Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Top 10 Discopop albums of 2007
Happy New Year! And, looking forward at our past, here are the top 10 albums from the Discopop Towers ghettoblaster in 2007.
1) ROBYN - ROBYN
Sounds like: Early Madonna, with better jokes.
The critics say: “Is it any good? No. IT IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!” (popjustice)
We say: Okay, so this came out in Sweden three years ago but it’s still the freshest, deadliest pop album to hit these shores in aeons. Robyn pens a killer hook, but her real skill is in the lyrics, which can be heartbreaking (“It’s a good thing tears never show in the pouring rain”), sentimental (“I would knit you mittens and make you pie”) or out-and-out comedy (“I’ll make your balls bounce like a game of ping pong”). One for the rewind button every time.
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2) ARCADE FIRE - NEON BIBLE
Sounds like: Twelve monks who are, like, really depressed about the future.
The critics say: “A magical kingdom of noise that's equal parts Disney's Fantasia and Echo & The Bunnymen's lavish Ocean Rain.” (Q magazine)
We say: Post-millennial angst you can sing along to. Planes crash into buildings, families are ripped apart by war, a big black tidal wave comes to wipe out the population. Not the cheeriest album of the year, but certainly the most epic.
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3) CSS - CANSEI DE SER SEXY
Sounds like: A kids party in a mental asylum.
The critics say: “Lots of handclaps, woo woo backing vocals, and laughs amid funny observations about contemporary urban hipster life reveal an assured and charming debut.” (Stylus magazine)
We say: Hey, it’s another album that’s technically three years old. Did I ever say I was a hip and with-it indie scenester? No, I did not.
Anyway, CSS are brilliant. Bouncy, stupid and colourful – they could only have come from Sao Paolo. The lyrics verge on nonsense (“Am I a mouse? Am I an elephant?!”) yet often reveal something deeper on repeated listens. But Cansei De Ser Sexy (tired of being sexy) is mostly designed for jumping up and down to in a student disco with a bacardi breezer and an ironic t-shirt. Ah, the memories.
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4) AMERIE - BECAUSE I LOVE IT
Sounds like: A modern r&b record that knows its roots.
The critics say: “It would be no exaggeration to call Amerie one of the greatest singers in pop music. Her vocal performances are extraordinary: she catches the fleeting thrills and momentary rushes of intensity that permeate otherwise mundane days, and stretches those feelings out across four-minute songs without ever letting up.” (The Guardian)
We say: R&B is in a bit of a lull these days, which is why it’s so utterly criminal that this sparkling firecracker of an album did so badly. The record company hasn’t even bothered to release it in the US, which means it could be one of the great lost records of our time.
Amerie, who takes on a great deal of the writing duties for her third album, has a fantastic understanding of her soul music forebears and pays tribute to the likes of Smokey Robinson, Issac Hayes and Dozier-Holland-Dozier throughout. Not that this is a Winehouse-esque pastiche of latter-day r&b. Every lesson she learned from those masterminds of composition has been updated and spun in new directions, underscored by that fantastic voice. 2007 didn’t have a better soul workout than Gotta Work, a funkier guitar line than Take Control, or a more sugary pop confection than Crush.
Seriously, you have got to buy this album.
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5) GIRLS ALOUD - TANGLED UP
Sounds like: A girl band growing up.
The critics say: “Unbeatable future pop hits.” (NME)
We say: It didn’t seem possible a year ago that a band who would release a tired, by-numbers cover of I Think We’re Alone Now would emerge re-invigorated to produce an album this fresh. The traditional Girls Aloud formula still stands – preposterous song structures, brain-eating hooks – but the mood is a little more melancholy than before. Call The Shots, their best single since Biology, is a minor-key pop wonder, while future single I Can’t Speak French is a sultry mid-tempo sleazefest. Top marks all round.
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6) RADIOHEAD - IN RAINBOWS
Sounds like: A Radiohead album.
The critics say: “The first time I listened to Radiohead's In Rainbows, I loved it, no holds barred. Joy warmed my ears as the album's 10 songs poured forth from a freshly unzipped download.” (Los Angeles Times)
We say: I didn’t wet my pants quite as readily as everyone else, but In Rainbows is a fantastic album, and probably the most direct record Radiohead have released since The Bends. You can hear what Thom Yorke is singing, you can hum most of the tunes, but you’d still be hard pressed to replicate most of the songs on an acoustic guitar. The ones that you can, however, are stunning . Among them are Nude, Faust Arp and Reckoner – some of the most beautifully haunting ballads the band have ever written.
On another note - I never thought I’d see the day when Thom Yorke cribbed lyrics from Madonna’s Justify My Love. But on House Of Cards he really does sing “I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover”. Amazing.
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7) DRAGONETTE - GALORE
Sounds like: Goldfrapp snogging Britney Spears in a strip club toilet.
