Lopez Blogs

The good thing about the fizzypop chronicles is that I've kept a note of what has been on every mix tape/cd I have done my friends every month since 2000 - it gives me a really good overview of what music I liked at the time and the changing trends and fads in this crazy business called show. The bad thing about them is that I often forget tunes so they end up being flung on a bit later than when they were new and exciting; also as I only do it once a month the songs are often "old news" by the time they make the cd. Oh well - for me, it's an interesting musical diary. For you it's something you just have to put up with :P (I've updated and rearranged the order of the September playlist here) There are two other ace mix tapes on blogs this week:

• Adem has gone old school and actually used a cassette!
• Aaron skilfully blends a mix of old and new for an aural treat!!

ESSENTIAL SONGS FOR OCTOBER 2009:

1 ~ Robbie Williams, Bodies: The return of Mr Williams hasn't delighted everyone, but I couldn't be more thrilled to have him back. The song works perfectly - elements of some of his biggest hits hinted at it something new and wonderful. Trevor Horn throws everything into the production mix, but it works - the strings in the chorus and the choir at the end are just heavenly. Bring on the album already!
2 ~ William Young, Hopes and Fears: Tragically this project isn't a note for note cover of the excellent Keane album (that XO reports is being rereleased!) and for that I am slightly disappointed. That passes though when I realise that a) William is a bit tied up on the single cover and b) it's a stomping sounding uptempo number that showcases his amazing vocal and proves he is just as brillo at the fast stuff as he is at the slow (something I've always known as my fave two Will songs include Your Game and Switch It On)...
3 ~ Leona Lewis, Happy: Comfortably nestled just behind Robbie on my chart at the moment, this song is much more powerful than a cursory listen leads you to believe. Sure, it's not going to win any awards for inventiveness, but it's a soaring ballad of hope and redemption and her voice sounds stunning. Still can't quite believe it's not out here until November though. PS - wouldn't it be great if Leona Lewis and Blake Lewis got married so she could be Leona Lewis-Lewis? No. Ok then...
4 ~ Blake Lewis, Heartbreak On Vinyl (vid above): I do love Mr Lewis. I still think Gots To Get could have been massive in Europe. I loved Sad Song but this tune - the title track of his new album - is just one of his strongest songs to be released tonight. Full of poignancy yet set to an addictive 80s shuffling dance beat it's a winner from start to finish. Some clever lyrics too - "fall in love to analogue and never let go". Mel and Postergirl have all already expressed eloquently how amazing this song is. Could be huge if launched properly in the Uk...
5 ~ Britney, 3: Oh goodness me - well I guess you can't say some songs on this list aren't totally up to date! It's not an earthshattering single for her new greatest hits album (only two albums after her last one - how Hilary Duff) but like Alexandra's Bad Boys it sort of does the job really - an enjoyable-ish pop romp that will most likely grow on people the more they hear it. For me, the jury's still out - check out D'luv's view...
6 ~ Miley Cyrus, Party In The USA: Shame on me for forgetting this song so often. It's up there with 7 Things and See You Again for me - ie, totally brilliant, catchy and an ace ace pop song. It's heavy on the cheese factor but it wins me over every single time when she sings "and the Britney song was on..." This is what great pop should be - ever so singable, smidgeon of novelty and a chorus to die for :)
7 ~ Vanessa Amorosi, This Is Who I Am: Ah VanAm is back and she's busy channelling Kelly Clarkson and Pink. That's neither here nor there though as this has some brilliant spat out lyrics during the verses and an epic sing-it-to-the-back-of-the-stadium chorus that's as loud and noisy as it needs to be. Check out what the Pop Panel said about the song a few weeks back...
8 ~ Dolly Rockers, Boys Will Be Boys: Blimey, what else can I say about this song that I haven't said here or on the DR Interview Post (capital letters because it's very important). It's Republica, it's Tatu, it's Veronicas, it's Fuzzbox, it's indie girl group, it's Transvision Vamp, it's Girls Aloud, it's Bananarama, yet it's still very Dolly Rockers. Got the point? Good :P
9 ~ Mini Viva, Left My Heart in Tokyo: I'm late adding this to the "chronicles" as well aren't I? Oh well, to make up for it click the link to be taken to a Live Lounge version of the song that is rather marvelous in the extreme. It gives the already ridiculously catchy tune an organic live feel and breaks down the funk (or something). Single 2 sounds brilliant...
10 ~ Girls Can't Catch, Keep Your Head Up: Very late on this one too - not because I forgot, but because I wasn't sure that they had a long term future and couldn't work out how good the song was. Still, a couple of months on when it randomly pops up on my mp3 player I'm not displeased to hear it so that can only be a good sign. I suppose it's all resting on Echo then isn't it?

