Lopez Blogs

Along with a plethora of other quality blogs (XO, Chartrigger, Robopop, Pinkie, Digital Technique, Slippy Disco, both Dans, etc.) I visit Poppostergirl daily to see what words of wisdom she has up her sleeve for me. Being quite enigmatic adds to her mystery and I often call her google girl or veronica mars for her ability to mine quality pop from every conceivable country and in every conceivable language. Apart from keeping an eye on BWO, I've never paid attention to Melodifestivalen or whatever it's called but this year, i've lived it vicariously through PPG and fallen in love with the following three songs...

I thought maybe my obsession with all things Wicked would be over by now. Or at least have calmed down a little bit. It hasn't. And it seems just 5 months after opening, most of Britain has seen it too - from celebs like half of Girls Aloud, Gary Barlow, William Young, the History Boys to regular theatre goers, it's racked up a whopping £12.5 million in box office receipts (though paid out a corking £50,000 a week to Idina Menzel) and continues to have only crap seats available for ages. And Bev from Corrie is now going to play Madam Morrible. Lumme! It's the music that tells the story that still has me coming back for me everytime. I just discovered some piano only versions of the songs that are just so intricate and lovely, it's hard not to fall in love with this outstanding piece of work all over again. Plus it motivates me to keep practising piano so I can sound as amazing as this. As Long As You're Mine sounds so yearning and powerful as a piano solo, and Popular just sounds positively tingly. So, adding to the list of things i'm obsessed with (Lois and Clark; Beauty and The Beast; Love, Actually; Harry Potter) means I have more stuff to rotate revisiting on a regular basis. When will i get time for new stuff?!?!?!
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LINK: Wicked the musical website

All of a sudden there is a spunkage of girls returning to the pop scene with songs that are not too bad actually. For some reason at some point I made a conscious decision that actually having let me down with follow up material, I wasn't going to bother again with any of the three Sheilas below. But hey, here I am declaring them on my radar again - on a trial basis mind you. Lets not get too generous...
~ Natasha Bedingfield, I Wanna Have Your Babies: Her forthcoming album cover looks like something Sophie Ellis Bextor might poo out when she is bored, yet once again la Nat has won me over with her lead off single. First time round it was Single which suggested she was going to be a bit of a funky dance diva, but then she wasn't and god forbid I look for or reward diversity so I buggered off. However, this song, I do quite like. It's a bit twee, but it has a lovely singalong quality to it and the title is nothing if not unique. So she scores a "i'm mildly interested to see what the album will be like" from me and I move onto the next lass...
~ Joss Stone, Tell Me About It: I generally have quite loathed the stone. At first she was all cover versions and annoying. Then she was just annoying with that "you had me you lost me you found me, you sold me you made me messing with my mind" cack, which actually (don't tell Ruthiepoos) I secretly like. Then she did the whole "oh those first two albums aren't really me - this is me" thing for this single which is a bit of a slap in the knickers to all those people who bought her first albums isn't it? And to be honest, I can't tell the difference so I must be getting more tolerant in my old age as I didn't immediately kick this to the curb. I am getting marvelous!
~ Macy Gray, Finally Make Me Happy: Now this i love! It's so Macy doing something new but still reminding us of how good Still and I Try were. It's not that i shut Macy out of my life, more like I lost track of her and her ego and her hair with it's own post/zipcode but I am glad to have her back. For coffee and a bagel at least. I think it's fair to say that this song struts along with attitude, pep mixed with a certain charm that is hard to resist. I'm scared to rave too much about it incase Ella judges me ;) It does go on a bit at the end though!

Yes, i'm back to harping on about how rubbish singles choices often are when made by the record company. Though probably sometimes the band as well, no doubt. Not the band No Doubt that is, it was just an expression. But sometimes rubbish singles choices are saved by ooo kiss me and roger me twice level b-sides (ie, very good). Let's look at a couple of acts I have the passions for (did you know that soap is being cancelled?! I am agog, I am aghast) - one musically and visually, and the other, well obviously it's just the music...
~ The Feeling, Rose: I mean, yes there is hardly any filler on their album which means they could have released something much more marvelous for Valentines Day. I Want You Now practically sizzled with lust and harmonised longing, while Strange could have appealed to everyone who didn't have a date (that was mean). Both better songs commercially and after all Rose is currently languishing at 38. Granted it is from a multi platinum selling album, but 38? Luckily I have been utterly seduced by the studio version of Fill My Little Fanfare which opens their live shows and is a cunning stunt of a song, which couldn't sound any more Beach Boys-esque if Brian Wilson were in the house. Dan's original version of Sewn (demo) is still charming in a rough round the edges way (RAR) and an acoustic version of Rose almost made me forget what an amazing album track but rubbish single it is. So The Feeling are forgiven. As long as they don't spend too long recording their second album (Maroon 5, I'm glaring at you!)
~ Magic Numbers, This Is A Song: My initial feeling was that this wasn't a great choice for single, but i have proved myself wrong because it is indeed very good, if nothing new from my fave richard bacon insultees. However, the b-side Might As Well Live In My Head just proves their ability to knock out an amazingly catchy tune quicker than they can snarfle down a plate of low fat donuts. I love the way they can put bitter sweet lyrics to such uptempo tunes that Ruthiepoos and I worship so much in the summer festivals. It just makes me want to falalalala all weekend long!

Mine (Ruthypoos) and Lou's night with the Indigo Girls (and many many other lesbians!) started beatifully with Katherine Feeney who is not only visually pleasing but has a haunting voice and interesting tunes which compliment her style perfectly. A great opening act whom I'm afraid i have to skip over in order to try and demonstrate how awsome the Indigo Girls were! First a quick apology to Paul who was my intended 'date' for this gig I did miss you gig buddy and boo to work for making you unable to go - may it never happen again!! That said it was wonderful to be at a gig in a heterosexual venue and still feel totally able to snuggle with your woman! Add to this the amazing talents of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers and you have a night made in heaven! To say the guitar playing was out of this world would leave me short of an analogy to use to describe the vocal harmonies - suffice to say their CD's sound fabulous - live they defy my vocabulary - (although I'm sure Paul with his eloquence could have found words!) They played a very varied set (off about 26 songs) mixing songs from deep in their past with more recent songs and a lovely mix from their new album. I think the most memorable songs for me were Moment of Forgiveness, Power of Two, Closer to fine, Fill it up again, I believe in Love, Little Perrenials and a lovely lively medley of 2 songs, one of which I think is called Have you ever been Lonely? and the other I didn't know but they gelled together magnificently. Having highlighted but a few i must stress that every single song was spine tinglingly good. The Indigo Girls are very much at home with their performance skills and their audiences which made for interesting and perfectly timed mid song banter, such as one of them saying "it's kinda small in here I feel like we're playing in a bar" and the woman standing next to me shouted out "you are!" causing much hilarity and a good natured "ha that explains it then" response! Another classic moment was Amy forgetting a verse to a song - apologising and missing out the verse with such genteel humour that I think she could have got away with forgetting a verse in every song! I guess a review of any Indigo Girls gig has to mention their politics which still run strongly through their songs, I think however that this was perfectly reflected in the openness of everyone at the gig - when me and Lou went to the bar between acts a woman standing next to us offered to 'save our space for us'! Now that doesn't happen everyday! Amnesty International were there with very worthy petitions the details of which can be seen on their website www.amnesty.org.uk/ Finally for their encore the Indigo Girls finished perfectly with two of my favourites In Love with your Ghost and finally a roofraising performance of Galileo! We had an amazing evening which I cannot wait to repeat and I implore the Indigo Girls to return to the UK soon! Just as an end to this gushing review me and Lou were having a sneaky snog in the car when I dropped her off home and pulled apart just in time to see a nosey man passing by walk right into a lampost!! A comical end to an uplifting evening which won't be forgotten in a hurry!

