The byline are the lyrics I am fixated on from Jay Jacobson's latest single These Troubled Times. If you have to ask why, you really haven't been paying attention to the world around you the last few days. You may recall the interview I did with Jay when the single first dropped, if not, hit the link below: http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2020/04/these-troubled-times.html Jay just dropped a hauntingly beautiful and evocative video to accompany the song of our times. Hit it after the jump! Stay at home and stay safe 💓
New Facebook Live Variety Series, “Escape the Virus with a Lights Out-ing,” Airs Saturdays @ 4 p.m. EST
Call it fate, call it coincidence, call it happenstance, but every so often there occurs a magic moment − unplanned and unforeseen − when a song arrives just at the point it is needed most. Such is the case with “All That Matters,” by LIGHTS OUT, which is poised to become an anthem for these troubling and frightening times.
The first single/video and title track from the vocal quartet’s new album, All That Matters– just released April 17 − is a moving, uplifting and inspirational piece that imbues the listener with what is most needed as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic: Optimism that a better day is on the horizon and the unshakeable belief that the human spirit is always stronger than the most fearsome foe.
In line with the group’s pandemic efforts, LIGHTS OUT has launched a weekly Facebook Live variety series, “Escape the Virus with a Lights Out-ing,” webcasting every Saturday at 4 p.m. EST. Weekly themes range from archival concert videos, to live Zoom performances, fan recipe cooking segments, story-swapping, topical discussions, and most importantly throughout, regular fan interaction. It’s all about maintaining the individual and group intimacy with their fans that the group holds in such high regard despite the tenuous climate the pandemic has created. Indeed, social distancing has inspired LIGHTS OUT to further find ways of staying close to its fans through social media.
Composed by membersChris JamesandDanny Goscicki,“All That Matters”is a work of classic blue-eyed soul marked by an indelible, instantly familiar melody and the breathtaking vocal harmonies that are the sonic signature ofLIGHTS OUT. Despite its of-the-moment urgency, it was written and recorded before the world had ever heard the phrase “COVID-19.”
According to Rob Fleishman, fellow group member Chad Moroz suggested the track be released as a single. “That,” Fleishman explains, “kind of sparked an idea in my head to create the video. So I created the video and it kind of took on a life of its own.
“At first, it was going to go down the road of friendship and how the group is together,” he continues. “But the ‘A-ha!’ moment came while I was watching the news. It kinda hit me that the lyrics are just so inspirational for this moment. It spoke to me as, ‘Why not thank the people who are on the front lines?’ Which is why at the end of the video, we thank everyone − doctors, nurses, cashiers, farmers, truck drivers, teachers, the military− for working as hard as they are to save our lives right now.”
The phrase "working hard" also applies to the Philadelphia-based unit that was formed by its members when they were students at the University of Delaware. Starting as an a capella group inspired primarily by Rockapellaand Boyz II Men, LIGHTS OUT has simultaneously traveled several musical paths, including being a popular attraction at many of the nation's top venues,2 performing their own blend of originals and covers, and as a highly successful FrankieValli and the Four Seasons tributeact as well as their original show, The Jersey Beach Boys.
Through the years, the troupe’s thrilling vocal harmonies, polished stageshowsand songwriting prowess have providedLIGHTS OUTwith the opportunities to work withMartina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Philadelphia’s chart-topping vocal groupBoyz II Men, andBarry Carl ofRockapella.BoyzII Men co-founderMike McCarywas so impressed by the foursome that he actually served as its manager. Although today, the group’s career is overseen by another Philly music legend,Jerry Grossof the revered 1960s vocal act,The Dovells, the relationship withMcCarycontinues to pay dividends.
