Discopop Directory

New Vampire Weekend song - Ottoman

2008-10-06T16:20:00.004Z

Here's a new track from those cheeky New York rascals Vampire Weekend - who picked up a Q Award for best video earlier today.

It's called Ottoman, and it features on the soundtrack to forthcoming Michael Cera film Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The song has been tucked away in the Vamps' live repertoire for quite a while - and in fact predates a lot of the material on their eponymous debut album.

You will also be "interested" to find out that it is the original source of Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa's brilliant / inexplicable lyric, "Feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too". Here it is:

And, in case you haven't seen it already, here is that afroementioned best video of the year - directed by the Hammer & Tongs team, who did the animated milk carton for Blur's Coffee and TV, and the not-quite-as-good-as-it-should-have-been Hitch-Hikers' Guide film.

Vampire Weekend - A Punk

Bullseye!

2008-10-06T15:58:00.001Z

More SNL Tina Fey goodness - now with added Queen Latifah! And some guy!

Link me all over

2008-10-03T14:30:00.005Z

Some distractions to last you the weekend...

:: Tina Fey lampoons Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live… And while it's brilliant, it's neither as funny nor as terrifying as the real thing

:: Here's a free download of Annie's superfantastic cover of Stacey Q's Two Hearts - Click here. Annie's album, Don't Stop, is due out this week, next week, sometime or never.

:: How popular is your name? Check out this site that tracks the popularity of first names (in the US) since 1880.

:: "When you hear a rhythm that is being played by an instrument you can’t identify but wish you owned, you are hearing Timbaland". A great profile of the super-producer, courtesy of the New Yorker

:: I was recently on a plane that was struck by lightning, and I'd have felt just a little bit safer if I'd had this guide to how land a jumbo jet handy.

:: Brad Walsh has remixified Britney's Womanizer and made it available for download. It takes a song that sounds like it was written by a computer program and makes it sound like the computer has had a psychological "episode". Full marks all round, particularly for (muso alert) "breaking it down in the middle 8" .

:: 10 People From Your Past Who Will Haunt You On Facebook.

:: The video for Alicia Keys and Jack White's Bond theme misses out on the one thing that would make it tolerable - footage from Quantum Of Solace.

:: Fans of Ferris Beuller are planning to recreate the film's iconic carnival scene at New York's Hallowe'en Parade on 31st October. If you're going along, get in touch - I'd love to get your photos on the blog at the end of the month!

:: Amazon's computers have begun phase two of their plan for global domination.

[via Photobasement]

Stop press: Star struck by spot

2008-10-03T09:34:00.005Z

The Western world is on the verge of economic collapse, Peter Mandelson is back in the UK cabinet and the USA is about to elect an air stewardess as vice-president - but what's on the front page of London's newpapers this morning? The revelation that Catherine Zeta Jones has acne.

According to the Sun, the following shots of the movie star's "odd complexion" have "caused a major stir" and her "make-up artist might need to go into hiding". Look at the evidence:

And, in case you missed them, here are those zits "in full":

Ignoring the fact that the first picture has some of the world's most unflattering lighting (just look at that enormous shadow), is this really, really the most important news event of the last 24 hours. And, even if it is, wouldn't the more approproate headline be "Actress Zeta Jones has functioning immune system"?

As Swiss author Mme de Stael said: "The more I see of man, the more I like dogs".

And I really, really dislike dogs.

Attention Ladyhawke, Keane, et al

2008-10-02T16:48:00.002Z

This is where your uncritical revival of the 1980s will inevitably lead:

You have been warned!

Stop, cogitate and listen

2008-10-02T15:40:00.002Z

The latest in Stephen Fry's series of excellent, but all-too-irregular podcasts has got me thinking about the content of this website.

He's having a rant about journalism - and makes the very valid point that "the problem with a daily or weekly column is that emotion is so much more easily accessed than reason" when trying to construct a narrative against a deadline.

It's a concern that's been plaguing me for a while. In the rush to publish a story (or, let's be honest, to avoid being caught writing a story at work) it's all too easy to fall into the trap of making a snap judgment about typing it up as SOLID FACT.

I've been guilty of this a couple of times recently - I slagged off Pink's So What weeks before it became lodged in my head and was upgraded from "utter shit" to "basically tolerable". On the opposite end of the scale, I waxed lyrical about Los Campesinos! before it occurred to me that shouting teenagers hitting a glockenspiel with a hammer is actually the noise they play you in hell's waiting room.

