Best Albums - Ray of Light - Madonna

Who would have thought that 15 years after she broke into stardom with her first album, she would put out her best album.  I enjoyed Erotica and I enjoyed Bedtime Stories, but I never guessed the direction she would move in with Ray of Light and how good she would nail it first try. 

If you look at her albums her sound progresses over time.  Like a Virgin built on the sound of Madonna, Like a Prayer built on True Blue, and Bedtime Stories built on Erotica.  In each case the second album was an improvement or a refinement of the sound played with in the first.  This of course is the genius of good pop artist.  They adapt and change their sound with time.  One of my favorite bands Everything But the Girl is a brilliant example of this.  Anyhow to get to the point Ray of Light was a venture into a new sound for Madonna, and unlike her other work she nailed it first and only try.  Now looking back we can see that this was the peak of her career and her genius.  At age 40 she nailed it and now we can imagine she'll never be at this level again. 

Madonna - Ray of Light
1. Drowned World / Substitute for Love
2. Swim
3. Ray of Light
4. Candy Perfume Girl
5. Skin
6. Nothing Really Matters
7. Sky Fits Heaven
8. Shanti / Ashtangi
9. Frozen
10. The Power of Good-Bye
11. To Have and Not to Hold
12. Little Star
13. Mer Girl

Best Albums - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me - The Cure

It's by far the best double album ever made and may be the best album ever made. I know I have said on here that Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is the best album and it is, but man this one really has something special. I can still remember the first time I put this album on the old Technics amp.

The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
1. The Kiss
2. Catch
3. Torture
4. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
5. Why Can't I Be You
6. How Beautiful You Are
7. The Snakepit
8. Hey You!
9. Just Like Heaven
10. All I Want
11. Hot Hot Hot!!
12. One More Time
13. Like Cockatoos
14. Icing Sugar
15. The Perfect Girl
16. A Thousand Hours
17. Shiver and Shake
18. Fight

Beach House

Just discovered this band and really like the song Norway off of their new album Teen Dream.

Allmusic.com | My Space | Band Webpage

Janis Ian

The debut album from Janis Ian blows my mind. Once in a blue moon I put it on and I'm always thrown off by the fact that this album was written and recorded by a 14-15 year old.

Here's a video of her performing Society's Child.




One of my favorite folk songs comes off this album "Pro-Girl."

Standing on the corner. waiting for who to come by
You laugh only to cry and aid the blind
Let’s go, girl
If mother only knew you lived through all the books she hid
Them that can’t do, teach, your pimp has said
and you’re a pro, girl
Now if flesh were the only thing you sold, might be all right
but for just five pounds, you also sell a smile
Mothers warn their kids Watch out for this
Red lights change slow

Pro-girl, you know girl
Sell your soul for a sum
and it’s taken by a john
Bargain well, girl

Now you want a life of loving, and it can be bought, although
some of the best things in life are free
Don’t blow it, girl
Mothers would but daren’t be you, keep it locked with guns
They say Something must be done! but send their sons
So show it, girl
The headlines scream about your life, and they pretend to see you
Make you lie about the why of what you are, don’t scream, girl
Serve them all, have a ball
Writers dream, but only you know

chorus

And you’re looking for a man who won’t want to buy your time
You’re searching down an alleyway, a garbage can
Forget it, babe
It hurts to say you work your way on through the streets of hell
only looking for yourself to put up on a shelf
Don’t let it, babe
You’ll find a guy, a God, and it must be love this time
Laying at your side, his shadow splits the night
then waken in the morning, God turns on his side
says How much do you get, girl?

Pro-girl, you know girl
Sell your soul for a sum
You’ve been taken by a john
You bargained well, girl
What more do you have to sell
Pro-girl

Dance Pop

I have a thing for dance pop and some of my favorite artists over the past 10 years were all born around the same time as me. I find that to be kind of neat in some way.

Peaches April 4, 1968




Kylie Minogue May 28, 1968




Vanessa Daou Sep 9, 1968




Cathy Dennis March 25, 1969




Gwen Stefani Oct 3, 1969

Cathy Dennis

I was a big fan of Cathy Dennis. I thought she wrote great pop tunes and I thought she was hot. A good combination for me at the age of 22. I'm apparently the only person who liked her second album, but I really did like it. I never knew she put out a third album because it never made it to my neck of the woods. Anyhow I found out recently that she went on to have a great career as a producer and songwriter. In fact she's written seven number one songs in the UK, four of those making the top 10 in the US. This makes me very happy. It's always good to know that people you like can go on to have a good career. The other great thing about this for me is that one of my top songs of the decade was a song she wrote for Kylie Minogue called "Can't Get You Out of My Head." I love that song, and now when I hear it I realize it does sound just like a Cathy Dennis song. Thanks to Wikipedia for all the info.

Here are videos for the songs she's written for others.