Daily Jam - Nothing Compares 2 U

Sinead O’Connor played a very vivid role in my pre-adolescent, pop-cultural memory bank, a massive hit single, a memorable video to accompany it, a live (totally overblown) TV scandal (of which time has proven that she was completely in the right), and…you know…she was a girl with a shaved head. (I was eleven! What do you want?!) The artist was everywhere, on the radio and MTV, invading the whole spectrum of pop culture and media, even getting parodied on the after-school cartoon show, Tiny Toons Adventures.

What remains 25 years later is an artist who, while not at the same level of popular awareness or achieving the creative heights that she once aspired to, still manages a certain amount of transcendence with her version of the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In all earnestness, it’s one of the best pop songs ever recorded.

It is heartache personified.

Anyone who has ever loved and lost should be able to identify with the range of emotions and feelings on display therein. There’s desperation, and despair, a little shade of anger, and those false kind of personal affirmations you put up to save face…even when you know it’s all bullshit. You try to stay strong, to have fun and carry on. You move on with your life, meet other people, forget about the past. And then you cry.

This song will never cease to move me, so Sinead O’Connor, you are sorely missed, and you will always be all right in my book.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Scandalous

In the summer of 1989 and pretty much through 5th grade, Prince's "Batman" soundtrack was pure fire.  Truth be told, it's still pretty rad.  Here's "Scandalous," a track that was entirely too sexy for me back then, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - P Control

It's been a long time since i've been to a club to dance, but in my hazy memory, i can't recall another song that put the women in a frenzy quite like Prince's "P Control."  As it should be.  Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Prince - Nothing Compares 2 U

It's crazy to think that it's been 2 years since Prince passed away, but with that mythic and legendary vault of materials the man kept of his art, it seems we'll at least be getting unheard music for a long while.  Today, the Prince estate released a 1984 rendition of "Nothing Compares 2 U," the tune made famous by Sinead O'Connor...and it's outstanding.  Watch the equally fascinating video for the song below, compiled of old rehearsal footage from around the same time.  What a pleasant surprise for today.

Dwight Yoakam covers Prince

Dwight Yoakam is a badass, and i will fight to the death anyone who claims otherwise.  The "too-country-for-rock-radio, too-rock-for-country-radio" troubadour has been meshing old school country music, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, and rock n' roll together for decades, penning and covering classics along the way.  On his upcoming "Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars..." LP, the legend covers another legend, turning Prince's "Purple Rain"  into a folky ballad...and it works!  Listen below and get the album from Sugar Hill Records.

That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice?

So, yesterday after hearing the news that Prince had passed away, i wanted to post some kind of tribute to the Purple One.  Due to the protective nature the man had over his art, it's kind of hard to find songs to post, and everyone already seemed to have the big, legendary live stuff covered anyway (Superbowl/George Harrison tribute/Coachella "Creep" cover/etc).  And so today i give you Dump.

Dump was (is?) the project of Yo La Tengo member James McNew, a moniker used for releasing home recorded 4-track demos and other stuff.  Way, way back in 1998, Dump put out a mini-album of Prince covers called "That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice?" that was later reissued three years later with additional tracks.  These fuzzy takes on Prince classics are absolutely fantastic, and a perfect representation of how his funky, revolutionary style and art managed to work its fingers and notes into every single nook and cranny of music and pop culture.

The CD is long out of print, and at last check this morning was going for almost $300 on Amazon.  But you can hear all the songs over on Youtube.  Check out "Raspberry Beret" and "When U Were Mine" below and have a purple day.

RIP Prince

Man, it's sad to see this guy go.  Reports are flooding the net that Prince was found dead at his estate in Minnesota.  I've always had a soft spot for the eccentric (odd) artist, even his less than stellar output (of which there is plenty), from his ever presence in my youth with "Purple Rain" and the "Batman" soundtrack, to feeling kind of dirty watching his potentially overt sexual videos on MTV or VH1 late at night, to his mind blowingly brilliant performance at the Superbowl a decade ago.  The rain poured down as he played "Purple Rain," and it was wonderful and perfect and better than any halftime show before or since.  I'm really going to miss the "Purple One," you weird, sexy mofo.

RIP Prince.