Rdio is a music service that rivals Pandora. Choose what you want to play and listen as much as you want. No ads. You do have to purchase a subscription to actually listen to it on your smart phone just like Spotify. However from your laptop, you can listen to full albums and stream playlists.

Thanks to Joel Cheesman for the lead!

Find out more information about Rdio

The original Van Halen crew plus Wolf minus Michael Anthony are rumored to release a new record coming in February 2012. Today on their website, Van Halen announced details of their 2012 Tour.

Their latest album has been described by Mark Tremonti from Creed as a throwback to old style Van Halen. The rumor is the band decided to go back and revisit old material for a source of inspiration. Does this mean that Michael Anthony should have writing credits on the new album?

If you’re not old enough to remember it when it was on the radio, you likely know the song “Brand New Key” from its appearance in commercials, like this one.  The song was the only number one hit for New York-born singer-songwriter Melanie, and it hit the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for a three-week run exactly 40 years ago today.  “Brand New Key” was one of six top 40 hits for Melanie, all coming in the early 1970s, which included one other top ten hit:  “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” which peaked at number 6 in 1970.

Melanie (or Melanie Safka by her full name) is still touring, and you can find out more about her, including tour dates, at her website.

Best known for his 1999 international mega-hit “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” San Juan, Puerto Rico-born singer Ricky Martin turns 40 years old today.  In addition to “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” which spent five weeks at the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, Martin hit the top 40 with four more songs between 1999 and 2001, including “She’s All I Ever Had,” “Shake Your Bon-Bon,” “She Bangs,” and “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely.”

As a DJ, there are just some songs that always invoke a physical reaction and pack your dance floor; one of those is “Kiss” by Price. The other day I realized that bass pumping, guitar driven tune is twenty-five years old. Kiss was one of several #1 hits of Prince’s career.

I often wonder when Prince changed his name to a symbol if that was the moment he jumped the shark. You always had to refer to him as the artist formerly known as Prince. How do you type that symbol into Google or iTunes?

What is your favorite Prince song?

Prince – Kiss by cdipre

I know a number of folks who absolutely can’t stand Nickelback.  And, so, to remind them of a day that I’m sure they rue, exactly 10 years ago today the Canadian band hit the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for the only time in their career when “How You Remind Me” climbed to the number one position.  The song, which was the first song by the band to chart, would spend four weeks on top, and it would go on to be radio’s most-played song for the decade of the 2000s.

You’re probably not alone if you thought R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” hit number 1.  After showing up in the film Space Jam, it’s been pretty ubiquitous for the last decade and a half.  In many ways, it has been Kelly’s biggest hit.  However, in terms of chart performance, it ranks third.  While both “Bump n’ Grind” and “I’m Your Angel” hit number 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100, “I Believe I Can Fly” only went to number 2, where it spent four weeks behind Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart.”  Exactly 15 years ago today, “I Believe I Can Fly” rose to the runner-up spot for the first week of its four week run.

The Bangles have hit Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart exactly eight times in the career.  All eight of these songs hit between 1986 and 1989, and all eight of them made it to the top 40.  Five of the eight reached the top 5, including “In Your Room,” which peaked at number 5; “Manic Monday” and “Hazy Shade of Winter,” which both rose to number 2; and ”Eternal Flame,” which spent one week at number 1. 

The Los Angeles-based band’s biggest hit, “Walk Like an Egyptian,” also hit number 1, rising to the top exactly 25 years ago today.  The song would spend four weeks at the top of the chart, and it would end up ranked by Billboard as the number one song of the year for 1987.

After years apart following the band’s 1989 breakup, the Bangles got back together in the late 1990s and released the album Doll Revolution in 2003.  Michael Steele left shortly thereafter, but the remaining trio (Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, and Debbi Peterson) just put out a new album, Sweetheart of the Sun, in September 2011.  For more on the Bangles, check out their official website.

In terms of chart performance, Journey had bigger hits than “Don’t Stop Believin’,”  but ranging from its appearance in the last episode of The Sopranos to its remake by the cast of Glee to its use at Detroit Red Wings home hockey games, among scores of other popular culture references, perhaps no song from the San Francisco-based band’s repertoire has gotten more mileage.  Exactly 30 years ago today, “Don’t Stop Believin’” hit its peak position of number 9 on Billboard‘s Hot 100, where it would stay for three weeks.

Where does “Don’t Stop Believin’” rank for you among Journey songs and among songs from the 1980s in general?

Though they had a few top 40 hits in the 1960s, Brooklyn-based vocal group the Tokens only hit the top 10 once in their career.  That one top 10 hit went all the way to the top, though.  Exactly 50 years ago today, the Tokens’ version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” ascended to the pinnacle of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for the first week of a three-week run. 

Of the many artists around the world who had recorded ”The Lion Sleeps Tonight” before them and have recorded it since them, the Tokens are the only ones to hit number one with the tune.

For more on the Tokens, who are still touring, check out their website.