11 ~ Anders Fernette, So Incredible: Following the dance remake triumph of Hungry Eyes isn't going to be easy - and this isn't a bad song to undertake that task. Yes, bits of it sound like the best Backstreet Boys song you've heard in a while but it has a fuzzy frenetic beat and a sweet vocal delivery that just soars into a big as all outdoors chorus. After a few listens you can't help but smile each time you hear it...
12 ~ Kevin Borg, The Last Words: Click on the link to hear a 2009 remix of this song because it transforms a mundane album track into a soaring summer dance classic which is exactly the type of song Kevin should be belting out. It's very trancetastic indeed and I imagine it will be all over the stereo at Bar Tubos like the dirty little rash you know it could be. More dance on the next album then Kev...
13 ~ Danny Saucedo, Kiss You All Over: I skipped Emely as a single focussing on the aces Set Your Body Free (a song so good that Avenue did it first and now new group BVG are, er, having a brave bash at it!) back in July. This month it's time that the astonishingly huggable album track Kiss You All Over gets a bit of an airing. It's a proper dance-pop song and one that makes you think that Danny could be a proper pop star in England if a bit of thought were put into marketing him here. Sigh...
14 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Rewind (vid above): Let's ignore the song for this (if you like the above two songs chances are you will like this - it's what Mans does best and I believe was a single in Poland?!) and focus on the video. It's incredibly amazing just in the first twenty seconds - a quite good-naff looking rollercoaster, a girl in a headband giving it some "i'm a serious fan" arm pumping action and one of those rides that drops you and makes your stomach feel all funny. Mans, amid all this insanity and bonkersosity, looks bloody gorgeous.
15 ~ Sally Shapiro, Miracle: Ah, our Sal has become a bit of a blog darling hasn't she? It's easy to see why - she is churning out tunes beautifully crafted pop tunes like this and wooing us with her sultry voice and hypnotic grooves. Hopefully she will become immensely successful worldwide, rather than be the next Annie (who I still adore of course)...
16 ~ Lily Allen, Chinese: This wasn't one of my favourites from her latest album when it first came out, but it's really grown on me over the last past 8 months. Mostly because of the gorgeous choral tribute out there. It's what Lily does best really - parlay everyday situations into great pop songs. It would be a shame if she did quit music :/
17 ~ Erik Hassle, All That I Wanted: Hasn't everyone been waiting forever for Hurtful to happen? It's got to be coming soon because nearly six months on that track still sounds epic and like an international number one. Still I popped it on the April mix so for this month I'm enjoying this guitar led number that has Erik's distinctive vocals, his knack for emotionally raw lyrics and really sores when the strings in the middle 8 add some additional heartbreak. Incredible...
18 - Paolo Nutini, Pencil Full of Lead: I picked up on this as an excellent choice for a single when I reviewed the album a while back. I've grown vaguely tired of his rather affected accent, but this song is just so different from anything else in the charts right now that I can't help but be charmed by it's organic good time feeling. I'm sure it's pretty much a rewrite of a Jungle Book song that Paolo loves so much though :P
19 ~ The Gossip, Love Long Distance: Always effortlessly cool in everything they do, this is a lush disco epic that would sound at home up against some of the early scissor sister demos (had they had more money to spend on production). "I want someone who's around for me" sings Beth and who can't relate to lyrics like that? Gorgeous from start to finish - plus who doesn't love some roller disco in a video...
20 ~ Franz Ferdinand, What She Came For: At least commercially, the Franz never fulfilled their early promise did they - yet I refuse to give up on them because with each album comes a bonnie selection of skinnytieindiedisco tunes to die for and the latest single is no exception. There is some funkalicious guitar work on here that Prince would be proud of and a huge chorus with shouty chanting and everything. Brilliant.Shame they didn't stick to their plan to name each album Franz Ferdinand though :(
21 ~ Mr Hudson, White Lies: Mr Hudson's time really is now isn't it? Supernova was rather amazing and brilliant and massive in the same way that I assume Erik's Hurtful will be. This is a properly huge piano driven song with an off kilter shuffling beat behind it. Massive vocal that sounds impassioned during the chorus and makes me die a little from happiness each time I hear it. Glorious...
(Next month - David Jordan, Westlife, Alesha Dixon, and more!)

Back soon with live lounge, tv catchup, book report, weekly round up and the x factor judges houses!!

