The weekend I moved into my new place, it was the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival here. Our house had it's own mini-festival going on, which might make me the Cherry Blossom Princess. Nevermind that this wee tree is not actually a cherry tree, but some sort of peach tree. My lovely new friend Alexandra took the photo above. As for the soundtrack, here are 11 songs I've been playing as I bop around Capitol Hill this spring.
Captain Keep An Open Mind
I am obsessed with this song. Captain prove they can craft a perfect pop gem without the aid of previous producer Trevor Horn. here
Coldplay Viva la Vida
Plucky strings? Check. Strong lyric? Check. Choral ohhhs from Chris? Check. Nothing to do with fair trade? Check. here
Delays Girl's On Fire
Surging. With like 4 grandiose endings, this is a monster of a song. 7 Dig
Cyndi Lauper Same Ol' Story
Cyn's new single recorded with DC denizen Rich Morel. With f-bombs galore, this song is a strong teaser for her grand return. She's so unsual it drives me wild.
Santogold I'm A Lady
The one where she sound alotta lika Blondie. Cool boys keep swinging and singing, "I'm a ladeeee, got my mind made up, got my mind up." here
Cajun Dance Party Colourful Life
Britpop kids singing about Wrigley's Gum atop string breakdowns and PA system babble. Produced by legendary Bernard Butler. 7 Dig
ABC The Very First Time
My friends just might ask me if this is really that good. I say maybe, yes! Break out your gold lame suits, this is another class single that could have easily been on The Lexicon Of Love. 7 Dig
Ladytron Tomorrow
Their CD Velocifero is a major record for 2008. Expect it on many critics' lists in December. This track is an even better single than their current one, Ghosts. I shall talk more about Ladytron when my review is finally out in Instinct. here
Sam Sparro S.A.M. S.P.A.R.R.O.
Why the hell did he leave this off his album? It is the perfect CD/concert opener. Fave parts: "A is for 'allo because it's nice to meet ya" and the "oh shit" vocoder bit on the bridge.
Neon Neon I Told Her On Alderaan
Wot year is it? 1985? Sentimental without being pastiche, this is a Welsh dream. Excellent handclap potential sends it soaring. here
Perfume Baby Cruising Love
Found via MuuMuse, who is right that this J-pop tune (with a vaguely pervy title) sounds like a bunch of children warbling. Or maybe a bunch of Rachel Stevens fans singing at recess in Hiroshima. Super kawai.
Perfume Baby Cruising Love MP3
photo by Alexandra M.
This year we're going to be popular, even if it kills us
6 Comments By xolondon on May 13, 2008 at 6:16 PM.
Like, totally major news. Totally. One of the great cult hit television shows of all time is finally getting a DVD release. Square Pegs, the 80's classic about students at Weemawee High School, is out in the U.S. at the end of May. Sarah recently told MTV that it was a "subversive" show about "two smart ladies looking to find the other smart people in the world." It's not been seen too widely since its original airing, so this release is long overdue (and timed, I guess, to coincide with Sex And The City).
Square Pegs aired on American TV for one short season (20 episodes) in 1982-83, which would have been my 8th grade year. Everyone from Devo to Bill Murray made guest appearances because it was the baby of SNL writer Anne Beatts.
The show was also pop culture's introduction to Parker, who played a bright nerd named Patty Greene. Sarah says she's really the precursor to Carrie Bradshaw because Patty wanted to be a writer and meet smart people. All the characters were cleverly drawn, particularly Tracey Nelson's Jennifer DiNuccio (the Valley Girl who I remember quoting about "little plastic baggies") and Jami Gertz's preppy archetype Muffy Tepperman.
Here is a clip of the opening sequence:
Note that the DVD includes a new interview with Sarah Jessica Parker.
[Joanna, are you paying attention? xosa]
I mentioned Martika's collaboration with Prince in a post this week and received some unexpected feedback. I shouldn't need to tell you - u - that Prince was responsible for some of the finest music of the 80's and early 90's. But there were many songs he wrote for other artists that did not become hits, often done under pseudonyms like Joey Coco, Jamie Starr and Alexander Nevermind. Here are the best according to me, XO. Note that most of this post was drafted in October of 2006. Now it's ready...
The Family The Screams Of Passion:
The Family, featuring Wendy Melvoin's twin sister Susannah on vocals. This was their debut single, six minutes with Claire Fischer strings. Fantastic 1985 album, not on CD. Trivia: this is the group that first sang Nothing Compares 2 U. What I Like has a post with an extended Mp3.
Martika Love Thy Will Be Done:
One of Prince's finest songs, period. As I hinted earlier this week, I've always thought Martika should sue Texas for ripping this off on Say What You Want. Whatever, the song is like smooth electro gospel, beautiful. Get it and alternate Prince mix via this post at Music Source.