Aw, my little Erasure. I have to say I mainly got into them because of sitting next to Michelle Gregory in French class aged 16 (around the time of Crackers International) and being totally amazed by her devotion to them. To me they seemed like they were the cooler edge of pop - maybe how Girls Aloud seem now compared to Atomic Kitten. Anyway, I was soon sneaking to concerts in London with Michelle to see them, being addicted to Wild and a little later on being stunned by the musical capabilities in I Say x 3 and the classic Erasure album. Recently I've not been as wowed by their music, though I always find something to enjoy in their most recent projects and am always happy to see them back. Their latest single I Could Fall In Love With You is vintage Erasure ~ plinking pianos, soaring falsetto and their best chorus since the quite amazing Breathe. It's got me all excited for the new album and playing my fave Always lots all over again. Sigh.

Ooo. Another piece on Simon Curtis. Well he is my top tip for 2007. And he has a few songs on his forthcoming album that fit nicely with the religious theme of todays post. Simon grew up in what is commonly known as the Bible Belt of America and in his song Religion Reduced tackles some of the issues around organised religion and the actual chaos/hurt/distress it can cause. I particularly like the way the song starts off with some sinister sounding synth strings and a choir-esque voice bringing the song in (I'm a firm believer in the fact that a song is enhanced if the music mirrors the lyrics). It's clear that Simon feels organised religion is far from the idea of how spirituality should be and for me the fact entire groups of people can be excluded for who they chose to love is astonishing. Insightful lyrics like "you're no better than the bible belt/make a mockery of things I have felt" and "history has been proven to repeat itself/ignorance can lead to hate so educate yourself/forcing other eyes to comprehend your vision/i think we'd all be better off without religion" utterly enforce the need to look at the ways people worship and how many things happen in this world that are as far removed from God's will as can be, yet are done so in His name. Jadion said in a recent interview that Simon is a lyrical genius and he certainly is. Pop so needs someone who tackles weighty issues with conviction and not just for shock factor. I get something new from his music every time i listen to it. Stunning.


EDIT (22/02/2007) ~ Jadion emailed me with some slight corrections that i'm sure he won't mind me sharing

"You didn't quote the whole line, it is "Kaballah you're no better than the bible belt;make a mockery of deeper things that I have felt". This song deals with all the FAD religions like Kaballah and Scientology as well as the hipocrisy of the hard core bible belt Christians and the utter insanity of the murderous Muslims who are hell bent on taking over the world SOLELY because of their religion, not because of ANYTHING the USA or Britain did. The psycho left wing liberalism in the west and northeast of America is JUST AS BAD AND JUST AS HIPOCRITICAL as the right wing bible thumpers, the left wingers too are a religion. The message of this song is basically, Spirituality is a relationship between man and God... RELIGION is a relationship between man and MAN."

Thanks as always for the input :)

In about two hours flat, I completed the amazing book "Confessions of a Mormon Boy" by Stephen Fales. Actually to call it a book is an understatement. It's more of an experience and is also a play that is currently doing a very successful run in LA. In many ways Stephen and my upbringing are mirrored. We were both good little Mormon boys, serving the church as we should, raised by devoted families and struggling to come to terms with being gay and reconciling that with religious teachings. Stephen went a lot further in his devotion than I did by serving a full two year mission, getting married and having children before realising he couldn't live this lie any longer. Moving to NYC and become a high paid escort probably weren't part of his plan, but what makes the book so engrossing is the very human way Stephen deals with wanting to be part of his family's life still and also trying to hold onto the values of his youth and upbringing. Very touching and quite similar to the interview I have done for Gay Times that will be out in a month or so. I am hoping the play will come to London this year so I can revel in new words like oxy-mormon and mormosexual. And I am SO going to try wearing a BYU (Brigham Young University) t shirt next time I am out and see if it has the same effect as it does on an often chatted up Stephen! Truly a book that made me smile and cry at the same time... .
LINK: Mormon Boy website
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THE OTHER CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY:
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Reading Stephen Fales book reminded to dig out that other great mormon story - Latter Days. A story of a sexually confused mormon missionary who meets a party animal out gay bloke and takes a bit of a fancy to him. The story deals with many interpersonal issues that aren't at all limited to gay life and would cross boundaries to mixed religious marriages and differing moral values. However, the exploration of religious issues in same sex relationships is handled incredibly well and the main cast give incredibly nuanced performances that lend the story heart and soul. Jacqueline Bisset as the motherly restaurant owner has the most amazing line of the whole piece when she is discussing with Aaron (the mormon missionary) the rules of his church and says " so your church forbids drinking of alcohol and doesn't like gays? Frankly i can't imagine heaven without either." Ultimately the story is about the amazing transformational power of love and how sometimes, just sometimes, you can create your own family when yours rejects you. I'd be most interested in hearing what Stephen Fales made of this story...
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LINK: Purchase the Latter Days dvd
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THE RETURN OF THE ALTAR BOYZ:
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I know I only wrote about the altar boyz off broadway show a couple of weeks ago, but since then I have really gotten into their soundtrack and am enjoying it immensely. Plus it fits nicely with the theme of todays post. The idea for the show - an out and proud Christian boyband with it's stereotypical characters (honestly throw in a eskimo and you would have a full set) - could easily have been a one trick pony, but is actually a life affirming examination of friendship and a brilliant music satire all wrapped up into one fine package. In fact the cd is presented as an album by the fictitious band, complete with corny in character liner notes - there is little to identify it as a soundtrack to a stage show and could easily be misclassified in shops! The musical style is catchy pop/rock and contains some of the most cheesy yet hilarious lyrics this side of an adroit Simpsons musical number. An utter delight from start to finish, one can only hope that this is another show that makes it over to England...
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LINK: The Altar Boyz website

The absolutely smashing Digital boys have recently recorded what may be the perfect debut single - entitled Get your Kit Off. I only wrote about it a few weeks ago so I am just going to recap what I wrote there:
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" And if you think that was good prepare for some spine ting-dingly goodness with Get Your Kitt Off with some inventive electroclash sounds, some essential boyband chanting and some slightly arousing filthy pervy lyrics. The chorus is the sort of tune that will appeal to drunk boys down the pub, gay boys down the club and have teen girls across the country screaming in anticipation for the hopefully half naked oil based video. First single material if ever i heard it. PS - the club mix ups the ante to the nth degree and reminds me of the very best of 5ive, Girls Aloud and V all on one single. RAR indeed!!"
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But don't just take my word for it - the marv Dave at Digital Technique has this to say...
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"This is what pop music in 2007 is supposed to sound like! Haven't stopped listening to this all week, it is absolutely 100% pure pop brilliance!! Can you guess I quite liked it! Surely they must be one of the biggest pop acts by the end of this year - if not then there is no justice! Although it is only February, I am quite confident in saying that this will feature highly in my top 10 of 2007 in December!!"

