Toto - Hold The Line

Driven by one of the most famous piano riffs in pop music history, Toto's "Hold The Line", first single off their 1978 eponymous debut album, is still a classic. I don't like Toto much, mostly finding them boring and oh so clever, but I never tire of "Hold The Line". David Paich, the band's keyboard player and writer of this song, should be covered in gold, and well... he probably is. This is a guy who's worked with everyone from Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin to Steely Dan and Don Henley, having won a fair armful of awards and written songs for Cher, Andy Williams, The Jacksons and many more. Still, his crowning glory appears - to me - to be "Hold The Line". What an amazing song it is!

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HIT ALERT! Madcon feat. Ray Dalton - Don't Worry

Having enjoyed major international hits like "Beggin'" and "Glow" Norwegian hip hop duo Madcon have become famous for their upbeat, celebratory pop music, and their new single "Don't Worry" certainly steps into line. It may even sound more enjoyable and fun than most of their previous output and that says a lot. They have enlisted Ray Dalton, known for his work with Macklemore & Lewis, to sing with them, and the message is clear: Don't worry 'bout a thing. It's simple and may even be a bit silly, but this is the kind of song that is really hard to protect yourself against, and why should you? It's pop music as pop music should sound - really, really awesome. Hopefully there will be a video soon, but for now you'll have to listen to it in the clip below or in WiMP or Spotify.

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Thåström - Ner mot terminalen

Thåström, vår gamle helt fra Ebba Grön og Imperiet, fikk virkelig fart på solokarrieren på femte forsøk, 2005-albumet Skebokvarnsv. 209 (tittelen er identisk med adressen der Thåström vokste opp). Siden den gang har han levert et knippe til dels fantastiske plater, og for noen uker siden kom den foreløpig siste, Den morronen. Av albumets ni sanger er den som gjør størst inntrykk på meg "Ner mot terminalen", en skakk og skramlete ferd gjennom Stockholmsnatten som er en søken etter den store kjærligheten, men som mest sannsynlig i beste fall vil resultere i noe ytterst flyktig. Det er frenetisk og intenst, vakkert og sårt. "Kyss mig som Sirocco, kyss mig tretti våningar upp i luften, kyss mig som Hermine kysste Harry, och kyss mig så att nånting kan bli Gud, så att nånting kan bli Gud igen".

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The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)

It's Fabulous Friday and today we're going for the American punk rockers The Offspring and their awesome 1998 single "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" off their Americana album released the same year. It's juvenile and fun, in every way fitting for a Friday. Also, be sure to check out the previous Fab Friday posts here.

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Social Distortion - Don't Drag Me Down

American punk rock band Social Distortion still exists, after Dennis Danell and Mike Ness founded it as far back as 1979. When Danell died in 2000 the band were on hiatus and Ness were busy nursing a solo career, but Social Distortion has reformed since. Anyway, "Don't Drag Me Down" is a classic, very energetic song off the band's 1996 album White Llight, White Heat, White Trash. Now there's an awesome title if there ever were one. Play it loud, OK?

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Free download! Todd Terje's "Jolene" remix

Norwegian DJ and recording artist Todd Terje who released his first album last year, appropriately titled It's Album Time, has remixed Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and put it out as a free download track on Soundcloud. Highly enjoyable, and it's just so cool that he has (seemingly) effortlessly turned a sad country song into a dance anthem. Also, if you haven't seen it, check out Terje's full concert at Øyafestivalen last summer here.

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Paolo Nutini - Iron Sky

I just got to see this today, thanks to my wife, who's a Paolo Nutini fan. So am I for that matter, and I find his latest album, 2014's Caustic Love, a whole lot better than his two previous efforts, seeing him turn into a fully-fledged soul singer, sounding like a cross between Joe Cocker, Percy Sledge and Curtis Mayfield. "Iron Sky" is the monumental second single from Caustic Love, a heavy, epic soul number that finds the Scottish singer in top form, with an excerpt towards the end from the 1940 Charlie Chaplin film The Dictator. Now the video... this is really something very special. It's directed by a young filmmaker named Daniel Wolfe that has so far made one feature film, Catch Me Daddy (2014). Eight minutes long, it perfectly compliments the song, turning both song and video into one major art project. Amazing!

