Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars

I will gladly say it, you can put me in the Bruno Mars fan club. This young man has got an incredible voice, and perhaps an even greater talent. Channeling Sam Cooke, Prince and Micheal Jackson and that my friends is not just hyperbole this fellow might have the strongest, most versatile voice in music today.

As good, as catchy, as the first album was there is no doubt in my mind that this album is better than his first one. The first single Locked Out of Heaven has been all over the radio but even that is more of a generic hit, more a result of Mars ability to make a catchy hit in his sleep than a reflection of his talent.

On Moonshine Mars sounds like he has come off a Micheal album from the eighties with a chorus that is silky smooth, even makes me think a little of Dan Hartman. The first song on the album is Young Girls a song that Mars sang a couple of months ago on Saturday Night Live. This will soon be soaring to the top of your charts without a doubt.

Four other songs on the album deserve exceptional notice and in sets of two they are as different as any you will find. When I was Your Man finds the singer lamenting the loss of a woman that he should have bought flowers and held her hand. He was however too young and too dumb and now she is Dancing with another man. Heartbreak through the voice of Bruno Mars is pop friendly but that should mitigate this exceptional talent. If one is still not convinced the last two minutes and thirteen seconds on the album should seal the deal. If I Knew could have been sung by any of the forefathers of black music from the sixties, for me Sam Cooke comes to mind but you can take your pick. It is a perfect song.

To talk about the other two songs of note one needs to turn the page and put the kids to bed because that is when bad Bruno comes out. With his nod to Prince and perhaps even Marvin Gaye and Rick James the song Gorillas has Mars dropping his Mf's with the best of them advising his girl " you and me baby will be making love like gorilla's." After expressing no worries about the cops being called about their loud carnal activities, his girl calling him Daddy, and calling him, for you Prince, a sexy mother,,,,,r, we know that Bruno knows where all his sweet songs end up. It is a contrast but it is well crafted and Prince is surely smiling somewhere.

Following that song with a spoken into about squirrels and MF's again we here Treasure which starts like Delirious era Prince but before you get settled you get comfortable with another naughty song you realize this is just another slice of eighties pop sounding more like Kool and the Gang or El Debarge than anything else.

In short, and, with Bruno's height, that is indeed a pun, one does not know who Bruno Mars really is. Perhaps the Pandora skit on SNL earlier this year spoke volumes, perhaps the song title of Jukebox is meaningful. Whatever it is Mars has numerous influences and with his talent his albums are like a tour of popular black music of the last few decades. He has a voice like sugar and is incredibly talented.

This is a very good album.

Bruno Mars on Saturday Night Live

A few observations on this week of Saturday Night Live. The cold open this week again featured a look at a Presidential debate, this one being the second held last week. It was funny in a different way than the first debate parody which we saw earlier in the season.

In this round the folks asking the question became part of the humor, the debate having been held on Long Island made for some easy to mock characters just in the asking of the question. For all the accolades Jay Pharoah gets for his performance on Obama the real star of these skits is Jason Sudekis, his take on Obama while not physically as similar is spot on with his speaking patters. When Sudekis as Romney says " Candy, Candy, Candy just let me make three more points" he is Mitt Romney. Perhaps the standout moment of the skit however, was the wry observation of when a voter asks what they two will do to keep AK-47's out the hands of the wrong people and both the fictitious candidates quickly agreed that the answer to that was " Nothing, Absolutely Nothing."

Tom Hanks as he is often want to do hung around Saturday night and appeared in a couple of skits. It must be nice for both sides, clearly Hanks has an open invitation to show up whenever he feels like it, and what a good day it must be for Lorne Michaels when he walks in the door.

The star of the show was, unequivocally, Mr. Mars. When he came out to do the monologue the first thing that I noticed was how incredibly short he is. This man is tiny, both small and short. He talked a bit about being the host and the musical guest and away the show went.

Mars appeared in a Pandora music skit that showed off his range and an incredible range it is, he sang a few lines of six different singes and did it amazingly well. Mars cannot not be listened to and not make one think of Michael Jackson. He is an amazing singer. His second performance of the night, of a song I have not yet heard, called Crazy Lost Girls, or something like that, was amazing. I assume that it is on a forthcoming album.

Another win was the short called Sad Clown featuring Mars and a return to the tunnel ride at an amusement park that breaks down leaving the amniatronic figures to menace those on the ride. Hanks made a special appearance in this role and it was solid.

There were misses, Weekend update wss subpar, I never find Stefan to be that funny and the Brad Pitt themed commercials did not strike gold.

Still another great week for SNL, they are on a roll.

Young and Wild and Free by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars

I will give rappers credit. They collaberate better than rock and roll artists. This song which appears on a soundtrack album called Mac and Devin go to High School, though I am not sure this is a real movie.

My middle son has been playing this all the time. Listening to the words it is hard to embrace. So what we get drunk, so what we smoke weed. Roll one, Smoke one seems to be the theme.

So I listened to this today on Spotify. This song sends a bad message. It has bad language and is all about drug use. It is awful.

It is also incredibly and I mean incredibly addictive and enjoyable. If I were a 16 year old kid out with my friends this is the song that would be on the radio. It is not even a debate. It is catchy, it has a great rhythem and yes here is a news flash kids like songs about drinking and smoking. Even those like my kids who do not do these things.

I should also talk about a song on the same album I listened to today called I Get Lifted. Soaking up the breeze, smoking on this tree, and then with a back chorus of some female soul singers with I Get Lifted. If it is possible this song might be even more catchy than the song above.

Look this whole album is all about weed and smoking dope. This is not a good thing. One thing we must face is that as long as artists can make music this catchy with riffs like this kids are going to be influenced.

Now my worry is that it is on the radio. I do not think songs with drug refences and that need bleeps every three words should be on the radio. Teenagers will find these on Spotify if they wish, but so many of the Top 40 listeners are junior high or less. They do not need the music that is on this radio.

As parents we can always control some of what our kids listen to. I played this with my son tonight. He knows I do not endorse the message. It does not good however to be hypocritical and pretend this music, much like Lil Wayne is not incredibly strong. Can the message be ignored and the beat enjoyed. I am hoping it can be.

These are great songs. There is no denying it.