Category: The Jukebox

  • [The JukeBox] #75 – Sonique – It Feels So Good (And a Bit of History)

    [The JukeBox] #75 – Sonique – It Feels So Good (And a Bit of History)

    Back in late 90’s/early 2000’s, Sonique (Sonia Marina Clarke) burst onto the pop and dance scene but with a little bit of help from her friends.

    Sonique was born and raised in England. At 17, she put together a reggae band called ‘Fari’ and ended up writing the music for the band. After Fari disbanded, she set about getting her own recording contract.
    In 1985, she released her solo single “Let me hold you“. It reached the Top 40 Dance Chart in the UK.

    This wouldn’t be our first sighting of Sonique though as she was a member of the dance band S’Express, which you might remember for this song:

    After S’Express disbanded , Mark Moore (A producer and DJ for S’Express) and Sonique continued being friends.

    Clarke would accompany both Mark Moore and the infamous DJ Judge Jules to their gigs for about 3 years.

    She signed with Serious Records and released her first single “I Put a Spell On You”, a cover of the 1956 hit by Jay Hawkins:

    It would end up being the ‘B’ track on the single release of It Feels So Good.

    She would end working as a In-house DJ for Club Manumission in Ibiza between 1997 and 2001.

    Her debut album ‘Hear My Cry’ was released in 1998 but re-released in 2000. With the re-release, ‘It Feels So Good‘, topped the UK chart for 3 weeks in 2000 and became the third best-selling single of 2000 (Beaten by ‘Can We Fix it?’ by Bob The Builder and ‘Pure Shores’ by All Saints)

    Sonique would retire as a DJ to focus on her singing career. She would return to the decks after her next album Born to Be Free (released in 2003) was not successful.

    Clarke was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2009 but would get the all clear a year later and celebrated by releasing a cover to Cyndi Lauper’s hit Girls Just Want to Have Fun with proceeds going to Cancer Research UK.

    Sonique is still releasing music to this day but in collaboration with other DJ’s and producers such as Dario G, Mauro Picotto and Ramiro. Her latest solo album was released in 2011 under the ZYX label titled Sweet Vibrations.

    Here is Sonique’s biggest hit, It Feels So Good.

    YouTube:

    Lyrics:

    You always make me smile
    When I’m feeling down
    You give me such a vibe
    It’s totally bonified, mmh
    It’s not the way you walk
    And it ain’t the way you talk
    It ain’t the job you got
    That keeps me satisfied

    Your love, it feels so good
    And that’s what takes me high
    Higher than I’ve been before
    Your love it keeps me alive
    Thought I should let you know
    That your touch it means so much
    When I’m alone at night
    It’s you I’m always thinking of, ooh-oh, baby

    Ooh I want you to understand
    How I feel, yeah, deep inside
    oh oh, you make me feel
    what I need to feel, yes
    In my heartYour love, it feels so good
    And that’s what takes me high
    Higher than I’ve been before
    Your love it keeps me alive
    Thought I should let you know
    That your touch it means so much
    When I’m alone at night
    It’s you I’m always thinking of, oh-oh, baby

    Your love, it feels so good
    And that’s what takes me high
    Higher than I’ve been before
    Your love it keeps me alive
    Thought I should let you know
    That your touch it means so much
    When I’m alone at night
    It’s you I’m always thinking of, ooh-oh, baby

    Your love, it feels so good
    And that’s what takes me high
    Higher than I’ve been before
    Your love it keeps me alive
    Thought I should let you know
    That your touch it means so much
    When I’m alone at night
    It’s you I’m always thinking of, ooh-oh, baby

    Your love, it feels so good
    And that’s what takes me high
    Higher than I’ve been before
    Your love it keeps me alive
    Thought I should let you know
    That your touch it means so much
    When I’m alone at night
    It’s you I’m always thinking of, ooh-oh, baby

    Spotify & Deezer:

    It Feels So Good
    Sonique – song – 2000
    Deezer

  • [The JukeBox] #74 – Ann Lee – 2 Times

    [The JukeBox] #74 – Ann Lee – 2 Times

    A simpler time, back in 1999, we had some classic hits like Mysterious Times (#52), Missing (#18) and It feels so good (Coming in )

    2 Times by Ann Lee has always been a bop in nightclubs across UK, Ireland and beyond.

    The YouTube video has the following about Ann Lee:

    Ann Lee is a British Eurodance singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She is known solely for her 1999 hit single “2 Times”.