I'm not alone, of course. Music blogs are full of posts that basically declare "OMG HERE IZ TEH FIRST SONG I HEARD THIS MORNING AND IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE". How many times have you read someone bang on about a paradigm-shifting Radiohead remix, or the totally amazing new EP by Botson cryo-funk combo TitBishop, and thought to yourself "have they even heard this bilge?"

Because, I admit, there are occasions when I get 30 seconds into a song and think "this is so good, I have to write something about it" - without noticing that the rest of the song is a turgid droning dirge.

Not that an immediate emotional response is a bad thing. Pop music should be in-your-face, upfront, instantaneous, accessible and obvious. But, at the same time, some of my favourite records have revealed themselves over many, many plays. Indeed, The Cardigans' Long Gone Before Daylight - probably one of my top 10 albums of all time - only really displayed its ethereal beauty after two years in my CD collection.

So I have resolved to try to mention more of those slow-burning masterpieces on the website, starting today with Laura Marling - the 18-year-old singer-songwriter who was nominated for a Mercury Prize earlier this year for the dark folk of her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim.

It's usually the sort of music that'd make me run a mile - lilting acoustic ballads with added Irish fiddle - but I was given a copy back in July and it has slowly assimilated itself into my weekly "most listened to" playlist. There is something captivating about Marling's gutsy vocals - so full of youthful tenderness, yet haunted and troubled beyond their years.

Here's her latest video, Night Terror. Give it a couple of goes before you dismiss it. It's what Stephen Fry would have wanted.

As if by magic...

2008-10-01T14:51:00.005Z

...The real video for Katy Perry's Hot N' Cold has appeared

Things to watch out for:
1) Man in bridesmaid dress!
2) Blatant product placement (Diesel! Nokia!)

3) Betty Boo*
4) Camp dancing vicar!
5) A zebra! A fucking zebra!

*Not really

Katy Perry - Hot N' Cold

PS: Don't be fooled by the likeability of this song and I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry's album is mostly awful.

PPS: Best pop fact ever: Katy Perry has a cat called Kitty Purry.

Katy Perry in a computer game

2008-10-01T09:20:00.003Z

Like Natasha Bedingfield and Lily Allen before her, Katy Perry has recorded a "simlish" version of her new single for hit PC game The Sims 2.

If you ask me, the nonsense lyrics are an improvement.

Katy Perry - Hot N' Cold (simlish)

PS: I usually can't stand video game sequels, but The Sims 3 looks stunning.

Fan video vs band video

2008-09-30T13:24:00.003Z

Nebraskan purveyors of off-kilter pop Tilly And The Wall have been given Song of the Day status over at the almighty Popjustice for their current single Beat Control.

But there are two videos doing the rounds - the official one, complete with special effects and a man wearing a watermelon necklace; and one made by a bunch of grade four children at an international school in Taiwan (seemingly led by Justin from Ugly Betty).

So which is best? Watch both and cast your vote below.

Beat Control - the official one

Beat Control - Made in a primary school

Girls Aloud album title revealed...

2008-09-29T10:24:00.005Z

It's (provisionally) called Out Of Control !

All the info - and a hi-res version of The Promise video - can be found on the BBC. And here's the "amazing moment" when Kimberley revealed the news.

Notes on Britney's Womanizer

2008-09-29T09:50:00.004Z

It's strange to think that when Britney was at her lowest ebb last year, she managed to turn out the most consistent run of singles of her entire career - Gimme More, Piece of Me and Break The Ice.

Now that she's seemingly back on the mend, she's got some new material and it's... also rather good. Womanizer (you can hear it on Britney's beta website) may not have the chutzpah to announce "It's Britney, bitch" or the cheeky, self-aware lyrics of Piece Of Me, but it's a damned sexy slice of electronic chart cake.

It is the sort of cake that has two layers of melody, plus a nice filling of creamy harmonies and a strawberry jam synth line. Britney's robotic vocals suggest it might be more of a mass-produced supermarket Victoria Sponge than a home-baked Vanilla Slice, but at least it's not one of those experimental Heston Blumenthal cakes made out of gravy, or iced cats livers or what have you. [that's quite enough of the cake metaphor, thankyouverymuch - ed]

But I have a huge problem with the song, and it is this... When Britney sings the bridge:

I can't help but sing this instead:

Yes, that's right. In my head, I have confused Britney Spears and Lulu.

I think I may need a shower now.

Amazing x5

2008-09-26T10:41:00.013Z

Here's a quintuple dose of awesome to kick off your weekend:

1) Alesha Dixon's new single
Through the medium of mambo, Alesha is reaching out to her two, distinct audiences - (a) People who mourn the passing of Mis-Teeq (b) People who only know her because of Strictly Come Dancing.