Sheila E. The Glamorous Life:
I always have time for The Incomparable Sheila E. This tune never wears out. I always loved the lyrics, such as "They made haste in the brown Sedan" and "If-u-have2-ask-u-can't-afford-it-lingerie...". Here also is Sheila's best video, the very 90's Sex Cymbal - watch the end to see that she is a major dancer too. You can get this MP3 anywhere.
Sheen Easton 101
Watch video here. No, I have not lost my mind, this Prince song is OTT madness in a manic way. My favorite part is the wailing bridge: "Nothing on TV / My girlfriends bore me / They try to please me / But I need you babyyy / You and me need to be / Together together / Physically!" to It surprises me that no one has covered this song because it's very electro. Burning The Ground has a post with remix MP3's (get password to unzip).
Jill Jones Mia Bocca:
For years JJ hung around in the background of Prince projects with her platinum Marilyn hair. She has some funny moments in Purple Rain, but nobody knew how well she could sing until she recorded a phenomenal album with Prince in 1987 (another sadly not on CD). JJ recently weighed in on Prince's misguided fight against youtube with this wise comment: "Being in the world, and not of it, is difficult." Trivia: Jill married the male model Cameron, who starred in Madonna's Express Yourself video.
Ingird Chavez Elephant Box
Video must be watched here. An acquired taste? One hit wonder Ingrid's solo CD was not so good. Double Trivia: Ingrid, who became Mrs. David Sylvian, wrote Madonna's Justify My Love with Lenny Kravitz, who she (Ingrid) was fucking while he was still married to Lisa Bonet. That relationship lead to Neneh Cherry writing the song Buddy X about Lenny.
The Family The Screams Of Passion:
The Family, featuring Wendy Melvoin's twin sister Susannah on vocals. This was their debut single, six minutes with Claire Fischer strings. Fantastic 1985 album, not on CD. Trivia: this is the group that first sang Nothing Compares 2 U. What I Like has a post with an extended Mp3.
Martika Love Thy Will Be Done:
One of Prince's finest songs, period. As I hinted earlier this week, I've always thought Martika should sue Texas for ripping this off on Say What You Want. Whatever, the song is like smooth electro gospel, beautiful. Get it and alternate Prince mix via this post at Music Source.
Sheila E. The Glamorous Life:
I always have time for The Incomparable Sheila E. This tune never wears out. I always loved the lyrics, such as "They made haste in the brown Sedan" and "If-u-have2-ask-u-can't-afford-it-lingerie...". Here also is Sheila's best video, the very 90's Sex Cymbal - watch the end to see that she is a major dancer too. You can get this MP3 anywhere.
Sheen Easton 101
Watch video here. No, I have not lost my mind, this Prince song is OTT madness in a manic way. My favorite part is the wailing bridge: "Nothing on TV / My girlfriends bore me / They try to please me / But I need you babyyy / You and me need to be / Together together / Physically!" to It surprises me that no one has covered this song because it's very electro. Burning The Ground has a post with remix MP3's (get password to unzip).
Jill Jones Mia Bocca:
For years JJ hung around in the background of Prince projects with her platinum Marilyn hair. She has some funny moments in Purple Rain, but nobody knew how well she could sing until she recorded a phenomenal album with Prince in 1987 (another sadly not on CD). JJ recently weighed in on Prince's misguided fight against youtube with this wise comment: "Being in the world, and not of it, is difficult." Trivia: Jill married the male model Cameron, who starred in Madonna's Express Yourself video.
Ingird Chavez Elephant Box
Video must be watched here. An acquired taste? One hit wonder Ingrid's solo CD was not so good. Double Trivia: Ingrid, who became Mrs. David Sylvian, wrote Madonna's Justify My Love with Lenny Kravitz, who she (Ingrid) was fucking while he was still married to Lisa Bonet. That relationship lead to Neneh Cherry writing the song Buddy X about Lenny.
Looks Presidential to me.
Hillary Clinton continues to jump the shark. A quote from USA Today yesterday:
There was just an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans is weakening again and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.
Is that something to brag about? Don't get me started on the race aspect. Hillary is not used to losing - nor is her husband. But she has lost and she needs to get off the stage. I am tired of Bush Clinton Bush Clinton. Her advisor Rahm Emanuel is running around making menacing comments about something that could bring down Obama. The whole thing is divisive and nasty and she needs to STOP before I permanently hate her.
Okay. Tirade over. Back to the pop. Viva Barack!
