Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs Kairi Sane and IYO SKY

Here's the match video of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defending the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Kairi Sane and IYO SKY. This was taped last week because the WWE is on a European tour this week. So if you saw the spoiler, the match is worth watching so you get the proper context. And that is that Bianca and Jade appeared on last week's NXT. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson challenged them to a match which they lost on Friday's Smackdown. So they were in the audience at last night's RAW and they were involved in the ending. The match was fine and competitive until the finish. It went to the floor. Lash and Jakara were jawing with Bianca and Jade. IYO approached Lash and Jakara and Lash nailed IYO with a forearm and that led to Bianca pinning IYO. The problem was I think Lash missed. But IYO sold it anyway like she was supposed to. So yeah, the ending was lame. So I'm sure we will see a rematch in the near future. Meanwhile, Kairi and IYO will go to NXT and beat Lash and Jakara while everyone else goes to Saudi Arabia. IYO didn't go to Saudi Arabia last time either so maybe she doesn't want to go. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Renzo Arbore

Artist:Renzo Arbore e i suoi Swing Maniacs

Song:Mamma Mi Piace Il Ritmo

Album:Renzo Swing!

Renzo Arbore is a popular Italian TV show host who decided to be a jazz musician in the 90s. His albums are popular in Italy but I don't think his music is very good. He was born Lorenzo Giovanni Arbore June 24, 1937 in Foggia, Italy which is in Southern Italy. Renzo is his nickname. After graduating from high school, Arbore moved to Naples where he earned a law degree. Then he got into radio, first as a programmer then as a show host. And that led to Arbore hosting Speciale per Voi, Italy's very first TV talk show. And that and other shows made him a big star. Then he got into movies and directed and starred with Roberto Benigni in the 1980 film Il Pap'occhio. Then Arbore got into music first as a singer and clarinetist for Orchestra Italiano. His albums sold well mostly because he was already famous. These were not jazz albums. But Arbore signed a new deal with WEA Italy in the early 90s and decided to record Swing. He got some international notice by playing jazz festivals and places like Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. Mamma Mi Piace Il Ritmo (Mamma, I Love the Rhythm) is from his 2002 album Renzo Swing!. This was Arbore's first album with his new band Swing Maniacs. It's mostly 40s influenced swing. Mamma Mi Piace Il Ritmo was written and recorded by Natalino Otto in 1948. Arbore continues to do that today. I don't think Arbore can sing or play piano very well. And the music is not jazz. But he's very popular with an older audience in Italy and they eat this stuff up. Here's Renzo Arbore performing Mamma Mi Piace Il Ritmo on Italian TV. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ruth La'Ontra

Artist:Ruth La'Ontra

Song:Kingdom

Album:I Got You

Fans of contemporary gospel are going to want to check out Ruth La'Ontra. Her 2017 album I Got You did well on the gospel charts. She was born Ruth La'Ontra Jones July 22, 1992 in Pinehurst, NC but she grew up in the nearby town of Aberdeen. Her father is Bishop Arvetra Jones Jr. of Come As You Are Evangelistic Center in Aberdeen. So she's a PK and she grew up singing in church. When Ruth decided to pursue a music career, she dropped her last name and released an EP. That got her a record deal with Tyscot Records owned by Dr. Leonard Scott. She has released two albums and both have done well on the gospel charts. Kingdom is from the 2017 album I Got You. The album was written and produced by Anthony Brown and Justin Savage. Brown leads the group Group TherAPy. They also record for Tyscot. This album is available as a budget CD. Ruth hasn't recorded since then. Brown also hasn't recorded since 2017. Ruth still performs live. I sure would like to see someone like RCA Inspiration pick her up. Here's the video for Kingdom by Ruth La'Ontra.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Julia Polastri vs Cory McKenna

Here's the fight video of Julia Polastri vs Cory McKenna from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Polyana Viana was Cory's original opponent. Julia was brought in on short notice. Julia is 26 years old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her coach is Douglas Bastos at CWB Fighter. She came from Contenders Series and lost her UFC debut. Cory is 25 years old from Wales. She trains with Danny Castillo at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento. She also came from Contenders Series. She was highly touted but she's 3-2 in the UFC. So she needs a win here. But Julia seems much stronger in round one. She get Cory in the clinch and scores a lot with knees and elbows. She is also landing at a distance. Cory can't seem to get close enough to get a takedown. Danny Castillo is yelling at Cory to stay out of the clinch. By the time she gets a takedown in round three, it's too late. Julia won the first two rounds and Cory needs a finish. I scored the fight 29-28 for Julia but 30-27 would be OK as round three was close and it didn't matter. One judge scored the fight 30-27 for Julia. The second scored it 29-28 for Julia. But Sal D'Amato scored round two for Cory and scored it 29-28 in her favor. So Julia won by split decision. Cory just didn't look good in this fight. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Stardust

