Musical Monday with Duran Duran

I loved Duran Duran's music as a kid. I loved them as recently as 1993 with "The Wedding Album"... and then I lost touch.

I recently became aware that they are still making music, all these years later. But do they still have it? Can they still channel that magic?

Yes. Yes, they can. Today's offering is both one of the funkiest songs ever delivered by Duran Duran. And it's supported by a fabulous music video that's guaranteed to help stir the Halloween Spirit!

Black Moonlight (2023)

Starring: Duran Duran

Director: Jonas Aakerlund

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Happy Birthday, Bruce Springsteen!

American singer/songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen turns 75 years old today!

Here's one of his many MANY famous songs in celebration of his six decades of bringing us all entertainment through great music! A good argument can be made that this is one of best songs, so it's a shame it's faded a bit from public awareness as the years have passed. (As a bonus, the video is also a great exploitation of Springsteen's image as a Man of the People.)

Brilliant Disguise (1987)
Starring: Bruce Springsteen
Director: Meiert Avis
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with the Spotnicks

 

The trailblazing Swedish guitar band the Spotnicks didn't rock, they rocketed! Here they are in 1962!

Musical Monday with Danny Brown

"Nightmarish" might be overused when it comes to describing art and films, but I can't think of a better work to describe the video for Danny Brown's "Lost". I can't understand more than every third or fourth word of the lyrics that Briton Brown is rapping, but the video tells the story of a drug-dealer who... well, anything else I say will ruin the experience so why don't you just click below and sit back?

Lost (2016)

Starring: Danny Brown and Leteshia Wilson

Director: Matilda Finn

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with Tony Bennett

Legendary singer Tony Bennett passed in July of 2023. August 3rd would have been his 97th birthday. We're marking both of those today with him performing a timeless classic, in a music video that incorporates pop- and music-culture from the seven decades he spent keeping audiences in awe of his voice.


Stepping Out With My Baby (1993)
Starring: Tony Bennett
Director: Marcus Nispel
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars 

Musical Monday with Selena Gomez

Today it's Selena Gomez's birthday. She's now spent some 25 years in the public eye--first as a child actress for PBS and Disney, then as a pop star and owner of her own business. She continues to act on both the small and big screens, having successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress.

Here Gomez is, with other 20-something performers from about ten years ago, performing in the video for her song "Kill 'Em With Kindness".

Kill Em With Kindness (2016)

Starring: Selena Gomez

Director: Emil Nava

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with Wheeler Walker, Jr.

Let's kick off the work with a song that should be the anthem of that vast cross-over that exists in the Shades of Gray audience that love both country music and pot!

Musical Monday with Childish Gambino & Young Nudy

Little Foot Big Foot (2024)
Starring: Donald Glover, Robert Bynes, Monyett Crump, Oscar Jordan, and Quinta Brunson

Director: Hiro Murai

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

In a roadhouse during the early 1930s, Johnny & the Pipe Dancers find themselves performing for a rougher-than-usual crowd.

 

"Little Foot Big Foot" is a catchier and more energetically upbeat than-I-expected tune that offers as many musical twists and turns as the video that supports it. And what a remarkable video it is--it's the sort of mini-movie that we were treated to during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Check it out by clicking below:

Musical Tax Day with Joe Bonamassa

It's the deadline to file tax returns in the United States, and we offer this song from the Beatles (as covered by singer/guitarist Joe Bonamassa and other musicians who are getting a little long in the tooth) to remind you to get it done before it's too late/ (Or, at the very least, file an Extension so you can keep procrastinating until October!)

And here's the original version by the Beatles...

Musical Monday with the Pogues

Guest performer on "A Fairytale of New York" Kristy McColl has described it as " a Christmas song for those who hate Christmas songs". Others (unknown if they hate Christmas songs or love Christmas songs) stumble toward the fainting couch or wet themselves, because the lyrics are outrageous (OUTRAGEOUS!) and offensive because they include one character in the song insulting another as they fight by calling him a "faggot" (right after he calls her a "slut").

