Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned: Mary J Blige, Pretty Reckless, Aretha Franklin

"NOT GON' CRY"    MARY J BLIGE

If you saw "Waiting To Exhale", you remember Angela Bassett's character caught her husband lying and cheating.  Payback is a bitch!  She filled his BMW with all of his belongings, poured gasoline on the car, and flicked her cigarette into the car and poof!  As the car ignited, she confidently strutted away!  A woman in Detroit recently copied this stunt after her man messed around.   Unlike the movie, she was sent to jail and faces up to five years for arson. The movie's outcome seemed better.   Mary J. Blige sums it up in the best song from the film.

"MAKES ME WANNA DIE"  PRETTY RECKLESS

TV actress, Taylor Momsen, heads the alternative rock band, Pretty Reckless.   Unlike her clean Gossip Girl TV image, the band is post-grunge with a dark sound similar to Nirvana mixed with Oasis.   "Makes Me Wanna Die" is their biggest hit and a favorite on the Warped Tour.  The song is played over the end credits of "Kick Ass" where a young teenage girl turns out to be the toughest vigilante ever taking out every villian in the film.   Chloe Grace Moretz played Hit-Girl and has since starred in everything from Hugo, Let Me In, 500 Days Of Summer, and one of the leads in Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows.

"ANOTHER NIGHT"    ARETHA FRANKLIN

The mid-80's comeback for the Queen Of Soul was unexpected.   The greatest female soul voice of the 60's got lost in the 70's decade of singer-songwriters and disco.    She jumped on the "Freeway Of Love" in her "Pink Cadillac" and became a legitimate R&B chart topper in 1985.   "Another Night" is epic, Aretha's voice is pure, the beat is slamming, and the "don't mess with me again" attitude has got to make you smile!    Check out how she puts her loser boyfriend in check during the song :)

London Calling : The Clash, Aretha Franklin, Rob Thomas

"LONDON CALLING"                    THE CLASH

My all-time favorite album cover is London Calling.    This was the third album by the Hall Of Fame English punk band.   What made the Clash so amazing was their ability to incorporate punk, reggae, ska, rock, folk, even funk into their songs.  They were so ahead of their time.    "London Calling" speaks to rising unemployment, Three Mile Island's near disaster in Pennsylvania, and racial disharmony in England.   A few years ago, a Clash Joe Strummer tribute band of Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, and Elvis Costello played this live on the Grammys with Mick Jones!

"SMOOTH" (Unplugged)    ROB THOMAS      

"Smooth" mixed the brilliant guitar work of Carlos Santana with Rob Thomas.     Grammy winning song, #1 hit, voted Top 10 on the list of sexiest songs ever,.......then Rob does an unplugged version with a female singer on the hook and it's amazing with a totally different vibe.   The song is more mesmerizing, sexy as can be, but a chill-out vibe.   Brilliant song either version.

"DON'T PLAY THAT SONG (YOU LIED)"     ARETHA FRANKLIN

The queen of soul, Aretha, has that soulful voice that can reach into your soul.    Ben E. King of the Drifters was the first to record this song but Aretha took it to #1 in 1970.    It's a great song and the video shows Aretha on the piano singing this R&B classic with gospel passion.   You can see her facial expression and emotions play out, she's mad he'd lied and she's calling him out.    Great singer, great song!


Don't play that song for me
'Cause it brings back memories
Of days that I once knew
The days that I spent with you
Oh no, don't let him play it
It fills my heart with pain
Please stop it right away
I remember just-a what he said


He said darling, "Darling, I love you"
And I know that he lied