Ruthiepoos and I have now seen the marvelous Feeling 4 times in 12 months. And each time has been truly magnificent. They were one of the first bands I championed on this blog and it was a real thrill to see lots of other people start to appreciate their music in the blogging world, and the band proved to be a huge success in England and Europe (I'm pretty sure America is beckoning!). The set list was exactly the same as when we saw them late last year, with one exception, yet it was still an exciting and energetic performance. Here are some highlights:
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~ the concert was in Wolverhampton (how alienhits ;) ) so Ruthiepoos drove us there and I navigated. Rather brilliantly as well.
~ I decided to pay homage to Dan Gillespie (Sex)Sells by wearing a cool white shirt, sleeves rolled up and a waistcoat. I looked amazing, natch ;)
~ the line for the booze was amazingly long. We passed the time by judging other people in our minds which is always fun. There was an enormously large woman in a some sort of mumu/cardigan that really made me rub my eyes and doubletake at the horrificness of it all. Trinny and Susannah that woman now!
~ Once we had got our booze (water), we moved into the main hall and some random young ragamuffin asked where i got my waistcoat from, was mostly disinterested in the answer and then said "are you a gay? Is it ok to ask that?" I confirmed that I was indeed "a gay". Sweet Jebus...
~ He then high fived me (presumably for being "a gay" in a waistcoat) which i ashamed to admit i reciprocated. His equally drunk/strung out buddy then lead him away. Probably to experiment with "bumlove"
~ Some posh person in front of us had his v-neck on back to front. We couldn't tell if he was being ironic or not. V necks are not designed to be worn back to front. He looked like he was wearing a fashionable strait jacket.
~ Bring it on haters ~ The Fray were surprisingly good if inoffensive. Highlights of course were How To Save A Life (which they spunked 2 songs too early in my opinion) and Over My Head.
~ Though apart from the guy in the brown shirt, they are ugly as fuck and the lead singer was wearing a baggy illfitting t-shirt. Which just won't cut it when you are touring with people as effortlessly stylish as The Fee.
~ The girls behind us were ridiculously annoyed that the main show didn't start til nine thirty. One of them had to be up early apparently. Yikes. Poor luv.
~ The concert started off with that amazing Fill My Little World intro from the last concert that leads into the very beach boy-esque and perfectly harmonised I Want You Now.
~ Fill My Little World is still the most amazing song I have heard for years.
~ There is no filler on the feeling album. And they did Join With Us again. Ruthiepoos and I were happy.
~ New addition to the set was an utterly rocking Fat Bottomed Girls cover. Insanely amazing.
~ Dan looked as lovely as ever, but I may have transferred some of my affections to Mr Ellis-Bextor. He has a very adorable floppy fringe/bangs and wore red braces that made me feel gooey downstairs
~ Ruthiepoos and I are now going to see them at some concert in a forest in June. Huzzah.
~ Blue Picadilly is still the most perfect song to end their set on. Ironic too seeing as it is about trains and the last one left for Birmingham about 10 minutes before they played it ;)
~ Je t'adore la feeling.
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LINK: Check out my previous feeling concerts here, here, and here. Marv.
LINK: For gods sake buy 12 Stops and Home if you haven't already!

What about Dick Tracy? Dick. That’s an interesting name. My bottom hurts just thinking about it. Nothing like a good spanky. And so on and so forth. Yes, Madonna as Breathless Mahoney was as rubbish as those lyrics seem sitting there all naked and music free. Yet the soundtrack was one of my favourite albums of 1990 and vastly underrated in my opinion. Not only did it provide the groundwork for the magnificent Erotica with its bawdy lyrics tackling sex, love, bondage and remorse, but it provided us with Vogue which at the time was a glittering ball of magnificence. But look beyond that and there are some great tunes to be had also. More was a fantastic little cabaret number about greed; I’m Going Bananas was this crazy little calypso romp; Something To Remember was a torch song of the highest calibre; Sooner or Later was a sinister love song swathed in dark music and the epic Now I’m Following You just defied description. All magnificent. And floating the net now (and maybe for ages, who knows!) is a collection of instrumentals and demos that show these songs in the creation stages and actually just make me love them more. You know what? It was the Rudebox of it’s day! But better :)
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DOWNLOAD: The I’m Breathless demos

After a delicious meal last night, and some comedy shopping where Darren was kind enough to model some chavvy yellow hats with matching clutch man bags, we hopped off to the cinema to see Hot Fuzz – a new police comedy with those two dudes from Shaun Of The Dead (which was rather good rom-zom-com). It was in the tiniest cinema screen ever – seriously, even Asda-Walmart sell bigger screens than that – and because it’s a listed building the seats are the most uncomfortable ever. Plus it was packed so i couldn’t even spread out like i usually do. But the film was quite good actually – stylistically it’s very similar to Shaun just in terms of how some of the sequencing of shots is done, etc. Simon Pegg did a great job of his dedicated fish out of water policeman while the murder mystery storyline resolution wasn’t as obvious as it first seemed, though was a little League of Gentlemen-ish! There were some great laugh out loud scenes particularly with the female police officer who turned everything into a smutty innuendo (now that’s my type of girl!) and a scene where Nick Frost runs away all hurt and rejected with a great big stuffed bear under his arm. Hehe. And obviously it was a far superior way to spend the evening than staying in and watching the shambles/farce/ludicrousnessness that apparently was The Brits. Plus I am fairly excited by the forthcoming Hot Fuzz soundtrack which not only has Adam Ants Goody Two Shoes on it (a song that is desperate for a live lounge makeover by either Kaiser Chiefs or McFly), but a brand new chirpy little song by The Fratellis (Baby Fratelli) whom I am loving more and more by the minute. So what’s the Hot Fuzz? Overall quite an enjoyable package. Which is what i rated Darren later. Fnar fnar, etc.

~ Kevin Jon:
Let me tell you, i am all over KJ like a rash this very day. Not only is he rocking the black shirt/white tie look on the background of his myspace, but he has quite good popstar hair too. And! He is from Worcester which is only down the road from me (and where Bernice works!) and cites Deborah Gibson as an influence. Which of course gets you major kudos and respect in the world of thezapping. In fact more people should cite her as an influence. So it’s a good thing the music is also enjoyable – with the highlight being the stomping first single When Fear Gets In The Way. Not only is it pretty inspirational but it mixes a variety of funk, r’n’b and 80s pop influences into the mix without sounding over produced or generic. Kevin has a great voice and a clear love of the people he is influenced by. His sound would go down equally well here and in the States and with some good dance remixes, club domination can’t be far off. His debut album Body Mind and Soul is scheduled for Dec 2007, with the debut single out anytime about now. Hurrah!

~ Oooo look, those lovely History Boys (the amazing touring cast) have their own blog now. It’s enough to make you want to kiss the screen ;)

~ Grey’s Anatomy: Creator Shondra Rimes recently claimed she liked people and characters who mess up and then fight for redemption. Something she clearly has experience of in going from the teeth grindingly bad Crossroads to something as intricate and enticing as Grey’s – in fact it’s nothing short of a miracle she pulled it off! And in the post Christmas eps, once again the music is as important as the storyline. It’s fair to say that in 2006, the show propelled the fortunes of How To Save A Life and Chasing Cars. Wrapping the current storylines up in tunes from Peter Bjorn & John (a mix of pop, garage and dance rock) is highly effective – they narrate the unspoken moments yet sound lovely on your Zunes the next day. Not an easy task...
. ~ Ugly Betty: Ugly is indeed and possibly always has been the new beautiful as the madcap zany antics of Betty and the folks at Mode magazine continue to demonstrate. The soap operatics continue and episode 13 where Wilhemena’s cloaked companion was a twist so far left of field it was all deliciously Sunset Beach. Plus in last Thursday’s US episode, there were some gorgeous Christopher Gorham/America Ferrera flirting moments involving a chat about Wicked and another great twist ending. Marv...
. ~ Desperate Housewives: The wedded/divorced/single ladies who lunch of Wisteria Lane continue to shine this season. Marc Cherry has a firm grip this year on the storyline and the Bree-Alma-Orson-Mike-Paul murder mystery storyline is still engrossing and yielding surprises by the second. It’s worth it just to hear Bree say (Big Love style) “I’m not having your first wife live across the road. It’ll be like a mormon slumber party...” Brillo! PS ~ Gabby being stalked/romanced by Zach is comedic genius...
. ~ Brothers and Sisters: Who knew this show had a heart of gold under it’s socio-political exterior? Greg Berlanti of the late lamented Everwood (seriously? One tree Hill renewed instead of that?!) He has upped the relationship quota between the siblings, their partners, the mistress and the mother and even given the gays carte blanche – lingering kisses at makeout point, confused and closeted soap stars and Sally Fields may now be a “faghag”! It doesn’t get any better than this...
. ~ What about Brian? This grown up “Felicity” show doesn’t really have a gimmick but it’s solid storywriting and engaging cast keep me coming back week after week. I’m quite behind as i’ve only watched 3 episodes of season two, but the nuanced performances and cute but not ridiculously so actors are top notch and make this the most loveable gen x-er since Party of Five...
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So all in all a winning line up (mostly) continues on ABC – now lets just hope they don’t fuck up Lost (tho 307 was above average on Weds...)

