Category: Music

Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne #MusicMonday

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After my recent #MusicMonday features on Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne and Female jazz vocal compilations, it seems fitting that I feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne”:

In the 60s, Nina Simone was known for protest songs such as “Mississippi Goddam.” She also performed songs such as The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “Feeling Good,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell on You,” and “Ain’t Got No/I Got Life” from the musical Hair with her one-of-a-kind styling.

In a future #MusicMonday feature, I’ll present Nina Simone’s cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn’s “Love Me or Leave Me.”

Female jazz vocal compilations #MusicMonday

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It all started with a TV commercial for the 2-CD set Lady Sings The Blues of songs performed by female pop and jazz vocalists.  Perhaps Capital Records was trying to, er, capitalize on the success of Norah Jones (Norah is signed with Capital subsidiary Blue Note and her cover of Roxy Music’s More Than This is featured on the CD set).  Curious, I purchased the 2-CD set, and I was hooked.  I began buying similar CD compilations from places as diverse as The Sharper Image (before it closed its brick-and-mortar stores), Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods Market, and my local Hallmark store.  Here’s a list of some CD compilations of songs recorded by female pop and jazz artists:

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In upcoming weeks, I’ll feature videos of Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne" #MusicMonday

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Can you tell that I’m a fan of Leonard Cohen?  An inductee into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, he was most recently awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize.  Love this: one great Canadian artist wins a prize named in the memory of another great Canadian artist.

Leonard Cohen’s song “Suzanne” has been covered by many artists, but “Bird on a Wire” and, of course, “Hallelujah” are his most popular songs.

Here is the earliest recording (1966) Of “Suzanne,” by the folk group The Stormy Clovers. The video comprises photos of The Stormy Clovers, Leonard himself, and the Montreal waterfront.

And here is Leonard performing “Suzanne” with Judy Collins, who brought his songs to the attention of the broader listening public:

In an upcoming #MusicMonday post, I’ll feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne.”

Beach Boys reunite for 50th Anniversary

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I seem much more interested in topics other than beauty and cosmetics nowadays.  Here’s an item from OMG! by Yahoo! that caught my attention: Beach Boys go retro on first new single in 20 years.

The single is titled “That’s Why God Made the Radio.” Mike Love says “It’s like an accolade to the radio and what it’s meant to so many people.”  Indeed.  When I was a kid, my most prized possession was my transistor radio – more so than my Barbies.

The Beach Boys are the quintessential American band, and it’s nice that Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine put aside their legal disputes to reunite for the occasion of their 50th anniversary.

k.d. lang sings Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah #MusicMonday

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It’s been several weeks since I had a #MusicMonday feature. This week, I present k.d. lang’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s much-recorded Hallelujah.  You will have to click through the freeze-frame to watch the video:

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen’s songs for over 40 years (I was precocious), when Judy Collins introduced Leonard Cohen to the listening public.

Watch the end of the video, when k.d. lang honors Leonard Cohen, who is sitting in the front row.  Don’t blink, or else you’ll miss Anne Murray 🙂

A distant cousin posted this video to Facebook.

Cult of Personality

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Yesterday, I had planned to do a post-mortem on Tuesday’s Presidential election. I was incredulous that so many American voters were sucked into a cult or personality.

Which made me recall this song:


Still from video Cult of Personality
by Living Color

Cult of personality
Look into my eyes, what do you see?
Cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
Ive been everything you want to be
Im the cult of personality
Like mussolini and kennedy
Im the cult of personality
Cult of personality
Cult of personality

Neon lights, a nobel prize
The mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You dont have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
Im the smiling face on your t.v.
Im the cult of personality
I exploit you still you love me …

More lyrics

When I went to the YouTube video for Cult of Personality, I saw that there were plenty others for whom the recently concluded Presidential election made them recall this song.

Models who sing

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ABC News has a slideshow about models who make the transition From Runway to Big Screen (curiously it omits Rene Russo, who’s had a fair amount of success in the movies).

But models who sing? Here are three:

Rosie Vela

Zazu

Rosie Vela was a top model of the 70s who had liaisons with pop artist Peter Max and musician Jeff Lynne (ELO, The Traveling Wilburys). In 1986, she released her album Zazu, which featured support by members of Steely Dan. Zazu was critically acclaimed, and her video received play on VH1. However, she never really broke commercially as an artist.

Milla Jovovich

The Divine Comedy

Milla’s the triple threat: model (L’Oreal), movie star (Resident Evil, The Fifth Element), and fashion entrepreneur (Jovovich-Hawk). The Onion had a facetious article Milla Jovovich Inducted into Basic Cable Hall of Fame about her movie career. Her album The Divine Comedy, featuring songs that she wrote, was released in 1994, when she was only 19. At that time, she was better known for Return to the Blue Lagoon. Milla received critical acclaim for The Divine Comedy.

Carla Bruni

No promises

Carla Bruni is now Mme. Sarkozy, the new wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Among her liaisons were Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. I will refrain from talking about the more scandalous episodes of her life. The above picture is the cover of her second album No Promises, which features poems in the English language set to music. Perhaps this was her bid to attract English-speaking audiences.

I like this cover. She looks like she’s deep into a book, but the picture also highlights her long legs – she’s 5’11” while her husband is only 5’6″.

Her song Quelqu’un M’a Dit (Somebody Told Me) was a hit in Europe. It’s also featured on the Starbucks CD compilation Songs of the Siren.