So, Katy Perry’s a robot now? Actually, I’ve always liked Katy Perry, even though I still suffer from flashbacks whenever I remember how, during 2010, it was impossible to go anywhere or watch anything without hearing Firework. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Katy’s in need of a comeback but it does seem like, between her feud with Taylor Swift and WITNESS, her popularity has faded a bit and she could definitely use an opportunity to remind the world that she’s more than just the latest judge on American Idol. Hopefully, she’ll get those opportunities!
Right now, they’re on indefinite hiatus but, from 2009 to 2013, they were like the biggest boy band in the world. They had their own show on Nickelodeon. They did tours. They released a lot of music, the majority of which kind of sounded the same but still had a fun, upbeat feel to it. To be honest, I didn’t really know much about them other than the fact that their music videos always seemed to air between late night reruns of Degrassi. If it wasn’t Victoria Justice singing about her best friend’s brother, it was Big Time Rush destroying Nick Cannon’s office.
One of those music videos was the one for Til I Forget About You, which is kind of a strange video. It starts out with one of the Big Time Rush guys getting dumped via text and then, suddenly, the boys are being expected to perform at a snooty country club. Luckily, they’re able to use the ROCK OUT app and make everyone totally rock out. So all is right with the world, I suppose.
It’s a little bit frustrating that there aren’t more Degrassi-themed music videos. I mean, there’s that video that Drake did, where they all burned down the school after killing one of Drake’s rivals. And then there’s the video for Jake Epstein’s My Window, which is full of Degrassi clips. And one of the really, really old episodes of Degrassi featured the Zit Remedy putting together a video but I’ve never been able to find a good copy of it. Otherwise, there’s not much to choose from. The show’s producers really missed an opportunity by not putting out any Downtown Sasquatch, Studz, or Whisperhug music videos. I mean, seriously. They should have taken a lesson from Big Time Rush.
Oh well. Missed opportunities, what can you do about them?
It’s not too much a surprise that today’s latest Song of the Day is very much Valentine’s Day or, at the very least, romance-related. The song chosen comes courtesy of Taeyeon’s ballad from her first full-length album, My Voice, which saw it released in 2017.
“Make Me Love You” actually was part of the album’s deluxe edition which was released a couple months later with the song part of a trio of new one added just for this new edition.
The song has an R&B pop ballad sound that does a great job in incorporating Taeyeon’s unique voice. There’s a reason that for many year’s now that she’s been one of K-Pop’s top soloist in addition as being part of the biggest girl group in the country as leader and Main vocalist of Girls’ Generation.
We have a song that where Taeyeon seems to almost speak to the listener. For the listener to take the leap in allowing the romance begin between them and singer. It’s a ballad that speaks to the anticipation of a potential new romance and also the self-doubt that everyone goes through whenever one should or should not make the first move, leap or step in making it happen.
Today’s music video of the day is for the song that was, of course, the theme song for the 1983 James Bond film, Octopussy. Apparently, the producers realized that there weren’t many words that comfortably rhymed with the movie’s title so they tasked John Barry and Tim Rice with coming up with a theme song that would still be radio friendly. They came up with All Time High.
And I know that some people will tell you that this is a lesser Bond theme song and apparently, Rita Coolidge used to refuse to perform it in concert because she felt that it was an “unfinished” song but I don’t care. I absolutely love this song. Seriously, there are two Bond song that I simply cannot stop myself from singing along with and that’s Nobody Does It Better and All Time High.
Seriously, All Time High is a hundred times better than that song they ended up using for SPECTRE.
And it’s the perfect Valentine’s Day song! I’ll be singing this song later tonight. Actually, I’ll be singing a medly of James Bond theme songs tonight. It’s kind of a Valentine’s Day tradition….
Just a day before that hallmark of all Hallmark days. Usually there’ll be a flood of Valentine’s related postings and this latest Song of the Day will not be an exception.
