Soul/RNB/Hip Hop Under Neon: "Unholy War" by Jacob Banks (2017)

Today's Feature Song = 'Through the Night' by Grum

Today's feature song is Through the Night, by UK electro-artist Grum. Grum (Graeme Shepard) has been active on the synth-electro music scene since 2007 and he originates out of Leeds, UK. Through the Night comes off of his May 2010 debut album titled Heartbeats, which I would highly recommend checking out if you are into the synth-electro scene and are fond of artists like Cut Copy, Van She, The Presets, Miami Horror, and Tesla Boy.  If you like what you hear be sure to visit his MySpace page HERE, and note that you can purchase this album now on ITunes or Amazon.

Feature Song of the Day = 'Dance the Way I Feel' by Ou Est Le Swimming Pool

Today's feature song is Dance the Way I Feel by British synth-pop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool (which means 'where is the swimming pool' in French) originate out of Camden, London UK and consisted of members Charles Haddon (ex-lead singer, is now deceased), Joe Hutchinson, and Caan Capan. This song was the first debut single by the group, and it was initially released in September 2009 as a limited edition 7" vinyl, until November 2009 when it was released in 3 other formats. It was then re-released on the the band's debut album titled The Golden Year in October 2010. The release of that album was delayed from its original release date when the lead vocalist Charles Haddon tragically committed suicide on August 20th, 2010  following a performance in Belgium, and so I dedicate this post in honor of his memory as well as to honor his friends and family. On another note Dance the Way I Feel clenched the #3 spot on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 just last week.

Song of the Day for November 17th, 2010: "It Takes a Muscle" by M.I.A.

Today's featured song is...It Takes a Muscle, by British singer/songwriter/rapper/record producer M.I.A.  M.I.A. (actual name is Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) originates out of Mitcham, South London, UK. She began her career as a visual artist and designer in West London and started up on the music scene in 2004, and after a couple of hit singles she was nominated for an Academy Award, 2 Grammy Awards, and a Mercury Prize. If you check out her wikipedia page HERE, you will see just how many other awards she has been nominated for and won. Her mother works as a seamstress in London, and she notes fashion and guerilla art as being big influences on her style and music. It Takes a Muscle is actually a cover recording of the original 1982-release track recorded by Dutch band Spectral Display, which M.I.A. has clearly added a reggae-style twist to. This song was released on her 3rd studio album titled Maya which was released on July 10th, 2010. The Maya album has been her highest charting album to date, as it reached #21 on the UK Albums Chart, #9 on the US Billboard 200, and #1 on the U.S. BillboardDance/Electronic Albums. Booyakasha!

Song of the Day for October 20th, 2010: "Lions In Cages" by Wolf Gang

The song is....Lions In Cages by English musician Wolf Gang. Wolf Gang is the stage name for musician Max McElligott from London, UK. He is the son of a historian and violinist, as well as having graduated from the London School of Economics. Wolf Gang, as you may have noticed also adds a unique artistic twist to his music videos and to his stage persona, and he hasn't received much play in the USA as far as I can tell, but he definitely has some great talent and melodies, and that is sort of the purpose of this website after all, to put some new refreshing energy out there for people to have access to (stuff one might not hear, or perhaps will hear, on the top 50 radio stations in their particular locale). For more info on Wolf Gang check out his website here, or his myspace page here.

Song of the Day for September 27th, 2010: "Collapsing Cities" by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

And the song of the day is...Collapsing Cities, by English artist Sam Duckworth, and his band Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. come out of Southend, Essex, England and were signed to Atlantic Records in 2006. According to lead band member Sam Duckworth, the name for the band comes from a section out of a magazine called ZX Spectrum, as a solution to a Batman computer game. The song Collapsing Cities appears as the first single from the new self-titled album, which was released on August 9th, 2010. Also if you like the song, you would do well to know it is still available as a free mp3 download at this website.

Song of the Day for September 10th, 2010: "After Dark" by The Count and Sinden (Ft. Mystery Jets)

And the song of the day is...After Dark (ft. Mystery Jets), by English duo The Count & Sinden. The Count & Sinden are and electronic-duo coming out of London, England. The duo have been around since 2008 and they are Joshua "Hervé" Harvey (aka The Count), and Sinden. After Dark is a single release (released on August 15th, 2010) featuring the 5-piece English indie rock band Mystery Jets, which is due to appear on their debut album titled Mega Mega Mega. This song has already peaked at #4 on the UK Independent Chart. Enjoy!