The critics say: “A 21st Century Eurythmics” (Uncut)
We say: This one crept in under the radar and burrowed its way into our mind with the cunning use of big, fat choruses from planet singalong. Dragonette, a Canadian band managed by the team behind the Scissor Sisters, plough a similar furrow to their New York counterparts. That is to say, glittery synth-driven pop with an undercurrent of sleaze. My particular favourite is Competition – a song about stealing someone from their girlfriend by being better in bed (“Goodness I like this, being your mistress,” purrs singer Martina Sorbara). No-one seems to have heard of them, and the album is rarer than a French beefsteak, but I still love it.
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8) SIOBHAN DONAGHY - GHOSTS
Sounds like: A ginger Kate Bush.
The critics say: “Nobody else in 2007 is making records this bold, this big-hearted and this defiantly different.” (Digital Spy)
We say: Siobhan, the first former Sugababe, surpassed the ambition and invention of her former colleagues this year but she paid the price for releasing such a wayward, complex album without the calling card of a radio-friendly single. If you’re going to be Kate Bush or Tori Amos, you need a Wuthering Heights or Cornflake Girl to alert people to your presence. But for those prepared to investigate, this is pop on a grand scale: sweeping strings, icy melodies and choruses like a warm bath (I’m not quite sure what that means, but I think you get the point).
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9) TIMBALAND - TIMBALAND PRESENTS SHOCK VALUE
Sounds like: Robot hip-hop from the only producer in the game.
The critics say: “It would be more accurately titled Timbaland Presents Slight Confusion or Timbaland Presents an Uneven Mess.” (Allmusic)
We say: Admittedly, only 11 of Shock Value’s 19 tracks still exist on my iPod, but those tracks are stunning. And, even when the album fails, you have to give Timbaland credit for attempting to broaden his musical palette. Rather than go down the Dr Dre route of calling up all his famous mates (although Justin and Nelly do appear), he has roped in The Hives, Fall Out Boy and Elton John to create some of the album’s stand-out tracks.
My favourite, however, is the UK-only bonus track – Come Around – which features underground rap star M.I.A. Her slinky delivery is, for once, not drowned out by superfluous sound effects and rave sirens as Timbaland gives a masterclass in how to frame a woman’s vocals. The song is only let down by the hip-hop supremo’s own rapping which, at its best, is hopeless. “Baby girl, you and me / Need to go to your tipi”. Oh dear.
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10) RIHANNA - GOOD GIRL GONE BAD
Sounds like: A collection of songs assembled by big-name r&b producers and sung by a very lucky lady from Barbados.
The critics say: “Beyonce's superstar status is not in danger, but she should hand her A&R man a copy of this album.” (The Observer)
We say: Umbrella is great. Don’t Stop The Music is great. The rest of Good Girl Gone Bad is very good assembly-line pop. You don’t learn anything about Rihanna, the 19-year-old musical phenomenon with a pretty nose, whose whiny voice will almost certainly begin to grate by the second half of the record. And, with the exception of the one about the precipitation-repelling device, you won't be singing any of these songs three years from now.
If I sound like I don’t like Good Girl Gone Bad, it’s because I’m a little frightened of what it represents – that lots of money can buy you a hit album regardless of your talent. So, while this is my 10th most listened-to album of the year (this list is based on my iTunes play counts) I’d prefer to give the “award” to Stargate, Timbaland, Redzone and all the other production teams, rather than Rihanna who had her photograph taken for the picture on the cover.
...And on that grumpy note, let’s look forward to the next 12 months of music!
Sounds like: Early Madonna, with better jokes.
The critics say: “Is it any good? No. IT IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!” (popjustice)
We say: Okay, so this came out in Sweden three years ago but it’s still the freshest, deadliest pop album to hit these shores in aeons. Robyn pens a killer hook, but her real skill is in the lyrics, which can be heartbreaking (“It’s a good thing tears never show in the pouring rain”), sentimental (“I would knit you mittens and make you pie”) or out-and-out comedy (“I’ll make your balls bounce like a game of ping pong”). One for the rewind button every time.
Sounds like: Twelve monks who are, like, really depressed about the future.
The critics say: “A magical kingdom of noise that's equal parts Disney's Fantasia and Echo & The Bunnymen's lavish Ocean Rain.” (Q magazine)
We say: Post-millennial angst you can sing along to. Planes crash into buildings, families are ripped apart by war, a big black tidal wave comes to wipe out the population. Not the cheeriest album of the year, but certainly the most epic.
Sounds like: A kids party in a mental asylum.
The critics say: “Lots of handclaps, woo woo backing vocals, and laughs amid funny observations about contemporary urban hipster life reveal an assured and charming debut.” (Stylus magazine)
We say: Hey, it’s another album that’s technically three years old. Did I ever say I was a hip and with-it indie scenester? No, I did not.
