#81 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 #81 of the top 100 countdown, and starting to really get into it! And the song is...Under Pressure by artists David Bowie and Queen. Under Pressure was a collaboration between these two outstanding artists, and the first of its kind for David Bowie. The song was recorded in 1981, and was featured on Queen's 1982 album released titled Hot Space. Under Pressure reached #1 on the UK singles chart, and was ranked #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Song's of the 80's. The song started out as a song by Queen called Feel Like, which transformed into Under Pressure  after a jam-session with David Bowie took place in Montreux, Switzerland, thus Freddie Mercury was considered the song's primary writer, but all contributed to the work. This song has always been one of my favorites, and many may be surprised its not further towards the top of my Top 100, but we will see why as time goes on. Enjoy #81!

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....

...Blood, by Australian indie-folk-rock band The Middle East. The Middle East are a musical collective from Townsville, Queensland formed in 2005. The band broke up and then subsequently reconvened according to wikipedia, then to release their EP in the US and Australia. The band has received lots of airtime on Triple J (the National-Radio-Network) and this song came in at #64 on the Hottest 100 countdown. Don't have any other info on them, check out their EP for more.

#82 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 #82 of the top 100 countdown, and starting to really get into it! And the song is...Love Plus One, by British pop and new-wave group Haircut 100. Haircut 100 were formed back in 1980 (a good year), and had 4 UK Top 10 Singles between then and 1982. The band had some lineup changes over time, but the original group was Nick Heyward (guitar, vocals), Les Nemes on bass, Tim Jenkins  on guitar and Rob Stroud on drums. Love Plus One was no doubt one of those top 4 UK Singles and came off of their Pelican West album, released in 1982. Anyways, don't have much more info, check wikipedia for more, and note the song is a good dance hit when you play it on a proper system, as you will note with all of these songs I am posting. When played on a massive stereo system, these songs that sound like they wouldn't be great dance-hits on a little bedroom stereo sound great, oh Snap!

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

...You've Changed, by Australian singer/songwriter Sia (short for Sia Furler). Sia arises out of Adelaide in South Australia, and has been classified by wikipedia as an acid-jazz/pop/trip-hop artist, so she must have quite a range. I personally am not that familiar with her work, but she has also worked with other acts, such as Zero 7 which would classify her in the trippy genre for sure. She has produced 3 studio albums and You've Changed comes off of her We Are Born album, just released this month of June 2010..now where can I get myself one of them panda hats??

June 13, 2010

Well, the Celtics lead the finals 3-2, the United States Draws with England 1-1, and Australia loses 0-4 to Germany, and yet the world keeps on turning. The sleepy days of summer are just ahead of us which was making me think of drive-in theaters, and how there is still one here in my home town, I suppose I might have to check it out this summer and catch a flick or something. Whilst thinking about this a few weeks ago I had a strange clarity dawn upon me, kind of like a nostalgia but I can't really explain it well, kind of like trying to describe a sunset, so limited by words, oh well...for those of you wondering, yes the 80's top 100 list is already completed by me and has been from the beginning, however it remains fluid as I am open to changing bits and pieces here and there, but the same basic structure remains. Back to my previous topic though, the United States will now take on Slovenia for their next match on June 18. I read in the local paper that there have been large gatherings of US Soccer fans here in the USA, which actually surprised me a bit, seeing that we have always been so...well "domestic" about our sports, so I think it is a positive sign, seeing that most of the US soccer fans are probably under the age of 35, and one a willingness to participate in the world on the global scale, minus the whole attitude, because no matter how "nationalistic" or "patriotic" you are, as a US soccer fan one must maintain humility amongst the soccer-legends from all the other parts of the world. In truth we Yanks are just infants in a global sport that's dominated the rest of the world scene for decades, but do not get me wrong, I am stoked to see young Americans getting excited about the World Cup, and making a stop at your local casino and placing a bet or two always makes the rounds a bit more exciting and personable.

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

...Beneath the Satellites, by Australian garage rock band, British India. British India formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2004, and comprise of comprising lead guitarist/singer Declan Melia, guitarist Nic Wilson, bassist Will Drummond and drummer Matt O'Gorman. They have released 3 studio albums since 2004 and Beneath the Satellites comes off of their March 2010 release album titled Avalanche. Avalanche reached #10 on the Aussie ARIA album charts. I would recommend this entire album and have yet to check out their previous ones myself. Pues nada.Avalanche

#83 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 #83 of the top 100 countdown! And the song is...I Can't Wait, by American duo Nu Shooz. Nu Shooz were a husband and wife duo consisting of John Smith and Valerie Day and were based out of Portland, Oregon USA (my hometown metro-area!). Nu Shooz released 3 studio albums during the 80's, of which the album Poolside was the most lucrative. I Can't Wait was released on this album in February of 1986, which hit #2 on the R&B charts, and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1986, and 15 weeks in the top 40. It also hit #1 on the Hot Club Dance Play chart. They had another hit single off of Poolside titled Point of No Return, of which I was previously unaware (and no that is not to be confused with the Expose 80's hit). This song is a dance-floor filler, as we call them, maybe not to the point that #84 was, but it sure is close. They had further releases and hits on the charts but this song, I Can't Wait, is by far the most well known of their hits. So they surpass the label of being just a one-hit-wonder, as they also had Point of No Return. I would also recommend you check out some of the remixes, which change of the originals of the songs quite well. Enjoy this 80's classic, and remember to shut up and dance!

