Call on Me

It's another insomninite (my own term!). While youtubing, I came across Steve Winwood's "Valerie." I had no idea who Steve Winwood was until I watched a couple videos, and of course I know his work. If you're not sure, here's links to three youtube videos. I won't embed them because visually they're nothing to write home about, but the songs are classics:

Valerie
Back in the High Life Again
Don't You Know What the Night Can Do

But tonight's youtube surfing netted something else, something amazing. Nowadays, marketers have paraded sex in so many aspects of of our daily lives that there is so little that titillates (no pun intended) us.

A video listed in the 'related' bar to Winwood's "Valerie" was "Call on Me," a sampling track by Swedish producer and DJ, Eric Prydz. Never heard of him before, but low and behold, he cut this track. The track alone is mesmerizing, despite the fact it's 3 minutes of practically only three words. But then there's the video... wow... despite the fact it's probably no more explicit than a Suzanne Sommers workout tape. But it's breathtaking, erotically entrancing. You just need to see for yourself:



And I guess I'm not alone in being mesmerized. Someone went to the trouble of creating a website for this single: http://www.ilovecallonme.com/main.html

Pink

Ah, Pink.

I heard the name maybe a year ago, maybe more. Being the shallow fellow I am, I instantly despised her. I didn't even know what she sang. Anyone who called themselves 'Pink' must be moronic.

Whoa, was I wrong.

I like Pink (born Alecia Moore) because she can sing. Man, can she sing. Deep and powerful are her vocals. And her songwriting, though sometimes awkward (e.g. Dear Mr. President), is powerful as well. Her videos are technical, edgy, moving, and entertaining. One of my favorites is Don't let me get me. Her in pigtails reminds me of my 2 year old daughter, who is a bit of a tough, independent rebel... and looks like Pink a bit.



Let me say something about Dear Mr President. I think the lyrics are awkward because they're more than just a little naive. I feel a little bit embarrassed just listening to it, though the singing is great. Though my bent is toward conservative, my dislike of the lyrics is not because of that. I, myself, have more than a few issues with Bush. The message is simply not very sophisticated. I do admire her gall to make such a song, and I understand her desire to make it. Good for her.

I also like Pink because of her look. Sometimes she's cute:


Somtimes, she's not.

Sometimes she's feminine:

Sometimes she's not:

Sometimes she's glamorous:

Sometimes she's not:

Sometimes she's girl-next-door:

Sometimes she's not:

She's sometimes a bit naughty:

She's always a little crazy:

A woman, she is. (and this is not porn - it's Bryan Adams photography!)

The B-Flow and the G-Groove

When I was in college, I roomed, or housed, with two lovely sisters named Bridget and Gina. Wonderful women I admire greatly for a variety of reasons. I was their irritating guy house-mate. Anyway, to me they were B and G, or B-Flow and G-Groove. I think these are actually groups of some kind, but I'm not familiar with them. However, when I think of these monikers of theirs, I think music.

As I mentioned briefly in a previous post, or somewhere on this post, I've been paying a lot more attention to the music I listen to. Music appreciation, you could call it.

In the "On my desk" section of the sidebar, I"ll be listing either individual songs or albums that I'm digging at the moment. After they've moved off my 'now playing' list, they'll go to the shelf. Keep in mind, not everything 'on the shelf' I liked.

So I was making an hour trip from Albuquerque, and listening to the radio, and got a string of songs I'm really digging right now. One of them is Give it to me by Timbaland. I must comment that I have historically disliked Justin Timberlike, for no other reason than he was in the boy band 'N Sync. But two things have happened recently that make me respect the guy. #1, he's with Jessica Biel in some way.



#2, He grooved with Nelly Furtado on "Give it to Me"

These are both women I, um, admire greatly. Go, JT.

Next, a remake of 'Time after time' came on by, I believe, Quietdrive. I don't know who Quietdrive is, but their remake was a decent version of Cyndi Lauper's. Yes, I like Cyndi Lauper. My friend, Lisa, teases me greatly about this, but hey, if a pop punk band thought she was cool enough to faithfully recreate her song, then I guess I'm not so lame. And Sarah McLachlan saw it fit to do a 'feat' version of time after time with Cyndi. I am very fond of Lauper's studio version, which everyone knows, but the feat McLachlan version is stunning. Vocals are amazing (though Lauper breaks a little once), and the acoustics, wow. Below is a youtube clip of a live version. The studio version is much better, so try to find a good mp3 somewhere. I thought Sarah was playing a twelve string guitar, but from this video it's clear Sarah's only singing, and the mesmerizing acoustics must be coming from that guitarist or Lauper's gizmo gadget she's strumming.



This second video is a fun cover video for Quietdrive's 2006 remake.



Also playing over the airwaves was Irreplaceable by Beyonce. I despised this song when I first heard it months ago. When I finally listened to the lyrics, however, I was moved. Though I'm not sure this song will stay on my playlist long, I have respect for it.


Then came 4 in the morning by Gwen Stefani. Great song. My first exposure to Gwen Stefani was Hollaback Girl which my then 5 year old daughter unfortunately learned the lyrics to and belted out in school. Again, I found Stefani irritating at first, then quickly grew to like her very much. Now I'm a big fan.



Finally came Pink. I'll devote an entire post to her.

So anyway, that was my music appreciation for today.