Update: I want to thank El Marveloso for giving me the link to Tears For Fears' Curt Smith (yes!) piece for Huffington Post. It's very thoughtful and it got me to thining about how many times Hillary has disappointed me in the last 3 months. There are two moments that leap to mind, the first being her comment about "obliterating" Iran. I find that language shockingky Rumsfeld-ian. I don't need more leaders ready to jump into war. She's devolved into a series of reactionary poses - we all know McCain is a potential red-button-pusher, so Hill wants to appear tough. Obliterate, to me, conjures images of The Bomb leveling whole cities. Second, her gas tax bullshit, which Curt Smith agrees was a pandering moment. I am more intelligent than that, though apparently Hillary has given up on me and is now going for the uneducated masses. Again. how Bushian. I admire how Obama doesn't do much pandering - he won't make hollow tax promises (at least not yet). He comes across as generally unflappable (he tried his best to ignore angry Rev Wright). Hillary, she comes across as needing this too much. It's like she wants to burn the whole thing down if it cannot be hers.
Debbie Harry has a new electropop song (complete with vocoder, I say with a sigh) called Fit Right In. Download it now via BigStereo.
Labels: Debbie Harry
Cyndi Lauper is 55 on June 22nd. She sure does look fresh in that fab new press photo, doesn't she? I like her new song Set Your Heart and I love the clip of Into The Nightlife. The album, Bring Ya To The Brink, is out on May 27, but will probably leak next week, when it hits Japan.
Watch a long Madonna interview on BET's 106 & Park. A lot of stupid questions ("If you were a candy, what candy would you be?") and little information other than that Pharrell calls her Mdolla and Shorty Mac if you care. She's featuring a lot of necklaces and her Bad Girl era hair.
Everything is right with the new Coldplay song, Viva La Vida: the prancing strings, the wonderful lyric, the beat, the ohhh vocals. Richard turned me onto this song this morning and I played it like 10 times as I walked to the train past the Supreme Court and all these other beautiful building. Zing! went the strings of my heart...
The Times of London posted a mysterious statement about Andy Taylor this week. Duran Duran claimed he had walke dout of the band. The Times says, "We wish to make clear that it was not unexplained, that he did not quit, leave or walk out on the band – the Duran Duran partnership was dissolved by the other members. He was unable to get a US working visa to attend the New York recording session due to administrative failures by the band’s management." Ooh, dramarama!
Burning The Ground has been riding high recently with posts on "maxi-singles" by Stevie Nicks and Bananarama. I owned both of those 12" singles - the 'Nana song Cairo has always been a favorite.
BritPop question: Whatever happened to Embrace? And when is this new Verve CD coming out?
New York Magazine has an interesting piece on Sarah Jessica Parker. I like what she says about New York. It's also true of the area I just moved away from, Arlington, VA. It used to be cute and original and not rundown, but old. Now it's got a fucking Cheesecake Factory and Pottery Barn. Everybody moves to the cute place and kills it. Happens everytime.
Sex And The City Line of The Week: (said by Charlotte to Trey): "Don’t you bring that flat baby in here, I will kill you!”
Topic: Foxy Brown's real name is Inga Marchand. Discuss!V just went to see Goldfrapp in Manhattan. Whyohwhy won't they do a proper tour? Anyway, read his review now.
Sharleen doesn't love you.
Where in the world is Shirley Manson? On a shelf, if the suits have their say.
American Idol is truly in its worst year ever (barring that tedious Taylor person). I abandoned it weeks ago. Yuri (wisely) agrees.MuuMuse has a piece on the opening of Kylie's and Girls Aloud's tours. Have you noticed that every artist now does the Madonna thing with "sections" of a show?
Speaking of which, when are we going to hear all these new Kylie songs she is performing on tour?
Did you see this piece on the state of music blogging today? Very good. My recent Alison Sudol post was based on news from a PR email about A Fine Frenzy*, but I wrote what I wanted and added my own content. It doesn't matter in the scheme of things, but the fact that Lorraine appeared on many blogs last week was no coincidence. What I most like is bloggers with a personal voice and an opinion. If opinions didn't matter, the art of criticism would have died years ago. (This is not meant for any particular blogger, just something I've been musing on with some fellows).
When I started writing this post a few days ago, I was so angry at Hillary Clinton. I never adored her, but was always very pro-Bill. This presidential race has soured that a bit. Now I don't care because I think my man has sewn it up! Barack Barack Barack.
I am so drinking a homemade margarita right now. Au revoir bitches!
*PS: The new video for Come On, Come Out. See what I mean about a 2008 update of 10,000 Maniacs?
A Fine Frenzy Come On, Come Out
Labels: mix
Hmph. Why did Sharl fold the picture in half before she put it on her album cover? Whatever, Sharleen Spiteri is releasing a solo album, the oh-so-cleverly titled Melody, in mid-June. You can get a free download of an okay (yeah, just okay) new ballad, That Was A Lie.