Artist:Stardust

Song:Music Sounds Better with You

Album:Cream Anthems

The 1998 single Music Sounds Better with You was a worldwide dance hit and a top five hit in England. It was the only song recorded by Stardust. It's pretty catchy so if you are into this kind of music, you may already know about it. French DJ Alan Braxe and singer Benjamin Diamond were friends in boarding school. Braxe was really into late 80s house music. Braxe gave a demo to Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk and he released it on his label Roule in 1997. The three performed together at The Rex Club in Paris. During rehearsal, they needed a track to complete the set and they wrote Music Sounds Better with You. It's based on a sample of the 1981 Chaka Khan song Fate. After the show, they went to Bangalter's studio and recorded it using electronic keyboards. Diamond didn't like his own vocals but Bangalter and Braxe thought they were fine. I don't like his vocals either but it didn't matter. If people like the beat, they will like the song. Bangalter released the record on his own label. After BBC 1 DJ Pete Tong played it, Bangalter got Virgin Records to release it. And that's when Music Sounds Better with You really took off. It reached #2 on the British Singles chart and topped Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. You can get it on this 2CD budget comp of remixes. The problem was Bangalter didn't like the attention that success brought. He prefers anonymity. So when Virgin offered him $3M to record an album, he ultimately declined. Braxe says he likes the mystique on only releasing one song. Of course Bangalter returned to Daft Punk and they were successful. Now we know why they wear disguises. Braxe returned to doing remixes which he still does today. Diamond released the 2000 album Strange Attitude on Epic. It was unsuccessful. Here's the video for Music Sounds Better with You by Stardust.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nate Smith

Artist:Nate Smith

Song:World on Fire

Album:Nate Smith: Deluxe

Nate Smith started out as a CCM singer songwriter. When that didn't work out, he returned to Nashville and he had success as a country singer with the 2023 album Nate Smith. World on Fire is his biggest hit to date. He was born Sept. 19,1985 in Paradise, CA. This is in the Sierra Nevada foothills. He learned to play guitar as a teen and sang in church and became a worship leader. Smith moved to Nashville and signed with Word Records and a publishing deal with Centricity. The record deal didn't work out. He never recorded for Word. Eventually Smith returned home and the 2018 Butte County Camp Fire burned down his home. His song One of These Days was picked up by local media. There was enough interest that Smith returned to Nashville. When Smith's next single Wildfire went viral on TikTok, Sony Music Nashville signed Smith and assigned him to Arista Nashville. After three singles were released, the 2023 album Nate Smith was released. Most of the album was produced by Lindsay Rimes who has also worked with Kane Brown and Dylan Scott. The other producer was Joel Bruyere of the CCM band Thousand Foot Krutch. World on Fire was the highest charting of three chart singles. It reached #6 on the Country Singles chart and #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold. Smith wrote most of the songs on the album with co-writers. Smith wrote World on Fire with Rimes, Ashley Gorley and Taylor Phillips. Phillips is a volunteer firefighter and he came up with the title. Inspired by the wildfire that burned his house down, Smith wrote the lyrics. Rimes brought in top songwriter Gorley to polish it up. By the time the song was recorded, the master tracks for the album had already been submitted to Sony. World on Fire was released as a single. After it was a hit, Sony decided to release a deluxe edition of Nate Smith with a different cover. World on Fire is on a bonus CD with five other tracks. After Sony closed Arista Nashville, Smith was moved to RCA Nashville for the 2024 album California Gold. The album hasn't done nearly as well which is not unusual when an artist is moved to a different label within the company. RCA just doesn't have the same commitment to Smith or promotion budget. So it remains to be seen if Smith will have long term success. I don't think he's distinctive enough. He still writes songs. And he could be a big deal in CCM. He might prefer that. Here's the video for World on Fire by Nate Smith. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jack Nitzsche

Artist:Jack Nitzsche

Song:The Lonely Surfer

Album:Teen Beat Vol. 5

Jack Nitzsche was a jack of all trades of the Los Angeles studio scene and a member of The Wrecking Crew studio musician collective. He rarely recorded as a leader but he scored a top 40 hit with the 1963 instrumental single The Lonely Surfer. Later he got into composing film music and he won an Oscar. He was born Apr. 22, 1937 in Chicago but he grew up on a farm in Newaygo, MI. His parents were German immigrants. Nitzsche moved to Los Angeles in 1955 looking to get into jazz. Specialty Records A&R exec Sonny Bono hired Nitzsche as a music copyist. He worked for Capitol Records when he wrote Bongo Bongo Bongo for Preston Epps. He was an arranger and conductor for Phil Spector and he worked on all of Spector's hits. And of course he worked with The Wrecking Crew. Meanwhile, Nitzsche and Bono wrote the song Needles and Pins for Jackie DeShannon. The Searchers scored a big hit with that. It looks like Spector got Nitzsche a record deal with Reprise recording instrumentals. Spector wrote the liner notes for the 1963 album The Lonely Surfer. The album was mostly movie themes. But Nitzsche and his producer buddy Marty Cooper wrote The Lonely Surfer and it reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's considered today to be an instrumental classic and you can get it on this all instrumental various artists CD from Ace Records. Jimmy Bowen produced the album. Johnny Vidor provided the strings. He usually worked with Spector. Musicians included Don Randi and Leon Russell on piano, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman and Tommy Tedesco on guitar, David Gates of Bread on bass and Hal Blaine on drums. All are Wrecking Crew members. Nitzsche only recorded two albums for Reprise. While working on the 1964 TV special The T.A.M.I. Show, Nitzsche met The Rolling Stones and played piano on several of their albums. He also brought in slide guitarist Ry Cooder. After working with Buffalo Springfield, Nitzsche joined Neil Young's band after they split up. He was in Young's band until he left in 1974 after substance abuse problems. Then Nitzsche got into films and was nominated for an Oscar for the score of the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He won an Oscar for writing the song Up Where We Belong with Will Jennings and Buffy Sainte-Marie for the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. He and Buffy were married from 1982-89. Nitzsche continued to have drinking problems and even appeared on an episode of COPS brandishing a gun. He suffered a stroke in 1998 and died on Aug. 25, 2000 at age 63. Here's a video for The Lonely Surfer by Jack Nitzsche.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dead Celebrity Status

