got it after him, wrote the lyrics, and recorded it. The result? A very good Spanish summer sounding song which ended on number 6 in the Summer Song of the Day Top 20.
Not bad, is it?
Number 6: Madonna- La Isla Bonita
Music documentary: About Meat Loaf
There is a series on TV with all sorts of documentaries on albums of artists: Classic Albums. I absolutely love this series, since the documentaries are very informative, not too long (about an hour) and you really learn something of them. Lately I saw the documentary about Bat Out Of Hell. It was a re-run, but the first time I have missed a part, so I thought: let’s watch it completely this time! And I succeeded.
Why do I choose the documentary of Meat Loaf above all? Because this documentary is on a great album with some hits everybody knows (who doesn’t know Paradise by the Dashboardlight? Apart from most of my classmates, that is…), and with some history and deeper meanings into them. One of the things I learned from this documentary was for instance that the sports part of Paradise By The Dashboardlight was quite naughty… in the Netherlands, this part simply is cut out because the record is too long, in America this part is cut out because of… watch and learn! 🙂
Do you have a link, too? Well, if I’m correct, this must be the one: Bat out of Hell documentary. (if not so, I’m sorry!)
Song of the day: The Power Station- Some Like It Hot
Oh yes! The debute album of the Power Station! Do you remember? 1985, and the big hit: Some Like It Hot!
I like that song, it’s really good! And it says something about a lot of persons, who like the summer (like me).
So listen to that song, because it some like it hot, some like it when the heat is on…
And vote for the Summer Song of the Day Top 20! >>>>
Song of the day: Eros Ramazotti- Ma Che Bello Questo Amore
The album Eros by Eros Ramazotti. Some big hits on there, like Cose Della Vita (together with Tina Turner), Musica É (with Andrea Bocelli), but the song of the day is another big hit.
Of course it’s Italian, and mostly Italian = sun! Hot temperatures! Summer! Happy! etc.
This song sounds sunny, happy, and summerlike: it’s Ma Che Bello Questo Amore. I’ve no idea what it means (something like I question love?), but it sounds good.
And vote for the Summer Song of the Day Top 20! You can vote by clicking on the sun >>>>
Song of the day: Mungo Jerry- In The Summertime
This is a good collection of songs, from TV-commercials! One of them is a nice song which is an easy song, and later covered by Shaggy!
However, the original song is the song of the day. It was used in a lot of commercials, and very popular in the time it was firstly released:
It’s the version from 1970, by Mungo Jerry, it’s In The Summertime!
Vote for the Summer Song of the day Top 20!
Song of the day: Wham!- Club Tropicana
Looking in my list with songs of the day, I only found a Christmas song by them, Last Christmas.
However, they made so much more good music. On another album, Make It Big, there are some big hits like Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Freedom.
On this album not a lot of big hits, but their summer hit is on there!
I’m of course talking about Club Tropicana, the fifth song of the album!
Well, vote for the Summer Song of the day Top 20, since you can!
Song of the day: Amy Winehouse- Valerie
????
Yes, I would like to post a picture of the album which features the song of the day. Unfortunately, I don’t know yet!
Do you remember my small problem? If not, read that post firstly…
In this post, I discussed a version of Valerie which I couldn’t find on the albums of Amy herself. Therefore, I asked you on which album the radioversion of this song was.
If you know, please leave a comment, that would be fantastic!
So, the song of the day is Valerie, the radioversion.
Song of the day: Nelly Furtado- I’m Like A Bird
Well, I’m gonna make it short and sweet today, because I really don’t know what to say about the song.
The song of the day is made by Nelly Furtado, and is a good song from the period 2000-2009.
The song is called I’m Like A Bird!
Song of the day: Keane- Bend And Break
Something which is a bit more recent… 2004!
This was one of the albums which I bought when I finally found out who had sung Somewhere Only We Know.
And I was very surprised to find out that Crystal Ball was made by the same group, but that is on another album: Under The Iron Sea.
I bought those two together, and became fan of Keane. And if you want to know, Strangeland is also in the record collection.
Well, I mentioned Somewhere Only We Know already, but there are more good songs on this album.
