Look, despite me hating on numerous cover songs in this column, I genuinely love a good cover song. Cyndi Lauper is a queen when it comes to great covers (and might even get her own special soon) and Tom Smith from the Editors can sing every song in the universe and make me happy.
Enter Natalie Imbruglia who turned the alt rock song “Torn” by Ednaswap into one of THE hymns of the mid to late 90s and still resonates with a lot of people.
Ednaswap were an LA-band in the 90s and released “Torn” with their album “Wacko Magneto”.
Their song is angry, raw and sounds like torn jeans, old boots and oversized flannel shirts. I love it.
Since I only recently gushed about Peter Stormare and “Small town murder songs” written and directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly, I realized that I never really wrote about that movie (with the exception of a very small, very German blog post about the soundtrack). But I just watched it again and feel like I want to talk a little about it, so here we go. Continue reading →
Lucius released a sort of compilation called “NUDES” with new versions of old, newish and unknown songs and it’s a lovely collection and a better solution than a random Best Of with maybe two new songs and a remix.
One of the highlights is the acoustic version of “Tempest” which is a work of art in itself but really moved me live because of the use of the background vocals that add a tenderness to the song (which is actually a somewhat sad love song). Back on their debut “Wildewoman” it was already a little sad but the energetic, slightly retro production created more of a dissonance between lyrics and music and let you forget how vulnerable and aching the song really is.
The new version, however, is full on sad and lovely and will break your heart. It’s also close to the beautiful live experience that this band offers (seriously, if you have the chance, see them live, from their outfits to their impeccable harmonies to the great band and their amazing showmanship).
There’s a certain sort of song that I get super obsessed about and it’s usually a weird nod to the 50s compositions, a slight American small town prom-vibe that I can’t resist.
Now, JD McPherson is a master of fresh sounding 50s R’n’R and I initially didn’t even recognize him because there’s something about the way he uses his voice on his 2017 album “Undivided Heart & Soul”. “On the lips” is so tender and sensual, it makes me feel all tingly inside (*flutters her eyes).
The album itself is classic JD McPherson but with a few new sounds sprinkled in there. It’s fun! In a way, his albums always sound like a really fresh fruit, just juicy and a little bit tart and really rejuvenating. Since I just crawled out of a really bad case of the flu, it’s the kind of music that feels like I someday won’t feel like a shriveled up worm anymore.
But that song! It’s beautiful! And it’s melancholy, so that’s why I was drawn to it in the first place. I love that JD is not full on point and that the one note in the chorus actually slips a little. It adds to the vulnerability of the forlorn lover and has a live feeling that works well with this kind of music anyway.
I like the soft-spoken JD. I am less convinced of the retro-shittiness of the music video but hey, you can’t have everything.
I recently thought about doll horror movies and realized that I personally don’t know one single example that I really really love. I think that the last scene in the original “Chucky” is amazing and that the movies generally are quite entertaining and yes, that Annabelle-doll from the “Conjuring”-Franchise looks scary. But the movies themselves are really not that amazing. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that the sound of really small feet running across the floor looses its scare-factor as soon as you realize that you could basically just fling that thing out of the window or let your little puppy play with it. It’s not like a little monster “The Gate”-style. It’s a freaking rubber/cotton doll!
So, I sat down and tried to come up with a few doll-related horror movies that are either highly entertaining or incredibly creepy. This is my meager list (some spoilers ahead): Continue reading →
Remember how Justin Timberlake supposedly planned that hologram of Prince and everyone was disgusted and then it didn’t happen but maybe only because everyone was so openly disgusted?
Well, Janelle Monae is here to show how to actually pay respect to a legend by releasing her new single “Make me feel” which is an ode to Prince’s sexy funk and powerful sexual ambivalence.
The song is instantly catchy, you don’t even need to hear it twice to slowly glide over the floor, levitate over the couch and spread glittery sequins wings in front of the windows so all the neighbours can see. Look at ’em wings!
The music video gives you the added bonus of Tessa Thompson being gorgeous and flirty. Yes, please!
I also would like to post the other released single for the coming album “Dirty Computer” called “Django Jane” which is a in comparison nearly simplistic but impressive rap song (with a lot of humor and food for thought).
Ok, so this will be not a list of female serial murderers or a bunch of slashers. I am explicitly talking about movies where the female body is the source of horror. You know, like it is for men-children who still think that periods are terrifying.
I will try to list movies where the use and otherness of the female body is specifically mentioned or a theme but maybe some of this will be my interpretation and not so much the core topic of the movie. But, to be honest, most of the time it will be because if you tackle this thing, then you usually do it head on (as I’ve learned).
