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If any artist could be likened to Adebisi from Oz in the sense they absolutely owned the yard anytime they stepped out to flex their muscle during the period after their arrival on the scene, well, it is definitely Whitney Houston between 1985 and 1988. In those three years she released seven consecutive #1 singles. Count ‘em, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1. What Whitney touched turned to gold or even platinum during these three years.

1985 - Saving All My Love for You
1986 - How Will I Know
1986 - Greatest Love of All
1987 - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
1987 - Didn’t We Almost Have It All
1988 - So Emotional
1988 - Where Do Broken Hearts Go

Laugh if you want, but you don’t achieve that degree of singles chart dominance unless A LOT of people really love what you’re spinning. That’s only one of the diva’s chart accomplishments. They could fill weeks of Those Zany Charts ….

But, for my money, as much fun as Houston’s mid-to-late-80s pop classics are and as soulful as many of the early-90s singles are, nothing beats the mature and lovely Whitney presented by “My Love Is Your Love”. She’s simply sweet, smooth, and confident. All her many trials and tribulations aside, that’s the Whitney we can fall in love with.

   Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love

Back in high school, The Cardigans’ Life was one of my favorite albums. I didn’t know anyone else that listened to it at the time so I don’t know where I first heard about them, but from the moment I took that album home, I fell in love. The swingin’ 60s melodies and Nina Persson’s wonderfully soft yet semi-saucy voice made for an album that I would listen to for years. 12 years later, Life is still a fantastic album. Although I was also very fond of First Band On The Moon, I’ve never been as much of as a Cardigans fan as much as I was back in 1995. I got to see them live in Amsterdam, around about the time Gran Turismo came out, but it was still those early songs that I wanted to hear.

   The Cardigans - Tomorrow
   The Cardigans - Fine

One of my favorite poems is about two lovers who, after spending the night together, curse the sun in the morning, because it has the audacity to think they are affected by its time. Clearly their love is all that matters in the perfect universe contained in their room. It creates such a lovely intimate image that is rarely found in love songs, but Bob Marley manages to create the same feeling with the line ‘We’ll share the shelter of my single bed’ in “Is This Love” from his 1978 album Kaya. That one line is more romantic than all those mushy I-would-die-for-you-lovey-love-songs combined.

Most of us Generation Y-ers, who declared sarcasm the new black and who use cynicism to understand the ways of the world, have a hard time taking romantic ballads that proclaim their everlasting love and devotion seriously, but this song always gets to me. I think the thing that makes a great song a classic is its ability to create that temproray insanity that makes you believe every single word; I believe Bob when he tells me he wants to love me and treat me right.

I hardly ever listen to “Is This Love” anymore, because the danger with nearly all Bob Marley’s songs is that they get played out. Luckily, I doubt it’s catchy enough to be used in a tampon or deodorant commercial, I never listen to classic rock radio, and street musicians have collectively decided that “Redemption Song” is the money song, so for now it hasn’t been tainted by over exposure yet. So here it is, my ultimate romantic song:

   Bob Marley - Is This Love

For this week’s Backtrack Day, I thought I’d do a little backtracking into 100b itself and check up on some bands that we’ve written about (mainly in New Band Day posts) in the past. Some of them have gone on to make fantastic albums (1990s, Guillemots, Jamie T, Hot Club De Paris, Jeremy Warmsley) and some went straight onto my favorites-of-all-time list (Pop Levi, The Bicycles, Cold War Kids, The Long Blondes). But what about those bands that we haven’t heard much about since we first wrote about? I did a little searchin’ and found out …

Give Half To The Monkey is one of my very favorite New Band Day finds but, sadly, there doesn’t seem to be much to find out about their current activities. There’s not too much updating going on over at MonkeySpace, and Google coughs up nothing about these guys. I can’t even find an mp3 to offer you all, but if you head over to Bebo, they’ve got loads of songs streaming. I sure hope Give Half To The Monkey is still around and doing what they do, because they are seriously great.

Unfortunately, there’s no big news for Kitty, Daisy and Lewis either. They appear to be playing live regularly, but there’s no future releases or recording news listed anywhere. I guess we shouldn’t be too hard on them, they are still in school after all. Have a listen to this, one of their few released songs, and hope for something new soon.

   Kitty, Daisy and Lewis - Mean Son Of A Gun

Vampire Weekend, on the other hand, are cruising right along. Their debut EP was released over the summer and it didn’t take long for them to get all signed up with XL Recordings. Their first single with XL, “Mansard Roof” will be out on October 22nd and their debut album is scheduled for January 2008.

   Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

Shout Magic, another favorite of mine, apparently had some line-up changes recently. But they’ve still managed to record another EP, which will be available soon. I assume it will be up for download from their website like the first one (which is still there, by the way, so grab it before they come to their senses) - I’ll be keeping a lookout for it.

   Shout Magic - Branch Davidians

The Deadly Syndrome is actually a band Tamboosh found, back in 100b’s earliest days, and I ended up loving them as well. Their debut album, The Ortolan will be out on September 11th on Dim Mak. I’m pretty excited about that - I think I’ll make a Mustachio to keep me busy while I wait.

   The Deadly Syndrome - Emily Paints

It looks like there’s some exciting stuff on the way, no?

Look here, this is a confesssion. I don’t have tons of time to trawl the Intertubes for new artists. Sometimes I wish I did or was willing to let go of some of my other activities. I’m not, so I rely on carefully chosen sources to provide my exposure to new music when I’m unable to dig around myself. Sources such as Bean and Tamboosh, emusic (and to a lesser extent iTunes) recommendations, The Album Club (not your average monthly music source), and a few kindred blogs.

When this month’s package arrived from The Album Club what did I find inside? Well, hot dog, a new artist perfect for New Band Day - Eugene McGuinness in the form of The Early Learnings Of Eugene McGuinness released by Double Six, a label created by Domino specifically for The Early Learnings Of … and McGuinness’ earlier first single.

I’ve enjoyed the 22-year-old McGuinness’ album so much so far (after about five run throughs) that I wished everything in the world was free and we could all just share the whole thing for everyone to enjoy everywhere. Alas, that’s not what Hangin’ Out In 100b is about. But, McGuinness’ eight tracks of fun are worth the lunch money it takes to get your hands on it.

I usually prefer more upbeat music, so “High Score”, “Monsters Under The Bed”, and “Bold Street” are probably my favorite tracks. But, that’s not to say those slower tempo and more introspective songs, like “Madeleine” or “Vampire Casino”, aren’t enjoyable, as well. Given this London native is so young, we can all look forward to further growth and exploration to come!

   Eugene McGuinness - Monsters Under The Bed

Don’t want to take my word for it? Try out some more before purchasing by directing your attention to Eugene McGuinness’ space.

The photograph of Mr. McGuinness has been used with kind permission from Tim Dougall. The original is much bigger, clearer, and not so cropped!

OK, so early 90’s proto-nu-metal band Dog Eat Dog helped open up the floodgates to scary rap/hardcore/metal bands, but as many things the idea started out as a breath of fresh air. They managed to blend in some ska and big band influences in there as well, which kept the mood light and gave us the idea that they didn’t take themselves too seriously, unlike most nu-metal bands. Needless to say, I loved Dog Eat Dog and their 1996 hit “Isms” is about the most inspiring anti-ism song I know. In fact, it’s the only anti-ism song I know. It’s so handy too! If you want the person next to you in traffic to know what you stand for, instead of sticking on numerous bumper stickers that list all the isms you are against, just crank up this song and they’ll get the message.

My favorite part of the song is the chorus, I love that the big important isms are used in the first few lines, then they totally run out of good isms and end with Fakeism … I don’t think that’s a word, but darnit, I’m against it!

   Dog Eat Dog - Isms

Since it’s Elvis Week and we’ve done all Elvis posts this week, I thought we might as well go all the way and bring the King into Those Zany Charts. But an all-Elvis chart post would be boring, we can just go get that Number 1s album if you want to know about that, right? So let’s look at the Top 50 Singles from 30 years ago, the year Elvis died. Why? I don’t know - why not? To see what Elvis’ musical legacy had morphed into after his 23-year career, I guess.

Truth be told, it’s not quite as bad as I’d initially thought. There’s some pretty good 70s cheese in there. And, of course, some ridiculous disco (and I like disco). Here’s the highlights:

#43 Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love

Dude, everybody loves Steve Miller.

#40 Heatwave - Boogie Nights

The guys are HOT. Check out these moves for when you go out to the disco later tonight:

#38 Meco - Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band

This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. A disco remix (the first mash-up, perhaps?) of the Star Wars Theme and all sorts of Star Wars-based sounds, as well as the music played by the house band on Tatooine. This guy made a whole album of this disco Star Wars music after A New Hope came out. So. Very. Awesome.

