JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Janet Jackson’s 59th birthday.
Tag: pop music
Throwback: Black History Month: Janet Jackson
Today is the third day of Black History Month. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few days of this month, you’d see that I’ve been featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards understanding the Black experience.
Through the month — and throughout the year, I hope that you’ll come to understand and appreciate the following:
Black culture is American culture
Black music is American music.
Black history is American history.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
You can’t love black art and black artists without loving black people.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the release of one of the best pop albums of the 80s, Janet Jackson’s Control, a brash, self-assured declaration of independence — and a defiant feminist anthem. Thematically and lyrically, Rhythm Nation 1814 is still relevant and necessary 25+ years since its release. Plus, she released an incredible string of chart-topping pop songs.
Throwback: Happy 70th Birthday, Phil Collins!
JOVM celebrates Phil Collins’ 70th birthday — belatedly.
Live Concert Review: Kishi Bashi with Twain at Webster Hall 10/2/16
Comprised of Natalie Closner and her two younger twin sisters Meegan and Allison, Portland, OR-based pop trio Joseph derive their name from their grandfather Jo and the tiny Oregon town in which he lived, Joseph, OR. And although the Closners grew up in a musical household, the sibling trio hadn’t sung together until a few years ago when Natalie Closner, seeking a creative jolt asked her twin sisters if they’d like to form a band together — and they quickly discovered that they had an immediate simpatico and began writing songs together, based around a use of three part harmony.
“White Flag,” the first single off the trio’s forthcoming full-length debut I’m Alone, No You’re Not employs the use of the Closner’s gorgeous harmonies, swirling and ambient electronics and handclap-led percussion in a song that quickly builds up to an anthemic and cathartic hook while pairing them with a powerful message — that one should never give up to attain what they desire. Sonically, the Portland-based sibling trio’s sound reminds me quite a bit of Pearl and the Beard and Lucius as the Closners’ latest single possesses a swooning and forceful urgency.
The Closner sisters will be embarking on a lengthy tour that includes a September stop at Radio City Music Hall. Check out tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
6.9 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo
6.22 – Bristol, UK – Summer Series – Harbourside *
6.24 – Somerset, UK – Glastonbury Festival
6.27 – Luxembourg, LUX – Rackhal *
6.29 – Munich, GE – Toll wood Festival *
7.1 – Nr. Brandon, Suffolk, UK – Thetford Forest (Forest Live) *
7.6 – Manchester, UK – Castle Field Bowl *
7.8 – Cannock, UK – Cannock Chase Forest *
7.12 – Scarborough, UK – Scarborough Open Air Theater *
7.14-17 – Beccles, UK – Latitude Festival
7.17 – Dublin, IE – Longtitude Festival
7.18 – London, UK – St. Pancras Old Church
7.20 – Hamburg, GE – Knust Acoustic Session
7.22 – Berlin, GE – Berghain Kantine
7.23 – Haldern, GE – Haldern Pop Bar
7.24 – Nurnberg, GE – Fold Im Park
7.29 – Los Angeles, CA – FIG at 7th // Arts Brookfield Series
8.5-7 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
8.10 – Boulder, CO – The Fox – Triple A Summit
9.19 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live *
9.21 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami at Gleason Theater *
9.23-24 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
9.25 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte *
9.27 – Richmond, VA – The National *
9.28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE *
9.30 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall *
10.1 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion *
10.3 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater *
10.4 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit *
10.6 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave / Eagles Ballroom *
10.7 – Saint Louis, MO – The Pageant *
10.8 – Kansas City, MO – Arrest Bank Theatre at The Midland *
11.3 – Antwerp, BE – Trix Hall #
11.5 – Copenhagen, DK – DR Koncerthuset #
11.6 – Oslo, NO – Folketeateret #
11.9 – Berlin, DE – Postbahnhof #
11.10 – Munich, DE – Technikum #
11.11 – Zurich, CH – Kaufleuten #
11.13 – Milan, IT – Fabrique Milano #
11.14 – Montpellier, FR – Le Rockstore #
11.16 – Barcelona, ES – Bikini Barcelona #
11.18 – Bardeaux, FR – Rock School Barbey #
11.20 – Lyon, FR – Epicerie Moderne #
11.21 – Stasbourg, FR – La Laiterie #
11.22 – Cologne, DE – Kantine #
* Supporting James Bay
# Supporting Michael Kiwanuka
Mikey Wax is a New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose profile has exploded nationally and internationally as a number of his singles and albums have achieved commercial success and placement in a number of major TV series. After “In Case I Go Again,” off his debut effort Change Again won South Florida-based WRMF 97.9 FM‘s Unsigned Artist contest, the song was featured on CBS‘s Ghost Whisperer, NBC‘s 2012 Summer Olympics coverage and ABC Family‘s Pretty Little Liars — and the music video was featured as part of YouTube‘s Music Tuesday spotlight, which garnered over 500,000 views. Wax’s 2011 self-released sophomore effort Constant Motion landed at number 6 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart, number 47 on Billboard Heatseekers Chart, with album single “Counting On You” receiving major radio airplay on major Adult Top 40 stations across the country.
