My Name Is Thunder (#488)

Hi,

so I had a few days off, went to Scotland (again) and experienced my first EdFringe visit. Anyway... back to the music.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Madonna : Research context. Her 59th birthday is coming up this week. So I thought about doing a special radio show about her music. And the "Junior's Remix" of "Bedtime Story" is definitely special.
• Liam Gallagher : New single alert. But that Oasis-like ballad did not convince me.
• Melanie C : Flashback times. I can't really tell what made me think of "I Turn To You", but I revisited it a few times last week.
• P!nk : New single alert. "What About Us" marks the first glimpse of her upcoming album "Beautiful Trauma", which gets a mid-October release. A nice pop song.
• Haim : New remix alert. That "Bloodpop Remix" does not surpass the original version, if you ask me.

Most played artists:

• Celldweller : New album alert. "Offworld" sounds quite different compared to other alternative albums I've listened to recently. I think I'll keep discovering it.
• Avicii : New EP alert. Who would have thought his return to music would be this soon. Anyway... the songs I've listened to seemed quite mediocre.

Most played tracks:

• The Bloody Beetroots + Jet - My Name Is Thunder : Wow! What a collaboration, what a comeback for Jet. And yes, it triggers memories of AC/DC.

News?

█ Man, what is going on in the charts. The top song seems to stay for months and also the album charts are quite depressing - with Amigos at the top for the second week.

New in the German charts:

[09] Calvin Harris - Feels (feat. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean) : That feature overkill seems to pay off.

How Soon The Dawn (#487)

Hi,

due to my holidays in Scotland, I'll keep it short.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Jake Bugg : New release alert. "How Soon The Dawn" is the first pre-single of the upcoming acoustic album "Hearts That Strain". Interesting new vibe.
• Manchester Orchestra : New album alert. I want to listen to "A Black Mile To The Surface", but it seems that I need more time for that.
• PVRIS : Research context. "All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell" will be released soon.
• Miami Yacine : Promo context. "Bon Voyage" did not make it into the LOHRO rotation.
• TLC : Promo context. Also "It's Sunny" is a bad single.
• Vita Bergen : Promo context. I'm not sure, if "Under The Sun" is a good single.

Most played artists:

• Russkaja : New album alert. "Kosmopoliturbo" sounds okay. A few songs are nice.
• Foster The People : New album alert. I'm very surprised by "Sacred Hearts Club". This seems heavily underrated.
• KWAYE : Lovely EP/Single called "Solar".

Most played tracks:

• Russkaja - Still In Love : Catchy + AutoTune.

News?

█ Do not look at the current German album charts. It's really sad.

New in the German charts:

[05] J Balvin & Willy William - Mi Gente : Urgh! What a crappy tune.

Cool Kids (#486)

Hi,

again I feel very busy. I hope that's not becoming a tragedy. Anyway...

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• The White Stripes : New release alert. Who would have thought? Anyway, "Bastille Day" is just a live recording. And yes, that's disappointing for me.
• Tigertown : Hype context. First "Warriors" now "Papernote" - I'm beginning to like this band.
• Alexiana : Soundtrack context. Her song "Million
• Corbin : New release alert. His new single "Ice Boy" sounds nice.
• KWAYNE : Discovery context. Wow, this artist is interesting. His "Solar - Single" is more like an EP with "Cool Kids" as a highlight. Also his music videos are cool.
• Skrillex : New release alert. He and Poo Bear have a new single called "Would You Ever", which I can't really recommend. It sounds too uninspired.
• The Script : New remix context. The latest single "Rain" did not convince me much, but the "Danny Dove & Offset Remix" is nice.

Most played artists:

• Lana Del Rey : New album context. Most of the songs on "Lust For Life" sound really good. I guess, this is the first LDR album, that I enjoyed mostly. (But I may be wrong.) 
• Arcade Fire : New album alert. "Everything Now" let me down a bit, because of the structure. There are quite a few bits, that I wouldn't consider a whole song. And there are also some songs that did not convince me yet.

Most played tracks:

• Lana Del Rey - Love : Hype alert. Tbh also the song "Lust For Life" is on heavy rotation in my head.

News?

█ Katy Perry will host the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. She is also among the nominees.
█ 187 Straßenbande is still at the top of the German album charts. And that is an achievement.

New in the German charts:

[04] Linkin Park - In The End : What a sad context. One of their first hits re-entered the charts, after their lead singer commited suicide. :(

Warriors (#485)

Hi,

oh, what a week it was. I had the chance to be the DJ at a 90s themed party. And also I saw Céline Dion live in Berlin. :) So this might excuse the slight lateness of this entry.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Taylor Swift : I got a bit hooked on her song "New Romantics".
• Mere Women : Honestly I can't really remember that scrobble. Anyway... I'm sure it was connected to their latest release "Big Skies".
• Elton John : Flashback alert. That 90s version of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is really catchy.
• Jaymes Young : New album alert. I've just listened to the first tracks of "Feel Something"... nice tunes.

Most played artists:

• Tigertown : New single alert. (see below) Never heard of them before, but after the "Papernote EP" I think I might turn into a fan. Good pop music.
• Lana Del Rey : New album alert. So far I haven't heard much, but this'll change soon.
• Alexandre Desplat : Cinema context. If you haven't already seen Luc Besson's new film "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", do it. It's a beautiful film - with light entertainment.

Most played tracks:

• Tigertown - Warriors : A very catchy song, that reminds me of The Naked And Famous. Go try it.

News?