#30 Shaun Cassidy - That’s Rock ‘N Roll

My dirty little secret is that I love this song. Not as in “I love this song but Shaun Cassidy’s version is atrocious”. Nope, I love Shaun Cassidy singing this song. I’ve been trying to hunt it down for several years now (and wasted about 40 minutes looking again this morning, just in case it magically appeared somewhere since I last wasted loads of time doing this) but can’t find it anywhere. There’s a Best Of available but I only want this one teeny tiny song. Anyway, there’s nothing better than when Shaun sings this on “The Hardy Boys”, but the best clip I could find was this live version from 1978:

Update: A kindly (anonymous) stranger has sent my song to 100b HQ - so, thanks to them, here it is!

   Shaun Cassidy - That’s Rock ‘N Roll

#16 John Williams - Star Wars (Main Title)

Yup, TWO versions of the Star Wars theme in the Top 50 in one week. It doesn’t get any better than that.

#12 Heart - Barracuda

I love this song, it’s so fierce and saucy. Led Zeppelin-y with a girly edge (but not grrrly and irritating). This is good for getting ready to go out, right before you knock everyone out with your Heatwave dances.

And the #1 single the week Elvis left us?

#1 The Emotions - Best Of My Love

This is what groups like Eternal were trying to be and didn’t even come close.

So they may not be “That’s All Right, Mama” or “Suspicious Minds”, but there are some good songs in there - I guess popular music wasn’t a total shambles when Elvis, erm, left the building.

Elvis’ movie career is considered a big joke by most people - after all, there are an awful lot of them and they do seem a little plotless and silly. But think about it this way - Elvis starred in 31 movies in 13 years (over half of his career), from 1956 to 1969. That’s an average of 2.5 films cranked out every year. And if you watch them objectively, they’re no worse or cheesier than any other ’60s teen movie (or the ones now, come to think of it).

Each of those 31 movies had at least 6 new songs that had to be recorded for it. That makes somewhere around 186 movie soundtrack songs, 15 per year. (I’ll take this opportunity to point out that there’s barely anyone around today who will record 15 songs every three years, let alone 186 songs in their entire lifetime.) Add to that the fact that Elvis’ movie career quickly became something he himself hated. He wanted to be in real movies, to be given the chance to try something challenging. It started off that way but it didn’t take long for Colonel Parker to see the money-making potential and convince Elvis that he couldn’t afford not to make as many of them as humanly possible. Which meant that there was no time for decent plots and interesting roles - it was a lot faster (and cheaper, of course) to just stick Elvis with a few hot chicks and some slapped together songs. Also take into account that Elvis’ musical passion lay in Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll, and Gospel - not throwaway pop songs with no soul at all. Imagine how mind-numbingly boring it all must’ve been for him.

Under the circumstances, it’s pretty incredible that Elvis managed to record anything good during that time period at all. Some of them are even classics: “Love Me Tender” (from Love Me Tender, 1956) “Jailhouse Rock” (Jailhouse Rock, 1957), “(Let Me Be Your) Teddybear” (Loving You, 1957), “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (Blue Hawaii, 1961), “Return To Sender” (Girls! Girls! Girls!, 1962), “Viva Las Vegas” (Viva Las Vegas, 1968), and these three:

   Elvis Presley - Hard Headed Woman (King Creole, 195
   Elvis Presley - What’d I Say (Viva Las Vegas, 1964)
   Elvis Presley - Rubberneckin’ (Change Of Habit, 1969)

I just want to use this space to thank Filthy Little Angels. They come up with the most creative ways to introduce their bands. This time they made us a free album of covers of songs from 1987. Whoever came up with this is a motherlovin’ genius!

I haven’t listened to them all yet, but I got soso excited by the second song that I had to share. If this incredible version of “China In Your Hands” can’t convince you to go over there and snatch up the 19 songs, I don’t know what will. I always thought that this T’Pau song was nice to hear in moderation, because it can get a bit whiney. Slideshow Freak snatched it up, made it their own and turned it into something I would gladly listen to on a loop for the next couple of hours. I am in awe.

Like I said, I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet, but if this is any indication what the rest sounds like … awesome. Download the whole album here.

Slideshow Freaks - China In Your Hands

August 16, 2007 will mark 30 years since ‘The King’ died.

Released in 1969, “In The Ghetto” was recorded in January during Presley’s first studio session since the awesome December 1968 ‘Comeback Special’ ensured he didn’t get trapped in the time capsule of past success. Written by Mac Davis - who had his own relatively successful music and acting career - the single reached #3 in the U.S. charts and is a fitting tribute from a pivotal point in the musical legacy of a legend who still looms larger than life.

