Category Archives: Music

Boy Robot News: Simon Curtis on Twitter and More Plans!

I haven’t written about our beloved Boy Robot for a few weeks because Big Plans Have Been in the Making.

To celebrate his upcoming May 6 gig at The Roxy in Los Angeles opening up for A.J. McLean of Backstreet Boys, Simon Curtis reported the following ambitious plan on Twitter tonight:

Here’s how it will work; starting Monday, GagaNews will announce via Twitter the time, & then we are gonna shoot for a Trending Topic (#SimonCurtis10Days, #SimonCurtis9Days, etc) counting down until the show. Each day we successfully hit the TT’s, GagaNews and JJJ [Just Jared Jr.] will be unveiling exclusive videos letting you see the dances to all the songs as we prep them! On the final 2 days, I will be releasing the top-secret SHOW REMIXES of the songs for you guys to download, free, but only if we’ve hit the TT’s every day. I’m confident we can make this happen, and I cannot wait for you all to see the amazing show we are putting together for you guys!!! 😀 All my love —s

So if you’re part of Simon’s Robot Army, get busy starting tomorrow!

If you’re still new to the whole Simon experience, be sure to download his mixtape 8-bit Heart at http://www.simon-curtis.net – backtrack a bit on my blog and read my track-by-track viewpoint 🙂

Good luck Simon!

Mystical Peace & Love: Justin Nozuka’s You I Wind Land and Sea

Following his successful Record Store day appearance in Toronto, I’ve finally composed some thoughts about Justin Nozuka’s sophomore CD You I Wind Land And Sea.

Despite its many familiar sounds, the record surprises by refusing to be pigeon-holed into a particular style or genre.  Pop, Rock, R&B, and Blues elements are all equally at home.  Overall it’s a pretty easy-going record with lots of deliberate quiet more than edgy rock.  But don’t let you think it’s a pushover.  There’s a great deal of thought put into these songs about relationships with women, introspection, and reflection.  Justin executes them with a sincere and graceful passion that’s not reflected on many CD’s these days.  Best of all, that old-soul-worldliness that grounded many songs on his debut CD Holly is omni-present.

As lovely as is the lead Canadian single “My Heart Is Yours”, it is outshone by the simplicity and preciousness of “Unwoken Dream (King with Everything)”.  Peace and serenity are traded in for forthright emotions on “Carried You” and “Soulless Man”.  Other fine tracks include “Heartless”, “Swan in the Water”, and the title track.

You I Wind Land And Sea has a humble sensibility that touches and draws in the listener.  It should cement Justin Nozuka’s reputation as a talented singer/guitarist/songwriter with loads of fans to support him as he continues to draw accolades wherever he goes.

Here’s a clip of Justin’s appearance on The David Letterman Show on April 20.

Record Store Day featuring a Justin Nozuka show!

Record Store Day 2010

This was the scene mid-day today at Sunrise Records on Yonge Street in Toronto when Justin Nozuka paid a visit for a six song acoustic set along with guitarist Mark Pellizzer for 300 or so local fans.

The focus of course was on his brand new and highly anticipated sophomore release You I Wind Land And Sea.  The set included songs from the album such as “My Heart Is Yours”, “Carried You” “Swan In The Water”, and my current personal favourite “Unwoken Dream (King with Everything)”.  Needless to say, Justin was his cheerful, laid back and humble self… and he’s going to be a busy guy as the CD begins to breakout in the U.S. and the rest of the world!

It’s small things like In-Store record shows that make enjoying music special.

I’ll have more thoughts on You I Wind Land And Sea in the coming days…

Justin Nozuka at Sunrise Records

Spring Popervescence!

Popervescent may have already been used elsewhere in the BlogVerse but it perfectly describes the music of this Spring.  The vast load of free downloads by artists themselves though may take a bit of a hit with some more commercialized competition.

Christina Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight” (from the forthcoming CD Bionic) and Scissor Sisters’ “Invisible Light” (from the forthcoming CD Night Work)are two key cases in point.  Remember as you read along:  I lived through Disco music as a teenager and young adult!  I’m paraphrasing fellow blogger XOLondon when he aptly pointed out that “Invisible Light” captures the 1978-1982 era – it does it so dead on that it’s scary!  And I’m going to add “Not Myself Tonight” to that train of thought.  All I can hear for vocal comparisons are songs like Donna Summer’s “Dim All The Lights” when I listen to it.  Songs like that bring back many happy memories and times.  And there seems to be a real movement to revive those times!

