Yarbrough & Peoples – Don’t Stop The Music

December 3, 2012

Hi there, Whuzzerface here.

Yes, I intentionally left out the preceding ‘artists this song sounds similar to’ because anyone who has created music similar to this in the past 30 years has this band to thank!  ‘Das right, I’m taking you on a time warp. Buckle up tight!

Yarbrough & Peoples. Sounds like some aristocratic hoity toity London-based law firm doesn’t it? They were obviously quite the opposite though. Calvin & Alisa met very young while they were taking piano lessons from the same teacher. Calvin was actually one of the original members of The Gap Band! Well, they kept in contact over the years and decided to start making music in the early 80’s and found great success in the charts. It gets better though, because they actually ended falling in love with each other and are still married and performing today. *insert collective “AWWW”*

When I heard this on the radio last week, I had to do a double take. “I thought I had this on the oldies station…” I thought to myself as I walked over to the radio, which was tuned to the frequency I thought. “This sounds way to ‘now’ to be an oldie”. My search for this song began, and obviously I found it! The boogie deliciousness that is this hidden jewel from the past comes from the jiving bass line and hopping synth sounds. Many an artist today would kill for those synthesizers in the video, they were timeless and matchless machines. Alisa’s voice is incredible not to mention her style! She makes the whole song seem so effortless. I wish she would have been more popular & widely appreciate because I can hear intense influence in later singers like Whitney Houston.  I hope you enjoy it (and the puppets too!).

Yarbrough & Peoples – Official Site

Buy “Best of Yarbrough & Peoples” – Amazon MP3

Oh that hair…

Double Dose of Sweet part 2 “Chocolate”: Miguel – Adorn

November 14, 2012 — 2 Comments

Sounds similar to: Frank Ocean, Usher, Trey Songz

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,

Here is part 2 of todays “Vanilla & Chocolate” double feature! Is anyone else getting hungry at the mere mention of those words??

Miguel is a sweet-faced crooner who is destined to break hearts with is smooth mellifluous voice. And yet I get the feeling that all the while he is one of those guys who you know is actually trying to be genuine and show the girl of his fancy how much he adores her. “Adorn” is the kind of song the gets your heart racing to the beat of the bass. Speaking of the bass, it’s insane in this!  It’s such a low pitch in parts that it’s hard to discern what note it is until it ascends a few tones then DROPS back down. Some of the ambient instrumental are reminiscent of 90’s Madonna songs or “100% Pure Love” house-ish tracks.

Props to C-Bisquit for being persistent in making sure that I heard this song because I luvz it!

Miguel – Amazon MP3

Double Dose of Sweet “Vanilla”: Daley – Remember Me (Feat. Jessie J)

November 14, 2012

Sounds similar to: Robin Thicke, Tweet, Ryan Leslie

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,

Today is gonna be a double feature! I figure it’s Wednesday and we could all use a double dose of R&B-ish-ness today. Both artists have similar ranges, yet drastically different styles and the obvious fact that one guy is a British Ginger and the other is not. That’s why we’ll be calling them Vanilla & Chocolate!

Besides Justin Timberlake & Robin Thicke, can you recall any other tenor-range R&B/pop men who have made it HUGE in the industry in the past decade? I certainly cannot. That’s why when I heard the one-of-a-kind Daley’s voice, I was thrown for a loop. His soft almost androgynous tone is unmatched and I couldn’t be more pleased that he is getting paired up with tons of great talent these days. My first brush with him was when Gorillaz released their quirky song “Doncamatic”, which featured Daley. Now in this song, he’s paired up with the steaming Jessie J?! Aw yeah!

Daley is really his last name, but this scrawny ginger from the UK is no lightweight. The beats in this song are reminiscent of many a 90’s tune, and perhaps that’s why I was drawn to it originally.  It’ll get stuck in your head so be careful!