“In The Ghetto” is one of my favorite Elvis tracks. And, I enjoy just about any rendition of it, which is why I’ve decided to share a range of covers.

Elvis Presley, 1935-1977.

   Elivs Presley - In The Ghetto
   Dolly Parton - In The Ghetto
   Ghetto People - In The Ghetto (ft I-Viz) (Ghetto Mix)
   Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - In The Ghetto
   The Cranberries - In The Ghetto (Non LP Version)

You know how sometimes you get so download-happy, once you’re done the whole experience is a blur? That’s what happened the day I downloaded The GO’s 2003 release Supercuts. You can download it for free from their site. Yes, the whole album for naught! I don’t mean to sound even more grubby than I usually do, but I actually yelped when I saw that. Of course when I was done, I forgot all about it. So the other day I was cleaning out my mp3 collection, because I really don’t need three versions of The Wiggles “Hot Potato” (Yes I am 26, but occasionally I enjoy novelty rock ‘n roll aimed at toddlers. What?!?) and there was The GO gathering dust in the dark crevices of my music folder.

I’ve since listened to it a couple of times and I love it! It made me all excited about their new CD Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride that just came out. I haven’t heard any of their other recordings yet, but Supercuts is a little bit o’ Stones, Faces, Love and you can actually hear the rock history of their hometown Detroit in there too. There are also hints of New York Dolls, Kinks, well, basically all your garage greats are present, but is it just me or do The Monkees rear their head every once in a while? Now that’s my kinda band. Ok, so now that we’re done with the compulsory comparing game, you should really check em out yourself. They may sound familiar, but they give contemporary rock that raw kick in the butt it occasionally needs. Oh, and Jack White used to play with them, but that sounds like the kind of, undoubtedly worn-out, tidbit that might drown out The GO’s own impact, so forget I said that …

Here are my favorite songs, you can download the rest of Supercuts from their official site:

The GO - Games
The GO - Linda We’re In trouble
The GO - Love, And If We Try

Hats and Glasses are a band I found via emusic - I downloaded their EP a couple of days ago because, well, I liked their name. But that’s about all the information I can give you about them, because even Google-ing doesn’t come up with much. They’re from Boston, consider themselves a Rock ‘n Roll band, and have apparently been together since 2003. As far as I can tell, the EP is their debut release. Rock ‘n Roll is a fitting description, but not at all in a traditional or typical way. There’s something about them that reminds me of The Modern Lovers - not that they sound similar but they both appeal to me in the same way. Their myspace page lists them as “Punk / Metal / Melodramatic Popular Song”; Virb has them has “Post Hardcore / Southern Rock / Comedy”. Clearly, Hats and Glasses don’t fit in one of those nifty genre descriptions. All I know is that this EP is my new favorite thing and I love it more each time I listen to it. You’ll really have to hear it for yourself:

   Hats and Glasses - November, Stupid People, Pay The Man

Hats and Glasses’ EP is available for download from emusic here and will supposedly be out in September for physical buying. HatSpace has several songs for your listening pleasure and one for download. Go check them out, right now.

Thai police officers that break the rules are forced to wear hot pink Hello Kitty armbands. Well, I would break the stinkin’ rules just to become a Hello Kitty cop. Of course I’m a girl and not some macho police cop man, but I can’t believe they turned something so sweet and purdy into a magic manhood stealing piece of fabric. I say wear it with pride! If you get laughed at just whip out that big ass Hello Kitty gun. Yeah, who’s cute now, punk??? [AP]

   Presidents Of The USA - Kitty

You’d be forgiven if you thought the photo above was Slash. It’s actually Caetano Veloso, a prominent member of the Brazilian tropicalia musical movement of late 1960s.

Tropicalia had its roots in Portuguese fado, African rhythms, rock (of the 1960s variety), and, obviously, various latin styles, all swirled together and often delivered with a political message. If you haven’t had the chance to tuck into any tropicalia before, then start with Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound. The 20-track album serves as a superb introduction and is the source of today’s three tracks. In addition to two tracks from Veloso, have a listen to another of tropicalia’s more prominent groups, Os Mutantes.

Under the thumb of the Brazilian military junta, the movement faded as quickly as it blossomed. It should by no means be forgotten. It’s some of the most unusually blended and poptastic music out there. And, has the added plus of actually being incredibly fun to listen to.

   Caetano Veloso - Alfomega
   Caetano Veloso - Lost In The Paradise
   Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba

We have been covering the charts that represent the most beluuuved singles out there. Let’s twist it around and take a look at the charts that record the songs everybody hates. Interestingly, a lot of these songs used to be HUGE hits, but somehow the crowd has turned on them and the once adoring fans are now running for the hills at the sound of these tunes.

