Tuesday, July 26, 2005
As Kaci has a new single out in the UK soon, here is a fantastic remix of her 2002 single I Think I Love You to remind you of her aceness. For me it is rare to find a remix that I prefer to the original version, unless it's by Richard X or someone of equal genius, but here is one which makes a nice pop song into an utterly fabulous piece of disco-pop. What was once a light, cute cover of the Partridge Family hit, with the help of some storming yet bouncy beats (think Alice Deejay) somehow makes Kaci sound totally fierce and like the supreme disco diva she deserves to become. Why wasn't this version released as the single?
# posted by Jessica : 12:00 pm
Saturday, July 23, 2005
This song is pretty appropriate for me since I am a 17-year-old girl, but it's also a really interesting song. At first it seems a bit quiet, it's hard to make out what the singer (Emily Haines, frontwoman of another band called
Metric and drafted in just for this song) is singing and later in the song it's very repetitive but it's also extremely surprisingly catchy. Once it ends, if you're anything like me, you'll be going "Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me" in your head for hours. A strange thing I have noticed is that Broken Social Scene have a song on the same album called Shampoo Suicide, while the song 4 posts back (by Grand Popo Football Club) is from an album called Shampoo Victims. I hope this is not some kind of sign...
# posted by Jessica : 12:00 pm
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Have you ever wondered what it might be like if Blink 182 were good? Well, wonder no more because here is a band who at first glance seem to be a typical punk-pop band of boys, but a listen to their songs such as this piece of fabulosity or Touchdown Turnaround or Call 'N' Return, will prove that they are so much better than that. Vocoders and synthesisers are used plentifully and every song has a totally infectious chorus. They also have the cutest
web site I have seen in ages, and they're hadly lacking in cuteness themselves. Flying snails believe in Hellogoodbye and so do I!
# posted by Jessica : 3:16 pm
Monday, July 18, 2005
Lilyjets are a Norwegian girl band currently having a chart and radio hit in Sweden with this single. Their sound is not hugely original but catchy and enjoyable rocky-pop. The girls who are aged between 21 and 22 are also known in Sweden for starring in an advert promoting wearing condoms. The song is comparable to Kelly Clarkson but with much sweeter (and less shouty) singing.
# posted by Jessica : 10:03 am
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Any fans of Salt'n'Pepa, Neneh Cherry's girl-rap days or Basement Jaxx's Oh My Gosh must download this song right now, because it's your new favourite. If only this was how all rap music sounded, I would be a fan of the hip-hop genre. The singer on the track is called Ayak (and the lyrics tell me she is from South London) and Thomilla appears to be a fairly well-known DJ. The CD cover has a photo of a girl who may or may not be Ayak and the Thomilla web site has the video, which is rather excellent despite stealing a few ideas from Junior Jack and Uniting Nations (it's nowhere near that slutty though and the song is nothing like those 2), but I can't tell if the girl is the same. Thomilla released an album in Germany in 2004 called Freeze, which includes this track. The others don't feature Ayak but are still quite ace - more electro style than rap, which is no bad thing.
# posted by Jessica : 1:12 pm
Monday, July 11, 2005
This electro-pop duo are French and their sound is suitably sophisticated, but this song (which was their debut single in the UK in 2003) still manages to be catchy and fun, with great lyrics. There is plenty of female-fronted electro-pop music around at the moment but these songs are always popular, especially with me, so discovering a new band (although this song is taken from their 2000 album, fabulously titled Shampoo Victims, they are entirely new to me) who make this type of music with an emphasis on the pop is rather exciting. I'm not sure who the singer is as both the band members are male, despite one of them being called Ariel and having a fondness for pink cowboy boots. Those of you who know a bit about French TV may recognise him as the presenter of l'Appartement, which I believe is similar to Big Brother. I would specifically recommend this to fans of Annie and Bertine Zetlitz, but the chorus is almost Alcazar-esque, so really anyone with taste should like it!
# posted by Jessica : 8:21 pm
Friday, July 08, 2005
You may remember In-Grid's 2003 single, Tu Es Foutu, which although it was not a big UK hit did appear on the music channels for a while and was a huge hit across Europe, making no.1 in Greece and Sweden, and top 5 in Holland, Belgium and her home country of Italy. The English version, You Promised Me, was a hit in Australia, Germany and the American dance music scene. This is her brand new single and it's a perfect summery pop song and not the Abba cover you may be expecting. It is taken from her new, second album, rather magnificently named Voila!
# posted by Jessica : 3:21 pm
Thursday, July 07, 2005
You may be wondering why I am posting a song by the people who ruined what could have been a perfectly acceptable Britney song, but the facts that Adam Levine is the lead singer of Maroon 5 and I am a huge long-time fan of 'the 5', should explain it. This is as close as we'll get to a new Maroon 5 album for the moment (they did once promise a new album would be out in 2005 but that was before SAJ got huge so I guess it's probably been postponed a bit) and it also happens to be surprisingly great! Saying this, I get a distinctive "this year's Where Is The Love" feeling about it. Its much darker and cooler than WITL and Adam is not such a huge star as Justin Timberlake, but there is something about the song that makes me think of it and loads of other songs I can't quite distinguish. Maybe one of you will be able to work it out? I do think this could be a massive hit this year if it becomes a single.
# posted by Jessica : 7:19 pm
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
This is the brand new single by the acetastic Melody Club and as expected it is another glorious synth-pop masterpiece. It is my second favourite song on the current album, only after Baby which is such a phenomenally fabulous thing it just can't be beaten. Wildhearts is upbeat (their last single, Girls In The Boys' Room, was almost a ballad) with a fantastic chorus and middle 8. Some of you might remember Melody Club as the support act on Kylie's recent tour and hopefully they will be releasing a new single in the UK soon, or all that excellent promo would have been wasted.