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Bee Gees - Night Fever

Well, whadda ya know? Bee Gees! As I'm fond of saying, sometimes it's the only thing that works. The voices of the brothers Gibb are always soothing, and feels amazing even when you don't really need to be soothed. "Night Fever" off the 1977 soundtrack Saturday Night Fever is of course one of their most well-known songs - and one of their best. An eternal classic!

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Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

I'm guessing my friends in streaming service Tidal/WiMP is pretty stoked today. Having finally secured the right to stream the Led Zeppelin catalogue in lossless quality, they follow Spotify who got the opportunity some time ago. This coincides with the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's 1975 double album Physical Graffiti that has just been re-released as well. Read a story about the Tidal deal here and click on the link below to see a live version of Physical Graffiti's best track, the awesome and mighty, mighty, mighty "Kashmir" as played by Led Zeppelin at the height of their powers. Also, here is the link to the band's music in WiMP.

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Death Cab For Cutie - Black Sun

I have always liked Death Cab For Cutie, but never really delved into the American (former?) emo band's music. Stupid of me, when they are a band with a high melodic content, which is just the ticket for me. New single "Black Sun" spearheading the forthcoming eighth album Kintsugi, is a beautiful, atmospheric pop song that somehow takes its inspiration from bands as diverse as The Cure and Chvrches and marries it to Death Cab's own sound. Utterly mesmerizing song. I love it!

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U2 - Party Girl

Originally titled "Trash, Trampoline And The Party Girl", this was first featured as the B-side to U2's non-album single "A Celebration" released in March 1982, between the albums October and War. The A-side sounded better, but when U2 released the live mini-LP Under A Blood Red Sky on the heels of War in 1983, it featured "Party Girl", the same song but in a slghtly different and much, much better version. The same version was featured on the video release U2 Live At Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky, and can be seen here. Enjoy!

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Queen - Spread Your Wings

Curious pop trivia for this one. "Spread Your Wings", off the 1977 album News Of The World, was Queen's first single without harmony vocals. Despite that obvious fact drummer Roger Taylor can be seen singing in the music video. But never mind that, "Spread Your Wings" is a gorgeous Queen ballad, written by John Deacon about a troubled young man sweeping the floors in a bar, longing to strike out. Freddie Mercury sings, as he always did, his heart out, urging Sammy as the character is called to "spread your wings and fly away".

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Tom Robinson Band - Bully For You

Tom Robinson Band were mostly famous for their 1977 hit single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" and the anthemic "Glad To Be Gay", but did indeed record two absolutely brilliant albums, Power In The Darkness (1978) and TRB Two (1979), as well as the 1978 live EP Rising Free that featured the aforementioned "Glad To Be Gay". They conveniently broke through at the height of punk, with lyrics about restless youth, homosexuality and harsh urban realities, wrapped in angry pub rock songs. Here then, is "Bully For You", a song Robinson wrote together with none other than Peter Gabriel, and the first single from TRB Two. The two also wrote Robinson's 1983 solo single "Listen To The Radio: Atmospherics" together, which is no less great. Today though, we're playing "Bully For You" in all its angry rage.

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Chris de Burgh - an essay about Eastern Wind

Well, hip it ain't, but Chris de Burgh's 1980 album Eastern Wind was a huge and unexpected hit in Norway, selling 160 000 copies. I have re-listened to it with 2015 ears and written an essay for Universal Music about how it stands today. So if you will, go on and read it - in Norwegian - so Google Translate could be handy. At least you can listen to the album if you can't read the words.

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Lianne La Havas - Baltimore

"Baltimore" is among Randy Newman's best known and most covered songs. Nina Simone's take on it is especially famous, and so Lianne La Havas covered it for last year's Nina Simone tribute album Round Nina. It's a great version, and a showcase for La Havas' amazing voice. She has only released one album, 2012's Is Your Love Big Enough?, but let's hope their will be a follow-up this year. It's about time, but until then at least we have a great new take on "Baltimore" on our hands.