    Having moved to live in Italy in the late 1980s, Lee was talent-scouted, and was used as the lead singer on a series of Eurodance singles, issued under various aliases. These have included Charme, Anne, Ally & Jo, DJ Space’C, Lolita, A Kay BJ, Alex, Wienna and TH Express.[citation needed] She also released a few Eurobeat solo singles on the Italian label A.Beat-C. under the names Annerley Gordon and Annalise. Gordon is credited with contributing to the composition of “Rhythm of the Night”, released in Italy in December 1993 on the DWA record label, by the Eurodance project Corona.

    Her first solo single under the name “Ann Lee” was “2 Times”, originally released in 1998. It was re-released in early 1999 and became a Top 10 hit in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Norway, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. It also hit number 2 in her native United Kingdom, and reached number one in Flanders and Denmark. In Canada it reached number 14 on the singles chart. “2 Times” was featured in the 2001 film Head Over Heels as the movie’s theme song.

    YouTube

    2 Times
    Ann Lee – song – 2013
    Deezer

  • [The Jukebox] #73 – Takeharu Ishimoto – Twister

    [The Jukebox] #73 – Takeharu Ishimoto – Twister

    In a much simpler time, 2007, Square-Enix released a new IP on the Nintendo DS, called The World Ends With You (TWEWY). An RPG utilising the DS’ bottom touch screen to move your character and using badges to unleash attacks such as fire, ice and other elements.

    The game was set in Tokyo’s suburb Shibuya, and while most of the landmarks were duplicated into the video game, some names of businesses being modified, like the infamous department store 109 becoming “104” and Starbucks becoming “Outback Cafe”.

    In the 2021 sequel, NEO: TWEWY, the game is once again set in Shibuya and this time it kept the names of Tower Records and Parco in the game. 104 and Outback retain their names from the first game.

    (Sidenote: While they share the names, Tower Records in Japan and Tower Records in Ireland operate independently from each other, but it would be so so SO nice if I could get some Japanese only music in the Irish stores. They have some Anime movies (Mainly Studio Ghibli titles) but it would be cool to get some pop/dance/OST)

    Twister while not the main theme, became synonymous with the franchise as it has been remixed many many times (25 times in fact) for battles, boss battles and final battles for the iOS Release, the Final Mix release, NEO: TWEWY release and the anime intro!

    Original 2007 Version
    2018 “Final Remix” Version
    2021 “NEO: TWEWY” Version
    2021 TWEWY Anime Intro Version 

    Lyrics:

    “Brain wave, main wave”
    Psycho got a high kick
    Collect and select
    Show me your best set
    “Crystals, blisters”
    It’s all over now
    Psycho cane
    You’re so keen
    I need more candy canes
    “Cold cake, cold break”
    Freak got a high kick
    Mr. Twister
    Moist with roistering
    Stick it up
    Take it up
    Step aside and see the world
    Effect has defects
    “Take a bow to the moon (Bow-wow to the moon)”
    “Brain wave, main wave”
    Psycho got a high kick
    Collect and select
    Show me your best set
    “Crystals, blisters”
    It’s all over now
    Psycho cane
    You’re so keen
    I need more candy canes
    “Cold cake, cold break”
    Freak got a high kick
    Mr. Twister
    Moist with roistering
    Stick it up
    Take it up
    Step aside and see the world
    Effect has defects
    “Take a bow to the moon (Bow-wow to the moon)”
    “Morning rays, hairspray Queens”
    “Get on their way to their nests, the west”
    “Honest, they once had a dream”
    “Belles of society, in the shells of their unity”
    Cornet ‘n spinet
    “The sound flows, follows till they’re home”
    Dragged by the power of dreams
    That power is yet unknown
    “Morning rays, hairspray Queens”
    “Get on their way to their nests, the west”
    “Honest, they once had a dream”
    “Belles of society, in the shells of their unity”
    Cornet ‘n spinet
    “The sound flows, follows till they’re home”
    Dragged by the power of dreams
    That power is yet unknown