“We were all, at one point, going to school for music at the University of Delaware,” offers Chris James. “Being a music major is amazing, because you learn so much, but you also can kind of get pigeonholed a little bit, even in your own mind. You can get kind of closed-in and not realize that even though the rules say you shouldn't do something, there are ways to do it that might sound good. Mike started opening our eyes to different harmonies and different voicings and different movements within the four of our voices that we would not have had otherwise. It's not just that we wouldn't have thought of them. But we probably would have said, ‘That note's not in the chord, that won’t work.’ But he opened our ears and our minds into a completely new way of harmony. And to this day we take that with us everywhere we go.”
The evidence the band members have taken such lessons to heart can be heard on the All That Matters album, which boasts, in addition to the title cut, 12 tracks steeped in the quartet’s shimmering, usually breathtaking harmonies. Aside from nine originals, the album boasts four covers: The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” The 4 Seasons’ “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” Mr. Big’s “To Be With You,” and most notably, a sharp and energetic “hip-pop” reinvention of “Stand By Me” featuring a guest appearance by show business titan Ben Vereen.
What better way to start than with a pair of singles from everyone's favorite crime-fighting superheroes, The Aquabats!.
The first single, "Pajamazon!," is available now and it's the perfect upbeat theme to help get you through these quarantined days.
The band addresses the positives of staying inside while combining sax and trumpets with insanely catchy lyrics.
It's the first taste of The Aquabats' first studio album since 2011 and the family-friendly swinger the world needs.
The band's second single, "No One Wants to Party!" comes out on May 1st and it sees the band trying to figure out why no one wants to party at their place. Could it be the man-bun?
Both singles are from the band's upcoming eighth album, Kooky Spooky...In Stereo, which is scheduled for a summer release and will be available on CD and LP as well.
TINA DECARA RELEASES ANTHEM ON THE POWER OF BEING ALONE: “SOLO”
Pop singer Tina DeCara follows-up her smash single “Illusion” — its had over one million Spotify streams — with “Solo,” a song about loving yourself when you’re at your loneliest. “I’ve been solo for a while and though most days, I’m cool with not having a special someone to kick it with, there are times my mood swings so low,” admits Tina. It was during one of these down periods that she wrote her new single. “I sat with a bottle of wine and had a little pity party in my music journal,” she remembers. But oddly, what emerged wasn’t a sad song about being lonely, but a celebration of self-love and embracing time spent alone. Tina DeCara’s “Solo” is being released through Big Management and is available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon, and all other major retailers, as well as for streaming through Pandora and Spotify. Its video is on Youtube.
“My message for anyone struggling to make it through another day is to take a moment to breath and relax. Don’t try to solve your problems all at once. Tackle issues one at a time and give yourself a moment to rest in between so you are strong enough for the next battle.”
DeCara admits she often struggles with sad feelings. “Pursuing pop star dreams is hard. One day, I’m on top of the world and the next I’m back at square one. It gets lonely being in the big city, away from home and everyone that I love.”
When she’s feeling isolated, she listens to records, and the day DeCara wrote the song that would become “Solo,” she had been sent a new instrumental produced by The Drupes. “It was pretty popish, with a bop your head around and dance to it happy kinda vibe,” she explains. “But somehow my melancholy lyrics worked well with it.”
She went to a studio in Queens and recorded the single in about two hours. “It was a great session.The energy was high.”
Tina DeCara grew up on Long Island with her parents and two brothers. She began singing and songwriting in high school, drawing inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Lady Gaga, and Amy Winehouse. While her friends were not supportive of her superstar dreams, her family encouraged her to follow her passion.
“I was surprised by all the negativity I received from kids I had chosen to have in my life. I quickly cut them out.”
She says one of the biggest challenges as an artist is finding yourself and learning what your voice is capable of. “I write about how I’m feeling and then I put some unexpected twist on it,” she explains. “It’s an incredibly personal process so I try not to focus on what is going on outside my bubble.”
The music video for “Solo” echoes these sentiments. Directed by David Wept and shot in and around Coney Island, the video depicts Tina DeCara celebrating the one person who matters most in her life.