Lyric video

The Blue Nile - The Wires Are Down

Glasgow trio The Blue Nile may or may not be disbanded, but we can safely say they take their time between records. Since their 1984 debut A Walk Across The Rooftops they have only released a total of four albums, and singer Paul Buchanan has released one additional solo album, 2012's Mid Air. "The Wires Are Down" is not an album track though. It was released as the B-side to their 1989 single "The Downtown Lights" and further appeared on the 2012 deluxe edition of second album Hats. It's just a really beautiful, atmospheric song that goes to show how incredibly good they are. This is much more than your average B-side material.

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Jack White - That Black Bat Licorice

"That Black Bat Licorice" is one of the coolest songs on Jack Whites latest album, the exceedingly cool Lazaretto. The really fun part about this video is that it is actually three videos in one. Use the "3" and "B" keys on your keyboard to change between an animated video, a live action video and a special "headbanging" video. Now that's pretty awesome!

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Patsy Cline - You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)

The song "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)" was written by James B. Monaco (music) and Joseph McCarthy (lyrics) and published as early as 1913. Naturally - as good as it is - it has been recorded by many, including Al Jolson, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Aretha Franklin, Harry Nilsson, Doris Day, Judy Garland, Gloria Estefan and others. Actually, the Judy Garland version has additional lyrics written by Roger Edens. Below you'll find Patsy Cline's astounding 1962 version off her album Sentimentally Yours. Now, that voice!

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Morten Abel - Frøken Vilikke

"Frøken Vilikke" er single nummer to fra Morten Abels kommende I fullt alvor som kommer i salg 2. mars, hans første soloalbum på norsk. Den første, "Annabelle", var en spretten og flott poplåt, og "Frøken Vilikke" er minst like bra, litt mer nedpå og veldig, veldig fin. Min gode venn Ronnie mener at munnspillet minner kraftig om tilsvarende på Prefab Sprouts fantastiske "Billy", og det kan jeg saktens gi ham rett i. Og akkurat som "Annabelle" har også den nye singlen fått en veldig morsom musikkvideo. Dette er lun og god humor og rett og slett helt herlig. Jeg liker ALT ved denne låta!

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Daniel Kvammen - Du fortenar ein som meg

Yey! Det er Fabulous Friday igjen, og denne fredagen spiller vi norsk. Fremdeles har ingen artister gitt ut en bedre låt enn Daniel Kvammens "Du fortenar ein som meg" i 2015, så vi kjører på. Denne enestående flotte feelgoodlåta går stadig på repeat hos meg, og den gir meg en kjempegod fredagsfølelse. Jeg kan for øvrig røpe at Daniels kommende debutalbum Fremad i alle retninga som kommer 13. mars er ordentlig flotte saker. Gled dere, folkens! Sjekk også tidligere Fabulous Fridays-låter her.

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Brian Wilson - The Right Time

"The Right Time" is the first single off Brian Wilson's forthcoming album No Pier Pressure. Surprisingly it's one of several songs on the album to feature former Beach Boy members Al Jardine and David Marks, and it sounds astounding. It's a beautiful, harmony-filled pop song with a chorus that basically kills. This is more or less classic Brian Wilson and Jardine's fabulous voice is just the ticket, lifting the song towards the heavens. A knock-out performance!

Lyric video

Blur returns! - Here's the brand new single "Go Out"

Surprisingly it was revealed today that Blur are back together and ready with a new album, 12 years after their latest, Think Tank. "Go Out" is the brand new single that spearheads the album titled The Magic Whip to be released on April 27. It's a hypnotic-sounding rock song with a great melody that sounds very promising indeed.

Lyric video

Steget - Kom igen

I går gjorde jeg en deilig oppdagelse i form av den svenske duoen Steget, bestående av Matilda Sjöström og Nils Dahl fra Göteborg. De har gitt ut to album så langt, Förändrar allting i 2010 og Till slut i 2014, og før jeg er blitt særlig godt kjent med noen av dem er jeg bare nødt til å poste låta "Kom igen" fra debutalbumet, her i en liveversjon med kun piano. Fantastisk feelgoodlåt om å ta sjansen på kjærligheten. Herlig!

