Lopez Blogs

Hello chums. Darren and I have had a lovely week away in the south of England. Lots of historical sites related to the Tudors, some theme parks (including the incredible amazing Saw the Ride rollercoaster) and a lovely day out at the theatre in London (more on that in a bit!). Our evenings were taken up in the lovely sunshine watching what actually is possibly the worst show on television - Britain's Got Talent. You would think I would love this show and it's totally my sort of thing, but my god what a hideous beast it turned out to be. Some of the lowlights included the very public breakdown of Susan Boyle (who, lets face it, was just a woman with a somewhat above average voice who nobody would have glanced twice at if she had been a curvy 25 year old attractive blonde), a 10 year old girl bursting into tears on live tv when she fluffed a song, the glorification of two chubby men with no discernable talent whatsoever performing a joke i failed to get and more tears from contestants (including the same difference of ballroom dancing) as Simon tells them they weren't as good as they should be. Couple that with some hideous decisions on who to put through by the judges (a florist?! A man in a darth vadar mask who dances badly?! A man who makes saxophone noises with his nose?! REALLY?!) and the piss-poor voting of the british public made a show I should love (and have never really watched before) one of the most repulsive yet compulsive things I have ever seen. On the plus side Diversity (video above!) are the most exciting dance troupe I have seen for years and Aiden (from Birmingham! Yay! Birmingham pride, etc) is a right cocky yet loveable little dancer (despite the cameraman obviously having a stroke during his performance - he's barely on screen half the time!) whose moves I have been practising to a funky soundtrack all morning (with disappointing results. I'm no George Sampson!). Ok, rant over - on with the musical highlights of the week...

MUSICAL APPRECIATIONS OF THE WEEK:

• I wasn't convinced that The Saturdays should actually release Work (above). I thought perhaps they had waited too long with the release of the perfunctory Just Can't Get Enough in between. But lo and behold they have not only reswizzled it ever so slightly so it still sounds brilliant fresh but actually gone and produced a video that looks like they aren't just playing popstar in Girls Aloud's heels anymore. And Frankie still has the most stunning voice and gorgeous looks, and should clearly marry brilliantly cheekboned Dean Lennon and have amazingly attractive children.
• (BTW, having seen the Dolly Rockers at Birmingham Pride, je suis une dolly for life. Or at least the forseeable future...)
• Yes, I'm still entirely enthralled by Hotel Rival's lovely Benny/Bjorn written Second Best To None. Their other "new" song (by the Benny Andersson Band) is more of a grower than a show-er. Don't get me wrong, Story Of A Heart, with vocals by the lovely sounding Helen Sjoholm, is utterly exquisite with gloriously emotional lyrics and a soaring chorus. It's only available in a low quality radio rip at the moment, but everything - EVERYTHING - in it speaks to me as a perfect example of how "Abba" can still craft the most beautiful moments in pop. Unlike Second Best To None (which I still play regularly and often!) I'm being a bit more reserved with this until the full high quality version is available.
• Observations from driving around with Darren this week ~ Battlefield (i'm with poppostergirl on preferring the Ryan Tedder version ever so slightly) is essentially an updated remake of Kim Wilde's Never Trust A Stranger; Little Boots' Stuck On Repeat is essentially a more sultry version of Can't Get You Out Of My Head; and which came first - Martika's Coloured Kisses or George Michael's Too Funky because they have exactly the same backing beat...
• Talking of the lovely Little Boots, I'm absolutely thrilled with her chart success this week (about #11 in the midweeks). Totally deserved and what a great first hit for her. I think things will get bigger and better from here. Her duet with Phil Oakley (Symmetry) is brilliant - as XO pointed out to me, something very Kylie about it. There are at least 3 more smash hits from her brillo debut album Hands (the aforementioned Symmetry and Stuck On Repeat; the aces Remedy) which drops next week...
• Sister Act The Musical was very good, but not quite in the amazing category. All new songs ranging from seventies sounding disco numbers to disney-esque ballads. The show wisely ups the story about the unlikely friendship between Deloris and the Mother Superior (brilliantly played by Sheila Hancock) and bought it all to a conclusion so joyful and glorious that I nearly wept from the happy :) Download two legal tracks here...
• Some albums I am currently enjoying which are outside my normal range of pop delights: Paolo Nutini's Sunny Side Up (key track = Coming Up Easy); Indigo Girls' Poseidon & The Bitter Bug (key track = What Are You Like); Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (key track = Funny The Way It Is); and Island Life: 50 Years of Island with excellent contributions from the Sugababes doing a funkytastic cover of Teardrops, Keane bringing it with Disco 2000 and the faultless Feeling covering This Is Love. Magnif. Mini reviews coming soon.
• Finally has anyone else been following Radio 2's Great British Songbook? You've been missing out on more ace cover versions if so :) This week, the increasingly brilliant boombastic pop of The Yeah You's gets an airing and they do a rather lovely version of Ordinary World. Aces.

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

New Entries ~ Well, I really haven't written about Mr Hudson & The Library as much as I should. XO and I bonded over them, Captain and Upper Room in 2006/7 and I loved their debut album, particularly the groovesome cover of On The Street Where You Live. Luckily, XO has carried the Mr Hudson banner for the world, but don't think I love them any less than I did in 2007. Supernova is really quite amazing, and their recent concert very spectacular indeed...

21 ~ Mr Hudson, Supernova (NE/Vid)
20 ~ Alcazar, From Brazil with Love (NE)
19 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Home (NE)
18 ~ Infernal, Redefinition
17 ~ Lily Allen, Not Fair
16 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Hope & Glory
15 ~ Pet Shop Boys, Did You See Me Coming?
14 ~ Same Difference, All Roads Lead To Heaven
13 ~ The Killers, The World We Live In
12 ~ Paolo Nutini, Candy
11 ~ Industry, My Baby's Waiting
10 ~ Annie, Anthonio
09 ~ Take That, The Garden
08 ~ Alesha Dixon, I Get Excited
07 ~ Jordin Sparks, Battlefield
06 ~ BWO, Right Here Right Now
05 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot
04 ~ Elouise, One Night Only
03 ~ Freemasons ft Sophie Ellis Bextor, Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer
02 ~ Little Boots, New In Town
01 ~ "Abba", Second Best To None (3 weeks)

Mid week special! Fizzypop chronicles vol 6 on Weds! Then back on Sunday...