Artist:Dead Celebrity Status

Song:We Fall, We Fall

Album:Blood Music

This Canadian rap duo got some notoriety when the 2004 single We Fall, We Fall had negative commentary about the music business. I'm sure that and the ridiculous group name prevented them from being successful. But there is a video for We Fall, We Fall. So my guess is folks saw the video and thought maybe it was The Beastie Boys or another white rap duo. And then they didn't follow up the album in a timely way. The beginnings of Dead Celebrity Status (DCS) was with the late 80s duo Project Wyze. Yas Taalat and Bobby McIntosh were high school classmates in Sudbury, ON. For those who aren't Canadian, that's in northern Ontario. They started out in local clubs including opening for Public Enemy. After graduating high school, the two moved to London, ON. They joined a punk band and signed with Sony Canada. After a couple of albums, Project Wyze split up in 2002 due to internal conflicts. They moved to Toronto and met Ryan "DJ Dopey" Santiago. He was the 2003 DMC Champion DJ. They decided to work together and called themselves Dead Celebrity Status. I can't overemphasize what an awful name that is. Radio station programmers would see the name and not listen to it and they need Canadian content. The other key figure was Los Angeles DJ and producer Danny Saber. He produced the 2004 album Blood Music and also got guest musicians to appear on the album. They did a video for We Fall, We Fall and it was played on MuchMusic. Plus Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction appeared on the song. So that got them some attention. McIntosh and Saber and Jeff Dalziel of the band Briton wrote We Fall, We Fall and most of the other songs. The album was on the Vancouver based label Her Royal Majesty's Records owned by Canadian singer Bif Naked. She appeared on the album. So did Joss Stone. They licensed it in the rest of the world to Bodog Music. Anyone familiar with the fight or gambling business knows about Bodog. Until now, I was not aware that they had a record label. They were only around for a couple of years. The album is available as a budget CD. Obviously DCS could have done better on a larger label. But that name had to be a big problem. They went on tour. But they didn't release a second album until 2013 on their own label. By that time, they were forgotten. It doesn't appear that any of them are still in the music business. But Taalat has been writing and producing the occasional film. Here's the video for We Fall, We Fall by Dead Celebrity Status.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Idle Cure

Artist:Idle Cure

Song:Breakaway

Album:Idle Cure

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music described Idle Cure as "the best example of cloning a sound for Christian markets". Their 1986 debut album was compared to Def Leppard's Pyromania. I wrote about a band like this a few days ago called Jars of Clay that did the same thing. Idle Cure wasn't as successful. Lead singer and bassist Steve Shannon and guitarist Mark Ambrose were in the band Sojourn in 1979. They left that band and formed Eden with guitarist Chuck King. They released the 1983 single Break Out of the Night on Maranatha Music. The song was written by Sojourn leader Roger Charles and recorded at a studio owned by John Elefante of Kansas who has a long history of producing CCM artists. Shannon, Ambrose and King started a new band Idle Cure and signed with the new CCM label Forefront Records. This label was owned by CCM artists DeGarmo and Key and distributed by Benson. At the time, some wanted CCM to cross over to mainstream. So some bands would be made to sound like mainstream bands. Forefront was a main label to do this. Breakaway was the debut single from Idle Cure self titled 1986 album. If I didn't already know they were CCM, I wouldn't have thought that they were any different from bands like Def Leppard. The album was produced by Benson A&R director Bill Baumgart. Keyboardist Pete Lomakin was added to the band. Dave Spurr was the drummer. Most of the songs were written by Idle Cure. This album is available on CD. Idle Cure recorded four albums from 1986-91. King left after the first album and Idle Cure never had a permanent drummer. They recorded a 1994 album for a different label. After King left Idle Cure, he joined the CCM band Shout. From what I can tell, Idle Cure had success in the Christian market but never crossed over to mainstream. And I think that was the goal. So I guess they weren't successful. Here's the video for Breakaway by Idle Cure.