I danced and sang (horribly) with bananarama

the culmination of my love affair with the music of bananarama for over twenty years came last night when sara dallin and keren woodward performed at the hardrock cafe in boston! my fiance, joe, arrived early without my knowing and spoke to the fabulous dayna brunelli, head of marketing for the hardrock. joe explained my long time love of the 'nanas and dayna gave us vip seating for the show! we were so close to the stage! s & k performed 13 songs and invited audience members for their venus number!

 sara recognized me out of the crowd (we tweet back and forth occasionally) and pointed to keren who pulled me on stage. unfortunately i had had one too many drinks. being vip we had easy access to the bar, joe had already had one (or two) while waiting for me and I was doing my best to catch up. that combined with my obvious exuberance i was a complete ass -- or adorable dork -- depending on who you ask. while i'm sure people in the audience that i spoke to were just being kind by saying how much fun i was, i saw the video of the performance that joe recorded and well, i wish someone would have politely shoved me to a far corner. instead, keren offered me center stage, which i graciously took, and began to maniacally mimic the routine to the song from the famous video.  i'm also a notorious klutz so of course i bumped into keren's mic stand and then sara's. the humanity! bananarama are true professionals and rolled with it continuing on with the show without pause.

 the show itself was everything i could have hoped for and more. the girls performed many of their classics and several of their modern day hits. i was also pleased to get to know several fellow 'nana fans in the audience. we had a great time singing and dancing! the bouncer guarding the stage was kind enough to slip the girls my copy of the special 30th anniversary edition of the fan magazine, true confessions, which k & s signed. i will treasure it always.

while i wish i hadn't been such a messy drunk, i am glad i was able to see bananarama perform again here in the states. and yes, someone posted a video of my idiocy on youtube. hopefully people will only see the gorgeous women of bananarama and the army of fans, not the fool in the front trying to work the crowd.

*sigh* keren, sara -- if you ever read this, i am SO sorry, but thank you for such an incredibly fun time! i assure you i'm much cooler, you know, when i'm not being a total (drunk) groupie. x

somehow i slipped from singing "venus" into "love in the 1st degree".

keren showed me how to really shake my hips.

I just can't get them out of my system!

a promo shot for bananaram's US tour and new EP, Now or Never.

celebrating thirty years of success, bananarama is coming to the united states for an eight city tour running the length of october. i am very excited that keren and sara are coming to boston! i haven't seen the 'nanas perform since '89, during their first world tour. i was turning nine the day after the concert, but i had been ill for over a week with pneumonia. still, the day of the show my health vastly improved and my mom allowed my aunt to take me. between sheer excitement and exhaustion i ended up falling asleep mid-event and missed most of the concert. i was so bummed! this is my chance to relive and make up for what i may have missed. the girls will also be promoting their new EP, Now or Never.

for more of my love of sara and keren, check out my other bananarama related blogs.

YouTube channel

looking for some new music? maybe old music made new that you've never heard before? my youtube channel is full of r&b, dance, pop, and house music videos.

Album review, "True Confessions" by Bananarama

"I'm your Venus. I'm your fire. At your desire." Venus

i resisted as long as i could, but i eventually found myself mentally crafting a review of yet another bananarama record as i eagerly await my cd/dvd set celebrating 30 years of the most successful girl group in history. check your facts, that's not hyperbole. take '86 True Confessions with nearly a half dozen hits.

this record is where i officially began my long-time love affair with bananarama. i discovered them through their hit single, Cruel Summer, of their previous album. but True Confessions Venus is positively the moment when i suddenly couldn't get enough of sara, keren, and siobhan. smart, sexy, sassy, and with their devil-may-care attitude, bananarama were the epitome of cool through the '80s and into the '90s. i was 6 when this record came out, but my mom and aunt were young enough to appreciate their pop/rock sound and originality of the 'nanas and True Confessions was played often. now as an adult i appreciate the ingenuity that went into this 11 song collection. sincere and beautiful mid-tempo songs like, Dance with a Stranger, or, Trick of the Night, stand out amid the more pop inpired songs and hold ground against crowd pleasing sex tinged tunes such as, More Than Physical, and affirming, Do Not Disturb.