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Eriks Musical Diary at 200 000 - Todd Terje show in full

My blog just had its hit number 200 000, so thank you everyone who has been visiting Eriks Musical Diary for the last four years. This is not a blog for the masses evidently, I know of bloggers that get as many hits in an hour, this is rather a blog for my own enjoyment and for those with similar taste in music. After I quit my job as a professional music writer several years ago, I have kept listening to music, but of my own choosing and for my own enjoyment. In the close to four years with Eriks Musical Diary and the more than 3700 entries that have been, I have written about the "latest" pop music, timeless classics from the 1930's and upwards, compiled lists for different occasions, written a few essays and reviews, and generally had lots of fun doing it. To celebrate I'm posting Todd Terje's awesome closing show from last year's Øyafestivalen where a good time was had by all, myself included.

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Sufjan Stevens - No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross

Sufjan Stevens is finally releasing a new solo album titled Carrie & Lowell on March 30. Yesterday saw the release of the first new song off it, "No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross", a beautiful ballad that slips quietly into your ears in a certain haunting fashion that Stevens is so very good at. He almost whispers the song, grabbing your attention at the same time. Carrie & Lowell is named after Stevens mother and stepfather and according to the press release its 11 songs are about "life and death, love and loss, and the artist's struggle to make sense of the beauty and ugliness of love". So there!

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Brian Wilson new album trailer

Brian Wilson's upcoming solo album No Pier Pressure is a collaborative affair if not as exciting as it was rumoured to become. Surprising guests include former Beach Boys partners Al Jardine and David Marks who appear on the stunning first single "The Right Time" (that can be bought on iTunes now), She & Him and Kacey Musgraves, but rumoured appearances by Frank Ocean and Lana Del Rey were not finished due to "scheduling conflicts". Still, the album due in shops in early April is well worth looking forward to. Check out the album trailer below and get excited!

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Father John Misty - Bored In The USA

I am totally in awe of the new Father John Misty album, I Love You, Honeybear. He is otherwise known to his friends and family as Joshua Tillman and is a former member of Fleet Foxes, and this is his second album as Father John Misty. The album centres around his recent marriage to his wife Emma, and features a stunning cycle of songs that captivates and fascinates, co-produced with the ever cool Jonathan Wilson. "Bored In The USA" is one of the best songs on the album, sounding like a brilliant outtake from an early 70's Elton John record. The performance below is from Late Show with David Letterman last November, Great stuff!

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Van Morrrison with new duets album, re-recording old classics - here's "Real Real Gone" with Michael Bublé

Van Morrison is about to release Duets: Reworking The Catalogue, his first new album since 2012's Born To Sing: No Plan B. It's a 16 track album due for a March 23 release, featuring duet partners like Mavis Staples, Mark Knopfler, Steve Winwood, Natalie Cole, the late Bobby Womack and many more, focusing mainly on lesser known songs from Morrison's expansive catalogue. First single "Real Real Gone" is definitely not "lesser known" though, and it's been re-recorded as a truly wonderful duet with Canadian superstar Michael Bublé. Although no match for Morrison's amazing voice, Bublé does a very fine job indeed. It's an incredible feelgood version, possibly even more celebratory in nature than Morrison's 1990 original. Woohee! Full track list is featured in the link below as well as "Real Real Gone". Enjoy!

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Texum - Pink To Grey

Texum is a country-rock (or Americana?) band from the small community of Oppdal in the Norwegian country Sør-Trøndelag. The band made their lovely debut album Different Strokes For Differrent Folks in 2007 and were supposedly going to follow up with a new album only two years later. That didn't happen, but for those of us who remember the debut, the good news is that the follow-up album finally has arrived. Simply titled Texum it was released this Friday and is a collection of nine beautiful songs taking their inspiration from acts like The Band, Wilco, Van Morrison and other things we love. These are pretty unassuming songs that opt for the good melody rather than the big gestures and they are all the better for it. It's simply a wonderful album that deserves to be heard. Below is the amazing single "Pink To Grey" and I'm also embedding links to the album in Spotify and WiMP. Please enjoy the music of Texum!

