That Gnarls Barkley cover of CRAZY is by British Soul Diva ALICE RUSSELL.... check out her wonderful new album POT OF GOLD. Great great cd! I really love the "60's Soul Revival" (Amy Winehouse/Duffy/Joss Stone) that has been happening the past few years.
I really love the music of vocalist/pianist Regina Spektor...
...clever lyrics... quirky, catchy tunes... Check out her album BEGIN TO HOPE.
One of her best songs "Fidelity" is being used in a video by an organization called Courage Campaign (a grassroots movement working for change in California.)
Before the passing of Prop. 8 last fall, 18,000 same-sex couples were married. Last month Ken Starr filed a legal brief to legally divorce those 18,000 same sex couples. The Courage Campaign is working against this and to invalidate Prop 8.
IDOL has "officially begun." No more joke auditions (and "Bikini Girl" is off the show!) This week was "Hollywood Week." Last night was group night where the contestants team up in small groups and do a number.
Here are 2 of my favorite performances of the night - A Cappella Style!
MELINDA DOOLITTLE (my favorite American Idol Contestant EVER) finally came out with her debut cd today... and it is wonderful! Well worth the wait! She appeared in Season 6 (the year of Blake Lewis and winner Jordin Sparks.)
One of the most polished AND SWEETEST contestants to appear on the show, her album has a wonderful retro soul vibe to it. The album is pretty much all covers, but they aren't your typical ones. She has 2 tunes by blues legend Robert Johnson, two old Sammy Cahn numbers originally made famous by Doris Day and Sarah Vaughan, a Johnny Mathis song and a diverse mix of plenty others. You can hear her love of Gladys Knight and Tina Turner throughout the album.
Here's footage of her back from the show doing MY FUNNY VALENTINE... absolutely brilliant.
It's been raining here all day long. I'm off from work today, so this is a lovely way to spend a day off.
Here is USHER recreating Gene Kelly's infamous SINGIN' IN THE RAIN dance. This was from a CBS special in 2007 called "Movies Rock." I have never been a die hard Usher fan, but I definitely respect him after this.
Mint Royale remixed the original Gene Kelly version. This was used a few years back in a Volkswagen commercial. The commercial superimposes Gene Kelly's head on the body of dancer David "Elsewhere" Bernal.
14 year old George Sampson won "Britains Got Talent" in 2008 with a wonderful routine using Mint Royale's remix.
Here are a few of my favorite covers of the song.
JAMIE CULLUM covers SINGIN' IN THE RAIN on his first major US album "Twentysomething." Here is him combining it with Rihanna's UMBRELLA at the Hollywood Bowl.
Also here's the itunes link to an amazing soulful/jazz version by vocalist Carmen Bradford.
Max Raabe (love the last name) is a German singer of the band Palast Orchester. They specialize in German dance music of the 1920's and 30's. They do a lot of original music, but of course my favorite tunes they do are covers. There are 2 great albums that I would recommend. Neither are available on itunes. The easiest way to get them is from amazon.com. Check out "Die Hits des Jarhres" (Super Hits) and Super Hits Volume 2.
They have covered everything from Britney Spears to ABBA to Billy Joel.
