AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Walk The Moon

Artist:Walk The Moon
Song:Shut Up And Dance
Album:Talking Is Hard





Shut Up And Dance was a top five hit in 2014. It is the only big hit to date for Walk The Moon. That should be enough to keep them on tour for years. Walk The Moon is from Cincinnati. Lead singer, songwriter and keyboard player Nicholas Petricca formed the band while he was a student at Kenyon College in 2006. The band name is from The Police song Walking On The Moon. The band went through many changes until 2010 when they solidified their lineup with Eli Brose Maiman on guitar, Kevin Colter Ray on bass and Sean Byron Waugaman on drums. Walk The Moon self released an album in 2010. And the single Anna Sun got enough airplay to spark a record company bidding war. RCA Records won that war and released the 2012 album Walk The Moon. The album did OK but things really blew up when Shut Up And Dance was released in advance of the 2014 album Talking Is Hard. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was certified Platinum. Petricca and the band wrote the song with producers Ben Berger and Ryan McMahon aka Captain Cuts. I can see why it was a hit. It's an earworm. It gets into your head and you can't get rid of it. Walk The Moon was nominated for several awards. They won two Billboard Music Awards for Top Radio Song and Top Rock Song. Since then Walk The Moon has been very successful on tour. They released a live album in 2016 and then the 2017 album What If Nothing. Talking Is Hard is available as a budget CD. I don't know if Walk The Moon will ever have another big hit but they probably don't need one. Here's the video for Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-La Luz

Artist:La Luz
Song:Black Hole, Weirdo Shrine
Album:Weirdo Shrine





La Luz is an all girl band that I would describe as neo psychedelic with surf music influence. They are from Seattle. Lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Shana Cleveland and drummer Marian Li Pino were in the band The Curious Mystery. They recorded two albums. When they split up, Shana formed La Luz with Marian, Alice Sandahl on keyboards and Abbey Blackwell on bass. Major influences are Link Wray, The Ventures and Dick Dale. After releasing an EP, La Luz signed with Sub Pop's Hardly Art label and released the 2013 album It's Alive. They went on tour with Of Montreal. On Nov. 5, 2013, La Luz was travelling from Boise to Seattle when their tour van skidded on black ice. The van crashed into a highway divider and then hit by a truck. Everything was destroyed. The girls escaped with minor injuries but of course the tour was cancelled. Abbey was replaced by Lena Simon. They returned to the studio in 2015 and released the album Weirdo Shrine. The album got positive reviews and they toured to support it. La Luz then moved to Los Angeles. Their latest CD Floating Features was released in 2018. They toured to support it and they are going back on the road in February. I recommend La Luz to fans of neo psychedelic music. Here's the video for Black Hole, Weirdo Shrine by La Luz.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Jan. 1, 2019

Ayaka Hamasaki vs Kanna Asakura and the 2018 Big Bad Blog Fighter of the Year

Amanda Nunes is the 2018 Big Bad Blog Fighter of the Year

I am proud to announce that Amanda Nunes is the 2018 Big Bad Blog Fighter of the Year. There was only one other fighter under consideration. But after her big win on Saturday, Amanda was the only choice. I don't know what I would have done if she lost. But I'm glad she won. Amanda was born May 30, 1988 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Her sister took her to a gym and she started training. I first heard of Amanda when she beat veteran fighter Vanessa Porto on Dec. 12, 2009. That fight was not taped but in Brazil it's very unusual for an inexperienced fighter to beat an established veteran. Fortunately Amanda's next fight was streamed live on Sherdog. And she beat another experienced fighter Ediane Gomes by second round TKO. My guess is Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou was also watching because Amanda made her Strikeforce debut with a 14 second TKO win over Julia Budd on Jan. 7, 2011. At the time she was training at AMA Fight Club in New Jersey who had a working agreement with her Brazilian trainers. Amanda dropped to Bantamweight for her next fight against Alexis Davis. She started out OK. I thought she won round one. But she ran out of gas and lost by second round TKO. Her endurance has always been her big weakness. Amanda moved to the US to train at MMA Masters in Miami. She went 1-1 in Invicta and then signed with the UFC. She won her first two fights and then lost to Cat Zingano. Like her other losses, Amanda ran out of gas. This is when she moved to American Top Team and she's now on an eight fight winning streak. She also met her fiancee Nina Ansaroff. She won the UFC Bantamweight Championship from Miesha Tate with a first round rear naked choke. Since then Amanda has defended the title against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington. And now she has won the Featherweight belt with a win over the seemingly unbeatable Cris Cyborg. And that win is what makes Amanda my 2018 Big Bad Blog Fighter of the Year. Congratulations.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Ayaka Hamasaki vs Kanna Asakura

