Lost Radio: 10 Songs You Should Seek Out

XO at 21. I am wearing a fucking watch on a chain. *eyeroll*

Occasionally I stop and ponder my years of music listening when I did not have a forum to sputter on about it. And then I realize this blog presents a very particular picture of my taste that leaves a lot out. Here are some "lost" songs from the 1990's that I love and recommend...

Tanita Tikarim Stop Listening hear it
People know her best for Twist In My Sobriety, but this one is elegant pop. read
Love Spit Love Am I Wrong see it
Chill inducing. When Richard Butler wants to have us, he does. Great Jake Scott vid.
Heather Nova London Rain see it
I think I've blogged about this before - I wish the chorus would come true.
Eddi Reader The Right Place hear it
Fiver or ten lifetimes ago, there lived a girl that you don't know...
Dr Robert Circular Quay see it
A few days ago, I blogged about "touchstone songs." This is one.
Milla Gentleman Who Fell see it
Many of you know Milla, but don't realize she released one perfect song years ago.
Mae Moore Bohemia see it
Nobody knows this! It was done with The Church.
Nick Heyward The World hear it
A sleek British entry by the lovely Nick, ex of Haircut 100.
Mother Love Bone Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns hear it
The singer died before this 8 minute epic could become a grunge elegy.
Dwight Yoakam Ain't That Lonely Yet see it
Country, yes, sort of. But the voice is so beautiful and the message so fuck you, that this transcends it s genre.

+1: Jude I Know hear it
Seems like a simple ballad, but you need to get to the bridge at about 3:36 and WOW

UPDATE: The excellent James made a spotify list for this!

Do any of you know these songs or want to add to this list? Note this one's not about r'n'b or pure pop. See also: My favorite albums of the 90's

I told her to go away for awhile

and she did not listen.

UPDATE

You Need This Song: Judie Tzuke's If (When You Go)

Judie Tzuke has been recording music for thirty years and she deserves far more acclaim than she has ever received. Now, she may not feel that way, but it took a new two-disc retrospective (and a friend) to make me, a Joni Mitchell/ Elton John obsessive - aware that she even existed. As a bonus to the Moon On A Mirrorball collection (on iTunes), Judie recently recorded a new song she wrote with Steve Anderson, the longtime Kylie Minogue collaborator. If (When You Go), a ballad, is right up there in the finest of 2010.

This song is alchemy: each element enhances the next. Judie's voice, always beautiful, now has a subtle throatiness that gives the lyric a wisdom younger singers could not carry off. The lyric is just sheer enough to be whatever you want it to be. For me, it's a song about death, but it could easily be about a departing lover or friend or child. "I've been trying to find the way to say / How I miss you when you leave / Cause I need to get it clear: / I'll be okay, I just won't breathe."

As with the lyric, there seem to be ghosts in the melody. It's like that of a lost 70's number one, the arrangement gradually building from piano and voice to subtle strings (by Anderson). The literally ethereal middle eight - "I'm in the walls and shadows..." - sung by her daughters, gives me chills almost every time I hear it.

It's rare that a song rises to the level of touchstone. For me, there is a cache of songs I return to again and again for comfort or maybe an expression I cannot resolve alone. You probably have them too. Mine include Paul Weller's Wildwood, Joni Mitchell's Stay In Touch and Jane Siberry's Love Is Everything. The first time I heard If (When You Go), I knew it would become that. "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs" - I keep coming back to that line.

If you like this, seek out one of Judie's most famous tunes, 1979's monolithic Stay With Me Till Dawn (it's on iTunes too). She launches a UK tour in late September - dates on her site. You can also follow her on Twitter - she's a sweet one. I could ask her what this song is about and I think she would answer, but I don't want to know. It's mine now.

Her name, by the way, is pronounced "zook" (rhymes with spook).

Crowded House: Intriguing it is not

I love Neil Finn, love Crowded House, but this Intriguer album is not for me.* When it's not aping Black Crowes' fuzzy 70's jams, it's just.... makeshift. Neil has his wife, Sharon, dueting with him on the record. A friend said to me, "It's like he is singing with some person, not a singer."

This. Wot I think.



*There is a song that lives up to their legacy: Twice If You're Lucky

NEWS: Brandon Flowers sits on a rock.

Brandon Flowers just spoke to emusician about the making of his 10-song solo debut, Flamingo. Some details we learn about the album...