The Boy Does Nothing is the name of the song, and I can prove to you how amazing it is in just 20 seconds:

There's more on Alesha's MySpace.

2) Ninja Cat is comin' to getcha

3) Ben Folds Five and Regina Spektor
My two favourite people who sit behind a piano and sing at the same time have sat behind two pianos and sung at the same time as each other. Result = Brilliance.

Ben Folds - You Don't Know Me (feat Regina Spektor

4) Barack Obama visits the West Wing
Aaron Sorkin takes time out from writing a movie about Facebook (the mind boggles) to imagine what advice The West Wing's Jed Bartlett would give the current Democratic Presidential Candidate.

:: Jed & Barack [New York Times] Warning: Socks will be blown off.

5) A Girls Aloud video with a budget in excess of £2.50

Girls Aloud - The Promise

Trivia: I interviewed Kimberley yesterday. She was tired, but very polite.

The End.

Girls Aloud Live Lounge pt 3!

2008-09-25T12:20:00.005Z

Without make-up and without Nadine (shingles, apparently) Girls Aloud have just made their third trip to Radio 1's Live Lounge, which was temporarily relocated to Jo Whiley's garage for some reason.

As ever, the format is to perform the new single (Promises: Growing on me all the time) and a cover (One Republic's Apologise: Screechy).

The girls did pretty well without their vocal lynchpin, especially as it was their first ever performance of the new song. Have a listen and let me know what you think...

:: Girls Aloud - The Promise (live lounge)
:: Girls Aloud - Apologise (live lounge)

More pictures over at the Radio One website. I covet Jo Whiley's bookcase, by the way.

I'm not disappearing

2008-09-25T11:34:00.000Z

Discopop Directory will be moving over to a new server on Friday, so it might disappear from the internet for an hour or two. But don't worry, I'll be back as soon as the boffins have pressed all the right switches.

See ya!
Mark

And the answer is...

2008-09-24T18:06:00.000Z

So, who was the beatboxing pop star I mentioned yesterday?

Why, it was none other than Sugababe Amelle Barberadicksonererah!

Amazing.

Quantum of Solace - the musical

2008-09-24T14:31:00.004Z

While I was away, a colleague sent me the lyrics to the Jack White / Alicia Keys Bond theme. I took one look and thought "fake".

Turns out I was wrong, and this terrifically incompetent bag of balls is the genuine article.

JW: Another blinger with a slick trigger finger for Her Majesty
AK: Another one with the golden tongue poisoning your fantasy
JW: Another pill from a killer turn a thriller to a tragedy
AK/JW: Yeah, a door never open, a woman walking by, a drop in the water, a look in the eye, a phone on the table, a man on your side, someone that you think that you can trust is just another way to die.

(snip...)

To fade: Just another, just another, bang bang bang bang.

To be fair, the words work a lot better in the context of the down and dirty bombast of the song - which you can buy now on iTunes. But I still prefer the two spoof themes performed by Adam and Joe of… er, Adam and Joe fame. Here's a sample of Adam Buxton's chorus:

I'd like a quantum of solace, but no more than a quantum
I know they do big bags of solace... but I don't want'em
I only want a teeny, tiny slice of solace
Before I shoot you

Much, much better, I'm sure you'll agree.

Adam Buxton - Quantum of Solace

Joe Cornish - Quantum of Solace

Perhaps we could collect together all these themes, and the ditched Amy Winehouse one, and put on a show, Kids of Fame-style, right here, right now.

I'll call Bruno. Can you text LeRoy?

Hi, we're the Killers and here is our song

2008-09-24T14:03:00.001Z

The Killers have made an amazing career out of one (admittedly brilliant) trick - sounding a bit like New Order and Joy Division at exactly the same time!

Many thought their last album, Sam's Town, was a bit on the ponderous side. It aimed for the epic sweep of Bruce Springsteen's middle America anthems, but it was suffocated by its own ambition, wrapped in a woolly blanket of pretension and drowned in a black lagoon of muddy synths.

So for third album, Day and Night, the band sought out the talents of Stuart Price (whose nimble fingers once tweaked Madonna's knobs) and flicked the big red switch marked "pop".

Sadly, it hasn't worked. The record's first single, Human - which premiered on Zane Lowe's show on Monday - is a yawnsome retread of their earlier efforts.

It starts with that same, tired fuzzy synth sound, and a lyric that wants to be profoundly mystical but actually sounds like the daft ramblings of an agoraphobic nutjob ("sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door").