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U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love)

I loved them from day one and the debut album Boy in 1980, but it wasn't until the release of third album War in 1983 that it really became clear that U2 were destined for great things. A world tour featuring Bono as a flag-waving politically oriented pop star showcasing songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" made a certain impact, and laid the foundation for what was to follow. "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" was the lead single from follow-up album The Unforgettable Fire, the first time they worked with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers. Remaining one of U2's best songs, it's inspired by Martin Luther King and perfectly sums up what U2 were - and still are - all about, musically and lyrically both.

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Prince - I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm A Star

"I Would Die 4 U" was released as the fourth single from Prince' first soundtrack album, the 1984 classic Purple Rain. Here's the song as perfomed in the film, and as on the album it segues into the next song "Baby I'm A Star". They are two of nine absolutely amazing songs, making Purple Rain one of the best pop records of the 80's. There is not much more to say, really.

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Happy Valentine! 30 love songs in one beautiful playlist

It's Valentine's Day, and if you're not that into anything resembling 50 Shades Of Grey you may enjoy my playlist featuring 30 wonderful love songs. A few of them definitely revolves around sadness and broken hearts, true, but that's also part of this mysterious thing we called love. Most of them, however, are upbeat, celebratory love songs, and all of them are stunning in their different ways. Happy Valentine's, y'all!

Spotify

WiMP

Justin Currie - If I Ever Loved You

Now this song... Is it possible to write such an obvious candidate for best ballad of all time and be more or less completely overlooked? In 2007 former lead singer of the Scottish band Del Amitri released his first solo album, What Is Love For, and on that album were featured a song called "If I Ever Loved You". It's a big ballad in its original recorded form, and I really have no idea how this was never picked up by anyone important enough to make it a hit, or even make it known to at least a few people. The album tanked, and Currie's two subsequent albums, good as they are, didn't fare much better.

Anyway, the clip you're about to see is from a BBC Songwriters Circle show, where Currie, The Bible frontman Boo Hewerdine and former Squeeze singer Chris Difford share the stage, swapping songs. The piano from the original is replaced by a lone acoustic guitar, and Currie's beautiful, haunting voice. At the end of a song Difford's in tears, thanking Currie for this incredible song. So, at least some people appreciate it, and if it's been a while since you've seen a grown man cry, here's your chance. Hope you like this song too. For me, it's one of the finest songs ever written.

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Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)

It's yet another Fabulous Friday, and today we're going for one of the coolest singles of 2014, namely American synth pop trio Future Islands and their awesome "Seasons (Waiting On You)". When they performed it on The Late Show With David Letterman on March 3, they unsurprisingly gained more than a little attention. Have a look at the clip below where singer Samuel T. Herring gives it his all, and you'll understand why. Some people find his antics to be ridiculous, I find them curious and deeply fascinating and can't wait to see Future Islands perform on Øyafestivalen in Oslo this summer. It could very probably become one to remember. Also check out previous Fabulous Friday entries here. Good times are, indeed, guaranteed.

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Listen to the entire "new" Pops Staples album now

Roebuck "Pops" Staples was the patriarch of The Staple Singers, one of the finest family groups ever to exist, known for amazing civil rights movements anthems like "Everyday People" and "Respect Yourself". Pops died in 2000, but left behind the beginnings of what was meant to be his fourth solo album. Finally it's come to life, thanks to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy who's produced and finished the record, with a little help from Mavis (who he's produced two albums for), Yvette and the late Cleotha Staples. The record, Don't Lose This, is out on Monday, but you can stream it in its entirety as of now, thanks to the good people at NPR.

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Drew Holcomb And The Neighbors - Another Man's Shoes

A few days ago I belatedly discovered the brilliant Drew Holcomb And The Neighbors, a brilliant American singer/songwriter and his band that also features wife and solo artist Ellie Holcomb. Their brand new record Medicine features the Tom Petty-influenced track "Shine Like Lightning" which I promptly posted. Now I've found it's time for another one, the lilting and sweet "Another Man's Shoes", opening track from the 2013 album Good Light. A brilliant, intoxicating song.

