Jason Mraz

Music Trivia: This Day in Music History June 23. Muppets, Blondie and More.

Published June 23rd, 2009 by Karen

ABOVE: Which singer calls “Rainbow Connection” one of his favorite songs? Made famous by the Muppet Movie, the unusual version above is a duet between Kermit the Frog and Debbie Harry of Blondie.

Think you’re a music expert? Time to test your music trivia knowledge!

Today’s music trivia quiz is all about an unusual singer-songwriter known for tongue-twisting lyrics and a positive attitude.

Take a look at the clues, then check out the answer below. Good luck!

1. When not making music, this Grammy-winning star runs an avocado farm.

2. This singer calls “Rainbow Connection” one of his favorite songs, because it proves that playing the banjo is easy.

3. Although recognized as a songwriter, this singer’s 2002 breakthrough hit was actually co-written with the Matrix, the professional songwriters responsible for hits by Korn, Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair and Ashley Tisdale, among others.

4. In 2009, after releasing only three albums, this young singer-songwriter was honored by the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.

ANSWER: Continue reading »

"Paolo Nutini is amazing and Candy is the best song of his i have heard.. to me anyway."
  Marxist Girl

Worst Songs Ever: Paolo Nutini “Candy,” Sickly Sweet Scottish Rock

Published June 17th, 2009 by Karen

ABOVE: Worse lyrics than Black Eyed Peas? Yeah, maybe. Paolo Nutini’s sickly sweet “Candy.”

Remember when rock songs used to be about girls and drugs and partying and dragons and fast cars and politics and rebellion and stuff? Well, those days are gone.

“Give me some candy after my hug,” sings Paolo Nutini, on his new hit single, “Candy,” his weirdly nasal, never-gonna-be-Dylan voice emphasizing the awkward lameness of each word as it struggles out of his throat. We’re not sure how he managed to sing this stuff without laughing, but the song is apparently a hit (particularly in Europe, so maybe we can forgive any non-English-speaking listeners. Maybe).

In 2006, Nutini managed to sell a million copies of his debut album thanks to a MySpace push and the bubbly TV-jingle catchiness of his single, “New Shoes.” It was bad, but in an inoffensive, easy to ignore Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson kind of way. Needless to say, Nutini has gotten worse.

Now, with his 2009 album, Sunny Side Up, the Scottish singer-songwriter has concocted one of the worst songs in recent memory–the Black Eye Peas’ horrendous,  spelling-challenged, brain-dead dance anthems notwithstanding.

Obviously, we needed to make you listen to this monstrosity, so you can share our pain. (It’s kind of like when you think the milk has gone bad, but you ask someone else to taste it just to be sure).

What’s the worst song you’ve heard recently?