Brandon's Buzz

One of those seven tunes caused quite the stir in my household (three guesses which one, first two don’t count), and in case you missed any of last week’s honey, a quick recap:

MONDAY: Norah Jones — “Jesus, Etc. (Sad, Sad Songs)”
(from The Fall [Deluxe Edition]) —

TUESDAY: Bernard Butler — “Not Alone” (from People Move On) —

WEDNESDAY: Kris Allen — “Alright With Me” (from Kris Allen) —

THURSDAY: Lorrie Morgan — “Good As I Was to You”
(from To Get to You) —

FRIDAY: Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack — “Send Some Love”
(from Welcome) —

SATURDAY: Christina Aguilera featuring Nicki Minaj — “Woohoo”
(from Bionic) —

SUNDAY: Linda Eder — “Once Upon a Dream”
(from Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical) —

Linda Eder — “Once Upon a Dream”
(from Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical) —

A proclaimed he needed to take a scalding hot shower to wash away the risque raunch of yesterday’s honey, so today, the hive dials back the debauchery significantly with a five-octave (and -hankie, don’t disbelieve) stunner from one of the planet’s true treasures. If you’re not snifflin’ by verse three, you’re a stronger man than I. (And if you missed my conversation with the amazing Ms. Eder — recorded last October for Brandon’s Buzz Radio — you can catch up with it here.)

Christina Aguilera featuring Nicki Minaj — “Woohoo”
(from Bionic) —

So, there’s no point in pretending that Bionic isn’t a total trainwreck — if you require proof that all of pop’s so-called divas are scared shitless of GaGa right now, look no further than this wickedly miscalculated, overstuffed (yet strangely hollow) misfire — but this fascinatingly filthy jam — literally so dirty, it makes “Milkshake” sound as chaste as “Jesus Loves Me,” by comparison — is one of its few bright spots. (Guaranteed: somewhere in a dimly lit corner of an overpoweringly purple room, Prince is blushing.)

Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack — “Send Some Love”
(from Welcome) —

Bramhall produced Sheryl Crow’s terrific new ’70s-soul-inspired record, and when I learned that, I instantly flashed back to this tune, a decade-old knockout blues ballad. Ask me, he never quite found the unique vocal intensity that his material has continually required, but he has crafted flashes of magic and brilliance time and again. If you don’t buy that this boy is hurtin’ somethin’ fierce in this moment, you’re not listening hard enough.

Lorrie Morgan — “Good As I Was to You” (from To Get to You) —

Or, as Sherry Ann once called this one,
“What, Are You Joking With This?”

Kris Allen — “Alright With Me” (from Kris Allen) —

Sure, it gets a bit repetitive after a bit, and lyrically, it’s about as deep as a mud puddle. No matter: if this horn-drenched stunner doesn’t have you snapping your fingers and squealing with glee from the heart of your happy place inside of sixty seconds, there might be something seriously wrong with you.

Bernard Butler — “Not Alone” (from People Move On) —

A Britpop wunderkind who was a phenom across the pond but ignored here, despite killer tunes like this, an exhilarating epic which joyously and brilliantly bounces off the wall of sound like a
Nerf ball headed for heaven.

Norah Jones — “Jesus, Etc. (Sad, Sad Songs)”
(from The Fall [Deluxe Edition]) —

Wonders still don’t cease: just when you thought this much-Grammyed critics’ darling (and human insomnia cure) had all but entirely abandoned her sense of humor, she unleashes this, a frisky, footloose cover of an underrated Wilco classic. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that slightly flirty growl in her voice as bewitching as spit-shined sin, and if you’re anything at all like me, you’ll wonder where in hell she’s been hiding it all this time.

Last weekend, the Buzz inaugurated a new “song of the day” feature entitled Honey from the Hive, and if I do say so myself, the debut week of this endeavor was a smashing success. (Judging solely by the empirical evidence, tonight this site is finishing up its most heavily-visited week in nearly five months, which tells me that readers enjoyed their initial drops of honey and decided to come on back for more helpings.) And just in case you missed any of last week’s tunes, allow me to offer up a quick recap:

SUNDAY: Dierks Bentley (featuring Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers) —
“Pride (In the Name of Love)” (from Up on the Ridge) —

MONDAY: Melissa Etheridge — “Fearless Love” (from Fearless Love) —

TUESDAY: Tara MacLean — “If I Fall” (from Passenger) —

WEDNESDAY: John Mellencamp — “Case 795 (The Family)”
(from Human Wheels) —

THURSDAY: Dido — “Mary’s in India” (from Life for Rent) —

FRIDAY: Laura Branigan — “Spanish Eddie” (from The Best of Branigan) —

SATURDAY: Sara Bareilles — “King of Anything” (from Kaleidoscope Heart) —

SUNDAY: George Jones — “The King is Gone (So Are You)”
(from 16 Biggest Hits) —

George Jones — “The King is Gone (So Are You)”
(from 16 Biggest Hits) —

A dark night in the life of a drunk, lovelorn fool: Elvis squares off against Fred Flintstone in a winner-take-all battle for a soul cast adrift in this raucous romp from a true crunchy legend.

Sara Bareilles — “King of Anything” (from Kaleidoscope Heart) —

To here, I’ve had precious little use for this gal, whose meandering melodies have rarely failed to drive me anything other than batshit crazy. (A quick search of the Buzz archives reveals no fewer than seven previous posts echoing that very sentiment.) But give Bareilles credit for this much: she beats the sophomore jinx big time with this funky lead single — which has clearly been influenced by doo-wop-era ditties from The Shirelles and The Marvelettes — from her forthcoming second album.

Laura Branigan — “Spanish Eddie” (from The Best of Branigan) —

The tune, much like the harrowingly eventful evening it chronicles, is a dizzying, elliptical riddle, set masterfully to a killer, typically ’80s synth-pop beat, but the brilliant Branigan — easily the most underappreciated of the aforementioned decade’s divas — blows the roof off the joint relaying the tale of how a man’s murder (or is it suicide?) leads to Dylan, destiny, and some damn oddly-flavored lemon gin. A mad masterpiece.

Dido — “Mary’s in India” (from Life for Rent) —

A spare, fabulously sly story song (replete with a twist ending that you’ll smell coming and love anyway) which proves that love triangles don’t necessarily have to be confined to soap operas.