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We’ve been talking a lot in the office lately about ear-worms. You know, those little musical moments that get stuck in your ear and you can’t get rid of for hours. Today, I’ve fallen victim to the dreaded ear-worm ‘Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa’.

You already know what song I’m talking about – MJ’s classic ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’. The pesky ear-worm constitutes the coda of the song, during which the King of Pop sings the phrase over and over. And over.  And over. Much like is happening in my head right this second. Poor Rihanna was also a victim to this particular ear-worm, which pops up in her 2007 single ‘Don’t Stop The Music’. It’s great, but also a little bit annoying.

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Someone who was more than a little bit annoyed was the Careroonian musician Manu Dibango, the gentleman who released this ear-worm on an unsuspecting world in his 1972 song ‘Soul Makossa’. Dibango claims not to have authorised the usage of ‘mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa’ in either song. He was robbed of the ear-worm, although to be honest, I’d be rather embarrassed of its existence and blame Jacko for the whole damn thing.

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Like one of those ‘forward this to all your friends, or you’ll wake up tomorrow with no arms, no legs, and a gypsy curse upon you and your firstborn’ chain emails, I now feel obliged to pass it on. Enjoy, and say goodbye to the next 15 minutes (at least) of your life. ‘Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa, Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa, Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa, Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coosa’...

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The Carnival Freak Show rolled in to town at Coachella on Sunday night and festival goers were treated to a wonderfully tasteful ‘live’ set by the late Tupac Shakur.  His holographic image was beamed straight from beyond grave and on stage at Coachella to perform alongside Snoop Dogg.

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Now I don’t go in much for his music but there’s no denying his significant influence on popular culture.  It’s not my bag really so I can’t comment – I’ll only end up sounding like my mum.  Even saying the word ‘rap’ sends any credible stock I have plummeting.  But that’s fine because for once, this ain’t about the music.

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I’ve watched this a few times now and it kinda bummed me out for a number of reasons – not least of all why, with several hundred thousand dollars budget and cutting edge technology on side, you would chose to bring Tupac of all artists back from the dead…but we’ll side step that issue for now.  No, the really big question was what exactly creeped me out so much?  It just didn’t feel right.  Contrary to popular belief most of us in the catalogue music world have an enormous amount of respect for our long departed artists and feel protective over their legacy.  We don’t always get it right but at the core of every release we put out is a genuine desire to do right by our artists and their catalogue and that also applies to artists no longer here to represent themselves.  I’ve no doubt that the thinking behind this ghostly spectacle came from a good place but man, it just gives me the willies!

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So is this the ultimate catalogue ‘reissue’? The artist is dead – long ‘live’ the hologram! and what next? Johnny Cash, Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Janis Joplin, Etta James,  Jeff Buckley…back on tour?  Ethically, this just all seems a bit off!  Now Pandora’s Box is open – who knows what’ll come flying out!  Perhaps nothing.  I’m no Luddite.  I like a new thing as much as the next person but this stinks of those old films that depict ‘how the future will look’.  Last time I checked no one had an android butler, we’re not wearing bio-space suits or eating space food, drinking Tab cola, listening to a Minidiscs or driving a Sinclair C5 or riding a flying skateboard and London still doesn’t look much like Bladerunner.  I could be wrong though – this digital music thing seems to be taking off! 

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What’s the point of watching a hologram?  You may as well go home and play Kurt Cobain on Guitar Hero!   ‘Legends never die’ sure, I get it, except they do.  I’d love to have seen Jimi Hendrix or Rory Gallagher or The Beatles play live but thems the breaks sometimes.  I’d feel a bit vulgar paying money to go and see an non-consensual hologram Nina Simone!

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Technology wise this certainly isn’t anything new.  Madonna, Gorillaz, Celine Dion & holographic Elvis, Black Eyed Peas have all given it a whirl and the Japanese have been rolling out holographic pop stars for a couple of years now. The old adage ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’ comes to mind!  When, Charles Holland Duell, Commissioner of the US Patent Office remarked in 1902 “In my opinion, all previous advances in the various lines of invention will appear totally insignificant when compared with those which the present century will witness. I almost wish that I might live my life over again to see the wonders which are at the threshold” I’m not convinced seeing a potty-mouthed holographic Tupac reborn to ‘perform’ at Coachella is what he had in mind. 

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But who am I am to judge – his mum liked it apparently, so that’s alright then.

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Luther Vandross would have celebrated his 61st Birthday this week and to celebrate, a new album of deep-catalogue rarities have been collated including this beautiful cover of Kenny Rogers’ original.

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‘Buy Me A Rose’ is classic Luther love song. Soft and tender with all the much-loved musical effects: angelic voiced backing singers, chimes and an atmospheric acoustic guitar. It is the musical equivalent of a bed scattered in petals.

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Old fashioned chivalry features heavily in the lyrics and as everyone knows, Luther knew how to treat a girl good. 

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Hidden Gems is released today and features some of the most loved album tracks from across seven albums of material spanning Luther’s 15 year tenure at Epic Records.

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DB

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3 Reasons why this is today’s pick:

1. Don’t you just want to get up and dance? And clap your hands through the chorus?
2. This line: “This guitar and a microphone // is all you need to grow your own”
3. It’s Saturday. This is certainly a Saturday song if ever I heard one.

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Have a nice weekend!

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KS

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The bank holiday weekend came with a condition: if any day was sunny, we’d spend it in a beer garden. Flashback to Good Friday: the sun was indeed shining. Onforth to the beer garden. Quite the misnomer, given that the drink of choice was our old friend, the Jaegerbomb…

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Fastforward to later that evening, back at home, feeling great. And then someone brings out the 90s tunes. Sorry, 90s TOOOOOOOOOOOOONZ. My favourite hazy memory is dancing on the sofa to this song. Of all the Swedish songstresses of the late 1990s, Meja is perhaps my favourite. ‘All ‘Bout The Money’ is by far her greatest hit. Even Billboard Magazine agrees: “Once in a while, a debut single hits you between your eyes and makes you want to do everything in your power to lend support to its success.” The nonsense lyrics of the chorus – “It’s all ‘bout the money/It’s all ‘bout the the dum dum didudumdum” speak volumes about our societal dependence on the dosh. Here, Meja is a foil to our home-grown songstress Jessie J, and her smash hit ‘Price Tag’ – “It’s not about the money, money, money/We don’t need your money, money, money”. Meja vs Jessie. Money vs the power of song. Sounds like a day at the office…

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Back to the song! It’s from Meja’s second album (really?) Seven Sisters. Wikepedia informs me that the album won Best Album of the Year and Best selling Scandinavian artist at the illustrious World Music Awards in Monte Carlo. Fuelled by Jaeger and Red Bull, I bestowed the track my own award – “BEST SONG EVERRRRRRRRRR!” Quite. 

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PC

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‘Save Me A Saturday Night’ is taken from Neil Diamond’s 2005 album 12 Songs — his first collaboration with producer Rick Rubin. Rubin’s trademark style of stripping songs back to their most simple form is once again at the forefront and is actually incredibly effective at highlighting how good a songwriter Diamond is.

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Here’s 3 reasons why this is an awesome song you should hear:

1. It has a lovely melody. Definitely whistleable (is that a word? It is now)
2. This is a song only works by virtue of how stripped back it is. Imagine it with ‘Sweet Caroline’ style production. Odd isn’t it? *shudder*
3. That glockenspiel thing? Cute. Not a word I thought I’d use about a Neil Diamond song.

If you’re particularly interested in music nerdery, here’s a video of Mr D himself talking about the origins of the song:

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Until tomorrow, folks!

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KS