LADY GAGA IN THE NEWS

I don't understand Lady Gaga or do I? I find her fascinating. She is a very eccentric human being. Real name : Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga is the first celebrity to have more than 10 million fans on Facebook more than US President Barack Obama as reported by Famecount.

Her general outlook, personal style and dressing is considered outrageous. They say she derives her star quality from Rock stars like 'Queen' and  'David Bowie' and her vocals have been compared to 'Gwen Stefani' and Madonna', I would agree she -kind of- reminds me of both ladies.

Akon,  the hip-hop star recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution. I never heard of her until I heard the song-'Poker Face'  from her debut album 'The Fame' which was released in 2008 and topped the BillBoard 200 charts. It reminded me of the hook in this  Bonny M song, there are definitely some disco influences drawn from here. I guess there have always been 'crazy dressing rock stars' way before her, because even 'Bonny M's costumes look like there was a lot of crazy, out this world thoughts that went into their designs. Not to digress, here's Lady Gaga's song served:

Enjoy 'Poker Face'

It's a danceable, upbeat workout song, that's what I will call it. It's ok, it gets my 3***.  Lady Gaga is always in the news for one thing on the other like crowd surfing semi-naked, cocaine use and showstopping costumes. Things that make mouths drop and question her sanity.Well, it seems to be working for her, maybe when she does admit sanity, all creativity will seize to flow from her musically.

Loose some calories with this one this week.

If music be the food of love, you know what to do!

~Tosinger~

IS MAROON THE COLOR OF LOVE?

♫♫♫=lll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|lll..i=♫♫♫

Hello Friends,

Scorching weekend, with some showers of rain here and there, blessings of nature ! So I stumble across one of my favorites from Maroon 5 'This Love'. Maroon 5- a five man band (one replaced later) are friends from high school from Los Angeles, California. Formerly  a 4-member group called 'Kara's Flowers', a garage/grunge band ( a form of amateurish rock music) formed in 1994. They gained so much publicity from touring a lot. I must say that paid off for them in the long run because they received the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005.

The lead vocalist of the group, Adam Levine, has a unique voice. A voice I will refer to as a 'fruity flavored gum' :). The other members of the group are Drummer-Matt Flynn, Base Guitarist- Micky Madden, Keyboardist-Jesse Carmichael and Guitarist-James Valentine.
Despite previous failures, 'This Love' was a hit single from their debut album 'Songs About Jane' in 2002. A 2002 song that is still as fresh like it was released yesterday. That's an element of a good song. 

Listen to a clip of 'This Love'                     Full song & video  => video

Since debuting in 2002, the band has sold over 10 million albums in the United States and nearly 15 million worldwide. Source-Wikipedia.
The explicit scenes of the video aside, the song in itself is a 5*****. Controversial? Yes!, their videos I agree tend to get too 'raunchy'.
They are going on strong with a 2010 album  release- 'Hands all over'-and a new single called 'Misery' which is now available on iTunes.

If Music be the food of love, you know what to do!
~Tosinger~

A SONG FOR A SOULMATE

Got to love Natasha Bedingfield. Blond, beautiful and blessed with a unique soul piercing voice. She is British Pop Singer/Songwriter who emerged in 2004 with her album 'Unwritten'. It received a 2007  Grammy nomination for the best female pop vocal performance ( the single-'Unwritten'). Previously she sang in a band with her siblings and later on, in a well known Christian music church group called HillSongs.

In 2007, she released a second album 'NB' which has one of my favorites (and happens to be one of the two hit songs on the album). This is what I serve you today, a song titled 'Soulmate'. 'Soulmate' at the time of its  release reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and in the top 20 in most countries.
Critics say that the 'NB' album was "inorganic and awkwardly assembled", I disagree. I say it is a well produced piece and reflects the natural abilities of Ms Bedingfield,  her voice I will classify as a neo-soul organic pop sound garnished with a noticeable flavor of RnB.

She later collaborated with Sean Kingston in 2008 on -'Love Like This'-which also became a hit.

Read more about => Natasha Bedingfield.

The lyrics of this song express a reflection, on finding a true love connection, the need for companionship and begs to answer the question: is there really a soulmate for everyone?

