just like candy: Tip Top Pop

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Just a heads up...another post is coming later this weekend about some new stuff I found myself from somewhere in Europe that I haven't been tipped off to (i'm thinking Krezip right now!). This semester has just been so busy! But I just wanted to post a new song that Paul from MySpace sent me...you might know Marie Digby from her white-girl cover of "Umbrella" as used on MTV's The Hills. While the "discovered on the Internet" back story is as fake as Sandi Thom's, give her a chance. Out of all places, this isn't one where i'd be prejudiced against someone signed on a major label. And hey, would you rather have this or Chris Crocker as a popular pop-related viral video?

This song is called "Traffic", and it's a nicely melodic, acoustic track. It actually reminds me of a lot of stuff from the Marit Larsen album.

Marie' Digby - Traffic (Original Song)

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Labels: marie digby, rihanna

Last Updated @ 8:50 AM
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

This is another post about something that i've been tipped off to, this time by David from Jive Records. I didn't know there were new Justin Timberlake "LoveStoned" remixes out! It's been one of my favorite songs from the FutureSex/LoveSounds album, and now it's even better with a dance remix by Kaskade, who also did a great remix of the Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha" a few years back.

LoveStoned (I Think She Knows) [Kaskade Remix]

More remixes are available on the remix EP on iTunes (the US store at least), including one by VMA nominees/Kanye West nemesis Justice, a trancey mix by Tiesto, and a shortened radio version that still includes the awesome interlude.

I have to admit, I never used to be a huge fan of Justin until recently (this year or so...I think it was the Emmy winning "Dick in a Box" that put me over the top), and he's definitely doing his thing.

At least he's not joining and then quitting Hell's Kitchen like Lee Ryan. Can you imagine Justin participating in a reality show with a chef who looks like he's never bathed a day in his life, and not even being paid the most money out of the contestants to do it, receiving less than half the fee of someone who lost Britain's Next Top Model and briefly dated a not-American football player (although Abigail Clancy being an ex-member of Genie Queen is possibly worth that money...they were frickin' sweet)? Both stars in their respective boy bands, but the outcomes are very different. Two paths diverged in a yellow wood...apologies to Robert Frost.

Speaking of, the second J.C. Chasez album is most likely never coming out (bummer). Anyway, enjoy the JT. Give it a chance even if you're sick of him by now.

Labels: justin timberlake

Last Updated @ 5:16 PM
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Monday, September 10, 2007

As you may know if you still read this blog, i'm staunchly against the deification of young acts who write and produce their own music. When that happens, you get "artists" like Soulja Boy with the #1 song in the United States and most likely one day going international. He wrote, produced, and even choreographed his own song! But it still sucks. Give me Girls Aloud any day. Thankfully, young artists who make their own quality music while still possessing that pop appeal are out there.

Jessie from Cornerstone Promotion turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, which is basically one girl named Allison Sudol. Her music is more laid back, organic, and piano-based, but the beauty of pop music is that so many different sounds can fit into it. The album dropped in the States in July, but this needs an international release and I think it could do well.

"You Picked Me" is very Kate Nash without the mockney accent. It's jaunty and reminds me of "We Get On", one of my favorite songs from the Nash album. There are some fun metaphors with the good melody.

She's got that VH1 support so i'm thinking something could happen. She's touring with Brandi Carlile (who should get AFF a Grey's Anatomy placement too!):

9/11 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues

9/12 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues

9/13 San Diego, CA House of Blues

9/14 Phoenix, AZ The Marquee

9/15 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre

9/19 Austin, TX Texas Union Ballroom

9/20 TBD

9/21 Houston, TX Meridian

9/22 New Orleans, LA House of Blues

9/24 Birmingham, AL Workplay SoundStage

9/25 TBD

9/26 TBD

9/28 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

9/29 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!

10/1 TBD

10/3 New York, NY Fillmore (Irving Plaza)

10/4 New York, NY Fillmore (Irving Plaza)

10/5 Boston, MA Orpheum

10/7 Burlington, VT Higher Ground

10/9 Toronto ONT Phoenix Concert Theatre

10/10 Cleveland, OH House of Blues

10/11 Chicago, IL House of Blues

10/13 Indianapolis, IN Vogue Theatre

10/14 Detroit, MI St. Andrews

10/16 St. Louis, MO Pageant

10/17 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Club

10/18 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue

10/20 TBD

10/23 Boise, ID Big Easy

10/24 Spokane, WA Big Easy

10/25 TBD
10/27 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom

For a peek at AFF live, here's a performance of "Almost Lover", exclusive to the internet.