• Most of the tracks on Flamingo were CO-produced by Daniel Lanois and Stuart Price. Let's hope those very different flavors mix.
• The single was done by Brendan O'Brien in LA. All of his songs have a Tenori-On synth. How Little Bootsian.
  
• LaFluer is nervous about one of the Stuart Price songs, a ballad called Only The Young, fitting in with the rest of the music, but he liked it too much to leave it off.
• Ironically, on an album featuring Stuart Kylie Madonna Price, there is a song called On The Floor that is country music. *oh no*
  
• Sadly, the Bruce Springsteen-isms apparently linger, even in his phrasing. Oy.
• He will tour Europe and America this fall.

ChartRigger, an avowed LaFleurist, posted the album cover recently, if you've not seen it.

10 Musical Thoughts: Wonderful Life

1 Euro drug dealer house with pool that needs resurfacing.
2 Robert Palmer girls doing shit choreography.
3 All mourning the death of the dancing girl from the first version of this video.
4 Rich, Helmut Newton-esque man grieving with Paris Hilton hanger-on. He doesn't want the company.
5 Theo lit beautifully in the early closeups.
6 The Other Guy (okay, Adam), post-Andrew Ridgeley, stands nearby looking intense with occasional Chris Lowe keyboard fumble.
7 Previously unmined emotion from Theo, especially on second verse. Is there a Bafta for great eyebrow acting and botox-free forehead crinkling?
8 Theo always stands with his arms folded. Code for submissive.
9 Love the drummy noise at 3:50-3:55
10 Great swaggering jaw/lip Moment at the end (3:49). Rewind it again and again.

Hurts new single is out on August 23. One of the finest songs this year, no qualms.

Bim vs Regina Spektor

Bim cover Regina Spektor's Us. A few thoughts:

Beautifully filmed.
Perfectly sung.
Both Tim and Rebecca are gorgeous.
Her belt is amazing.

Bim's debut album, Scatterheart, is out July 28th. Their elegant pop will appeal to fans of Frou Frou and Saint Etienne: it’s cinematic, emotional and - in a year of ballad-less albums - pushes beneath the surface. Dysfunctional relationships never sounded so beautiful.
_______________________________

Bim are playing EQ Live at The Workshop this Tuesday, July 27th from 8pm until late at 243 Old Street, Hoxton, London. The Good Natured is also on the bill! Tickets.

Suddenly my eyes are open

Some details have surfaced regarding Happiness, the new Hurts album, out September 6.

Tracklisting:

Silver Lining 4:58
Wonderful Life 4:17
Blood Tears & Gold 4:18
Sunday 3:53
Stay 3:55
Illuminated 3:19
Evelyn 3:55
Better Than Love 3:33
Devotion 4:11
Unspoken 4:47
The Water 3:36

And the Wonderful Life single, out August 23:

The CD single will include a new song called Affair and the 7" will include a Mantronix remix.

You can order signed copies directly from Townsend Records. So far no word on a vinyl LP.

Thank you, source, PJ Forums

I can show ya show ya how to shake your shaker

For my friends who don't troll pop-group sites and forums, here is some flat-out Good News:

The Pop Dream called Dragonette is cleverly following their 2009 album Fixin To Thrill with - beat beat beat - Mixin To Thrill, a remix record (cover above) out digitally on August 3rd and as a limited-edition CD at dragonette.com. The EP has three brand new songs: the first, Our Summer is a dirty, fuzzy hot-weather jam that needs to cranked loud or blasted at too-high decibels in your earbuds. My Things is the demure title of a rawk song actually called Get Your Titties Off My Things. Another new track, Volcano, is described as "a disco-drenched piece of loveliness" and cannot come soon enough. It's half of the double A-side Our Summer Volcano single out on July 27th. Maybe the FREE Our Summer will keep you sated?

Dragonette Our Summer FREE MP3

Mixin To Thrill tracklisting:

Volcano
Our Summer
My Things
Easy (Buffetlibre Mix)
Fixin to Thrill (Don Diablo Remix)
Pick Up the Phone (Richard X Remix)
Fixin to Thrill (Don Diablo Dub Mix)
Fixin to Thrill (Villains Remix)
Pick Up the Phone (Francis Preve Remix)
Pick Up the Phone (Arithmatix Remix)

Dragonette are tireless showgirls and their next tour is in America very soon.

