Inside Nokia Music

Well I thought I would just voice a couple of counter-arguments to a previous post about saxophones.

Slight note, I am biased, my siblings are all somewhat musical, so I had the opportunity to play other instruments including violin, drums, guitar, piano and the saxophone. Although I got as far as playing a scale in C and that’s about it. As well as the guitar, it’s one instruments I’m tempted to learn to play if I had time (maybe if I win the Lottery).

Let’s start with Amy Dickson who is a “classical saxophone” player, which is bit of an oxymoron when you say it the first time. After all, anyone seen an orchestra playing classical music that involved a saxophone? Exactly…

Still, Amy Dickson, who started playing at 6, decided to become a classical saxophone player, even though her music teacher suggested that perhaps she should try another instrument. She probably had the condescension adults tend to give to a small child when they are ask “So what do you want to be when you grow up?” And the child in enthusiasm would talk about things like being an astronaut, fireman or secret agent, to climb Mount Everest or to reach the South Pole. The adult, although listening intently would, in the back of their mind have already pegged the child as an accountant, after-all all families need an accountant, plus maybe a doctor and lawyer.

I recall a story I read somewhere that mentioned a child who once said he wanted to be President of the United States. I’m sure that got a few laughs. The child’s name? Barack Obama.

Anyhow, back to the discussion. Part of the problem is that I think the saxophone has been typecast into one type of music and that’s jazz. It’s a bit like William Shatner. Who as Eddie Izzard says in a sketch, is so typecast that when you watch a show like ‘TJ Hooker’, then it is not William Shatner playing TJ Hooker, but Captain Kirk playing TJ Hooker.

Amy Dickson did become a sax player, creating sophisticated sounds in her playing style. Some of her more demanding pieces (such as the snippet below) required learning the continuous breathing method for playing instruments. Anyhow, I may have lost all my street cred talking about classical music, so let the brickbats fly. But here is Amy playing a piece that has been arranged for the soprano saxophone.

So, onto the second area of the saxophone defense.

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Recently there have been a load of confessions from various Nokians about their guilty music pleasures, so I thought to follow up with my own rather dodgy arena of music taste.

For me it’s the 70s, especially Funk and Disco. Bands like George Clinton , BT Express, Rose Royce, Ohio Players and numerous others. Big hair, a splash of slap bass and outrageous styles, it’s music that certainly defined an era and features in one of my favourite films, “Undercover Brother”. The story of a “Soul Train reject, with a Robin Hood complex”, it is silly but underneath, there is sharp humour and in-jokes about the era.

So here are three songs that I find defines my guilty pleasure. Rose Royce of ‘Carwash’ fame, Suzy Q with a funky disco number and a really hard to find tune from Swamp Dogg.

And as Undercover Brother might say:

“There are times for falling apart, and there are times for getting funky. This is one of them funky times. So whats it gonna be? ”

You dig?

You can download George Clinton , BT Express, Rose Royce, Ohio Players and loads of other Spells approved disco at Nokia Music Store. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

ShazzaMJ wrote a wicked article the other day about ‘When Guilty Pleasures Turn Good’ which inspired me to find out more about my current guilty pleasure and share the tune with you.

Plan B is not everyone’s cup of tea and to be totally honest has not been mine until very recently. Reading up on the artist, real name ‘Benjamin Paul Ballance Drew’ I have been shocked and then amused by the comparisons that have been drawn ranging from Bret Easton Ellis (author of American Psycho) to Damien Rice meets Eminem. Listening to his back catalogue I don’t think any of the comparisons are wrong. His tunes are thought provoking, shocking, amusing and I have to give credit to a very astute narrator who can spin a perfectly horrible tale of the darkest side of life.

My guilty pleasure is ‘She Said’ from the album The Defamation of Strickland Banks. The song draws on all of Plan B’s widely publicised influences and has a strong soul and R&B core backing awesome British hip hop/rapid fire rap. It’s so catchy I have found myself whistling this sat on the bus on the way to work.

‘She Said’ is delivered in first person narrative and tells the story of a rejected fan who has accused the soul singer of god only knows what and he is in the courts pleading his case. The song is ‘Sesame Street’ compared to some of his other tunes that make you think of an unwritten Quentin Tarantino movie or a follow up to ‘Trainspotting’.

Anyway, give it a listen. Like the fruit pastille challenge I dare you not to chew.

‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’ and Plan B’s debut ‘Who Needs Actions When You Got Words’  are available for download at Nokia Music Store or if you’ve got Comes With Music get them both for free!