Listen and watch:  'Soulmate' 

My verdict? This is a 5 star soul searching song all the way.
If  music be the food of love..you know what to do!
~Tosinger~

BEYONCE KNOWLES

Hi everyone,

Presenting Beyonce! She is listed as the most successful female artiste of the 2000's by the Billboards. She started out with her R & B girl group of 3 called 'Destiny's Child', managed by her record label manager father, Matthew Knowles. The teenage girls were Houston, Texas natives who became stars with their best selling album 'The writings on the wall'. Due to management conflict and legal tussles, they finally split in 2004 after an attempted reunion.Beyonce, who was the lead singer, embarked on a very successful solo career of her lifetime afterwards.

Beyonce started off with her debut solo album in 2003 'Dangerously in Love' which earned her 5 time Grammy awards. This was later followed with 'B-Day' in 2006 and 'Am Sasha Fierce' in 2008 which has the song I'll be highlighting today 'Single ladies-Put a ring on it'. Why would this album and this single in particular get 6 Grammys and earn the title of the most awards won by a female artiste in a Grammy night?

The song is a product of her alter ego, Sasha, a persona that Beyonce decided to project which expresses female empowerment and assertion.
It is rumored that it is inspired by her secret marriage to music rap star Jay-Z, a marriage which later became public in April, 2008.
"Single Ladies" is ranked as the number two Best Song of the Decade in Rolling Stone magazine's Reader's Poll.
The lyrics basically talk about single ladies getting a deserving treatment from men. 'Put a ring on it' meaning men should propose marriage rather than wasting a lady's time leading her on.

The dance to the song in the music video I find so hilarious, it became a YouTube craze nevertheless. Obviously a lot of ladies related to this song and it contributed to it being a hit.
Not to say that her other songs are not 5 *, I particularly like 'Irreplaceable' and 'Halo' but here is my review of 'Single Ladies' : It's a feel good, 3***, snacky snack song, it's like therapeutic chocolate candy indulgence.

Here goes:

Single ladies (Put a ring on it)

Beyonce, this 3 and a half vocal range superstar, is seen as an epitome of perfect beauty in the minds of all. She puts on a performance persona, she is like a firecracker onstage and offstage is soft spoken and as gentle as a dove. Beyonce also thrives in her acting career (she appeared in movies like 'Obsessed' and 'DreamGirls') and owns a fashion line 'House of Dereon' in conjunction with her mother, Tina Knowles who is a fashion designer. Smart business moves.

She continues to be a musical phenomenon and her fans await her new work over the years.

If the music be the food of love, you know what to do!
~Tosinger~

ASA, SOME ETHNIC FLAVOR

Hallo hallo!

I am quiet partial with today's menu/song choice. Partial because of its origin and its flavor. I serve you 5 star hot and fresh Asa straight from my birth land, Nigeria. Asa, Lagos born as Bukola Elemide, is a new generation world artiste making waves via Paris, France. Asa means 'hawk' in my mother tongue, the Yoruba language of the people of Nigeria in Western Africa. I heared it from the grapevine that she got that name when she was a tomboy growing up because she always ran swiftly (like a hawk in flight) when she was sent on errands. :-)

Hardworking and committed to her music, she learnt the guitar in six months. She came to the limelight after being signed by a French record label company. Her songs 'Jailer' and 'Eye Adaaba' caught the airwaves like wildfire both in Nigeria and abroad. 'Fire on the mountain' is also an all time favorite.

This is one of those albums where I do not have a favorite song. So I serve most of it here to you as a mini-buffet, her other songs are 'Place to be', 'Iba', and 'So Beautiful'. There are many more but I'll just leave it as that. Her songs are so natural and soulfully delivered, spiced with an acoustic base. The lyrics, mood and sound have an afrocentric backdrop, the ethnic flavor is derived from the use of her native language and intonations. Even if you don't understand it, you can still enjoy it. The European market have embraced her, as they usually do for the world genre of music. Hopefully, your coming across this blog of mine has introduced you to some good music you will not have known or heard of, otherwise .

