Pick of the Week

This week's pick is from a year before I was born. Hailing from the early days of MTV, "We Belong" is one of Pat Benatar's most remembered songs from her career that spanned two multi-platinum albums, 6 platinum albums, 3 Gold albums, and 19 top 40 singles. Benatar is one of the most heavily played artists during the early days of MTV. We Belong has been used in the soundtrack of the film, "Blue Valentine."


 

Pick of the Week: Shake It Out

Florence + The Machine were 2009/2010's revelation to the world outside the UK. They got a big break when their song Dog Days Are Over was used for the Julia Roberts' film Eat. Pray. Love. Their critically acclaimed debut album Lungs have won them BRIT Awards and noms at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best New Artist.

The lead single off their second album, Ceremonials, is called Shake It Out and is this week's pick. This is possibly Ceremonials' Dog Days as it features a joyful theme of "shaking out" various demons plaguing our minds. As with their other tracks, Shake it Out is very indie pop sounding and will make you want to sing along your lungs out. Without any further ado, here's Shake It Out. Enjoy.

Pick of the Week: Never Forget You

I know, I know! Pick of the Week, but hey, no pick until like what, 2 weeks after. Sorry, it's just hard to juggle everything I wanna do in life and you know still get to really update my blog like once a week. Heck, I don't even know why I named my blog "The Daily Anomaly," I really don't. Anyways. Going back to the topic on hand, yes, pick of the week.

This one is from Noisettes, and is a song very dear to me. A friend introduced this song to me a few months ago, and it has been on my playlist since. 

First, some backgrounder:

Noisettes is some sort of an indie rock / anti-folk band. The band's vocalist pictured above is an eccentric (or as I'd like to think) black woman by the name of Shingai Shoniwa. The Noisettes are based in the UK, and as such, well, you won't see them much in Billboard.

This week's pick is entitled "Never Forget You," it's about estranged lovers meeting up again after a long time, with Shingai saying that she'd never forget her old flame and that they were merely victims of circumstances. It's an upbeat song that has a sad feeling to it, a song I'd relate to the friends, and well, old flames I've lost along the way, and how it's never easy to forget someone who's been a part of you, even if briefly. And yes, I do feel that way about most people who's touched my life. So for you, dear reader, who's touched my life with your generosity of a visit, this week's pick is for you. The Noisettes with Never Forget You.

Pick of The Week: Make You Move

This one's a pretty long story, so bear with me, dear readers.

Last month, I used to workout during mornings instead of my usual after work schedule. During this stint, I kept hearing this song that they play at the gym. The chorus is sung by a peculiar voice, bordering Cee-Lo Green peculiarity, and you can't identify properly if the singer is a man or a woman, but one thing for sure is that the singer is black. After first listening, the song (or at least the chorus) kept playing on my head and the annoying thing was that I can't quite make out the lyrics to warrant a successful Google search.

It also made sense to ask the receptionist, but apparently they don't know the song's title either nor can they burn me a copy of their CD as that is against their policies. So I did a turn for the peculiar and strained my ear to the speakers everytime (or every morning) that the song plays, catching as much (garbled, blame the gym's speakers) lyrics. All I know was that the last chorus lines are unintelligible words repeated again and again and again. Unfortunately, the verses are rapped, so good luck catching that, and the chorus is pretty much out of the question. And the worse thing was that I keep hearing this song for like weeks, catching me off guard when I think I have pretty much moved on not need the song in my track list anymore.

My Google searches have only gone extremely peculiar: reviewing the entire catalogs of Flo Rida (yes, the first rap verse sounded, albeit remotely, like Flo Rida), Cee-lo Green and Gnarles Barkley (just because the chorus did sound similar to Cee-lo), and Cobra Starship (because the second rap verse is incredibly techno cool like Cobra Starship). All of which ended in futility.

So last Saturday, I managed to catch it again and this time I really strained to catch the song, and get some parts of the lyrics. I was lucky they were blasting the speakers and I managed to catch the last part of the 2nd verse "Wait up, she's got my full attention with the way that she's working it, working it, working it, working it." So I ran those at Google and got 4 possible search results. The first three were weird songs that came from late 90s, but the fourth one has "make you move (16X)" as the last part of the chorus, so I looked it up on youtube, all the artists on the credits seem pretty unfamiliar to me, but voila, it's my song! Make You Move by Dr. Hollywood Ft. Martha Wash.

