I’ve been in the mood for some hot music. I’m not talking about the latest Kanye track or anything you might find in an inappropriate video. No, I’m talking about genuinely hot music. Music that will burn your ears if you get to close. For a while, I thought it didn’t exist. I thought it couldn’t exist. And after searching literally for minutes, I thought I would give up. But after running into a very wise (very drunk) bar patron the other night wanting to offer me every person he has ever listened to ever, I discovered Sia.
I thought it was destiny after I went home and listened to some of her tracks. I thought it was meant to be. I had been searching for the hottest of hot music and I had finally found it. One listen to the soulful stylings of “The Fight” and “Clap Your Hands” and it was hook, line and sinker. Her Nelly-like beats and sound blend with a Fiona Apple-ish vocal to create tracks that are completely playful and dance worthy.
Slow it down a bit with tracks like “I’m In Here” and you get the full package. In fact, she’s so good she only needs one name. Not like those other guys that have TWO names. Ha! Two names?! Who needs TWO names when you can have ONE?! That’s what I imagine she says anyways.
Check out the video for “Clap Your Hands” and, you know, clap your hands:
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So you’ll start to notice (if you haven’t already) that most of my Throwback Thursday artists are from the 90’s. I can’t help it. In fact, I have a whole list of artists just waiting to be remembered from the 90’s that belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At least in my personal Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The “Tank Memorial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. Not sure why it’s a memorial. I guess it just sounds better.
So who better to go into my personal Memorial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than Fuel. These guys produced a slew of hits (mostly in 1998) with the release of their first album Sunburn. Most notably, their singles “Shimmer”, “Sunburn” and “Jesus or a Gun”. And how could one forget their first single of the new millennium, “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” which appeared at #30 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
Since then, the band has gone through multiple personnel changes and has shown little to no activity for an official re-uniting. In fact, the odds of them getting back together are about as good as the odds that led me to lose $300 at the casino last weekend. But if you’re looking for a Fuel-like show with Fuel-like qualities, a reformed band is still touring around playing Fuel-like songs. If you’re a purist, you can still re-live the golden Fuel days via compact disc. Toss on your ripped jeans and flannel shirt for the best overall experience.
Buy Sunburn:
There’s nothing better for my money than when Michael Bolton sings “When A Man Loves A Woman.” I pretty much celebrate the guys’ entire collection. And Taddy Porter…well Taddy Porter is NOTHING like Michael Bolton. I don’t even know why I made the comparison. In fact he’s the exact opposite. Imagine a super badass blues/rock guy that (I imagine) smokes cigarettes and puts the butts out on his arm. That is Taddy Porter. Although all of that badass stuff isn’t actually confirmed.
His voice is very similar to that of the southern stylings of Marc Broussard and the music definitely holds the same southern flavor. Add slide guitars, wicked guitar riffs and catchy choruses and you have a recipe for a great album. Add in the fact that when you Google “Taddy Porter”, a majority of the search results are for a Porter beer from Samuel Smith. How badass is that?
The album really is a mix of blues and rock with the opening track “Whatever Haunts You” sounding closer to that of Audioslave, whereas songs like “Railroad Queen” are heavy on the slide guitar/blues sound and light on the weak sauce. Check out his self-titled album for a heavy dose of solid rock. And if you want something completely not that, check out Michael Bolton.
Buy Taddy Porter:
If you’re not familiar with this band, you are most certainly familiar with their songs. Unless you were born in the late 90’s in which case you might not be familiar with their songs. But that’s just weird to think about so I’ll just pretend like you were all born pre-1995. If you were born in the late 90’s and that offends you, I’m sorry. But you missed out on the best decade of this or any generation.
For those of you that DO know what I’m talking about, Vertical Horizon started killing the charts in 1999 with their #1 hit “Everything You Want.” Their second hit ” You’re A God” soon followed with quick climb to #23 on the charts and #1 in my heart. Numerous covers of their songs quickly spread to college bedrooms nationwide and their popularity grew to astronomical proportions. Their 1999 release Everything You Want went double-platinum and made these guys a staple of the close of the 90’s.
Their latest release Burning the Days is currently available to check out along with their other 5 albums dating back to 1992. If you dig the new stuff AND want to take a walk down memory lane with the classics, Vertical Horizon is touring the states this summer and are going to be coming through the Chicagoland area mid-July. And just for old times’ sake, check out the video for “Everything You Want”:
Buy Everything You Want:
Aw naw, hell naw boy ya’ll done up and done it. It’s like pure poetry. Could have came right from Edgar Allen Poe or Ernest Hemingway. But alas, this gem came from the Nappy Roots. I first heard “Aw Naw” in college during my most formidable years. There was nothing like getting the party started with a little Nappy Roots (and possibly some “No Diggity” or “California Love”, but that’s neither here nor there.)
This hip-hop group from Kentucky is probably best known for their 2002 single “Po’ Folks”. Eight years later and the boys are still kicking with their latest release (and see if you can catch the play on words here) The Pursuit of Nappyness. The entire album includes super funky fresh beats throughout as well as an Outkast-ish style of rapping. The album is a little more club-ish than we here at FreshScouts are used to, but everyone’s got to hit the town for booty scrumpin’ sometimes right?
Check out the video for the single “Ride”:
Buy the album:
