Saturday, April 05, 2025

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Stars Go Dim


Artist:Stars Go Dim

Song:Heaven on Earth

Album:Better


Stars Go Dim started out as a CCM band. But it is now a solo outlet for singer songwriter Chris Cleveland. He has had success on the Christian charts with singles like Heaven on Earth. Cleveland is from Tulsa. Stars Go Dim started out in 2007 as a spinoff of the CCM band Pillar. Pillar bassist Michael Wittig and drummer Lester Estelle II formed this new band with Cleveland and guitarist Joey Avalos. Avalos had been a member of the CCM band Justifide and he toured with Pillar. They released an EP in 2008 and went on tour. Wittig and Lester left Pillar to concentrate on Stars Go Dim. They left the band in 2010. Cleveland kept the name and signed with Word's Fervent label. He has released three albums and has a new album coming out in July. Heaven on Earth is from the 2017 album Better. Cleveland writes all the songs with co-writers. He wrote Heaven on Earth with producer Jeff Pardo. And Pardo produced the album. He's a Grammy winning CCM producer. I don't know why Cleveland kept the band name. But I think CCM fans will enjoy his music. Here's the video for Heaven on Earth by Stars Go Dim. I believe the video was made this way deliberately.


Friday, April 04, 2025

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tribalistas


Artist:Tribalistas

Song:Carnavalia

Album:Tribalistas


Tribalistas was a Brazilian supergroup that made a big splash with the 2002 album Tribalistas. The problem was they turned out to be a one off group. Obviously they could have been much bigger if they had continued. The leader of Tribalistas was the very popular singer Marisa Monte. She was not only the lead singer but she produced the album. The other members were Arnaldo Antunes of Titas and Carlinhos Brown of Timbalada. The three were already friends when Marisa was asked to appear on Antunes' 2001 album Paradeiro. Brown was producing the album. Marisa was only supposed to stay a couple of days. She stayed for a week. And they wrote a bunch of songs together. So they decided to record an album at Marisa's home recording studio in Rio de Janeiro. They wrote and produced the album with Ale Siqueira who had worked with Marisa in the past. Dadi Carvalho of A Cor Do Som was also a major contributor. The album was released on Marisa's label EMI and it topped the Brazilian charts and did well internationally to the point where Blue Note released it in the US. The album was nominated for several Latin Grammys and Tribalistas performed on the Latin Grammys broadcast. So the album was very successful. But with Marisa very busy with her solo career, they must have known that the possibility of Tribalistas continuing was a longshot at best. So all three returned to their own careers. But I guess it nagged at them that they only recorded one album. So a second album plus a DVD was released in 2017. The original 2002 album is available on CD. Brazilian music fans should check it out. Here's Tribalistas performing Carnavalia 2018.


 

Thursday, April 03, 2025

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Geno Delafose


Artist:Geno Delafose

Song:Hey, Geno!

Album:French Rockin' Boogie


Geno Delafose is a second generation Zydeco accordionist. His father John Delafose also played Zydeco accordion. Anyone familiar with this Louisiana Bayou music will know that this is not unusual. Delafose recorded in the 90s. He hasn't recorded recently. But he still performs regularly mostly in Lafayette clubs. He was born Feb. 6, 1971 in Eunice, LA. At age eight, he started playing rubboard in his dad's band The Eunice Playboys. He continued to play in his dad's band until his 1994 death. Then Delafose started his own band and signed with Rounder Records. Hey, Geno! is from Delafose's 1994 debut album French Rockin' Boogie. That is also the name of his band. Though Rounder A&R VP Scott Billington is credited as producer, the music is mostly homemade by Delafose. This is typical of Zydeco music. Delafose wrote most of the songs including Hey, Geno!. Musicians are Shelton Broussard on lead guitar. His father was also a Zydeco musician and Broussard leads the band Zydeco Force. Steve Nash played washboard. Charles Prudhomme played rhythm guitar. He was in Delafose's dad's band. Delafose's brother Tony Delafose played bass. Jermaine Jack played drums. He was also in Delafose's dad's band. And that's the band that is on this video. This album is available as a digital download. Delafose recorded three albums for Rounder and two albums for Times Square. He last recorded in 2007. These days he raises cattle and horses on his ranch outside Eunice. But he still plays Lafayette clubs and tours the festival circuit. Go see him if he's coming your way because Zydeco music is party music. You don't have to know what it is to enjoy it. Here's Geno Delafose with French Rockin' Boogie performing Hey, Geno! on the BET show Jazz Central 1997. 