My personal Worst Songs list would probably be topped by two songs especially: Pat Boone’s “Love Letters In The Sand” (because it’s heinous) and Ronan Keating’s “When You Say Nothing At All”. The Ronan Keating one was lower on my chart before, but then I saw a reality wedding show where, after saying their ‘I dos’, the new husband burst out in a gut wrenching rendition of the song. I would have screamed, cried, kicked him in the nuts, and prayed that someone taped that, because if ever there was good reason for an anulment … Well anyway, join me in my celebration of B-A-D!

The Top 5 Worst Songs as voted by CNN.com readers:

5. Terry Jacks - Seasons in the Sun
4. Charlene - I’ve Never Been to Me
3. Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life
2. The Captain And Tennille - Muskrat Love
1. Paul Anka - (You’re) Having My Baby

Oooo boy, these are all deservedly in the top 5 for sure! They all, in their own special way, make me want to barf up the chicken I had earlier, but the song that puzzles me most is “Muskrat Love”. Especially the synthesizer beeps and blips that are supposed to sound like muskrats … making sweet love(??). That’s just filthy. The thing that makes these songs so evil is that they don’t seem to end. Towards the middle of each of these songs I start to believe that the only way to escape them is by pouring mercury in my ears. A tad drastic maybe, but I wholeheartedly agree with this chart.

The BBC brings us The Top 5 Worst Songs as voted on an online poll:

5. 5ive featuring Queen - We Will Rock You
4. Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle - Diamond Lights
3. Meat Loaf - I’ll Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)
2. Gazza and Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne
1. The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

I have some issues with the songs in this list. First of all, don’t blame a song if the thing you really detest is the obnoxious boyband (5ive). Second, - and there’s no way I can make this sound cool - I have a soft spot for “I Would Do Anything For Love”. Yah, I sorta made up a little play to go along with the lyrics when I was younger … Leeeet’s move on. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is number one?!? Alright, it’s not their best but a bad Beatles song is still a million times better than, oh say, Olivia Newton John’s “I Honestly Love You”. Ugh, I hate that song with the fire of Satan’s breath.

The Top Five according to Blender Magazine:

5. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
4. Limpbizkit - Rollin’
3. Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight
2. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart
1. Starship - We Built This City

Hm, hindsight is a wonderful thing ain’t it, but don’t even pretend you didn’t dance along with ‘Eminem Lite’ when this number 5 first came out. The same probably goes for the Wang Chung song, but I was 5 so I don’t remember. I don’t mind it so much, it sounds like your average 80’s club hit. But how DO you Wang Chung tonight?? Anyway, what is there to say about Billy Ray Cyrus? Bad haircut, bad song, but I think it’s kinda funny. I mean this song is like a joke, right? He didn’t actually think this was the lyrical highpoint of his career … right? And then there’s the soulless insta-hit that is “We Built This City”. At least that’s what I heard. I always read about how Jefferson Starship sold out or something, but I don’t think I know any of their other songs, and I’ve definitely heard worse than this chart topping bad song.

Jealous of these artists with their awesomely bad song writing abilities? CNN.com is so kind to give us a How To Write A Bad Song tutorial.

With Nina Sky due to release their delayed second non-mixtape album (The Musical) later this summer, I thought I’d make public that the duo is one of my guilty pleasures. Yes, the soundtrack of my life features groups and artists of the softer, female-based variety. Of course, I make this confession in confidence, so you shouldn’t spread it around.

There’s something about their simple harmonization that’s just plain ol’ catchy and easy to listen to. Oh, and they have the obligatory ’sex appeal’. That helps, too. To prove it on the harmonization front, I’ve dug around in my bucket-of-fun for some collaborations they’ve done. Tell me you aren’t mesmerized. Of course, if you’re not a hip hop fan - and the samples below are pulled from my hip hop collection instead of their more R&B solo tracks - then definitely pick up their self-titled debut while waiting to buy the second album.

   The Alchemist - Hold You Down (ft Prodigy, Nina Sky, Illa Ghee)
   Garcia - Let Me Hear You Say (ft Pitbull, Nina Sky, NORE)(Hood Remix)
   Pitbull - Turnin Me On (ft Nina Sky)(Remix)
   Sean Paul - Connection (ft Nina Sky)

Visit the Nina SkySpace to have a listen to other tracks and, even better, the Official Nina Sky site, at which you can download a few 100% free mixtapes.