Song of the Day for August 21st, 2010: "Stop and Stare" by Fenech-Soler

And the song is....Stop and Stare by British electronic band Fenech-Soler. Fenech-Soler come at us out of Kings Cliffe, UK and consists of members Ross Duffy, Ben Duffy, Daniel Soler and Andrew Lindsay. They formed as a band back in 2006 and have released 3 singles to date. Stop and Stare is one of those singles, which reached #102 on the UK charts. The band members have a few side projects as well, and they are currently on tour in the UK.

#64 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Chains of Love" (1988) by Erasure

And #64 is....Chains of Love, by English synth-pop duo Erasure. Erasure consists of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and vocalist Andy Bell, and formed originally back in 1985. Vince Clarke was one of the founding members of another well-known synth-band from the 80's by the name of Depeche Mode, and he was the writer of their first three singles, including their breakthrough top ten hit Just Can't Get Enough. Clarke left Depeche Mode in 1981 and started up with another successful group called Yazoo (aka Yaz in the USA), after two hit albums with Yazoo Clarke produced a top four hit in the UK called Never Never. He then went on to form Erasure with Andy Bell, which went on to produce 34 Top 40 Hits in the UK between the years of 1985-2007, and they have sold somewhere around 25 million albums in that time. Clarke and Bell have been labeled as "the definitive synthpop superstars," according to their wikipedia page. Chains of Love was the 4th track on their May 1988 release album The Innocents. Chains of Love was Erasure's 6th consecutive Top 20 Hit on the UK Singles Chart, and it became their first mainstream breakthrough on the USA Billboard Hot 100 Charts at #12, and to this day remains their highest charting pop hit in the United States. Check out their wikipedia page for more info, and break those chains!

Song of the Day for August 15th, 2010: "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" by The Wombats

And the song of the day is...Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) by British indie-rock band The Wombats. The Wombats consists of Matthew Murphy (vocals, keyboards, and guitar), Dan Haggis (drums, vocals), and Tord Øverland-Knudsen (bass guitar and vocals), who come at us out of Liverpool, England. The band formed back in 2003 when they met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and had released their debut album by 2006. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) is a new release to come off of their latest album of the same name (which is to be released in late September 2010). Check out this song, and their new album, blah!

#66 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Sex Dwarf" (1981) by Soft Cell

Its that time again, this time its #66, and the song is...Sex Dwarf by British synth-pop duo Soft Cell. Soft Cell consisted of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball and was originally from Leeds, England. Sex Dwarf came off of their 1981 release album titled Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which also contained their major 80's hit song which they are best known and renowned for, (and definitely is one of those songs that gets stuck in one's head way too easily) Tainted Love. This was also Soft Cell's first album. The duo became quite big right during the ecstasy club-scene of the early 80's in New York, and this song had a controversial S&M video which was banned in the UK for explicit content at the time. The duo was known for having drug abuse issues and like so many other successful 80's groups were constantly using drugs (according to wikipedia). In the UK Soft Cell achieved Ten Top 40 Hits, and 4 Top 20 albums between 1981-1984. They initially split in 1984, but then reformed in the early 2000's and made a new album in 2002. The song is a bit racy, but if you can handle it, it has a great dance beat and definitely hits an 80's mark that not many others do.

#75 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!

Here we are again folks, now presenting #75 of the Countdown, and the song is...Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me), by British singer/songwriter Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart comes out of England, and is of English and Scottish decent. Stewart was born in London way back in 1945 at the close of WWII, and he started his music career with the Jeff Beck Group in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In 1969 he also officially began a solo career with his first debut album. Stewart has had something like 62 hit singles over the 5 decades of his music career and he was voted the 33rd Greatest Singer of All Time by Q Magazine. Stewart has a memorable voice and has always had a memorable hairstyle. Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me) is a song that came into my awareness not all that long ago, but it was the title track for his 1981 album of the same name. The album and the song were some of the first of Stewart's where he began adding some synth-pop and an 80's New Wave flavor to his sound which so defined his 80's musical style, and was different from his previous work for sure. Tonight I'm Yours reached #11 on the US Pop Albums Chart, and ended up going platinum. The album generated 5 big singles, and incidentally the biggest hit single from that album was Young Turks which reached #5 on the Pop Singles and Mainstream Rock Charts. Well, enough data, now for the song, enjoy yourself some Rod the Bod!
Rod Steward - Tonight I`m yours - MyVideo

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Mowgli's Road, by Welsh indie-pop singer/songwriter Marina and the Diamonds. Marina and the Diamonds is actually Marina Lambrini Diamandis, and is of Greek decent (hence the name), yet she grew up in Wales. The "Diamonds" part of her stage name refers to the Diamanidis part of her birth name. The song Mowgli's Road comes off of her February 2010 studio album release titled The Family Jewels, which has been certified gold in the UK already. 