Anyway, CSS are brilliant. Bouncy, stupid and colourful – they could only have come from Sao Paolo. The lyrics verge on nonsense (“Am I a mouse? Am I an elephant?!”) yet often reveal something deeper on repeated listens. But Cansei De Ser Sexy (tired of being sexy) is mostly designed for jumping up and down to in a student disco with a bacardi breezer and an ironic t-shirt. Ah, the memories.
Sounds like: A modern r&b record that knows its roots.
The critics say: “It would be no exaggeration to call Amerie one of the greatest singers in pop music. Her vocal performances are extraordinary: she catches the fleeting thrills and momentary rushes of intensity that permeate otherwise mundane days, and stretches those feelings out across four-minute songs without ever letting up.” (The Guardian)
We say: R&B is in a bit of a lull these days, which is why it’s so utterly criminal that this sparkling firecracker of an album did so badly. The record company hasn’t even bothered to release it in the US, which means it could be one of the great lost records of our time.
Amerie, who takes on a great deal of the writing duties for her third album, has a fantastic understanding of her soul music forebears and pays tribute to the likes of Smokey Robinson, Issac Hayes and Dozier-Holland-Dozier throughout. Not that this is a Winehouse-esque pastiche of latter-day r&b. Every lesson she learned from those masterminds of composition has been updated and spun in new directions, underscored by that fantastic voice. 2007 didn’t have a better soul workout than Gotta Work, a funkier guitar line than Take Control, or a more sugary pop confection than Crush.
Seriously, you have got to buy this album.
Sounds like: A girl band growing up.
The critics say: “Unbeatable future pop hits.” (NME)
We say: It didn’t seem possible a year ago that a band who would release a tired, by-numbers cover of I Think We’re Alone Now would emerge re-invigorated to produce an album this fresh. The traditional Girls Aloud formula still stands – preposterous song structures, brain-eating hooks – but the mood is a little more melancholy than before. Call The Shots, their best single since Biology, is a minor-key pop wonder, while future single I Can’t Speak French is a sultry mid-tempo sleazefest. Top marks all round.
Sounds like: A Radiohead album.
The critics say: “The first time I listened to Radiohead's In Rainbows, I loved it, no holds barred. Joy warmed my ears as the album's 10 songs poured forth from a freshly unzipped download.” (Los Angeles Times)
We say: I didn’t wet my pants quite as readily as everyone else, but In Rainbows is a fantastic album, and probably the most direct record Radiohead have released since The Bends. You can hear what Thom Yorke is singing, you can hum most of the tunes, but you’d still be hard pressed to replicate most of the songs on an acoustic guitar. The ones that you can, however, are stunning . Among them are Nude, Faust Arp and Reckoner – some of the most beautifully haunting ballads the band have ever written.
On another note - I never thought I’d see the day when Thom Yorke cribbed lyrics from Madonna’s Justify My Love. But on House Of Cards he really does sing “I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover”. Amazing.
Sounds like: Goldfrapp snogging Britney Spears in a strip club toilet.
The critics say: “A 21st Century Eurythmics” (Uncut)
We say: This one crept in under the radar and burrowed its way into our mind with the cunning use of big, fat choruses from planet singalong. Dragonette, a Canadian band managed by the team behind the Scissor Sisters, plough a similar furrow to their New York counterparts. That is to say, glittery synth-driven pop with an undercurrent of sleaze. My particular favourite is Competition – a song about stealing someone from their girlfriend by being better in bed (“Goodness I like this, being your mistress,” purrs singer Martina Sorbara). No-one seems to have heard of them, and the album is rarer than a French beefsteak, but I still love it.
Sounds like: A ginger Kate Bush.
The critics say: “Nobody else in 2007 is making records this bold, this big-hearted and this defiantly different.” (Digital Spy)
We say: Siobhan, the first former Sugababe, surpassed the ambition and invention of her former colleagues this year but she paid the price for releasing such a wayward, complex album without the calling card of a radio-friendly single. If you’re going to be Kate Bush or Tori Amos, you need a Wuthering Heights or Cornflake Girl to alert people to your presence. But for those prepared to investigate, this is pop on a grand scale: sweeping strings, icy melodies and choruses like a warm bath (I’m not quite sure what that means, but I think you get the point).
Sounds like: Robot hip-hop from the only producer in the game.
The critics say: “It would be more accurately titled Timbaland Presents Slight Confusion or Timbaland Presents an Uneven Mess.” (Allmusic)
We say: Admittedly, only 11 of Shock Value’s 19 tracks still exist on my iPod, but those tracks are stunning. And, even when the album fails, you have to give Timbaland credit for attempting to broaden his musical palette. Rather than go down the Dr Dre route of calling up all his famous mates (although Justin and Nelly do appear), he has roped in The Hives, Fall Out Boy and Elton John to create some of the album’s stand-out tracks.
