AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Monster Magnet

Artist:Monster Magnet

Song:Spine of God

Album:Spine of God

Fans of hard rock should enjoy the band Monster Magnet. The music is a mix of hard rock and psychedelia called Stoner Rock. Other Stoner Rock bands are Masters of Reality and Kyuss. Monster Magnet was formed in 1989 in Red Bank, NJ by by Dave Wyndorf. He's the lead singer and only original member. Wyndorf is lead singer and he writes and produces everything. The other original members were John McBain on guitar and Tim Cronin on drums. The name Monster Magnet came from a Wham-O toy that Wyndorf liked as a child. Monster Magnet started out in 1989 with the release of a demo cassette. For the second demo cassette, Cronin switched to bass and drummer Tom Dielo joined. They signed with the German label Glitterhouse Records and released the EP Monster Magnet. The British label Caroline Records liked it enough to sign Monster Magnet when the EP was expanded to the 1991 album Spine of God. By the time the album was released, Joe Calandra replaced Cronin and Jon Kleiman replaced Diello. The album was released in the US by the French label Go Get Organized. Monster Magnet toured and the album got enough critical acclaim to get the band a record deal with A&M Records. A remastered edition of Spine of God was released in 2016 by the Austrian label Napalm Records. Monster Magnet recorded four albums on A&M. The albums did OK. But I think both A&M and Wyndorf expected better sales because Minster Magnet opened for bands like Aerosmith and Metallica. The end result was Monster Magnet left A&M in 2002. Why did A&M sign Monster Magnet? They saw them as similar to Soundgarden. But Soundgarden rode the wave of 90s Seattle bands. That wasn't going to help Monster Magnet. Since then Monster Magnet has recorded for several labels, most notably the Austrian label Napalm. They last released an album in 2021. They don't seem to be on tour right no so they may be recording new music. Here's Monster Magnet performing Spine of God at the Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia Sept. 6, 2009 via Moshcam.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kraftwerk

Artist:Kraftwerk

Song:Autobahn

Album:Autobahn

Today electronic keyboards are as common as guitar, bass and drums. They started appearing on albums in the 60s like Walter Carlos' Switched On Bach and especially Ron Grainer's music for the British TV show Doctor Who. But we didn't see it much on the pop charts until the 70s. It started in Europe especially in Germany. But Kraftwerk was the first serious electronic music act to make an impact on pop music with the 1974 single Autobahn. I'm not including novelty songs that used synthesizers. This was mostly due to Philips Records promotion guys convincing radio stations to play Autobahn. Kraftwerk was formed in 1970 in Dusseldorf, Germany by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter. They were students at Dusseldorf's Robert Schumann Hochschule. They wanted to make experimental music. They were in the band Organisation who released the 1970 album Tone Float on RCA in Germany. The album didn't sell but Schneider and Hutter decided to ditch the band and record as the duo Kraftwerk. They both played synthesizers. They sometimes played other instruments and additional instruments. It took them a few years to figure things out. I knew about this kind of music already as there was a store in the Cumberland Center in Toronto that sold German electronic music bands like Can and I bought albums there. I got to listen to them in the store. Someone needed to figure out how to commercialize this music. And that brings me to Autobahn. First, the album Autobahn was more pop than their early albums. It was the first album to be released in the US by Philips. The big problem was the title song was 22 minutes long. They worked up a three minute single and sent it to radio station. They even produced a video. The strategy worked as Autobahn reached #11 on the British Singles chart and #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. It charted worldwide. The success of Autobahn was very influential in that it  showed that electronic music could sell if marketed properly. This album is available in a remastered version. It was Kraftwerk's biggest hit. They still record and tour. Henning Schmitz replaced Schneider in 2008.  Schneider died in 2020. In 2025, Kraftwerk did a multimedia tour with skateboarder Tony Hawk. They will tour Asia in the spring. Though Kraftwerk last released new music in 2003, they released a live album in 2017. Whether or not you like Kraftwerk, they certainly changed the perception of electronic music. Here's the video for Autobahn by Kraftwerk.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mondo Cozmo