Sigh. Eton Road. Don’t they look just adorable in a fairly recent photoshoot above? Cheek chuckingly so I would go as far to say on this day of love. Indeed, they were the most interesting thing about the X Factor – yes yes purists will always maintain that Leona had the best voice and she did, but god she is sinfully dull. Yet apart from a few gay club appearances round the country, nothing has happened and Louis Walsh once again shows himself for the twat he really is. So as this is the day of love and love, actually is all around etc., etc. I thought i would put together a debut album of tracks myself for the boys – all of which are cover versions of course but some may be more obscure than others... PS ~ one star means first single in march up to four stars in December for the Christmas release...
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1 – Me, Myself and I (scandal’us cover)*
2 – Shock Your Mama (Debbie Gibson cover)**
3 – One Bad Apple (Osmonds cover)
4 – Fools (V cover)
5 – Room In Your Heart (Living In A Box cover)
6 – ASAP (Bardot cover)
7 – One Night In Bangkok (from Chess)***
8 – Liquid Dreams (O-Town cover)
9 – He Is Your Brother (Abba cover)
10 – Hands to Heaven (Breathe cover)****
11 – (bonus track) Beatles medley

Whenever I have written about songs that are due to become hits again through the magic of cover versions, i’ve always featured a variety of artists. Today, it’s all about the genius of one album that was practically unheard of in England – Sweet Sensation’s Love Child cd. I remember buying it from Esprit Mail Order back in the early 90s after hearing If Wishes Came True on the US Top 40 countdown and deciding that they would no doubt be the next big thing in England. They weren’t. That didn’t matter though as their sophomore album (though only 9 tracks long) was packed with gentle ballads mixed among latino inflected dance numbers. All anonymous enough over here that acts could cover them and not even publicise they are cover versions. I’m going to dole out some key tunes to my 11 in 07 and other acts that are up and coming...
~ If Wishes Came True: A great power ballad all mournful and sad, but with swirling strings and a soaring chorus. Contemporise the production a little bit and you have an aces Christmas tune for a boy band like Billiam or Pacific Avenue. Ah, i can just see the lads running through the pine trees now. And if they are smart they can attach it to some Disney DVD sequel!!
~ Destiny: One of my favourite tracks on the cd and a song so catchy and immense, i’m amazed no one thought to cover it before now. Again, a tiny bit dated but with some fine Jadion production values this could be a stomping Britney-esque club track that would work ideally for a girl group like Bliss. Or even for Britney’s comeback single. Should she ever put her foo away long enough.
~ Each and Every Time: Another uptempo corker that could easily be transformed into a cool slice of electro-millenium pop put in the right hands. If Hilary Duff is serious about her pop career, she should chuck this on her album. Or if they wanted to do something a bit different and daring, with all the resources on hand the X Factor production family could make this into an amazing I’m Your Baby Tonight-esque gem for Leona Lewis.
~ Pleasure And Pain: A darker, more sinister number that could benefit from a sparse production, a pounding beat and a strong voice to carry it off. Throw in a pseudo s&m video and you could have a comeback hit that is dancey enough to appeal to the masses but different enough to cause lots of newspaper controversy – so ideal for Gareth Gates and SO much better than anything on his myspace site currently... (Simon Curtis also could do this, but i think Gareth needs it more ;) )
~ He’ll Never Know: This would be a safe pleasant ballad choice for people like Leona Lewis, Gareth and Shayne Ward. Yawn – girls aloud are always pretty bad at choosing ballads other than Whole Lotta History so they could do something similar sounding to that with this pretty song. Clever production values will keep it a notch above Atomic Kitten status...

And my my those Digital boys are working very hard at the moment aren't they. Beefing up their numbers with new members, getting their official website all up and launched (be sure to sign up for newsletters and for their forum), making me flirt inappropriately with bar managers to get them contact details to book gigs (hehe) and most importantly churning out more stomping pieces of pop for us all to enjoy. This week, two new songs hit the myspace - let's address TKO first. This song signifies to me that Digital will have no problem proving they are the new male Girls Aloud in the world of boyband pop (as opposed to say, the new One True Voice or Upper Street). TKO has a pulsating beat, great use of the voices in the verses (these guys know how to complement each other rather than focusing on one singer or drowning the others out) and a chorus that refuses to give up. And if you think that was good prepare for some spine ting-dingly goodness with Get Your Kitt Off with some inventive electroclash sounds, some essential boyband chanting and some slightly arousing filthy pervy lyrics. The chorus is the sort of tune that will appeal to drunk boys down the pub, gay boys down the club and have teen girls across the country screaming in anticipation for the hopefully half naked oil based video. First single material if ever i heard it. PS - the club mix ups the ante to the nth degree and reminds me of the very best of 5ive, Girls Aloud and V all on one single. RAR indeed!!