We know her new single is called All The Times I Cried, but nobody has heard it yet. Sharl is calling this CD her "Nancy Sinatra record." She self-produced it, though there is one collaboration with Benard Butler. You can bet some plebes will say she's pulling a Duffy, but Sharleen was doing retro soul when that little Welsh girl was in a training bra. Black Eyed Boy anyone?
The Texas Greatest Hits record is delish, but Texas were probably only cool for one single, the stellar Say What You Want (a compete ripoff of the superior Prince/Martika collaboration, Love Thy Will Be Done). In fact, I remember British Bridget - my cousin - making gagging faces when I said I loved the song Halo.
Here are my Top 10 Plus One Texas songs:
Inner Smile (#1!)
Summer Son
Say What You Want
Halo
Guitar Song
Black Eyed Boy
Sleep
When We Are Together
In Demand
Get Down Tonight
Good Advice
Here is a full press release for Melody.
Labels: Sharleen
Four newish Britpop records worth the pixels...
Delays Everything's The Rush
Delays third album opens with a corker: Girl's On Fire, which has one of the grandest arrangements of their short career. It takes a minute of layered codas to actually end. The solid first singles, Love Made Visible and the pleasingly titled Hooray, are equally intense and melodic. But it's a little too much. Each song has a kitchen sink approach: power guitars, incessant orchestrals and the relative burying of Greg Gilbert's voice (Delay's calling card) in the mix. It all reaches an amusing irony on the pretty Silence, built around this hook: "If I could have said much more with silence..." Regardless, Delays remain commited to melodic BritPop with no Oasis-like phoney push for street cred. Hear samples Monday.
Adele 19
By the first week of January, Adele's name was a pop buzzword. Now that the clamour has quieted, I can say this British pop soul singer is still worth your money and your attention. Hometown Glory remains one of the songs of 2008, made better here by a moving piano intro. Daydreamer highlights Adele's observational skills, which are pretty spot on for a 19 year old. She's watching a young couple in a bar, the young man "feeling up his girl like he's never felt her figure before." Best For Last has a wonderful syncopated chorus, while Tired is the most contemporary track on the album, made sublime by a sky-lifting vamp inserted into the middle and end of the song. Her Dylan cover, To Make You Feel My Love, is the stuff of weddings and superior to Billy Joel's version. Adele has a gorgeous voice and I think experience will bring out more nuance in her singing. Bring on 21. Hear samples now.
Neon Neon Stainless Style
Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals must have ADHD. He careens around Wales pubrocking it, then doing a forgotten solo record and now this homage to the 80's music he (and I) grew up with. I Told Her On Alderaan, built on Numan-esque synths and a brilliant bass line, captures the sound of the 80's with uttter sincerity. It could easily have been recorded in 1985, but still manages to sound current. The vocals are perfection and it's one of my favorite songs of the year. If he could have only applied that diligence to the full CD, which is split between gems (Dream Cars, Steel Your Girl, Belfast) and bollocks (Yo Majesty, Trick For Treat). Hear samples now.
Delays Everything's The Rush
Delays third album opens with a corker: Girl's On Fire, which has one of the grandest arrangements of their short career. It takes a minute of layered codas to actually end. The solid first singles, Love Made Visible and the pleasingly titled Hooray, are equally intense and melodic. But it's a little too much. Each song has a kitchen sink approach: power guitars, incessant orchestrals and the relative burying of Greg Gilbert's voice (Delay's calling card) in the mix. It all reaches an amusing irony on the pretty Silence, built around this hook: "If I could have said much more with silence..." Regardless, Delays remain commited to melodic BritPop with no Oasis-like phoney push for street cred. Hear samples Monday.
Adele 19
By the first week of January, Adele's name was a pop buzzword. Now that the clamour has quieted, I can say this British pop soul singer is still worth your money and your attention. Hometown Glory remains one of the songs of 2008, made better here by a moving piano intro. Daydreamer highlights Adele's observational skills, which are pretty spot on for a 19 year old. She's watching a young couple in a bar, the young man "feeling up his girl like he's never felt her figure before." Best For Last has a wonderful syncopated chorus, while Tired is the most contemporary track on the album, made sublime by a sky-lifting vamp inserted into the middle and end of the song. Her Dylan cover, To Make You Feel My Love, is the stuff of weddings and superior to Billy Joel's version. Adele has a gorgeous voice and I think experience will bring out more nuance in her singing. Bring on 21. Hear samples now.