Here's the match video of Ayaka Hamasaki vs Kanna Asakura from yesterday's RIZIN show in Tokyo. This is for the RIZIN Atomweight Championship. Though Kanna has improved in the last couple of years, she has never faced anyone as experienced or as skillful as Ayaka. Ayaka looked great in her last fight. The match started with an accidental eye poke. Ayaka was OK but there was some swelling around her right eye. In Japan they give five minutes for the fighter to recover even if it is not needed. You can hear Frank Trigg complain about that. The first round was mostly standing. There were a couple of takedown attempts but none were notable. Ayaka's striking was more effective so I scored round one 10-9 for Ayaka. This continued in round two. It became clear that Kanna was going to have to take this to the ground to get anywhere. Ayaka tripped her and took top position and then she went looking for an armbar. After Kanna attempted to block it several times, Ayaka's tenacity paid off and Kanna was forced to tap. Ayaka Hamasaki is your new RIZIN Atomweight Champion. She hasn't lost any of her quickness. I don't know who RIZIN could get to challenge Ayaka. They may have to bring in an Invicta fighter. Someone suggested Ham Seo Hee but I don't see ROAD FC allowing her to fight outside Korea. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Faster Pussycat

Artist:Faster Pussycat
Song:House Of Pain
Album:Wake Me When It's Over





House Of Pain was a top 30 hit in 1989. It was the only chart hit for the heavy metal band Faster Pussycat. Of course it's a power ballad. They were formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Lead singer and songwriter Taime Downe was born Gustave Molvik Sept. 29, 1964 in Seattle. In high school he called himself Vaun Hammer when he led the band The Bondage Boys. Downe moved to Los Angeles and formed Faster Pussycat with guitarist Brent Muscat. They wrote all the songs. Of course the band name is after the Russ Meyer cult film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. The other members were Greg Steele on guitar, Kelly Nickels on bass and Mark Micheals on drums. They signed with Elektra Records in 1987. But before they could record, Nickels broke his leg in a motorcycle accident and Eric Stacy replaced him. Later Nickels was in L.A. Guns. Their 1987 album did OK. They appeared in the 1987 film The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 The Metal Years. Their fanbase was not only metal fans but glam and sleaze rock because of the name and look. the 1989 album Wake Me When It's Over was certified Gold after House Of Pain reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. That was Faster Pussycat's peak. While on tour, Micheals was arrested for drug possession and fired. The 1992 album Whipped! didn't do as well and Faster Pussycat split up after touring. Downe formed the Newlydeads. After recording a couple of albums, he revived Faster Pussycat in 2001 with Muscat, Steele and Newlydeads members. Muscat left and formed his own version of Faster Pussycat in 2006. He dropped the name in 2007 and his band is called Sin City Sinners. Downe's version of Faster Pussycat released an album in 2006 and continued to tour. It looks like Downe has combined his bands under the Faster Pussycat name. Here's the video for House Of Pain by Faster Pussycat.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Thursday

