Posted by admin on 20 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: news, tip
With “Don’t Forget the Lyrics”, Singapore is now the 30th country to host a lyric-based TV competition. Along the lines of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, the game pushes contestants to sing the missing lines of songs. The prize at the end of the rainbow? A cool $500,000. The show is hosted by local [...]
Posted by admin on 07 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: news, tip
One of the very best vocalists I’ve ever worked with is hands down CB Milton. I’ve often asked people for news, as he slipped off the map. Producer Kristof Hermé put me on the trail again, leading me to the documentary “Playing for Change”. This superb extract of various musicians playing “Stand by Me” features [...]
Posted by admin on 03 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: news, tip
Grace Jones – Corporate Cannibal Eek! She’s back. This certainly beats the return of Britney. Grace Jones, the inimitable singer of “My Jamaican Guy” and “La vie en rose”, is back with an album called “Hurricane”. Although some of the tracks I heard are more in line with her minimal funk, this track stands out [...]
Posted by admin on 30 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: events, meanings, news, tip
They seem like more innocent days. Here is the British group 10cc with their 1974 hit “Wall Street Shuffle”. And if you’re looking for further proof of the power of a good lyric, 10cc provide it once again.
Posted by admin on 09 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: events, tip
This is a last-minute notice for anyone in Belgium. One of my longest-standing writing partners, Perry Rose, will be doing a special show on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday August 20 in the town of Huy. He has been given a carte blanche to invite a few people on stage with him (and a second night [...]
Posted by admin on 07 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: news, tip
Israeli Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres has turned up in an unusual place: songweavers.com. The distinguished president of Israel wrote a few lines of lyrics called “Ray of Hope” last year, and invited musicians from around the world to add music. So far, some 57 songs have been created. My personal favourite is a [...]
Posted by admin on 29 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: meanings, tip
Nope, it’s not the song by David Bowie (which is ripe for a cover, I’d say). The new single from Glasgow band Babygod, “Time”, is being seriously tipped at the moment. I must admit that just like it says in the lyrics (click through to read them), I came across the band when I was [...]
Posted by admin on 06 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: news, tip, tribute
Superbus – Heart of Glass – Live -Generation 80Uploaded by Channel_Zero A perfect pop band (Superbus) playing a perfect pop tune (“Heart of Glass”). It doesn’t get much better than this on a rainy Friday. But what about the words?
Posted by admin on 18 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: tip
I really, really, really like this track. Sin is a Yugoslav who now lives and works in Canada. I won’t bore you with the details (there’s the usual self-aggrandizing bio on his MySpace page). Just check out the music – a sassy mix of Hip-Hop and Arabic-style strings with a darkish girl vocal over the [...]
Posted by admin on 23 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: tip
This is more of a plug than a tip. I’ve written often with Perry Rose over the years. I just discovered this track on You Tube. Perry was invited by accordion player Didier Laloy to play a tune with him. He chose “Lords and Thieves”, to which I had contributed some lyrics. I don’t know [...]