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 

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.

Saying goodbye to donna summer

Donna Summer, 1948-2012

 
i couldn't believe how difficult the news of icon donna summer's death took me when it was announced yesterday. i felt as though i had lost an old friend who i hadn't spoken to in awhile. just a few weeks ago i had spent an entire saturday listening to my donna summer record collection that my mother had bestowed upon me some years ago. i have every original record, even the unnoticed (to me) classics from the late eighties and Mistaken Identity from '91. a fond memory i have of my seven year old self is relentlessly begging my mom to put on the 7" I Feel Love record so we could dance around the house singing at the top of our lungs. the power of summer's voice, song writing, and theatrical performing is unparallelled.  throughout the day i found myself attempting to pull myself together, at times failing completely. few people will ever really understand the magic of donna summer and that will forever confound me. i was, however, pleased that my friend, blogger, and fellow music aficionado, quentin harrison, wrote a touching eulogy to summers. as did world famous singer jody watley who wrote on her facebook wall,

Not simply "Disco" Donna Summer also ruled "Pop" Music radio and charts. Her double albums were/are unparalleled...concept albums, few did them better male or female in any genre - her releases for me were events. I couldn't wait to see the cover art, read the liner notes and listen to the music, much of which she helped write. I've been reflective today, will do a blog post to celebrate the fierceness that was and will always be Donna Summer.

in fact many, many artists like, mary j. blige, duran duran, bananarama, kylie minogue, kelly rowland, david guetta, chaka khan, and robyn, have been sharing their memories of donna summer and how she inspired their own music. my sincerest hope is that donna summer is smiling down from heaven feeling the love that we all share for her. 


read the QH Blend's blog, Donna Summer: Black Gypsy Extraordinaire. 

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

Happy anniversary Ms. Watley!

Jody Watley in a recent CNN interview.

i was reminded of another special anniversary, that of jody watley who struck it out on a successful solo career 25 years ago. i was 7 or 8 when i remember watley's debut self titled album being released. at the time i had no clue that watley was originally part of the hugely popular group, shalamar, who my mother idolized in her youth. the album earned watley a grammy and the artist has continued leaving her unique and positive mark with nine albums to her credit. friends, family, and those who follow me on twitter or this blog know what a die hard jody watley fan i have been for all 25 years. style, wisdom, experience, enlightenment, fun, energy -- i can attribute some of these characteristics to myself because of my personal journey with watley's career.  a few months ago i posted a review of one of my favorite jody watley albums in anticipation for her upcoming tenth record, chameleon. in the meantime this funktress and dance diva is bringing her sound to venues across the US and beyond to whet fans' appetite.

for current news on jody watley, check out her website: http://jodywatley.net/

in celebration of this year long event i've created a playlist of just a few of my favorite jody watley songs.

A few summers ago my aunt surprised me with her original souvenir program from the Jody Watley Larger Than Life Tour.

"Jody Watley", 1987

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.

A new youtube channel!

i've created a new and slightly updated channel on youtube of playlists of favorite songs. check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/user/swartstudio

Old sounds made new

an emerging trend has begun to form of classic big band music of past eras creeping into today's music. i have to confess, i like it. as a lover of dance music i was pleased to see it becoming mainstream a few years ago until suddenly everyone was doing it and it lost much of it's magic. this new revolution could potentially go the same route, but for now, i'm happy to be enjoying new music that doesn't follow the latest fads.

Latest showing of art

it started as an unfinished piece in college that had been discarded at the back of my studio. almost three years later it suddenly found new life! what you see to the left is myself standing in front of my latest painting, fist on the pulse, on display at the worcester art museum. the idea of the piece came from a conversation between a colleague and i about how music and art can often reflect current events. art in all its forms can teach world history - something i strive to bring to the attention of my students. art often remains on the pulse of what's happening in the world and sometimes really shocks it to its audience. that shock is the point of the piece, there's not just a finger on the pulse, rather fists grabbing the pulse line. obviously there's more to be gleamed from the painting, but i don't want to spoil everything, and i also don't want to cancel a viewer's own interpretation. i will say, the point of my looking uninterested while i hold the iPod relates to the 'shards' of newspaper scattered on the edges of the piece. my next work will also loosely relate to music and art, as well as fashion - hopefully completed by the end of summer.