British DJ/producer Mark Ronson has a new album due later this year, including contributions from Lykke Li, Camila Cabello, Alicia Keys and others.
Ronson’s last album, 2015’s Uptown Special, featured ‘Uptown Funk,’ the brilliant collaboration with Bruno Mars that dominated charts and is destined to be a dance floor staple for decades to come.
Rounding out week three of the 30 Day Music Challenge is one of my favorite categories yet: ‘A Song That is a Cover By Another Artist.’ Such a wealth of possibilities here!
My default first choice is Fiona Apple’s remarkable live rendition of Elvis Costello’s ‘I Want You’ (with Elvis accompanying on electric guitar). I love that performance enough to have chosen it as my 1,000th Song of the Day, so it is therefore ineligible today.
At #8 in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll is Icana Pop’s ‘I Love It’ — a song that has really grown on me since I first heard it. It’s one of those songs that’s annoying if you just listen to it, but very effective when backing up the right images.
In the ninth spot is Miley Cyrus’ ‘We Can’t Stop.’ I’m a little surprised this track outranked ‘Wrecking Ball’ (which does show up in the top twenty) but I guess it was the song that really launched Cyrus’ freakazoid year.
Guest blogger Dana continues…
Here is another song I came to through the controversial video and radio play. However, getting beyond Miley’s shedding of Hannah Montana and her controversial antics at various appearances, most notably the MTV music awards, the fact of the matter is, at least in my opinion, this is a damn good song.
Bolt promises to be the final non-Pixar computer animated film released by Disney, and it’s not a bad way to go out. Pixar films remain on a whole other level, cinematically and in terms of resonance, but there is certainly a place for solid family entertainment of a more pedestrian nature.
Bolt is certainly pedestrian, borrowing elements from everything from Toy Story 2 to The Truman Show, and there isn’t a moment you don’t know exactly where it’s going. But it’s also funny, exciting and charming and a perfectly nice way to spend an afternoon with your kids.