“Though I’m solo, for the most part, I’m always giggling. I work hard, I’m determined and if I have a little unhealthy obsession over buying wigs, what’s it to you? Until I’m a duo, I’m just goin’ to do me.”
OK, I get that this is Jared Leto performing with 30 Seconds to Mars at the 02 Arena in London. What I don't get is WTF?! is he wearing and why? Looking at it I see many different things, sun, palm trees...weed. All of which seem perfectly viable answers. If I knew what song he was singing so I could know the lyrics, I bet this odd looking attempt at an afghan would start making sense. If anybody out there can identify this please let me know. Jared wears whatever it is well. He could make a potato sack sexy. Moving on, T.G.I.F! Jared on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaredleto/?hl=en
It's been a while since we have actually heard much from Miley Cyrus, with the exception of her appearance on The Voice. She has been keeping a low profile and taking some much earned time away with her guy Liam Hemsworth. Well judging by her upcoming appearance on the Billboard Music Awards and her latest single Malibu it looks like Miley Spirit is preparing for a huge resurgence. Call this Miley Cyrus 3.0. She went from Hannah Montana to the Queen of Raunch & Free Love and now seems to be graduating to a more subdued introspective Miley based on the video and lyrics for Malibu. Whatever your opinion of her Cyrus has one hell of a voice and can do anything she wants as far as I'm concerned. Of course I was never into her in her Hannah Montana phase, I was not the intended audience either, "yes" I liked her nasty & provocative...the obvious being stated, this music lover is looking forward to 3.0 Miley, you go grrrrrrrl! Miley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mileycyrus/?hl=en
Two new, colorful books influenced by two of today's greatest musical icons are out now to help readers survive the holidays.
Defensive Eating with Morrissey invites the reader to create strange and delightful recipes good enough to console even Moz on his saddest days. Comfort Eating with Nick Cave shows the great master of emotional expression stuffing himself with comfort classics while shedding the occasional solitary tear.
While getting over a breakup, Automne Zingg spent a lot of time drawing and listening to music, and these two books are the unique result. Each book features 50 portraits of the artist soothing himself with delicious, comforting meals, from mac and cheez to mushy peas. Every picture is accompanied by a seriously delicious recipe infused with lyrics and humor.
Best yet, all the recipes are vegan, so everyone can enjoy these delights, even Morrissey!
"Love Keeps Us Marching On" - Surrender, The Strange Familiar This is a refrain from the awesome song and current video Surrender by The Strange Familiar, from their amazing album The Day The Light Went Out. Check out the excerpt from the interview I did with front woman Kira Leyden Andrea about it below.
MS: It's a good message. All the songs do fit together well, "Surrender" was a particular favorite of mine. KLA: Very cool, that's actually my favorite. We are going to shoot a video for that one, that is our next big thing, to try and get that video done. (laughs) This album is the band's best effort to date, which came from a place of great struggle and ultimately hope that the they went through, check out my full length interview with Kira after the jump - http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-day-light-went-out-strange-familiar.html Surrender is a "never give up" type of song that achieves it's goal. Kira's vocals are powerful and raw, and the video astutely reflects the honesty of the lyrics. If you are not "familiar" with these guys yet, it's time you were...
I Have Two Left Feet, But I Am Having Fun, So, Shake It Off!
With her forthcoming album 1989, inspired by the sounds of “late ’80s pop,” that will debut on October 27. Taylor Swift has released her first single and video from it called Shake It Off, which for reasons of pure publicity and entertainment fodder has sparked some sort of debate about whether Ms. Swift going all 80's on us is appropriate, or not. Thus I will chime in on this important world issue. This song, a send up of public perception of who she is contains lyrics that are pure Swift. As for the sound? I could name a few songs it reminds me of, but what the F@ck?! Madonna has made a career out of this sort of thing. Personally I L-O-V-E that Ms. Swift gets down and references one of my favorite films, Black Swan in her Natalie Portman ballet dress, and acknowledges she has two left feet by showing that everyone else around her is a way better dancer than she is. Sure we all will be over this song in a week or two, it's going to be a huge hit and in your face everywhere you turn. But in the meantime it's the middle of the week have some fun and Shake It Off ...Happy Hump Day!