I wasn’t overly impressed with it at first few listens, but “Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris has won me over.  Again, it’s really a variation of 80’s Stock Aitken Waterman hits given a 2010 makeover.  Kelis sounds so far away from the ridiculous novelty that is “Milkshake” on her latest song “Acapella” – she’s either got a beautiful voice now, or the production is beautiful – or maybe both!  Sold!

This kind of raving would not be complete without two songs that I’ve been playing regularly for a while now.  Mike Posner from Michigan has been abuzz for the better part of the last year, thanks to two online free mixtapes, A Matter Of Time and One Foot Out The Door, which led to him signing a record deal with J Records and grabbing a place on the Warped Tour this summer.   His song “Cooler Than Me” is all summery fun and slick attitude, as well as being particularly radio friendly.  Download his mixtapes right here.   And UK singer/producer/remixer Fabio Lendrum has a dark late night hit brewing with the CFCF remix of “Trouble”, which is available for free download right here.  This one throws me back to the mid-80’s when Erasure arrived on the scene.  Fabio has a softer-edged Andy Bell quality about his voice while the music channels more 80’s lush pop by the likes of The Dream Academy.

Tuned-On! Top 30 #324 – Apr 12/10

This new chart came upon me so quickly while I was in New Orleans over the past week, so there’s not too much change.

Simon Curtis continues to rule the roost with “Beat Drop” on top for a second chart, with “Joystick” climbing to #3, sandwiching Penguin Prison’s mighty “Something I’m Not” at #2.  Simon’s 8-bit Heart is now at over 120K worldwide downloads.  He’s opening for Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean in L.A. on May 6 at the Roxy, and is developing a video with Tyler Shields (who did the wonderful album cover art).  Things seem to be falling nicely into place… I predict Simon will have a record deal very soon!

Blake Lewis’ beautiful “Heartbreak On Vinyl” will attain the #1 spot on Billboard’s Club Play chart this coming week, and it’s well deserved!  The song moves up 6-4 on my chart this week.  Evan Taubenfeld’s Welcome To The Blacklist Club will finally be available digitally in late May, and the effervescent “Starbucks Girl” moves up 10-8.  Justin Nozuka’s You I Wind Land And Sea arrives this week, and the pensive “My Heart Is Yours” jumps 12-10.  But the big mover on the chart this week is by New York singer Javi.  The Monsieur Adi remix of “Situation” soars 16-6… the guy’s got a great voice and you can hear it in his live cover of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” below!

So much great music is stuck slowly moving up the chart, so be sure to check out tracks by Example, BT, Vampire Weekend, Ellie Goulding, Massive Attack, Clayton Senne, and The Envy.  Lifehouse’s “Had Enough”, featuring Chris Daughtry, looks like it’s well on its way, rising 27-21 this week.

I previously blogged  about the second Penguin Prison song to enter this chart, The Worse It Gets”.  The song debuts at #17 out of the gate, is well worth your attention.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the comic book-styled film “Kick Ass”.  Mika and producer Red One have the title track which enters the chart at #28, and you can watch the engaging video below.

It’s Lifehouse’s Best: Smoke and Mirrors

Lifehouse’s “Hanging By A Moment” is now a pop classic and was my #1 song of 2001 (as well as, of course, Billboard’s #1 Single of that Year, despite not reaching #1 on the Hot 100).  In some ways I can’t believe it’s almost 10 years old.  But when you listen to Smoke and Mirrors, the band’s 5th album and first in about 3 years, you can hear how tight this quartet has become in just about every aspect.  The future of Lifehouse is in part of the modern rock institution – the band will always have great fans to support them, and will always release consistent, competent records.  I think Smoke and Mirrors will be regarded as an exception among all of their records.

To me, the record loses its stride, but you have to immerse yourself in seven songs about heartbreak and ending relationships to get there.  Those songs are brilliant.  Anyone who has ever been through any of this can completely relate.  Particularly strong are the final straw of “Had Enough”, featuring and co-written by Chris Daughtry (along with singer Jason Wade, manager/co-producer Jude Cole, and Richard Marx too); the single “Halfway Gone” (video below), one of my favourites thus far of 2010; and the truthful, telling title track.  I enjoy the energy level in “Nerve Damage” and “Wrecking Ball”, and the thoughtfulness of “It Is What It Is”.

Smoke and Mirrors veers a little off course with “Falling In”, a nice enough song co-written by Kevin Rudolf (who also co-wrote “Halfway Gone”), but it doesn’t really belong here.  I know having a constant theme of heartache and breaking up may seem relentless, but the album title says it all – and it’s a bitch when love does turn into an unfortunate game.

