Here's a variety of stuff:

Amazing Baby - Head Dress

Digitalism - Zdarlight

Smashing Pumpkins - Appels + Oranjes

School of Seven Bells - Chain

M83 - Run Into Flowers

Gabriella Cilmi - Sanctuary

Tim Exile - Various Tracks...This is due out in mid-March or so. I heard the track Don't Think We're One, but this website doesn't let you listen to it. But some of the other tracks are interesting.

Gabriella's cd "Lessons To Be Learned" was one of my top cd's last as was her worldwide hit single "Sweet About Me". I can't believe she's only 17 years old.

Yeah, she's great...But I like Sanctuary better.

I've been listening to Lady Antebellum's CD over and over, since I got it as a Christmas gift.

My favorite songs are: Lookin' For a Good Time and Can't Take My Eyes Off You. But all the songs are good on this CD.

I'm really excited to go see them play at the Houston Rodeo.

Stuff that I like that are currently charting all over the world

Milow's cover of 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology". I Love it
Milow

Australian Idol 4 runner-up Jessica Mauboy's "Running Back" feat. Flo-Rida and her latest song, "Burn"
Natalie Bassingthwaighte - "Alive".
El Canto Del Loco - "Peter Pan"
Nik & Jay - "Kommer Igen"

and Japan's Yazima Beauty Salon's video of "Nihon No Mikata" cracked me up. It's just wacky and crazy and a weird song that could only chart in Japan.

Come Visit the Beauty Salon

And I really like Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" even though the beginning sounds like "Since You Been Gone"

September's "Cry for You". It is my jam for the week.

Matt Alber's gorgeous End of the World.

On the whole, though, his new album Hide Nothing is a downer -- boy needs to add some up-tempo numbers to his repertoire.

I have been absolutely loving The Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack- especially Latika's Theme, Dreams of Fire and the Academy Award Nominated Songs Jai Ho and O...Saya

"Hell No" - Judy Torres (feat. Bonnie Stone)
"My Life Would Suck Without You" - Kelly Clarkson. The catchiest song in January. Love it.

Jessica Mauboy's debut cd "Been Waiting". Jessica was Aussie Idol runner up to Damien Leith. After a brief stint with the Young Divas, Jessica is on her own. I like this cd. Not all the tracks, but some of them are really good. She could pull 5 or 6 singles from this cd. It has shades of Rihanna and Gaga. The lead single is "Running Back" which features Flo Rida. Her latest single is called "Burn" and even though the lyrics makes it sounds like she's singing about a STD, it's a good song. One of fave is called "To The Floor" and it is a potential club smash. Here is a sample of the cd.

Been Waiting sample

Others:

Right Now (Na Na Na) - Mike Rizzo Mix - Akon
I Stay In Love (Jody den Broeder Mix) - Mariah
Never - Kristine W

The Circus - Take That - They continue their comeback with their latest cd.

And Tuesday is a big day for me as Dierks Bentley releases his latest cd "Feel That Fire". I've previewed the cd, and even though I prefer "Long Trip Alone" on initial listen, I''m still planning on buying it on Tuesday.

My ipod has a bit of a mix of music right now.

Blame it (Feat T-Pain)-Jamie Foxx
Come Over-Estelle
Give it Away (Club Mix)-Deepest Blue (great for my runs on the treadmill)
Rehab-Rihanna
Right Here (Departed)-Brandy
Blvd. East-Siboney
Wold, Hold On-Bob Sinclair (Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom Soundtrack)

There are lots of good 2009 albums released or leaked so far:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t
N.A.S.A. - The Sound of Apollo
Telepathe - Dance Mother
Harlem Shakes - Technicolor Health
Annie - Don't Stop
Grand Duchy - Petits Fours
Mi Ami - Watersports
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care

Lily Allen...The Fear

The Grammys 2009 CD

and many others...too many to name

Thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, I've been having a nostalgic early afternoon. Also, since the sun was brightly shining this spring morning after almost two weeks of rain, my thoughts have turned to romance. The songs below bring back memories of driving back home from summer vacations in the mountains, in the country, or by the sea shore. It was the type of music that your parents would tolerate in the car. I can even remember they had eight tracks of some of the following:

"Delta Dawn:" Helen Ready
"Lonely People:" America
"Midnight Train to Georgia:" Gladys Knight and the Pips
"I'd Love You to Want Me:" Lobo
"When Will I See You Again:" The Three Degrees
"Love Is in The Air:" John Paul Young
"Precious and Few:" Climax
"Theme from Mahogany:" Diana Ross (Knew I was gay, when I liked that one!)
"After the Lovin:" Engelbert Humperdinck

And, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me:" Mac Davis. I had a huge crush on Mac Davis. Guys who look like him with that curly hair still make me weak in the knees.!
Baby, I got hooked on you!