Mixtape: OH MY DAIZ is it hot

Pop children, I am over the summer. Will soon declare it autumn and ye shall follow. In the intervening days...

Apparently the @scissorsisters might be [whispers] gay. WHO KNEW? Watch this investigative report.

WNYC talking to Rob Sheffield about Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

Morrissey, George Michael & Tony Blackburn review Everything But The Girl in 1984! Q: Moz, do you approve of EBTG? A: "To a large degree, I do." I LOVED this clip. Moz is weird and cute, George twirls his hair and has not an original, coherent thought in his floppy-haired head. via the LA HOT @torrmoz.

Speaking of Torr, he sent me this link about how the Times of London has lost an eye-bulging 90% of its online audience.

There is indeed a case to be made that the empowering Brave by Kelis is the SONG OF SUMMER 2010. Is it really true she only sold like 7,000 albums in the US? I bought it on import and it is sublime. My favorites are Brave, Home and Song For The Baby, the latter being a perfect distillation of sweet emotion mixed with unsentimental pop genius.

Fashionistas should be reading Attitude's Style Blog.

Which reminds me that Madonna fans (of yore) who always wanted to undress the oft-nude Tony Ward themselves, can now do it at this coolasfuck Wrangler site.

Frankmusik has completed a new album. No word on when it is due out, but I hope this year since there is so little right now to look forward to.

Speaking of a song to look forward to, the next Penguin Prison single is out in October and that is all I am allowed to say. Hint: It has been named/described on this blog by him before.

Bryan Ferry's new single/video You Can Dance. Snooze. Very disappointing, especially after the brilliance of Shameless, his collaboration with Groove Armada.

Americanos, if you get the new Instinct, you'll see that I gave Robyn's EP 3 stars out of 5. *runs and hides behind lounging cat* Regardless, I LOVE the souped up version of Hang With Me (her next single, which I assume means a video?) and Copycat's Sundrenched FM Remix of Dancing On My Own.

Let us pause at this moment to Look At A New Picture Of Cher.

Yes, Lourdes Leon blogs again. Giddy God!

I love that Stuart Price is having his MOMENT after being banished by Madgedonna. I was totally thrown by the announcement that he produced the next Take That album, aka the One With Robbie. About the latter, I have mixed feelings. His return takes away from the good arrangement the remaining four had set up, but it may inject some needed youthfulness into the proceedings, especially with Stuart at the helm.

Catherine A.D. is in California recording her debut album. One of her producers is Liam Howe, who did many of the best songs on Marina And The Diamonds debut. If you did not get her cover of HURTS single Better Than Love, do it now.

Loved the leftovers from Robbie Daw's interview with Kylie Minogue for @instinctmag is up now on their website.

The Return of Edwyn Collins at Pitchfork. Song is a retro stomper called Losing Sleep. I need to play it more, but first listen suggests lots of production but little melody. That said, he deserves attention for his 30 years of brilliance.

This week I tweeted: My dream: That @popjusticehifi would orchestrate a one-off pop single Moment for Nicola Roberts. Update since then: I have a hunch this dream will come true, though not with PJ HiFi. Stay tuned.

Wise words on the misguided efforts of Prince from @Gaymonkey

Follow me on Twitter and I'll twat this kind of stuff faster...

Thanks Roddale for the hot pic.

My Sunday drive...

...set to Stornoway's gorgeous, melancholic Fuel Up, a song that's lyric takes place over a span of 20 years. Truthfully, this is not my video at all*. I stumbled across it on youtube, but it's exactly what I'd like to do on a summer Sunday. I find myself sorely missing the UK and its people...

Home is only a feeling you get in your mind
From the people you love and you travel beside
You may feel like a passenger but now you're the driver
You've got to go traveling, traveling on

...get back on the road, it's a beautiful day
Pick up all the friends you can find on your way

Stornoway's debut album, Beachcomber's Windowsill, is highly recommended, especially for those of you who've enjoyed recent records by Laura Marling, Fyfe Dangerfield and Mumford And Sons.

Richard, Rod D, Phil, Jam(e)s, Dan, Paul, Jessica, Peter, Rod T - a toast to you all. From Joanna too, I know - memories of our spring trip linger in our minds. You have no idea what your time and company meant to us! xo

*This footage was shot by a guy near Inverness, in Scotland.

Love will always find a way

Fibes, Oh Fibes! have just released three short videos to promote their new single Love Will Always Find A Way, one of my favorite songs of 2009. Produced by Pontus Winnberg, aka Avant of Bloodshy and Avant (and a member of Miike Snow), this song is all about the gorge piano line...