Wednesday, April 02, 2025

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-M

 


Artist:M

Song:Pop Musik

Album:Then 1: Totally Oldies


The 1979 single Pop Musik topped the charts worldwide. It was the only chart single for Robin "M" Scott. So it is a one hit wonder. It was an early example of electropop. And since Scott did everything himself, it set things up for the future of electronic music. Scott was born Apr. 1, 1947 in Surrey, Croydon, England. He attended Croydon Art College and met Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in the late 60s. They were friends with fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. Scott was offered a partnership in her London clothing store SEX but he decided to pursue music instead. Scott started out as a folksinger and won a record contract in the 1972 talent contest Search for a Star. He turned it down because he didn't like the terms. He produced the band Roogalator. But they couldn't get a record deal. So he started his own label and released it. Then he moved to Paris with his girlfriend and produced the all female punk band The Slits. It was while he was in Paris that Scott got the idea to call himself M and use electronic keyboards. Pop Muzik was the third single and and it was a surprise hit. It topped the charts worldwide and got Scott got a record deal with MCA Records. Scott sang and played the synthesizer and guitar. John Lewis helped him with the synthesizer programming. His brother Julian played bass and his girlfriend Brigit sang the backup vocals. Wally Badarou played keyboards and Philip Goild played drums. Both were session musicians at the time but later were members of Level 42. The sax was by session musician Gary Barnacle. Despite the success of the single, the 1978 album New York-Paris-London-Munich did not do well and neither did subsequent singles. So it was a fluke hit that is now an official one hit wonder. You can get Pop Musik on this various artists budget comp from Varese. Scott recorded three albums as M. Scott has released occasional music over the years but nothing notable. But there's no question that Pop Musik was influential on 80s electropop. Here's the video for Pop Musik by M.

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-IYO SKY vs Rhea Ripley

Here's the match video of IYO SKY defending the WWE Women's Championship vs Rhea Ripley from last night's episode of RAW. Bianca Belair was the special referee. At Wrestlemania, IYO is supposed to defend against Bianca. But Rhea blames Bianca for IYO beating her in the first place. Of course it was Rhea's own fault as she allowed herself to get distracted by Bianca. Historically, Rhea's temper is her worst enemy. She has tried to get involved in the Wrestlemania match in the most obnoxious way. Instead, RAW GM Adam Pierce gave Rhea a rematch with with the unnecessary wrinkle of Bianca as ref. So that guarantees that the Wrestlemania match will be a three way because there wasn't going to be a finish in last night's match. It was a double DQ. The match was pretty good as I would expect from these two. The only problem is the WWE has been telegraphing the three way match for weeks. And we still are three weeks from Wrestlemania. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paul Westerberg


Artist:Paul Westerberg

Song:Dyslexic Heart

Album:Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Deluxe Edition


After the popular 80s band The Replacements split up, lead singer Paul Westerberg launched a solo career and had success with the 1992 single Dyslexic Heart from the soundtrack of the popular film Singles. He wasn't that successful after that. He was born Dec. 32, 1959 in Minneapolis. One day he was walking home from his job as janitor for Senator David Durenberger when he heard a band practicing. That band was The Replacements. He talked his way into the band by convincing the lead singer that he was going to be fired. He quit and Westerberg joined the band. At first they were called The Impediments. But they changed the name to The Replacements after clubs complained about the name. The Replacements released four albums for Sire Records. And though they were critically acclaimed, commercial success eluded them. So they split up in 1991. Westerberg's first solo recordings were for Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles. The film was about the emerging Seattle grunge music scene. And the soundtrack featured several Seattle bands including Pearl Jam and Mother Love Bone. Dyslexic Heart was one of two songs that Westerberg recorded for the film. The film and soundtrack were very successful. And Dyslexic Heart charted on the Alternative Rock chart. Singles is available as a 2CD Deluxe Edition. Then he released two albums for Reprise. Westerberg wrote and produced everything. There were problems with the second album and he left Reprise for Capitol to release the 1999 album Suicaine Gratifaction. There were management problems at Capitol so the album wasn't properly promoted. Westerberg returned with three albums on the indie label Vagrant. He also continues to write and record for films, most notably the 2006 film Open Season. Since then he has released songs digitally. The Replacements reformed in 2011 and disbanded in 2015. And he formed the band The I Don't Cares with Julianna Hatfield and released an album in 2016. Here's the video for Dyslexic Heart by Paul Westerberg.