Damn, that Miss Piggy!

Been listening to:

Fischerspooner

&

Venissa Santi

I forgot about these too:

Gliss

Junior Boys

I'm disappointed that Junior Boys don't have this song on their myspace site (my favorite song on their latest recording, btw):

Bits & Pieces

PCD - Bottle Pop (Aude Remix)
Beyonce - Diva
Ben DJ/Sushy - Me and Myself (Wolfgang Gartner remix)

Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe

I love this song! It ROCKS!!!!

Echoing forthemasses:

In Sympathy - Depeche Mode

Peace - Depeche Mode

I just got the context of forthemasses. I feel like an idiot.

I also love:

From My Heart To Yours - Laura Izibor &

Dream Big - Jazmine Sullivan

Nah! Don't feel like that. Unless you're a DM fan many people wouldn't "get it."

I'm not a fanatic or anything, but I do own the album...

Google is your friend.

http://www.google.com/search?q=mi+ami+watersports

I am still rocking the Sounds Of The Universe and one of my favorite tracks is In Sympathy. I really hope the Tour Of The Universe continues June 8. My poor Dave Gahan has been out of commission and is on the road to recovery.

I fall in love with Depeche Mode for the first time with every new album.

The album has grown on me. For me @ least @ 1st listen I thought, "3 out of 5 stars (in other words average)." Now I'd say 4 stars.

Edit to add:

I didn't know that about Dave. Is it exhaustion? Illness? Can't be drugs cuz he's been clean for years now.

And, yes, In Sympathy is my favorite track! Peace is a close 2nd. I LOVE the chorus/music on that track, "Peaaacce wiiiillll coooommme tooooo meeee."

I'm not a big Black Eyed Peas fan, but I do think this song by them KICKS (so does the video)! The production on it is sheer perfection:

Boom Boom Pow

Ah, found it. Doesn't sound too serious. Concerts will resume & those cancelled rescheduled. Whew!

I just went to a historically black fraternity and sorority function and I just downloaded Set it Off by Strafe. For anyone familiar with Alpha Kappa Alpha's...they do their stroll to this song. Great old school jam.

This might be my song of the summer: David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland, "When Love Takes Over." Listen here to what Entertainment Weekly calls an "extended" version but it's not really that long.

Great production!

I am listening to "When Love takes Over" as well. But the song that keeps putting me in a good mood is PCD's "Hush Hush 2.0" from Doll Domination 2.0. "hush hush" 1.0 is a ballad but mashed together with "I Will Survive" just makes it a disco gem. And Nicole works that Diana Ross hair!

They finally released the new video.

Hush Hush

I like this song by Pitbull, a Cuban American hottie, who does Reggaeton music. Booty-bumpin hos (in the video) aside, the song really KICKS:

I Know You Want Me

I love Pitbull. This has been my jam since April. I wish that he would turn around and show that big, beautiful booty he has. I met him in person. He is such a nice guy, and was wearing the tightest jeans. Wow, what an ass.

Yeah I've seen some of his interviews & he seems pretty down to earth...

So he has a nice booty? Ohhhh I'm DEFINITELY an ass man. Woof woof woof!!!

I happened to pull out this recording by Love & Rockets (a band that I love). This was their last recording b4 they broke up. I saw them @ a Hollywood club when they performed this album. AWESOME!!!

Today I received the dvd of Music In High Places by Angie Stone. I know it's a few years old but I just was introed to it. OMG, if you love her music you have to see this dvd, it's a must for your collection.

I haven't seen that particular one with Angie Stone, but I did see the one with India.Arie performing in Brazil. It is sublime.

My partner and I are subscribed to Zip.ca (like Netflix, but in Canada), so I'll put your recommendation on my Ziplist.

Yeah, I've seen India's. AWESOME!!!

Various CDs of Great Big Sea, a band out of Nova Scotia that specializes in traditonal tunes, chanteys, and drinking songs, are what I've been obsessed with since a friend introduced me to them this spring. Sort of folk, sort of rock, totally great. They tour Canada a lot. The audience always gets up to dance. Can't say I blame 'em.

I happened to see this video on VH1 Soul. Gawd it brought back some [disco] memories.

I think this song is pretty cool by Missy...

It reminds me of Bjork's Violently Happy video concept.