As as a result of his rapid success, Wax was selected by New Music SeminarNew as one of their “Artists on the Verge” and was featured by iHeartRadio as an “Artist To Watch” in 2012 — and “Counting On You” was featured during the elimination montage on every episode of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance that season. Additionally, the song was featured in the trailer for the major motion picture Playing for Keeps which lead to coverage from USA Today and Young Hollywood. “For Better Or Worse” was featured on Lifetime‘s Dance Moms while “So Crazy” appeared in a promo teaser for Brazilian TV network GNT, which led to the song charting on the Top 100 iTunes Pop Chart Brazil and a sub-publishing deal with Warner/Chappell South America.
The New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s self-titled, third full length effort was released in 2014 and featured “You Lift Me Up,” which debuted on iTunes US Top 200 Pop Charts and has since been placed on MTV‘s The Real World and The Challenge: The Battle of the Exes II, the season 10 promo for E! Entertainment‘s Keeping Up With The Kardashians and all Fox Sports NBA games throughout the second half of the 2015 season. Building on the success he’s received to date, Wax’s “Love Always Wins (#LoveWins)” was also featured on the promo for E! Entertainment’s I Am Cait and on the SoundHound app homepage.
I have to add that the New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has toured with the likes of Parachute, Andy Grammer, Jon McLaughlin, Matt Wertz, Rachel Platten, Howie Day, Tyler Ward, Ryan Cabrera, Tyler Hilton, Tony Lucca and others.
“Bottle of Jack,” Wax’s most recent single pairs Wax’s soulful vocals with a neo-soul-like arrangement of shimmering keyboard chords, loose and funky guitar chords, propulsive drumming, soaring synths and a sinuous bass line to craft an radio-friendly pop confection that has its narrator describing the sensation of being in love to drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels. And at points, it certainly can feel that way! In any case, Achtabahn released a house music remix of “Bottle of Jack” that pairs Wax’s effortlessly soulful vocals with a warm, Random Access Memories-era Daft Punk production consisting of a sinuous bass line, warm blasts of Nile Rodgers-like guitar shimmering neo-soul like keys, handclap-led percussion, swirling electronics, bleeps and bloops and wobbling, tweeter and woofer wobbling drops that makes the song dance floor friendly while retaining the radio-friendly pop confection spirit of the original.
Just in time to close out the year, the members of Radiohead announced that last year, they were approached to write a theme song for the latest James Bond film, Spectre. Knowing that the studio and the film’s director went with Sam Smith‘s “Writing On The Wall,” it’s pretty obvious that someone decided that Radiohead’s “Spectre” just wasn’t going to work out — although to be honest, “Spectre” is a gorgeous,moody and dramatic jazz-inspired composition that sounds as though it could have been on Amnesiac or King of Limbs. To my ears, what makes the song so strange is that Radiohead’s theme song as though it could have been part of an art-house film about consumerism, greed, alienation and regret, while capturing the tone and feel of a Bond film.
Live Concert Review: The World’s Fair Anniversary Festival featuring Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaries with Damien Escobar and Hollis Brown and others, at Flushing Meadow Park 6/7/15
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