26 years after its release, True Confessions is a bit dated, as much of the music from the early to mid '80s is. nonetheless, the album is a bit of pop history as it carried the girls to higher stardom. the before mentioned, Venus, is still an anthem for women and gay men to this day. i grew up with bananarama and their music became the soundtrack of my life, starting with this.

for further reviews of other bananarama albums:

Pop Life, 1991
Ultra Violet, 1996
Exotica, 2002
Drama, 2005
Viva, 2009

Album review: "Exotica", Bananarama

"I see the stars in your eyes where our universe collides." Starz

i didn't intend to post two album reviews by the same artists in a row, but i can't fully express my excitement when i found Exotica on iTunes this past friday! i first discovered Exotica on a trip to paris in 2007 for eighty euros, nearly one hundred american dollars. as i was still a student in art school, i had to pass. i would learn the price was substantial because the record was extremely rare. on said friday i came across the record by accident while i was beginning to make a weekend playlist for one of two small parties my partner and i were hosting. the record proved to be perfect for the events, as it has for the car, and for the gym.

Exotica was released in 2001/02, in france only, with very little promotion - only two singles, If, and a cover of george michael's, Careless Whispers. from my understanding, the album was intended to be mostly re-recorded mixes of bananarama's classic hits from the '80s and '90s. instead the record only contains four, the latin version of, Cruel Summer, being the best, and the horrible karaoke type remix of, I Heard a Rumour, being the worst. i quite enjoy the original material and can't stress enough what great songwriters band-mates sara dallin and keren woodward make. Crazy and Sleep are beautiful in their description of the heartache of a bad breakup and speak from the heart. the album contains gorgeous voice arrangements of dallin and woodward ooze sex in several tracks. What You Gonna Do? in particular demonstrates the erotic tone as dallin and woodward whisper and demand for answers. what i like most about Exotica is the mix of rock, alternative, and funk - yes, funk. possibly my favorites besides, Sleep, are, Boom, and Got a Thing For You with severe modern day disco hooks that force your hips to move as you boogie along.

i've been listening to this unrecognized eighth album from banarama for the last few days and i've begun to enjoy it a little more each time. no doubt re-released for bananrama fans in appreciation of the group's momentous thirtieth anniversary, Exotica is well done. uniquely all its own, this record should be firmly recognized amid the more well-known records like, True Confessions, Wow, Drama, and bananarama's latest album, Viva.

Album review: "Pop Life", Bananarama

"And through my mirror I see magic multicolored painted dreams." 

in 1991 Pop Life was a much needed injection of energy into bananarama whose sound had grown too familiar even without bandmate, siobhan fahey, who was shortly replaced with jacquie o'sullivan. a mix of musical genres from flamenco, rock, house, and reggae were added to create a unique pop album that stands out among the collection of records bananarama has produced over the thirty years of their career. there is a loose unison among the eleven songs and several stand out tracks. admittingly, it's difficult to select a single favorite song, but i've found that Preacher Man, Tripping On Your Love (beautiful!) and Only Your Love have stuck with me through the years and are enduring classics in my heart and mind. i rather enjoy bananarama's cover of the doobie brother's, Long Train Running, and the records sole ballad-ish song, What Colour R the Skies Where U Live. unfortunately there isn't more of this melodic low-tempo material as Pop Life rises and falls with its fast and heavy beats like a wild roller coaster. mind you, that's not a complaint, rather a simple observation. i love Pop Life and always appreciated the fresh musical direction. though dated by today's standards in many respects, Pop Life is the type of fun record bananarama is loved for!

Album review: "Ultra Violet", Bananarama

since realizing it's the 30th anniversary of girl group, bananarama, i've been relentlessly playing my collection of 'nana albums. each one with its own set of memories of days from my youth. Ultra Violet is no different and by far holds some of the more interesting stories of my life, but those best kept to myself and the friends involved.

i actually came across Ultra Violet by accident in Montreal, years after it was released in 1996. i would later find out that this record produced three singles, every shade of blue, take me to your heart, and i found love. a few of the songs are dated, conceived from the eurodance sound that was sweeping through popular music of the mid-90s. nonetheless these are good songs. rather, i find it frustrating that both keren woodward and sara dallin of bananarama are not more recognized as strong song writers. bananarama is credited with writing all twelve songs on the album. take me to your heart, take me away, and maybe the next time are especially poignant (and at some moments, sexy) ballads that balance out the heavy dance theme of Ultra Violet. songs like system and you've really got something hold well today, but my favorite is, don't stop me now, an empowering anthem made especially for the dance floor in the same vein as gloria gaynor's, i will survive, and cher's, believe. Ultra Violet is an absolutely enjoyable album with a further step from bananarama's pop roots and competent move into the world of dance.