Part I: The singer loves his chest. And women dancing with scarves.



Part II is Fibes with their moles and their fat guts and their underpants and nipples.



Part III: The weak one, with choppy live shots and a Pontus Winnberg mix, which can be found here. And where is their third member?

Cover Story: HURTS' Happiness

I am actually a wee bit disappointed in this. HURTS have recycled (and re-coupled) their picture disc images as their new album cover. It's very simple. Almost too simple. I would have preferred the cover So Hip It Hurts has for Wonderful Life, which would have added more irony to the word Happiness. I've also seen many more compelling b/w photos of them - check out LastFM. Meanwhile, I am not sure what The Belle Vue EP is - supposedly it's a European digital release.

None of it matters. The group has been shooting their new Wonderful Life video in Europe and it looks like it has an 80's budget and monolithic style...



courtesy of PopJustice

Song Of The Week: The Fall

Top Ten Plus One Reasons to love The Fall by Brendan James

1 It's piano-based and piano is superior to guitar. Period.
2 It screams for a slot in the background of, you know, Vampire Diaries.
3 He's like the lovechild of Sara Bareilles and David Gray.
4 It name-checks a Ryan Adams (not The Corrs!) song.
5 And is set in New York.
6 He went to UNC.
7 He tweets... and it appears to really be him.
8 You can also download a free track, Stupid For Your Love, on his site.
9 Tough guy is releasing his eponymous new album on "Super Tuesday," September 7.
10 He looks a bit like the son of Dr Evil [ed: I fear he may not like this one]
11 And finally, the first line sounds like "She is fucking in slow motion." It's not.

Buy The Fall now on iTunes US

Bright Lightx2: The boy done good

photo by www.loveimagelondon.com

Bright Light Bright Light - Rod Thomas - has signed a deal with new label Popjustice Hi-Fi. His first single, Love Part II, out on September 12/13, is the official launch of fall as far as I'm concerned.

Amazingly, PJ Hi-Fi is giving away the brilliant b-side,Cry At Films, which features Del Marquis from Scissor Sisters on backing vocals and guitar. Rod says, "[Cry At Films] is one of my favourites that I've written... it introduces both the more optimistic and more melodramatic sides of me. And having Del on it is such an honour."

Rod is a lovely guy and Peter Robinson (who produces PopJustice and created PopJustice HiFi) is, no doubt, a true lover of music. A true fan. No matter what happens, this is a brilliant match.

The actual single, Love Part II is anthemic, but also has a bit of the beloved crying-at-the-disco moodiness. Note that it was produced by Andy Chatterley, the same man who co-wrote and co-produced Kylie Minogue's new tracks Aphrodite and Better Than Today. Mmm hmmmm...

Cover Story: The Great Albums of Prince

So. Today in the UK - f America, right? - Prince releases yet another tinny album with terrible artwork. There was a time when not only was his music the best in the world, but the accompanying album packaging was stunning. In the 80's, Prince had the finest production team in popular music. His album art was usually done by Warner Bros. creative director Jeff Ayeroff and Jeri McManus Heiden, who were always able to merge something really cool with something iconic and commercial.

In 1985, Prince followed up his breakthrough Purple Rain with an enigmatic album (Around The World In A Day) that had cover art casting him as Hendrixinan-neo-urban-folkie-spiritualist. Which is a wordy way of saying it's very 60's:



In 1986, he made a U-turn toward complete fashion glamour with Parade:




In 1987, he released the double LP opus, Sign O' The Times, which has this mysterious image, again kind of mining psychedelic rock imagery:



And in 1988, he shocked everyone with a (literally) cheeky, phallic Jean Baptiste Mondino image. There was a time when Prince was inspired by something other than his Photoshop skills at home in Minnesota.



Even his Paisley Park label cohorts received gorgeous visuals. The Family - in this case, Susannah Melvoin and St. Paul Peterson - were photographed by legendary fashion photographer Horst for this elegant album cover. Like a 1940's dream.

Interestingly enough, the decline in music quality was signaled by a dip in artwork quality. Jeff Ayeroff was out the door as Prince began the feud with his label that would literally tear apart his career. What's done is done, but there is a perfect era pre-1990.

LaFleur... keeping secrets on his pillow

I actually LIKE this shot, even though it's still Vegas. Or Vagas, as it were...

