Flashback Friday Song of the Day and a Day in Wine Country - Dark Lady - Cher

Yesterday, Eddie returned to Florida after being up here to ride coasters with me and Rich out west for a week and a half.  On Wednesday, we had one last day to spend with him and I had suggested we go out east to Wine Country.  Bobby, AKA Blanche, who didn't come on our trip, was able to take the day off and join us.  For one full day, it would be the four of us, Blanche, Dita, Rose and Weezie.

Now Bobby, Rich and Eddie are three of my oldest friends.  We've all known each other for the better part of around 30 years, so it was nice to be able to spend this rare full day with three people whom I know and who know me so well.  And, we were going to the North Fork, which is the area in which I work, and so I know all of the ins and outs of the region.  In my head I spent the drive time planning what we'd see and do. 

We started out at Martha Clara, one of the funnest wineries on the East End.  They're always packing the house on weekends with art shows, barn dances and concerts, and they've got an awesome gift shop and animals, too.  Then it was off to Sparkling Pointe, one of the newer wineries and makers of delectable bubbly wines set in one of the most beautiful tasting rooms anywhere. Of course, by this time, at least Rich and I had our buzzes on and were very giggly.

We finished our wine tasting in Raphael, grabbing some cheese, crackers, meats and jams to go with our wine to enjoy on the beautiful terrace overlooking the vineyards. Afterwards, we headed off for a stroll through Greenport and then for dinner at one of my favorite East End eateries, Grana of Jamesport.  Grana is an authentic trattoria with absolutely delicious pizza and entrees, and it was the perfect setting to end the awesome day. I tell you, it's gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside to know that I have such friends with whom I am totally comfortable.  These guys are the family I have chosen, and who've chosen me to be in theirs.  I am one lucky guy!

It's Weezie!

Oh, and now for our Song of the Day...all the way out east and back, we listened to a CD Blanche had had of Cher's greatest hits, and on the way home we came upon her great early singles that told a story: Half Breed, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, and this one, one which we all sang along to with smiles on our faces...Memories!  

The fortune queen of New Orleans
Was brushing her cat in her black limousine...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves - Cher

I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show
My mama had to dance for the money they'd throw...



Back in the early 70's, Cher had a string of three storytelling classics, each one to hit the pinnacle of the pop charts.  This one, from 1971, was the first and it was followed two years later by Half Breed and then Dark Lady in 1974.  Each of the three tunes had the same type of flavor and each still rank among the singer's all time best songs.


Cher - Gypsys Tramps And Thieves - Early 70's by thegirlstheyrock

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Song of the Day - Woman's World - Cher

cherworld

Welcome to Cher mania...at least in some circles. Yes, after at least a year of hype, one of the world's pre-eminent diva's has finally released her Closer to the Truth album.   Honestly, I have to admit that I'm not as excited about it as I once was.  Oh sure, I'm going to download it, but I think maybe all of that waiting, along with the endless play of this song in bars and clubs, has waned my excitement for the record.

I admit, I loved Woman's World when I first heard it in what seems a long, long time ago, but over the months I've come to regard it as many people did from the beginning: as a mindless club song full of glitz that doesn't really suit someone of Cher's age.  Oh, who am I to talk right?  Anyway, stay tuned for a track by track review of Closer to the Truth, and in the meantime, check out Woman's World:

 

Cher - Woman's World [OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO] by Cher-Official

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Cher Not Aging Gracefully on New Album Artwork

Have you seen Cher's artwork for her new album yet?  Now I do love Cher, but I've spoken before about dressing your age (Keys to Life - Age Gracefully), and Miss Thing's photo shoot is the antithesis of everything I spoke about in that article.  The photos that were released this week show the diva as a blond sex kitten and come off a tad on the ridiculous side.  I mean, c'mon Cher, you are beautiful and talented and all that, but why????  Not sexy!

 

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Music News Bytes: NSYNC Reunion?; New J.T., Gaga and Katy; Cher's Woman's World Vid

Music News Bytes is a collection of short news items that I follow on the Web. If you're into the same type of music I am, that is pop, dance, R&B, and such, check it out...

Ooh, I've been away from music news for too long!  A lot has been happening since my last Music News Bytes and I'm going to try and play catch up...

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NSYNC Reunion?

There have been hot rumors flying around all week that 90's boy band NSYNC will be reuniting for a performance at the VMA's this Sunday night on MTV.  Justin Timberlake, who got his start with the boys, will be receiving the show's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and so wouldn't this be a perfect time for an appearance together?  

