Category Archives: Pop

Pop is Love

BEFORE AND WAY AFTER: AN INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN MASTERS

Posted on Sep 17, 2021

interview by Michael McCarthy Singer/songwriter Justin Masters is one cool dude! He’s also a great friend. As someone who’s known him since the mid-90s or thereabouts, I am proud to know him and I’m even prouder that he’s releasing his music. Before And Way After is his second album, but rather than a...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = GARBAGE: “THE MEN WHO RULE THE WORLD”

Posted on Mar 30, 2021

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Garbage make their triumphant return with what is arguably their most pop song in years and it's sweet and delicious. Sing it now: "the violator, destroy the violator!"

Honestly, I couldn't...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = Lady Gaga – “The National Anthem”

Posted on Jan 21, 2021

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Here's Lady Gaga singing "The National Anthem" yesterday. I do believe you'll agree that she did a fine job. And I'm so glad my country elected Joe Biden president. I'm sure he'll do things I don't agree with at...

#songoftheday / #amlistening: Gabrielle Aplin – “Happy XMas (War Is Over)”

Posted on Dec 2, 2020

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I'm in love with Gabrielle Aplin's version of the John Lennon classic "Happy Xmas (War Is Over). It tugs at the heartstrings, ya know? I swear, she has the voice of an angel. So beautiful and perfect. I...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = DEMI LOVATO: “COMMANDER IN CHIEF”

Posted on Oct 16, 2020

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Brilliant. Watch. Listen. Vote. ...

#songoftheday = ANNIE: “THE STREETS WHERE I BELONG”

Posted on Sep 29, 2020

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Annie, Annie, Annie... Welcome back!...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = MICHAEL RIDER: “BREAKTHROUGH”

Posted on Jul 3, 2020

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As a thick bass line lulls you in and gently massages your brain while stabbing piano keeps you from getting overly relaxed on Michael Rider's intoxicating new single, "Breakthrough." ...

#songoftheday = Lolo Zouaï: “Alone With You”

Posted on Jun 29, 2020

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"I'd rather be alone / Than be alone with you," purrs pop songstress Lolo Zouaï on her luscious new single, "Alone With You," which hails from her recently released Beautiful Lies EP, something I've been listening to on a loop lately. ...

MICHAEL RIDER, AMERICAN FIGHTER: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Posted on Jun 18, 2020

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interview by Michael McCarthy I’ve known singer/songwriter/painter Michael Rider for several years now. Their piano-centric indie pop blends irresistible pop hooks with thought-provoking lyrics that sometimes feel like poems and occasionally sound like journal entries, which I mean in the best way possible. Insightful is the first word to describe Michael that came...

#songoftheday = Emeli Sandé: “HOPE” (#songsforourtimes #22)

Posted on May 18, 2020

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I've always loved this little ballad by Emeli Sandé and was surprised that it wasn't a single. In fact, so far as I could tell, the audio hasn't even been officially posted on Youtube, hence this fan-made lyric video. ...

#songoftheday = METALLICA: “ONLY HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS (LIVE)” (#songsforourtimes #20) + A-HA: “LIVING AT THE END OF THE WORLD (#songsforourtimes #21)

Posted on Apr 20, 2020

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Yeah, yeah, I know, this isn't exactly a hopeful song and it isn't about the end of the world either. But I do feel like "Only Happy When It Rains," a Garbage song which Metallica covered at the Bridge School Benefit on...

#songoftheday = DAVID ARCHULETA: “AIMING FOR HOPE” (#songsforourtimes #19)

Posted on Apr 10, 2020

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The chorus of this gorgeous ballad by David Archuleta says it all: "When you're alone And don't know when the night will end...

#songoftheday = Ilse De Lange: “Carry Hope” (#songsforourtimes #17)

Posted on Apr 7, 2020

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"When I can't see tomorrow / I carry hope," sings Ilse De Lange on her beautiful 2006 ballad "Carry Hope" from her album The Great Escape. If you're listening above, you don't need me to tell you what a beautiful, dreamy and...