Tag: the pussycat dolls

five song friday, listen up!, music musings, music suggestion

5SF: march 27

by duane • March 27, 2009 • 4 Comments

Aaaaaand I’m back! Sorry that I had to sit out last week, I was just really tired, and didn’t feel up to it. Either way, I am definitely back on my game this week, and I have 5 great songs for you, so let’s go ahead and get to them, shall we?

Adele – Melt My Heart To Stone
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_327_adele-meltmyhearttostone.mp3]
I feel like I have been singing Adele’s praises for ages now, but honestly, I don’t think that I could ever sing them enough. After seeing her last week, I have been flying high on this amazing Brit’s debut album, 19, and I wanted to post one of my absolute favorite songs of hers. This song is full of emotion, drama, feeling, and power. I love how she makes her voice crack, which really represents the broken heart that she is singing about. She performed this song flawlessly in concert, and if you still haven’t gotten on the Adele bandwagon by now, this is just me shaking you, again, and telling you to get with the program. Adele is amazing!

Carrie Underwood – I Told You So
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_327_carrieunderwood-itoldyouso.mp3]
I’m not normally a big fan of country, and while I used to only listen to it back in the day, I attribute that to being mostly a product of my environment *cough*hick from North Carolina*cough*. I remember when Carrie won American Idol, and I was really excited, because she was one of the first ones that had pipes as amazing as Kelly Clarkson’s, and even though she was country, I just knew that her amazing show stopping version of Alone by Heart would grace her debut. Well, it didn’t, and instead of making me happy, she went full tilt country, which, while it does serve her voice beautifully, it just didn’t “do it” for me (also songs like Jesus Take the Wheel just make me want to roll my eyes… no offense). Now, let’s cut to last week when she appeared on the Idol stage again to sing this Randy Travis remake; I’m not going to lie, I fucking wept. This song is beautiful, and her voice gave me chills all over. Country or not, this girl can SING, and she sings this beautiful song amazingly; both live, and on her Carnival Ride CD. Note: I didn’t post the version she re-released with Randy Travis (also last week), mostly because Randy is just so outshone that I felt a little bad for him. I LOVE this song, and I am glad that Carrie chose to cover it.

Noisettes – Don’t Upset The Rhythm
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_327_noisettes-dontupsettherhythm.mp3]
This is another fantastic discovery that I can thank BBC Radio One for; they have been playing this song for a couple of weeks now, and I have found myself liking it more and more with each listen. The neo-soul guitar strumming, and popping beats really compliment the lead singer’s sweet voice (which has a resemblance to Eartha Kitt; without the kitty growls, of course). This infectious track has the upbeat sensibilities of the Ting Tings, and while it is a bit repetitive lyrically, it isn’t enough to turn me off. I can’t wait to see what the new Noisettes album will be like; if it is anything like this fantastic track, I am sure that I will love it.

A.R. Rahman and PCD feat. Nicole Scherzinger – Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_327_arrahmanpcd-jaiho.mp3]
I may make a few enemies with this one, but hear me out; YES, the original version is awesome, amazing, and several other praise-worthy words. It won an Oscar. See? I agree. However, this version, which harnesses the amazing vocals of Miss Pussycat Doll herself, Nicole Scherzinger, is just too perfect to ignore. A.R. Rahman’s Oscar-winning song gets the English treatment, and instead of being a “replacement” for the original Indian hit, I think that this version will just get more people interested in the original. I personally LOVE this song, and love that I can sing along with Nicole, because, call me crazy, but I like listening to music that has lyrics that I can actually understand; catch me catch me catch me!!! So again, the original – fantastic; and so is this version, which I cannot stop playing and dancing around to!!