█ RIP Chester Bennington. :( He killed himself. I'm sure, he had the chance to live a life others would dream of. And so you see - success and family isn't everything.
█ Wow. A sampler topps this week's German album charts. Do we really need more evidence that hip-hop is quite powerful when it comes to sales?

New in the German charts:

[05] Miami Yacine - Bon Voyage : WTF. A mediocre 2 minute auto-tune track!? Well, it's summer holiday season. So people might enjoy "la la la" songs more.
[06] 187 Straßenbande - Millionär : This one is part of a new successful sampler and it features the melody of The Cranberries' "Zombie" in the chorus. Apart from that I consider this as gangster rap.

Your Disco Needs You (#484)

Hi,

wohoo, I just had a few days off. What a blessing.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Roosevelt : Fan times. His self-titled album is so my jam - it's getting ridiculous.
• Elton John : Playlist research context. Do you remember his 1993 record "Duets" - with a cover version of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" featuring RuPaul? Well, I did. And I used it for a special radio show. :)
• Lana Del Rey : Hype context. Two more songs were released - and tbh I'm very curious about the new album "Lust For Life".
• Ariana Grande : Playlist research context. I guess I've never heard a full album of her. But the hook on "Break Free (feat. Zedd)" is something to remember.

Most played artists:

• Paul Thomas Saunders : Flashback context. Is it really that long ago, that I've found this amazing artist. Back then "Beautiful Desolation" was one of my albums of the year.
• London Grammar : Fan times. On the weekend I was totally in the mood for LG music. And I guess the new album "Truth Is A Beautiful Thing" is growing on me.

Most played tracks:

• Kylie Minogue - Your Disco Needs You (Casino Radio & Club Remix) : Flashback alert. Wow, finally I found the remix they used for the music video. You can find it on the "Special Edition" of her album "Light Years".

News?

█ There is an odd collaboration between Casper and Drangsal. "Keine Angst" is the latest pre-single for Casper's upcoming album.
█ Wanda announced their next album - "Niente". In other words: can't wait.

New in the German charts:

[08] Axwell /\ Ingrosso - More Than You Know : Oh, I did not see that one coming. Another uninspired summer vacation party anthem. But it could be worse.
[10] Liam Payne - Strip That Down (feat. Quavo) : Meh. Idc.

Praying (#483)

Hi,

oh, I'm late again... well, whatever.

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Bear's Den : Fan times. Now it's almost one year ago that I fell for their second album "Red Earth & Pouring Rain".
• The Weeknd : Fan times. The catchy track "Secrets" made me dive into the album "Starboy" again. Could be worse. :)
• The Dames : Guys, you need more online coverage. This band released a few great singles - like "Don't Mess Around Me" - but so far you can only find them on Spotify.
• Broods : You've probably read, that I love their song "Recovery", but I did forget a bit about "Concious", which is also a very nice track.
• Urban Cone : New single alert. But don't bother, it's bad.

Most played artists:

• Vona : Promotion context. This German artist will soon release his debut album "Alles was ich hab" (under Cro's label). I had the chance to get to know it - and I was very disappointed. There was just nothing original.
• Broken Social Scene : New album alert. Hm, I can imagine that this might sound great at a concert, but the album "Hug Of Thunder" did not convince me that much.
• Daniel Ran : Ooh, my find of the week. This composer produced a soundtrack for the game Skyrim (which I haven't played at all), and it sounds like the perfect score for an adventure. Its mellow tone made me listen to it almost all day at work. And the best thing about it: you can download "Beyond Skyrim: Bruma OST" for free.
• TLC : New album alert. So this is what the fans have been waiting for many months? Well, I hope they will be happy. But I was just feeling sad for this former top act to sound like a copy of themselves.

Most played tracks:

[nothing to highlight here]

News?

█ Eminem might release a new album soon.
█ Ke$ha (or is it Kesha now?) has started to promote her return to music - with a new single called "Praying" (a piano-driven power ballad) and the announcement of a new album titled "Rainbow". Judging by the single she switched on some kind of Adele mode, but it's nice to hear some personal lyrics.
█ "Epic" by Fler & Jalil went straight to number one of the German album charts.

New in the German charts:

[06] Helene Fischer - Herzbeben : Welcome back among the top ten. I guess, it's because of some remixes that this song re-entered here.

I Dare You (#482)

Hi,

wow, half of 2017 has passed. What crazy time we live in. (Or maybe it is just me getting old)

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Blondie : Fan times. (At least regarding the newer songs.)
• Roosevelt : Fan times.
• Ansel Elgort : New single alert. But tbh "All I Think About Is You" did not convince me.
• Augustines : Oh, how I love "Weary Eyes".
• Katy B : I will be honest. "Crying For No Reason" is the only KB song I like.
• Lady Antebellum : If it wasn't for those nice power ballads... I could probably live without this band. ;)

Most played artists:

• Bear's Den : Chill times. Recently "Gabriel" has been growing on me. It's so wonderfully mellow.
• Craig Armstrong : Chill times (2) - in three words: In Time score.
• Dear Rouge : Flashback times. Oh, there was that time, when two very nice Canadian bands played a show in Rostock. And Dear Rouge rocked the stage.

Most played tracks:

[nothing to highlight here]

News?

█ The Killers released a video for "The Man". Tbh I expected a bit more than just another Brandon Flowers solo show.
█ When it comes to creative music videos, you should pay attention to Arcade Fire. The latest addition to their collection is called "Signs Of Life" and seems like a fun short film.
█ The xx put some celebrities in their latest video "I Dare You", but tbh the best thing about it is the song.

New in the German charts:

[10] Charlie Puth - Attention : Hm, no thanks... That one has definitely already enough attention. (Although the chorus is nice.)