My favourite, however, is the UK-only bonus track – Come Around – which features underground rap star M.I.A. Her slinky delivery is, for once, not drowned out by superfluous sound effects and rave sirens as Timbaland gives a masterclass in how to frame a woman’s vocals. The song is only let down by the hip-hop supremo’s own rapping which, at its best, is hopeless. “Baby girl, you and me / Need to go to your tipi”. Oh dear.
Sounds like: A collection of songs assembled by big-name r&b producers and sung by a very lucky lady from Barbados.
The critics say: “Beyonce's superstar status is not in danger, but she should hand her A&R man a copy of this album.” (The Observer)
We say: Umbrella is great. Don’t Stop The Music is great. The rest of Good Girl Gone Bad is very good assembly-line pop. You don’t learn anything about Rihanna, the 19-year-old musical phenomenon with a pretty nose, whose whiny voice will almost certainly begin to grate by the second half of the record. And, with the exception of the one about the precipitation-repelling device, you won't be singing any of these songs three years from now.
If I sound like I don’t like Good Girl Gone Bad, it’s because I’m a little frightened of what it represents – that lots of money can buy you a hit album regardless of your talent. So, while this is my 10th most listened-to album of the year (this list is based on my iTunes play counts) I’d prefer to give the “award” to Stargate, Timbaland, Redzone and all the other production teams, rather than Rihanna who had her photograph taken for the picture on the cover.
...And on that grumpy note, let’s look forward to the next 12 months of music!
Labels: amerie, arcade fire, CSS, dragonette, Girls Aloud, Music, radiohead, rihanna, Robyn, siobhan donaghy, Timbaland, top ten
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Discopop top 10 singles of 2007
If you don't own these, you're probably a paedophile.
1) Amerie - Gotta Work
An updated, improved version of One Thing, Gotta Work stomps all over the dancefloor like a giant in hotpants. Using a sample of Isaac Haye's Hold On, I'm Coming, Amerie crafted a case study in melodic composition - there's not a single wasted note across three minutes and eleven seconds. Why this didn't get to number one, I'll never know.
:: Watch it on youtube
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2) Robyn - With Every Heartbeat
"Still dying with every step I take, but I don't look back," sings Robyn as With Every Heartbeat opens. It's the most emotionally honest, bitterly painful song of the year - if not all time. The bit where the string quartet kicks in will break your heart a thousand times over. Her acoustic performance of the song on Radio One probably drove several teenagers to poetry or that weird sobbing where you make a noise like Hannibal Lecter when you breathe in. But you can dance to it, too, which must turn school discos into a dangerous playground of tears and snot. Brilliant.
:: Watch it on youtube
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3) CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above
The best drunken come-on of the year, Let's Make Love sees Lovefoxxx making a stupid, Bridget Jones-style attempt to get a man into bed. The song doesn't record whether or not she was successful, but I definitely would.
According to Wikipedia, the hook "is probably a reference to the Canadian band Death From Above 1979, as evidenced in the song's video where band members are shown wearing elephant masks (a reference to the "elephant heads" on the cover of Death From Above 1979's album You're a Woman, I'm a Machine)." So now you know.
:: Watch it on youtube
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4) Rihanna - Umbrella
In which 19-year-old Robyn Rihanna Fenty transformed from a vaguely-interesting Barbadian R&B lady into a globe-straddling pop behemoth before our very eyes. This despite the fact her singing voice is more nasal than an anteater, and that the opening rap from Jay-Z is the very definition of "phoned in". But this record is so amazingly catchy that it has changed the way we pronounce the word umbrella for the rest of all time.
:: Watch it on youtube
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5) Girls Aloud - Call The Shots
If Rihanna mangled her pronunciation of umbrella, Cheryl Tweedycole put the word "now" through a primeval torture device in Call The Shots. Seriously, it ends up being seventeen syllables long or something. But I love this song, and anyone who says they don't love it too it is lying through their dirty mouth.
:: Watch it on youtube
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6) Groove Armada - Song 4 Mutya
Despite the lyrics, Mutya almost certainly doesn't know all the words to Prince's Hot Thing, but this pop song, full of meaty synths and New Order guitar lines, sounds exactly like the sort of thing the little purple man would have written for one of his filthy protegés in the mid-80s. The video is a crock of shit, though.
:: Watch it on youtube (but it's probably best not to waste your time)
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7) Beyoncé and Shakira - Beautiful Liar
Two of pop's shoutiest ladyfolk have a volume competition over a slinky, arabesque beat. The video contains several scenes of wiggling. It is altogether smashing.
:: Watch it on youtube
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8) Girls Aloud - Sexy! No, No, No...
Nadine has a "d-d-dirty mind", she helpfully tells us in this hymn to sexual caution. Coincidentally, two years ago she used the lyrics of Biology to advertise her "dirty brain". We, the public, demand more information about this inner pervert.