Alcazar – Burning
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_327_alcazar-burning.mp3]
To end today, we are going full tilt gay. We have covered a lot of ground today(soul, country, bollywood, now disco!!!), but this is disco bananas, and it is fantastic. Alcazar are a Swedish dance group that have been around for a decade, and recently, they released a massive double disc album that is chock full of dance floor fillers. This is my favorite song from that album, which is appropriately called Disco Defenders; because if anyone is going to successful in advocating for the fabulousness of disco, it’s definitely these guys. This song is upbeat, happy, and throw-your-hands-in-the-air dancetastic. Songs like this make me want to dance all night long, and HOW can that be anything but great?! Sometimes, it’s nice to just have a little fun, isn’t it? Well, that’s definitely something you can do by listening to Alcazar!

I hope that you didn’t miss me too much because I took a week off, but know that I am back, and I’m not going anywhere any time soon. I hope that you enjoyed this week’s five as much as I did, and as always, let me know what you think, as well as what you are listening to.

britney n' k-fed, concerts, happenings, music musings

britney spears 3/5/09 @ philips arena atlanta

by duane • March 12, 2009 • 3 Comments

Where should I begin?! As a long time fan of the pop princess, it is kind of interesting that I have never seen her in concert before last week. I mean, I wanted to go, but it was either a matter of not having a show close by, or I blanked on buying tickets in time. Regardless of the reasons for not going in the past, when Britney’s fantastic album Circus was followed by rumors of a coinciding tour, I promised myself that this time, I wouldn’t miss out; and after seeing the show, I am glad I made this decision. In a word, the show was amazing. It was a visual treat for the eyes; costume changes for every song, remixes and different versions of classic Britney hits, and Britney herself commanding the stage and dancing and performing her heart out for a solid 2 hours. I have to say, if there was any time I have ever TRULY believed that Britney was going to be successful with a “comeback”, it occurred in Phillips Arena last week.

We started off the night by getting dinner with my buddy Stu (who was just as excited to see Britney as I was) after which, we headed to Phillips Arena. I decided that driving would be better, because I knew Marta would be utter madness for this event, so I was fully prepared to pay out the nose for parking. We managed to get close by for $20, and in our excitement, James managed to lock us out of the car as we headed to the stadium. However, the car itself was still running at the time. Nice. So, we had to wait for AAA to show up, and then we made our way into the show. No harm, just 30 more minutes of anticipation, really.

Opening for Britney were the Pussycat Dolls, and they were actually very, very good live. That Nicole Scherzinger can fucking sing, and she made it apparent that she is definitely still the head Doll. Those other girls can DANCE, but Nicole has got the pipes that puts the dinner on the table, and she made that point known at the show. After a decent set, they exited the stage, and Britney’s crew set up the stage (which was a theater in the round set up), and the anticipation grew. Would she blow us away, or just disappoint? I was about to find out if my pop princess still had it in her all these years later.

Britney came out with a bang, and performed Circus right off the bat, which I thought was brilliant. Song after song, she danced, and worked all three of the stages; the main center ring, and both smaller rings on each end of the stadium. She must have danced her way back and forth through Philips Arena a good 15-20 times, and she remained full of energy the entire show. It was impressive how she commanded the stage, and it was amazing to see her perform. All of the performances were very well choreographed, and while I am certain she lip-synced a lot of them, it didn’t matter to me; I wanted to see her perform, as she sang the original song anyway. The show was a feast for the eyes that I doubt I will see the likes of again any time soon.

She ended the show with a bang, releasing confetti in the arena, and as we exited back to our car, we all agreed that what we had seen was an amazing show. Is Britney back for good? I guess only time will tell for sure, but I can say one thing with certainty, she was definitely in top form that night, and going to see her live was worth every penny. Since then, I have had Britney fever, and have been re-enjoying music of hers that I haven’t listened to in ages. Britney is definitely the princess of pop, and I hope that she just keeps on bringing us the goods; because I am certain that pop music wouldn’t be the same without her. This show most certainly ranks amongst the best concerts I have ever had the privilege of seeing.

happenings, listen up!, mixed media, music musings, music suggestion, that is so gay

5SF: july (pride edition!!)

