Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
Up first? Shining like a living disco ball, we have the ever-flourishing Kylie Minogue lending her dazzle to Alok on the electro-static promise of Last Night I Dreamt I Fell In Love.
Then, burning from a whisper to a whisper, masquerading and unmasked as a scream for help, we have buzz queen Addison Rae with the musically-curious High Fashion.
And finally, with an anthem for these days, my dears, (Oh! These Days), it's the no-nonsense stylings of Anne-Marie, laying it down truthfully so as to calm your fears, with the ever-loving realness that is Don't Panic.
All in all, a trio of destined-to be-classic diva turns.
Sometimes an artist can get there first - being the first to record a given song - but not get to enjoy the hit. Such is the case with Today's Who Did It Better selection. In a matter of months, three versions by three separate well-established pop/dance artists would hit the market. However, only one would get the nod, be released as a single and go on to spin gold.
On a Night Like This is a song written in 1999 by by Steve Torch, Brian Rawling, Graham Stack and Mark Taylor. It was originally created for Swedish pop/dance sensation Pandora, who had enjoyed a string of Top 40 hits in Sweden and Finland since 1993. The song was included on her sixth album. 1999's No Regrets, but not released as single. It seems Stack and Taylor, who also produced the track, weren't happy with the results, feeling it wasn't commercial enough, so, believing they had a hit on their hands, they looked elsewhere.
That's when they approached Parlophone, Kylie Minogue's record label at the time, with the suggestion that Minogue record a version of the song using the same backing track they'd created for Pandora.
Anna Vissi, the bestselling Greek recording artist of all time, was putting together her next album and obtained rights to record the song, as well. It appeared on her 20th studio album, Everything I Am. The album was intended to break Vissi into western markets, which it succeeded in doing, with the track Call Me, which to the #1 spot on Billboard's Dance Club Play Chart.
While Minogue's and Pandora's versions share the same backing track, Vissi's features a significantly different production and a new arrangement.
On A Night Like This was released as a single by Parlophone on September11, 2000. It was the second single from Minogue's seventh album, Light Years. It debuted at #1 in Australia and #2 in the UK. It also hit #2 in Scotland, #16 in Ireland and #35 in New Zealand. Ironically, it would also make the Top 40 in both Sweden and Finland.
But don't feel too badly for Pandora. After a bit of a dry spell, she returned to the charts in Sweden in 2006 with a string of hits from an album titled, Celebration - a remix collaboration with United DJs. Among the tracks chosen for the project? On A Night Like This, which in it's remixed form would peak at #3 in her native country.
And that's the whole story.
Now? On to the competition!
The Song: On A Night Like This
The Competitors: Pandora vs. Minogue vs. Vissi
On A Night Like This - Pandora
On A Night Like This - Kylie Minogue
On A Night Like This - Anna Vissi
Pandora
I remember dancing to this song, but the club mixes would remove 90% of the vocals, so it was not nearly as much fun. I can't say which version it was...
This version?
A luscious Spanish-style guitar rings out beneath a loop of Pandora singing "on and on and on..." A nice scatter synth, clapping and a basic beat. All good.
Her voice - on key - has a flat sound to it. It's where her voice hits her face, which is just below the nose, hence the flattened nasal tone. She reminds me a lot of Amber, although Amber can bring out a lightness in her sound I'm not hearing in Pandora's voice.
As we move into the chorus, that pointed sound begins to pierce. The vocals are conspicuously treated, but I have to question how this is a desired affect.
As we move through the chorus, this is so similar to things Amber was singing in 1999, I keep thinking it is her. That Jew's Harp synth wah-wah is the center of this arrangement and, while I still enjoy it on a nostalgic level, it's wearing out its welcome fast.
Man, those vocals are overtreated. And there is no warmth to be found. I still like it. It's very driving, I merely wish the vocals had a rounder tone to them. Or maybe a bit of breath. Her sound is very strident and a bit tuneless.
I love that they throw in a disco whistle. That is a scream. Those synths on the bridge are very Pet Shop Boys, also a nice touch.
The similarities between this and Amber's work during that same year continues to grow.
The drop out happens exactly where expected... and then we just coast until the end. Well, the voiceover bits are fun.
Predictable stuff, and the hook is slight, but I like it. It contains all the elements of dance music at that time and this happens to be one of my favorite periods of dance.
Kylie Minogue
Wow. When I learned they had her sing over the same backing track... I really didn't expect it to be exactly the same. Wow. Lazy?
