One of the many things I love about JB is his familiarity with power ballads. Dude knows ALL of them — and he definitely doesn’t hold back when they play on the radio. We have some good singalongs, I’ll say that much. Love you, Heart!

Annie Lennox, you are a goddess among women. And this video is so much better than I remembered!

I’ve recently become addicted to ’60s garage rock, pop and funk from Thailand (and surrounding Asian countries, because there’s just so much to dig into). There are some amazing compilations out there — the Thai Pop a Go-Go series is a great place to start! — and the covers of Serge Gainsbourg, Boney M and Elvis songs make me so, so happy. (It also doesn’t hurt that the artwork is incredible.) It’s really about hearing garage rock through a different lens. Every song sounds like the first time.

And if there were actual videos to accompany the songs — then I’d be in heaven.

Thanks to Lynda Barry — my hero! — for always posting the best music.

Philip Glass + Beck = a mash-up that I desperately want to listen to…and soon it will be possible! In fact, Beck’s putting together an album of Glass remixes. Why this hasn’t happened sooner, I have no idea, but it seems like a very natural pairing.

I cannot wait.

[Via Pitchfork]

I am such a Mary J. fangirl. She’s this generation’s Dusty Springfield or Diana Ross, in my mind. So good.

The one, the only, Missy Elliott. I think this is my favorite video in her body of work. She’s truly an icon.

Random: Believe it or not, I used to fantasize about wearing a bubble/garbage bag outfit when I was in middle school — before the video even came out! In my naive, 12-year-old mind, I thought that everyone would be able to get along if we couldn’t see one another’s bodies. Oh, the bleakness of puberty.

A little known fact about me is that I hosted an all-lady radio show during college (holla, KRUI!). As such, I was pumped to dig into my personal archives and contribute some of my favorite girl groups to the awesome female music blog, Lady Bang Beat. Check out my post here (and make sure to watch “Meeting in the Ladies’ Room” by Klymaxx — a kitschy ’80s favorite!).

Nothing says ’90s nostalgia like Technotronic. I had a hard time believing this was the actual video, but then I realized it was from 1990, so — yeah. Let’s go the gym!

Yesterday was an incredible day. I’m without a worry in the world (for the first time — ever?). There’s only one song that fits these emotions.

Happy weekend, friends.

I just realized I missed Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark at Terminal 5 last night. I’m so bummed I didn’t get to see them! Definitely one of my favorite synth-pop bands from my college years.

Here’s some OMD, for your pleasure.

Do you ever get nostalgic for your teenage years? (Like, let’s say picking and choosing what to revel in.) I wouldn’t really want to revisit the purple-stained forehead that came with my dedication to black hair, the acting-out-through-polyester period or the “no one understands me” pathos, but I do miss the intensity of my connection to music. Miss Moss’s Formative Years compilation reminded me of the ’90s soundtrack that still makes my fingers tingle. Fiona Apple was definitely my girl — no intense lip-sync session was complete without her moody anorexia. Now to slam the door if someone should make the mistake of interrupting me.

To romance written in the stars.

Best enjoyed while accompanied by Tekno Love Song by Cocorosie, of course.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

The past two weeks have been a humbling experience. Without the use of my left arm or hand, I’ve been rendered somewhat helpless, but the upside is that I’ve been learning some new skills: one-handed pants wrangling, one-handed coffee slinging, and even one-handed typing — exhibited here and delightfully free of typos (taa-daaah!).

While this is (thankfully) only a temporary experience, I now have new insight into losing the use of a limb. When I read about musician and one-armed wonder Bert Amend, I was intrigued. After a casualty resulted in the loss of his arm, he invented new instruments that still allowed him to make music. According to The Knutsen Archives, makers of the guitars Amend played:

The man on the right in all four images is Bert Amend, who, as a shake mill worker, lost an arm at the turn of the twentieth century. Determined not to give up music, he ultimately invented several attachments and devices to enable himself and similarly handicapped players to play many different instruments (he was granted a patent for a chord-fingering device for the piano). During the early ‘teens his trio was billed as “The Greatest Novelty Musical Act in Vaudeville.” Eventually adding more players — all one-armed individuals — the group played violins, cellos, guitars, piano and drums.

[Via]

I’m unduly obessed with Peruvian folk singer and soprano Yma Sumac. She made her name as an “Incan princess” amidst the 1950s exotica craze. Her octave range: unreal. And she’s got that goddess, Maria Callas thing going on.

Joni Mitchell, Mama Cass and Mary Travers — three of my favorites! — harmonize on The Mama Cass Show in 1969. Lovely.

[Via]

There’s no better man to learn from. Funky chicken! Boogaloo! He’ll blow your mind.

Music for Mondays.

Get in the mood!

[Via the clever Anabela]

I’m quite thankful (kind of the season for that) to have learned about Sammi Smith. What a voice!

[Via]

Incredible! Brazilian composer and multi-talented instrumentalist (check out those bottles!) Hermeto Pascoal is a legend. This jam session is pretty epic, no?

So good! Hank Williams is always spectacular, but Anita Carter (of the Carter Family) makes this amazing. The connection between the two of them gives me goosebumps.

The new Cocorosie is just as good as you’d expect. The aesthetic of this video kills me: so beautiful, so tragic. I was born in the wrong century, methinks.

On repeat. This is a relative oldie (a few years ago), but a goodie, and new to me! I’m a recent Will Oldham convert (a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Billy), so I’m looking up everything he’s ever done. Somehow I never listen to musicians when they’re hyped —  hype refusal? — and then realize that they’re actually great a year or two later. A classic tale. Enjoy.

Shirley Collins‘s trilling, low voice is just what I’ve been looking for. The English Folk movement of the 1960s and ’70s is just so endlessly inspiring — I love all of it. Must acquire Folk Roots, New Routes, her collaboration with Davy Graham, as well as her iconic first album, Anthems in Eden.

Listen to Love is Pleasin’ and Bad Girl.

[Via Stopping Off Place]

On massive repeat. TLC for lyfe!

Hello, college! There was a whole lot of laying in bed (feet in the air) with Mazzy Star on repeat whilst reading about Percy Bysshe Shelley or the anthropology of death or some other scholarly pursuit. Isn’t it just too dreamy?

Have I ever mentioned my undying love for the Bee Gees? And not just the disco anthems: the early stuff is so folksy and emo, especially the Spicks and Specks album. Enjoy the falsettos and the brotherly harmonizing!

Exciting things in the works! (So Creedence to celebrate, obviously.) Here’s to a weekend filled with cat snuggles and movie marathons. I’m going to watch Heathers and relish every second of it.

I’m wearing a pilly, giant sweater and listening to all the Jim Croce and Cat Stevens I can. It’s like tea with honey for the ears! And they’re such adorable, tons-of-facial-hair 1970s dudes.