:: Watch it on youtube
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9) Siobhan Donaghy - Don't Give It Up
It is a terrible crime that, despite having released one of the most inventive albums of the year, Siobhan Donaghy is now dying from Aids (on stage in a crappy "reinvention" of Rent, fact-fans). This song, equal parts Kate Bush and Bjork, is absoulte nonsense - but very beautiful, stately nonsense with an ethereal vocal. No doubt it was deemed "too demanding" for the cretins that listen to Radio One. If only she had put "The" in front of her name, they might have paid attention.
:: Watch it on youtube
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10) Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
One of those songs that sits unloved and overshadowed on its parent album before revealing its true glory as a single. A slinky little minor-key ballad, its one of Nelly's more atmospheric songs, although I've never really paid attention to what it's all about. According to the internet, however, the lyrics go: "From my hands I could give you something that I made / From my mouth I could sing you another brick that I laid". Nelly Furtado is nuts, isn't she?
:: Watch it on youtube
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PS: As ever, the top 10 list is put together using my iTunes play counts and a bit of maths(!) to even out the bias towards songs that have been around all year.
PPS: Honourable mentions also go to The Klaxons - Golden Skans, White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is, Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control, Take That - Shine, Mark Ronson - Stop Me, The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name, Kanye West - Stronger, Arcade Fire - Intervention, Timbaland ft Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado - Give It To Me, New Young Pony Club - The Bomb.
An updated, improved version of One Thing, Gotta Work stomps all over the dancefloor like a giant in hotpants. Using a sample of Isaac Haye's Hold On, I'm Coming, Amerie crafted a case study in melodic composition - there's not a single wasted note across three minutes and eleven seconds. Why this didn't get to number one, I'll never know.
:: Watch it on youtube
"Still dying with every step I take, but I don't look back," sings Robyn as With Every Heartbeat opens. It's the most emotionally honest, bitterly painful song of the year - if not all time. The bit where the string quartet kicks in will break your heart a thousand times over. Her acoustic performance of the song on Radio One probably drove several teenagers to poetry or that weird sobbing where you make a noise like Hannibal Lecter when you breathe in. But you can dance to it, too, which must turn school discos into a dangerous playground of tears and snot. Brilliant.
:: Watch it on youtube
The best drunken come-on of the year, Let's Make Love sees Lovefoxxx making a stupid, Bridget Jones-style attempt to get a man into bed. The song doesn't record whether or not she was successful, but I definitely would.
According to Wikipedia, the hook "is probably a reference to the Canadian band Death From Above 1979, as evidenced in the song's video where band members are shown wearing elephant masks (a reference to the "elephant heads" on the cover of Death From Above 1979's album You're a Woman, I'm a Machine)." So now you know.
:: Watch it on youtube
In which 19-year-old Robyn Rihanna Fenty transformed from a vaguely-interesting Barbadian R&B lady into a globe-straddling pop behemoth before our very eyes. This despite the fact her singing voice is more nasal than an anteater, and that the opening rap from Jay-Z is the very definition of "phoned in". But this record is so amazingly catchy that it has changed the way we pronounce the word umbrella for the rest of all time.
:: Watch it on youtube
If Rihanna mangled her pronunciation of umbrella, Cheryl Tweedycole put the word "now" through a primeval torture device in Call The Shots. Seriously, it ends up being seventeen syllables long or something. But I love this song, and anyone who says they don't love it too it is lying through their dirty mouth.
:: Watch it on youtube
Despite the lyrics, Mutya almost certainly doesn't know all the words to Prince's Hot Thing, but this pop song, full of meaty synths and New Order guitar lines, sounds exactly like the sort of thing the little purple man would have written for one of his filthy protegés in the mid-80s. The video is a crock of shit, though.
:: Watch it on youtube (but it's probably best not to waste your time)
Two of pop's shoutiest ladyfolk have a volume competition over a slinky, arabesque beat. The video contains several scenes of wiggling. It is altogether smashing.
:: Watch it on youtube
8) Girls Aloud - Sexy! No, No, No...
Nadine has a "d-d-dirty mind", she helpfully tells us in this hymn to sexual caution. Coincidentally, two years ago she used the lyrics of Biology to advertise her "dirty brain". We, the public, demand more information about this inner pervert.
:: Watch it on youtube
It is a terrible crime that, despite having released one of the most inventive albums of the year, Siobhan Donaghy is now dying from Aids (on stage in a crappy "reinvention" of Rent, fact-fans). This song, equal parts Kate Bush and Bjork, is absoulte nonsense - but very beautiful, stately nonsense with an ethereal vocal. No doubt it was deemed "too demanding" for the cretins that listen to Radio One. If only she had put "The" in front of her name, they might have paid attention.
:: Watch it on youtube
One of those songs that sits unloved and overshadowed on its parent album before revealing its true glory as a single. A slinky little minor-key ballad, its one of Nelly's more atmospheric songs, although I've never really paid attention to what it's all about. According to the internet, however, the lyrics go: "From my hands I could give you something that I made / From my mouth I could sing you another brick that I laid". Nelly Furtado is nuts, isn't she?