New music

i'm always looking out for new music, even old music that i may not have heard or taken long enough notice when i was younger. here are a few random songs i have running regularly on any playlist.

let it go - dragonette, 2012



forever - medina, 2012



only your love - bananarama, 1990



hold you tight - tara kemp, 1991



payphone - maroon 5 ft wiz khalifa, 2012



do ya - vesta williams, 1991



somebody that i used to know - gotye ft kimbra, 2011

Album review: "Viva", Bananarama

"Got a hand full of dreams." Extraordinary

i tried desperately to make this review shorter than it is, but ultimately i found i could not. something about this record prevents me to love this tenth album from bananarama to the degree it probably deserves. a lot is right, but a plausible effort to keep their sound "current" erases what makes bananarama unique.

because i have been in love with the duo of sara dallin and keren woodward since their early '80s debut with siobhan fahey and i've been infatuated with their 2005 studio album, Drama, i was ecstatic with the news that bananarama was set to release their latest album in 2009, almost three years ago. what's more, the two singles released from the album, love comes and love don't live here are infectious dance pop with catchy hooks that can be played over and over. because i loved the first two songs i was rather surprised how moody the rest of the album came across. Viva is not any less sophisticated or stylistic since dallin and woodward began producing music on their own in '93. rather tracks like seventeen, tell me tomorrow, and extraordinary are especially melancholic with the heavy synth sound in each song. it begins to outweigh the girls' melodies. the synth sound seems to drown out some of the life of bananarama's voices - it's just over used throughout the album. on their own, beautiful songs, but together it becomes too much. this isn't to say that, Viva, is an unenjoyable album. were it to have slightly more variation in sound and possibly a ballad feel or two to match past songs like trick of the night, movin' on, or middle of nowhere -- i would love this album to the extreme i feel for '88's True Confessions, '91's Pop Life, '93's Please Yourself, '95's Ultra Violet, and Drama. this is a good album - very good - and besides the album's singles, tell me tomorrow, the runner, dum dum boy, and we've got the night are fun songs with that special bananarama magic.

2012 marks the 30th anniversary of bananarama and the girls continue to tour across the world. word is bananarama may even come to the states to celebrate with their american fans! if so, i hope they perform past songs from the '80s and '90s, but also from, Viva. i'm also ready for the girls to release an eleventh album and continue to spread their viable and contagious music that's celebrated worldwide by old and new fans.

read my blog about bananarama's 30th anniversary here. 

UPDATE: i discovered swell remixes of the Viva record! i love the tokyo joe BUK my enemy mix!

Celebrating 30 years of Bananarama!

Sara & Keren are Bananarama!

who knew that a duo of childhood friends would become a harmonizing trio and unleash hit after massive hit throughout the '80s and '90s? the lineup has changed over three decades, with only founders, sara dallin and keren woodward remaining, but the hits have continued as the years progress. bananarama released their ninth studio album, drama, in 2005, followed by viva in 2009. bananarama has dabbled in various genres of music, adding it to their infectious version of pop. with their glamour, devil may care attitude, and cheekiness it's no wonder bananarama is celebrated around the world!

check out my playlist of time spanning bananarama hits!

for more info on sara and keren, and current news, check out their website.

Album review: 'Drama', Bananarama

i have not heard a more perfect pop album than Drama by bananarama, released in 2005. from beginning to end a listener is engaged to dance, sing along, and often times, hit the repeat button. uptempo sex-tinged songs like "look on the floor", "move in my direction", "feel for you", and "i love the way" flow perfectly through, Drama, harmonizing the voices of bandmates keren woodward and sara dallin magnificently. "waterfalls" and (my favorite) "middle of nowhere" are the album's only ballads amid this collection of dancefused tracks, but proves bananarama can diversify their sound, if only slightly. my enjoyment of Drama caused me to look back at bananarama's discography and discover other gems i had previously missed. the duo's latest album is 2009's, Viva.