If I only watch the first three songs of the tracklist, I see:
1. Somewhere Only We Know
2. This Is The Last Time
3. Bend And Break
And the last one is the song of the day!
Song of the day: The Pointer Sisters- Jump! (For My Love)
Yes, this is one of the best studio albums by the Pointer Sisters! Okay, we only have one, but still…
One of the tracks on the album is Automatic, a very good song, but not the song of the day.
The song of the day is a song which is a happy song. I can’t think of a better description. Or, well:It has to do something with the Olympic games of 1984.
It’s Jump (For My Love)!
And this song was originally called Jump, the rest of the title was placed after it when the song got confused with Jump from Van Halen.
Song of the day: Village People- YMCA
Yes, this is a varied bunch of people… And yes, it’s old music, but there is a song on the album that even young people know…
The Village People are responsible for what maybe is the biggest sing-a-long song in the world…
Who doesn’t know the lines It’s fun to stay in the Y.M.C.A., it’s fun to stay in the Y.M.C.A.
Yes, of course! The song of the day is Y.M.C.A.
Enjoy singing!
Song of the day: Phil Collins- Sussudio
Of course there are lots of good albums, and a lot of good artists which can be in this place. Therefore, I have enough material.
If you have a request, fill in the contact form, then I can consider that artist to have a song of the day!
Well, this is an album by Phil Collins, and it is called No Jacket Required. It’s in my eyes on of his better albums, and it certainly contains one of my favourite songs!
In this song, he seems to be stummering, but it’s just part of the song. Which one would that be?
Of course, it’s Sussudio!
Song of the day: Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé- Barcelona
It was an unusual combination: Freddie Mercury, the man who was the singer of the popgroup Queen, sang with the operasinger Montserrat Caballé.
However, the combination of the two turned out to be a gold combination. And therefore I have to choose Barcelona itself as the song of the day.
And please listen closely to the text: it’s about their meeting!
Song of the day: Johnny Hates Jazz- Turn Back The Clock
Yes, here he is. Johnny Hates Jazz, a group which is active again after a big break.
And I can tell you: The album track which is the same as the title will be the song of the day.
Boring? Yes, but I can’t help it that it’s such a good song! My favourite and title track is:
Song of the day: R.E.M.- Man On The Moon
This is an album of which I firstly believed that it was a greatest hits album, because so many songs on the album were hits.However, digging into it a little deeper, I found out it just was a studio album which had a lot of hits on it.
On this album is the beautiful song called Everybody Hurts, but also the song Drive, which I think is very good, and the song of the day.
It’s also a very good song, but mostly it’s Everybody Hurts or Losing My Religion what you hear, and not Man On The Moon.
However, it is song of the day today, so lets enjoy it!
Song of the day: Simple Minds- Alive And Kicking
Oh, how I love the Simple Minds! They were a good band, and they are still active, so still a good band.
Now is most of their music good, so I won’t deny that I’m sort of a fan…
And of course, this album was released in 1985. And what is almost all eighties music? Yes, good music!
The track which I have selected as the song of the day is the fourth song of this album, and one of my favourite songs by the Simple Minds.
It’s Alive And Kicking!
Song of the day: Duffy- Mercy
This is really a good album. I almost can say that I like every single track on the album, and maybe I just have to say that.
However, there are always songs which are better than others on an album, even if you like all of them.
It’s that way on Rockferry as well. The title track Rockferry is very good, but also the singles of the album… And one of them is song of the day.
I heard this song a few times when the album had just been released, but I didn’t know who sung it. So it was a complete surprise to come across the song later on and then I kept remembering the artist: Duffy!
The song which I had “lost” for a while was Mercy, maybe one of the best songs made by Duffy.
Enjoy! (And if you have some money left, and you are near a record store, consider buying the album if you don’t have it)
Song of the day: Alphaville- Big In Japan
This is one of the covers which I think is a bit mysterious. If I see it, it captures my eye and I have to watch out that I don’t watch it for too long.
One of the questions which I have is who the man on the front is.
But okay, let’s move to the music. It is a very good album, has some big hits on it, like Forever Young, and it was the debut album of Alphaville.
