The Copacabana, a Tea Commercials and Sunsets over the Hudson

For the last eight years, we have used Sonos to play sound and music in our home. If you are not familiar with Sonos, it is a wireless speaker system that allows you to select music through a proprietary app on a streaming service of your choosing. Last year, Sonos had massive technical problems, such as an unresponsive app or speakers dropping in and out. It has improved greatly again, but there are still annoying glitches.

For that reason, we have started playing music on an Apple TV lately, which comes with benefits. For example, you don’t have to constantly pick up your phone – which may send you down a distracting rabbit hole – but instead use a good old remote. In addition, you can see the song that is currently playing at a glance on the big screen.

Also, Apple Music displays lyrics in karaoke style for many songs. Growing up in Germany, we were used to not understanding the lyrics of an English song, and this now leads to interesting revelations, specifically with old hits.

For example, we did not know that Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana “ – an upbeat party track – is a dark song about a dancer who lost the love of her life in a shooting and spirals down into self-destructive alcoholism.

You may ask, why does the glamglare team listen to Barry Manilow and not cutting-edge, just-released songs? Well, for quite some time, we put on a playlist for a specific year in the 70s and 80s on Saturday mornings and try to connect it with memories.

Last Saturday, 1978 music, including “Dust in the Wind” by the American band Kansas, was on deck. This song always throws me back to a radio commercial by the German herbal tea maker Meßmer Tee. It was played so often that I still remember the changed German lyrics, which described their teas as borderline mind-altering, which is problematic in advertising. Also, since the lyrics were changed to convey a commercial message – a significant departure from the original bible-inspired words, songwriter Kerry Livgren must have agreed to this version. I would have loved to learn about this, but I could not find a single reference to this commercial on the internet.

Another big moment of personal nostalgia will happen tomorrow: British pop musician Kim Wilde releases her fifteenth studio album Closer, 44 years after her first one. Kim was the first ever musician I was a fan of – before, I liked songs but did not care much about the musicians. So I’m happy to see how much fun she still has with making music - you can see that in this clip with her brother Ricky. I’m looking forward to listening to the record!

glamglare favorites

Listen to glamglare favorites on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

January is a serious toughie, and that’s probably why Oliver indulged me yesterday in a heavy dose of Julius Casablancas: solo, with the Strokes, of course, his new band The Voidz and the collab with Daft Punk. Hence, it’s a no-brainer to pick five of his songs for this week’s Five Favorites. While I still remember the birth of MTV and music videos, I was and am never the biggest fan of that medium. The following clips though, I love musically and visually - in that order. Enjoy

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on [YouTube](Link Here). Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

Now you can follow our daily song picks also on Apple Music.

The new song "Recognise" by UK singer/producer Shura captures the feeling of getting out of a down phase: "Read a book, sip a coffee and deeply appreciate being here."

"The song grapples with the idea that ultimately, we will never completely know someone," says Hannah Cohen about "Earthstar," the first single of her new album, out on March 28. It comes with a beautiful video, too. The Singer/songwriter and guitar maven Cecilia Castleman released her debut record last Friday, with the single "Waiting on You.”

"Back Where We Started" is a new epic synth-pop track by UK band The Frixion. The Florida band Glass House Point has been working on "Circling" since 2022. They have finally released the song; more music is coming this year. "The Red dove being a conduit of the world's negativity, yet held peacefully in the hands of an innocent child." “Read Dove” is the third single off Penelope Trappes’ upcoming album "A Requiem."

Ready now for some good vibes? "We used congas and steelpan drums to give it an island Americana feel, which felt like the perfect way to invite some lighthearted joy into the process." Ynana Rose and Holly Ann Lewis collaborated for their new song "Simplify."

Nine Photos of a Sunset Sunday in NYC

Have I already stated that winter, particularly January, is harsh? Photo opportunities are sparse. One of our favorite pastimes, going for walks, is simply less fun in the cold and the toned-down city backdrop. No colors, less life - a glorious Hudson River sunset to the rescue! Last Sunday, the sun finally appeared again after three weeks or so of freezing cold, topped off with grey skies. When we set out for our walk, I snapped photos of everything I deemed somewhat interesting and photo-worthy. Little did I know that we’d get treated to nature’s best spectacle, making me delete all the previous pics again. Soaking in the sun around the South and North Cove made me happy. And because our Central Park outing on Saturday wasn’t too shabby either, I started the nine photos series with a photo from there. Enjoy!