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Daniel Kvammen hos Christine Live - "Du fortenar ein som meg" og "Bed Of Lies"

Milde himmel! For noen dager siden var Daniel Kvammen gjest hos Christine Dancke på NRK P3 der han spilte to låter, akkompagnert av en ekstra gitar, keyboards og kor. Den første låta var en no-brainer, en balladeversjon av hans fantastiske single "Du fortenar ein som meg" som varsler det kommende debutalbumet Fremad i alle retninga som kommer om en liten måned. Den andre var en adskillig større overraskelse, en versjon av Nicki Minaj og Skylar Greys nydelige hip hop-ballade som Kvammen har gjendiktet til sitt eget geilomål. Det låter aldeles nydelig, og Christines produsent Ida tok rett og slett til tårene. Ikke så rart med tanke på hvor fint og inderlig Daniel Kvammen fremfører den triste break up-låta. Den karen her, ass! "Litt" flink... Sjekk for øvrig ut den strålende originalen til "Bed Of Lies" her og studioversjonen av "Du fortenar ein som meg" her.

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The Kooks - Naive

Rock or "indie"? Who cares? The Kooks have a knack for writing great pop songs such as "Naive" which was the fourth single off the 2006 debut album Inside In/Inside Out. It's the same album that features "Ooh La", the album's sixth (!) single, which may be their most well-known song, but didn't exactly explode on the charts at the time of release. Nevertheless, singer Liam Pritchard and his partners in crime know a good pop song when they hear it. Or write it. Catch-eeee!

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The Waterboys - Trumpets

There are few bands I'm more excited about than The Waterboys. Mike Scott's songs have gone far and wide and taken many strange turns, and as a songwriter he constantly confounds and surprises. The Waterboys' records are (almost) always causes for celebration. "Trumpets" off the band's 1985 breakthrough album This Is The Sea is both celebratory in itself and joyful in sound, and the lyrics - a true ode to eternal love - are absolutely beautiful. "Your love feels like trumpets sound..." Now, that's the real deal! "Trumpets" is one of many Waterboys classics, always a joy to hear.

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Tommy Tokyo - Hilsen alle dem du svek

Fy faen! Tommy Tokyo har gått fra å skrive på engelsk til norsk, og du snakker om vellykket forvandling! Albumet Hev deg over det derre der som kommer på mandag er et slags konseptalbum som tar pulsen på Norge anno 2015, som er litt både og for å si det mildt (Norge altså, ikke albumet), og de ni låtene er muligens fort unnagjort på i overkant av en halvtime, men gir adskillig tid til ettertanke og refleksjon. Uten å gå plata i dybden, vil jeg nå bare fremheve den ferske singlen "Hilsen alle dem du svek" som er et sårt og ømt musikalsk dikt til alle barna (og deres mødre) som plages og mishandles av "sterke menn" som fører med seg så uendelig mye frykt og engstelse at det gjør genuint vondt bare å tenke på. Sangen er et av ni totale blinkskudd som sier noe om vårt på mange måter skakkjørte velstandssamfunn, og Tommy Tokyo (eller Tommy Lorange Ottosen som han heter) tilfører sitt empatiske blikk som bør få dem som hører på til å spisse ører. Musikalsk er sangen praktisk talt kliss naken, der Tokyo og hans kassegitar kun har selskap av Gøran Grinis mellotron og piano. Dette er skjellsettende saker, usigelig vakkert og tankevekkende, en låt som oppfordrer deg og meg til å bry oss - intet mindre. Og albumet som helhet er altså fantastisk, det må også sies. Takk til Tommy Tokyo for at han tok steget fra engelsk til norsk. Det var lurt!

PS! Den utrolig fine singlen "Ved porten til et eventyr" som ble sluppet i november havnet ikke på albumet likevel. Hør den her.