Neon Neon Stainless Style
Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals must have ADHD. He careens around Wales pubrocking it, then doing a forgotten solo record and now this homage to the 80's music he (and I) grew up with. I Told Her On Alderaan, built on Numan-esque synths and a brilliant bass line, captures the sound of the 80's with uttter sincerity. It could easily have been recorded in 1985, but still manages to sound current. The vocals are perfection and it's one of my favorite songs of the year. If he could have only applied that diligence to the full CD, which is split between gems (Dream Cars, Steel Your Girl, Belfast) and bollocks (Yo Majesty, Trick For Treat). Hear samples now.
The Last Shadow Puppets The Age Of Understatement
Wow. Where did this come from? Alex Turner (Artic Monkeys auteur) and Miles Kane have gone all swooning Scott Walker-y. The result is one of the most consistent records this year, an album that sounds like a compilation of 60's James Bond themes. Standouts include the title track, the galloping Standing Next To Me, atmospheric Meeting Place and Calm Like You. Lyrically and musically stunning, laden with melody and great vocals, this is a must-own. Alex Turner is in a seriously imperial phase: savor it while it lasts. Hear samples now.
All samples via the uber cool and well-priced Zavvi.co.uk
Wow. Where did this come from? Alex Turner (Artic Monkeys auteur) and Miles Kane have gone all swooning Scott Walker-y. The result is one of the most consistent records this year, an album that sounds like a compilation of 60's James Bond themes. Standouts include the title track, the galloping Standing Next To Me, atmospheric Meeting Place and Calm Like You. Lyrically and musically stunning, laden with melody and great vocals, this is a must-own. Alex Turner is in a seriously imperial phase: savor it while it lasts. Hear samples now.
All samples via the uber cool and well-priced Zavvi.co.uk
Mismatched Santi White is red hot. She's got major New York style, doesn't she? Which means she can look stellar and spend nuthin' doing it.
I had dismissed Santogold as the new M.I.A. because of how she sounds, how she looks and her collaborators. Reasonable, right? Turns out there is more to this woman than meets the ear. Early tracks like Creator and the Mark Ronson collab Pretty Green gave no clue that she can sing in a less affected voice.
As our friend Tacim announces on his blog 8-1, there is some pop going on here. Or I think that is what he's saying - the blog's in Turkish! I suggest you rush now to his post and check out some of the tracks: I'm A Lady, which has a lovely vocal that recalls Deborah Harry, and You'll Find A Way, which I think Tacim likens to Cyndi Lauper, though I'd peg the vocal as very Annabella Lwin of BowWowWow. Lights Out is another good one. Dig her sound and then watch her amusingly not-quite-violent video...
Santogold L.E.S. Artistes:
Santogold Your Voice MP3
Santogold Creator Windows Media stream
Santogold MTVu Backstage video stream
Strange fact: Santi wrote and produced one of my favorite songs of 2001, Golden Boys by Res. Remind yourself now.
Labels: Santogold
Sara in Louisville last week.*
On Monday night, we went to see Sara Bareilles' show at the sold-out 9:30 Club here in DC. This was a big deal: her first headlining tour at the best nightclub in America. She did not disappoint. If you wondered whether her vocals are as strong live, they are. I'd worried the songs might sound identical to the recorded versions, but Sara's voice lifted and dipped in unexpected ways - she's got more soul than I'd have guessed. While new track August Moon bored me, her cover of The Beatles' Oh Darling made it sound like an old r'n'b song.
She performed most of her debut CD, minus two gems: bar-ballad City and One Sweet Love. For the pop crowd, she did a woozy piano version of Xtina's Genie In A Bottle (catch it at Backseat Sandbar).
NPR has a good podcast on Sara. When my car died last week, I was thinking about constantly playing her in that same car when it was so bloody hot last summer. She had just emerged, nobody knew who she was, and now she's a big star. Which is a relief, because she proves that you can actually be talented and still be successful. As I alluded to yesterday in my Alison Sudol post, Sara's also done it without any cheap tricks.
Her new video is for Bottle It Up, which is probably not my first choice for second single because it's so close in style to Love Song. I might have chosen the softer One Sweet Love. That said, the love-love-love chorus is an earworm and this could easily be a hit. She looks fantastic in the clip.
*The top photo is from the excellent Backseat Sandbar - it really captures Sara's animated mood at these shows. She was thrilled to be at the 9:30 Club and made that very clear. The pleasure was mutual.
________________________________
I've been writing about Sara since early June 2007. Check out more posts here, including my album review.
Labels: Sara Bareilles, singer/songwriters, videos
"They say that a good thing never lasts..."
With Hard Candy Madonna commits a sin: she repeats herself. She dresses it up in urban cougar subterfuge, but this reviewer is onto to her wanton ways. You see, The Lady Ritchie already did the iwannahavesomefun thing on Confessions, so Hard Candy is a rehash of that, shifting the dancehall from Brighton to, say... Atlanta.