THE JADION FACTOR - INTERVIEW:
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I have now done four interviews on this site, with more to come when it relaunches on Feb 28th. First up was the lovely Switch22, then there was Emo Dagger, then a MAMMOTH simon interview and now I have cornered Jadion, his producer, for a natter. It's a very interesting read and a great insight into how the music business works...
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1 ~ it's not often thezapping becomes a fan of a producer, but since discovering Simon, and subsequently Fayden and Bliss, i've really enjoyed your sound. How did you get started in this industry and what are your long term goals?
Well like most producers, I once wanted to be a singer. I ended up having a family and put all that on the back burner so to speak. In 1999, a lot had happened in my life, I lost my first wife to Leukemia. It was then I decided that my dreams had to come true one way or another and after many "blessings in disguise", I decided that perhaps it was best if I went in a producer direction. After many struggles and the help of my best friend (my wife now) I was able to start a studio in Tulsa, OK in 2002 where I lived, and Jadion Music was the name I came up with. Clients started calling me Jadion, so that explains my name. Ever since I started, I have constantly looked to improve my sound being careful not to "bite" off other producers, but use their skills as an influence. My long term goal is to be on a level with Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Babyface, and the newest superproducer Timbaland. I want to rule the charts long term with many artists. There are a lot of engineers out there posing as producers. Their music is technically clean, but it has no distinctive style or art put into it. When you hear the music from the guys above, you KNOW IT. I try to make the same impact. If my song doesn't cause you to have some emotional or physical response, I am not happy and frankly, I have failed to do my job.
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2 ~ can you describe how you work with Simon and how much input you have into the final song for us?
That has really transformed over the last 4 years. At first, Simon was very inexperienced and in retrospect I was too frankly. But it was my studio, so he basically listened to whatever I told him to do haha. As time went on, he got more experienced, more mature. I got better and more knowledgeable about my equipment and songwriting. He began to develop his sound more. 2 or 3 years and many songs later, he and I have it down to a well oiled machine. I almost always come up with the music before anything. 95% of the time the music is almost completely done to the song and Simon will sit down and write to the music in half an hour or so, and we will record it. It takes about 1-2 hours to record the song and about 8 hours in total for me to mix it completely over a period of 2 or 3 days. Recording the song and the general "sound" is my responsibility. It is a producer's role to be the head coach and make the song what it needs to be. Simon knows I do what I do well, so he just puts his input here and there. Much like I do with his lyrics. Occasionally we will disagree. We have both had our diva moments :) Simon is a lyrical genius, no question. Sometimes he forgets the rest of the world isn't and he has to be tamed or else his writing would end up sounding like a Shakespearean masterpiece instead of a pop song lol. But overall it is a very smooth process. It is my vision that Simon and I write as much as we can for his material and other groups and do our best to be what Cheiron was 10 years ago.
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3 ~ How did you meet Fayden and how did you get to work with Bliss? What's next for those guys (especially as TMHT seems to be taking off at radio)
A few years before I met him, in the 2000 time frame, he had a fairly promising situation with his former manager, Maurice Starr of New Kids on the Block fame. He toured Europe for a couple of months in a male pop group, or better known as the very derogatory title, a "boy band". They had some major label deals offered to them, but as so many stories of the past, egos and drama set in and destroyed that situation. Then, about 2-3 years after that fell through, I got an email from Fayden through a worthless musician networking website.. We talked for a very long time and became great friends. He was LITERALLY the only person I ever met off those so called networking sites. We were talking on the phone for a long time all the while he was trying to find like minded people to pursue a new group with only to be disappointed again and again. During that time I moved back to LA where I am from. He is from NYC, the birthplace of techno dance music. Eventually he had an opportunity to release a dance record. The label he signed to was not ideal, to be diplomatic. They released his first single with some other producers and it did pretty well. But he wanted something produced by me, so FINALLY, after 3 years of talking on the phone, he flew to LA and we actually met in person for the first time. Weird huh? We recorded 3 songs, including Hypnotic. His second single is one I helped produced, and mixed, "When I look In Your Eyes". It did well in the dance world, going number one in radio in several countries, albeit obscure ones lol. That gave him enough notoriety to get the attention of Bliss (who's name will VERY likely be modified BTW due to other group releases with that name, stay tuned) The girls emailed us and eventually we signed them to our production company and recorded the first single which has just been offered a single deal through a well established dance indie label for distribution. It should be a big hit at the Winter Music Conference in Miami next month. We will keep you updated.
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4 ~ what are your thoughts on American Idol? Here, the winners seem to be given such bad material it's hard for them to make a long term career out of it...
American Idol has only two true stars.. Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood. Daughtry is a PHENOMENAL singer, but as you said, the material kills him. Katharine McPhee is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and her lead off single is very good, but the rest is terrible. They have tried to make her an R&B act, and that poor girl is about as white as you can be (can I still say that without the PC police on me?). I watched every year, except for the atrocious Fantasia year (which this year is on its way to being so far) and I have accurately picked the top 2 every time. I watch avidly this year, and I have seen no one that strikes me as amazing or the winner. Kelly was smart, she got as far away as possible from the people who make the Idol's decisions. I never cease to be amazed at the poor choices these labels make. That's why they are all broke. In my most humble of opinions :)
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5 ~ you know i would kill for you to revive Debbie Gibson's sound - what do you think of her latest songs Famous and Rich Girl, and who elses career do you think needs the Jadion touch??
Debbie could certainly use a revamp. Not liking her new stuff at all. I would love to work with Britney, that would be interesting. I would really like to work with Chris Daughtry also. Katharine McPhee would be up there on my list. But my dream artist would be Celine Dion. Many of her songs are so unworthy of her perfect voice. I have to sell a few million for her to take notice I am guessing.
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6 ~ time to trash people - who do you like and dislike on the music scene at the moment??
Why do you do this to me Paul? lol. I am VERY VERY picky about what I like. I don't like too much out there to be honest with you. I almost NEVER listen to the radio. I don't like much of anything that plays on mainstream radio right now (except the Katharine McPhee song, and the new Hilary Duff one is cool). Most of it is pure garbage. Rap is so over. Most people are sick of ghetto; guns, bitches, hoes, and the racism in rap music (see Simon's Sugar Sugar White). Let's be honest, how many damn times can you rehash the topic "I want to fuck you and all your friends because I was a drug dealer and now I have a nice car because I bought my way into the music business with drug money".
When I read blogs like yours or read letters from fans, the ACHE that they have for good pop music is very encouraging. It runs in 10 year cycles. Starting in the mid-late 50s with Doo Wop, mid to late 60's, the Beatles, Elvis, mid to late 70's, the Bee Gees (thanks Robert, their manager and Simon's as well) mid to late 80's, New Kids on the Block, mid to late 90's, the greatest music ever made, BSB, NSYNC, BRITNEY and now, mid to late 00's, hopefully it will be US who bring it back.
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7 ~ When you finally get some downtime in your LA mansion, is it chill out time with the mrs, games, movies, reading or tv?? And are you really like Ari Gold?!?
I soooo do not have a mansion, but someday maybe. I play xbox360 with Simon A LOT! Halo 2 in Slayer mode is still the most fun in video games. He wins usually, he's a game nerd. I like to travel and hang with my boys.
For those reading this who have never seen Entourage, you are probably saying, "Who the hell is ARI GOLD?" It is the best show on TV, that and The Shield. I NEVER miss either. They say I am like Ari in the way that I am VERY blunt, very witty and have no problem telling anyone what to do to themselves when they rightfully deserve it. I am very decisive, I know what I want, I usually know the answers, and I'm not afraid to share them with those who do not lol. Simon has sarcastically dubbed me the "King of Tact" as I have the tendency to speak my mind regardless of the situation. Simon thinks I am also a bit like Turtle because I like some flashy things, like diamonds on my watch (my watch has 24 small diamonds around the bezel, they act like I have a Nelly, Jacob the Jeweler watch!). I am also quite flirty with the girls and I really enjoy getting VIP treatment.
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8 ~ I think the British music scene is more primed for you and Simon than America. What can we do to get you over here?? Is that a consideration?
We are trying to get EVERYWHERE. Simon's manager is shopping the major labels as we speak. We feel pretty confident we will get signed, hopefully as a distribution deal of the record as it is. Even so, this business moves at a snail's pace. If we signed today, depending on the label, it could be 6-10 months before a worldwide release. We will just have to see. I have never been over there, so I am anxious to go. Really want to go to Tokyo also.
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9 ~ You let me listen to a great track called London a while back which has grown on me more and more. Any plans for that particular song?
As of now, it's just another song in the repetoire. No real plans just yet. If you meet anyone who wants to record it, we are all ears.
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10 ~ You have worked on some amazing songs on Simon's forthcoming album. Which are you most proud of and why? (my fave - still Broken, though I am currently loving Purgatory and Sugar Sugar White)
Left Right Left is probably my favorite. I just love the beat in it." Broken" I wrote the chorus to, I like that one a lot. That was one of those "SIMON, WE HAVE TO DO A LIGHTER TRACK THAT DOESN'T INSPIRE REVOLUTION OR CECESSION FROM ONES FAMILY!" I love Casual Encounter too. I have heard them all a MILLION times, so it is hard to speak to that really because I DID IT. I am not a good judge of my own work. I ALWAYS hear something I could have done better.
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11 ~ Finally, if you were given the task of saving Britney Spears (from herself as much as anyone else) what would your advice be??
Anna Nicole Smith…….that's all a normal person would need to hear. But the fact is you can't save ANYONE… only they can.. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lindsay Lohan end up like Anna as well. If there is one thing I HATE about this business is the professional liars called the Public Relations department. No one EVER tells these people NO. No one cares enough about these girls to TRY to stop them. Simon would NEVER end up like these girls, but if he ever did, I would be the first to stand up and say STOP NOW OR I TELL EVERYONE WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO YOURSELF. Problem is, if anyone in their entourage ever actually SAID THAT, they would be shunned and no mainstream "reporter" would ever run the story because of the power of the PR firms. Remember this little known fact… the ever hated tabloid the National Enquirer is sued for libel LESS THAN TIME MAGAZINE. Why is that? Because they usually tell the truth. I love Dlisted, because it is the only place that tells what these people are doing in real life, not what the PR firm wants you to know. There is no such thing as being hospitalized for "exhaustion". Funny how guys who work 30 years in a 100 degree steel factory 12 hours a day NEVER seem to go to the hospital for exhaustion. Contrarily, a pampered multi millionaire who sits in an air conditioned Star Wagon trailer for ¾ of her grueling 18 hour a day movie shoot ends up there several times, before her 20th birthday. Doesn't that bother anyone? My advice to Britney is the same advice I give to anyone who is at their lowest point. It is my favorite quote … "All of your problems AND your answers are in the mirror."
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Thanks to Jadion for taking the time out to do this interview. For those who didn't know, the amazing Entourage is on HBO in America and airs on ITV2 in England :) And just to point out, i think the answer to number 11 is incredibly relevant and profound. Celebrity seems to be a dangerous profession :( And finally, i can testify to his King of Tact title - i've corresponded with Jadion for a while now and occasionally I will write about something and he will tell me it's a load of old shit! LOL! Which is probably why I like him as well as his music. I prefer straight up people!! Check out the plethora of links below:

