V V BROWN AND THE "NEW" SOUL SOUND

IS SHE POP'S NEXT SUPERSTAR OR WHAT?

Tall, gorgeous, stylish, quirky, and talented, British songstress and Island Records artist V V Brown is on her way. I love this re-burst of Amy WInehouse-influenced soul with spooky cord changes and a 60's funky beat. I'm just so through with electro that musically, I don't care where we go from here as long as it's not minimal 80's snoozefest! Maybe we're headed back to the funky drummer sound which almost every record sampled some variation of in the 80's. Then we can ride that early 90's Crystal Waters/Ultra Nate/Deee-Lite/Steve "Silk" Hurley vibe for half a decade. And then we can skip back o the 5th disco revival and by the time that's over, Lady Bunion can hang up her dancing shoes happy.

L.E.A.V.E.



CRYING BLOOD



Solange Knowles' Motown-inspired hit I DECIDED features Supremes looks and girl group choreography in the video with a...rebel flag? I didn't want to like Solange because the last thing we need is another Beyonce, but this song is undeniably cute. And a song that starts with the lyric "I was a little different" is a wise choice for a little sis trying to get out from under her big sister's shadow. Unfortunately, I can't embed the actual music video because of Solange's record company disables embedding. Why? The music industry was already failing before the recession and they don't want to promote their music?

I love the stops in this songs and Solange thankfully hits most of them like a drag queen. Some of her moves like that go-go monkey at the beginning look forced but I love her little twirl at the end. It's odd that the lead doesn't really sing much during the chorus, but when she finally does in the next to the last chorus, she tries to do that nasally Beyonce whining and then wisely drops it for the very last round.

This clip includes a brief interview in which Solange claims what EVERY artist says about every single album they do--that her latest offering is more personal and reflects what is going on in their lives. BULLSHIT! It would really earn my respect if some artist would just tell the truth and say "My last album didn't sell so we did some market research and came back with what you clueless fuckers wanted to hear and then gave it to you! Hit it!".

Something about this cut sounded familiar and I just clicked it--the pre-chorus is very similar to the pre-chorus in Sylvia's sexy seventies hit PILLOW TALK--do you hear it? "So boy just put that stop sign down", etc.

I DECIDED



Another 60's sound I love is the insanely catchy YOUNG FOLKS, by Peter, Bjorn and John. Every time I play this when dj'ing people ask me what the track is. The drum fill at the beginning is such an energetic wake-up and that whistle melody is irresistible! This video is so cute, too. I love that the animators chose this dated CLUTCH CARGO-style animation where the facial expressions of the characters don't change--only their mouths do! And the thought bubble that pops up with the words "It's a hit!" is genius. Adorable video and the color scheme of muted orange, yellows and blues is insane.

YOUNG FOLKS



Another new track I like it from Hed Kandi's new dance compilation. I don't care for the lyrics, but love the vocal arrangements and groove.

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