Songs You May Have Missed #452

27 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

landlady

Kirsty MacColl: “My Affair” (1991)

From one of England’s true national treasures, cheeky and talented songwriter Kirsty MacColl, lost to us tragically and too soon in a controversial 2000 boating accident.

Kirsty gave us, among other great musical moments, the retro girl-pop classic “They Don’t Know” (popularized by Tracey Ullman) and the Christmas duet “Fairytale of New York”, recorded with Shane MacGowan of the Pogues.

Kirsty is the daughter of folksinger Ewan MacColl. “My Affair” was her first foray into a Latin sound–she recorded whole albums of Latin-tinged pop later in her career–and it perfectly displays the lady’s witty lyrical style, as well as her mesmerizing voice.

Electric Landlady? One of the greatest album titles of all time.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2015/05/14/songs-you-may-have-missed-530/

Songs You May Have Missed #451

27 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

concretes
The Concretes: “On the Radio” (2006)

Low-key but infectious, The Concretes create what has been called The Stockholm Sound, a sunny brand of pop sound from a country that doesn’t actually get a lot of sun.

Too Philosophical Pop Song

23 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in On a Lighter Note, Video of the Week Tags:

The Second City presents a pop song so philosophical it’ll kill any party. Even deeper than some of the work of professor Ke$ha.

Songs You May Have Missed #450

23 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

sloan

Sloan: “Nothing Lasts Forever Anymore” (2003)

Count the guitar tones used here by underrated Canadian power pop masters Sloan.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/04/09/songs-you-may-have-missed-71/

Songs You May Have Missed #449

23 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

keane

Keane: “Everybody’s Changing” (2004)

 

From their 2004 debut, which featured the single “Somewhere Only We Know”, their biggest radio hit.

Keane’s anthemic sound eschews lead guitar in favor of piano, and their emotive songs and soaring choruses have always invited Coldplay comparisons. Somehow, though, Keane have mostly managed to avoid the mainstream audience.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/10/28/songs-you-may-have-missed-494/

Songs You May Have Missed #448

21 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

man man

Man Man: “Head On” (2013)

Man Man tone down their quirky, Tom Waits-style nightmare cabaret tendencies on the new single “Head On”, perhaps indicating that the forthcoming On Oni Pond LP will follow this trend.

Amazon.com calls the new album “a compelling mash-up of Fear Of Music-era Talking Heads, classic soul, psychedelia, hip hop, and 50 s rock and roll”.

Can’t wait.

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Songs You May Have Missed #447

13 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

banks

Heywood Banks: “Toast” (1998)

 

Heywood Banks is probably the premier toaster virtuoso among all comic songwriters. And he really likes toast.

Songs You May Have Missed #446

12 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

rita

Rita Ribeiro: “Banho Cheiroso” (1999)

Brazilian singer Rita Ribeiro’s “Banho Cheiroso” (“Aromatic Bath”) simply extols the virtues of bathing “to get rid of this indolence”, with the use of various Brazilian aromatic plants, several of which she lists in the song. So, basically: You need an attitude adjustment–go take a bath.

The Top 50 Artists of the 1980’s

10 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

  joel

We count down the top 50 hitmakers of the 80’s based on Billboard singles chart performance

50. The Police

49. The Rolling Stones

48. Bryan Adams

47. Foreigner

46. Donna Summer

45. Janet Jackson

44. Culture Club

43. Van Halen

42. Kim Carnes

41. Gloria Estefan

michael

40. Steve Winwood

39. Tina Turner

38. Genesis

37. Heart

36. Survivor

35. Billy Ocean

34. REO Speedwagon

33. Cyndi Lauper

32. Pat Benatar

31. Bob Seger

hall oates

30. Kenny Loggins

29. Air Supply

28. Paul McCartney

27. Starship

26. Bruce Springsteen

25. Olivia Newton-John

24. Bon Jovi

23. Rod Stewart

22. Rick Springfield

21. Chicago

madonna

20. Pointer Sisters

19. Sheena Easton

18. Journey

17. Duran Duran

16. Diana Ross

15. Stevie Wonder

14. Whitney Houston

13. Huey Lewis & The News

12. Kenny Rogers

11. Kool & The Gang

prince

10. Elton John

9. John Cougar Mellencamp

8. Phil Collins

7. Lionel Richie

6. Billy Joel

5. George Michael

4. Daryl Hall & John Oates

3. Madonna

2. Prince

1. Michael Jackson

mj

Songs You May Have Missed #445

10 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

wes

Wes Cunningham: “Good Good Feeling” (2001)

 

As you can hear at the link below, Wes Cunningham’s previous album was more of an angsty affair. His second, Pollyanna, is a mellower, blissed-out collection of songs by comparison. Clearly, two things are evident: 1) Love intervened, and 2) Wes writes from his real experience.

“Good Feeling” is a catchy little power pop mash note.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/05/01/songs-you-may-have-missed-93/

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