Maybe not, as Mr. J.T. is doing very well all by himself these days, but for fans of the band, who competed hit for hit with the Backstreet Boys during the decade, this would be a treat.  The rumors are just that, rumors, and no one knows for sure if the reunion of the boys will take place.  I guess we'll just have to watch the VMA's to see if it really happens.

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New music to get excited about...finally!

There are three new music releases of note in my world.  The first is from Justin Timberlake, whose lead single to his forthcoming The 20/20 Experience Part II, was released just about a month ago and it's more of the same type of music that appears on the former album.  The tune is called Take Back the Night and it is very good R&B, which I've always said if that's what ya like. I still miss the old Justin!  Take a listen for yourself right here.

There were two other new noteworthy music releases that happened in the past couple of weeks, and if you haven't heard either of them I'd like to know what rock you're living under.  Both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry released long-awaited new material last week and judging from the response to both, it looks like we'll be hearing a lot from the two in the coming months.

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It's hard to believe, but it's been almost three years since Lady Gaga released Born This Way. With an endless, almost two-year tour that was abruptly halted due to injury right towards the end (and right before her stops here in NY), it looked like Gaga had quickly faded from memory.  All along it had been written that she'd been working on new material for her upcoming ARTPOP album while on the road, but no one really knew just when she'd be releasing any new songs.  And then came Applause.

Applause is a hard-driving, electro-ridden and high energy tune that's already been given great accolades from Gaga fans especially.  Like with any other song, it's going to take me time to really grasp its popularity like other fans have thus far.  To me it's good, but certainly not as catchy or uplifting as Born This Way.  Check out the recently released video for Applause and let me know what you think.

Another much-anticipated new release is Katy Perry's Roar.  After reaching the stratosphere with her last album, Teenage Dream, fans have been patiently salivating at the mouth waiting for something new from Miss Katy and from the look and sound of things, she's got another winner with this song.  Roar is vintage Perry, mid-tempo, with a soothing music track and pleasingly singalong lyrics.  The song is from her upcoming Prism album, which you can read all about at Fuse.   

Cher's New Video

In anticipation of her soon to be released new album and in support of her newest single, Cher has released a new video for the dance floor anthem, Woman's World.  As one might expect from the diva (and the song), this one's full of the singer in a variety of flashy wigs, wigging it out with, you guessed it, women.  Check it out on eonline.

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Music News Bytes: Here Comes Cher; New Music for Tuesday; 'Blurred Lines' Reaches #1

Music News Bytes is a collection of short news items that I follow on the Web. If you're into the same type of music I am, that is pop, dance, R&B, and such, check it out...

 

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Here Comes Cher...

Okay, this has already been circulating for awhile, but I have to include this in my News Bytes.  Attention Cher fans, if you don't already know by now, you need to set your DVR's for tomorrow night's season finale of The Voice.  That's when the icon makes her first television appearance in 10 years as she performs the debut single from her forthcoming all new studio album due out in September.   In the meantime, check out Jason Nevins' remix of Woman's World:

Cher Woman's World (Jason Nevins Remix) from Thomas Hall on Vimeo.

Tuesday, June 18th: Cher to Perform at NYC's Pride Dance on the Pier

Oh, if I had waited only a few hours to complete this post!  Announced just this morning, Cher will be appearing at NYC's end of Pride Week celebration, Dance on the Pier, Sunday, June 30th.  Also appearing at the big dance is 90's dance diva Deborah Cox, which makes this an even greater how!  This is BIG!!!!

New Music Tuesday

In conjunction with Cher's The Voice appearance, the new single will be available for sale on iTunes, Amazon and other outlets on Tuesday the 18th of June, at the same time the new record album also goes pre-sale.   Kelly Rowland also will be releasing her newest, the singer's 4th studio album called Talk a Good Game, and it will feature appearances by her former Destiny's Child buds Beyonce and Michelle Williams. Her last album, Here I Am produced some very good tunes, including the seductive Motivation and the sweet Lay It On Me, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one.  And if ya haven't heard, Macklemore and Ray Lewis have a new one out, dedicated to all the Stay at Home Dad's out there.  Check it out on Rap-Up. Love these guys!

'Blurred Lines' Becomes Robin Thicke's First #1

I wrote on Facebook the other day that Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines was the best Prince song he never sang, and it is.  The song's got that retro Prince funky vibe and is oooh so nice, so much so that Billboard reports it as their #1 song for the week, the singer's first. Sweet!  Check it out on my Song of the Day for  Saturday, June 8th.