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Janne Hea - Wishing Well

Last night I attended an amazing concert with the very gifted singer/songwriter Janne Hea. Although Norwegian she sounds like she's born and reared in the hills of Kentucky or Tennessee, with The Carter Family, Dolly Parton and Ricky Skaggs as her mother's milk. With a haunting voice she sings her melancholic songs as if standing in the deepest hollers, aided by co-writers and musicians Torgeir Waldermar on acoustic guitar and Mari Skeie Ljones on fiddle. The trio is absolutely gorgeous to listen to, and Ljones' fiddle is probably what really makes the music stand out as something genuinely special and exciting. The lonesome sound of her strings grabs the songs, lifts them up and about, making them fly into the air, before returning them to the ground where they meet up again with Hea's voice and Waldermar's ever-steady, almost metronomical guitar work. They did the wonderful "Wishing Well", the title track from Hea's 2014 debut album, to be listened to and watched below, as well as covers like Mary Gauthier's beautiful "I Drink" and Darrell Scott's dark masterpiece "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive". Check out Hea's album in WiMP or Spotify, and while you're at it you should also listen to Torgeir Waldemar's eponymous debut album that was also released last year, in WiMP or Spotify. They're both pretty awesome.

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Samba Touré - Touri Idjé Bibi

I'm sorry that I can't tell you what "Touri Idjé Bibi" means, but it's the first video from Malian singer/songwriter Samba Touré's brand new album Gandadiko, and it's absolutely amazing. As is the entire album, by the way. Touré is a singer of the Songhai people, playing what's dubbed "Songhai blues", having performed with other famous musicians such as Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté. He's writing songs about Mali's many serious problems - war, drought, Ebola - where extremists ban music, and according to a recent interview with the Curious Animal website is pretty clear in his attitude to these people: "Fuck you all, terrorists", he says. Touré is also an amazing guitarist, so be sure to check out his music if you don't already know it. You'll be richly rewarded.

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David Guetta feat. Sia - Titanium

Woohoo! It's another Fabulous Friday, and today we're opting for modern dance music. David Guetta and singer Sia's awesome 2011 track "Titanium" holds a special significance for me, reminding me as it does of a press trip to Ibiza two years ago. We were on a boat trip outside Sant Antoni de Portmany, home to the famous Café del Mar and other legendary Ibiza clubs, to see the coastline, and on the boat the music was blasting out of the speakers. When "Titanium" came on, things really took off, and the small group of Norwegian journalists I was part of, took to sudden dancing and screaming. Good times indeed. The girls on the picture below were conveniently present to pose as models, and they did a great job.

Also, be sure to check out the former Fabulous Friday tracks here.

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Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Shine Like Lightning

Yesterday, ten years late or so, I finally discovered Drew Holcomb and his backing band The Neighbors. Holcomb and his gang are Nashville-based, and the band includes his wife Ellie who steps up to the mic from time to time, and also has her own solo career. But right now we're going for the Tom Petty-influenced "Shine Like Lightning" off Holcomb's brand new album Medicine, a great collection of songs for anyone into The Avett Brothers, The Wallflowers, John Hiatt and their like.

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Listen to the Rhiannon Giddens album in its entirety now

I have been raving a lot about the upcoming debut solo album from Rhiannon Giddens these last few weeks. Now you can finally hear what it's all about as the entire album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is made available for streaming. With the exception of the closing track "Angel City" the album is all covers, all of them exceptional. One of the best albums of 2015 so far.

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The Waterboys - Purple Rain

The Waterboys covered the Prince classic "Purple Rain" when they played three consecutive shows at the Oslo club Sardines in June 1986 when they toured their third album This Is The Sea. They played it as an encore on one of the shows only, but it was a staple of their live set at the time, and for all I know it has remained so ever since. A few days ago Mike Scott and his partners in crime did an in-house version of "Purple Rain" on BBC Radio 2 for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, and it's absolutely stunning. Check it out here!

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Rihanna and Kanye West and Paul McCartney - FourFiveSeconds

On paper a collaboration between Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney seems odd, but the result, "FourFiveSeconds", both sounds surprising in itself and is also surprisingly good. It's a laidback duet between Rihanna and West, whereas McCartney strums an acoustic guitar. Also present is an organ and a cello, and that's it. Rihanna sings amazing, and West sings pretty good too, the song being just above the three minute mark. It's an understated little thing, apparently the lead single from Rihanna's as yet untitled forthcoming album. The video fits the song too, shot in black and white in the style of Herb Ritts, with the three artists moving about without a lot of fuzz. As for the songwriting, it's credited to as many as nine people, West and McCartney among them. I have to say I wonder about what all nine of them have brought to the table, but leaving that aside, it's a really good song.

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