Sia

Sia's quickly become a household name after many years of sitting in the wings.  Although she's not as recognizable as say Beyonce or Rihanna she truly should be as you've likely heard her music just as much as both if not more.  She tends to hide her face for television performances and is very selective when it comes to appearances of any kind.  Her writing and vocal talents, coupled with her signature platinum blonde bob, have finally put her in the spotlight where she belongs.

I had the pleasure of working on 1 of Sia's albums back in 2004.  It was her 3rd solo album and housed the breakout hit 'Breathe Me'.  That particular track took on a new life when it was used during the last scene of HBO's Six Feet Under (spoiler scene - click here).  

The only time she came to town around that album was doing back-up duties for Zero 7 on tracks like 'Distractions' and 'Destiny'.  Both immense tracks with so much soul.  I went to that show at Toronto's Opera House to say hello.  She came out prior to the show and met me at the back bar.  She was super friendly, pretty and quirky all at once.  She was just excited to know that someone was handling this album and new it from cover to cover.  I still love that album today and would stick it in my top 25 albums of all time for sure.

Sia's story hit the tipping point this past year and perhaps even exploded this afternoon when she performed on Ellen seen here.

She's written some of the biggest pop hits over the last couple of years including tracks for Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry, David Guetta and FloRida to name a few.  I knew a few of these were written by her - but when I heard her on the Howard Stern show my mind was blown. This is by far the most amazing interview I've heard in a long time - check it out.

Sia's one of music finest talents today as she embodies what it means to be a true artist.  Look for her star to shine even brighter in February with the a Grammy performance and nods in multiple categories.  

Here's my - 'You Know Sia' - Spotify Playlist.

Thanks for reading/listening,

Gregg 

Something for the Weekend...

I love calendars.  More specifically I love the process of plotting music events like concerts, release dates and festivals on a fresh calendar.  Maybe it's the OCD in me - but it's a simple task that brings me a bit of joy while building excitement about the music itself.  T.M.I.?  Oh well - now you know.

I forgot to mention that I listen to lots of music while plotting and this last round allowed me to either discover or revisit amazing music that's come out recently. These particular tracks have been the soundtrack to my 2015 thus far and make me look forward to what's to come.

It's January which means line-ups for festival are being announced along with dates and such. Although I won't be heading to Palm Springs for Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival  - it's a killer announcement of acts spread across 2 weekends in April.   I do hope to make it to NYC for this year's Governor's Ball though.  Mr. Gallagher will be playing this one which is the closest thing to an Oasis reunion we're going to see for some time. 

February means The Grammy Awards - then March brings us Canada's JUNO Awards in Hamilton - and the following week is SXSW in Austin, Texas.  Not a bad way to get one's head out of the fact that it was literally colder in Canada than it is on Mars this week.

Here are 5 tracks that I'm in love with at this time and simply want to recommend to you. Enjoy!

The Black Keys - 'The Weight of Love' *video not on YouTube:(

The War on Drugs - 'Red Eyes'

Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Home By Now'

Wu Tang Clan - 'A Better Tomorrow'

Tobias Jesso Jr. - 'Hollywood'

• Spotify Playlist Here *Black Key's track isn't available on streaming services:(

Thanks for reading/listening,

Gregg