Billie Ray Martin. I'm From Barcelona. Photo by Ulf Magnusson________
The concert of the year is captured on a commemorative compilation. The True Colors album is available now for digital download and hits stores Aug. 7. One dollar from each copy sold and each full album download will be donated to The Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Not only does the disc include favorites from the show—such as the Logo staple Oh Yeah, by The Cliks—but there is newly recorded material as well. Cyndi Lauper joins Erasure for Early Bird ( DJ Manolo's True Colors Mix ) and Morel reworks Lauper's signature, True Colors, into a peak-hour eight-minute-plus frenzy. Rounded out by The Indigo Girls's Rock & Roll Heaven's Gate, Rufus Wainwright's Gay Messiah. Debbie Harry's What Is Love ( from her forthcoming album, Necessary Evil ) and Cazwell's tongue-twister Watch My Mouth, this True Colors keepsake is the charity collection of the summer.
One of the most influential out bands is re-releasing its hard-to-find debut album via Seasick Sailor Records. Two Nice Girls' 2 Nice Girls features I Spent My Last $10 ( On Birth Control and Beer ) and the medley Sweet Jane ( With Affection ) . The remastered reissue now includes two bonus tracks, two new essays and new photos. While the country-meets-folk group had a short-lived run during 1985-1992, they won one of the first GLAAD Awards for positive portrayals of homosexuality in music. Two Nice Girls is available via iTunes, cdbaby, Amazon and The Connextion.
Peek-a-boo! Finally, Siouxsie Sioux is no teasing her loyalists when it comes to information surrounding her eagerly-awaited solo debut. Stepping into the spotlight without her groups Siouxsie and The Banshees or The Creatures, Sioux's Mantaray is due out Sept. 11. On the hot electro-rock single Into A Swan, Sioux sings of coming into her own element: 'I burst out and I transform into a swan.' In the video, Sioux looks ageless, sporting her trademark goth look with eyeliner and red lipstick.
She created a buzz nearly 20 years ago with her progressive band Electribe 101, then tepped forth and wrapped her 'loving arms' around the club community with her solo bow, Deadline For My Memories. Now Billie Ray Martin pleads to anybody who will listen to 'undisco me' on her latest single. Ironically, here Martin demands something fresh from the DJ booth, yet Undisco Me uses the rhythms from the often-sampled Donna Summer anthem I Feel Love. She opens the song with 'I want someone to set me free / I want someone to rhyme on some other beat / All the samples are all the same / I was on the verge of a coma when they came.' DJs are making this a sizeable comeback hit overseas. This German-born avant-garde artist certainly knows how to shake up anybody who will listen. More than just a soul singer or a dance-floor diva, Martin is also a DJ and quite a visual artist. A remarkable 18 different versions of Undisco Me are available on iTunes. Per her MySpace page, Martin is currently working on two long-overdue albums and has a new song coming out later this year called Push The Button with the electronic outfit Risque.
Summer is definitely not over, as heard on Centaur's Party Groove: Pride 07 compilation. Mixed by New York's DJ Max Rodriguez, this continuous set has feel-good remakes such as We Are Family, Self Control, From This Moment On and Forever Young. Gina G. contributes a newly-updated version of Ooh Ahh Just A Little Bit, one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Nicki French scored a hit in 1995 with her rendition of Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Now, Diva DJs put their HI-NRG spin on French's version for this pride collection. We all know Cher is best aped by men, as heard on Jimmy James as Dark Lady redoing If I Could Turn Back Time. Only the trance take on Don't Leave Me This Way, by Nation U.K. featuring Leah, misses the target. It makes me miss the gusto that Thelma Houston and even Jimmy Somerville incorporated into their versions of this disco classic.
Now that the Live Earth Concert and The Concert For Diana have passed, it is time to look forward to Lollapalooza. Coming to Chicago Aug. 3-5, Lollapalooza's line-up is highlighted by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pearl Jam, Patti Smith and Regina Spektor. Everybody is pondering whether Kanye West will be joined by Daft Punk for his latest single, Stronger, which borrows heavily from Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
Making its first North American appearance during this festival is I'm From Barcelona. The quirky pop music from this 29-member group is so sweet and catchy, it has to be from Sweden, not Spain. Originally intended to perform only once, popular demand afforded I'm From Barcelona to release its EP, Don't Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy, and a proper full length album, Let Me Introduce My Friends. Certainly, the group's humor is not lost in translation. For more information regarding Lollapalooza, please visit www.lollapalooza.com .
