Too much music, too little time! :D

Hi everyone, I’m here to share a couple of new musical finds. The weekend is fertile ground for discoveries. Okay first, this lovely song I thought was from the 40’s or something, but it was written in 1970 by Don McLean”And I love you so”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpV46ycq0dQ

Isn’t it gorgeous? I heard the 1973 version by Perry Como today, which was apparently his last #1 single. The radio host mentioned Elvis sang it too, so have to share that one:

Elvis “And I love you so”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MOIs0Dd5g

There is something to be said about the phrase “less is more” on both these versions. I also wanted to share another song I heard today, but unfortunately, it’s not on YouTube. It was a truly lovely version of “Daddy’s little girl” by Johnny Desmond. It was sung very nicely and had almost completely different lyrics. Oh well... Anyway, I luckily found another fun substitute, the title theme from the show I listen to, “C’est si bon” by Johnny Desmond:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLaKTYC5iOA

Guess that’s it for now. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, well it’s really been a great weekend music-wise and I have more to share. I got myself a new/old Bryan Adams CD/DVD from his “Bare Bones” 2011 tour. It’s a little annoying that the CD simply called “Bare Bones” has a different setlist than the  “Bare Bones tour” double-pack, but I guess that’s another one for the wish list. Anyway, I found this adorable little song called “Still miss you... a little bit”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab-KIgGSTYw

It has a bit of a country flavour  and could very well have been a country hit, due to the lyrical content. :D Anyway, I’m happy to report that I’ve had an epiphany and have finally pinned down which of Bryan’s songs is my favourite. I was listening to the DVD, which has a more  extensive setlist to the accompanying CD in the double-pack. So, this is one of, if not the last song on it. When I heard Bryan say this might be the best song he’s ever written and mentioned the title: “Have you ever really loved a woman” and I got teary-eyed, I thought: “Eureka!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2KgzKETBw

Ah, you can’t beat that song: sweetly sung, beautiful music and Michael Bolton worthy lyrics! XD  He does have a similarly lovely  song called “Inside out”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcDWJe5wPec

…that’s similar in theme, off his “The best of me” compilation and it’s very nice too, though it doesn’t beat my favourite. Guess that’s it for now, thanks for indulging me, for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi all, here’s a fun song I just discovered on a new music channel. It’s called “Hey Rock and roll” by, get this name: Showaddywaddy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtQ79OYSvc

I’ve never heard that song, nor have I ever heard of these guys, but it sounds like a fun party song, so what the hay! :D Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I’d like to share my weekend finds. Our local Target happened to advertize a Target exclusive edition of Michael Bublé’s CD “To be loved”, which I know I have yet to review. I own the standard version so wanted to check it out. There are 3 bonus tracks on the special edition. First, the old Ronettes song “Be my baby”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phXvK7hUxqM

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly impressed with his version, because aside from a lower key and male backups, he doesn’t bring that much new to the table.  Second, this swing remix of “It’s a beautiful day”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJkNoHwDtU

Now this one I was impressed with! I didn’t buy the CD because I didn’t know if 2 bonus tracks plus 1 remix were worth it, but listening on YouTube, I’m a bit torn. The swing bversion is even better than the original in my opinion and it’s plain to hear how much fun Mikey is having singing it. Now last but not least, third, “My melancholy baby”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkhHXXcz8Wk

I didn’t really know this song and I must say that old Mikey knows how to use the lower register to his advantage on this one, no buts about it. It’s a beautiful song with  great arrangements. I don’t know that these justify buying another CD, but I wish I could buy the mp3’s. Oh well... Anyway, that’s it for now, thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today I bring you a 2 for 1, thanks to another wonderful library find. I borrowed a CD compilation called “Lady sings the blues again”, but contrary to what the title suggests, it’s not just Billie Holliday. All right, this song has been a HUGE favourite of mine since the 70’s and I know I’ve posted it before, but I will again, solely for the purpose of comparing both versions. Now first, my previously known version by Dorothy Moore, the song “Misty Blue”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMONGMDEerI

People, I simply can not tell you how much I love this song! I used to sing it, even when I couldn’t quite understand all the English lyrics... :D Ironically,  it’s my acquired knowledge of the lyrics that made me recognize it in  my library find, this one sung by the great Ella Fitzgerald:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuQxvCT4Amw

I love Ella’s voice and her phrasing is so surprisingly different. I must say, this is one of the nicest musical discoveries I’ve heard in years! Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, I got this recently in my Amazon recommendations and wanted to make a nice playlist with tracks from the same era, but frankly, the inspiration escaped me. I still want to post it, because it was a breath of fresh air, since I love this song and hadn’t heard it in eons. Here it is, Tommy James & the Shondells “Crystal blue persuasion”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2821Jvnaeg8

