Quick Hits: New LARD Song, Twinkle's Time to Dance

LAD Dog and the Band of Shy announced a song of the month program way back in the winter of 2017. They almost immediately fell behind schedule (releasing a song for April, for instance, in the last few days of the month). But now the reason has beamed down from Planet Belopio – the band is released a new, full album at the end of September. So you can download this month's free song, "Dreamers," and then get the full CD, with the same title, DREAMERS.

The psychotropic and phantasmic LARD Dog (Steven Erdman) continues to evolve and the Tower of Power horn sound on "Dreamers" provides a welcome blast of summer just as kids are going back to school (and will almost certainly begin daydreaming in earnest).

Yes, life is a dream for LARD Dog and the Band of Shy. And this merry group of dreamers even puts aside most of the esoterica and opts for empowerment for "Dreamers." You can sign up for their mailing list and get the song by clicking through this quaint link.

When Lady Gaga released a CD with Tony Bennett a few years ago, a number of dance-oriented performers jumped in to fill the void. One of those acts was Twinkle and Friends, who are back with their new CD, JUST DANCE (itself the title of a Gaga song).

Even as Gaga has returned to the forefront with a CD and tour (and Super Bowl performance), Twinkle seeks to entertain and get the kids hopping, bopping and moving. JUST DANCE is a full-fledged LA-based production experience for pre-teens. It's age appropriate and comes with original and remix versions of "Kidz Rock," featuring Mista Cookie Jar.

Twinkle and her husband/producer James Dallas met back when both were under contract to Hollywood Records and refer to themselves half-kiddingly as "the original Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez." Um, am I dating myself by saying I remember Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake as a couple?

Twinkle cites a staggering and intimidating number of influences (from Cher to Shania). That's a lot to cram into 31 minutes of original music, including a remix. But self-confidence is one of the lessons that Twinkle promotes, so a bit of self-promotion is not out of character. Check out the video below and see if you want to check of Twinkle and Friends.

JUST DANCE is available on October 6 from Twinkle's website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is the video for "Just Dance":