Artist:Thursday
Song:Understanding In A Car Crash
Album:Full Collapse





Thursday is a very influential post hardcore band. They paved the way for more popular bands. The 2001 album Full Collapse is probably the best place to start. Thursday are from New Brunswick, NJ. They were formed in 1997 by lead singer Geoff Rickly. The rest of the band for most of their history is Tom Keeley on lead guitar, Steve Pedulla on rhythm guitar, Tim Payne on bass, Andrew Everding on keyboards and Tucker Rule on drums. The only changes were when Pedulla replaced Bill Henderson in 2000 and Everding joined in 2004.Thursday's main influence was Joy Division. They are best described as screamo so they are an emo band with screaming vocals. After releasing an album on a local label, Thursday signed with punk specialty label Victory Records. The 2001 album Full Collapse was their first album on Victory. It did well enough that Thursday signed with Island Records. The band didn't think they were commercial enough for a major label. They had two albums left on their Victory contract. Island paid Victory 1.2M for Thursday's contract. After the 2004 album War All The Time and the tour to support it, Thursday announced they were going on hiatus. It didn't last long as they were back in the studio recording the 2006 album A City by the Light Divided. They left Island after that album and released the live CD Kill The House Lights on Victory. For the 2009 album Common Existence, Thursday signed with Bad Religion's Epitaph label and they disbanded after the 2011 album No Devolucion. At the time it was announced as a hiatus. But Rickly admitted later that Thursday disbanded. Full Collapse is available as a budget CD. Thursday was influential but not successful because their record contract put them in a financial hole they would never escape. Rickly formed a new band No Devotion. Then Thursday reformed in 2016 and they have been touring since then. The tour will end in March 2019 and they will disband. There are no plans to record new music. Here's the video for Understanding in a Car Crash by Thursday.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Dec. 30, 2018

UFC 232 review

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Megan Anderson vs Cat Zingano

Here's the match video of Megan Anderson vs Cat Zingano from last night's UFC show in Los Angeles. There's not much to say about this fight. It was just getting started when Megan threw a head kick and her toe cut Cat's eyelid. That's it. Cat couldn't see and Megan won by TKO. Someone asked me if it was illegal like an eye poke. Nope. It was legal. But it was also a fluke. Megan couldn't do that again in a million years. My guess is we will see a rematch in the near future. Cat didn't even go to the hospital. She's fine. It was one of those things. It was a legal move. Cat couldn't continue. The fans in the arena weren't happy. They booed. With Cris Cyborg possibly leaving the UFC, that leaves Megan as the only Featherweight who won't drop to Bantamweight. I don't know what the UFC will do with her if they end the Featherweight division which was started for Cris Cyborg. In the mean time, enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg

Here's the match video of Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg from last night's UFC show in Los Angeles. This was billed as a superfight between two champs. Cyborg was favored because she had been unbeaten for years. But as I said on Friday's podcast, Amanda is a better fighter than anyone who had fought Cyborg. I thought if Amanda got off to a quick start she could win the fight. She couldn't allow Cyborg to settle into her usual routine. And what do you know? Amanda did exactly as I suggested and she knocked Cyborg out in 51 seconds. I guess I'm a genius. Not really. I just study patterns more than most fight analysts and Amanda's pattern is finish the fight early. She gets into trouble in the late rounds. I'll talk more about Amanda in a couple of days when I name my 2018 Fighter of the Year. As I have said in the past, Cris Cyborg's legacy is built on beating undersized fighters and tomato cans. She was never as good as she seemed. And now her UFC contract is up. I expect her to leave the UFC probably for Bellator because she can also fight for RIZIN and do boxing like she has said she wants to do. It's also the likely end of UFC's Featherweight division. They really only have one real Featherweight other than Cyborg. And there aren't enough decent Featherweights to have a decent division and there never will be. Cyborg's run was always an illusion and now that bubble has been burst. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joan Osborne