Today’s Song of the Day: K-Pop Edition sees the return of one of my favorite K-Pop girl groups: Red Velvet. Seen by many K-Pop fans as the younger SM Entertainment sister group to SM’s main girl group, Girls Generation (aka SNSD), Red Velvet has managed to forge their own success with a unique sound that balances their dual concept of girl crush (Red) and sultry, mature (Velvet).
The previous two Red Velvet entries as Song of the Day sees example of the group under both concepts. There’s “Be Natural” which is their first “Velvet” concept. Then a little later there’s “Ice Cream Cake” which is them in their “Red” aka girl crush concept.
With today’s Song of the Day, we have Red Velvet’s lush ballad from their Ice Cream Cake mini-album: “Candy.”
It’s a track that’s well-suited for all the happenings today and for the rest of the week as even the most jaded will try to find a semblance of romance, if just for a couple days or so. A song that talks about both the effect that love has on couples. An emotion that’s both heartwarming and bittersweet as the emotional aspect of love can also lead to an overwhelming fear of that attachment fading that ultimately leads to separation.
“Candy” being the title is the group’s play on words as the whole Ice Cream Cake mini-album’s songs has done. The title may be about something sweet and enjoyable, but the lyrics definitely shows that it is a bit more than a sweet confection.
And if your friend is just someone dressed up like a big teddy bear …. well, to quote Degrassi’s Jay Hogart: “At least there’s a party.”
This video won me over. When it started, the whole dancing teddy bear thing kind of scared me because I still have bad memories of Ted 2 and I was worried the bear was going to start speaking in Seth McFarlane’s voice. Then, when the bear was in bed, I found myself worried that we were going to enter Shining territory. (Remember the scene with the two ghosts, one of whom is dressed up like a dog?) But, no, this video is actually very cute. The members of the band are all adorable and the big teddy bear actually reminded me of this big bunny that I used to have when I was little.
To be honest, this video feels like it could be a companion piece to Saint Motel’s video for My Type. Maybe it’s because they both take place in what appears to be a rather cheap hotel room. Plus, there’s a lot of dancing in My Type as well.
As a final note, as far as Friends is concerned, I binged the whole thing last year and Rachel totally should have picked Joey.
Ok, so it’s 1972. Rock music dominated the airwaves, until a nearly fifty year old English gent named Hurricane Smith blew into America with a British Music Hall-styled #1 hit called “Oh, Babe, What Would You Say” (take it away, Johnny Carson!):
Who was Hurricane Smith, you ask? Well, first of all, his name isn’t really Hurricane, but Norman Smith, born in 1923. Young Norman served in the RAF during WWII as a glider pilot, and upon war’s end set out to make a go of things as a jazz musician, without much success. By 1959, Norman found steady employment working as a sound engineer for Britain’s EMI Records, located on London’s Abbey Road.
In 1962, EMI signed four lads from Liverpool who had some potential. The Beatles recorded “Please Please Me”, and the song took the U.K. by storm:
The Beatles became a phenomenon in America two short years…
Today, we have another music video from our queen, the amazing Adi Ulmansky.
As for what it’s all about …. well, I don’t know. That’s the main reason I responded to the video. The more surreal and dream-like the better has always been my philosophy and this video leaves me wondering if I should go to work tomorrow or if I should hide for a few days. The sight of someone smiling while wearing clown make-up will do that to you.
Of course, it’s possible that J.W. Dunne was correct when he theorized that there is no such thing as “now” and all time may be happening all at once. In which case, I’ve either already gone to work or I’m currently hiding in my house. Of course, I may have misunderstood Dunne’s point. To be honest, for the longest time, I thought John Gregory Dunne was the one with all the theories about how time worked but then I realized that I was confusing my Dunnes. However, John Gregory Dunne did write a book called The Studio, which is the definitive portrait of Hollywood at the end of the studio system. Dunne wrote a later book about Hollywood called Monster which is interesting just because it gives you all the details about went on behind the scenes during the production of one of the most forgettable films ever made.