The Not Mrs. Penn's success has never been just about dancing. If that were the case, she'd be J-Lo with taste. Madonna is about melodic songs with IDEAS and EMOTION: dance songs that lift you higher than any others, romantic songs that sweep you down and up. Dramatically.
Count me as a fan of first single 4 Minutes, which I think is a perfect amalgamation of Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Miss Ciccone. While I could do without the obvious "Madonnuh!" chants, I love the "grab a boy, grab a girl" chorus. It's a vintage pop track, though the sleek Junkie XL edit makes me wonder what it might have been in the hands of COAD producer Stuart Price.
Current blog wisdom is that the Pharrell Williams tracks are Candy's best. Certainly Give It To Me will rank as one of her more solid singles (and probably a live blowout as well), but Williams production often sound cheap, canned. He takes chances on Incredible and She's Not Me, both around six minutes long. The first time I heard the pulsing middle eight of Incredible ("hands up" at 2:53), I thought "Wow!" and then wished the whole song had been built on that urgency. To me, it sounds tinny and tacky. I cringe everytime I hear Madonna talk-sing the grammatically painful lyric, "Just one of those things, when everything goes incredible."
Don't get me started on how Pharrell, not Timbaland (as expected), inserts his non-singer voice into most of his tracks. He even has Madonna belching "See my booty get down" on Heartbeat (at 2:20). She wouldn't have deigned to say those words at 23, so why it makes sense at 49 is beyond me?
All is not lost. Madonna adds several classics to her cannon. Miles Away is superb: a melancholy spin on the her usual relationship songs. It has the emotional elements of the best Madonna songs, with an earworm of a chorus: the repetition of the pretty "so far away, so far away." The final minute is the best moment on the album, when Madonna has metaphorically left the stage, but the dance goes on without her as the lights dim. Ahhhh.
Dance 2night, another collaboration with Justin, smartly mixes up eras in its arrangement, with some grimy funk, some Off The Wall disco and bubbling synths/strings on the gorge pre-chorus (eg: 1:01 - 1:38). The watery Devil Wouldn't Recognize You harkens back to great Madonna midtempos like 94's Love Tried To Welcome Me. Unlikely as a single, this is the kind of album track that sticks with you for years because it's never overplayed.
The album also has some great "bits", like Pharrell's Prince-ian "Wendy!" to the Wendy Melvoin as she does that Kiss-like strum at 4:00 on She's Not Me, Justin's choral vocals breaking down Devil at 3:16, the track stuttering on Miles Away (3:15) or the big, multi-tracked "nows" and "hows" that seem to become more expansive throughout Give It To Me.
I don't fault Esther for trying something new - or even insane, like the embarrassing Candy Shop - but I do fault her for releasing a bland shit track like Spanish Lessons or allowing one-trick-pony Kanye West to use her album as a smug bully pulpit. I fault her for recording an album while writing and directing a film, "designing" clothes, producing a documentary, saving Malawians and raising three children, including a baby. All of this in one year. Her inability to sit still has diluted her work.
As a longtime Madonna fan, I would have preferred she steered a new course. Madonna's great flaw is that she's not a magician: you can often see the gears working. She is at her best when she cuts the shit and reveals pure vulnerability [refer to Secret or Frozen] or joy [refer to Ray Of Light or the Drowned World version of La Isla Bonita] into her work.
At her worst, she tries too hard. In this case, she tried too hard by hiring the hitmakers of the day (which makes them instantly passe in Madonna's usual rulebook) and yet she didn't try hard enough, by seemingly abdicating her role as quality-focused producer. My suspicion is that she knows it will be harder to present dance-based songs like these on tour, where her millions will be made, at 55 than 50, so why not do it now?
Hard Candy is not a failure, but I'll be damned if I am going to end this review with another cliche about sugar.
Much of this review was formulated during emails with various bloggers. Thanks, Madge-obsessed freaks. See you at the show!
Last year I wrote a bit about A Fine Frenzy, a group that is primarily the beautiful Alison Sudol. She had three tunes on my big list of favorite songs: Rangers, Come On Come Out and the Keane-esque Lifesize. Sudol has been touring for the better part of a year, slowly building a fan base the old fashioned way. If you've been paying attention, there seems to be a new wave of female singer/songwriters who have no problem smiling and being... nice. It's novel isn't it?
Strangely, her label did not quite know how to market Sudol or her album, One Cell in the Sea. So confused were the tastemakers, they actually jettisoned the elegant album cover for a blandly commercial one. Regardless, the music has remained the same and that matters most. A sonic reference point might be 10,000 Maniac's melancholy (yet lush) album, Our Time In Eden. Check out Frenzy's new single, with a video due May 8:
A Fine Frenzy Come On Come Out Windows Media stream
It was actually the song Rangers that first captivated me - I am not sure how it didn't make my Essential Mix for 2007 because it has a monolithic singalong chorus: "The rangers stream out of their cabins / They are the hunters and we are the rabbits..."