Artist:Mondo Cozmo

Song:Shine

Album:Plastic Soul

Singer songwriter Josh Ostrander was in a couple of bands before he launched his solo career as Mondo Cozmo. I would describe his music as indie folk rock. The 2017 single Shine is his biggest hit to date. He was born Apr. 8, 1979 in Philadelphia. He formed the band Laguardia in 2000 with Greg Lyons. They were childhood friends. They released the 2003 album Welcome to the Middle on Republic Universal. Ostrander and Lyons decided to end that band and started the band Eastern Conference Champions (ECC) in 2005. They released a 2006 EP and signed with Geffen's Suretone label for the 2007 album Ameritown. Geffen placed songs in TV shows like Friday Night Lights and Gossip Girl and a song in the the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. At the time, this was a strategy labels used to boost album sales. The songs do get downloaded from iTunes but it didn't help album sales. ECC left Geffen and released an album on the indie label The Organization. They split up in 2015. By this time, Ostrander had moved to Los Angeles because he wanted to get into production. He also decided to record solo as Mondo Cozmo. He signed with Universal Republic for the 2017 album Plastic Soul. The single Shine topped the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Ostrander does everything himself in the studio. He hires musicians for touring. He has released three albums for the Canadian indie label Last Gang Records, most recently in 2024. He has also produced a couple of bands. So Ostrander may have to decide if he wants to continue the band or be a full time producer. Here's the video for Shine by Mondo Cozmo.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Young & Company

Artist:Young & Company

Song:I Like (What You're Doing to Me)

Album:Old School Volume 3

The 1980 single I Like (What You're Doing to Me) reached # 15 on the Billboard Dance chart and #20 on the British Singles chart. It was the biggest hit for the funk group Young & Company. Apparently the record sold 250,000 copies in the US and didn't chart in pop or R&B. So it should have charted higher. I suspect record company shenanigans. Young & Company was a family band originally from West Virginia. But by 1970 they had moved to East Orange, NJ and formed the band The Young Movement. William, Michael and Kenneth Young all sang. Buddy Hankerson played bass. The Youngs and Hankerson wrote and produced everything. Dave Reyes was the drummer. By 1979, the band name was changed to Young & Company. Singer Jackie Thomas had joined along with guitarist Joshua Thompson and pianist Mike Clark. They signed with Brunswick Records and that's when I Like (What You're Doing to Me) was a dance club hit. Brunswick had been around since the 20s. But by the 70s, they were in financial and legal trouble and would soon close. Most of Brunswick's music was produced by house producers led by Carl Davis. When an artist handled their own production, A&R director Ray Daniels would cook the books so the artist wouldn't know how much money they were supposed to get. That's what they did to Young & Company. The band recorded for other labels and even rerecorded a lot of their songs. You can get I Like (What You're Doing to Me) on this Thump Records various artists comp. Young & Company continued to perform. Hankerson left and started his own band in the 90s. Here's Young & Company performing I Like (What You're Doing to Me) on the Dutch TV show Star Club Jan. 26, 1981.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Edens Edge

Artist:Edens Edge

Song:Amen

Album:Edens Edge

The 2011 single Amen was a top twenty country hit. It was the biggest hit for the group Edens Edge. They split up after releasing one album. The lead singer of Edens Edge was Hannah Blaylock. She also writes songs. The other members were Dean Berner on guitar and dobro and Cherrill Green on mandolin, banjo and guitar. All three are Arkansas natives. After winning a CMT sponsored contest in 2006, songwriter Kyle Fleming suggested Edens Edge move to Nashville. They signed a record deal with Big Machine Records in 2010. Their music is bluegrass and gospel influenced country pop. The single Amen was released Apr. 2011 and it reached #18 on the Country Singles chart. An EP was released at the time and the album Edens Edge was released June 2012. The album did OK. The album was produced by session guitarist Dann Huff and Rascal Flatts producer Mark Bright. Bright produced Amen. Hannah was one of the writers of Amen along with Skip Black, Catt Gravitt and Gerald O'Brien. This album is available on CD. So it looks like Edens Edge had a big future. But in 2013, it was reported that Hannah left Edens Edge to go solo and Edens Edge left Big Machine. Hannah auditioned for The Voice in 2018 and failed to to make a team. She has released two albums on her own label. The other two promised to keep Edens Edge going but that hasn't happened. Normally I would play the music video. But it seems to have been scrubbed from the internet. I can't find it anywhere and I can usually find anything. It's not even on their Vevo page. So here's Edens Edge performing Amen on a radio station.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Angela Spivey