Post some videos baybie!

I don't think that there are any -- I've never seen one. But if you want to check out their website, I'm pretty sure it's <www.greatbigsea.com>

These guys rock.

Now what's in my CD? A new (to me) recording of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. John Eliot Gardiner conducting. Rocks in a different way.

Roisin Murphy's "Overpowered". Wad Robson loves to use Roisin Murphy's music on SYTYCD and I ended up buying this cd from 2007. I love this one and was playing it everyday until I go...

The new cd from the Four Guitar friends - "Hallelujah live 2" - Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes, Espen Lind and Askil Holm. Their second set has covers of others and their own tunes. Their harmonies are simply gorgeous. "Woman in Chains" is chilling. I also love Askil's "The Andy Edmund Show". Kurt Nilsen, best idol ever. Alejandro, should have been Norwegian idol instead of 6th? I posted "With or Without you" a few pages back. I love this cd.

01. Reality checks in
02. Hell if I
03. Handle with care
04. Rise to the occasion
05. Woman in chains
06. 50 ways to leave your lover
07. Million miles away
08. The gambler
09. Helplessly hoping
10. Scared of heights
11. The Andy Edmunds show
12. Baby you're so cool
13. Easy lover
14. My street
15. With or without you (single version)

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Kick, check your email.

SCTrojan,

Speaking of Willie Colon, did you now that they finally released the Fania All Stars recordings on cd/mp3? Gawd those recordings bring back some wonderful memories when I was a kid!

I am carrying this over from the "Best & Worst in Homoerotic Cinema" thread, so as not to hijack it.

Yes, I think the remastered Fania catalog was released a few years ago. If I recall correctly, the great Rubén Blades told fans not to buy them because of some copyright issues with Fania's owner, but don't count me on that. Maybe it was just a rumor.

The music released on Fania is, IMO, one of the greatest cultural legacies from Latinos to the world. I am fascinated by synchronistic moments in culture and the arts when all the right elements seem to come together in a group of people as if by magic and everything they do is just perfect. Siembra by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón, the two volumes of Asalto navideño by Colón and Héctor Lavoe, the latter's solo work, Colón own records, the songs by Tite Curet Alonso... The list goes on. They are not even classics, they're beyond that.

The best concert I've ever been to was in 2003 with Rubén Blades and Gilberto Santarrosa sharing the stage in Puerto Rico just before Blades became Panamá's Minister of Tourism. Santarrosa is okay, but standing next to Blades is like, I don't know, putting Sarah McLachlan next to Joni Mitchell in the same room. The energy and emotion in the venue were so high and intense that after four hours of music, people didn't want to leave! People were crying (my dad and I included) from the first verses of Blades singing "Patria" and it was just overwhelming to listen to music that - one song after another - felt like the Truth. The only other time I ever felt like that was when I went to the opera to attend a performance of Tristan und Isolde, but that's another post.





If you haven't already, check out Roisin's work with Moloko. Try to find the François Kevorkian remix of "Forever More", one of the best remixes I've ever heard in my life.

I couldn't agree more!...

I literally had tears in my eyes earlier cuz I started reminiscing about my mom when she was alive. She had never been around Latinos outside of the Mexican community. So when my sisters & I started befriending PRs & Cubanos, cuz of our exposure to other friends in grade school, she enjoyed our connection to them. I couldn't help but remember taking her to El Dia de San Juan festival here in LA. It was more popularly known as The Puerto Rican Festival in Cabrillo Beach, CA. Salsa bands would perform all day long right on the beachy sand & the LA PR community would camp out all weekend long. At any rate, we took my mom one year & we danced our asses off all day long & met up w/ our friends' families. We would eat platanos fritos, arroz con arbichuelas, etc. After the 1st year, she would ask, "Are we going to The PR Festival?" & she would always say to us, "Que gente tan alegre!" & that sealed it for her.

After that, we made it yearly outing w/ her. She would even "allow" us to drink alcohol in her presence by buying us some Rum & Coke--a BIG way of her approving of us having a good time @ the festival (she NEVER wanted us drinking btw). Needless to say, she, too, enjoyed Fania All Stars recordings.

...I must add, I still CRACK UP about the many terms I heard growing up w/ my PR & Cuban friends. For ie (using the spelling as my ears heard it), "Vale pula mielda!" or "Coño, carajo!" LMAO!

...Oooohhhh the WONDERFUL memories of dancing to Fania All Stars & my mom!!!

1. Phoenix----Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

2. Miike Snow. (absolutely my favorite so far in 2009)