Monday, March 31, 2025

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Headpins


Artist:Headpins

Song:Don't It Make Ya Feel

Album:Turn It Loud


The Canadian band Headpins had success in the early 80s mostly in Canada. But they also gained a following in the US when MTV played their videos. They only released three albums. Headpins were from Vancouver. They were a spinoff of the popular band Chilliwack led by guitarist Brian MacLeod. He saw singer Denise McCann perform and wanted to build a band around her. He brought in Chilliwack bassist Ab Bryant and drummer Matt Frenette of Streetheart. They swapped Frenette for drummer Bernie Aubin of Loverboy. Headpins started playing Vancouver clubs in 1981. Denise soon left and she brought in Steelback lead singer Darby Mills as her replacement. Headpins' debut album Turn It Loud was released om Solid Gold in Canada and Atco in the US. Solid Gold was also Chilliwack's label. The album was certified 2XPlatinum in Canada. The album did OK in the US when MTV played the videos. MacLeod wrote most of the songs and produced with Chilliwack lead singer Bill Henderson. Guitarist Scott Reid and keyboardist Darcy McDonald were added to the band. Turn It Loud is available as a digital download. Headpins opened for bands like Kiss and ZZ Top. While they were recording the 1985 album Head Over Heels, Solid Gold went bankrupt. Darby left to go solo in 1986 and was replaced by Chrissy Steele. They recorded an album. After MacLeod was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1990, the album was released as a Chrissy Steele album by Charisma. MacLeod died in 1992. Bryant and Aubin still lead a version of Headpins and they are touring Canada with Bachman-Turner Overdrive starting next week. Here's the video for Don't It Make Ya Feel by Headpins.






















 

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Loopy Godinez vs Julia Polastri

Here's the fight video of Loopy Godinez vs Julia Polastri from last night's UFC show in Mexico City. This fight is at Strawweight. This fight was supposed to be Yazmin Jauregui vs Dione Barbosa. Julia replaced Dione who is fighting next week. Then Yazmin got injured and Loopy replaced her. Loopy is 31 years old from Guadalajara, Mexico and she lives in Vancouver. She trains at Lobo in Mexico. Her UFC record is 7-5 and she's on a two fight losing streak. She comes from a wrestling background. Her two losses were to Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern. Those are the kind of fighters she needs to beat to get anywhere. Julia is 27 years old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She trains at CWB Fighter. Her UFC record of 1-1. She's a striker. Loopy was able to win the first two rounds by scoring several takedowns. She tried to advance her position in round two. I scored both rounds 10-9 for Loopy. Julia's striking was much better in round three. I scored the round 10-9 for Julia. But she needed a finish and she doesn't have the power to KO anyone. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Loopy and so did all three judges. The win does nothing for Loopy in the rankings. But a win in Mexico is a big deal. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-SoulDecision


Artist:SoulDecision f/Thrust

Song:Faded

Album:No One Does it Better


The Canadian pop group SoulDecision topped the Canadian charts with the 2000 single Faded. It also charted in the US. They probably could have been more successful except for some very poor decisions made by group leader Trevor Guthrie. SoulDecision was a band and they played their own instruments. Guthrie was lead singer and he wrote and produced everything. He was born Feb. 11, 1973 in North Vancouver, BC. He's been playing piano since he was a child. He was attending Capilano College in Vancouver when he formed the band Indecision with David Bowman and Ken Lewko. After releasing a couple of singles, they signed with MCA Records. They were told to find a new band name as Indecision was already being used. Their manager chose SoulDecision. They went to Australia to record the 1999 album Nobody Does it Better with Savage Garden producer Charles Fisher. Guthrie wrote most of the songs. Faded was the fourth single. It topped the Canadian charts and reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The rapper is Thrust from the Canadian rap group Rascalz. The album was certified Platinum in Canada. So they did OK. This album is available as a budget CD. After touring, Guthrie decided to leave MCA and start his own label. He wanted to make his own decisions. The 2004 album Shady Satin Drug was released. Guthrie even brought in Nile Rodgers of Chic to produce. The problem was their record distributor went bankrupt so the album never got to stores. So leaving MCA was a very poor decision. I guess Guthrie thought having control was more important than the success SoulDecision could have had with MCA. Guthrie still releases the occasional single but I wonder if he ever thinks about what could have been. Here's the video for Faded by SoulDecision.