Songs i can't get enough of

Hesta Prynn

whether jamming out in the car stuck in rush hour traffic, listening to my iPod on the train, prepping the classroom for full afternoon, or painting in my studio, i'm listening to music. listed below are some of the songs i can't get enough of.



hesta prynn - we could fall in love
example - kickstarts
a*m*e - play the game boy
celeste buckingham - nobody knows 
kylie minogue - in your eyes (jean jacques smoothie mix)
jessie ware - running
solange - losing you
martin solveig - the night out (madeon remix)
parachute youth - can't better than this
hesta prynn - can we go wrong
walk the moon - tightrope
bryan ferry - the 'in' crowd
beyonce ft j cole - party
mndr - faster horses 

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: "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.