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Bang, Bang, Bang, by English guitarist, music producer, and co-founder of Allido Records Mark Ronson & the Business INTL (feat. QTIP and MDNR). Mark Ronson is known for working with other artists, primarily as a DJ and producer in producing hit pop-hop and electronica tracks such as his 2003 release "Ooh Wee" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg & Trife), which appeared on the Hitch movie soundtrack that year. Mark Ronson has released 3 studio albums, and has won a BRIT Award for Best Male Artist in 2008. Bang, Bang, Bang comes off of his still unreleased Record Collection album, due to come out sometime in this year of 2010. This video is pretty cool, especially the beginning bits with the flashing lights reminiscent of japanese animation and 80's cartoons the likes of Voltron and Thundercats. Don't miss this one, its an instant Summer hit fo sho!

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Light It Up, by British alternative rock duo Blood Red Shoes. Blood Red Shoes come out of Brighton, England consisting of Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter, they formed in late 2004. Light It Up was released in February 2010 and appears on their Fire Like This album. Not much else to say, pues nada...

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Skeleton Boy, by English dance-punk band Friendly Fires. Friendly Fires was formed in 2006 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK and they have released 3 EP's and 1 studio album. Skeleton Boy was released in March 2009. In 2009 the band was nominated for Best Breakthrough Award at The South Bank Show Awards and for ‘Best Dancefloor Filler’ at the NME Awards, as well as for the Mercury Music Prize. Their self-titled studio album reached #21 on the UK albums chart. Enjoy!

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...ATX, by New York based rock group Alberta Cross. Alberta Cross was formed by Petter Ericson Stakee (vocals, guitar) & Terry Wolfers (bass), both artists are originally from UK, but now based in America. ATX comes off of their Broken Side of Time album, released in January 2010. The first time I heard this song, I thought it was Oasis, or someone who sounded a bit like them. Check wikipedia or allmusic for more info.

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Dawn of the Dead, by British electronica band Does It Offend You, Yeah? Does It Offend You, Yeah? are based in Reading, England. According to wikipedia Does It Offend You, Yeah? were the ninth most listened to new band of 2008 on last.fm and were included in the best alternative music list of 2008 on iTunes. They were announced as a Rolling Stone breaking Artist in 2008, and they often work with big-time DJ's, such as Justice, Peaches, MSTRKRFT, Simian Mobile Disco, etc.. Dawn of the Dead is a single release, which debuted in 2008, so not really that new, but who bloody cares, the term newish, applies here. Enjoy!

#85 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!

Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting #85 of the top 100 countdown! And the song is the new wave classic...Kids In America, by English pop-singer, author, and television presenter, ya sabes, Kim Wilde. Kids In America was her first big time hit (and will always be ranked highly in the classic new wave 80's genre) which rocketed to #2 on the UK Singles charts upon its release in 1981. The song did not debut in the USA (ironically) until 1982 when it became a Top 30 Hit. According to wikipedia the song was originally written by Ricky and Marty Wilde, and then sent to Kim who made it big. Their was also a 1994 re-release version of the song produced for Kim's Singles Collection released that year. Saludos.

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Sticks 'N' Stones, by English indie-post-punk-revival singer/songwriter Jamie T. His full name is Jamie Alexander Treays (Jamie T for short), and he's from Wimbledon, South London, England. He has worked with the Ordinary Boys and in 2007 he won Best Solo Artist at the 2007 Shockwave NME Awards, apparently beating out Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) and Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp). Sticks N Stones appeared on his Kings and Queens album, reaching #15 on the UK Singles Charts. It was originally released in June of 2009. Now, like so many other music videos Youtube has disabled the music video from being embedded into other web pages, so go to youtube to see the actual music video. Cheers!