We like the song and we think it's clear that those who are pitching fits over that word need to get over themselves and haven't actually listened to the lyrics or are too stupid to understand a thing called "context". 

And we hope they never come upon a whole host of rap songs. Or even some nursery rhymes.

Hell, if someone with a brain was looking for a reason to take offense at this song, there's a MUCH more serious reason to do so, if you choose to interpert the story of the song in a particular way. But requires listening and thinking... something most people don't do these days. (Now, we still think anyone who's wailing and gnashing their teeth are behaving like idiots and haven't put enough thought into their reaction, but at least they would have put SOME thought into it.)

But take a look at this great video and listen to this fine song. Or not.

A Fairytale of New York (1987)
Starring: The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, Kristy McColl, and Matt Dillon
Director: Peter Dougherty

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with Bing Crosby

 Straight from 1942, we have Bing and a babe looking forward to Christmas!

Musical Monday with Matt Wheeler

Matt Wheeler is a Pennsylvania-based musician and singer who amuses himself (and entertains us) by posting videos of him performing aucoustic cover songs. He's here to help get the Christmas Season off to a good start with a medley of Christmas songs which includes one of my favorites, "We Three Kings".

Musical Monday in the Twilight Zone

As Halloween draws nearer, we bring you a nifty cover from that strange dimension, the Twilight Zone!

"Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring is a favorite in these parts (and this isn't the first cover of that fabulous 1980s tune that's been featured here), and while we can quibble with some of vocal presentations here, the video is just about perfect and John Cunningham & Crew give us an EXCELLENT version!

Musical Monday with The Police

Well... sort of. It's classic, creepy stalker song from the Police in a honky-tonk style via the fine folks at There--I Ruined It. Enjoy!

Musical Monday with Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams pokes fun at gonzo-style bands like Kiss and Alice Cooper in this nice tune (and even better video).

Let Me Entertain You (1998)

Starring: Robbie Williams

Director: Vaughan Arnell

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with Tove Styrke

Swedish singer/songwriter Tove Styrke has been performing her peppy, poppy (although sometimes a little dark and creepy), 1980s-flavored, synth-infused pop music since she was in her teens. Her rise to fame began with a third-place finish on "Swedish Idol" and she's been climbing upwards ever since.

Since the video for her 2011 single "High and Low" is in black-and-white, we are able to bring you a sample of her music that is set to some very interesting visuals.

Musical Monday with Zeinapur

Zeinapur is a musical duo that delivers pop music with an alternative edge and an almost operatic quality at times. And then there's the excellent guitar work. In this video for their 2021 single "Miracle", they also demonstrate this blog's unifying theme.

Musical Monday with Polyphia

We're starting the work-week with some amazing guitar playing, a great tune, and an engaging video in which we need YOU to tell us what's going on.

"Chimera" is one of many great bits of genre-bending music from Texas-based band Polyphia. Most of their stuff is instrumental music growing from a hard rock base, but they stray in and out of all sorts of genres during their tracks. This song features a guest appearance by rapper Lil West, so it's got some vocals to it... but, oh my GOD--the guitar playing!

Chimera (2022)
Starring: Tim Henson, Scott LePage, Clay Gober, and Clay Aeschliman

Director: Jake Woodbridge

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Things You Should Know (from your friends at Shades of Gray)

 Because we care about the safety of our readers, we are beginning a new series of informative posts.

And since this is Monday, here's a music video for a song themed with today's illustrated information. (Don't be frightened by the splashes of color!)

Musical Monday with Tom Jones

I heard on the top-of-the-news on Sunday that Tom Jones had died. Turns out, it was Tom Jones the lyricist/stage director not Tom Jones the singer.

THIS Tom Jones passed away at 95, from cancer.

This Tom Jones is still very much alive (and only in his 80s). I should have realized I was making a mistake when I thought "I had no idea he was that old")

And here's the LIVING Tom Jones and his mighty voice, in an unusual video of him from the 1960s, performing his most iconic song, "It's Not Unusual".