:: Watch it on youtube
PS: As ever, the top 10 list is put together using my iTunes play counts and a bit of maths(!) to even out the bias towards songs that have been around all year.
PPS: Honourable mentions also go to The Klaxons - Golden Skans, White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is, Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control, Take That - Shine, Mark Ronson - Stop Me, The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name, Kanye West - Stronger, Arcade Fire - Intervention, Timbaland ft Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado - Give It To Me, New Young Pony Club - The Bomb.
Labels: amerie, Beyoncé, CSS, Girls Aloud, Music, mutya, Nelly Furtado, rihanna, Robyn, Shakira, siobhan donaghy, top ten
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Amerie: Gotta Work video
This is still my favourite song of the year so far. You can tell Amerie has been studying her classic soul - Gotta Work has echoes of the Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin and the best bits of Motown. And, boy, can she sing.
The video is your bog-standard R&B affair - a woman in hotpants, some faintly aggressive dancing, slow-motion hair flicking - but it has a few excellent moments involving a chair and a man banging a dustbin. Nice sunglasses, too.
The video is your bog-standard R&B affair - a woman in hotpants, some faintly aggressive dancing, slow-motion hair flicking - but it has a few excellent moments involving a chair and a man banging a dustbin. Nice sunglasses, too.
Monday, May 14, 2007
A few things I had to tell you
Still without an internet connection at home (only a week to go, I'm promised) so here's another perfunctory update.
a) I am listening to Amerie's new album, Because I Like It, right now. It is fucking fantastic. Really, really, fucking brilliant. I'm on track seven and there hasn't been a shitty ballad or hideous "crunk" track with Lil' Jon yet. By default, this makes it the best R&B album since 1997.
b) We got tickets to see Prince in London! I nearly wet myself with excitement but in the end I decided just to go "weee" with my mouth instead.
c) Remember the video of the people lip-syncing to the theme tune of Peep Show that I posted last week? It turns out this group of people spend their entire working day making stupid videos for the internet. Look:
I hate them, but I want to be their friends.
d) The Eurovision was brilliant. I wasn't realy expecting to have such a laugh - but I met Terry Wogan, got to play with the pyrotechnics, comiserated with Scooch and flirted with the Georgian lady (through a translator - a rather disconcerting experience). Obviously, the show itself was shit and the voting a joke, but that's what it's all about, no?
That's all for now. Love you, bye!
a) I am listening to Amerie's new album, Because I Like It, right now. It is fucking fantastic. Really, really, fucking brilliant. I'm on track seven and there hasn't been a shitty ballad or hideous "crunk" track with Lil' Jon yet. By default, this makes it the best R&B album since 1997.b) We got tickets to see Prince in London! I nearly wet myself with excitement but in the end I decided just to go "weee" with my mouth instead.
c) Remember the video of the people lip-syncing to the theme tune of Peep Show that I posted last week? It turns out this group of people spend their entire working day making stupid videos for the internet. Look:
I hate them, but I want to be their friends.
d) The Eurovision was brilliant. I wasn't realy expecting to have such a laugh - but I met Terry Wogan, got to play with the pyrotechnics, comiserated with Scooch and flirted with the Georgian lady (through a translator - a rather disconcerting experience). Obviously, the show itself was shit and the voting a joke, but that's what it's all about, no?
That's all for now. Love you, bye!
Labels: amerie, eurovision, Music, Prince, video
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The miniature arrow of truth
I was going to do one of those graphics which lists things beside a gigantic arrow in order to illustrate how some things are better than others. But I'm too stupid to work out how to put links in it. So, in descending order of amazingness, I present "A big list of things I have
:: Amerie's new single, Gotta Work.
Amerie now has two singles that sound exactly like Beyoncé's Crazy In Love. This is no bad thing, as Crazy in Love rips the shit out of every record released since, oooh, Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms (nb: joke). Here is an Mp3 for the curious [Amerie - Gotta Work]. I will give a big wet kiss to anyone who can tell me what the sample is.
:: Bjork dresses up for her new album cover.
I want a costume like this, and I want it now bitches.:: Charlie Brooker on those irritating Mac and PC ads.
"The ads are adapted from a near-identical American campaign - the only difference is the use of Mitchell and Webb. They are a logical choice in one sense (everyone likes them), but a curious choice in another, since they are best known for the television series Peep Show - probably the best sitcom of the past five years - in which Mitchell plays a repressed, neurotic underdog, and Webb plays a selfish, self-regarding poseur. So when you see the ads, you think, "PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers." In other words, it is a devastatingly accurate campaign."
[Read more]
:: Timbaland's Shock Value album.
Half of it borders on genius. Half of it is the violent misogynystic rambling of a deluded egomaniac. Buy Robyn's album instead.