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Music News Bytes: BMA Winners: Gaga/Cher Song May Not Make the Final Cut; A New Janet Album?

Okay, so I still haven't had time to watch the Billboard Music Awards, which took place on Sunday night in Las Vegas, and so I won't comment on the show itself, but I figured I'd follow up on Saturday's post to see how I fared with my predictions, and hey, am I good or what?


theboot

Artist of the Year 

My pick: Taylor Swift

My prediction: Swift (or Justin Bieber)

Hot 100 Song

My pick: Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye

My prediction: Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye

Top Billboard 200 Album

My pick: Babel - Mumford and Sons

My prediction: Red - Taylor Swift

Top Duo or Group

My pick: One Direction

My prediction: One Direction

Top New Artist

My pick: One Direction

My prediction: One Direction

To see the full list of winners from last night's show, check out Billboard.


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Gaga Track may not make the final cut of Cher's new album

Yes, apparently Cher's new album is all finished being recorded, and the finishing touches and final decisions have yet to be made.  The legendary singer was interviewed on 20/20 Saturday night and during the discussion, she revealed that the song she recorded with Lady Gaga, The Greatest Thing, may not make it to the final version of the album.  The blog propagaga quoted the diva as saying "There is a track with Lady Gaga, but it's very on the line right now...she may not want to be on the album.

So what does that mean?  I guess we'll have to stay tuned to this one to find out more.  In the meantime the album, which was originally slated to be released last March, isn't due out now until September.

Miss Janet Conceptualizing New Album

Janet Jackson hasn't released a new studio album in a long, long time, and she told Billboard recently that her and her team are "creating the concept and initial thoughts on the music" and that she's "excited about the direction that we’re taking.”  This is good news indeed!  

Miss Janet recently celebrated the 20 year anniversary of her dynamite fifth album, janet on May 18th.  Look for a special tribute to that great one in the upcoming days... 


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Music News Bytes - Cher's New Album Done; The Return of TLC & Lauryn Hill; The Wanted's Newest

Music News Bytes is a collection of short news items that I follow on the Web.  If you're into the same type of music I am, that is pop, dance, R&B, and such, check it out...

idolator

Cher's New Album Done!

Finally!  After previewing her new song Woman's World right here back in November and reporting that Cher's newest album, her first since 2001's Living Proof, was going to be released in March, there was a whole lotta nothing going on from the singer's camp.  Well, Ms. Cher revealed a couple of weeks ago on Twitter that she'd finished the last track with Scissor Sister's frontman Jake Shears and that the album was done!  

Some of the buzz surrounding the record has been that it would feature collaborations with Shears, Lady Gaga, and Timbaland, as well as two songs penned by songwriter extraordinaire P!nk.  No one knows if any of these things will come to fruition, but we're closer than ever.  Stay tuned...

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TLC Back in Business in 2013

Chili and T Boz, two thirds of the popular 90's female hip hop trio TLC have a busy year coming up.  With a brand new biopic, CrazySexyCool, debuting later this year on VH1, and the girls re-recording some of the group's most popular songs for the film, the surviving members of TLC will be doing some live shows, including an appearance at the 2nd Annual Mixtape Festival at Hersheypark Stadium in July.  They'll also be traveling to Japan where they'll accept a Legends award from MTV Japan, and Chili says that more live shows are on the horizon, as well as some new music which they've already begun working on with the likes of J. Cole and Austin, among others.  Exciting stuff!  Stay tuned...

lastfm

The Return of Lauryn Hill

Ah, Lauryn Hill, another in a long list of Best New Artists faded into obscurity, recently announced she's going back into the studio after signing a deal with SONY.  The new record will be her first since the celebrated 1998 Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and it follows a long, long hiatus from the music world and a spate of legal troubles, which include $504K owed in tax monies.  Who knows where the 37 year old singer will be musically this time around?  We'll just have to wait and see.  Again, stay tuned...

New The Wanted Track - Walks Like Rihanna 

One of my favorite boy bands, The Wanted, is back with a brand new track and it makes reference to a certain mega-pop star of the day.  Hmmm????  The song is a little more poppy than the usual fare from these guys, and we'll just have to see how it does.  Check out a preview of the tune right here.

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Divas

diva - a celebrated female singer, a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension theater, cinema and popular music.

P.S. - An extravagant admiration for divas is a common element of camp culture.

Wikipedia

perezhilton

We all know a few divas.  Though the term started out in the world of opera, these days it's more the second part of the above Wikipedia definition that gets our attention.  Further than that, though, the term 'diva' refers not only to a woman of remarkable talent, but one who is also a sort of bitchy, demanding princess.  In other words, a prima donna.

