October 2013 – BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

The Return of Corey Hart with Papercha$er (@wechasepaper) on “Night Visions (Sunglasses)”

PAPERCHA$ER featuring COREY HART, “Night Visions (Sunglasses)”

To celebrate 30 years in the music biz, Montreal’s Corey Hart is back and for the first time ever he’s permitted an interpolation of his Top 10 1984 hit “Sunglasses At Night” into another recording, by American DJ’s Papercha$er called “Night Visions (Sunglasses)”. And while there might be a smattering of the original, it sounds pretty spiffy, new and fresh to me. This could do well if it makes the right connections, the original is still a favourite of mine after all these years. Corey Hart will be playing three nights in May 2014 in Montreal as part of this celebration. I also recently recorded a profile of Corey, and you can hear it on D-Moos Tourism Radio. Get “Night Visions (Sunglasses)” on iTunes and watch the video below.

Meet Své (@svemusic) with “Talking To The Walls”

SVE, “Talking To The Walls”

With the instantly memorable “Talking To The Walls”, New York independent singer Své has instantly become part of that talented cadre of female vocalists this year that includes Sia, Foxes, and Jessie Ware. It’s a spectacular introduction that will not go unnoticed. She’s got her own style, a voice that is far-reaching, and production by Kyle Patrick (last year’s “Go For Gold” and ex-Click Five) to make it all happen. Loving it!

@FefeDobson and Her Lasting “Legacy”

FEFE DOBSON, “Legacy”

Toronto’s Fefe Dobson continues to create her own “Legacy” after debuting a decade ago as a teenager with solid pop/rock songs that belied her young years. Whenever she has released music, it yielded hits, most recently with 2010’s Joy, which brought us “Ghost” and “Stuttering” among others. “Legacy” is much more sophisticated rock to appease her regular listeners as well as draw in new ones, younger and older. The video (link is right here) sees her in various stages of costume obviously in tribute to some of her musician and media heroes. It’s an eye-catching, energetic romp and should help grow listeners for the song. Look for her fourth solo album next year called Firebird.

BILLCS Top 30 #416 – October 21/13

Number One:

In a powerful Top 5 last week, I was uncertain who would emerge at #1 on the new chart. But it’s Neverest whose latest single “Rewind” moves 3-1 this week. Neverest is in good company with River Tiber and Kwik Fiks & Bongiovanni as Canadian performers with #1’s on my chart this year. The quartet is also on a triple bill with Shawn Desman and Tyler Shaw at The Mod Club on November 16 in Toronto. Do catch their show if you haven’t! Always full of surprises and positive energy. PLUS near the bottom of this post (but before you look at the full chart) I am featuring a new song by the writer of “Rewind”!

The Rest Of The Top 10:

Ryan Adamés has a 3rd appearance at #2 with his warm and fuzzy cover of Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”. That song is suddenly emerging on many TV talent shows but none of the covers that I’ve heard have the unique appeal of this rendition. It’s available for free if you go and like Ryan’s Facebook page 🙂

ARTPOP and new single(s) approach in the coming weeks, but Lady GaGa’s “Applause” is still climbing my chart at #3.
It looks like Miguel & Jessie Ware’s duet of “Adorn” is eye-ing #1 in two weeks. My excuse for being a latehead on the song earlier this year 😛 It climbs 8-4.
Kaden’s “Black Light” falls to #5, but he has another song, the title track from the compilation Fuel For The Machine on deck! You can listen to a preview of it right here.
Betty Who’s “Somebody Loves You” is one of the most joyous songs you’ll hear this year, and the Aussie-born New York-based singer climbs 10-6.

While we await what sounds like will be a compelling video for his song “Lift Your Head”, Sam Dickinson’s soulful and energetic “Learn To Wait” climbs another notch to #8.
Pet Shop Boys score their second Top Tenner from Electric with the sublime “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” at #9.
Australians Parralox created one of the most interesting album of cover versions this year with Recovery. Excellent choices include Front 242’s memorable industrial club hit “Headhunter”, here given a full blown electronica dance treatment. It lands at #10 on the chart 🙂

Fast Risers:

The more I listen to Osvaldo Supino’s “I Have A Name”, the more I appreciate the honest beauty of the lyrics and the arrangement. It’s the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 21-11, while Osvaldo-with-a-boombox creates fun and havoc with “Ma Radio” further down at #15.

I can’t wait for more new music proper from DATABOY, but in the meantime their stellar mashup “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness” is doing the trick just fine thank you, and moves up to #12.
FrankMusik’s gorgeous “Hymn” from his acoustic piano album Between Us rises to #17. He’s playing two shows in NYC this week, on Thursday October 24 at Rockwood (which I will miss, dammit, because I arrive in NYC the next evening 😦 ) and Saturday October 26 for a Hallowe’en DJ set at Fox & Jane. More stops in Washington DC and Philadelphia afterwards for you fans!