:: Halle Berry gets a Hollywood star.
Man, she really loves that sidewalk.
Or maybe she just fell over. Who knows?:: Clive James on 24.
"How hard can an actor grit his teeth before they shatter? Kiefer Sutherland grits them to the point where you imagine a Ming vase in a vice. When will they explode?"
[Read more]
:: Alanis Morisette's April Fool joke.
She did an "hilarious" cover version of the Black Eyed Peas' My Humps which
a) Is a year late
b) Labours the point somewhat
c) Makes you yearn for the original.
Labels: alanis morissette, amerie, bjork, film, humour, links, TV
Thursday, December 22, 2005
The discopop directory totally unbiased top ten singles of 2005
Well, we promised it, so here it is! Our top ten singles are free from any editorial bias or attempts to seem 'cool'. They are based solely on our itunes play-count, which cannot lie. So without any further ado...
1) 1 Thing - Amerie
Key lyric: "You did this one thing and I was so with it"
But the question remains: What was that one thing that Amerie's man did to get her 'tripping'? We don't know for sure, but we think he's cooked her a Shepherd's pie.
Anyway, this song sits deservedly atop our list. Proof that, if you have a magnificent sample, you can't go wrong by looping it for four minutes and getting some woman in hotpants to scream over the top of it.
2) Biology - Girls Aloud
Key lyric: "The way that we walk. The way that we talk"
On the other hand, if you have five fantastic choruses you should stitch them all together in a ProTools orgy and let them fight it out to see who's best.
As is the Girls Aloud tradition, this is an unbelievably brave single for a band who should be producing production-line pop. The main hook doesn't arrive until after the 2 minute mark, and it manages to squeeze four distinct musical genres into its tiny Top Shop boob-tube. True, it's not Xenomania's best work, but it is the highlight of the third Girls Aloud album without a shadow of a doubt.
3) Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
Key lyric: "Switch me on. Turn me up."
A.K.A. The one that made everyone go: "Oh, Goldfrapp? They're quite good, really".
Like the band's previous single, Strict Machine, we have the vague idea this could be about a vibrator. Or a transistor radio. It's so easy to get those two mixed up.
4) Number 1 - Goldfrapp
Key lyric: "I'm like a dog to get you"
If this hadn't come out a couple of weeks after Ooh La La, we suspect the final positions of these two songs would have been reversed. Nevertheless, this is a fantastically moody synth ballad, with even more pervy lyrics. Alison wants it 'up and on', apparently.
5) Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Key lyric: "Watch me as I navigate, a-ha ha ha haaaa"
Although it's embarrassing to listen to Damon Albarn's attempt to rap at the beginning of this track (he actually uses the word 'wack'), De La Soul soon take command and rip the song to shreds. But in a good way.
This single has been recognised by the national institute of old-people's metaphors as "a real foot tapper". Oh, and apparently the band are all cartoons. How post-modern.
6) Every Day I Love You Less And Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Key lyric: "I can't believe once you and me did sex"
Did you know that, by law, all Kaiser Chiefs songs have a bit where they go "woahhhhh" just before the last chorus? This one is no exception, which only goes to show how canny Kaiser Chiefs are: Building up to a crescendo is a lost art in pop, and they are one of the few bands who've got the musical nous to realise the importance of a big climax (missus). Aside from that, listen carefully to the drumming in this track - there's a lot of very clever hi-hat work going on there, which punctuates the jerking guitar lines. Top marks from the Royal Academy of Music.
7) Cool - Gwen Stefani
Key lyric: "Circles and triangles, and now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend"
I literally have no idea why this is in the top ten. Is that lyric a playstation reference?
She's up the duff now, apparently.
8) My Heartbeat - Annie
Key lyric: "Feel my heartbeat drumming to the beat like a symphony"
Annie's genius is making sugary strands of pop confectionery that are just the right side of sickly sweet. This song's paper-thin melody would be vomitous in the hands of Britney or Kylie. Annie, however, locks it to a thumping drum loop that transforms the song into a wondrous dancefloor stomper. But only if you live in Europe. Apparently the UK would rather listen to McFly. Fuckers.
9) I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need To Be Nicer - The Cardigans
Key lyric: "Baby you're foul in clear conditions, but you're handsome in the fog"
Why is it that Swedes can write better English lyrics than any British pop band? Quite aside from the fantastic title, this song has a proper narrative about a relationship killed by drinking and indifference. It also has a metaphor about dogs.
Forget Dido and James Blunt (and believe us we will... as soon as radio stops playing that fucking song every ten minutes), this is proper mature pop from some of the most interesting and creative musicians in the business.
10) Do You Want To? - Franz Ferdinand
Key lyric: "Doo doo, doo da-doo da-doo do"
Another one of those songs that's either too inventive for it's own good, or three different ideas badly stuck together with a tempo change and some reverb. Never mind because, either way, this is utterly superb spiky guitar pop.
