Swooning Over Robin Thicke

 

 

While many girls were raving about how sexy Robin Thicke was last year because of Blurred Lines, I just silently said to myself, "Ay matagal ko na syang pinagsawaan in my dreams, hahaha"

I discovered him in 2009 because of this very very sexy song!! Don't you just lovvve his voice here!! I learned later on that the woman in this video was his wife in real life pala!! I hate you Paula Patton haha I admit Latina women are uber hot talaga!

Beyonce Opens Grammys 2014

 When I listened to Beyonce's latest album last December, I began to understand why she had to resort to that gimmick of releasing the album 'suddenly' - without any warning. I guess it's because the new material is the most -un-Beyonce album that she has ever done!!

If you go from song to song, Beyonce just does things she doesn't normally do - even the arrangements are un-Beyonce - walang Booty Calls, walang Single Ladies - walang crowd pleaser songs like Love On Top - this is just a mesh of raw R&B and hip hop and it will take her fans several listens before everything sinks in. Even Drunk in Love doesn't pander to what radio expects Beyonce to produce - and I feel it's very brave of her to push her music this way.

I think it's also one of the rare times that my most favorite track from the album may also be everyone's favorite - don't you just love XO - I think she's singing this song for her husband, Jay-z - "in the darkest night hour / I'll search through the crowd / your face is all that I see
I'll give you everything / Baby love me lights out". I'm not a poet or a good songwriter but I love her lyrics in this album - wala na yung mga pa-cute na normal love lyrics.....she has really matured even in her songwriting.....

Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar! What A Rockin' Combination!

Can one of our concert producers freakin' bring the Imagine Dragons here to the Philippines?!! Every song they've released has been such a radio hit and each of their songs doesn't even sound alike!! Top of the World, Radioactive, Demons - you'd think three different bands sang these songs, but it's the same band, which really amazes me! And they're only from LA, isang PAL flight away lang sila!! 

Anyway, I heard the Napoleses are bringing Kendrick Lamar here sa concert sa Clark. Sayang, parang ayaw kong payamanin pa ang mga Napoleses, especially that show off daughter of theirs - magnanakaw na nga, bibigyan ko pa ng pera ko. I can always fly somewhere else to see Kendrick naman.

Much Love for Nile Rodgers!

 

 

While everyone was grooving to Blurred Lines last summer (I meant the US summer ha, not the Pinoy summer), Get Lucky was the song I preferred more, than that huge hit. Both songs kasi became famous almost at the same time. Don't get me wrong, I've been a Robin Thicke fan way before the public discovered him, when he still sang make out songs in falsetto, but it was Nile Rodgers participation in Get Lucky that made me take a second look at Daft Punk's latest opus.

I was very happy to finally see Nile Rodgers get a Grammy today especially in the big categories like Album and Record of the Year! Kasi when I bought Madonna's Like A Virgin album one hundred years ago, I learned that it was he who was instrumental in shaping Madonna's music at that point of her career.

And anyone who has THAT album would swear that the dance music there was fantastic - aminin!! Like A Virgin, Material Girl, Angel, Dress You Up - every single song there was great - and Nile who was then, a very popular disco producer for Donna Summer and the other disco greats of that era, might have helped Madonna shape her own sound, when she was at the start of her career.

Also, I was not surprised to see his name and Pharrell's in Daft Punk's album credits because although Daft Punk is already impressive on their own, the sound of Get Lucky definitely has that disco vibe that only a true disco producer can give - and what a fantastic collaboration this was!

Kacey Musgraves Gets Grammy Recognition!

 

 

 

Kudos to the Grammy voters for giving Kacey Musgraves the Country Album and the Country Song awards this year! This was the best surprise I got to see from the winners list!!

Kacey Musgraves may be a total unknown here in Manila but to some people who listen to country music, her subversive lyrics and themes may have given her songs some space in some peoples Itunes lists. It did to me! This one and Mama's Broken Heart were just 'different' from most country songs I listen to - tapos babae pala nagsulat - which really made it more interesting!

She's actually a breath of fresh air to the current country music scene and I'm glad she got recognized agad. At least now, the Grammys don't wait till mamatay ang tao bago nila bigyan ng award!!

A Grammy for the Modern Vampires!!

 

 

 

I admit I was one of those people who were shocked when the Grammy voters snubbed Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City from the Album of the Year nominees this year. It's one of the more interesting albums last year but hey, as I said, the voters come from such diverse musical genres, it's hard to please everyone - and their music is not really that crowd pleasing!

Anyhow, they did win a Grammy last night for Best Alternative Music Album, which is really well-deserved! This song, Ya Hey, is my most favorite track from that album and they perform it really well here!

They are also another band that I would love to see perform here in Manila! For now, hanggang Youtube na lang muna beauty ko.....

Recognizing Lorde

 

 

 

One thing that impresses me about Lorde and Taylor Swift is that at a very young age (Lorde is 17), they are able to express exactly what they feel in a way that is not mushy or boring or normal.

I mean, Lorde's song, Royals can mean different things to different people, and for me, I thought it was about discontentment and being in the outside looking in, yet when I learned later on that she was just 16 when she wrote it, and that she came from New Zealand pa, of all places, I understood perfectly where she was coming from and how she felt about not being in the 'in crowd' or being different from all the cool people in school, and being so far away from the center of the world!

Well, Lorde already has a Grammy now and she's definitely nearer the center of the music world - and now she has millions of young people (and some old fogies like me) who are interested to hear what she wants to say as she matures into a young vibrant lady!

Bravo Darius! Finally A Country Nod!

If you were a teenager in the 90's and if there was an Ipod then, I'm sure the songs of Hootie and the Blowfish would be in your playlist. They had so many hits during the height of their popularity and my most favorite then was Let Me Cry. 

Anyway, more than a decade later, Darius Rucker, the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish decided to do country music - which shocked everyone, including me - and I'm sure many people behind his back were laughing at the incredulity of it all! Well, it's Darius Rucker who's laughing now! 

He just won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Solo Performance this year! Imagine that! Pinagtatawanan ka nuon, ngayon, you finally get the respect of the whole music establishment! Way to go Darius!! Which just goes to show, you don't have to fit the stereotype in anything that you love to do. Darius, who is obviously African-American doing something very white - country music - is just an anomaly at first glance! And he used to sing mushy pop-rock songs! Darius just followed his heart and soon, the country music fans just came around and liked what he did.........

Macklemore and Gay Love

When I bought Macklemore's album more than a year ago, I was expecting the same s**t I've heard from rappers - loose women, women's body parts, casual sex, blow jobs, bilmoko women, etc, etc - so I was pretty shocked to suddenly hear 'Same Love' amidst all the other songs. I remember the moment I heard it - I had to open my Itunes window to verify that it was indeed Macklemore's album that I was playing!! And I replayed the song 3 or 4 times just to make sure I was hearing his message right! It's very rare for rappers to support gay people - they often make fun of us, make us the butt of their jokes in their songs - so I was really really surprised that Macklemore wrote and sang this song. And he says matter of factly. No beating around the bush. Which is particularly refreshing! Definitely watching his concert here in March!