Brandon's Buzz

Tori Amos — “Jackie’s Strength” (from From the Choirgirl Hotel) —

For those of my readers who have been wondering (and even taking bets on) how long I could resist using a Tori tune in this particular endeavor, be proud of the fact that I managed to make it seventeen full days without once invoking the goddess’ name. (That’s self-restraint if I ever heard of it, believe that.) This isn’t nearly my all-time favorite among Amos’ individual compositions (nor am I certain it would even make my top ten), but I’ve been shuffling through my iTunes lineup for the past forty minutes or so searching for a song to tickle my fancy, and when this one popped up and I listened to its miraculous opening verse (which sets up the story and the somber mood with brilliant, expert precision), I was reminded anew of its simple, spellbinding majesty. The mundane never sounded this magical.

Julia Fordham — “East West” (from Collection) —

All these years later, Fordham’s wearily ethereal voice (and her trademark way with a funky shuffling beat) still knock me flat. A lovely treatise on the trickle of time.

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.

July closes on a low-key note, but one of the Buzz’s favorite gals is back with a deeply personal new album, and that alone is cause for celebration. Take a look:

She went on a political rampage on her last album, 2008’s painfully uneven Detours, but for her seventh studio set, 100 Miles from Memphis, the staggeringly talented Sheryl Crow pulls it back toward the personal by paying tribute to the Tennessee soul that so permeated the music of her youth. The cameos here are impressive: The Rolling Stones’ legendary guitarist Keith Richards lends a few licks to the album track “Eye to Eye,” and Memphis native son Justin Timberlake helps Crow deliver a genre-busting cover of Terence Trent D’arby’s forgotten 1988 smash “Sign Your Name.” Crow closes the album with a mellow, must-hear take on The Jackson 5’s classic touchstone “I Want You Back,” which stands as moving and as powerful a tribute to Michael’s legacy as any other I could conjure.

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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.

“Watch for this international man of music as he continues to spread love and positive vibrations wherever he goes.”

— a South Africa-based spammer writing under the moniker of Artists Paper, whose primary sentiments (and downright elegant turns of phrase, all of which got tangled up in the Buzz’s spam filter several days ago) I found far too lovely to flush down the wormhole forever.

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) —