Artist:Angela Spivey

Song:He Keeps His Promise

Album:He Keeps His Promise

Angela Spivey is a traditional gospel singer who had her greatest commercial success when she produced a video to promote the 2012 album He Keeps His Promise. It was her only time on the gospel charts. Angela hasn't recorded since then. There just aren't many labels for traditional gospel. Angela is still around though. She was born Nov. 8, 1959 in Chicago. She's a PK meaning her father Harvey Spivey was a preacher at First Corinthians Missionary Baptist Church. So she followed his lead into the ministry. And she got a cosmetology license. It's a good idea to have multiple irons in the fire. She made her recording debut with the 1995 album Victorious Praise on Aleho International owned by gospel radio DJ Al "The Bishop" Hobbs. Angela recorded four albums for them. That's when I heard of her. Back then, BET aired Bobby Jones Gospel and Video Gospel. I watched those shows. They don't exist anymore. And besides, BET no longer is on cable in Canada. Hobbs died in 2014 so not surprisingly, Aleho is out of business. Angela recorded a 2007 album for Koch. They are more distributor than record label. Then she released the 2012 album He Keeps His Promise on Innovative Records with Central South distribution. The big surprise was when the album reached #14 on the Gospel chart probably because the video aired on Video Gospel and Angela appeared on Bobby Jones Gospel. The album was written and produced by DeWayne Harvey and Antonio Wimberly who own Innovative. The album is available on CD. That's the last time Angela recorded. She has a church in Chicago and she leads the choir. Dewayne Harvey now lives in Florida and leads a couple of choirs. I don't expect Angela to record again. There are plenty of traditional gospel choirs but very few record labels who are more interested in contemporary gospel. Today traditional gospel is strictly for local churches. Here's the video for He Keeps His Promise by Angela Spivey. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Archuleta

Artist:David Archuleta

Song:Crush

Album:David Archuleta

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will know that I hate American Idol and the other singing competition shows because they are a waste of time. And no, I don't watch any of those shows. David Archuleta finished second on the 2008 season of American Idol. He was 17 years old at the time and I guess the idiots who run American Idol thought that teen girls would buy his records. His 2008 debut single Crush was a top five hit. Things didn't go well after that and now Archuleta is on the musical scrap heap occupied by most American Idol contestants. He was born Dec. 28, 1990 in Miami. His family moved to Sandy, UT. which is a Salt Lake City suburb. He started singing as a child and was ten years old when he competed in the Utah Talent Competition. He won the Child Division. Archuleta appeared on Star Search in 2003. He was Junior Vocal Champion. He appeared on The Jenny Jones Show and CBS's The Early Show. So he was all hyped for the American Idol tryouts in San Diego. He finished second on the show to David Cook. Both signed record deals. Cook signed with RCA and Archuleta signed with Jive. Both labels are Sony owned. The songs that Archuleta sang in the finale charted. But now he had to make his own records. Crush was the first single from the 2008 album David Archuleta. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Crush was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou and he wrote the song with Jess Cates and David Hodges. All three have written songs for other American Idol contestants. Kiriakou produced three songs on the album. Archuleta co-wrote two songs on the album. The album was certified Gold so it did OK. It's available on CD. The problem was the follow up albums didn't sell and there were no other chart singles. So Jive released him in 2011. In fact, the second album was a Christmas album. Apparently, it was Archuleta's idea. To be fair, Cook's albums didn't do much better. And like Archuleta, he's on the American Idol scrap heap where most contestants land. Archuleta continues to record for his own label. He released an EP this year and toured to support it. He also appeared on The Masked Singer in 2023. This is how the majority of American Idol contestants wind up and that's why I hate the show. It's phony baloney. Here's the video for Crush by David Archuleta.