Sorry the blog's been a bit underpopulated for the last couple of days - I've been poorly sick. But here's a few things you might have missed (or seen elsewhere while I was away, natch).



:: Is this the biggest battle of the pop divas in the history of the cosmos?

Big guns Britney, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and Alesha Dixon (and Leona Lewis) all have singles out this week, while Girls Aloud have squeezed out their fifth studio album. Chart-wise, it looks like X Factor's not-quite-as-awful-as-you'd-expect version of Hero will be number one again, with Girls Aloud's The Promise at two and Beyonce's gramatically-incorrect If I Were A Boy at three. Meanwhile, Out Of Control looks set to beat Razorlight to the top of the album charts, giving Girls Aloud their first ever non-compilation number one. Amazing. [More on the midweeks at Music Week]

:: Jamelia has a comeback single, Break It Down, Tear It Up. It's miles better than the confused mess of her last album - but is it good enough to put her back where she belongs (somewhere between The Saturdays and McFly on the bill for T4 on the Beach)? The jury is out. [listen / download]

:: Another track from the Killer's new album, Day & Night, has leaked. No surprises here: Too many synths, Brandon Flowers not very good at singing, the track itself = brilliant.

The Killers - Spaceman


:: It's like a blogger's wet dream - M.I.A. covers the theme tune to The Wire. Sadly, it's rubbish. [Youtube (youtube)]

:: Is this a new Justin Timberlake single? Hmmm... it sounds a bit like a FutureSex/LoveSounds cast-off to me.

:: The NME has published its annual "cool list" - with entries for Jay-Z, Liam Gallagher, Amy Winehouse and, er, Peter Gabriel. The number one slot, as is customary, goes to someone the NME is trying to justify having put on their front page in April, despite the fact they've made absolutely no impact on anyone, anywhere in the intervening six months. This year, it's Alice Glass from Crystal Castles (they're like the Human League with all the tunes taken out). As Stereogum points out, the NME have once again confused "cool" with "notorious". [Stereogum]

:: A Kiss Is Not A Contract - but a baby is a life sentence (in a good way, obviously). Flight Of The Conchords star Jemaine Clement is a dad. Congratulations. [3 News, New Zealand]

:: Lukewarm S Club 7 reunion is lukewarm. [Popjustice]

:: Oh yes, and there was a completely historic, paradigm-shifting, momentous election in the US. Barack Obama is President elect (Yay!!!) and Will.i.am has written a song about it (woop!). And so has Nas (respect) and so has Seal (er, hooray?!)

Back to business as usual from tomorrow...

Labels: Alesha, barack obama, beyonce, britney, Christina Aguilera, flight of the conchords, Girls Aloud, Justin Timberlake, killers, M.I.A., Music, video

It's been said before, but Britney's new single is actually very good - which makes it all the more sad that her record company has decided to exploit her illness to promote it.

I'm not just saying that... Here's what a representative from Jive Records told MTV earlier this week: "When you have someone at this level of celebrity, they become like cartoons or soap-opera characters, and we forget that they're human beings."

Okay, he also said "Jive does care about her and does support her," but what's the point in writing a blog if I don't get to take things wildly out of context for dramatic effect?

Anyway, here is La Spears' latest video - which appears to have been recorded off someone's iPhone (la-di-da). You will notice two things:

1) Britney Spears
2) A pole

At first glance, you might think she is doing a dirty stripper dance. But no, she just needed something to hold herself up.

Britney Spears - Gimme More
>
(Oh dear - looks like it's been taken down. But you can see a clip here)

To make up for that appalling display of lacklustre posturing from a one-time superstar, I'm also posting the rather excellent video for I Get Around by British popsters Dragonette.

I've cruelly ignored this band all year because I once heard a thirty-second clip of their debut single and thought it sounded rubbish.

I was wrong.

I mean, how can you argue with a band who use this as their publicity shot:



Imagine the sleaze of Soft Cell, mixed with the pop of the Pet Shop Boys and the cheek of Calvin Harris. That is what Dragonette sound like.

Their album, Galore, has just appeared in the record shops (if record shops still exist, I'm not sure). I urge you to check it out.

Dragonette - I Get Around

Labels: britney, dragonette, Music, video

That is how Britney Spears' comeback single, Gimme More, starts.

Clearly, it is a stroke of genius on par with shaving off all your hair and going slowly mental in full view of the public.

But does the song continue to achieve this stratospheric level of pop brilliance? Or does it freefall straight into the dumper?

And are the lyrics (about being "centre of attention when you're up against the wall") a toe-curling swipe at the paparazzi, or a brave admission that Britney has ballsed up the last six months of her life? Or just some words someone wrote on a bit of paper and told Britters to sing during the six lucid minutes she enjoyed back in July.

There is only one way to be sure: Listen, stream, or download an MP3 of the song using all of the buttons below. Then tell me what you think.


Britney Spears - Gimme More (Sorry, but I've had to take the MP3 down - some random website was hotlinking to it and eating up all of my bandwidth. If you want a copy, email me or do a google search. It is all over the web.)

There is plenty of boring technical information about the song here
Meanwhile, Popjustice has its say over here

Labels: britney, MP3, Music