A Fine Frenzy Rangers:
I urge to you to pay attention to A Fine Frenzy now if they eluded you last year.
Labels: A Fine Frenzy
Really, I have not laughed so hard in months. Click to enlarge for the Full Horror! dlisted had this post on poor Heather, who claims to be 41, but I thought she was much older. Madonna should view this photo as a cautionary tale on cheek implants / Restalyne.
I think Heather looks kind of like a walrus, so it's fitting to find her in the sea...
Labels: off topic
Coldplay attempts to placate WalMart shoppers by splashing some spray paint across the neeples (as my friend Jim says) in this Delacroix painting, but youjustknow some idget is going to try to have this banned. Coldplay is taking their pretense to the next level. The artwork, the album title, the lead singer's tendency toward the fine art of the fingerwag. Music better make the people come together.
Stacked ScarJo wraps her luscious lips around the lyrics of Tom Waits. The cover is a bit obvious given the album title and I'm not so hot on the Courier font. Typewriters are so passe. I should also note that the setlist for this CD is a disappointment. It's heavily weighted toward the last 15 years of Waits output, which is a difficult set of songs.
Could this cheesy torso gimmick be any more 70's? It's so Penthouse Forum! Does Msr. Tellier have a hairy chest with a medallion? Nice horse pun, but the album, sadly, is overrated. Thanks for the mammaries though!
As consolation to these artists, none of these are as bad as the hideous Madonna album cover, which emphasizes another hotspot of the female anatomy.
Labels: album covers
Love Kylie has a new Greg Kurstin remix of Can't Get You Out Of My Head. As if we needed another one. BUT it's Greg Kurstin, so you might want it. The other blog to hit up for Kylie swag is Toons 'N Tunes.
New pic from Numero Magazine via Love Kylie.
I like that photo of Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse above (it's old) because it reminds us that Amy is at heart a really talented artist. I bet most people don't know she does solo club shows solo with just her guitar and a mic. She has totally lost her way and I hope she can save herself. And get away from "My Blake Incarcerated."
Speaking of which, Sam Sparro is doing the Daniel Merriweather part on Mark Ronson's Stop Me at Coachella this year. The prestige. Sammy's next single, 21st Century Life, has a stellar [edit: my new word!] chorus. You can stream a sample in the post below this one. Hot Mess proves that he is the love child of Donna Summer and Prince.
I was walking home tonight and saw some houses that looked familiar - turns out they were the homes in the photo I posted on a recent mixtape (which I had found on the web). I love this neighborhood, though my life has become too much of a rollercoaster since moving. I yearn for, as Bitchin' Gwen once said, a simple kind of life.
Shocking news: Imogen Heap is rumored to be dating Jeff Goldblum! WTF?! Will she be naked on a beach soon? (NSFW!) Meanwhile Immi does her new vblog from inside her fireplace. One of her new songs is called Bad Body Double.
Blogger John Hughes (hiya Johnny!) has been on a roll on Popdose. He just did a piece on Malcolm McLaren's Deep In Vogue and last week it was Babs Streisand's Emotion. Both are epic in verrry different ways.
Robbie Williams has grown a grey-flecked beard and become obsessed with aliens. I am serious.
ElMarv has followed up my Donna Summer List with some comments about MacArthur Park. I just want him to know that I knew the "There will be another songs for me..." That section is where the title of this mixtape comes from. Sometimes I wish I had been like 20 in 1976. One of my very close friends is 52, so I'll just ask him about it.
KylieX2008 Tour Rehearsals: Clips 1 and 2 and 3
I will review Madonna soon, in some form, but I'll say that I probably prefer the Timbaland tracks to Pharrell's, which is against the grain I suppose. For me, this is not a stellar Madonna record, but it has a handful of strong tracks, my favorites being Miles Away, Give It To Me, Dance Tonight, Devil and the single.
My favorite pet on the net, Carrie Fisher, doggy of PopMuse starred on his blog this week. I fucking love her!
Caitlin Moran argues in The Times that Madonna had a larger impact on Western culture than The Beatles: "The Beatles, for instance, didn’t do it on their own. The Beatles didn’t do it in heels. The Beatles didn’t have to overcome 2,000 years of the patriarchy before they left the house every morning."
Some good blogs I recently discovered: Ear Candy Remix and Shock-a-lock-a boom
The recent issue of Instinct had three reviews from me: Marie Digby (hated it), Clinic (was dumbfounded and a bit bored by it) and Missy Higgins (some very solid stuff on that one). Forthcoming in the June issue are mini reviews of Martha Wainwright, Ladytron and Supergrass.