The song which I think is very nice as song of the day is Big In Japan.
Enjoy listening to it, and listen to the other tracks of the album, too! Tip!!!
Song of the day: Janet Jackson- What Have You Done For Me Lately?
You might now think: Who’s that woman and what is she doing on this blog?
Well, let me introduce to you: Janet Jackson, the sister of Michael. And this is, for the people who have not recognized it, the front of her greatest hits album Design Of A Decade: 1986-1996.
Some people think this title is not the right title for this album, since it mainly features songs in the period 1986-1990, but that all does not matter.
Those people probably don’t listen to the album but only discuss about what’s on there.
I listen to the album and hear great songs, and of course, my personal favourite is song of the day.
It’s a song which I think is very nice to hear, it’s What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Song of the day: The Beatles- Can’t Buy Me Love
The song of the day comes from this album. It’s, as you can see yourself, an album by the Beatles.
The picture is from the mono version, I think my father has the stereo version, but that doesn’t matter at all.
A very good album, the title track is, but there are more songs on an album than only the title track.
This one has 13 tracks, for instance.
The song of the day is the seventh song of the first side, so if you have the album, just look it up.
If you don’t have it, there are two options: Buy it in your record store or read further. (Looking it up on the internet doesn’t count)
It’s Can’t Buy Me Love, by the Beatles of course!
Song of the day: Gary Moore- Still Got The Blues
An album which amazed me. I can’t say it otherwise. The first time I heard it, I thought like: Wow!
The part which amazed me a bit was the kind of mix between rock and blues.
And, like I have said the last days as well, my favourite song is the title track…
That’s also because of the great intro this song has. Oh yes,
Gary Moore with Still Got The Blues is the song of the day, and he deserves it!
Song of the day: Tina Turner- Private Dancer
It’s Sundaymorning. In our family, we used to play albums on Sundaymorning.
Already some years ago, I think when I was seven years old, I asked if I could choose an album to play.
I looked which album I would choose, and I pulled out an album. That’s the album which you can see above:
Tina Turner’s Private Dancer. Since then, I am Tina Turner fan, and particularly this album is my favourite.
There are a lot of good songs on this album, but my own favourite is the title track.
And therefore, the song of the day is Private Dancer from Tina Turner!
Song of the day: Chris Rea- Auberge
What a beautiful picture, isn’t it? It’s the front of the album Auberge from Chris Rea.
And on this album, there are some amazingly good tracks. Of course, there is only one song of the day, but if you have some money in your pocket and no idea on what to spend it, go to the recordstore and look if they have this album.
I especially like the title track, Auberge, and therefore it’s the song of the day.
One tip: don’t skip the intro, because you think it’s boring!
Tomorrow another album and another song of the day!
Song of the day: Foreigner- That Was Yesterday
Above you see the picture of the album Agent Provocateur from Foreigner.
It’s an album with a story. All the songs are about a spy, who takes a look at life.
If you listen to the album, there are different emotions in the album. The album also contains the biggest hit for Foreigner, I Want To Know What Love Is.
However, that is not the song of the day. The song of the day is the follow up of I Want To Know What Love Is, namely That Was Yesterday.
(You might think what happened to the new songs of the day. Unfortunately, I’m not doing that anymore, since it was a lot of work.)
Song of the day: Depeche Mode- Enjoy The Silence
Hi there,
The new song of the day is here! A very good song, made by a band which has released a new album lately!
That album was called Delta Machine, and it sounds marvelous! Their older hits are also very good, I really recommend their albums if you don’t have them yet!
The song of the day is one of the older songs, and if you didn’t know already, the band is called Depeche Mode.
The song of the day is called Enjoy The Silence.
Tomorrow TWO new songs!
Song of the day: U2- With Or Without You
Hi there,
I was listening to a great album lately, and suddenly realised that the band who made the album hasn’t had a song of the day.
Until now, because the song of the day is made by this band. It’s the band who made the album “The Joshua Tree”.
Of course you now know it is U2 with With Or Without You.
It’s the third song of this great album, which has some other great songs on it.
The FlinterFiles 