Daley – Alone Together EP – Amazon MP3

Capital Cities – Safe & Sound

November 2, 2012 — 1 Comment

Sounds similar to: Penguin Prison, Hey Champ, Strange Talk

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,

How as your Halloween? Did you have a spooky good time? I apparently had too much fun as I realized the following day that I had a Halloween Candy Hangover after just 3 “fun-size” Almond Joys. I know, I’m such a lightweight. And what did you think of our creepy/strange/huh videos? Well, I still had about 10 other alternates I could have included as well but this one, this jem, actually has more of grateful lyrics with a creepy video, so I figured it’s ok to post it in November.

Capital Cities comes bursting out at you from the get-go.  These Los Angeleans have a easy-going sound of electropop and even love to throw in good trumpet loops as a hint of spice to their songs.  The combination of two singers, one slightly gravely, makes for a good complimenting of their retro vibe. Considering that they found each other through Craigslist, I’d say this pairing was meant to be! I especially love when they get to the “Even in a hurricane of frowns, I know that we’ll be safe & sound.”  And you should get excited because there is a break after the bridge that is so disco-centric, you can’t help but bust out at that very moment.

As far as the video goes, I’ve never heard of llama worshipers before but I guess there’s a first for everything at some point. I can’t discern the meaning of the odd images of a derelict town, dolls, and symbols either. The end of the video has me totally flummoxed. You’ll see what I mean when you watch.

I hope your Friday is stellar!!

Capital Cities – Official Site

Capital Cities EP’s – Amazon MP3

The N.A.H.P.I. – Do They Know It’s Halloween

October 31, 2012

Sounds similar to: All the bands listed below

This song, made in 2005, is a direct parody of the unforgettable Band-Aid song “Do They Know It’s Christmas Time At All?”  The actual name of the collective is The North American Hallowe’en Prevention Initiative (yes, that apostrophe is intentional). Wikipedia says that “According to the official press release, the song  ‘stems from a frustration with other benefit songs’ misguided, somewhat patronizing attitude, and Western-centric worldview.” Yowza, yet kinda funny. They did donate all the proceeds to charity, so even though it’s a tongue-in-cheek venture, it does have great intentions.
On to the best part. Going through the list of the bands and artists involved in this is like reading straight from a stage set at Coachella (from 2005): Arcade Fire, Beck, Buck 65, David Cross, Dessert, Devendra Banhart, Dntl, Elvira, Feist, Gino Washington, Les Savy Fav, Islands, Malcolm McLaren, Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Peaches, Postal Service, R.E.M., Rilo Kiley, Greg Kursten, Roky Erickson, Sloan, Smoosh, Sonic Youth, Sparks, Subtitle, Sum 41, Tagaq, That Dog, We Are Molecules, Wolf Parade, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There’s no way I can add more hype to this post after that list, it still boggles my mind with the sheer enormity of awesomeness.

Without further ado, Happy Halloween!!!

Hot Chip – I Feel Better

October 29, 2012

Sounds similar to: Twin Shadow, LCD Soundsystem, Yeasayer

Happy almost-Halloween!

I’ve scoured music videos for this week and found several great creepy, odd, freaky, and down-right disturbing videos which will help to get your Halloween festivities off to a great start.  Our JJAMZ offering was a mere appetizer to what we have in store for you!

Hot Chip is a huge name in the electropop indie circuit. I cannot begin to count the number of their epic remixes of other songs alone. In addition to their Dj-ventures though, they also offer songs where they have both a high and low-pitched male vocal duo. That combination alone sets them apart and gives both a warm and ethereal feel to the songs. Add that to the “blip-blop” electronics and you’ve got yourself some epic dance tunes.

Now we’ve all been in love with at least one boy band in our lives. So what do you think would happen if you blended a boy band, a dance-off, alien invasion and good ol’ British humor together? You’d get this video! It seems to be a generic boy band music video filled with male-peacocks and dancing, but that’s where you’re wrong. A special guest arrives and shows those boy banders up. Now, when the chorus does come around, if you’re anything like me, a look of revulsion will slowly shape your face into a big “WHAT THE H???”, trust in me though, it gets better ;-)

I hope you get your dance on with this. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Hot Chip – Official Site