I'm a diva from head to toe 
And it's getting better everyday 
I dont cook, I dont wash dishes 
And I do not do windows 
cause I'm a uhhh diva 

I like shopping 
I hate going to the grocery store 
I hate washing clothes 
I like painting my nails 
It's excites me 

Club 69

Oh, and usually to be a diva one must also have at least a hint of glamour.  Throw all of these things together and the diva is especially popular among gay men.  We all just seem to love the spectacle of it all and almost every gay person I know has their own favorite diva.  

musicwalls

Here's a photo of my first and still dear-to-my-heart diva, Miss Diana Ross.  From her early days as a Supreme to the glamorous singer, movie star and all around entertainer she became in the 70', 80's and even 90's, Diana embodied the very ideal of what it means to be a diva.  

A diva is a female version of a hustla

Of a hustla

Of a of a hustla....

Beyonce

Yes, divas are anywhere and everywhere, and we've all got our favorites.  Some of the more traditional divas favored by my friends include the more traditional ones like Barbra Streisand, Liza Minelli, Marilyn Monroe (they don't all have to sing!), Cher, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston and more contemporaries like Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, and the list goes on and on and on...

breitbart

So come on, who's your favorite diva?

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Song of the Day - Believe - Cher

atrl

A couple of weeks ago, I went out clubbing in the city with my friend Paul. Now Paul's a lot younger than I, but for some reason he and I get along great when we go out clubbing.  One of the sticking points whenever we go out is the music in the car on the way into the city.  Now I may be pretty up to date on a lot of new music, but I'm hardly a connoisseur of the latest stuff, and so he and I aren't always on the same page when it comes to what we're going to listen to on the long drive in, which brings me to Cher.

After being in the car for about twenty minutes or so, Paul took to my iPod in search of some music he could  get into.  Usually it's a Lady Gaga song or Nicki Minaj...something like that, but every once in awhile he surprises me.  As he found the song he wanted to play, he looked over at me with a giant smile.

"Okay, you're not going to believe this..."  he pressed play.

After love, after love, after love, after love...

The opening chords and vocals to Cher's Believe were blaring through my speakers.  The two of us immediately broke out into laughter at the same time.  It turns out he heard the song at his own birthday party that his friends threw for him just a few days prior and he ended up loving it.

"Weren't you in diapers when this song came out," I joked.  Again, we laughed, as Paul really got into it...

Do you believe in life after love... 

I couldn't help but smile.  A young, twenty-something guy getting into Cher!  What could I do?  It had been awhile since I'd heard the song and of course I loved it, so I sang along and did the best head bopping I could do.  Anyway, I've been wanting to feature it for him here ever since.  So Paul, this one's for you...

Cher - Believe from HD VIDEOS on Vimeo.

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Cher's New Song!

cherworld

Wow!  I had almost forgotten that Cher was working on a new album!  I feel like I reported on it more than a year ago, and since then the idea just flew out of my head...until this morning.  Well, she has been making new music, her first new album since 2001's Living Proof, and she's almost done with it.  A short, unfinished version of her newest song, Woman's World, had been leaked on YouTube, and the diva was PISSED!  She said that the snippet wasn't even of a finalized version of the tune, and as a result of the whole thing, she has officially put the song out on her official page, ahead of schedule, because of the leak.  Check out Woman's World here.

Woman's World is a fast-moving club tune with a killer dance track and a nice hook.  Cher sounds as good as ever and there's no doubt this one's gonna be at least a hit dance tune.  The website says that the song, originally due to be released on November 26th, will be out "soon" on iTunes. The album is set to include a whopping fifteen new songs, and plenty of them are of the dance genre.  The singer described the album succinctly to her Twitter followers:

It's ”like Believe CD ! Eclectic!Lots of dance,but None r SAME KIND OF DANCE ! Have Big ass Choruses,Some HEART RIPPERS !”

Well, this is awesome news and I cannot wait!!!

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A Halloween Week Song of the Day - Dark Lady - Cher

Source: iOffer

Today's "Song of the Day" is a classic from Cher. The video is a cartoon that was made especially for the "Sonny and Cher Show" and the storytelling song is about a medium who tells a terrible secret and later pays for the part she plays in it. The lyrics are engrossing and vintage Cher...and the theme of this one is perfect for Halloween!





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Song of the Day - Believe - Cher

I haven't listened to this one in awhile and so I thought that when I did I'd share it with you...Enjoy!





Picture Source: Cher Convention

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