Things pick up when the chorus kicks in - with a thumping drum beat that suggests an awesome club remix is on the cards - but the melody is a bit of a dirge. Perhaps inadvertently, Brandon identifies the band's biggest problem - a desire to be important that outweighs their pop instinct. "Are we human, or are we dancers?" he wails.

Why can't we be both, Mr Flowers? Why can't we be both.

:: The Killers - Human (mp3)

Important question

2008-09-23T15:58:00.002Z

Which very successful UK pop star is using her lips and mouth to imitate the sounds of a drum machine in this clip????!

All will be revealed tomorrow...

This actually happened

2008-09-23T13:34:00.003Z

At Sunday night's Emmys, Josh Groban sang a medley of 26 TV theme tunes in four minutes.

It is the most mesmerisingly shit piece of television in all of the history of everything ever.

I'm back - and so are they

2008-09-23T12:43:00.004Z

Hello! I am now back from the beautiful French Riveria and ready to start bringing you more top tier writing about music and that.

But, first things first, here's that Girls Aloud single that premiered while I was away (why didn't they check with me first???)

It's called The Promise and, in Nadine's words, it is "mouuure on the sexties kinda feel-good vibe that's happenin' neow wi' muuuuusic, but it's still Girls Aleeouwd."

Translastion: It's a bit like I Can't Speak French but with Mark Ronson horns in it. I kind of like it. Kind of.

The song is undeniably catchy, and it's interesting to hear them lead off a new album with what counts for a ballad in Girls Aloud world. But with weaker vocal performances it could be a Kylie track.

But, given that the band's "comeback" singles always underwhelm (Long Hot Summer, The Show, etc) I've still got my fingers crossed for a storming second single at Christmas (Biology, Love Machine, No Good Advice, Call The Shots).

Lots more to catch up on - including Jack Black and Alicia Key's Bond theme - so keep coming back!

:: Nadine interview (mp3)
:: Girls Aloud - The Promise (mp3)

PS - I must give a huge, gargantuan, planet-sized thank you to Lisa, who sent me an mp3 of the song while I was away from the British airwaves. She is marvellous, and no mistake.

Very Important Announcement!

2008-09-12T17:22:00.003Z

I am going on holiday tomorrow, so...

1) There will be nothing posted on this blog 'til Tuesday, 24th September. Sorry about that.

2) Please don't burgle my house. There is a panther hiding in the bedroom and you will get very badly hurt.

3) Girls Aloud's new single "The Promise" will be premiered on Radio One this Sunday at around 7pm. If you could find it within your heart to send an MP3 to savage-at-discopop-dot-co-dot-uk, I will love you forever*

That is all. You're all amazing.
Byeeeee,
mrdiscopop

* Love you forever = Buy you a Kit Kat

New Ting Tings video: Be The One

2008-09-12T12:25:00.003Z

Eeeek! The Tingerators are releasing a single in which Katie doesn't SHOUT EVERY WORD LIKE THAT FRIGHTENING MAN OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY CENTRE.

Will it see the band's popularity drop off amongst the deaf community? Or will people say "oooh, this sounds a bit like the mildly successful mid-90s jangly indie sounds of The Sundays" and rush out in their droves to buy it from wherever it is that actually stocks singles these days?

Only time will tell.

Ting Tings - Be The One

PS Sorry about the shiteous adverts before the song, but something called Handbag.com has an "exclusive". It'll be on YouTube by midnight, mind you.

Gig Review: Madonna plays Wembley

2008-09-12T10:13:00.003Z

The last time Madonna went on a stadium tour, with 1993's Girlie Show, it was a creative and critical flop. So much so that it would be eight years before the Queen of Pop returned to the stage. When she did, it was in the smaller and more controlled environment of the indoor arena, where she could better realize the intricate, theatrical extravaganzas she's now become famous for.

So it was with some trepidation that I travelled out to Wembley for the Sticky and Sweet show. Would the acrobatic drama of the Reinvention and Confessions tours translate to such a huge venue - or would it be swamped by the scale?

I should never really have doubted the Queen of Pop. She has enough personality to fill three Wembley Stadiums - and the technology behind these massive concerts has progressed light years since 1993. Flanked by two massive "Ms" and about seven video screens, Madonna could project her (Blond) ambition into space if she wanted.

Highlights of the show included Into The Groove's double dutch skip-along, a ballsy hard rock version of Borderline and a gypsified La Isla Bonita. Practically every song had a new visual theme, and the choreography was almost entirely devoid of cliché. My particular favourite was Heartbeat, in which a "crippled" Madonna was posed and manipulated by her dancers like a marionette - a sly dig at the critics who claim she's getting too old for this pop lark.