Usually, on oldies music channels, they put on either “Crimson & clover” or “Mony Mony” from TJ&S. I realized, reading the YouTube comments, that this came into resurgence thanks to the “Breaking bad” series that I’ve obviously not watched. I’m just grateful that the creative teams for either TV shows or video games for instance, are wising up and digging in the treasure of our musical past and polishing up gems for the young generation. My sons have gained a  deep appreciation of vintage music through classics like this one from the Ink Spots, “I don’t want to set the world on fire”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSK-1guFLDk

My youngest told me he wished he’d have a 24/7 music channel of this genre. There’s something really cozy about it that evoques memories of grandma’s giant radio, when it used to be a piece of furniture. :D On that happy note, I’ll wish you all a cozy day of polishing music gems in the near future. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, well here’s an unusual entry, from my daughter’s playlist. Okay, I’ve been sitting on this one for a while: a rapper named Ben Drew, known as Plan B. Not my chosen genre to begin with, but this guy has an interesting history. According to Wiki, he’s aBritish

rapper, songwriter, actor, film director and producer. He’s a self-taught guitarist, first jamming to Blurr and Oasis as a teen, but going on to writing his own R&B love songs, before he decided to express himself more comfortably with hip-hop and rap. He supported the Roots on tour in 2006, which scores in my book. :D   His dad was in a punk band in the 70’s, but deserted the family when Ben was young, which might explain a few things. What first struck me about this guy were his old-school R&B tunes from his 2^nd album in 2010 “The defamation of Strickland Banks”. The album has a fictitious story of a soul singer wrongfully accused and going to prison running through it. I haven’t had the time to study the lyrics yet, I got the info from Wiki. Musically, he mixes R&B with some rap and at times, he reminds me of Bruno Mars. The most blatant example is this one, Plan B’s “Darkest place”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjUmk0dG_c

I’m sure I’ll be shocked with the contents once I study it, due to the theme, but as I’ve said, musically-speaking, he’s very interesting, not to mention critically acclaimed. Well that’s it for now, thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, I want to dedicate this eclectic playlist to my eldest daughter. During her visit, she decided to introduce me to her latest purchases. She let me hear the first one, without telling me who it was, which was a good thing. This is a band I hadn’t heard in several years and I only moderately appreciated their first hit, “Steel my sunshine”. I must say that I did appreciate this latest one better than their first opus and even managed to enjoy this song, Canadian band Len, with “It’s my neighbourhood”:d

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W_vXIvN2kU

It’s a sweet excerpt, not representative of the album and the feel of it is so cute, I thought it belonged on “Sesame Street”! lol Okay, next one is from another band that didn’t impress me. I can’t appreciate their vocal sound,  I find their music uninteresting and I really didn’t care for their better known hit “ Pumped up kicks”. In any case, from their album “Supermodel”, I did like these 2 excerpts, first, “ask yourself”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjpbWJpvGkA

The song is engaging, energetic and musically interesting. My second selection is the last track of the album, “fire escape”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkSW6w94twI

All right, now here’s a Generation X oldie, still good, but old enough to feel like it’s from another time, P!nk with “There you go”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66LnhtnSoKc

I forgot how much I liked this piece, that feels so different from what P!nk does today. At hearing the first notes, I felt like saying  “Darkchild”, lol  and it sounded  very much like TLC’s “No scrubs” that I really like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLequ6dUdM

...or the Spice Girls’ “Holler”, which I have posted on this blog before. I have more to share from my daughter’s playlist, but for now, I’ll add one from my own playlist, but in keeping with the theme of today’s post, Hall & Oates “Every time you go away”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAnZ_mTUP1c

:D  I do hope you’ve enjoyed at least some of these. Thanks very much for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I wanted to share a new/old song I found in this new 2015 ATS Sedan Cadillac ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSx18oJTjg

 I knew it had to be a real song, so I looked it up and found it was originated in 1959 by Vince Taylor and his Playboys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc2pTC0D0j0

 A number of bands with names like the Milkshakes, Wild Angel and Teen Cats, all evoquing the "American Graffiti" vibe have covered this song and I read that the Clash had a hit with it too. Being a fan of the scruffy garage band sound, I picked this version to share with you by The Strypes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy57pwYWN4w

I'll need to look up the Brian Setzer Orchestra version of this one, it should be interesting. That's it for now folks, thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3