  • [The JukeBox] #72 – ‘Bad Boy’ (Razor Ramon) – Jim Johnston

    [The JukeBox] #72 – ‘Bad Boy’ (Razor Ramon) – Jim Johnston

    “In my lifetime I have learned that hard work pays off, dreams come true. Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.”  ~ Scott Hall

    When someone says the phrase ‘Wrestling Legend’, a few names are often mentioned. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

    Last week, one of those legends left us as Scott Hall passed away at the age of 63.

    Scott was a former:

    • 4 x WWE Intercontinental Champion lasting 437 days
    • 7 x WCW World Tag Team Champion lasting 571 days
    • 2 x WCW United States Champion lasting 66 days
    • WCW World Television Champion lasting 8 days
    • AWA World Tag Team Champion lasting 119 days
    • IMPACT World Tag Team Champion lasting 41 days
    • 2 x WWE Hall of Famer (Single Career 2014, Part of nWo in 2020)

    He was also be in the infamous wrestling stable, New World Order in WCW when him and Kevin Nash joined Hulk Hogan which formed the catalyst for the infamous Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWF.

    Razor Ramon theme 
    New World Order theme
  • [The JukeBox] #71 – Miki Matsubara – Stay with Me

    [The JukeBox] #71 – Miki Matsubara – Stay with Me

    Back in 1979, a few days from her 20th birthday, Miki Matsubara released her debut single Mayonaka no Door (Stay With Me) under the Pony Canyon label but this wasn’t her first foray into music.

    Matsubara’s mother was in a jazz band called the ‘Crazy Cats’ and while attending school, Matsubara was in the rock band ‘Kurei’ and played the keyboard.’

    Stay With Me released on November 5th 1979 and it’s reached 28th on the Oricon charts. Matsubara would have continued success during her music career but Stay With Me is considered her best work.

    In the 90’s, Matsubara worked on music for anime’s and commercials in Japan, most notably for Gundam

    At the end of 2000, Miki Matsubara would inform her friends and colleagues to let her know that she could no longer continue her music career.

    It was revealed that Miki Matsubara had a late diagnosis of uterine cervix cancer. Matsubara would battle the cancer for the last few years of her life. Matsubara died on October 7th 2004 at the age of 44.

    Her music would live on in the great city pop resurgence of the 2010s when her song ‘Stay With Me’ would become a staple of the subgenre alongside Plastic Love.

    The song would get another huge surge of popularity in 2020 when YouTuber, Rainych, created a cover of the song. The popularity would spread to platforms like YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.

    Due to this popularity, Matsubara’s first album Pocket Park got a repress on vinyl in late 2020.

    Lyrics – English:

    [Intro]
    To you
    Yes, my love to you
    Yes, my love to you, you
    To you

    [Verse 1]
    I am only me, you are only you
    I said that last night and still feel the same way
    You in your gray jacket with that familiar coffee stain
    Just as you always are
    Our reflection in the display window

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget it as long as I live

    [Verse 2]
    They say love and affection are two different things
    You told me last night
    Sometimes I think so too
    Winter comes again and your heart has gone away
    If I look back I see
    That I could always feel you by my sidе

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    There’s a holе in my heart (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Distracted by my loneliness
    The needle on my record player (Ooh)
    Was stuck on a repeating melody

    [Saxophone Solo]