Lifehouse as a band is finding its own niche in sound too, though on “Here Tomorrow, Gone Today”, it sounds uncomfortably like Collective Soul.  The quartet (featuring my fellow Canuck bassist Bryce Soderberg) is tight and Jason’s voice has blossomed.  I think having Jude Cole on board is such a bonus too.  Smoke and Mirrors has some of the band’s best melodies, and they remind me at times of Jude’s seminal 1990 album A View From 3rd Street (you can hear and watch Jude’s “Baby It’s Tonight below).

Make sure that you add Smoke And Mirrors to your collection.  Lifehouse now has a repertoire of many other favourites – “Sick Cycle Carousel”, “Everything”, “You And Me”, “Spin” – which you can hear on their current tour.


Penguin Prison “The Worse It Gets”

There is indeed much high praise about singer/producer/remixer Penguin Prison in the Blogverse.  What’s surfacing online about this talented gent from NYC (real name: Chris Glover) shows how original and diverse he is.  First we have the gritty and edgy “Something I’m Not”, with its blend of Caribbean and pop influences, currently one of my very favourites of 2010.  Now we have “The Worse It Gets”, which goes all charming pure pop on us.  Despite its title, the melody lilts along into definitive Spring-to-Summer mode, with heavy 70’s So-Cal influences in tow.  The Starsmith remix chirps along in even more retro mode.

And what’s best about it all.  IT’S FREE.  So many artists are using free downloads to anchor a fanbase, which means that not only will those who enjoy them buy their music when it’s no longer free, but they’ll buy their merch and pay to go to their shows as well – hardly rocket science!!

Download the original version of “The Worse It Gets” right here and the Starsmith remix right here.

And you lucky folks in London and New York City get Penguin Prison shows in April and May 🙂

The Beat Drops – at #1: Tuned-On! Top 30 #323 – Mar 29/10

It’s time again for a Spring Shakeup on the latest edition of my personal chart (the link is also on the right sidebar).  And there’s no better way for this to happen than to see a song debut at #1 for the first time since the chart of December 10, 2007, when “How To Build A Time Machine” by Darren Hayes began the first of 5 charts (10 weeks) at the top.  With the free download release this week of Simon Curtis’ 8-bit Heart, the rollicking electro-dance of “Beat Drop” commands the chart this week – you can hear it in the link at the top of the page.  It’s my next favourite song on 8-bit to former #1 “Delusional”, which leaves the chart after the maximum 10 chart run.

But there’s more Simon on this chart!  Since the Top 30 is by no means conventional, there are no limits to the songs that can appear, and so the naughty parallel to our friend, the video game, “Joystick” makes a huge splash, debuting at #4.  You can hear the song using the link at the bottom of this page.

All of this 8-bit madness unfortunately leaves Penguin Prison’s “Something I’m Not”, another free download, moving from 6-2, and I’m not sure if it will wrestle away #1 from “Beat Drop”.  After all, “Beat Drop” did knock off Lady GaGa’s “Teeth” after a 2 week stay at the summit.

Nelson Clemente’s clever and quiet electro of “90 Days” manages to reach a new peak at #5, while Blake Lewis’ ode to old-style record stores, “Heartbreak On Vinyl”, climbs to #6.  Songs by Jason Derulo, Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris (the definitive version of “Hallelujah” next to Jeff Buckley’s IMO), and Evan Taubenfeld charge into the Top 10.  The five debuts in the Top 10 cause massive drops by songs by Lady GaGa, Dragonette, Crystal Method, and Lifehouse, but them’s the breaks!

The fastest riser on the chart belongs to Justin Nozuka, whose “My Heart Is Yours” comes from his sophomore CD You I Wind Land and Sea, which is due for release this coming week.  Other big movers in the middle of the chart include Javi’s “Situation” (23-16), a pop/dance track also available for free download that commands your attention, and Vampire Weekend’s brief but insanely catchy “Cousins” (26-20).

