Category Archives: Music Maniac

“Movie in the Right Direction” in a “Perfect World.”  Beth Ditto and Gossip tell it like it is.  This is a “Melody Emergency”!

Right now I’m crazzzy for these two bands.  Beware of some attitude and some growling.  Sometimes I need some snarling and some snickering. These two bands have it!

SLEIGH BELLS – Reign of Terror:  Fuzzy Rock and Roll with a sweet and innocent female vocalist.  Don’t get fooled.  Bittersweet!

THE KILLS – Blood Pressures:  Power Pop with smart lyrics and heavy drumming. This duo is up to no good but I love it!

So what is this, Girls Gone Wild?  Hasn’t she always been a little. . . I don’t understand all the fuss. Is she “Too Old To Rock and Roll” Madonna’s way?  Her new CD MDNA is full of fun pop and even some hokey lyrics.  People think she is too old to sing such silly nonsense.  I like the songs a lot and they are fun and very typical Madonna.  Does this mean she can’t chew gum, too?

Now: REAL ESTATE  – DAYS  (2011)

Spring is coming!  It is time to INVEST in some REAL ESTATE.  “Jingle Jangle” is the best way to describe this band.  Its mood is soft and fresh.  A great way to start a new season.  The vocals are floaty and ethereal and has a 60’s surf sound.  Lazy days of spring and summer with Frisbee in hand.  These are the kind of DAYS we all want.  Green grass and long walks in the park.  Remember the Byrds are singing. . .

Then:  THE BYRDS  –  GREATEST HITS (1967)

After listening to the new band Real Estate, it brought me back to the pleasant sound of The Byrds. I remember this greatest hits album cover so vividly from my big sisters’ album collection. These records were lining up against a wall or on a sleek white shelf surrounded by a printed wallpaper so colorful and wild that it could easily have been a box of crayola crayons gone wild. Shag carpet galore too. My music maniac craze began here and it was a wonderful world of exploration in sound and vision.

Thank G-d I can now put these CDs away. . .They have been on my desk for months, but also in my ears.  These are some of my NOW CDs that have been in my headphones recently. I wanted to share some of the titles with you.  Spring Cleaning. . . Need to make room for more.  Isn’t that always the case?

Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures – (CLASSIC)
Lana Del Rey – Born To Die – (EDGY)
Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow – (MOODY)
Tori Amos – Night of Hunters – (ANCIENT)
Erasure – Tomorrow’s World – (ROMANTIC)
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – (TRIPPY)
Duncan Sheik – Covers 80’s – (NOSTALGIC)
Ladytron – Gravity The Seducer – (FUTURISTIC)
Jessica 6- See The Light – (HOUSEY)
Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues – (MELLOW)

NOW: Rumer – Seasons of My Soul (2010)

I heard a Rumer! She is not Rumer Willis just in case you got confused like I did. Instead she is the new British voice to top the charts. Her new album called Seasons of my Soul is easy listening in that groovy-mellow-Sunday-afternoon kinda way.   Karen Carpenter meets Dusty Springfield.  Rumer is the “goodbye girl.”  She covers the David Gates song from the movie of the same name.  Her voice is so smooth and crystal clear that it will clear a path back to the 70’s am radio days.
THEN: K.D. Lang – Drag (1997)

Remember this one?  This was one of K.D.’s smoothest albums to date.  This music felt like smoke going up into the air and floating on top of your living room.  Lounge Lizard.  Mellow Mama.  I loved this music in 1997 and still believe it is one of her best.  After listening to Rumer, I immediately thought of Drag.  There are also cover versions of songs on Drag from the 60’s and 70’s.  This was her Season of her Soul.

This girl has it all: grace, grandness and Grammys!  This DVD captures it all from The Royal Albert Hall in London.  Her concerts sell out in record breaking time.  Turn your living room into a grand ballroom and have the new Queen of Pop sing for you.  Her voice is Grammy Gold!

Take a ride to rustic and strange new places. This album travels to many places such as “Calgary” and “Washington.” This mellow vibe is so smooth and soothing that you feel like you are floating in a swimming pool.  There are also traces of modern technology mixed with classic instruments like piano and guitar.  Justin Vernon’s whisper feels so soft and beautiful.  Great music to take this journey and ride the rapids.

I wanted to post this photo just to remember what a unique and greatly talented woman Amy was.  We can remember her from all her wonderful music.  Please check out her first album FRANK, which showcases her voice in a raw and jazzy mode.  A new album will be released shortly and we can embrace her talents once more from her beautiful emotional music.

NOW: Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials  (2011)

This is no sophomore slump! “Lay me down” she sings in “What the Water Gave Me.”  Florence is back, bigger and more lush than ever.  She was grand before but now it is a ballroom.  It is dark, romantic and robust.  Goth and Gospel. Florence Welch roars through this album and proves herself to be part of the British Englishwomen of rock, AKA Siouxsie, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey.  All of them, I’m a huge fan of.  The scale of this music is inflated and turbulent and it will send chills up and down your skin.  Dark shadows is a Ceremony!

THEN:  Siouxsie and and The Banshees – A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982)

Florence and Siouxsie should really do a duet  together.  The Queens of British Goth unite!  Florence is the new goth and Siouxsie is royalty.  I felt that this 1982 album had the same lush and grand sound that is part of Florence’s current sound.  The song “Melt” is a classic from this album and worth a listen. The scale and grandiose feeling makes you want to put on your velvet robe and prance through a wistfully enchanted forest.