Back on January 23, British singer Sam Taylor – who is one of my10 Performers to Watch in 2010 – tweeted that “come 2000 followers my new song shall be posted”. Now it doesn’t say that it will be FREE now folks – though that may be the best way to go to raise Sam’s profile in the international Interweb music world.
But really, it’s been about a year now since “Run Away” (my #1 song of 2009) and “Sometimes I Need You” grabbed my undivided attention as a part of the soundtrack to the UK TV show “Beautiful People”. A few other fleeting songs on Sam’s MySpace page only whetted my appetite for more from this amazing new talent.
So the solution?
Follow Sam on Twitter @sammytaylor – currently he has 699 followers!!
You too can be part of the big plan when his new tunes begin to arrive. Sam describes his next group of songs to be a mix of ballads and uptempo tracks – think One Republic’s Ryan Tedder in one direction, and Justin Timberlake’s “LoveStoned” in the other – absolutely cannot wait!!
I’ll defer to this video by our blogger of the Grammys, Arjan Writes, who interviewed an extremely modest and low key Sam.
Sometimes it’s fortunate when you’re on a long drive home from work in bad traffic that iTouch shuffle actually cooperates and sends some good tunes your way. Here’s my hour long drive home today (an iTouch on the retro side 😉 ):
Heatwave “The Groove Line (Dance mix)” (1978)
Patrick Wolf “The Magic Position” (2008)
Desmond Dekker & The Aces “Israelites” (1969)
Johnny Hates Jazz “Shattered Dreams” (1988)
Dire Straits “Expresso Love” (1980)
Eurythmics “Who’s That Girl” (1984)
Janet Jackson “Weekend” (I think this was a free download a few years back)
Naomi Striemer “Let Me Go” (2005)
Alphaville “The Mysteries Of Love” (1986)
Marmalade “Reflections Of My Life” (1970)
Share your own shuffles and playlists if you wish 🙂
South Africa-based Australian pop/dance singer Nelson Clemente has had his song “90 Days (DJ Shpank remix)” chosen by Microsoft Windows 7 as a part of their Playlist 7 program, so congratulations Nelson 🙂
To celebrate, you can download a FREE copy of this remix right here. Me, I’ve already bought the “90 Days” EP on iTunes, which includes all of the remixes, such as my favourite the “SoundBaker mix”. But download the remix and you will assist Nelson with getting some studio time! Because Nelson’s a whiz in the studio, he’ll concoct something wonderful with all his hard work in no time. Follow Nelson on Twitter @thegt !
This is a song that was a long time coming, and it debuted at an impressive #17 on my personal chart, so look for it to make a good leap forward with the new chart coming this weekend!
Sorry if this blog has seemed to go quiet within the last week. There is a lot currently going on in my life and it’s difficult to write about something that you love when things are not going well. I’ve heard some great music by people like Annie, The Editors, Jason Derulo, and it’s weird how something like a Timbaland/Miley Cyrus combination is one of the best tracks on Shock Value II. My ears are still all on songs by Simon Curtis, Lady GaGa, and Mika… they give me much-needed energy. And my real job – which I don’t really talk about here – will be going more than full-tilt in February.
January is usually a quite month for music, basically a time to play catch-up on stuff that I’ve heard during the last six weeks while keeping up with newer songs as well.
The release date for Simon Curtis’ ‘mixtape’ 8Bit Heart is getting closer and believe me Simon has some interesting songs in store for you. For now it will have to suffice that “Delusional” (available for a free download right here) maintains its grip on #1 for a third consecutive pair of weeks. It’s hard to get this song out of my head with its very happy home on my iTouch but a new challenger has arisen these past few weeks.
With the gift of Mika’s The Boy Who Knew Too Much over the holidays, I blogged this weekabout the massive appeal of “Rain”, which debuted two weeks ago on the chart. It outdoes previous singles “We Are Golden” and “Blame It On The Girls” (still at #5!) by bounding right into the Top 5, moving 19-3 as the Fastest Riser on the chart. It will be a close call in two weeks for the top spot!
All of this activity leaves Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” stranded at #4, and has stalled the movement of “Halfway Gone” by Lifehouse, “Black & Blue” by Miike Snow, and Mitchell Hunter’s “Someone Else’s”. Pet Shop Boys however make really good on their redux of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” as that song in a medley with a few lines from PSB’s “Domino Dancing” lands at #8. Michael Buble’s dramatic cover of “Cry Me A River” ascends into the Top 10.
