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Looks like quite a party . . . Check out this cool photo from 1983 of Keith Richards, Tina Turner and David Bowie partying in New York City.
The Ultimate Girls’ Night In Playlist There’s a lot of debate over what the perfect night with friends would be like. The venue, food and travel can differ, but there’s usually one constant – a fun soundtrack. Songs can really help to set the mood of a night in or out, but when outside, you can’t control what you’re listening to. Fortunately, that’s not the case for a big girls’ night in. It’s possible to play any song of your choice at home, but which songs are the most popular, and why are they chosen so much? In the UK, a survey conducted by Ladbrokes Bingo revealed some surprising (and not so surprising) choices. Tuned in Some of the stats from the survey revealed that being able to control what music they can listen to was a major reason behind staying in instead of heading out to the nearest nightclub or bar. A considerably large 38% of respondents said staying in meant they could choose their own music. Other reasons were given in the survey for wanting to have a night in. 18% stated that they could do karaoke from the comfort of their own living room, while 13% liked the idea of playing their favourite songs as loudly or quietly as they wanted to. Back to the 80’s The gaming firm also asked women about what songs they would like to play during a girls’ night in. The list of popular songs features a number of classics from the 1980’s, when many online bingo fans will have been in their teens or early 20’s, but some of them might not seem like ideal party tunes. Perhaps the best party tune of the 1980’s was this one-hit wonder by Dead or Alive. Even though Pete Burns’ outfit failed to score any other hits, this is still a favorite among women (and men) who were growing up at the time. Get your hairbrush out One of the joys of a night in is being able to sing along to classics without having to worry about looking ridiculous in front of a big crowd. The list of songs from the survey has quite a few which are begging to be sung, no matter how badly! Tina Turner’s rousing anthem is the ultimate “hairbrush” classic. Like many other songs mentioned during the survey, it’s practically an invitation to bellow at the top of your voice, especially when the night in is in full swing. Winding down Some of the songs such as Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me” and R.E.M.’s “Stand” are a little more downbeat, but no less fun. They’re good to help end a night in, and often leave everyone feeling nostalgic, which is what makes choosing the music yourself so fun. Posted in: Songs Tags: Dead or Alive, Girls’ Night In Playlist, playlists, R.E.M., Simple Minds, Tina Turner Allison Iraheta: Just Like You
Various Artists: The Best of Bond…James Bond
Albums like The Best of Bond…James Bond are tough to critique; on one hand, this album was released with a near-identical track listing back in 2002 (the 2008 version replaces Moby with Chris Cornell and k.d. lang), which means the 2008 issue is just an opportunistic cash grab. On the other hand, the contents of both albums are impeccable. Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey (three times), Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, A-ha (don’t laugh, their theme for “The Living Daylights” is one of the most underrated Bond themes ever), and Tom Jones on one disc? That is 16 different flavors of awesome, right there. Of course, the album doesn’t feature “Another Way to Die,” Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme for “Quantum of Solace,” but don’t worry; that will surely appear on the 2014 issue of this album. See our problem with this? It’s good stuff – but its existence is awfully cynical, too. (Capitol) Click to buy The Best of Bond…James Bond |
If you follow “American Idol” at all, you know that Season 8 (2009) was all about Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, and maybe some of you know current country act Danny Gokey, who finished third. But usually the other finalists are less memorable or fade into oblivion over time. Not so with fourth place finisher Allison Iraheta, who turned 17 during Season 8 but never showed signs of being that young. This young woman is so full of spunk and charisma, and has rocker pipes that should keep her financially set for a long time. Iraheta’s debut on Simon Fuller’s 19 Recordings/Jive, Just Like You, is one of those formula fests as pop/rock albums go – in other words, guys like Mitch Allan and David Hodges (Evanescence) were brought in to write with Allison, who winds up sounding more like Pink than anyone else. And if you’re into Pink, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Of course, some of this stuff is borderline annoying, like the Fergie-ish first two tracks, “Friday I’ll Be Over You” and “Robot Love.” But it gets better from there, starting with the powerful anthem of a title track, and later on with two of the best songs that somehow got buried here, piano ballad “Trouble Is,” and “No One Else,” (ironically co-written by Pink and “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi), which is reminiscent of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.” Come to think of it, Iraheta certainly has Turner elements in her voice, and that’s really saying something. No fading into oblivion here, just a really bright future. (19 Recordings/Jive 2009)