Do you ever get that thing where you have a song or even a snippet of what maybe could be a song but you’re really not sure (is it just that jingle from the Lidl advert?), stuck in your head and you have no idea what the hell it is or where it came from? I’m sure you do. Well I do, frequently. And it normally turns out to be something cool that I’ve heard playing in the office or at a mate’s house or something. But then sometimes, the worst times, it turns out to be something Off The Radio.

This week my tiny little brain has been rattling with the words and chorus of Jason Derulo’s ‘Whatcha Say’. Didn’t even know who the bugger was until I warbled the chorus to a colleague who then went on a mission to find out what it was. Turns out he’s a new ‘R’n’B sensation’ (aren’t they all?) from the US of A.

So I found the song, listened to it on repeat for roughly 2 and a half hours, then thought – what does he LOOK like…and this is what I discovered:

Just terrible isn’t it? It’s SO 90’s! The posing he does, the awful acting and the terrible story, his Craig David esque beardy thing! Still I felt compelled to watch it at least 4 times…is this normal?

Then I thought, hang on, I’ve listened to this pretty bad song now for about a day and I don’t know what he’s even going on about. Onto www.lyrics.com and I find to my horror he’s actually explaining how he cheated and now wants the girl back and that ‘cos he’s a big pimping American star, then really she’d be foolish to say no. URGH. Horrible man.

Horrible man he may be but I still can’t stop listening to it (this is now day 3 of the obsession). It makes me feel all summery and nice and I like to feel both of those things. I’m sitting in work with my headphones on just praying that no one finds me out. They might sack me, or worse, laugh at me. But this is my guilty pleasure and because sharing is caring I thought I would blog about it and let you all know that you are NOT ALONE in liking terrible songs. We all do, it’s natural!

Then, as I was doing some more research  *cough entering Jason Derulo into Wikipedia cough* imagine my delight when it tells me that the BEST BIT of the song is actually a sample from an Imogen Heap track ‘Hide and Seek’!! Wowzers! So this basically means that even when I’m being uncool, I’m still cool.  All I need now is for someone to tell me that ‘Babycakes’ is actually a song borrowed from the Beatles and I’m laughing…

Is Shazza right? See what you think – ‘Watcha Say’ from Jason’s self-titled album is available for download at Nokia Music Store or if you’ve got Comes With Music get it for free!

Are we getting excited yet Ri-Ri fans? Rihanna is kicking off her World Tour in Antwerp on the 16th April and now you can follow the tour and join the conversation, online and on your compatible Nokia phone.

Nokia have created this amazing interactive widget for your favourite social networks so you can get all the tour news with videos, photos, and exclusive Rihanna footage throughout the european leg of the tour. The widget will also be gathering all the latest news from the top Rihanna blogs so you don’t have to!

Join the conversation with the live chat function on the embeddable widget, and create and upload content by video, photo or webcam to share and discuss with other fans. It doesn’t stop there though…We also have loads of prizes up for grabs!

Every week Nokia will pick one fan tweet or photo at random from the Rihanna Tour Map and send the fan who posted it a framed, signed, limited edition photo of Rihanna. Any tweets and Twit-pics with the hash tag #RihannaTour will be eligible (subject to moderation) and will show up on the Tour Map. Fans will also get the chance to win other exclusive signed Rihanna merchandise through competitions on this blog (insidenokiamusic.com), and through @We-R-Nokiamusic on Twitter.

Download the new, improved Rihanna tour app to get up to the minute news and exclusive video content sent direct to your Nokia (available free from Ovi Store from 21st April).

Follow the conversation here using the integrated Twitter and Facebook tabs. Don’t just watch, join in and help us make Rihanna’s Last Girl On Earth Tour the most connected tour ever!!!

As a child, Craig David was already a big Michael Jackson fan and then he broadened his musical horizons and discovered artists that would influence his musical direction and taste for the rest of his life. Artists including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Al Green captivated the young Mr. David and now, almost 20 years later, he’s paying homage to them on his new album, ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’. “I think that I have taken a different approach to making this record,” Craig explains. “For me it is an album of songs that I have wanted to put together, that had an impact on me growing up as a kid. Influencing me both consciously and unconsciously. I felt like this album was not as much about new material but about me having the challenge to vocally step up to perform these iconic songs.” Despite his passion and enthusiasm for the Motown sound, David was concerned – even anxious – about the project. “I could easily crash and burn on this album, songs like ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’, like ‘Mercy Mercy Me’, like ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’. These songs have a place in musical history and are performed by iconic artists so the pressure is on me to step up and do it properly… I thrived on this challenge.”

It’s obvious that Craig’s relishing this new focus and direction, along with the freedom of the new contract that he signed with Universal Records. “Universal showed a lot of interest in me and my talent as an artist. I had the opportunity of staying with Warner or going for a new deal with Universal. It sounded a bit too good to be true because Universal is by far the biggest label in the world right now. While not having a record of new material, and for them to sign me on the basis of my talent, I felt that I could make the record that I wanted to make.”