LINK: Jadion's myspace site (with a free download!)
LINK: Jadion's official webpage
LINK: Iced Entertainment's myspace site
LINK: Iced Entertainment's official webpage
LINK: Fayden's myspace site
LINK: Fayden's official webpage
LINK: Simon's myspace site
LINK: Simon's official webpage
LINK: Bliss' myspace site
LINK: Bliss' official webpage
LINK: Purchase Entourage here (USA) and here (UK)

Hurrah! First full day of NYC adventure. Dressed in warm clothes, we patiently waited for the lift down to the lobby. And waited. And waited. As 2 of the 4 lifts were broken, they were in full demand and the man in front of us refused to get in anything resembling crowded. now, obv. I have the patience of a saint, so didn't push past him, but as the 3rd lift came and went, enough was enough and DazPushy and I bitchslapped his ass out of the way and began our day :)

Now I thought yesterday was cold! My nipples popped out so quickly when I walked out the door, that I had to check where DazPickle's fingers were ;) As we hurried to Starbucks, my warmblooded little fella (darren not the other little fella!!) was telling me I'd get used to the cold and he didn't need a scarf or hat. As we came out of starbucks with frozen snot in our noses, we bustled back to the hotel to get him a scarf and hat. It was lucky I tells ya that I was wearing my scarf wrapped round my face as I had a very smug told you so expression on my face! we decided to head towards rockafella plaza and enjoy the view from up there. Darren is not a heights man, but he was a brave little soldier and enjoyed the stunning views across NYC.

The NBC studio tour was ok, interesting to see the inner workings of tv! There was one dude on the tour who felt he knew the answers to all the questions so never gave the tour guide the opportunity to five their rehearsed answers. In retrospect, it may have soured the atmosphere a bit when after one buttinsky to many, I snapped " for gods sake no one was talking to you" but i ultimately feel they were glares of apology shooting my way. Thank heavens for the no weapons sign the guide kept pointing too...

Looking round Radio City Music Hall with a former Rockette was bloody bonza ripper. Doing those eye high kicks on an empty stage, looking at the costumes and designs and seeing the dining room where Vincent Minelli planted the seed of Liza in Judy's er .... well i'm sure they flirted there... was a great way too spend the afternoon in a gorgeously stunning art deco setting that positively crackled with theatrical history.

In the dusk of the early evening we did some more rooftop sightseeing from the top of the Empire State Building before heading home from our 11 hour day for pizza and snuggles. Marv...

And the new songs keep on coming - let me tell you, along with Baz from Digital, Simon Curtis, Stefan from Switch22, Ste from Billiam is one of the nicest people you could come across. And likeability factor for me is a big plus in pop - hence my dislike of Amy Winehouse for example. Plus Danny from Upper St seems a total cock. Anyway, Billiam are all jacked up to a four piece, looking very jizzworthy (!) and have a poppy new song out called Funk With me - very Wham-esque, it appears only as a short clip at the moment so it's hard to get a full impression of it, but it showcases the range of the boys voices and absolutely screams out for a stomping club mix... more tracks coming from the lads soon. Can't wait to hear 'em!

After a delicious night of romp and relaxation in our posh upgraded room, it was time to get up and kill a couple of hours in our posh upgraded bathroom robes until we needed to leave for the airport. My attempts to seduce darren by trying to make the terry towling outfit look sexy by swinging the girdle around like a baton were hopeless. But i like to think i did my part in bringing sexy back! Anyway, i perservered and I like to think that any and all sexual favours subsequently provided were because of my hotness and not to "stop any more insane behaviour"...

And then it was off to Heathrow airport to check in and hang around for a couple of hours before we can sit around the gate for half an hour or so before we are allowed to board the plane and sit around waiting for takeoff. So in all this time, naturally the starbucks card was abused but i did get to listen to just jack's new album and some new songs i hadn't gotten around to checking out so it was all good.

the plane flight to nyc was actually ok. I read my book (The Road to Inconceivable - amazon search it, but it's only ok), a couple of Entertainment Weeklys, watched The Queen which was surprisingly touching and gorge and a much better than expected John Tucker Must Die (great soundtrack). I even managed to get some stuff down for my novel. Very productive.

Of course this being me, I had to be surrounded by freaks. Behind was an elderly gentleman whose middle aged son explained everything in annoyingly minute detail to him. Except plane etiquette as he kept stretching his leg up by my arm rest so his pongy foot was right near my face :( Once it may have touched my Jack & Jones top which clearly now i will have to boil. Grrr. And in front was seizure girl. She had her chair back which i don't begrudge at all, but she moved around so much it was like sitting infront of a washing machine on full spin. I was grateful when she nodded off and just the sound of her bulldozer snoring and pungent halitosis breath filled the air....

Arrived in NYC!! It was vair vair vair nippy noddles. I thought i would die from shock from the cold but rallied by thought of three starbucks right by hotel (which is near all theatres and one block from Times Square). V tired now so zzzzzzzzz.

Or even the Live Lounge – that bastion of acoustic jams with bands doing songs by other bands. It’s suffered a bit of a backlash recently, though god knows why as I love it just the same as ever. This week has been a little bit marv for Live Lounge fans as Jo Wiley has been whoring her wares to all Brit nominees resulting in some rather pleasant cover versions for us all to enjoy. Before I get into that howev., lets look at current media darling Mika (he tried to be like Grace Kelly) who recently covered Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie (i feel dirty writing that it was Shakira’s song when it was really a quick knock off) and showing a modicum of taste also covered newbies The View and their catchy/dirty hit Same Jeans. Mika injects both with his already trademark showmanship and makes them sound like they were indeed written for him. No point in doing a carbon copy (yes Matt Willis and All These Things I’ve Done, I’m talking to you...) is there? Marv...
. Now onto the Brit nominees performing ~ Corinne Bailey Rae who charmed me last year with the delightful Put Your Records On and then bored me with everything else, has enchanted me once again with her cover of the overcovered Sexy/Back. Now it may be the element of surprise that had me, because of all people i wasn’t expecting CBR to bring sexy back. Shudder. We also had the ignored by me for possibly too long now James Morrison looking surprisingly foxy above doing a stunning acoustic Blur cover of Out of Time – which just shows a) how good the Blur song is – i sort of forgot and b) perhaps there is room in my life for James and Paolo.
. Another band i’ve rather criminally ignored is the always-catchy-when-i-randomly-hear-them Fratellis who did the almost impossible task of making the White Stripes accessible to me by covering their tune Hotel Yorba. As I’ve never heard this song before, I can’t say whether its brillo or not, but it’s certainly a perky little ditty as performed by the telli-tubbies here... And god bless indie-boyband The Kooks for not only providing a brilliant album of music but coming on Live Lounge again and topping their amazing cover of Crazy with an amazing cover of Roxanne by the Police. Just click, enjoy and let the goodness wash over you like foamburst shower gel. Incandescent!
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BONUS MP3: Amy Winehouse - Valerie (Zutons cover) (it all started here for the massive smash!)
BONUS MP3: Klaxons - My Love (JT Cover)
BONUS MP3: The View - Rewind (Paolo Nutini Cover)
LINK: Jo Wiley’s live lounge site