Brand Flowers. His new Crossfire video (below) is quite good and the damsel-in-distress thing plays right into my "LaFleur as delicate he-popper incognito in a rock world" view of him. However! The song, while catchy, sounds to me like a Killers album cut. It has a sort of sad elegance - I love the "lay your body down" bit - but lacks energy or anything that sets it apart from his band.



I tweeted the other night that I just cannot cope with contemporaries who use phrases like "heartache and pain came a'pourin' down." Once again, Brandon is shilling "devil" imagery and Las Vegas as his muse. Have we not done that already? Step out in to the world, Brandon. You are at your best when plunked into an alien setting like... Japan!

I cannot critique this fully, not having heard the new album. I know it's unpopular, but I just don't hear a sustainable career in him. Brandon recently played at the White House for the 4th of July (I know, random, but when Barry O and Michelle call...). And what did he do? Wear that stupid vest he's worn for 5 years, not to mention hauling out that damned tipped-over neon K! Neon sign imagery he is again using in his solo artwork, when he has artwork at all.

I understand why people like him - they feel protective of him - but I am not seeing a creative evolution. I think he should move to London and find himself with the help of... Neil Tennant! Regardless of my concerns, all will be revealed when his album, Flamingo, is released on September 14.

PS: Do his teeth look different to you? Or is it just that he is extremely skinny and extremely tan?

New music: Bim

One of the surprises of the summer is Scatterheart, the debut album by London duo Bim. Out July 28th, it's elegant pop music that will appeal to fans of Frou Frou, The Sundays and - their site suggests- The Cocteau Twins. For those with a knowledge of obscure gems, they also remind me of The Honeymoon. Regardless of the influence, the sound is so cinematic and emotional, it's hard to believe it was crafted by only two people (in the form of Rebecca Rosier and Tim Davis). In a year of ballad-less albums (Goldfrapp, Kylie, Marina, Scissters), Bim push beneath the surface.

The group is giving away a free track called Head Over Heels that is absolutely phenomenal. First, it is NOT a Gogo's cover, but rather a lush up-tempo in which the duo trade off vocals as layered, blippy the song swirls to a climax. The final minute gives me chills, so if you want to share the experience, you can sign up at their site now and get it. Dysfunctional relationships never sounded so beautiful.

Bim Head Over Heels click for FREE download

Bim - Scatterheart by bimmusic

More on Bim at the end of the month. UK residents can hear a preview of the album on Spotify and everyone catch them on EQ, who recently had them play a club night in London. They were also The Guardian's New Band Of The Day on July 6.

Everybody has their Aphrodite

This is not posed. That is what he did. He took my seat and stayed there.

But me. My Kylie swag arrived in the mail and Jasper The Bond Cat commandeered it. It was 101 Fahrenheit today in DC and I happened to be home to rescue the vinyl from my front step. And then Jasper plopped his warm body down and slept on it all afternoon.

A word about the packaging - or "packaging concerns," as REM would call them. The Experience Edition is in a small book form, much like the recent Duran reissues. Lots of photographs by Will Baker and a DVD with live footage of the ballad-y section of her recent American tour. Unintentionally, the inclusion of those clips highlights one flaw with Aphrodite - that there is nothing on the sweeping level of Confide In Me, a song I think sits at the top if the Kylie canon. I am not overly thrilled with the recent lack of ballads on pop albums. A trend that must end in 2011.

That said, Aphrodite is the pop album of 2010. It knocked Goldfrapp down a peg. If you'd like to know what I thought of the songs, check out my track by track.

Jangly poppers take note: REM

REM is releasing a remastered special edition of their 1985 album, Fables Of The Reconstruction on July 12/13 worldwide. I've never actually owned this album on CD (just cassette!), which is the predecessor to Lifes Rich Pageant, the record that really eased them into the mainstream (before the mega 1987 album, Document).

Fables had never been given a decent remaster, so I thought I'd wait and now we are paid off. What makes Fables special is that, while there are some incredible tracks on there, I've never overplayed it, unlike their later work. If you've never heard the album, I'd recommend these tracks: Feeling Gravity's Pull, Green Grow The Rushes, Driver 8 (the most known song the album, besides Can't Get There From Here). And my favorite, Old Man Kensey, the title of which makes it sound like it might be bluesy folk but it so not. It's a compelling, mysterious and melodic rock song.