“Can’t Hold Back” by Anton Ewald is the last fast riser, moving 28-21. I’m thoroughly impressed with his EP, called A. It’s really contemporary and diverse pop, and only the Swedes can seem to get this right!!

New to the Chart:

As older songs reach their maximum amount of appearances (10 = 20 weeks) and drop off, it helps make way for lots of fresh new tunes to dazzle you.

It’s no surprise to regular readers of this blog that two new songs by Simon Curtis make their debuts. Last week Simon unleashed a free mixtape called WWW which I wrote about. Forever our boy robot, Simon continues to impress – and this is the music that didn’t make the cut for his upcoming album, but were songs instead written for others. Fans are so glad these are available for download through the MuuMuse website. First at #19 we have the unexpected, hypnotic, and stunning dance epic “Do I Have To Dance”. Further down it’s a call to arms once again for the raucous, energetic “Berlin Wall” at #28.

I actually wrote about this next debut quite a while back, but the more I hear it, the more it resonates with me. It’s also one of the rare songs that leaves a big lump in my throat at the end every time after “I want it more than ever”, followed by the saddest firework sounds you’ll ever hear. Beautifully sung by LA-based singer Jarell Perry, “4th of July” debuts at #25. And it’s also a free download right here.
Travis Garland is on tour and is coming to my town on November 7! Ticket bought! His Spanish-flavoured, seductive disco in the form of “Easy” is a departure for him in the songs on his self-titled album, but it works beautifully and bows at #26.

The final debut at #30 comes from a NYC dance troubadour whose songs are most often about fun and sex, and fun and sex 🙂 Nothing wrong with that. His new album is on deck for a November release called Seventh Star, and I’m talking about SIRPAUL with his single “Every Single Moment”, which I wrote about recently. You can buy it on iTunes. Two of SIRPAUL’s songs are also available on both volumes of This Beat Is…Poptronik 🙂

Bonus Feature:

The writer of Neverest’s “Rewind” is former basketball player and Toronto singer Corey Niles. Having a mentor in fellow Canadian singer Dru (noted for his own hits “She Can Ride” as well as his appearance on Doman & Gooding’s dance smash “Runnin'”, which got to #15 on this chart in 2009) who is featured in Corey’s song “Rollercoaster” is a huge plus. Don’t underestimate the presence of this song. It’s going to lend a fresh urban sound to radio here in Canada that you don’t get to hear much by Canadians beyond songs by Drake. “Rollercoaster” does not let up, it slams pretty hard in a sizzling blend of contemporary R&B styles, and gives a great introduction to the solo Corey Niles. Watch for what sounds to be an intriguing video debuting this week on MuchMusic. Listen and watch the lyric video below. BOOOM!

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and details web edition of my chart.

Here’s the full BILLCS Top 30

03 01 REWIND Neverest
02 02 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME Ryan Adamés
04 03 APPLAUSE Lady Gaga
08 04 ADORN Miguel F/ Jessie Ware
01 05 BLACK LIGHT (Stormby remix) Kaden
10 06 SOMEBODY LOVES YOU Betty Who
07 07 TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Justin Timberlake
09 08 LEARN TO WAIT Sam Dickinson
12 09 LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys
15 10 HEADHUNTER Parralox
21 11 I HAVE A NAME Osvaldo Supino
18 12 WE CAN’T STOP SUMMERTIME SADNESS DATABOY
11 13 ROYALS Lorde
16 14 I REMEMBER Nick Pes
17 15 MA RADIO Osvaldo Supino
05 16 SKIRT Kylie Minogue
20 17 HYMN FrankMusik
06 18 HOMEWRECKER Travis Garland
New 19 DO I HAVE TO DANCE Simon Curtis
14 20 PROBLEM (Kat Krazy remix) Natalia Kills
28 21 CAN’T HOLD BACK Anton Ewald
24 22 IMPOSSIBLE Ryan Star
26 23 JULIET Lawson
27 24 REPLAY Zendaya
New 25 4TH OF JULY Jarell Perry
New 26 EASY Travis Garland
13 27 VOCAL Pet Shop Boys
New 28 BERLIN WALL Simon Curtis
19 29 DIRTY FLOORS Andy Suzuki & The Method
New 30 EVERY SINGLE MOMENT SIRPAUL

Drown Your Sorrows with Enrique Iglesias (@enrique305) & Romeo Santos in “Loco”

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS featuring ROMEO SANTOS, “Loco”

Enrique Iglesias has had almost a 20 year career already starting with songs in Spanish to solidify his Latin fanbase well before moving into the English language market with his first hit “Bailamos” in 1999. Since then, with a few gaps in-between, the hits have been steady, most recently with no-brainers like “I Like It” and “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)”, which were also significant dance club bangers and continued this year with “Turn The Night Up”. And although my Spanish is way too rusty to understand the lyrics of “Loco”, I love the low key and sensual melody in this bachata track, which drives the video (below) where we find Enrique and buddy Romeo Santos drowning their sorrows while watching a sultry lady in red strut her stuff. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that room 🙂 The pair are a perfect match vocally, and the song has mass appeal which is testament to Enrique’s songs appealing often to both genders. Watch for Enrique’s new album, due in November.

