Category Archives: Music

Music, National Blog Posting Month, reviews, sponsored

“Jazz Loves Disney,” and I like jazz, and I like Disney. This ought to work out just fine.

11/08/2016 Nichole 1 Comment

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post from Disney Music and One2One Network. Nichole was compensated for this post. All opinions are her own.

We were at Disney World when I got the email from One2One Network asking if I’d like to review “Jazz Loves Disney” from Verve Records. I immediately said “Yes Please,” because I like jazz, I like Disney, and I knew I was going to need something to help me ease back into real life after our vacation. It was obviously meant to be. I’m going to tell you what I thought about the album in a minute, but first let’s talk about

Nichole’s Top Five Disney Movies

5. “The Little Mermaid”

Ursula is my second-favorite villain, and I will sing along to “Part of Your World” and/or “Under the Sea” every single time. And Sebastian? Always dropping truths.

4. “Beauty and the Beast”

Belle’s love of books and Beast’s library are enough to get this one on the list. But then there’s also Every Single Song in the movie. And it’s beautiful, and it stars the greatest duo of all time, Lumiere and Cogsworth.

3. “101 Dalmatians”

I don’t think I can properly express how much I love the “dogs who look like their owners” scene in this movie. It cracked me up when I was a kid, and it cracks me up to this day. I love the jazzy soundtrack, and of course Cruella de Vil and her song are beloved as well. But the guy that clinches this spot for “101 Dalmatians” is Rolly, because I am him and he is me, forever and ever amen.

2. “Sleeping Beauty”

Maleficent is my favorite villain, because she scared the daylights out of me when I was a kid and she is also a dragon. I love the animation and the font and styling of the credits in “Sleeping Beauty.” The scene where the fairies are making the cake and the color-changing dress are still pure magic to me. And of course, there’s “Once Upon a Dream.” I sing it often enough to make “Sleeping Beauty” likely nowhere near the top of Rockford’s list of favorite Disney movies.

1. “Inside Out”

I was dubious when I first read about the premise of “Inside Out.” Then I saw it. It’s so beautiful and inventive, and Poppy was just starting to head into the age Riley is in the movie. And that abstract thought scene? My jaw dropped. “Inside Out” isn’t just one of my favorite Disney movies, it’s one of my favorite movies in general.

So about that album.

You might have noticed a common thread in most of my Disney favorites. If it has a great soundtrack, chances are I’m going to love it. I’m thrilled that my kids have inherited my love for a good Disney tune — even if they don’t appreciate it when I “cover” their favorite tunes. Pete frequently puts the “101 Dalmatians” soundtrack on while he’s playing, and sometimes he’ll even dance to “I Wanna Be Like You” with me in the living room. He draws the line at the “Frozen” soundtrack. I suspect that has something to do with the number of times Poppy has listened to “Let It Go” on repeat.

Regardless of whether Pete is telling me to stop singing “Let It Go” or Poppy is squashing my dreams of luring chipmunks in to fold the laundry for me by gently and whimsically humming “Someday My Prince Will Come,” the Butterscotch Sundae household is thoroughly saturated in aural ephemera of the Disney kind.

“Jazz Loves Disney” is a compilation of musicians giving classic Disney tunes a big band jazz twist, and it works very well. For the most part. There are a few songs on the album that don’t especially shine. The nonsense words in “Bibbidi Bobbodo Boo,” for example, don’t quite translate well as scat — especially in contrast with The Hot Sardines’ version of “I Wanna Be Like You” — and Anne Sila’s “Let It Go” doesn’t quite measure up to Idina Menzel’s original.

That said, the rest of the album is a delight. Grammy nominee Melody Gardot lends a smoky note to “He’s a Tramp” from “Lady and the Tramp,” and Italian singer and pianist Raphael Gualazzi brings a little extra zing to the already infectious “I Wanna Be Like You” from “The Jungle Book.” Jamie Cullum’s high-energy version of “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” had Pete and I dancing through the living room, I love Laika’s silky smooth and appropriately dreamy take on “Once Upon a Dream,” and Nikki Yanofsky’s “Un Jour Mon Prince Viendra (Someday My Prince Will Come)” is soaring and tender.

My favorite track on the album, though, is Gardot & Gualazzi’s “The Bare Necessities.” Their voices play off one another perfectly, and this version is so bouncy and fun you can’t help shimmying when it’s playing. (I’m chair-dancing as I type!)

“Jazz Loves Disney” would be a great gift for the Disney-phile in your life. It’s available November 18 from iTunes or Amazon, so you have plenty of time to order it for the holidays. Here’s the full track listing:

Jamie Cullum, “Everybody Wants To Be A Cat” from “The Aristocats”
Melody Gardot, “He’s A Tramp” from “Lady And The Tramp”
Stacey Kent, “Bibbidi Bobbodo Boo” (French version)” from “Cinderella”
Gregory Porter, “When You Wish Upon A Star” from “Pinocchio”
China Moses, “Why Don’t You Do Right” from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
Raphaël Gualazzi, “I Wanna Be Like You” from “The Jungle Book”
The Rob Mounsey Orchestra, “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” from “Cinderella”
Hugh Coltman, “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from “Toy Story”
Anne Sila, “Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Melody Gardot & Raphaël Gualazzi, “The Bare Necessities” from “The Jungle Book”
Laika, “Once Upon A Dream” from “Sleeping Beauty”
Nikki Yanofsky, “Someday My Prince Will Come” from “Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs”
The Hot Sardines, “I Wanna Be Like You (French & English version)” from “The Jungle Book” (US release only)

Music

Wherein a middle-aged couple spends the weekend in Atlanta at the Shaky Knees Music Festival

05/16/2016 Nichole 2 Comments

Rockford and I gave each other three-day passes to the Shaky Knees Music Fest in Atlanta for our anniversary this year, and it was exhausting, exhilarating fun. We stayed at the Glenn Hotel right next to Centennial Park, where the festival was held. It was a quick walk to the gates, and we could hear the soundcheck for one of the stages from our bathroom.