Kylie's vocals are super treated, but then, they always have been. That said, she's tucked into the mix a bit too much. Lots of breathy fun. Let's see what they do with the chorus.
She's also multi-tracked like crazy. And while she pops a bit more on the chorus, she's still well-tucked in there. I don't know. I think I enjoyed how Pandora sat firmly on top of the track. And although I have issues with Pandora's tone, at least I get a sense she's a real singer. Kylie? Well... this is more of an acting job.
Her vocals. So multi-tracked and treated, they sound like breathy mush.
I know I accused Pandora's version of being a bit chilly, but this? This is bloodless. And a bit lifeless. I don't like the mix at all. It's muted or something?
Only on the breakdown do we get any sense that Kylie is not a sex robot. That lovely lilt and perfect pop sheen she possesses is allowed to peek through - for a single phrase.
I like Kylie. Love some of her stuff.
This. Very disappointing.
Anna Vissi
Oh, all that mechanical gurgling and scratching, overlaid with a a schmoozey guitar? That's a lot of clatter going on... but it's also got a bit of muscle to it.
I actually own this CD. Target was set to try and break her into the states, so I had a copy given to me by a vendor. I played it quite a bit - Call Me was getting a lot of play at the clubs.
This strikes me as very noisy and there's not a great deal of separation in the mix. That causes my ear to meld some of the scratchier elements in the arrangement with Vissi's voice, which is too bad because the lady has a great set of pipes.
Weirder still? By the time we get to the second verse, I want to dance. And this is the third time I've heard this song... but now I'm feeling it. I think it's her voice. It has so much more character than the other two singers.
Okay, they do that thing where the vocals dissolve into a Morse code like cadence and it's a bit shrill. But this whole thing has more life than the other two. More muscle.
I've been trying to place who she reminds me of... and it's Idina Menzel. They utilize some of the same phrasing techniques.
I don't care much for the play out. Very forced.
The Verdict
Oh, dear.
I thought this was going to be a slam dunk for Kylie, but... I like hers the least. It feels lifeless. It's cute. And inoffensive. But... dull. And if there's one thing a dance floor burner cannot be its dull.
Pandora's version is the cleanest of the lot and I actually don't mind her vocals. I think I'm attracted to it because it reminds me so much of Amber's work. But, it, too, strikes me as a bit on the dull side. A bit too much by the numbers, I'm afraid. Predictable. It's a great listen, but I don't want to dance to it.
Vissi's? Yes. It is noisy. It gets shrill. But it's alive. And it gets my arms reaching upward. I like the surprises. I like the shredding. And her voice has a lot of character. Is it perfect? No. I'd want to remix it and drop some of the noise from time to time.
But for me? And I may well be wrong here... I'm going with Vissi.
Now... excuse me.
I just came here to dance...
(P.S. - Check out Pandora's remix by United DJ's. It's a total winner.)
--- ---
And that's enough of me.
Okay, your turn. Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. You know I love to hear a differing opinion.
That's all for now...
Until next time, thanks for reading... and listening!
If
Calvin Harris and David Guetta are indebted to Tony Moran for their current
mainstream success, then the same is true of every DJ when it comes to one of
the premier pioneers of dance music, the incomparable Giorgio Moroder.
Back in
the early days of disco, over in Germany, Giorgio was brewing up a sound unlike
any other. His partnership with Donna
Summer and his numerous film soundtracks (‘American Gigolo’, ‘Midnight Express’,
‘Metropolis’, ‘Cat People’) brought his unique style to the states, tearing up
the charts worldwide while helping to create the inescapable sensation that was
disco.
He’s
worked with numerous artists (Blondie, David Bowie, Phillip Oakley, Limahl,
Berlin, Kenny Loggins, Janis Ian, Freddy Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, Daft Punk) and enjoyed many hits through the years, but
it is his most recent return to the #1 spot on Billboard’s Dance Club Play
chart that has me singing his praises.
Teamed
with dance icon Kylie Minogue, ‘Right Here, Right Now’ hits all the right
notes, making for a sweet listen. Kylie’s performance is pitch-perfect and the
song’s uplifting, soaring chorus will get in your head and refuse to
leave.
Let’s
hope there is more Giorgio where this came from.
Croon A Tune In June (?): Pop Music Reviews, Part III
So, here are the rest of those singles I meant to get to in June. Don't worry, most of them are still on the charts, so they are relevant.
I will give you one guess as to why I didn't get around to reviewing most of these until now. Yeah... it's not good, kids. But there are exceptions.