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget how warm it felt

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget how warm it felt

    [Outro]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me

    (Ooh, I’ll never forget how warm it felt)

    Lyrics – Romaji:

    [Intro]
    To you
    Yes, my love to you
    Yes, my love to you, you
    To you

    [Verse 1]
    Watashi wa watashi, anata wa anata to
    Yuube itteta sonna ki mo suru wa
    Gurei no jaketto ni
    Mioboe ga aru kouhii no shimi (Ooh)
    Aikawarazu na no ne
    Shou uindou ni futari utsureba (Ooh)

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu
    Daiji ni shite ita

    [Verse 2]
    Koi to ai to wa chigau monoda yo to
    Yuube iwareta sonna ki mo suru wa
    Nidome no fuyu ga kite
    Hanarete itta anata no kokoro (Ooh)
    Furi kaereba itsumo
    Soko ni anata wo kanjite ita no (Ooh)

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kokoro ni ana ga aita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Sabishisa magirawashite
    Oita rekodo no hari (Ooh)
    Onaji merodi kurikaeshite ita

    [Saxophone Solo]

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu atatameteta

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu atatameteta

    [Outro]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me

    (Ooh, mada wasurezu atatameteta)

  • [The Jukebox] #70 – Masayoshi Soken – ENDWALKER

    [The Jukebox] #70 – Masayoshi Soken – ENDWALKER

    In less than 36 hours from this post, Final Fantasy XIV’s 4th expansion, Endwalker will be available in early access with the game fully launching on the 7th December.

    As I have mentioned on previous Jukeboxes, Soken is great!

    Masayoshi Soken, the composer for a majority of the score in Final Fantasy XIV has been a well-deserved talking point in the last few months. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Soken had spent 6 months of the year in hospital dealing with laryngeal cancer. Most of the development team didn’t know that he was in hospital.

    While he was in hospital, he wanted to continue working. Arrangements were thankfully made and he managed to produce one of the best songs in To The Edge. The music is just beautiful, the lyrics are fantastic and I am stunned how Soken could produce something this awesome while recovering from cancer!

    On May 15th, Square-Enix released the Full Trailer for the ENDWALKER trailer which primarily contains the ENDWALKER theme, but also features motif’s of the previous expansions, A REALM REBORN, HEAVENSWARD and STORMBLOOD.

    In a “Letter from the Producer LIVE” hosted by the director of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida, he announced that the expansion would be delayed by 2 weeks from the 23rd November to the 7th December to improve on the quality of the game.

    In the meantime, Square-Enix released the official ENDWALKER track via 7-inch vinyl and also upload the song to YouTube.

    The motif for the song will be reused throughout the ENDWALKER expansion for different themes such as the battle theme, locations and other songs.

    ENDWALKER is performed by the in-house band THE PRIMALS with vocals from Architects’ Sam Carter.

    Lyrics:

    Heart of ember, autumntide
    Cooling swiftly, bleeding light
    Smold’ring softly, biding time
    Marching forward, left behind

    Fire as shadows clash
    Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash
    Fire will be repaid
    ‘Fore our echoes begin to fade

    Fade away… Fade away…

    Heart of ember, autumntide
    Burning brightly, hot and white
    Kindred severed neverwhere
    Sorrow’s silence, we needn’t bear

    Tumbling down to the never!

    Every step we take
    Echoes in our wake
    Winding ’round our fate
    To forge ahead

    Should we lose our way
    Tire of all this pain
    We won’t be afraid
    To forge ahead

    Fearless hearts ablaze
    (When the world comes crumbling down)
    No more time to waste
    (Know I’ll be there)
    No, it’s not too late
    (Though our fleeting moment has gone)
    To forge ahead
    (You’re not–you’re not alone YEAH)

    As we ride again
    (As you turn your eyes to the stars)
    To another end
    (Oh, I’ll be there)
    Where it all begins
    (With my chorus guiding you)
    Forge ahead
    (Forge ahead)