The biggest moves outside of the Top 10 come from two of last week’s debuts. The Crystal Method’s track with Metric’s Emily Haines, “Come Back Clean” climbs 27-19 to match the peak of 1998’s “Comin’ Back”. And I am one of many fans of The Fame Monster going GaGa for “Speechless”. That song is quite a change of pace for her away from the upbeat territory of “Bad Romance” and “Just Dance”, so we’ll see if it gets promoted to pop radio. Nonetheless, “Speechless” climbs 21-13.
The four new entries on the chart belong to Nelson Clemente’s “90 Days”, internationally known Canadian dance/rock band Dragonette with “Pick Up The Phone”, the title track from John Mayer’s “Heartbreak Warfare”, and more GaGa, this time with “Teeth” – try to check out the King Skat remix if you can.
View the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right or click right here.
The hits from Mika’s CD The Boy Who Knew Too Much just keep-a-comin’!
I know for most listeners, Mika’s first CD, the award-winning Life In Cartoon Motion, set a benchmark with the UK #1 “Grace Kelly”. But other than “Relax (Take It Easy)”, the songs from that CD to me pale in comparison to those on the new one.
Mika’s voice is at his best, the melodies soar, and the variety within the songs – from theatrical to anthemic – is extremely effective and infectious. And with its contagious falsetto chorus, “Rain” may be the best of his new songs yet – pour it on!!
I think I first heard Australian singer Nelson Clemente (now based in South Africa!) when I was first discovering MySpace a few years back. I remember exploring someone’s list of friends, checking out those who were making music. At the time Nelson was working on his first EP 6th Perception, which was released in 2008 featuring the sensitive and danceable ode “You Me Us We”, the reflective “It’s All My Fault”, and the song that made my year end Best list two years in a row (the original in 2008 and the Spekr Freks remix in 2009), the mysterious and compelling “You Want Me Don’t You”.
Nelson is back to kick off the new decade with a similarly mysterious, melodic, and attractively sung new song called “90 Days”. I love pop music that makes you think, through a story however vague it might be, accompanied by a strong voice and great melody. That it’s now available on iTunes and Amazon is a bonus – and we get remixes right away! I like the Sound Baker mix best; it seems to have carefully captured the essence of the original while making it clubworthy. The other two mixes (the Electro Freak mix and Shpank’s Summer Anthem Radio Edit) are also quite good.
With the talk of summer in the lyrics and it having a Summer Anthem edit, for those of us in the West you just have to remember that it’s Summer in the East. “90 Days” will help get the rest of us to warmer months indeed! A You Tube link is below… you can catch up with Nelson at his My Space site as well.
To kick off 2010, one of my 10 Performers To Watch in 2010has changed his moniker. I’ve written a couple of times about Charlie Brown’s unique mix of soul and rap, and upon visiting his MySpace page today found that he’s now known as Charlie King. There’s an excerpt of a new song posted too called “Freakin’ Out”.
From Justin’s Facebook and Twitter messages today, it looks like the title of his upcoming CD has been changed from “Gray” to “You I Wind Land and Sea”. The link below takes you to the photo of the CD cover. Can’t wait 🙂
We return now to our usual blogging, after all of the Best of 2009 and Decade lists, to find that Simon Curtis’ “Delusional” continues to have a tight grip on my bi-weekly list of favourites. It’s one of five songs available on my chart for free download, and you can download “Delusional” right here.
I was given bothMika’s “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” and Lady GaGa’s “The Fame Monster” as gifts during the holidays, and they are both truly splendid records. So while both artists have songs in my Top 5, they both also debut with outstanding tracks that could bound closer to the top of the chart in a few weeks. Mika’s glorious “Rain” debuts at #19 while GaGa’s sensational “Speechless” bows at #21.
Fast risers on the chart include Pet Shop Boys’ “Viva La Vida/Domino Dancing” moving up the most, followed by great songs by Miike Snow, Michael Buble, Timbaland and Friends, and Joshua Radin.
Also new to the chart we find British theatre singer with a rocked up version of the song she sang on Broadway and in London. Kerry Ellis’ “Defying Gravity”, from “Wicked” and produced by Queen’s Brian May arrives at #25, while The Crystal Method indeed come back after an over 11 year absence from my chart. Having Metric singer Emily Haines in tow for “Come Back Clean (Kaskade radio edit)” is a huge plus – her own effort “Doctor Blind” was one of my favourites of the last decade and was on this chart exactly 3 years ago, where it eventually rose to the summit. The Crystal Method’s last song to appear was “Comin’ Back” (featuring vocalist Kirsty Thirsk) (peak #19).
You can view the full chart at the link on the right side bar under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** or right here. I’d appreciate any comments you have to share! 🙂
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