Dj Buddy B Blows His Own

...Horn, of course, like that Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Well, anyhow, now that I have your collective attention, I just want to announce -- because I'm not sure everyone realizes at this point -- that I am not only a blogueur (or is it blogueuse? Damned French, it confuses moi! Zoot alors!) but also a member of the press these days! Yes, I am writing for Queens Our City Radio, part of the Our City internet radio network, as their Dance (Music) Promoter. 

Ah, the glitz! The glamour! Why, you can hardly imagine and neither can I! But listen up, people! Here are some of my posts heating up QOC this cold holiday season.
Check out Queens Our City Radio and circumnavigate like Magellan; explore, discover new worlds, go bi-coastal and enjoy yourselves in the process! For example, Chris Colby, Dance Music Personality at QOC, has a fabulous Friday night 10 pm mix show you party animals won't want to ignore, trust me.
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/

Monumental thanks & lots of love to Barbara Sobel of Sobel Promotions with her own dance-music background who "discovered" me (again, the Magellan analogy) and transported me from Leave It to Beaverhausenland to Queens Our City world. I'm very thrilled to be a part of this internet station. In fact, I'm qvelling! It's more than just a radio station; it's a happening! It's a movement! Get into the groove.

Here are some of my recent posts at Queens Our City Radio you won't want to miss (if you know what's better for you):

France Joli ~ Exclusive Interview:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/queens-city-radios-exclusive-interview

Victor Po - Exclusive Interview:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/exclusive-queens-city-radio-interview-victor-po

Cher:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/chers-closer-truth

Joan Crawford:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/what-to-do-in/surviving-mommie-dearest-nyc

Marc Massive - Exclusive Interview:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/talking-eighth-day-animal-rights-marc-massive

Petula Clark:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/happy-81st-birthday-petula-clark-queens-city-radio

Lady Gaga:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/queens-city-radio-review-lady-gaga-applause

Donna Summer:
http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/queens-city-radio-views-donna-summer-releases

And you're waiting for what? This is already a written invitation!

Petula Clark Goes Crazy, Downtown, on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

Ever think you're losing your mind? Oftimes scary, but not on Halloween when you can go Downtown (to the Village parade) and celebrate your inner demons. Presenting Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as covered by none other than old girl Pet Clark! This YouTube video adds the crazy legs of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.

The Return of Petula Clark

Lost in You, the new Petula Clark album, posits the "Downtown" diva as a contemporary of, say, Florence + The Machine with its production techniques (echo, filtering) and some of its musical choices. It is produced by England's John Williams with a modern feel and a generous twist of nostalgia. Admittedly uneven, it's still an engaging album for fans of the 80-year-old singer.

As The Digital Fix Music put it: "[T]his is a lady who has sold nearly 70 million albums over a career stretching back to the Second World War, [and] is well regarded among those with a taste for classy European easy listening...."

Recorded at the London studio on Williams' estate (which may explain why this effort has such an overall relaxed feel), the album opens with "Cut Copy Me," a song with strong commercial appeal and remix possibilities. It's a soft, trancey ballad that Pop Justice described as "sort of Saint Etienne-meets-Lana Del Rey-esque surprise triumph. Part of its beauty lies in the fragility of the whole thing...."

It's truly a trip to hear Pet cover Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." "Wasn't too crazy about doing this," the singer writes candidly in her liner notes (a great reason to buy this on cd rather than download), "But I'm glad I did! It's such a blast to sing!" And even more so to hear, I must add, at the risk of sounding presumptuous.

Clark co-wrote three of the songs: "Never Enough," a country tune; "Reflections," based on a melody by Bach with exceptionally personal lyrics; and the pop ballad "I Won't Care" that ends the album. "Next to You" is a very French, Charles Aznavour-ish track, and the title song, "Lost in You," is both beautifully written and sensitively rendered.

Standards on the album include "He Loves and She Loves" by the Gershwins, John Lennon's "Imagine," Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," and, not surprisingly, a new arrangement of the august "Downtown." An eclectic collection of songs, certainly, hoping to have trans-generational appeal and doing so perhaps a tad errantly. Yet, how else does one try to sum up and display the appeal of a diva with such a long and lustrous career?

The British John Williams (not to be confused with the American composer of film scores), has been the producer, songwriter and arranger for a variety of bands and vocalists since the 1980s, including Alison Moyet, Simple Minds, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Cathy Dennis, Sarah Brightman, Debbie Harry. He has previously worked with the perennial Petula and has obviously earned her trust in his guidance.

I bought my copy of Lost in You in New York at Rebel Rebel on Bleecker Street (downtown where all the lights are bright). Lost in You, released through Sony Music, is also available at Barnes & Noble, on-line at Amazon.com and coming soon to iTunes in both cd and MP3 formats.

Below, the official video for "Cut Copy Me":

Happy 80th Birthday, Petula Clark!

Birthday girl!

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen sends out kisses and best wishes to '60s darling, Pet Clark, on her birthday! She was the one who told us to go Downtown, where "I Know a Place," she promised, reminding us: Don't Sleep in the Subways. (The latter I sometimes sing to the homeless on our platforms.) She was the sensible party girl. She's still performing, so God Bless Petula Clark.

Love Matt Pop's remix, below; my choice of birthday party dance tune to celebrate Clark, who has gone from ingenue to grand dame. A diva we love.

Subway Poems: No. 5

Subway Poem # 5

fatigued, fagged out,

fried,

glide into unconsciousness.

"don't sleep in the subway, darlin';"

pet clark warned us in '67.

how i've forgotten

sage advice.

pulling away

from morpheus' embrace

to the glare of lights

at atlantic/pacific streets,

seated directly across from

a girl with 

 serious beehive 

balanced

on her head

and, down the aisle,

three latinas with

artfully plucked eyebrows,

i wonder

where i've arrived

to arrive

back in time

this time.