I am back for the rest of the year to give all you good peoples the latest music news. The very best Single and Album releases, as well as reviews of the very best music videos around.
So lets kick off with:
Dizzy Heights is the third solo studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn following the 1998 release Try Whistling This and 2001 release One Nil (released as One All in the USA). This release follows a period where Neil has worked on projects as Crowded House and Pajama Club among others.
The album was recorded between Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios and producer Dave Fridman's Tarbox Studios in upstate New York in 2013. Musicians on the album include Neil's sons Liam and Elroy, Connan Mockasin and SJD.
Track Listing for Dizzy Heights.
- Impressions
- Dizzy Heights
- Flying
- Divebomber
- Better Than TV
- Pony Ride
- White Lies and Alibis
- Your Next Move (Bonus Track)
- Recluse
- Strangest Friends
- In My Blood
- Lights of New York.
Below is the Fantastic Animated Music Video for the New Single, Make It Wonderful.
Blank Project is the fourth studio album by Neneh Cherry. This will be Neneh Cherry's first album of solo music in 18 years. It was recorded and mixed over a 5-day period. Her Brand New Studio Album has an Official release date of February 25 2014. Blank Project has been produced by Four Tet and features a guest appearance by Robyn. Four Tet is a Post-Rock and Electronic musician and in the past has done remixes for a huge and vast array of musicians. These include artists diverse as: Aphex Twin, Anti-Pop Consortium, Beth Orton, Born Ruffians,, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Sia, Block Party, Andrew Bird, Kings of Convenience, Battles,Jucana Molina, The xx, Foals and Black Sabbath.
It is a departure from her previous work, consisting of a more sparse sound, with loose drums and few synthesizers as the only accompaniment to her voice. To promote the album Neneh Cherry announced a European tour for February and March 2014.
Track Listing for Blank Project
- Across The Water
- Blank Project
- Naked
- Spit Three Times
- Weightless
- Cynical
- 422
- Out Of The Black (featuring Robyn)
- Dossier
- Everything
Studio 360 is the American weekly public radio program about Arts and Culture, hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio International and WNYC (Internet Radio Station) in New York City.
In this performance music video Alexis Georgopolos is on Bass Guitar and TJ Maiani is playing on Drums.
Midnight Memories is a song recorded by One Direction from their third studio album of the same name. It was co-written by Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, John Ryan, and band members Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.
The song was released on November 20th 2013, five days prior to the release of the new studio album, and debuted at number three on the Irish Singles Chart the following day. It has since peaked in the top 10 of nine other countries around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.
The New Single has an official UK release on March 7th 2014.
On 25 November 2013, in a track-by-track review on Billboard writer Chris Payne and by Michael Craig on the Daily Mirror, they said that (and I quote) 'There's always been rock influence in One Direction's music, but it really comes to the forefront on 'Midnight Memories' title track. It opens with groovy guitar licks, leads into a peppy pre-chorus, and rocks out in the chorus behind a riff reminiscent of Def Leppard's 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'.
The official music video was filmed in London in January 2013.To date, the music video for Midnight Memories has been viewed over 17 million times.
One Direction performed the song during the Midnight Memories release party in Los Angeles on 22nd November 2013. The song was also performed during their concert for Good Morning America on 26th November 2013. They performed the song live on The X Factor final on 15th December 2013. They also performed the song live during the, The X Factor USA Final on December 19th 2014.
Below you can see the music video by One Direction for the title album track and brand new single, Midnight Memories.
Ready for Your Love is a song by English production duo Gorgon City, featuring vocals from English singer MNEK. It was released on 26th January 2014 as a single from their forthcoming debut studio album. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number four.
Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike professionally know as MNEK, is a Grammy-nominated British singer-songwriter and record producer of Nigerian decent, signed to Virgin EMI Records. His recent writing and production credits include, amongst others: Devolution, Far East Movement, Gorgon City, Sub Focus, Clean Bandit, Duke Dumont, Rudimental, Misha B, Little Mix, A*M*E and his remixes include Duran Duran, Olly Murs, Bastille and Tinie Tempah.
