Steely Dan - Do It Again

Steely Dan's 1972 single "Do It Again" from their debut album Can't Buy A Thrill has been with me for some years now. I was too young to notice at the time of its release, but in 1978 at the age of 12 I bought the soundtrack to the movie FM, featuring songs by Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, Foreigner, Boston, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and others, among them Steely Dan who'd written and recorded the song "FM (No Static At All)" specifically for the movie. But as good as that is, it's still nothing compared to "Do It Again" that was also included on this great double LP. Love it!

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Madonna - Papa Don't Preach

Since we're not ecstatic about Madonna's new singles, why not play a classic? "Papa Don't Preach" was the second single from her third album True Blue, both released in June 1986. This is a song I'll never tire of, and I really like the video as well, featuring Danny Aiello as Madonna's dad.

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The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin'

"California Dreamin'" is rightfully - more or less anyway - ranked as the 89th best song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. According to John Phillips he dreamt the song and woke up and got help from his wife Michelle to write it. I'd love to do something like that one day, but I guess it's highly unlikely. Anyway, a true classic, released as a single in November 1965 and appearing on The Mamas & The Papas' debut LP If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears that was released in March 1966.

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Bruce Springsteen - Tougher Than The Rest

Today the new Bruce Springsteen album Wrecking Ball is released in parts of Europe, but it's now been 25 years since he released his excellent break-up album Tunnel Of Love in 1987. One of its singles is "Tougher Than The Rest",  a song that has been covered by many, among these Everything But The Girl and Emmylou Harris. The female perspective to the song adds another layer, but the original is still great.

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Gin Blossoms - Til I Hear It From You

Gin Blossoms' "Til I Hear It From You" is one of my favourite pop songs from the 90's. The Arizona power pop band gained a certain amount of success with this and other songs like "Hey Jealousy", but never made it big. After having disbanded after the Congratulations, I'm Sorry (1996) album on which this was a bonus track, they came back together after a few years and have released two new albums since. "Til I Hear It From You" was co-written by the legendary singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw and the band's Jesse Valenzuela and Robin Wilson and first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Empire Records in 1995. Pop music doesn't get that much better actually!

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Wrecking Ball in the shops today

Bruce Springsteen's 17th album is finally released today, at least in parts of Europe, including Norway. In the UK it's released on Monday, and the American record buyers will have to wait until Tuesday to purchase it. Here's a link to the album in Norwegian streaming service WiMP, and if you're not a subscriber you can still listen to snippets of each song. By the way, this is the deluxe edition with an additional two songs, "Swallowed Up (In The Belly Of The Whale)" and a reworked version of "American Land" that was a bonus track on the American Land edition of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions back in 2006. Enjoy!

Knutsen & Ludvigsen med The Train Conductors

An extraordinary clip from Oslo's Øyafestivalen back in 2006 when children's music legends Knutsen & Ludvigsen played and were joined by younger people like Sondre Lerche, Julian Berntzen and comedian Bård Ylvisåker for a punk version of "Inni en sekk". Great version, fantastic energy, lots of fun!

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Anne Grete Preus - Egypt Song

"Hver gang vi møtes" (Every time we meet) is a Norwegian TV show where seven well-known and prolific singer/songwriters meet up and play each others' songs. It's the ultimate feelgood show, a fantastic program where the artists in question put their own mark on the compositions - mostly to great efffect. This Saturday sees the sixth of the seven programs and this time out it's Elvira Nikolaisen's songs that will be performed. Here's Anne Grete Preus' take on what is possibly Elvira's most famous song, the absolutely wonderful "Egypt Song". And it's truly a great version. Wow!

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The Monkees - Daydream Believer

R.I.P. Davy Jones of The Monkees. The cartoon band's singer died yesterday at 66. Here's "Daydream Believer", a number one single in 1967 and one of their best songs, written by singer/songwriter John Stewart. A fantasic pop song!

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Next to last new Springsteen song: "Land Of Hope And Dreams"

One more day to go. Here's the tenth track off Bruce Springsteen's new album Wrecking Ball. "Land Of Hope And Dreams" features the last saxophone solo played by Clarence Clemons. R.I.P.

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