As “Halfway Gone” by Lifehouse is about to leave the chart, “Had Enough”, featuring Chris Daughtry, premieres at #27 from the top notch Smoke And Mirrors CD, which you will read about later in the week in more detail in this blog.  Thanks to the excellent and frenetic remix by Breakage, “Dog Days Are Over”, a track from Lungs by Florence & The Machine, arrives at #30.  But if there’s one low key track you must check out this week, it should be “Don’t You Dare” by Matt Morris, which is a bonus song on his debut When Everything Breaks Loose, probably because it doesn’t really fit into the rest of the mood of the album.  This is a much more lushly produced, theatrical song that you might play next to earlier work by Rufus Wainwright.  You can download it for free right here!  (Note:  I don’t link to free downloads unless they are sanctioned by the artist 🙂 )

I will be away in New Orleans during the first full week of April, so a post of my next chart may be delayed (but I’m sure I’ll be armed with all kinds of great music!).

Track-By-Track (At Last!): 8-bit Heart by Simon Curtis

Boy is the Pop world ever in for a treat.

In these times of spectacular (no pun intended 😉 ) successes for young women, the role of the young male pop singer has been relegated to (pick your pleasure) anonymous dance artist, balladeer, sensitive guitar player, rock ‘n roller.  Nothing wrong with that.  But every once in a while, a recording comes along with perspective that demands attention.  For me, such has been the case for the last few months with Simon Curtis’ new release 8-bit Heart.  It’s available for free download right here from his new website (which also has all the lyrics and a bunch of new photos), since the 24 year old L.A. based singer/songwriter has reached the magic number of 8,000 followers on Twitter.

People who know me for my veteran insight into Pop music over 30 odd years can vouch that I do not lend my support behind just any old undertaking.  It all started with a tune called “Delusional” about 20 or so weeks ago (alas I have never heard Simon’s previous record, the still ‘unreleased’ Alter Boy).

So here’s my detailed Track-By-Track commentary on this conceptual mixtape.  8-bit Heart contains some brief tracks that are essentially dialogue at the beginning, end, and in the middle, plus some introductions to some songs.  Some of it is related to the record’s concepts, others seem purely random and fun.

Don’t Wanna Be Alone – This rather plain-ish intro to the record doesn’t give you any idea of what’s in store for you, but it does start out the basic concept.  It’s tough being our boy robot hero, finding his way through a cold, unforgiving, and seemingly unloving world.

Fell in Love with an Android – “This is Simon Curtis – Human-Cyborg Relations” – OK where’s this one going?  Cold love meet thy bitch slap, ouch!  This one still has me thinking… but I probably need to move on.

Super Psycho Love – I hemmed and hawed about this song, but it’s finally grown on me, the rhythm is irresistible and the lyrics ultimately are powerful.

8Bit Heart – The title track is the emotional core of the record with a fabulous vocal that’s actually enhanced by autotune – yes this record uses it as a special effect not as the full effect.  The song initially gets you in the gut and sets a new tone for the rest of the record.

Diablo – After a few months, I find “Diablo” less brusque than I did at first.  But it’s the song that ultimately turns the record on its side – a “Womanizer” for the young male voice that spits out more daggers than even “Fell in Love with an Android” or “Super Psycho Love”.  Still not near my favourite, but very credible.

Delusional – “Delusional” to me is still the best song on the record.  It packs a certain Pop punch unlike the rest, and contains not only an interesting story but also Simon’s best vocals.  If there’s a surefire potential radio hit here, this is it!!

Joystick – Hands down, “Joystick” is the most humorous and the naughtiest track – even without swearing!  It’s sinewy electro pop that will leave you wanting more.

Beat Drop – “Beat Drop” is my next most favourite song within after “Delusional”.  It’s a dance club rave-up for the late nite crowd that’s just begging for an extended remix, though I love it just as it is, all 2:25 of it!  Nice and tidy, with one of the best lines I’ve heard in a long time that name-checks a recent hit.  Oh, and did I mention the opera singer?  And what are the seven kinds of naughty, anyway?

Brainwash – The busiest track on 8-bit Heart is frenetic overkill with too much autotune, the only song that I would pass on, though it’s really the climax of the various concepts.

The Dark – The emotional dénouement to 8-bit Heart somehow ends up being warm and fuzzy inside, even with a lengthy sample (which if I’m not mistaken comes from Jay-Z’s “Encore”) that helps give our boy robot hero his tough exterior.

8-bit Heart is indeed a slick affair, not necessarily for the youngins, despite Simon’s recent exposure in Nickelodeon’s teen hit “Spectacular!”, with futuristic backdrop by pop/dance producer Jadion.  It’s all about heartbreak, being alone and unloved, psycho relationships with the opposite sex, and just plain having fun.  The lyrics and vocals spare no prisoners – pointed and bold lines are sung with sarcasm, anger, swearing, and humour.  It’s exhilarating, thought-provoking, and a good time is had by all!  Don’t miss it.