'Place to be' by Asa

Chorus:
I believe that I can be
Only the best in whatever I do
Guaranteed to take the lead
Only the best in whatever I do
Guaranteed, yes indeed
To be the best in whatever I do

If music be the food of love, you know what to do!

~Tosinger~

I'M FEELING GOOD

Hi Y'all (with a southern drawl),

Anytime for some music this week? It's been raining. I love the sight and sound of rain, the 'splitter splatter' against my window, the fresh feel of the air after it's been cleansed. All these, makes me feel good. Good enough to spur me to listen to some feel good songs. Hmm, what's for 'musical supper'? How about a song titled 'Feeling Good'?. So I go on 'youtube' and search the phrase 'feeling good' and topping the list pops one of my favorite legendary singers, Ms Nina.

-Nina Simone-

Lovely! not too far down......... -Michael Buble- the Grammy Award winning cute Canadian singer whose voice I totally adore is right next to her.

Hmm, this menu is really tantalizing! It's incomparable. Which should I serve first?
It's like comparing good ol' apple pie to New York cheesecake for dessert.

It's interesting to see the trans-generational versions and remixes of songs , some are good and some are bad. This is good. Many people may not know the original source and music stars down the line do covers and make it more popular. 'Feeling Good' is not an exception. It has been covered by a lot of artistes from Sammy Davis Jr to the Pussycat Dolls.

It's a 1964 musical oldie written by Anthony Newley , Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, February 21, 1933–April 21, 2003) Singer/Songwriter, Pianist and activist sang her soulful version a year later in her album 'I put a spell on you', hear Nina Simone's version of 'Feeling Good' . Micheal Buble later puts a jazzy twist to it. This is a live performance. You can also check out the official video here. It was released as a single off his album 'It's Time' in 2005 and became the official song of the 2010 NBA draft.
Both versions sound natural and true, unadulterated and smooth. They each have their uniqueness and they both have the same effect on the listener, makes them feel good. Five ***** soul refreshing stars!

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me and I'm feeling good."

If Music be the food of love, you know what to do!

~Tosinger~

KE$HA SINGS WHAT?

Hi there,

I don't mean to start your week with 'junky junk' but I am sure you are wondering by now, servings so far have all been 5 star healthy and one 'snacky snack' in the mix. You may have that questioning look, so what on earth do I consider junk?. Ok here goes. It's junk if it's not worth all the hype, if it does not add value to the soul, if the lyrics are meaningless even if the rhythm is groovy, if the music is upbeat and well done but the image of the singer is 'bleh'.

Take it or leave it. Ke$ha fits that category. Note the 'Kesha' with the S=$ dollar sign, an ironic implication of her humble income beginnings Wiki sources state. Kesha is a pop singer/songwriter and rapper who uses a lot of auto-tuning and vocoding in her sound, too much to determine the extent of her natural talent I must say.

After featuring in Flo Rida's single 'Right Round' which created a buzz for her , 'Tik Tok' (from the debut studio album 'Animal'), her single released in 2009 shot her to stardom.

You wanna watch?

Danceable and upbeat, I'll give that to her. But what is the message in a song that talks about going to party one night and coming home half-drunk? Well, for some reason, it still topped the charts, against mixed reviews from the music audience.

Kesha says of the song in an interview with Esquire(2009-09-09)

"I just really wanted to embody the lifestyle that I live, we're all young and broke and it doesn't matter. We can find clothes on the side of the street and go out and look fantastic, and kill it. If we don't have a car that doesn't stop us, because we'll take the bus. If we can't afford drinks, we'll bring a bottle in our purse. It's just about not letting anything bring you down"

I ask again, and the value adding message here is? I hope not to sound like a rigid parent but Kesha, like so many other artistes, a list too long to mention, portray a controversial rebellious image which seems to be working for her musical success, but how much does this influence the society's youth? This is a valid question.

Don't throw stones yet, it may just happen to be someone's favorite song. But remember, this is a blog of musical opinion. Some girls like bad boys, some people like bad food and my description of bad music just fits right in there for them. Just like food and what it does to your body, so is music and what it does to your soul. There goes the 1* 'Junky junk'.

If music be the food of love, you know what to do!

~Tosinger~