Franz Ferdinand are grittier and tighter than they were this time last year, but they can still toss in an homage to Kylie and a naughty blow-job reference. Thank heavens for that.
So that's our top ten singles of 2005. The top ten albums will be published next week... just in case Santa delivers any real stonkers on Christmas Day.
1) 1 Thing - AmerieKey lyric: "You did this one thing and I was so with it"
But the question remains: What was that one thing that Amerie's man did to get her 'tripping'? We don't know for sure, but we think he's cooked her a Shepherd's pie.
Anyway, this song sits deservedly atop our list. Proof that, if you have a magnificent sample, you can't go wrong by looping it for four minutes and getting some woman in hotpants to scream over the top of it.
2) Biology - Girls AloudKey lyric: "The way that we walk. The way that we talk"
On the other hand, if you have five fantastic choruses you should stitch them all together in a ProTools orgy and let them fight it out to see who's best.
As is the Girls Aloud tradition, this is an unbelievably brave single for a band who should be producing production-line pop. The main hook doesn't arrive until after the 2 minute mark, and it manages to squeeze four distinct musical genres into its tiny Top Shop boob-tube. True, it's not Xenomania's best work, but it is the highlight of the third Girls Aloud album without a shadow of a doubt.
3) Ooh La La - GoldfrappKey lyric: "Switch me on. Turn me up."
A.K.A. The one that made everyone go: "Oh, Goldfrapp? They're quite good, really".
Like the band's previous single, Strict Machine, we have the vague idea this could be about a vibrator. Or a transistor radio. It's so easy to get those two mixed up.
4) Number 1 - GoldfrappKey lyric: "I'm like a dog to get you"
If this hadn't come out a couple of weeks after Ooh La La, we suspect the final positions of these two songs would have been reversed. Nevertheless, this is a fantastically moody synth ballad, with even more pervy lyrics. Alison wants it 'up and on', apparently.
5) Feel Good Inc - GorillazKey lyric: "Watch me as I navigate, a-ha ha ha haaaa"
Although it's embarrassing to listen to Damon Albarn's attempt to rap at the beginning of this track (he actually uses the word 'wack'), De La Soul soon take command and rip the song to shreds. But in a good way.
This single has been recognised by the national institute of old-people's metaphors as "a real foot tapper". Oh, and apparently the band are all cartoons. How post-modern.
6) Every Day I Love You Less And Less - Kaiser ChiefsKey lyric: "I can't believe once you and me did sex"
Did you know that, by law, all Kaiser Chiefs songs have a bit where they go "woahhhhh" just before the last chorus? This one is no exception, which only goes to show how canny Kaiser Chiefs are: Building up to a crescendo is a lost art in pop, and they are one of the few bands who've got the musical nous to realise the importance of a big climax (missus). Aside from that, listen carefully to the drumming in this track - there's a lot of very clever hi-hat work going on there, which punctuates the jerking guitar lines. Top marks from the Royal Academy of Music.
7) Cool - Gwen StefaniKey lyric: "Circles and triangles, and now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend"
I literally have no idea why this is in the top ten. Is that lyric a playstation reference?
She's up the duff now, apparently.
8) My Heartbeat - AnnieKey lyric: "Feel my heartbeat drumming to the beat like a symphony"
Annie's genius is making sugary strands of pop confectionery that are just the right side of sickly sweet. This song's paper-thin melody would be vomitous in the hands of Britney or Kylie. Annie, however, locks it to a thumping drum loop that transforms the song into a wondrous dancefloor stomper. But only if you live in Europe. Apparently the UK would rather listen to McFly. Fuckers.
9) I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need To Be Nicer - The CardigansKey lyric: "Baby you're foul in clear conditions, but you're handsome in the fog"
Why is it that Swedes can write better English lyrics than any British pop band? Quite aside from the fantastic title, this song has a proper narrative about a relationship killed by drinking and indifference. It also has a metaphor about dogs.
Forget Dido and James Blunt (and believe us we will... as soon as radio stops playing that fucking song every ten minutes), this is proper mature pop from some of the most interesting and creative musicians in the business.
10) Do You Want To? - Franz FerdinandKey lyric: "Doo doo, doo da-doo da-doo do"
Another one of those songs that's either too inventive for it's own good, or three different ideas badly stuck together with a tempo change and some reverb. Never mind because, either way, this is utterly superb spiky guitar pop.
Franz Ferdinand are grittier and tighter than they were this time last year, but they can still toss in an homage to Kylie and a naughty blow-job reference. Thank heavens for that.
So that's our top ten singles of 2005. The top ten albums will be published next week... just in case Santa delivers any real stonkers on Christmas Day.
Labels: amerie, annie, cardigans, franz ferdinand, Girls Aloud, goldfrapp, gorillaz, gwen stefani, kaiser chiefs, top ten