I've got three demo samplers to give away, featuring alternate versions of songs and one different track! It's open to everyone worldwide. All you have to answer is three questions (and you're allowed to use Google, just don't tell me :P).

1. Who won "monster single of the year" at last night's VMAs? (And no, it wasn't Britney's hot mess)
2. Jamelia has a cheapie greatest hits compilation coming out after being dropped from Parlophone. What was her last single release?
3. Who produced the new Sugababes single "About You Now"?

First three who email me the right answers (link on sidebar) win! Good luck!

I'll leave you with the whimsical music video for first single "Rangers", which is also included on the CD samplers!

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Now playing: September - Cry For You (Granite & Phunk Club Mix)
via FoxyTunes

Disclaimer: I am completely open to submissions from publicists, managers, etc., but i'll post only what I genuinely like on the site, and this definitely qualifies.

Labels: a fine frenzy, giveaways

Last Updated @ 11:53 AM
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

This past year has been a bountiful one for pop comebacks. Pink reclaims her position in the United States as radio's best bad-ass pop/rock chick (while never usurping it internationally), and Scooch (?!?) of all acts return with a top 5 single in the UK. Rosie Ribbons (whose real last name I can't find, because I refuse to believe anybody would genuinely have that surname) is possibly shaping up to be another comeback story. I'm happy she's giving it another try after disappearing off the face of the earth for awhile. First, let's go to the beginning of the first stage of her pop career.

In Late 2002, fresh off the very first Idol program in Britain (which you can thank or curse for its various spawn), the Australian-born Rosie released her first single, the attitude-r&b/poppy "Blink". It was known for being punchy, but more so for featuring the word "pissing" (as in "pissing me off") in the chorus, which radio stations hilariously found inappropriate (what is this? America?) and therefore limited its airplay somewhat.

Blink (Rishi Rich "Urban Rose" Remix) - This mix was initially sent out as a promo without identification, and was actually played on urban radio stations before they found out it was by some white girl from a reality show. It features new vocals! Still, it's essentially the same song, though the sound is more smoothed out and chilled with a hip-hop beat, and it's a good song in it' own right. (Sorry for the snippets of other songs at the beginning and end - it's from a mixed compilation)

Now she's made it to the final 24 of the new season of Australian Idol! There might be an issue of unfairness there because of her prior record deal and Idol history, but I personally don't see a big problem with it. First off, her run on Pop Idol and her brief (so far) recording career was based in the UK, so all but a few Australians would be not familiar with her, unless they are overseas pop obsessives like myself. Plus, she wasn't even that successful! She had a pair of top 20 singles when almost every fledgling pop act in the early '00s could manage to sneak in there, and she made an exit in 6th place on Idol after her infamous performance of "The Winner Takes It All". (I actually don't think it's that bad until she gets near the end. She's no ABBA, of course.) I saw a preview of her Australian Idol audition on YouTube, and I don't think she sang "Colours", the cheesy-but-sweet original song she wrote herself that sailed her through her first audition with the Pop Idol judges. Pete Waterman loved it!

Rosie actually got to release two singles, which is one more than the girl who beat her by a couple of places on Pop Idol, Zoe Birkett. She also served as the opening act for tours by Blue and Liberty X. Then before her album Misbehaving dropped, her label Telstar folded, which also impacted Mis-Teeq and Victoria Beckham among others. But unlike Posh, she didn't marry a huge rest-of-the-world football star, so she eventually settled back in Australia, while her debut album quietly leaked onto the internet. Here are some highlights:

Trusted - This features loud guitars, but it's more Britney "Stronger"-esque than Kelly Clarkson. If Paris Hilton insisted on making another album (please, no) and still hadn't made up with Nicole Richie, this ode to an ex-friend would be a great choice to use, though they'd have to reduce the vocal range.

No Space to Rent - I hear some Arabic influence in this (masked by electronics), I don't know why. It's a kiss-off song along the lines of "Blink". The chorus has some double entendres. ;)

Even Angels - This slows it down a bit. It's a bit like an S Club 7 ballad, but slightly more soul-based. An orchestra also comes into play, and I don't really care if it's real or canned because it fits perfectly. And then the end sounds sort of Delta Goodrem-ish.

This is the video for her second (and final, so far) single, the recycled Jessica Simpson song "A Little Bit". I don't know whether I like her version better or not. Rosie's version lacks the annoying bits where Jessica would sing a line and then speak the end of it, which always bugged me. But does anyone know who the rappers are?

