The dance genre is a particularly fickle one; careers aren’t made often, and even when they are, many people are more familiar with the songs than the artists behind them. To a certain degree it’s always been a bit of a faceless medium, with producers driving multiple “groups” under different names, fronted by different singers. Sometimes singers record with different groups. It’s a somewhat incestuous beast, making it all the more remarkable when a career develops. As such, Ultra Nate’s story is pretty amazing. Continue reading
Category Archives: Required Listening
Music in commercials: Selling out or amazing promotion?
While culling through YouTube, prepping some of the final Christmas Present entries, a Sony VAIO ad queued up ahead of a video. As the music kicked up, I became intrigued, curious to know who the artist behind the track could be. Continue reading
Jesse McCartney returns ‘In Technicolor’
Jesse McCartney is one of those artists that routinely is a pleasant surprise to trip across. Having his genesis as part of team pop group Dream Street, he was never really on my radar, yet every so often he’d pop out with an infectious pop single that’s impossible to ignore. Continue reading
Hank & Cupcakes’ ‘Countdown’ has arrived
Last month I shared updates about Hank & Cupcakes’ upcoming second album, “Cash for Gold,” and noted the first single, “Countdown,” was on the way. Friday, that single was released on iTunes and other digital outlets. Continue reading
Mission Zero tackles Lorde’s ‘Royals’
Mission Zero is back, this time with a cover of Lorde’s “Royals,” which takes a Joe Cocker piano riff and melds it on the recent hit to great effect. The music video maintains the fun of their other recent videos. This time, the song is available through Bandcamp, and you can either download it for free or make a donation for the purchase, allowing you to support the band if you choose. Continue reading
Music other people like: Lily Allen’s ‘Hard Out Here’
My friend Nick over at The Littlest Winslow is many times on top of things before it’s even on my radar, and the latest Lily Allen release, “Hard Out Here” is no exception. (Warning: Video’s NSFW.) Continue reading
Required listening: Aqua’s ‘Halloween’
At some point I need to get around to writing about Aqua. Moreso than many dance-centric artists of the late ’90s and early 2000s, they managed to spin a novelty hit into something consistently entertaining, surprising and high-quality for a pair of albums. They recently attempted a comeback, but a good chunk of the public isn’t familiar with some of their strongest work. Continue reading
Mission Zero is back, and counting too
Earlier this month one of my favorite local bands, Mission Zero, released their latest effort, “12345678!,” which goes off in a new direction from their previous music, although sticking with the pop-friendly vibe they’ve been rocking. Continue reading
Required listening: Kate Earl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIHon-HS0uI
Back when I saw Andrew McMahon in April, his opening act was Kate Earl. She was touring with a set of music from her 2012 release, “Stronger,” which I at the time thought, given it was the only disc on sale, that she was a relatively new act on the scene. I enjoyed the live performance, and I picked up the album, which has been pulled out quite a bit since then. Continue reading
Annie returns with ‘A&R’ EP
It was just a few months ago I was noting that, although appearing as a featured artist now and then, we hadn’t heard much from Annie in awhile. Thankfully, that’s changed recently, as the “A&R” EP has hit iTunes. Continue reading