PR Newswire is reporting that singer Madonna is to make a historic, first time appearance on BET's 106 & Park. This follows the Material Girl's interview with the legendary Donnie Simpson – a first generation Black Entertainment Television personality (Video Soul) – on his WPGC radio show, The Donnie Simpson Morning Show, the week of April 10. The word is that the show's hosts – Terrence and Rocsi – will give the Material Girl a welcome like no other. Madonna's appearance on 106 & Park is scheduled for Friday, May 2, at 6pm EST.

Madonna recently released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy – a decidedly more urban recording than her past few full-lengths (with flourishes of dance-pop and '80s nostalgia thrown in for good measure).

*Original PR Newswire Story here

Categories: Madonna; 106 & Park; Hard Candy; Donnie Simpson

Happy Belated Earth Day, readers! My apologies for the long absence, but life has been in full gear (with a LOT of bumps). Not to worry – I am returning to full-time blogging immediately!

There are a great many current events that need discussion, and Aria will return to full form to address them (as well as music and popular culture). Indeed, I will at last give my two cents on the election cycle – or rather the Democratic contest leading up to the full-fledged election in November.

I will say that I have made my selection based on a lot of the negative campaigning and fear-mongering being brought to bear in this election cycle. If you have to know who I'm supporting, I will freely admit that I have long since defected from Hillary Clinton's camp to become a staunch Obama supporter. I just couldn't support Clinton anymore because (as I see it) she has campaigned like a Republican – 9/11, fear-mongering and all. Indeed, she has so polarized the Democratic Party that I don't know that a victory is even achievable for either candidate – Obama or Clinton – in November. More on this to come in future posts...

Again – Happy belated Earth Day!

Legendary singing and songwriting duo, Ashford & Simpson, have at last received a two-disc greatest hits package worthy of their dance music contributions. A diversely talented team – who also happen to be husband and wife – A & S have penned hits for artists as legendary as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, the 5th Dimension and Ray Charles. Several of the duos more notable compositions  – "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"; "You're All I Need to Get By"; "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" – were recorded by the immaculately paired Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

Now THIS is how a greatest hits package should be DONE!

As noted, the two-disc The Warner Bros. Years: Hits, Remixes & Rarities showcases the dancier side of Ashford & Simpson; disco standards like "Found a Cure", "One More Try", "Love Don't Make It Right" and "Over and Over" are all collected on Disc One in their full 12-inch forms. Disc Two remixes many of those selfsame tracks and boasts musical reworkings by dance music greats like Dimitri from Paris, Joe Claussell, Joey Negro and Tommy Musto. The remixers are respectful of the integrity of the originals, while also mindful of the unexplored possibilities inherent within those selfsame classics.

The Warner Bros. Years: Hits, Remixes & Rarities mostly spans the years of 1977-1980; two straight-ahead soul classics – "Have You Ever Tried It" and "Everybody's Got to Give It Up" – are the exceptions and round out the otherwise uptempo compilation nicely. This collection serves as a brilliant summation of Ashford & Simpson's disco years and will please all but the most ardent of fans, who likely would've liked more of the duo's '80's hits (like "Solid") included.

Categories: Ashford & Simpson; Disco; Disco House; Joe Claussell; Dimitri from Paris; Tommy Musto