I am totally enamored with Semi Precious Weapons. Roommate from hell, Lorde continues her gloomy winning streak. Korr-A makes good use of a great title, while Kylie Minogue reminds us whom she used to be with a bit of genuine nostalgia.
So, let's dig in. And if you eat it all, I promise not to review the ones from June that didn't make the cut. And trust me, kids... you are gonna want to lick your plates today!
Bon Appetit!
Aviation High
Semi Precious Weapons
‘Aviation’
is definitely a contender for my best of the year list. I have fallen in love
with this song.
The airy vocals, the
cryptic lyrics, the wicked pulse; it all adds up to something rather
scintillating.
There’s something vaguely
euro-trash about them, as if they are the off-spring of Duran Duran. I’m as
intrigued with this group as I am Neon Trees.
2 On
Tinashe Featuring
ScHoolboy Q
Hmmm. This one has
me slightly stumped. It’s hella
schizophrenic. As in, I have no idea
what this song is about. And I’m not
alone.
In an interview Tinashe claimed that the phrase ‘2 On’
means ‘turned on’, but other interpretations include smoking two blunts at once
or getting it on with two guys at the same time. In any case, what does any of that have to do
with ‘Get money, get money like the
invoice, make the money, make the whip, make the money, make the grip’? And then there is also a part where she’s
paranoid about her enemies… huh?
Based on the by-the-numbers nasty rap crap provided by
ScHoolboy Q, it would seem ‘2 On’ is
all about sex, but I still can’t make sense of references like ‘when the tree be strong’. Is that about the dude’s dick? Is it about a spliff?
Tinashe coos like an iron butterfly on top of a bed of
finger snaps, making her seem like one tough babe, pitching her somewhere between
Cassie and Rihanna. This may end up
being a hit for her, as it’s currently eking its way up the Hot 100, but it’s
explicit nature along with its inexplicable lyrics will probably prevent it
from breaking through to the mainstream in a big way.
That said, it’s rather boring, like a lover who just lies there and expects you to do all the work.
KCamp
might actually have a personality, but it’s hard to tell through all that
haze.
His hiccup uptick is at least…
different.Lyrically?Crap rap about a ho. How she’s a bitch.You know… the usual.Sigh.
Because,
you know, there’s nothing else to rap about.
Absolutely
nothing.
Somethin' Bad
Miranda Lambert
and Carrie Underwood
By-the-numbers sports stadium boom-boom-clap, sort of in
the vein of Carrie’s ‘Before He Cheats’
with a little Alannah Myles thrown in.
Yep, we’ve heard this before. This
is a calculated attempt by the corporate powers that be for Underwood to catch a
brief ride on Lambert’s comet tail, while some of Carrie’s crossover cred rubs off on the
well-established Miranda.
The big surprise is how shapeless Lambert’s vocals sound
when compared to Underwood’s. Vocally, Carrie
is sharp as a tack and her attack is dead on.
And while Miranda is not left in the dust, the unavoidable comparison
isn’t flattering.
‘Somethin’ Bad’
debuted in the Top 40, before falling immediately out. It continued to fall for a week or two, but then, as of last week, rocketed back into the Top 40. Could be the country song of the summer.
Drunk On A Plane
Dierks Bentley
You
know, country rules the lower twenty of the Top 40. There seems to be a magical cut-off point at
number 15 or so, and there are exceptions to that (Georgia Florida Line), but
not many.
Dierks(?)
Bentley (Are you kidding me? Where did
he get that name? Out of a cereal box?)
just entered the Top 40 with this ode to one of America’s favorite past
times. ‘Drunk’ is a story song, all
about getting left at the altar and then getting a little mile high club action
with a sympathetic stewardess – because, you know – flight attendants do that
on flights to Cancun.
Dierks
uses words like ‘feller’, to let you know that he is just a regular country joe,
though he’s not above blatantly cribbing a line from Far East Movement’s dance hit ‘Like a G6’
He’s a
non-threatening, pleasant looking man with a characterless baritone, so he’s
sure to play well on the Country Jam circuit where banality and a hit song will
get you on the ticket.
Musically,
eh… nothing new – sounds like a billion other songs. This one skirts by on the novelty of its
title and telling the woman (who was smart enough to dump this bozo) to ‘kiss my ass’.
Clever? Oh, get serious…
Beat Of The Music
Brett Eldredge
I don’t get it.
When did Nashville relocate to Los Angeles?
Yet another pleasant-looking, clean man (why do they all
look like they used to be on a soap opera?) with a gravely baritone singing a
song that goes exactly where you expect it to when you expect it to.