Thoughtful Electropop from Newcomer Daniel Robinson (@leinadrobinson) with “Not Your Boy”

DANIEL ROBINSON, “Not Your Boy”

New Buffalo, NY based electropop singer 19 year old Daniel Robinson must have one heckuva thought process when writing his lyrics. At times they seem highly random when strung together, and that’s not a bad thing at all because it helps the listener think outside of the box. “Not Your Boy” also happens to be blessed with a thoroughly infectious melody which will get you singing those unique lyrics, punctuated before the 3 minute mark by a dubsteppy break that will leave you waiting for it on subsequent listens. Daniel’s enthusiasm for it all comes out in a really bright-sounding vocal. Daniel’s second EP Guesswork includes “Not Your Boy” and is available on iTunes. Watch the lyric video above for all those words that somehow fit!

Let The Music Set You Free: “Flyin'” by @chromatone

CHROMATONE, “Flyin'”

Just about every trick that UK singer and dancer Chromatone has thrown at us this year has worked like a charm, whether it be a medley of Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson songs, or a mashup of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” with Jamiroquai’s “Little L”. Now it’s time for some new original music, which we haven’t heard in more than a year. “Flyin'” scores with its theme about the innate need to be free to do what we want. Its video is inspiring, though we don’t know what’s put our singer in shackles in the first place, but sometimes all you need is a lucky parrot, an encouraging rap along the way by Natty Speaks, and then you’re let loose on the world. The song has a breezy and funky melody and his vocal is a crowd-pleaser. Watch the video above and look for the new EP Touchdown in November.

Sexy Never Went Away: “Breakfast Can Wait” by Prince (@3rdeyegirl)

PRINCE, “Breakfast Can Wait”

Prince continues to make great music almost 35 years into his Grammy and Oscar-winning career. While perhaps recent albums haven’t been so consistent, there are often standout songs that dazzle. “Breakfast Can Wait” doesn’t sound like it’s bent on making pop radio waves, its groove is firmly entrenched in R&B/Urban music. And boy has Prince got his sexy on. He chose 18 year old Danielle Curiel to direct and star in the video alongside handsome dancer CJ Salvador, and the result is quite a treat. The two have great chemistry together, and I believe it’s Danielle in the Prince-ly disguise too. Although he’s used vocal effects in other songs successfully, such as “U Got The Look”, it’s the only downpoint at about the 2/3 mark in an otherwise very successful song. The video’s choreography is slick and the result is exactly what Prince might suggest … that breakfast can indeed wait…mission accomplished! Watch and be won over. “Breakfast Can Wait” is available on iTunes.

Rocking Foundations: “Francis Bacon” by @CarolePope

CAROLE POPE, “Francis Bacon”

Canada’s Carole Pope is the three-time Juno Award-winning singer of 80’s band Rough Trade, which had a chart hit Stateside in 1982 with “All Touch”, but was reknown for having a succession of Top 20 hits over five gold or platinum albums in Canada starting with the provocative “High School Confidential” in 1980. While Rough Trade has had some reunions, most recently in 2001, Carole has never been away from rocking it all out, recording solo albums in 2005 and 2011. Rough Trade created some of the most innovative Canadian modern pop in the early 80’s, with lyrics laced with innuendo and sexual imagery. Carole continues this tradition with “Francis Bacon” (he’s the 20th century painter), backed by a tight melody that really kicks thanks to a powerhouse rhythm section. Although Carole is already legendary, “Francis Bacon” would fit in nicely on the radio with what you would hear from the likes of Fall Out Boy, Muse, and Pink. I caught a live set by Carole this past summer, and it was in some ways like time hadn’t passed by much, with her risqué commentary on-point which the crowd ate up, along with several new songs that will be featured on an upcoming EP called Music For Lesbians. Purchase “Francis Bacon” on iTunes and if you’re in Toronto on Friday (and there are still tickets left), you can check out a show by Carole at The Flying Beaver Pub.

Listen to a preview of “Francis Bacon” here: http://www.amazon.com/Francis-Bacon/dp/B00EKHBKJE

The classic “High School Confidential”:

Still ‘Electric’: “Love Hurt Bleed” by Gary Numan (@numanofficial)

GARY NUMAN, “Love Hurt Bleed”

“Love Hurt Bleed” shows British new wave icon Gary Numan sounding better than ever. It’s definitely not near as mechanical sounding as his early songs, and I would put this song along side of tunes by Nine Inch Nails and other 80’s/90’s performers that also broke some barriers. Gary Numan continues to break some new ground himself. The video is suitably creepy, think of David Cronenberg’s film “Videodrome” and watch what is going on inside the TV and outside of it. Looks like there’s some definite psychological drama here to mess with you. “Love Hurt Bleed” is from Gary’s new album Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind). He is actively touring and this single is available to buy on iTunes.