"Just learned 'Violet' by Hole on the ukulele....seriously loving life right now" - Ariel Beesley Resident "Entertain Me" Punk Princess, Ariel Beesley continues to astound with her astute ear for music and poetic ability to write lyrics. Seriously who could learn the abovementioned song on the ukulele by ear but her?! Ariel a Wilhemina Model by day, gets her punk on whenever the mood takes her, which is quite often. Check out Ariel and her current video for her song "Boys Like You" Directed By, Aris Jerome. This girl is the real punk deal...!!! "Boys Like You" Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_S_EdO_hS8 Ariel on Band Camp: http://arielbeesley.bandcamp.com/ And Instagram: http://instagram.com/arielbees
My friend EG Daily has just done an amazing, quite raw cover of the Katy Perry song "Wide Awake" I wanted to share it with everyone and check in with EG herself about her thoughts on it...
MS: So you recently went viral with a video of you and a piano player covering Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" I loved it!
EG: It's my favorite Katy Perry song, I got with my piano player, and I wasn't going to post it because I thought it was so raw. Me in my living room my piano player, Lee Miles and I playing around with the material....then I thought: "Fuck it, post it"!
MS: It's really funny, I'm not a huge Katy Perry fan but I really like this song.
EG: The song is really good, right? It's a great song.
MS: Totally!
EG: I didn't think I liked it until I heard my piano player playing it one day and I said how beautiful the song sounded, he said it's the Katy Perry song, I told him it didn't sound like it. Then we started messing around with it, and I told him how much I loved it, good lyrics, good song.
MS: The lyrics are amazing, the best thing about it. Very healing, things are so rough for everybody right now.
EG: Yeah Honey, I know.
MS: Your cover is really raw, but I like raw.
EG: I do too, it's the real thing.
MS: You are completely Fucking awesome when you are raw!
EG: You are so sweet! It's a cover that I love and it's a beautiful song.
Honesty is always the best policy. Theory of a Deadman adheres to that age old adage on their fourth album, “The Truth Is“…exactly what people need right now.
So let's get what “The Truth Is” straight from the man who wrote the songs, “Theory” front man Tyler Connolly…!
MS: Hey Tyler, tell the truth, you stated that the “The Truth Is” is a shared experience with your audience, in what way?
TC: I like to write from a fans perspective, whatever topics they are talking about, so…It’s one of the biggest compliments you can get, when a lot of fans relate to the songs and think it’s about them.
MS: Do tell...
TC: So, the truth on this record is, I went one step further and became outright with my lyrics. They are not so generalized, or vague. They may be a little over the top and stuff, tell people the truth, ya know? The album is like saying to someone: “You have a mole on your face and it’s so huge.”
MS: When I was listening to it I thought “There’s no room for interpretation here.”
TC: Yeah, the songs are about love or hate, nothing in between which is exactly what I think needs to be done right now, people are so afraid of it these days. The last label we had we had to fight them to put the album out because we had so many “F-bombs” on the record. We said “There are F-bombs” on the record because that’s how people talk, it’s not offensive.
MS: Hey, I talk like that around my good friends. BTW - I bet you have heard of the song, “The Cat Came Back.”
TC: Nooooo! Yes, of course….(laughs)
MS: The minute I heard your song “The Bitch Came Back” I went “oh they know that song.”
TC: Everybody comes up and whispers to me “Dude, I know about “The Cat Came Back”…It’s not like I stole the song so I was like, “Dude, yeah” the songs are very similar, but different.
Can you handle the truth? Get yourself a copy of “The Truth Is” and see what other theories these deadmen have at: http://www.theoryofadeadman.com/