Is it 1979?
Because I swear that was the last time music was this boilerplate. Mr. Eldridge brings to mind a time when the
likes of Leif Garrett and Rex Smith popped on the charts.
For reasons that escape my ears, this song has graced the
lower region of the Top 40. It is
indistinguishable from a ton of other so-called country songs that have met a
similar fate, so much so, I can’t really pinpoint what it is that I’m supposed
to care about here. It’s about falling
in love on the dance floor with your hand on someone’s hip. Swaying to the music…
OMG… it is the seventies.
Oh, well, it will play well on the State Fair circuit, I
guess.
Tennis Court
Lorde
Lorde came up with a pair of winners in the form of
‘Royals’ and ‘Team’, but the I ‘Heart’ Radio crowd are taking their sweet time
warming up to her third offering, the lukewarm ‘Tennis Court’. ‘Court’ has been rumbling around in the lower
third of the Hot 100 for weeks, now. Whether it ever catches fire remains to be
seen.
Opening with the line, ‘Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk’, she continues to
strike me as the musical equivalent of ‘Winnie the Pooh’s’ Eeyore, or maybe that woe-is-me dog, Droopy. ‘Tennis Court’soverall tone feels rather doomed and menacing, playing like
Foster the People’s ‘Kicks’ on liquid ‘G’.
Still, there is something about her far-removed, alien
observer affect which remains potently effective, as are her Delphic,
elliptical lyrics. The thing is… how
long before her act gets old?
Come Get It Bae
Pharrell Williams
This is Pharrell’s follow-up to his inescapable ‘Happy’, a song destined to end up on the
scrap heap of songs no one ever wants to hear again.
Making all falsetto and sexy, like Prince and
Marvin Gaye, Williams sounds a bit too strained for my comfort level. Falsetto, to work in this setting, needs to
be silky, not static.
He also allows 24 seconds of intro to bop by on a bed of
hand claps, shouted out ‘hey’s and percussion similar to ‘Iko Iko’ and Anna Kendrick’s ‘Cups’,
before bothering to come in. It gets
more interesting around the two minute mark, which is when I think Miley Cyrus
comes in, but by then it’s too late for the radio. Plus, 'Bae' seems content to go nowhere but
where it started and those ‘hey’s wear out their welcome long before they end.
This is a miss as far as I’m concerned. Sorry, bae.
Jungle Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors
More ‘Boom, boom, clap’.
But this time, it’s serious. At
least, that is what these guys and their record label would like us to believe.
The mix is thick and muddy, weighted down further by a
Cypress Hill style war chant that runs under the entire song. In a croon that is little more than a mumbly
croak and a shouted/sung chorus, Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors walk us
through the hard knocks of their urban reality.
I have a hard time taking them too seriously, though. In the video it’s all so neat and clean. Even the garbage is… clean. It’s like a faux jungle.
Which is pretty much sums up my first impression of this
pair: faux, as in so false I’m not buying it.
They are to (sub)urban white gangsta what Georgia Florida Line are to
country.
I do like the ping-pong stuff after the first
chorus. It reminds me of that
old1969 chestnut ‘Popcorn’ by Gershon
Kingsley.
Other than that, this could be any faceless euro-disco offering.
Maybe it plays better remixed.
F*ck Me Like You
Mean It
Korr-A
Coming on like a slice of Disney pop before quickly
ramping up into a bit of rave/house music, the very photogenic Korr-A makes the
most of that awesome title.
And then she
does the whole thing a second time.
And
then a third!
Yeah, the lyrics are about as deep as a cheerleader on
prom night, but who cares. There’s a
bounce to it that is infectious…
…you know, sort of like an STD.
I Was Gonna Cancel
Kylie Minogue
A
skittery beat, a fuzzy thin synth line, big bells, twangy guitar and percussion
that sounds like something from the way-back machine? What year is it Kylie? If it wasn’t for the auto-tuned vocals, I
would think it was 1987 and this was your debut.
‘Cancel’ is slight, but then it wouldn’t
be a Kylie Minogue song if it wasn’t. As
is, it’s fine, though nowhere near as eye-opening as her last outing, ‘Into the Blue’.
Something
tells me that remixed is the way to go with this one. And that is the thing
with Kylie and her very slight songs – in the right hands, these songs and her
vocals can be reinvented many times over, helping to ensure that our diva
finds her way into clubland. In its
original mix, it’s rather nostalgic; a sweet paean to a simpler (for some)
time.
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