I’ve been dying to use the word Exitlude in a blog since about October 2006 and this seemed the most appropriate time to do it! Huzzah (soon to be stolen as a word by Pinkie! I’m watching you!!) It seemed appropriate because today I am writing about a musical that hasn’t even come out yet, and when it does seems to be somewhat of a trial run for something bigger. Yes indeed possums, we’ve had Kylie musicals, Abba, Queen, talk of take That, Boney m are in on the act, Billy Joel has done it, Rod Stewart has had a pop and now in all her 80s pop princess (hold my hand) glory, it’s Deb(bie)orah Gibson’s turn to be “immortalised”. Be delighted or afraid (delete as applicable) as Electric Youth the Musical is coming to Florida. Now of course the timing of it is that it opens just 2 days after i return from Florida, which happens to me all the fricking time. Not to worry though, because although the show has Deborah’s blessing she is not actually performing in it (that would be weird methinks) and it is only for a one week “workshop”... Still, it would be cool to see and i would love to hear the new show tune versions of Deborah’s early tunes (mainly from Out Of The Blue with a smattering of hits from Electric Youth too...) You can read more about it at the official musical website or at a blog that the writer has done at Orlando Sentinel. Go see it – it’s bound to be Electric! Groan...

Now, i have had two opportunities to see Avenue Q and both times I have blown it. Once was when it was just opening at the Wynn hotel in Vegas and more recently on Broadway in NYC (did i mention i'd been to NYC?) Still, it is on in London and rather strangely, I have recently become utterly addicted to the hilarious and strangely enchanting soundtrack that accompanies the show, If you know nothing about this musical then it's billed as "Sesame St meets South Park" and even the soundtrack isn't for the easily offended. The songs tackle decidedly adult issues such as sexuality, racism, drug use and pornography. What makes them all the more beguiling is the fact that they are presented in a children's song manner - very upbeat and poppy, while presenting lyrics that are raunchy, vulgar, wickedly clever and have an uncanny ability to satire it's subject matter while making you laugh and think at the same time. Not an easy task to do. It may get compared to south park but it really couldn't be more separate ~ Monsters who masturbate? Two male roommates who bring the supposed gay subtext of Bert and Ernie into the forefront? Songs that teach us such valuable lessons as "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet is for Porn," and "You Can Be Loud As Hell You Want When You're Making Love"? Sesame Street this ain't. Absolutely hilarious it is. Plus the guy above shagging the puppet has great nipples and popstar hair.

Keane are the old new feeling. Which is a bit of a confusing concept really so let me clarify somewhat. Keane started off as an amazing band with amazingly brilliant anthemic catchy piano-pop such as Somewhere Only We Know, Bend and Break and my fave track of theirs, Everybody's Changing (that still sounds fresh and wonderful today). Then they broke my heart by releasing their somewhat poo second album. However, it was lucky that The Feeling had debuted by then. The Feeling started off as a quite good covers band in a swiss ski resort. Everyone and his mom know claims to have seen them there, but frankly unless it was bloody woodstock, I seriously doubt it. From time to time The Feeling let us know how good they were as a covers band by throwing in things like Video Killed The Radio Star into their sets. Then Dan and the boys broke skiiers everywheres hearts and went pro and turned out a glorious album of pop tunes that just let their magnificence wash over you. So I didn't need Keane anymore. And suddenly Keane became good - as a covers band. They had already proved their worth by doing simply sublime versions of With or Without You and The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore. Since the release of the second poo album, they have managed to entertain me with their versions of Enjoy The Silence, Dirrtylicious and more recently Sanctuary. All reminding me of the glory of Hopes and Fears. So maybe Keane should pack up to Switzerland, where there is probably a vacancy at some ski lodge for a decent band to do some covers... they should start off with Fill My Little World and stay away from the booze...
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MP3: Dirrtylicious
MP3: Enjoy The Silence
MP3: With or Without You
MP3: Sanctuary
MP3: Your Song
MP3: What A Wonderful World
MP3: Sun Ain't Gonna Shine