Your Body Is A Machine

The Good Natured's amazing debut single is out now on iTunes US and UK. Strong melody, lyrics and a certain Depeche grandeur. But what this song delivers best is a gothic English mood. Think cliffs and serious wind or maybe abandoned industrial plants... whatever it summons, it's a moody masterpiece.

It’s only a matter of time
Before all the springs in the mind
Will start to break
Like you have broken me
There's silver in your lungs now
All I care about is shapes
All I care about is colours
You said your body is a machine
It will break
Like you have broken me



Follow The Good Natured on Twitter

I love that lavender blonde: Gaga and fashion

This is quite subdued for Gaga. Hello Kitty pussypacks are sellable!

Robin Givhan of the Washington Post did a piece this weekend about Lady Gaga as a fashion sensation. In one of the more cutting bits, she ruminates on Oprah Winfrey introducing Gaga at the Costume Institute Gala this spring..

But when Oprah Winfrey... introduced Gaga, it was with such overwrought aplomb, with such breathless references to art, humanity and spirituality, that one might have thought Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Michelangelo had somehow formed a band.

The point of the piece is not to attack Gaga - in fact, Givhan likes her - but to make a point that her clothes do translate into street fashion, which translate into $$$. And she does go there with a Madonna comparison...

Onstage, Madonna wore clothes that were more exciting than street clothes but not so extreme as to be unfathomable costumes. It was somewhere in between, a hyper-realized version of ready-to-wear. The result was that Madonna could catapult a designer to fame, not just in the pages of People magazine but on the runways.

A friend points out the comparison to Madonna is complicated by the fact that Gaga appropriates a persona at all times in public, which must be tiresome and emotionally complex. Like old time stars, she does not run around publicly in sweats. Whereas, in 1983, Madonna literally wore those bangles and crucifixes and head scarves and created a generation of Wannabes.

Gaga is already showing signs of stripping away some of the artifice - she is virtually makeup-less and nude for much of her new Alejandro video. But she also has never looked more like Madonna and that is a problem that will continue to - in my opinion - splinter her desired "ascendance."

Delays talk about one of the finest records of 2010

Delays new album, the enigmatically titled Star Tiger, Star Ariel is one of the best albums of 2010 and certainly the most consistent of their career. Aside from tremendous melodies, the group is perhaps most known for lead singer Greg Gilbert's "angel in the dirt" vocals, which slide easily between choirboy highs to a lower register that has a satisfying bit of rough. He does vulnerability, purity, etc etc, but he's never cloyingly sweet.

If you are a "she-popper" or "he-popper" looking for a way into this album, try Unsung (the single) or Lakes Can Be Lethal, both up-tempo. If you are a dreamy emo, try my favorite song Moment Gone or Hold Fire. If you are... errrr... a Doors fan! - try the title song.

For the previously initiated, here is a 2-part piece where Aaron and Greg Gilbert go through the album track-by-track...





And here is a recent live performance of the single, Unsung...

A post that needs no text: Marina pt 2

Source

A post that needs no text: Marina

source

If you don’t know who Lola Leon is just… go away

Lourdes Leon has a blog! Here is the best bit of her first entry:

OK but no joke gladiator sandals are OUT. They came out in summer 2008 and I was like, ok those are really cute. Then 2009 comes around and people are still wearing them so I’m like, ok whatever it’s just a phase. BUT NOOOOO. Because good old 2010 is now coming along and people are STILL wearing them, and then I was just like OK NO! It’s been three years people COME ON!!!!!!!!! I’m just like what????

Sage words, Lola, sage words. The blog, which we have to assume she is truly writing, is for Madonna and "Lola's" Material Girl line of clothes for Macy's. How cool rigghhhhhht?

He bottles the summer and saves it for winter...

I asked Maxwell last night on Twitter if he would reveal plans for SUMMERS', the second in his trilogy of BlackSummers'Night albums and he finally answered:

mixing the second of these three in the next two months. the first song shld be w/ you come fall but expect (B)SUMMERS'(N) this WINTER... tried to bottle the summer and save it for winter... pray she feels like late june when its cold this december..

Maxwell was one of the first celebs ever to respond directly to me on Twitter when I tweeted to him that I thought the Alicia Keys song Unthinkable was a major tune. If you don't know any of the songs from his 2009 CD BLACKsummers'night, there are a few must-haves: Pretty Wings, Help Somebody and the exhilarating Love You.