Artist:Joan Osborne
Song:One Of Us
Album:Relish





I bet you all remember this song. You couldn't escape it in 1995. One Of Us was the only chart hit for Joan Osborne. She's still around but I don't think she wanted to be a pop star anyway. She was born July 8, 1962 in the Louisville suburb of Anchorage, KY. She was a big fan of singers like Etta James and Ray Charles. After Joan moved to New York City to attend NYU's film school, she started performing in local clubs. After releasing an album on her own label, Joan signed with Mercury Records for the 1995 album Relish. The big surprise was when her debut single One Of Us reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. MTV played the video way too much. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. The album was produced by Rick Chertoff who produced Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun among other things. Joan wrote several songs on the album. One Of Us was written by Eric Bazilian of the 80s band The Hooters. He wrote several songs for the album and played guitar. Bazilian says he wrote One Of Us to impress a girl. And it worked because they are married with two kids. Joan was nominated for several Grammys. And then she didn't release another album until 2001. And that killed her career. She says now that she didn't want to be a star. Joan appeared in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown about legendary musicians The Funk Brothers. She toured with them. One Of Us got a boost when it was the theme of the 2003 CBS series Joan of Arcadia. Relish is available as a budget CD. Joan Osborne still records and tours. Her latest album Songs of Bob Dylan was released on her own label last year. She was also in the band Trigger Hippy. They released one album. Joan is no longer in that band. She will tour in 2019. Here's the video for One Of Us by Joan Osborne.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Black Uhuru

Artist:Black Uhuru
Song:Sinsemilla
Album:Party In Session: The Black Uhuru Collection




The reggae group Black Uhuru have been around since the early 70s and they are still around. Their best recordings like Sinsemilla are from the early 80s. Black Uhuru was formed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1972 as Black Sounds Uhuru by Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, Don Carlos and Garth Dennis. Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom. They split up after two unsuccessful singles. Carlos has had a successful solo career. Simpson reformed Black Uhuru in 1977 with singer Michael Rose and Errol Nelson of The Jayes. Nelson returned to The Jayes and was replaced by Sandra "Puma" Jones of Mama Africa. She was from South Carolina. That was the core of Black Uhuru until Rose left in 1984. He was not only a great singer but he wrote most of the songs. Black Uhuru started working with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare who were successful in their own right. After a few successful singles and a performance on the 1980 Reggae Sunsplash Festival, Black Uhuru signed with Island Records and released the 1980 album Sinsemilla. It was a big success and so was the 1981 album Red and the 1982 album Chill Out. They toured with The Rolling Stones. Keith Richards played guitar on one of their singles. Then they won a Grammy for the 1984 album Anthem. But Rose wasn't getting along with Simpson. He left in 1984 and he was replaced by Junior Reid. Black Uhuru signed with RAS Records and they veered towards dance music with producer Arthur Baker. Sly & Robbie left and the new music alienated existing fans. After Sandra died of cancer in 1990 and Reid couldn't get a US visa, Simpson reunited with Carlos and Dennis. They were successful until they split in 1996 and Simpson won a legal battle over the Black Uhuru name. The new lead singer was Andrew Bees. He left in 2003 and Simpson reunited with Rose. That didn't work out and Simpson sang lead for a while until Bees returned and that version of Black Uhuru released an album a few months ago and toured the US to support it. This 2CD comp from the British label Spectrum covers Black Uhuru's Island years. It is a must for reggae fans. Here's Black Uhuru performing Sinsemilla at The Rainbow in London 1981.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Dec. 28, 2018

UFC 232 preview and Io Shirai.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Slowdive