But before we head to the song, let's get to see the artists behind it.

Dr. Hollywood is a pair of rappers from Beverly Hills, made up of Lex Larson and Louie Rubio. One of their more popular songs, "Lakers Run L.A." amassed 3 million downloads, all without a record deal. The featured singer, Martha Wash, is part of the duo Weather Girls, you know the pair that originally sang It's Raining Men. 

Martha Wash is known for her extensive range and distinct vocals. It's difficult to tell though whether she's a man or a woman based solely on her voice. But her voice is a pleasure to listen to, nonetheless.

So without further ado, here's this week's Pick of the Week: Make You Move by Dr. Hollywood feat. Martha Wash. Enjoy.

Side note: You can apparently download Make You Move for free, instructions on the youtube link, from Dr. Hollywood's website.

Return of Pick of the Week

Once upon a time, I post songs I find cool every week. Well, I kind of took a break from alternative music, mainly because I thought it didn't match with the summer weather. I know that sounds crazy / lame / both, but important thing is I got back and well, here's what I found this morning after listening to my favorite radio station (JAM 88.3). The song is called "Beer" by Psycho Stick.

I posted the unofficial video. And yes the song is amusing and extremely hilarious. I don't get why they are so angry in love with beer, but hey it worked. Check it out by hitting play. Enjoy.

And oh yeah, pick of the week might not exactly go weekly as I did before, but hey, it's back. Will be posting new ones from time to time.

Pick of the Week #13

This week's pick is an unreleased single from Keri Hilson entitled Still a Girl. The song conveys feminine frailty via a luscious ballad which is atypical for Hilson who is popular for her upbeat songs, but this one just wins and shows she can do ballads justice like with the Chris Brown featurer Superhuman. Enjoy!

Pick of the Week #12

Pick of the Week for this week is Orianthi's "Shut Up and Kiss Me." This is track 2 of the current combat release but was released to iTunes as early as last year. I find the song catchy and Avril-y without straying too much to Lavigne's territory and snatching her wig. Orianthi has her own sound and knows how to play the guitar for real unlike the said poser. Click Play to listen to Orianthi and her riffs.

Pick of the Week #11

By now, most people who I know must have seen Burlesque. This song by Cher has won the Golden Globe for best Original Song. Well, I have to hand it to Cher. This song just uplifts spirits.

Pick of the Week #10

This Week's Pick was my LSS for the whole weekend and went on heavy rotation in my PMP. I love how Agnes looks in the American version of this video and just how smooth she sounds.

Pick of the Week #9

Forgot to post last week's Pick. But here it is, anyway. Neon Trees's "Animal."

Pick of the Week #8

I know this is really ancient, but Texas' Say What You Want has always managed to find itself in and out of my playlists over the years. The song is laid back and resolute with simple yet haunting vocals by Sharleen Spiteri--who also looks androgynous hot in the video.

Pick of the Week #7

Pick of the Week Number 7 goes a little more current and pop with Rihanna's What's My Name. This Barbadian-charged tune has snaps and beats that just got me on the mood the whole week. Upto now I've been singing it, actually. Quite loudly to be frank.

Pick of the Week #6

Decidedly obscene and LSS-inducing, Cee-Lo Green's F*ck You gives soul a modern and vindictive twist. It's full of bitterness in a very fun way. Enjoy.

Pick of the Week #5

This week's pick of the week comes from Indie artist Feist. The video for My Moon, My Man is taken in one continuous shot. Amusing, right?

Pick of the Week #4

The Way Love Goes by Lemar

Pick of the Week #3

I have barely any time last week to post any pick of the week, at least, so my apologies. This week's pick comes from rapper T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera in the epic collaboration Castle Walls, composed by the same person who gave you "Love The Way You Lie." Unlike Rihanna, Aguilera gets her own verse in this track, but we'll see if this gets to appear as a single per se on Aguilera's next album like Rihanna's Love The Way You Lie Part 2. Enjoy listening!

Pick of the Week #2

This week's pick of the week is a bit, well, different. Ana Tijoux's 1977 has been out for a long while, but it's only lately that I've got a good listen to it and I just needed to share it.

Note: It's Spanish.

Pick of the Week #1

This week's video pick of the week is Florence + The Machine's Kiss With A Fist. I'm just falling in love with her. She's so crazy!