Labels: mixtape
Sam Sparro Sam Sparro:
Verdict based on samples: Wipe the sweat from your brow, he is not a onehitwonder. Gloriousness includes Black And Gold, Pocket, 21st Century, Hot Mess (Donna Summer meets Prince), Waiting For Time and Too Many Questions (which reminds me of early Seal). Clingwrap sounds just like The Time. I bet Sam knows all those old Paisley Park albums.
Early thoughts: Schizo. Some classic ABC tracks: The Very First Time, Caroline, Validation, Minus Love and some shocking crap, like the opening freakout Sixteen Seconds. Note that this record will be available in MP3 worldwide via 7 Digital.
Verdict based on samples: Wipe the sweat from your brow, he is not a onehitwonder. Gloriousness includes Black And Gold, Pocket, 21st Century, Hot Mess (Donna Summer meets Prince), Waiting For Time and Too Many Questions (which reminds me of early Seal). Clingwrap sounds just like The Time. I bet Sam knows all those old Paisley Park albums.
ABC Traffic:
Early thoughts: Schizo. Some classic ABC tracks: The Very First Time, Caroline, Validation, Minus Love and some shocking crap, like the opening freakout Sixteen Seconds. Note that this record will be available in MP3 worldwide via 7 Digital.
Both albums are out April 28.
Labels: ABC, Sam Sparro
First, bookmark The Hopeless Optimist's Róisín Murphy Blog.
I send this photo out to all my favorite chicks who like chicks! And hot trannies who like chicks. She is hot, isn't she? It's so effortless.
Meanwhile, you may alreayd know that Róisín sent a message to her fans regarding the chart failure of her latest single, You Know Me Better:
Different Is Dangerous has a Róisín and Moloko Megamix
Sleevage recently dissected Róisín artwork
EQ talks to Róisín (if you can actually load the page)
Did you get any of Róisín's iTunes UK Live tracks? They are deluxe. Le Jukeblog de Benzen has Let Me Know
Great photo by Almaryse
I send this photo out to all my favorite chicks who like chicks! And hot trannies who like chicks. She is hot, isn't she? It's so effortless.
Meanwhile, you may alreayd know that Róisín sent a message to her fans regarding the chart failure of her latest single, You Know Me Better:
Look I’ve never been easy to categorise and category makes this industry go round. But I am seeping in bit by bit, I have some exciting things goin on in the background that I can’t share right now but believe me I aint out of the game yet. Keep up your support, as it means so much and try to be positive. I never had friends in high places, but I have you, and you have me. Until the end.Could I gush a little more? Could I love her a little more? I say no and then she surprises me all over again. I am not the only one:
Different Is Dangerous has a Róisín and Moloko Megamix
Sleevage recently dissected Róisín artwork
EQ talks to Róisín (if you can actually load the page)
Did you get any of Róisín's iTunes UK Live tracks? They are deluxe. Le Jukeblog de Benzen has Let Me Know
Great photo by Almaryse
Labels: Roisin Murphy
Click on the photo for some classic Madonna remixes via Shock-a-lock-a boom! Note also that bloggers are posting a file purported to be 4 Minutes (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix) but I am not sure it's legit.
Also check out Madonna's new interview with New York Magazine and find out the 5 Worst Madonna Videos (one you can easily guess: True Blue). Adem did a Madonna mix that is pretty good, by the by.
Also check out Madonna's new interview with New York Magazine and find out the 5 Worst Madonna Videos (one you can easily guess: True Blue). Adem did a Madonna mix that is pretty good, by the by.
Labels: Madonna
The Times Online has a great piece on this summer's return of Yaz (or Yazoo). Amazingly, they allow the Times writer Pete Paphides to be in the room when they see each other for the first time in 18 years. Kind of amazing isn't it? England is a small island, after all, and yet their paths never crossed.
Yaz was actually a wee bit ahead of my time. I remember loving Don't Go, but it wasn't until Alison went solo with the perfect Alf in 1984 that I really perked up.
Yazoo Situation (Hercules And Love Affair Mix) Windows Media stream
Be sure to check out John's Alison post on PopDose. Below is a great new interview where they talk about starting out and their famous single Only You, which entered the charts at no. 198...
Labels: 80's
Lykke Li I'm Good I'm Gone
Though I felt no love for her album, Lykke Li's doing interesting stuff. This new video is pretty wicked. I particularly love the ending with the octogenarian beatdowns! Herky jerky indeed.
Though I felt no love for her album, Lykke Li's doing interesting stuff. This new video is pretty wicked. I particularly love the ending with the octogenarian beatdowns! Herky jerky indeed.