To cover a few songs on an album is already a big ask as people will instantly compare it to the original. But to create an album full of covers, that’s quite dangerous. “As a song writer I can respect what it is like when someone covers your songs. I think that it makes sense to bring something new to the table by adding your own style while also respecting the original. With Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’, it is a song that technically you try and sing but it’s not a technical song, so it is more about the performance. You can only capture that if you approach it in the same way that he recorded it back in the day.” With modern recording techniques it is possible to create an almost perfect vocal track while not being an accomplished singer, and Craig was keen to avoid over-producing the tracks. “We did use Pro Tools but without the plug-ins and effects, keeping the process as basic as possible. When you are singing a track from start to finish, you get those points when you capture your breath which has knock-on effects with the next notes.”

With a new sound and technique in the studio comes the challenge of delivering a live show that’s equally as engaging. Something that Craig’s looking forward to. “I have the eight-piece band that I always had and we are thinking of stripping that back for some of the shows. It has been 10 years since Fill Me In, so with my repertoire of past hits plus these new classic songs, it is going to really make it a show for someone to see who hasn’t seen or heard it before. Or someone who has and give them something a bit different that they wouldn’t expect from my usual shows.” It’s not all about the heady decade of the Seventies, though, and Craig enjoys getting fired up for live shows with something a little more contemporary. “Notorious B.I.G and Faith Evans’ remix of ‘One More Chance’ is the best song to get me going and my favourite song to play when I DJ.” Is there a chance the Craig will be showing off his talents on the wheels of steel anytime soon? “I still DJ and have my 1210s here, but I don’t play as much. I think that I do it when people are least expecting it. If there is a house party then I would rock up and play with some vinyl. It is one of those things that if I wasn’t singing then I would be a DJ. There’s something fascinating about watching a DJ who loves what he’s doing.”

As Craig’s musical influences are highlighted throughout the new album, it’s easy to see this most recent project as the sound track to his life. He agrees and, when asked to pick out a particularly significant track, thinks quietly. “To be honest, a song by Curt Stigers, ‘I Wonder Why’, which is on the record. It was a song that when I heard it, it struck a chord with me. I wanted to write classic songs with a structure where every part had a meaning and a reason for being there. Some songs have a section that you want to skip to get to the better parts, this one just has it all and that is why this song is on the record.”

Craig’s top tips for 2010? “The door was open back in the old garage days, even with acts like the Artful Dodger, and this has set a foundation for acts like Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk, Tinie Tempah and Dizzy Rascal. They can be deemed as credible artists and also have commercial success and I am excited about the movement, they just need to keep it at a consistent level.” The thorny issue of commercially successful versus so-called‘credible’ artists prompts a question from OggieMusic, a Nokia Music follower on Twitter: Does Craig feel that the UK music industry hasn’t supported him fully, for example, by not awarding him a Brit award despite creating an album that sold over 11 million copies?
“I have never really been about the industry for me. It has always been about the music and making an impact, which is why I used to DJ. People who want to come and see you will do, and that’s why I do it.”
Craig Davids new single “One More Lie (Standing In The Shadows)” is in stores on with the album signed Sealed Delivered released on the 29th March.

All of Craig’s albums are available to download at Nokia Music Store or if you’ve got Comes With Music get them all for free!

Hey Rihanna fans, there’s an “Incoming Message On Your Nokia!”

Anyone remember the cute way Rihanna pronounces Nokia? Now you can get the free Rihanna theme for your compatible Nokia Smartphone, and Ri-Ri will tell you whenever you have an incoming call or message.

Don’t forget, you can still watch all the videos from the Rated R album launch party in glorious High Definition at Nokia’s Now Playing: Rihanna website.

Tweet this post and leave a comment with your twitter username and We’ll give one lucky winner 20 tracks from the Nokia Music Store (Nokia Ovi Player) to download the Nokia exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks!

Important Things To Note

• Competition is only open to Australia and the United Kindgdom as we’ve only got pin codes for these Countries at present (sorry, we promise to get these codes for all the Nokia Music supported countries for future prize draws).
• You’ll need to download the Nokia Ovi Player and register to redeem tracks.
• Nokia Music is currently only PC compatible, here are the system requirements

Application requirements:

* Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP (32-bit) with SP2 (Mac, Linux and Windows versions before XP with SP2 not supported)
* Processor: 1.5 GHz (recommended: 2.5 GHz, or 1.5 GHz dual core)
* Memory: 512 MB (recommended: 2 GB)
* Free disk space: 500 MB (recommended: 40 GB)
* Graphics: 32 MB integrated (recommended: 128 MB dedicated)
* Screen resolution: 1024×768 pixels
* Audio: Sound card and required drivers, connected speakers or headphones
* Internet: connection for buying and streaming music (recommended: broadband connection)
* Additional recommended hardware: CD-RW drive for burning CDs

Haha!… sorry, how could I resist?