In February 2012, he featured on Rudimental's single Spoons with the artist Syron.The song did not chart. The song features on their debut album Home (2013). In January 2014 he featured on Gorgon City Ready for Your Love. The song peaked to number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 41 on the Irish Singles Chart.
For me, What is so impressive about Ready for Your Love is Uzoechi Emenike's incredible vocals on this track.
Ready for Your Love reminds me of Wookie's Battle track from 2000, both in music style and vocal impression.
As a vocalist of Colour, working in British Dance Music, I have not come across a Black-British Vocalist who is So Captivating, that his presence is able to dent the upper chart numbers of the national music charts. In that respect, MNEK is a very special artist, who I believe is going to be a very big presence in British Dance Music this year.
This single bodes very well for Gorgon City's forthcoming debut album soon.
Below you can see the music video for the track, the truly incredible Ready for Your Love.
Confident is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber featuring American recording artist Chance The Rapper. It was released as a single on December 9th 2013. The song is the tenth and final in Bieber's series Music Mondays, the first nine being Heartbreaker (October 7th 2013), All That Matters (October 14th 2013),Hold Tight (October 21st 2013), Recovery (October 28th 2013), Bad Day (November 4th 2013)All Bad (November 11th 2013), PYD (November 18th 2013) Roller Coaster (November 25th) and Change Me (December 2nd 2013). Bieber released a new single every week for 10 weeks from October 7th to December 9th 2013.
The music video for Confident was filmed in December 2013 by director Colin Tilley.
As you all know there has been a lot of trouble regarding Justin Bieber recently in the American Music News, with his scrapes with the police and the american court system. Many people in the american media, are saying this is all probably a PR Stunt by Justin Bieber, so that he can make that transition from american teen pop idol star to a more grown-up adult artist. I don't really know if that is actually true in fact or not. If that is really the case, then it is the same kind of transition that Britney Spears had in 2001 with her third album Britney. Here she was morphing into a more grown-up (Adult) artist. An album that was not just aimed at the teenager demographic but also the adult demographic in popular music.
In 2001, the teen-sexual Britney could seem quite shocking. Now we are fully into the 21st Century, the sexual Britney does not seem as shocking as it was. We have come to a realisation, (Whether we except sexual imagery of the teenager pop artist in music video or not);t is a true fact that Teenagers in the 21st Century are sexual beings. Pop Music has always been the barometer of truth as regards the teenager.
The Question for all of us now as consumers of popular music is : HOW FAR ARE WE GOING TO GO WITH THE SEXUAL IMAGES OF THE TEENAGER POP ARTIST?
We Have already witnessed the uproar of the Miley Cyrus music video for Wrecking Ball,and it does seem she is carrying on in this sexual fashion with music video, especially with the follow-up from Wrecking Ball with the single Adore You.
I don't believe Just Bieber would go so far in that direction, but who really knows where the grown-up pop artist can go in the fully-fledged 21st Century Pop Music Industry.
What seems to be evident in the Confident single though is that it appears we all are witnessing a more Grown-Up Justin Bieber in this music video.
The clues seem to be pretty evident in this music video for Confident. What is the most revealing is Bieber not going along with the usual conventions of music video.Here in the Confident music video, he even breaks-away from the usual format, and gives a talking vocal to this girl, who he is chatting up. It is one of the most revealing break-aways in conventional music video pop history, I have ever witnessed,especially by someone of Justin Bieber's age group.This talking break in the Confident music video is one of the TRUEST depictions of the Truth and Reality of Love relationships of Teenagers in the 21st Century.It plays like conventional drama, that's why it is so moving.
Where he goes with this kind of format for his future music videos is anyone's guess. If his convictions here are about the realisations of life of the teenager in the 21st Century, he needs to be fully congratulated in his efforts. This is a kind of format where most Pop artists of Bieber's age- group rarely go.
What he really needs advice on though is listening to wise words in the Industry and not getting himself into serious crime escapades that can seriously effect his future as a world-wide music pop artist.
Below you can see the music video for Justin Bieber's Brilliant track, Confident.
Happy Music Buying and Listening Folks!
Roger Howard. 24/02/2014
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