Scissor Sisters ~ I Can’t Decide (thanks xo for pic)
While the band have gone for She’s My Man as their next single, I’m ignoring that choice and plumping for this honky tonk inspired ditty as the third single from Ta-Dah. A highlight of mine ever since I heard it at V Festival in August 2005, I knew it would become a favourite as soon as I saw it on the album tracklisting and have had to physically restrain myself (usually DazPosse’s job) from listening to it too often.
NICK: Oh, brilliance here! One of the better tracks off of one of 2006's best albums. Only the Scissor Sisters could record a song this odd and lace it with such a great pop edge. I doubt whether this will ever be released as a single, but it is definitely one of the catchier efforts from Ta- Dah.
DAN: This is a song I did not fully appreciate until just recently. It seemed a bit out of place on the CD - and the honky tonk piano! I just couldn't get into it. But then suddenly, it all fell together and it worked for me. I think what I love most about this song are the lyrics. And the part about burying the person alive, only to have them crawl out and kill Jake when he's sleeping - well, it almost qualifies as a zombie song! And as most know - I can't resist anything zombie.
Stefy ~ Chelsea
Thanks to popjustice this group are increasing in stature here in the UK and are bringing their No Doubt brand of ska-pop circa 1996 to rock our worlds this very month. Awash in synths, strong vocals and catch chorus, everything about this track makes it a winner
NICK: Though I was a bit let down by the actual album, Chelsea remains one of my favorite tracks from this summer (American release was in the summer, not sure about elsewhere). Somehow the obviously cribbed Eurythmics synth riff doesn't end up sounding lame. The song's just that good.
DT: One of my favourite songs of 2006, finally gets a UK release in 2007. It is a brilliant pop song with an 80's sound and a bassline that reminds me of the Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics at times. Hopefully, this song will be a huge success in the UK, so that they can release the album and the beautiful song, Orange County as a single, so that more people can hear it!!
PPG: synth-based pop-rock that, great as that backing is, owes a lot to the attitude and glamour conveyed by its singer. If Chelsea's "the kind of girl that's cold as ice/beautiful with nails filed sharp as knives," this song is perfect for her, cool and able to convey a sense of danger despite the glitter of those synths.
DAN: This song if fabulous with a capital F! It starts out with a very "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" riff, and it is VERY No Doubt as Paul pointed out earlier this week. I wish that Gwen Stefani would record stuff like this - rather than what tried to pass as good music on The Sweet Escape. OK, I'm probably being overly harsh on that CD - there are a few good songs, but this track is everything Gwen should be doing. With a chorus that refuses to be dislodged from your brain, it's headed toward a place on my best of 2007 list already.
G4 ~ Somebody To Love
If anyone should be covering Queen songs (apart from McFly) then it should be G4. They have more than enough poppera in their act to give it the right amount of pomp and circumstance that such a heady song deserves. I am crushing on this tune big time this week and it’s clear that these four lads are the real winners of the inaugural X Factor back in 2005.
NICK: I am not a fan of this "popera" stuff, and I thought I'd hate this, as this song has been covered to death. It does lend itself well to this genre, though, and I find myself enjoying it. Not even close to the original, mind you, but a good cover nonetheless.
DT: Have always been more of a fan of G4, than their 'popera' rivals Il Divo. They don't seam to take themselves as seriously as Il Divo, shown by their recent interpretation of the Big Brother theme tune on CBBLB. They always choose brilliantly unexpected songs to reinterpret such as this Queen classic, many of which I love anyway!! Probably the most successful act to come out of a UK reality TV series since Will Young and Lemar back in 2002, with 3 hit albums - it is shocking to think they were actually beaten in the final bt Steve Brookstein!! Who???
DAN: For me, nothing will top George Michael's version of this at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert. And at first, I balked at this version, especially the opening. But I do like it - quite a bit in fact. It's very "show-tuney" and I say that with love and esteem. A lot of Queen songs really were over-the-top and I think the treatment that G4 give it is appropriate. Plus, they do really sound good together!
BWO ~ Obsession
I think BWO are what steps and s club would be doing if they were still together and they had some sense. I love this type of pop music at the moment and i think it is utterly amazing. This tune could be played all day and i wouldn't get bored of it. Well not all day...
NICK: This is definitely one of the highlights of BWO's sophomore release for me. It sounds a lot like the stuff they did on their debut, and it's got a killer chorus. Is this to be released as a single? It would be a perfect capper for the album.
PPG: I don't care if this is a cover--it's still brilliant! It's not exactly a warm song--in fact, you could make a case for it sounding slightly soulless at points--but it's not supposed to be some affectionate ode to true love, and isn't obsession--real obession--at least the slightest bit scary? And draining? This song captures that perfectly, while also being catchy and almost dangerously addictive itself.
DAN: There's something oddly retro about this song. It reminds me of something that I might hear out at a bar 15 years ago, but from what I've been able to gather - that's simply not possible, right? I love the synths, the minor key, the killer chorus. What's not to love about this song? I realized that I had one other of their songs on my computer ("Open Door") so I checked out their stuff on Amazon (import only) and on iTunes (nada in the U.S. store) but I'll definitely be looking into them further.
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McFly ~ Translyvania
Another group that cover Queen exceeding well are my cheeky little McFly scamperoonies. But instead of doing another Don’t Stop Me Now, they have just created their own Queen sound and are releasing one of the best songs on their album. Just try telling me that the video won’t be one of their most spectacular yet. I am doubtful but really hoping that this will boost their lacklustre album sales... NICK: Probably my favorite McFly song, and one of the handful that converted me into a fan. Experimentation is a must when it comes to pop music, and this strange little rock opera certainly has that quality. Dougie wrote this, right? If so, they should let him write a lot more of the group's songs.
DT: When I bought the album, this was definitely my least favourite song on the album and I would skip the song when listening to the CD. It was only after it was announced as the 4th single, that I decided to give the song another chance and thank god I did!! What a great pop song and finally you get to hear Dougie sing a bit!! It is just as catchy as all of McFly's previous singles but like the Kaiser Chief's song, probably won't win over any non-McFly fans.
PPG: it's only the beginning, but I already know that this is going to be one of the singles of the year (let's just hope the British public recognize that!). Showy and dramatic, I've heard people compare this to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and, you know, I don't know if I'd disagree with that. At times, "Transylvania" sounds like three separate songs ripped straight out of a haunted house, though admittedly a very fun one, but by the time you get to the end--where Tom and Danny's overlapping question-and-answer session is joined with Dougie's singing (he's the writer of the song, and this is also the first time his singing has been featured on a McFly single), adorable in a slightly odd way but a perfect fit for the song--it all comes together and you're in complete music paradise. I don't know if I can fully convey how brilliant this song is without breaking into an extended essay, but for goodness sake, people, buy it when it comes out in April!
DAN: Wait a minute, isn't that the opening from Blondie's "No Exit" (a coupling with Coolio that is a total guilty pleasure mostly because I love it when Debbie Harry raps!) Ah, no matter, I have really no more to say about this other than it sounds like something out of the late 70s AM rock meets 21st century pop sensibility.
The Killers ~ Read My Mind
The Killers album Sam’s Town has been a real grower for me and each single off it improves on the last one. NME wrote last year that this would be one of the stadium anthems of 2007 and I can’t disagree with that statement. Everything about it just screams arms in the air massive tune and I can’t wait to see them at V Festival as headliners later this year...
NICK: A fantastic choice for a third single from these guys. If this song isn't a worldwide hit, I'll be very surprised. It just has that soaring, anthematic quality to it. Plus, from the pics I've seen from the video shoot for this track, the music video should be a lot better than the lame (sorry, but it was lame) clip for Bones.
DAN: I'm not a huge fan of The Killers - the only thing that really did it for me on their last album was "Mr. Brightside", and that I discovered via the Jacques Lu Cont remix. Consequently, I didn't get too worked up when they released a new CD last year - it just didn't really interest me all that much. This song, however, is pretty good. I think what I don't like about the Killers is how disinterested Brandon Flowers seems - but for whatever reason, it works every now and again. And it works here. Plus I really enjoy the melody of this song - musically, it's very solid. It probably won't make me change my overall opinion on The Killers, but this will probably take a place alongside "Mr. Brightside."
Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
Everyone was blathering on about how the Kaisers were going to lose the whooooahs and nananas from their choruses and that bothered me. Luckily this perfect little pop rock gem proves that pop doesn’t need to be dancey to succeed and actually has a great sing a long chorus without the so called gimmicks. Just waiting for McFly to do it on the live lounge then...
NICK: An excellent taster of what's to come from this exciting band. From the sound of it, they haven't lost any of the verve that has made them so much fun and such a success. This sounds like it could have been lifted right off their first album, though it does have that undeniable quality that screams "single!".
DT: A brilliant comeback from the Kaiser's, it's almost like they have never been away. It sounds like classic Kaiser Chief's with catchy sing-a-long lyrics, that will get stuck in your head whether you like the song or not! Really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album, as Employment is still an album that I listen to regularly. If you weren't a fan of the band, the first time around, then this song probably won't win you over, but if you were one of the millions who were, then you will love it just as much as Oh My God, I Predict A Riot or any of the songs on Employment.
PPG: though I've got the Kaiser Chiefs album (or, more accurately, I checked it out from a library and ripped the songs off of it), I've never listened to more than "I Predict A Riot," which is admittedly quite good. Maybe that's why all the complaints that this sounds like their old stuff don't hold true for me; I don't know what most of their "old stuff" sounds like. It's the chorus that seals the deal here, with that repetition and those backing vocals adding up to something pretty catchy.
DAN: Another song with a killer chorus (something that seems to be a common thread in the songs this week.) And a great lyric "Due to lack of interest/Tomorrow has been cancelled." This is the first I'd heard of Kaiser Chiefs. It won't be the last.
Take That ~ Shine
I will just rave incessantly about this amazing amazing track if given the option so I'll let the bloggers do it for me :)
NICK: I've avoided this comeback album for some time now, but if there's more like this song on it I've made a terrible mistake. I love this track! It's like the perfect mix between Scissor Sisters and The Feeling (I'd say Laura meets Fill My Little World).
DT: Possibly one of my favourite TT songs ever, tho perhaps not quite as good as Back For Good!! It is nice to hear Mark Owen performing lead vocals on the track and has made my dig out both his most recent solo albums again!! To me it sounds like, they might have been inspired by the Scissor Sisters when writing this song, as I could easily imagine Jake singing it!
DAN: Opening with a beat reminiscent of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" or Scissor Sisters' "Laura", this song is so relentlessly upbeat that it's pretty much impossible to hate it. Here in the U.S., we really never got on board with Take That apart from "Back For Good." This single wouldn't fly in the States, that's for sure. But I'm glad that it's out there - proving yet again that all the best pop is coming from overseas these days.
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Thank you so much to the guys above who all make this feature amazimg. Anyone else want to contribute just email me at the usual address :)