I honestly think part of the reason Rosie wasn't more successful is because of her absolutely tragic styling. Her makeup and clothing are especially bad in this video. I know they were promoting her as "edgy" and everything (especially with the promo pics for this single - "Oooh! She's smoking a cigarette while standing under a 'no smoking' sign! Look, she's exiting the men's bathroom!), but the low-riding pants with something that looks like a pink jock strap going across her stomach is inexcusable.

Anyway, now that Rosie is rising again to semi-prominence, how about releasing more than the first 20 seconds of her cover of Dee-Lite's "Groove is in The Heart"? However, I wouldn't suggest a re-release of Misbehaving because it sounds kinda dated by now. But if you don't mind that, I definitely recommend the whole album if you can get a hold of it.

More tracks from Rosie's album are available on AcerBen's blog, including "Colours", intended third single "Good Thing" (awesome, catchy with '80s influences...some of the synths sound like slower freestyle, a la "What You Don't Know" by Expose), and "Heaven" (Not a Bryan Adams cover, a pretty mid-tempo with nice horns, came up when my iPod was on shuffle today and inspired this post), along with the Rishi Rich urban remix of "Blink" that features new, alternate vocals from the original version, and which I actually own on a Pure R&B compilation. He is also the founder of the Rosie Ribbons fan site (there's pretty much just one...so far...if you see one, you've found it).

Next post will be on another female singer who is completely different.

Labels: australian idol, pop idol, rosie ribbons

Last Updated @ 9:48 PM
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Kate Nash covers one of two good songs off the last Beyonce album. How about a Sugababes remake of "Upgrade U" next?

On a not so amazing note, somebody was nice enough to sign up for the update mailing list, but my dumb ass deleted them by accident when trying to approve them to put it on it. So please sign up again!

Labels: beyonce, blog stuff, kate nash

Last Updated @ 9:47 PM
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Monday, August 06, 2007

I've added a mailing list to the site so you can find out automatically whenever this blog is updated. I know I suck with updating pretty often, but this is pretty nifty, I think.

Labels: blog stuff

Last Updated @ 12:15 PM
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Sunday, August 05, 2007

Last year, one of my favorite songs was "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane. It had a great melody, great vocals, and lyrics that were relatable to a lot of people (yes, including myself). Lead singer Marti Dodson wasn't model-pretty, but in her own way her looks were striking, perfect for pop stardom. The single was so good that the band were picked up by a major label for a re-release of their latest album featuring that song. MTV even used it as a theme song for several of their dumb, completely non-music related reality shows! However, things didn't work out and they decided to go back to the indie route for their new album One Girl Revolution, which isn't really an "indie-sounding" album, although who knows what the hell that means anymore? Anyway, the album drops this Tuesday.

Loser - I love this. It has the tongue in cheek quality of an upbeat "punky" Avril Lavigne without the brattiness and nasal vocals. It's somewhat "Since U Been Gone"-esque with the woman being happy to be free of her idiotic ex. There are some great lyrics: "You'll be glad to know I sold your ring for extra cash." Heh.

Better Day - Very upbeat and catchy pop-rock. For some reason it reminds me of some of Billy Mann's production, like "With You" by Jessica Simpson. It doesn't really sound the same but has the same sunny vibe.

Let Me Down Easy - This track is a bit more melancholy. I like the mix of guitars, pianos, and even some electronic effects. It's really a song that could work in any form...in the hands of another artist it could be an r&b pop number and be equally good. In this song you can hear one of the male members of the band actually sing, and he and Marti do a bit of back-and-forth response singing to each other at the end.

Ohio - A bit more "pure pop" and not as heavy on the guitars (although there are some orchestral effects on this mid-tempo), this song is about leaving to follow your dream and missing your family and friends back home. Corny but sweet. Surprisingly, there aren't that many pop songs about this subject, though it's a running theme in country music (Sugarland's "Baby Girl", Carrie Underwood's "Don't Forget To Remember Me"). Not surprisingly, the band hails from Ohio. :P It shows some vulnerability...she even apologizes to her parents for getting tattoos but still stands her ground.

Writing on the Wall - This is one of those "ballads with a beat" that I love. The lyrics are about a relationship falling apart due to her boyfriend's alcoholism, and it's emotional without sounding preachy or self-pitying.

The album also features the lead single and title track manifesto against the shallow, looks, sex, and stupidity-centered expectations of female pop stars (available to listen to at their MySpace). It's fine, but when it comes to these proto-feminist anthems Pink did it better with "Stupid Girls".

Labels: saving jane

Last Updated @ 3:19 PM
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