by duane • July 4, 2008 • 2 Comments

Well, this weekend is the annual Pride celebration in Atlanta, and it also happens to be July 4th weekend; so a three-day Pride celebration is officially in full swing! We’ve got our pride flag hanging outside, and have made plans to party with our friends this weekend. Just because it’s a national holiday, however, doesn’t mean I have forgotten about the five songs for Friday!!! Today’s 5SF is going to be chock full of songs that are sure to be blaring from the speakers this weekend, as they are all super gay friendly, and mostly, banging dancefloor-ready tracks that definitely get me moving and make me want to shake my booty this weekend! Alright, here we go:

Lady GaGa – Boys Boys Boys
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_74_ladygaga-boysboysboys.mp3]
First up today is a leaked song by the AMAZING Lady GaGa. I have been going gaga over this lady since I instantly fell in love with her infectious HIT Just Dance, and I have anxiously been awaiting new stuff to satiate my appetite for all things Lady GaGa. Well, I found this little gem out there on the internets, and I have been loving every second of it. So far, Lady GaGa’s record is my most anticipated record of the year; this song shows me that she is a huge talent that is going to really deliver. I can’t wait for the The Fame! Until then, I am MAD about Boys Boys Boys!!! (And how appropriate, a song about loving boys on Pride weekend!)

Jessica Folker – To Be Able To Love (Jonathon Peters Remix)
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_74_jessicafolcker-tobeabletolove.mp3]
This is a definite blast from the past for me. I was thinking that I wanted to search my dance-music dominated past, and come up with my favorite song, and I will tell you that it was hard. I have a HUGE collection of dance music, and there are so many that really get me moving. However, when I heard this remixed version of Jessica Folcker’s hit, I knew I had to choose this one to include this week. Perhaps I will add more dance songs in nostalgia in the future after rediscovering this amazing song. I can still remember how I came to know this song… my friend Matt (a DJ) used to make CDs for his friends. Well, he handed me a CD one night, and told me simply, that the first song would make me cum. It was Jessica Folcker’s To Be Able To Love, and I can tell you, that I squealed with delight when I heard it. This song is dance music at its best.

The Pussycat Dolls – When I Grow Up
Oh Pussycat Dolls, how I have continually underestimated you. Also, is it just me, or had anyone else wondered where the amazingness that Darkchild once possessed had gone? Feedback is an excellent track, but I forgot that it was by Darkchild, mainly because it lacks the call sign in Janet’s hit. Either way, he shows us that he definitely still has it with this amazingly catchy song from the hotter than fire Pussycat Dolls. There is no denying that these ladies are smoking hot, and at least one of them can sing the shit out of a song. I am glad that Nicole stuck with the girls to make a new record, because based on their last one, we can expect many more hits from PCD this year! I seriously cannot get enough of this song… it makes me want to dance all night long! (also, I can’t help but squeal like a little girl when they say they want to grow up and have boobies. LOL!)

Ne-Yo – Closer
If I didn’t know better, I would think that this song was geared directly towards the gay market; mainly because of the extreme dance-ability of this track. Additionally, I would probably put this more under the category of house, rather than R&B, but then again, I guess that isn’t what Ne-Yo was going for (which is probably why I never noticed it before recently). Either way, it is a dance floor ready track that definitely begs to be blasted from the stereo this Pride weekend. It is also awesome to see Ne-Yo dancing it up in the video, proving that Usher isn’t the only boy who has the moves!

Chris Brown – Forever
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_74_chrisbrown-forever.mp3]
This is another song that I wouldn’t have expected from an R&B artist, mainly because it seems like it would be made by an artist more geared to the gay community because of its insane dancability. Maybe these R&B lads are realizing that we like a dance beat too, and are bringing the gays the goods? Either way, it is another great danceable song that I have been enjoying for a little while, which only continues to grow on me. A note about this song/video too; why the fuck is embedding disabled on you tube, Universal Music?? Are you afraid that people are actually going to post the video and promote the song? WTF. FAIL.

Oh well… there’s your five songs, folks. I hope everyone has an amazing 4th of July, and a amazing Pride weekend!!! Happy Pride everybody!!