Mary Chapin Carpenter feat. Joe Diffie - Not Too Much To Ask

Along with the awesome Nanci Griffth, Mary Chapin Carpenter was my favourite female country singer of the late 80's and early 90's. She released a string of absolutely beautiful albums filled to the brim with heartfelt, gorgeous songs about the human condition, literate in style, timeless in matter. "Not Too Much To Ask" is a duet recorded with Joe Diffie for her fourth album, 1992's Come On, Come On, the kind of love song that speaks of the unequivocal devotion that really matters.

Listen

Kent m/Nancy Danino - FF

Såvidt jeg vet er det litt uklart hva "FF" betyr, men en teori er at initialene står for "Franske Flickan" og refererer til Nancy Danino som synger låta sammen med Kents frontfigur og låtskriver Joakim Berg. Samma det, det som betyr noe er at "FF" er en fantastisk poplåt, et av høydepunktene på Vapen & Ammunition, Kents femte - og beste - album som ble utgitt i 2002. Kul video er det også, og breaket der Danino resiterer noen linjer på fransk er simpelthen dødssexy. Klassiker!

Se og hør

Fountains Of Wayne - Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart

In 2011 American power pop band Fountains Of Wayne released their last album to date, Sky Full Of Holes. "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" is one of its many great songs, and also the lead single off the album. The genius melodic songwriting of Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, as well as Collingwood's brilliant lyrics, make Fountains Of Wayne one of the most exciting pop bands of the last 15 years, and this song explains why. May there be a new album this year - fingers crossed!

Watch and listen

Elvis at 80 - the ultimate playlist

Today it's 80 years since Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. He died at the early age of 42, in August 1977, but boy did he leave behind a legacy! Along with a few other acts such as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry, he basically invented rock'n'roll as we know it, and went on to become the biggest star of them all. I've compiled a playlist featuring 80 of his most important performances to mark the occasion, both in Spotify and WiMP. Play it loud!

WiMP

Spotify

 

HIT ALERT! Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do

Fifty Shades Of Grey is not a movie I'm looking forward to, but the soundtrack could be good. Today Ellie Goulding's brand new single "Love Me Like You Do" appeared, a surefire hit produced by Max Martin. It's got some really good hooks, a memorable melody and a big sound. It might not be as immediate as Goulding's recent Calvin Harris collaboration "Outside", but it sounds like a grower.

Listen

 

The Band - The Saga Of Pepote Rouge

The Band's final album, 1977's Islands (not counting reunion albums of the 1990's) was a patchy affair, but notable for the fabulous "Christmas Must Be Tonight", one of the most revered pop Christmas songs ever, and "The Saga Of Pepote Rouge", a cryptic tale of a mysterious woman filled with religious and mythological imagery, set to a melodious ragtime tune, and beautifully sung by Levon Helm.

Listen

 

Daniel Kvammen - Du fortenar ein som meg

En av debutplatene jeg gleder meg aller mest til for tiden er Daniel Kvammens Fremad i alle retninga. Høsten 2013 ga den unge Geilo-mannen ut vinylsinglen "Ingen vega utanom"/Alt for mykje tå altfor lite", raskt etterfulgt av den digitale julesinglen "23. september". Under en forrykende konsertopptreden på Øyafestivalen i sommer viste Kvammen at han og bandet er noe adskillig mer enn Bjella 2.0 med et utsøkt sett med noe som kan beskrives som dritfet countryrock på hallingdøl. Og nei, det låt ikke som Hellbillies heller. "Du fortenar ein som meg" er noe helt annet enn det igjen også, en låt han spilte på Øya, men som nå har fått et nytt, supercatchy poparrangement. Om den breiale tittelen sier Kvammen følgende: - Vi lever i et samfunn hvor alle skal fremstå som tilsynelatende vellykkede, og "du fortenar ein som meg" virker for meg som en virkelig 2014-aktig ting å si. Men dette er først og fremst en låt om to relativt dysfunksjonelle parter i en relasjon.

Det er en drivende god kjærlighetssang, umiddelbart fengende, og den ble A-listet på NRK P3 i dag. Vi har fått lov å dele den "hemmelige" Soundcloud-linken til låta en uke før release som er mandag om en liten uke. Albumet Fremad i alle retninga kommer, hvis alt går etter planen, 13. mars. Nedtellingen begynner nå!

Hør låta her

 

The Postal Service - Nothing Better

American electronic pop band The Postal Service released one wonderful album, Give Up, in 2003 on Seattle's famed Sub Pop label that used to be home to Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and others during the grunge years of the late 1980's/early 1990's. A very different band than any of those, it was based around singer Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab For Cutie fame) and producer Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Headset) with Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) appearing as background singer and keyboards player during live performances. The album is filled with amazing pop songs, and the duet "Nothing Better" has rightfully been likened to Human League's "Don't You Want Me". The female voice belongs to solo artist and former Tattle Tale member Jen Wood, and she trades lines with Ben Gibbard's protagonist who refuses to realize their relationship is over whereas she has long since given him his final chance. Sad, but hauntingly beautiful.

Listen

 

Talk Talk - It's My Life

"It's My Life" is one of the most original pop songs of the 1980's, in some ways an unexpected hit, in some ways understandibly so. Although not a megahit it did fare well, and has since become a classic, even covered by Gwen Stefani's pop band No Doubt in 2003. The title track off Talk Talk's second album, "It's My Life" was released in 1984, featuring a wonderful video by director Tim Pope who also worked with The Cure, The The and others. It shows singer Mark Hollis wandering around in a zoo, interspersed with Richard Attenborough style shots of animals in the wild. The song is a pop masterpiece, the result of exquisitely crafted songwriting and with a totally brilliant arrangement, epic and in some ways big, but at the same time mysteriously down to earth. Listen to the instrumental break starting at around 2:30 and you'll know what I mean. There is absolutely nothing wrong with "It's My Life".

Watch and listen

Sade - It's Only Love That Gets You Through

To say that I eagerly awaited Lovers Rock , Sade's 2000 album, would be an understatement. This is a singer/songwriter I truly cherish, and Lovers Rock was her first new release in eight years. Spearheaded by the wonderful single "By Your Side" it's my favourite album of hers along with the 1984 debut Diamond Life, full of exquisitely beautiful songs. Those are the best words to describe "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", the album's closing track that is not much more than a whisper of a song. These are four minutes of rare beauty. By the way, she left us waiting for another ten years before we got another album, Soldier Of Love, so who knows when there will be a new one...

Listen