Savages

I only knew one of their songs, but it’s a song that Rockford really likes so we went. Their performance was wild and intense, and the lead singer sang/yelled directly into Rockford’s face from about a foot away at one point.

Jane’s Addiction

I heard a lot of people afterward complaining that Perry Farrell didn’t sound as good as he used to, but I thought they were great. Also, he gave me an encouraging nod and a smile during “Mountain Song,” and I have the image tucked away in my heart for use in future instances of panic and/or anxiety. Thanks, Perry Farrell.

Strand of Oaks

It makes a show so much more enjoyable when the musicians are having fun, and these guys were clearly very happy to be there. The fact that their music is great didn’t hurt either. I’m hoping they’ll tour soon so we can see them again.

Deer Tick

I didn’t know anything at all about Deer Tick beforehand. Rockford wanted to stake his claim for the My Morning Jacket show, though, and that’s the stage Deer Tick was playing on. So we watched them. I’d classify them as Yacht Rock, which is a genre I am not opposed to. They were pretty good, and their wardrobe was amusingly quirky.

Huey Lewis and the News

I was most excited about seeing Huey Lewis and the News play the entire “Sports” album, but I was also a little nervous. Sometimes these nostalgia acts aren’t quite so sharp anymore, you know? But they far exceeded my expectations. They were on fire, and they seemed genuinely surprised and elated that a great field full of 20-somethings (and the occasional 30-something, ahem) was joyously singing every word along with them. It was my favorite performance of the weekend.

My Morning Jacket

This was the Main Event for Rockford, and they did not disappoint. It was very loud, the crowd was thrilled, and there were fireworks and confetti cannons.

It was a great weekend (despite the inevitable appearance of several Music Festival Ne’er-Do-Wells. I see you, Guy Who Holds Front-Row Spots For SIX Friends Who Don’t Show Up Until 30 Minutes Before The Show We’ve Been Waiting Five Hours To See, and you, Guy Who’s Been To Every Other Festival On The Planet And Found Them All Superior). The organizers did a great job keeping things punctual, the food-truck options were varied and reasonably priced — I mainly subsisted on King of Pops popsicles — and every act we saw in person or heard from afar was enjoyable.

We were both so tired after Friday and Saturday that we skipped everything on Sunday and came home. We’ve already decided that we need to book the hotel for Sunday night, too, so we can make it all the way through Shaky Knees 2017.

How was your weekend? What’s the best concert you’ve ever seen?

Music, partner campaign

This is what Gwen Stefani’s “Truth” sounds like

03/18/2016 Nichole

The first concert I went to with my friends was in February 1996. I was a senior in high school, and a group of us drove two hours to see Bush. We were all there to see Gavin Rossdale & company, but all we talked about on the way home was Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. By the next day we all owned copies of “Tragic Kingdom.” (I still have mine.) No Doubt was good, but Gwen Stefani was great. She was all energy and electricity, and it’s no wonder that Gavin fell for her.

Yeah, it was that tour. The one where No Doubt opened for Bush, and Gwen and Gavin fell in love. All of which paved the way for Gwen’s new album, “This is What the Truth Feels Like.” It’s all about old, broken love and exciting, scary new love, and it’s pretty personal stuff.

Some of the lyrics on the new album — from “I don’t know why I cried, but I think it’s because I remembered for the first time since I hated you that I used to love you” to “I feel worthless, I’ve been hurt so bad, I get nervous you won’t love me back” — seem so personal that I felt a little weird listening to them. Like I was reading her personal emails to Gavin Rossdale or Blake Shelton. Of course, this isn’t the first time Gwen has written pretty transparently about a relationship. Most of “Tragic Kingdom” is about her breakup one of her No Doubt bandmates, but even 20 years after that album her lyrics strike me as shockingly frank.

“This is What the Truth Feels Like” is just as confessional as “Tragic Kingdom” was, but its sound is far less raw. Gwen’s look was more track star than movie star two decades ago, and her music now sounds more recording studio than garage band. A couple of tracks on the album, such as “Misery” and “Asking 4 It” (featuring Fetty Wap!), sound like they would be right at home on the soundtrack of a high school romance movie. I like high school movies, so that’s not a bad thing. Other songs are decidedly more post-graduate. I’m looking at you, “Send Me a Picture.”

For an album that came out of what had to have been a very upsetting and confusing time, “This is What the Truth Feels Like” is packed with danceable tracks. And when I say “danceable,” I mean I can very easily bounce around the kitchen to them while I’m making dinner. People who actually know how to dance would probably find songs like “Naughty,” “Make Me Like You” and the scorned-woman anthem “Red Flag” actionably danceable.

You can buy “This is What the Truth Feels Like” starting today at iTunes, Target and other retailers.

Disclosure: Nichole participated in this sponsored album review program as a member of One2One Network. She was provided the album to review, but all opinions are her own.