Artist:Slowdive
Song:Alison
Album:Original Album Classics





The British band Slowdive had modest success at home. Attempts to sell them in North America were aborted when they split up in 1995. They have reformed in recent years. Slowdive are from Reading, England. Neil Halstead was the main songwriter. He and Rachel Goswell sing and play guitar. They were childhood friends. They had a band called The Pumpkin Fairies. When that band split up, they formed Slowdive with drummer Adrian Sell, bassist Nick Chaplin and guitarist Christian Savill. They are named after a Siouxie and the Banshees single. They sent out demos and signed with Creation Records in 1999. Sell decided to go to university. He was replaced by Neil Carter for the 1990 EP Slowdive. And then he was replaced by Simon Scott after his band The Charlottes split up. Slowdive toured with labelmate My Bloody Valentine, a band they were frequently compared to. Their debut album Just For A Day was released in 1991. It was released in the US by Capitol's SBK label and they did play in the US. When Creation rejected recordings for a second album, Halstead asked Brian Eno to produce them. He helped them in the studio and two songs came from it. Alison is from the 1993 album Souvlaki. It did OK but they were criticized for having an outdated sound. And they were having problems with SBK. Scott was replaced by ian McCutcheon for the 1995 album Pygmalion. Slowdive split up after Creation dropped them. Creation is now distributed by Sony who have released all three Slowdive albums in a box set. Halstead and Goswell formed a new band Mojave 3 and they signed with 4AD. Both also released solo albums on that label. Mojave 3 went on hiatus and Slowdive reformed in 2014. And after touring, they released an album in 2017. They are currently touring. Here's the video for Alison by Slowdive. There were two videos for this. This is the original British video that is posted on Slowdive's Vevo account.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bianca Belair vs Io Shirai vs Mia Yim vs Lacey Evans

Here's the match video of Bianca Belair vs Io Shirai vs Mia Yim vs Lacey Evans from this week's episode of NXT. The winner gets a shot at Shayna Baszler's NXT Women's Championship at January's NXT Takeover show in Phoenix. This match is pretty good. It's worth checking out. The stars of the match are Bianca and Io. Io does some of her trademark spots including her moonsault. One notable spot has Bianca on the floor. Mia hits a suicide dive. She actually lands a little short but Bianca does a good job of catching her. Then Lacey whips Io into the ropes. And instead of coming off the ropes, Io leaps through the ropes onto Bianca. That was spectacular because it was unexpected. The end comes after Io hits her moonsault on Lacey. Bianca breaks up the pin with her hair whip. After tossing Io and Mia out to the floor, Bianca finishes Lacey and gets the title shot. It should be a good match as Bianca is a beast along with great charisma. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dan + Shay

Artist:Dan + Shay
Song:Speechless
Album:Dan + Shay





Speechless was the first #1 country hit for Dan + Shay in 2018. Their music straddles the line between country and pop. Before they net in Nashville in 2012, neither Dan Smyers or Shay Mooney were in country music. Smyers was born Aug. 16, 1987 in Wexford, PA. He was in a couple of rock bands. Mooney was born Dec. 27, 1991 in Natural Dam, AR. He had a record deal with T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment before moving to Nashville. After they met, Dan + Shay got a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music which led to a record deal with Warner Bros. Their 2013 debut single 19 You + Me reached #7 on the Country Singles chart. The 2014 album Where It All Began was certified Gold. They have continued to have success. Speechless is from the 2018 album Dan + Shay. It was their first #1 country hit. It also reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dan + Shay write and produce their own music. Smyers produces with veteran producer Scott Hendricks. Smyers and Mooney wrote Speechless with Jordan Reynolds and Laura Veltz who both wrote other songs on the album. The video for Speechless was shot at the weddings of both guys. Dan + Shay are currently on tour. Here's the video for Speechless by Dan + Shay.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charlie Daniels

Artist:Charlie Daniels f/Aaron Tippin
Song:Christmas Time Down South
Album:A Christmas Collection





