Len - "Steal My Sunshine"

I've always liked Len's 1999 hit single "Steal My Sunshine", but I always considered it more of a guilty pleasure rather than a song I would end up writing about.  It's fun, festive, infectious, has a nice groove, sounds like summer, and I just love how Sharon Costanzo sweetly sings "L-a-t-e-r that week".  Her voice, contrasted with her brother's raspy vocals, helps craft Len's unique sound.  It also blows my mind to think that this song came out last century -- it feels like last year. 

I recently discovered, quite by accident, that there was a recent (2021) cover by LA band Bikini Trill, who seem to be channeling the same aesthetic and sound that Len did on this record some 20+ years prior.  It's a fun cover, and Bikini Trill -- who were probably not yet in grade school when the original came out -- finds a new perspective on the song while still maintaining the essence of the original.  

But what really blew my mind about "Steal My Sunshine" was recently learning the funky sample repeated throughout the song comes from the 10 second break in the 1976 song by the Andrea True Connection, "More, More, More".  I have a vague contemporary memory of this song from the 1970s, but I could not have told you that it was sung by former porn star (!) Andrea True, and I'm sad to say I did not recognize the sample from Steal My Sunshine until I learned of it from "Show Me the Sample".

So summer is just about officially here, so it's time to dust off the Len version, the new Bikini Trill cover, as well as the source of the sample.  If you don't immediately listen to all three songs, you'll miss a million miles of fun.  Enjoy.

Len - "Steal My Sunshine"

Bikini Trill - "Steal My Sunshine"

Andrea True - "More, More, More" (the break is 2:20--2:29 in this 3:11 radio edit);  6:16 LP & 12" version (the break is 2:30--2:39 in this version, and then repeated at 5:20--5:29)

Cocteau Twins - "Cherry-Coloured Funk"

 

Super Bowl LVI begins in a few hours and I still haven't posted about the halftime show for Super Bowl LV.  Life has kept me pretty busy and I've been way behind in my blogging, but now is a good a time as any to catch up.  

Last year's halftime show was a bit unusual -- only one artist, no fans, no special guests, all due to Covid-19.  The artist was The Weeknd, and the show was mostly well-received (e.g., these reviews in Vox and The Guardian).  Unfortunately, I'm mostly unfamiliar with his canon and with no guests or cover songs,  for a long time I wasn't sure what my take would be on the show.  Then later I found out he's a big fan of The Cocteau Twins*, going so far to name one his songs "Heaven or Las Vegas" (after The Cocteau Twin's 1990 LP) and to sample that LP's opening track, "Cherry-Coloured Funk", on his 2011 song "The Knowing".  "The Knowing" wasn't on the setlist of the halftime show, but the 14 minute format limits how much artists can cover.  

"Heaven or Las Vegas" is probably my favorite LP by the Cocteau Twins, and having been in recent heavy rotation as dinner music at the house, I need to properly review it sometime soon.  The LP features three extraordinary songs, and "Cherry-Coloured Funk" is one of them.  

I'll have a lot more to say about tonight's halftime show, but until then enjoy the Cocteau Twin's "Cherry-Coloured Funk" and last year's show.

Links: Super Bowl LV Halftime Show

Cocteau Twins: "Cherry-Coloured Funk"

The Weeknd: "The Knowing"

* "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born. You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins – play such a huge role in my sound." -- Billboard.  

Liz Phair - Live 2021-06-23 (concert)

Is it still a "Tiny Desk" concert if it's held on a quite large remote stage?  

Liz Phair, promoting her most recent LP "Soberish", appeared last month on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series. Because of the pandemic, they're calling them "home" concerts and leaving it to artists to choose their own venue.  Liz apparently chose something slightly larger than the typical intimate, closed quarters that artists chose.

More importantly, she's got new material for the first time in 11 years.  The first three songs, "Spanish Doors", "In There", and "The Game" are from "Soberish" and it's quite good -- certainly an improvement over 2003's "Liz Phair" and 2005's "Somebodys' Miracle".  I don't have "Soberish" yet, but it's planned for my next bulk music purchase.  The four song set closes with a good version of "Never Said" from her 1993 debut LP. 

Be sure to also check out the advance singles from her new LP: "Spanish Doors", "The Game", "Hey Lou", and "In There".  

Liz will be at the Va Beach Amphitheater next month.  Our friend Michele is planning on going, but we'll probably sit this one out.  First, we're still a bit covid-hesitant, and second she's opening for Alanis Morissette and Garbage.  Nothing really against either of them, but... well, let's just say both should be opening for Liz.  

Also a preview: some day I'm going to get around to presenting my argument that now, in the 21st century, "Whip Smart" is actually a better LP to listen to than "Exile in Guyville".

Finally, although April is long gone, I'm retroactively claiming this is a Women's History Month post.