Nokia’s Comes With Music service has revealed the world’s top crooners after research into the listening habits of music fans around the world.  It showed 34 year old Michael Bublé was even more popular than classic crooners such as ‘Ol Blue Eye’s himself Frank Sinatra and has dubbed him “King of Heart’s” this Valentine’s. The Canadian singer (news to me) is the only artist in a top 10 love songs list who is under 60 and still recording music… here’s the list

NOKIA COMES WITH MUSIC LOVE SONG TOP 10

Micky Bubbles “King of Hearts”
Elvis Presley
Frank Sinatra
Marvin Gaye
Barry White
Nat King Cole
Donna Summer
Nina Simone
Leonard Cohen
Dionne Warwick

If you’ve already downloaded Michael Bublé’s back-catalogue and are after more musical inspiration for Valentine’s Day, Comes With Music has over 376,291 songs with the word “Love” in the title – All of which can be downloaded free and legally, and kept forever as the perfect soundtrack for any romantic occasion.

From pop ballads to songs from Bollywood love scenes, awkward Indie love songs, romantic Rock ballads or even Anti-Valentine’s songs, check out our Valentine’s Day playlist

Chin-Chin!

This week Neilsen SoundScan data reveals that Low by Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain) was the most downloaded song of the decade in the US. Wow! Of the decade! That’s really quite an achievement for a song that was the first single off the rapper’s debut album, Mail On Sunday.

I don’t know why our American friends went so nuts about this song, the only real reason I like it is because it reminds me of Tom Cruise as the brilliant Les Grossman, dancing to it during Tropic Thunder. Check it out:

Could its success all be down to that silly little scene? I strongly doubt it, but I’ll need to ask an American in the know for sure. I’m guessing instead it’s just down to the fact that they just like this mainstream hip-hop stuff. A lot.

But it’s given me food for thought on how a song featured in a movie with a silly dance can always stick in your mind. My personal favourites are:

1. Jon Heder in Napolean Dynamite: track Canned Heat by Jamiroquai. This dance routine at the end of the movie is so good I have actually tried to learn it, sober, in my living room, on more than five occasions. You’d think I might be embarrassed to admit that but sadly, I’m not. And now everytime I hear this song, which I previously didn’t think much of at all, all I wanna do is grab some snow boots and act like a complete geeky mong on the dancefloor.

2. John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction: track You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry. Ooo lets go out on a fake date, ooo lets have a groovy dance and look all cool in front of everyone, ooo lets snort some heroin and OD like a skank. Not looking so cool now, are we Uma?

Actually, she really does look cool:

3. Tom Cruise (again! I know!) in Risky Business: track Old Time Rock & Roll by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Here he is looking all cute, and being all normal dancing around in his socks and shirt. There’s no science to this scene, even L Ron would have to accept that it is truly magical. Simply can not hear this song without picturing this scene. Check it out here.

Bloggy bonus

Now, while trawling the net to make my sure my tiny little brain hadn’t forgot to include anything AMAZING I stumbled upon this extraordinary dance scene from the 80s classic movie Mac & Me. The song isn’t memorable (in fact there’s a prize up for grabs for whoever can name it), but I simply had to share this with you dear reader as it is pure, unadulterated, cheesy, 80s goodness. In my view, any scene where some American football jocks dance in time for no apparent reason is worth a watch. Enjoy.

Oh my, the new Jay-Z & Alicia Keys song, Empire State of Mind, does funny things to me. Admittedly a middle-of-the-road Jigga man rap to start, you might even be inclined to zone out or turn it off, but as soon as Alicia starts her warbling about New York, everything changes. I literally YEARN for New York city when she starts that up. A city I have never even been to either, so that’s pretty good going. I’m seeing the city streets in my mind, I’m inhaling the smoky air, I’m sat in the back of a yellow cab on my way to Central Park looking up at the skyline, and anything is possible… you get the picture.

This isn’t the only song to do such a thing though. In much the same way, when Friendly Fires sing about Paris in their second single, the promise to a girl of “One day! We’re gonna live in Paris” is both exciting and romantic. Then the dreamy backing vocals pipe up with stories about stars and I’m lost. I’m not massively keen on France, but listening to this track I really really really want to live in Paris one day. Well, as long as it’s with a hot guy like Ed from Friendly Fires.

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