Country music and bluegrass fans will enjoy this collection of Charlie Daniels Christmas albums. When Daniels was popular in the 70s he recorded a mix of southern rock and country. Now he is strictly a country artist. Daniels has released four Christmas albums and this box set contains three of them. They are not available individually. Daniels recorded his first Christmas album Christmas Time Down South in 1990 for Epic. Unlike most Christmas albums, most of the songs including Christmas Time Down South are originals. Daniels wrote that song about his childhood. His second Christmas album A Merry Christmas To All was released in 2002 on Daniels' label Blue Hat. This album is mostly Christmas standards. The 2009 album Joy To The World is billed as Charlie Daniels & Friends as it has several guest performers. Christmas Time Down South features country music star Aaron Tippin. The mandolin solo is by veteran session musician Aubrey Haynie. Other guests include Terry Eldridge of The Grascals, Kathy Mattea, Jewel, Dan Tyminski of Union Station and Evelyn and Suzanne Cox of The Cox Family. The original release of this album came with a DVD but the album is out of print and the box set doesn't have the DVD. Daniels released a fourth Christmas CD in 2012 in a promotion with the restaurant chain Buffets Inc. It seems to be out of print too. Here's Charlie Daniels featuring Aaron Tippin performing Christmas Time Down South from the Joy To The World DVD.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Dec. 25, 2018

UFC fight announcements.

Macy Chiasson vs Gina Mazany added to Mar. 2 UFC show

BREAKING: Another women's bantamweight fight has been added to UFC 235, an event that is expected to actually take place at T-Mobile Arena. @GinaDangerAK returns to actionhttps://t.co/QyEaAt9HTc

— Adam Hill (@AdamHillLVRJ) December 24, 2018

Adam Hill of Las Vegas Journal Review reported yesterday that Macy Chiasson vs Gina Mazany has been added to UFC 235 Mar. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Macy won TUF 28 which was for Featherweights. She is 27 years old from New Orleans. She is 3-0 and 1-0 in the UFC. All her fights have been at Featherweights and she fought most of her amateur fights at 155. So why is this at Bantamweight? I assume the UFC wants to keep her active while they figure out what to do with the Featherweight division. My guess is if Cris Cyborg leaves the UFC after her contract ends later this year, they will discontinue the Featherweight division. So they want to see if Macy can fight at Bantamweight. I liked her when I saw her in Invicta. So I was not surprised that Macy won TUF 28. I picked her to win. She's 5'9" which is tall for a Bantamweight. Gina is 30 years old. She trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Her brother Dave Mazany is an EFC champ. Both are also pro wrestlers and they frequently work as a tag team. Gina's record is 5-2 and 1-2 in the UFC. After an unsuccessful tryout for TUF 18, Gina got into the UFC as a late replacement Feb. 2017. She is not a UFC caliber fighter. We don't know if Macy can make 135 or if she will be the same fighter at the lighter weight. I guess we will find out.

Accuradio Song Of The Day-Dexter Gordon

Artist:Dexter Gordon
Song:Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Album:Gotham City





I am always asked about jazz Christmas albums. So I thought I would do this classic by jazz legend Dexter Gordon. The only problem is it was never released on one of his albums and there's an alternate take which only confuses matters. As many fans are aware, Gordon moved to Europe in the 60s. He returned to the US in 1976 and signed with Columbia Records. Of course Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is a Christmas classic first performed by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis. Gordon recorded it in 1980 around the time he recorded the album Gotham City. But it wasn't recorded for that album. It looks like it was recorded for the 1981 various artists Christmas jazz album God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen. The musicians are different too. Musicians on Gotham City are Woody Shaw on trumpet, Cedar Walton on piano, George Benson on guitar, Percy Heath on bass and Art Blakey on drums. The band on Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas appears to be Gotdon's touring band at the time of Kirk Lightsey on piano, David Eubanks on bass and Eddie Gladden on drums. This band also appears on the 1982 album American Classic released on Elektra Musician. Gordon recorded a shorter alternate take that appears on some various artists comp. When Sony re-released Gotham City in 2012, they added both versions of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas as bonus tracks. The album is available as a digital download. It was soon after this that Gordon began to have health problems. And he also starred in the 1986 film Round Midnight which got him an Oscar nomination. He died on Apr. 25, 1990 at age 67. Here's a video of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Dexter Gordon.