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

...Tighten Up, by American blues-rock group the Black Keys. The Black Keys have been around for awhile now, they formed in Akron, Ohio back in 2001 and have released 8 studio albums a 2 EP's in that time. That is including the collaboration album they did just recently with several R&B and hip hop artists titled Blakroc, which I would highly recommend checking out if you haven't already. Also, the Black Keys are a duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Tighten Up comes off of their latest album release Brothers, which hit the scene in May 2010, so is still fairly fresh and new. *Note, I am going to start using all wikimedia images for the bands I post as I am certain they are considered public domain, so there, and enjoy the song.

June 11, 2010

Well, so here we are, World Cup has started today, and the Celtics have tied once again the NBA finals, making them a bit more interesting. Lots of attractions and distractions, but I wonder, how long will people fall for the same old same old, and I am not talking about the sports, but more about the trend of being fickle towards world events. Life goes on, I suppose that is one thing I have learned with experience, no matter how big some event or thing or period of life seems to be, ultimately it will pass, and life always moves onwards, ever onwards as they say. I am still thinking of a period 4 years ago, during the last FIFA World Cup, back in 2006, doesn't seem like that long ago, but it has been. Anyone else found the whole 7-year cycle thing to operate in their lives? If so, that would mean I still have about 3 more years in my present cycle, unless I don't. I do remember having a conversation that struck out at me at that time though, and it was about how change just happens, even when its change we want or not, when its time it just happens of its accord. Reminds me a bit of the natural world, and how one can try all they like to make a flower bloom when they want it to (and who knows, maybe their are chemicals that cause that) but in reality the flowers bloom in due season. They bloom when conditions are ripe, and that is how it is. I think its important to remember that, rather than trying to rush everything and to have to have everything exactly how the mind says it is "supposed to be" right now. Not to say that that can't work in some cases, but it just tends to carry not so healthy and energy along with it, kind of like a pre-mature birth or something.  Now, as for the sports, I naturally would like to see the USA team do well and would be pleasantly surprise if they won even one match, but I would like to see Portugal and Spain do well, I like  Cristiano Ronaldo and I just visited Spain, so there. Well, that may be it for my daily thoughts, and I don't know why, I just thought the Goonies might cheer somebody up, it always does me ;-)  So now for the music post.
-Doc Evil

June 10th, 2010

Ahoy there! You know, I have been at this vlog/blog for a few months now and I have made it essentially a music post site. Now, I am going to keep up with that, but I also am going to start doing these whenever I remember to, that is daily posts of my thoughts and ideas or whatever. Really, since its my blog/vlog I will be writing about all sorts of stuff. I've been keeping up with my astrologer's site a bit, his name is Steve Judd and his site is here, and I have found his daily blog and monthly posts to be quite accurate and good. Steve doesn't spend a lot of time trying to predict doom and gloom, but he talks more about the energies, alignments, and what kinds of basic effects these have on individuals and collective groups of people and the planet as a whole. The reason I bring it up at all is that May-Sept. of 2010 is what Steve has referred to as a time of "Accelerated Change," for humanity and individuals, and the alignments of the planets from May to September this year are in such a way that only occurs once every 70,000 years, so it is no doubt an interesting time. I might say that your beliefs create your reality, and that believing that stuff leads one to see world events and things (many of which are always happening anyway, we are just usually not paying much attention) in a particular light. So, I would like to recommend his blog for all y'all who have time enough on your hands to ponder what it all means. I just started reading a great fiction book that my brother recommended called "The Traveller," by super-secret underground author and possibly and inter-dimensional being going by the alias of John Twelve Hawks (bravo), which is sort of like Underworld or the Matrix- where there is a secret society of warriors that "stay off the grid" and fight another secret society that really controls everything, good escapist stuff, and if its realistic, than cool enough to make a good movie series out of I suppose. I would like to add that I was stoked to see Rafael Nadal win the French Open, and we have the NBA Finals going as well as the World Cup happening, lots of games to distract and entertain us all brilliantly. Also, don't be shy in commenting, I don't bite.
-Doc Evil

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.

#84 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 #84 of the top 100 countdown! And the song is the all-time classic smash hit...Jessie's Girl, by Australian songwriter, rock musician, and actor, Rick Springfield. Now the 80's hits don't get much more legendary or classic then Jessie's Girl, which always draws a crowd to the dance-floor and gets people going in a sing-along. Rick Springfield, originally from Sydney Australia hit #1 on the charts with Jessie's Girl back in 1981, which also went on to win a Grammy Award and is to this day considered to be one of the major pop-rock hits of the emerging music video age. It doesn't get much bigger than this song, but then again it does. Stay tuned for # 83, and see how it happens!