And, while we didn't get the skateboard ramps or multi-story climbing frames of her recent tours, there was plenty of visual splendour for the audience's hungry eyes. Dancers donned classic Madonna costumes - the conical bra, the Like A Virgin wedding dress - for She's Not Me; while Devil Wouldn't Recognise You saw the Queen Of Pop enveloped by a curtain of lights.

Song-wise, the show was a bit too Hard Candy heavy - opening with the underwhelming Candy Shop and closing with a slightly muddled Give It 2 Me. At the same time, those new songs, which sound a bit anaemic on CD, were given some much-needed muscle by the fantastically accomplished band. Madonna wisely threw in a few hooks from her older hits into the mix to keep the fans happy, too.

In fact, Madonna's willingness to rejig and refresh her music is one of the things I admire most about her. It shows a real creative hunger in comparison to the "wheel out the old hits" mentality of most performers of her stature. One truly splendid example was Like A Prayer, which was transformed into a thumping rave anthem by virtue of a mash-up with Felix's Don't You Want Me.

It was so good, in fact, that the crowd forgave her en masse for singing completely the wrong words - which made the pre-recorded guide vocal somewhat obvious.

There have been a few gripes about the ticket prices for the Sticky and Sweet Tour but I honestly believe the show is worth the price of admission. Compared to similarly-priced events by the Rolling Stones or the Police, your cash investment is clearly being spent on the creative endeavour, rather than Sting's yoga lessons.

However, can I make one heartfelt plea to set designers around the world? If you could raise the stage a mere three feet higher off the ground, then short-arses like me could see the whole thing, rather than paying £75 to watch a giant TV for two hours.

Thankyouverymuch.

Setlist
Candy Shop
Beat Goes On
Human Nature
Vogue (with 4 Minutes, Give It To Me, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life)
Die Another Day (video interlude)
Into the Groove (with Jump, Double Dutch Bus, Toop Toop)
Heartbeat
Borderline
She's Not Me
Music (with Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit)
Rain / Here Comes The Rain Again (video interlude)
Devil Wouldn't Recognize You
Spanish Lesson
Miles Away
La Isla Bonita (contains elements of Lela Pala Tute)
Doli Doli (dance interlude)
You Must Love Me
Get Stupid (video interlude)
4 Minutes
Like a Prayer (with Don't You Want Me, Feels Like Home)
Ray of Light
Hung Up
Give It 2 Me

Janet's amazing tour setlist!

2008-09-11T11:10:00.003Z

Janet kicked off her North American tour in Vancouver, Canada last night and the set list looks stunning. Thirty-seven (!) tracks, with just about every hit you could hope for - from Pleasure Principle through That's The Way Love Goes to Feedback.

There were a couple of curveballs, too. A three-song medley of songs from the pre-Control era (when she was rubbish) and the inclusion of the godawful Call On Me. What was she thinking?

Here's a fan video of the opening minutes of the concert. I particularly like how they almost drop the camera in fright when the pyrotechnics go off.

That setlist in full:

Intro
Pleasure Principle
Control
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Feedback
You Want This
Alright
Miss You Much
Rhythm Nation - Interlude
Never Letchu Go
Come Back To Me
Let's Wait Awhile
Again
So Excited
So Much Betta
Nasty
All Nite (Don't Stop)
Rock With U
Together Again
Young Love
Say You Do
Don't Stand Another Chance
Doesn't Really Matter
Escapade
Love Will Never Do (Without You)
When I Think Of You
All For You
Got 'Til It's Gone
Call On Me
That's The Way Love Goes
I Get Lonely
Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)
Any Time, Any Place
Discipline
Black Cat
If
Rhythm Nation
Luv
Band/Dancer Introductions
Runaway

[via Janet Xone]

Please let this be true

2008-09-10T16:23:00.002Z

Adele's US career could be in tatters after radio stations banned her Chasing Pavements single, thinking the heavily-accented star was singing about "chasing gay men".

It's not clear who is supposed to have been offended here. Is it the right-wing conservatives, censoring any mention of homosexuality? Or is it the liberal elite, appalled at a woman thinking she could "turn" a gay man straight with her warbling?

Maybe it's both!
Maybe it's neither!
Maybe they just really, really hate the song!

NB: This "story" has come from the Daily Mail, that well-known supporter of homosexualism, so it's almost guaranteed to be true.

Here's the video so you can check out the hilarious misunderstanding with your own earholes.

Adele - Chasing Pavements