...expect a few of these on various websites towards the end of the year. One of these is starting early: http://nollnolltalet.se/ (in Swedish) is doing a very detailed rundown and I recommend it (thanks to It's A Trap for the link).

I haven't really thought about doing a "songs of the decade" rundown but I'm kicking around a few ideas at the moment so I'll probably do something towards the end of the year, in addition to the 2009-50, which is rapidly filling up!

If I were to be a popstar (I wouldn't ever be - it's not something I particularly want to be; I can carry a tune but frankly I'd only get one yes at an X Factor audition and only then because I outrageously flirted with Louis) starting out in this crazy business of show, I think I'd want to be a bit like The DollyRockers. I don't mean a girl in a crazy frock, no not at all you silly sausages. I mean just that if I had not made the X Factor finals, I'd like to step back, re-evaluate and then carry on with a brand new attitude. Which frankly is a bit of fresh air after all the 17 year olds on the show stating how this will be it for them if they don't make it through. The Dollies are proof that there is life after the X Factor - no matter how uphill a struggle that life is.

I was ever so smitten with the tune that more or less introduced the popjustice lovers of the world to the Dolly Rockers - Je Suis Un Dolly. It was fun, quirky, a little bit novelty, a little bit rebellious and with a viral video that most groups when spend a fortune on to get the same wickedly enjoyable impact. I was ever so slightly bamboozled by the fact that the similar but not quite as good Gold Digger was their first single proper - it was very similar to Je Suis, yet didn't quite have the same magic for me. Still, pop from The Dolly Rockers is still massively enjoyable and luckily they have a second shot at the fame game with the ridiculously catchy Boys Will Be Boys. It's ever so slightly reminiscent of Brooke Valentine's I Want you Dead and pogos along to a dynamite chorus, encapsulates a bit of Girls Aloud (the middle eight vaguely reminds me of Models) and yet still retains all the who gives a shit charm that you have come to expect from the girls (lines about trust fund bitches make me want to jump up and down with glee). So getting the chance to ask them a few questions was a chance not to be missed...

The burning question I have to start with is - Gold Digger: why on earth was this not a massive top ten success?!
We would love to know!! No, we kind of always knew it would be a struggle as even though we are a girl band, we have the background of a indie band. Everything has been done from scratch and nothing was ever going to happen for us over night. We weren’t put together by a label who already had a huge tour waiting for us to support on or had our album finished before we were together so were still growing the Dolly Rockers brand and it just wasn’t strong enough when we released our single. We didn’t have radio backing and we didn’t have a tour to go on so in a way it was like no one really knew about it for it to have a chance for people to like or not like the song.

How will Boys Will Be Boys redress the balance?
We’re very lucky it wasn’t all riding on the first single and we have a chance to release a second, we know now that we just need to create more awareness about us with the second single and obviously the most important thing, an amazing song. Boys will be boys isn’t 100% yet but what ever it is needs to be a smash!

To raise more awareness you're doing a campaign with KangaROOS shoes. What's happening with that?
It's sort of Bebo's Got Talent - basically we are launching a talent search where girls can record themselves dancing to Gold Digger and upload it to the My Kangeroos Bebo page. Each week one video entry will be selected to go through to the final and get the chance to be the "KangaROOS - How Do You Rock Your Roos Dance Champion 2009"! And of course they will win a day with us, a makeover and loads of goodies...

Oh sounds brillo except it's only for girls so I can't enter. Curses. I got some nifty moves too :( Oh well - I bet the girls are rocking their Roos for you from all over!
We’ve actually had a few videos of these amazing girls KEG doing ‘je suis’ style videos they are very fun to watch - definitely check out the Bebo page to see what's coming in on a week to week basis! But hurry if you want to enter :)

I'll put the word out! Ok, back to Gold Digger ~ if it wins an award and Kanye West runs on screaming "I'm sorry girls but my Gold Digga is the best Gold Digga/Digger song ever", will he live to autotune another day?!
What do you think!! Ha ha I love how Taylor swift was so composed and didn’t say a word that suits her but if he did that to us....bladdy el! Can u imagine He'll see my backhand!

Feisty! I'm a little bit scared of you already :P Ok, BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge - you SO need to do this. Little Boots did Beat Again, JLS did The Fear; what song would you cover (I'm seeing you doing a brillo version of Love Game by Lady Gaga!)
I actually would love to cover the new Arctic Monkeys song or maybe a Jamie T song could be interesting!!

You should do that anyway. It could be a youtube smash. No one did anything like that on the X Factor this year. Talking of which, the X Factor live auditions - brilliant new reinvention or epic fail and rip off of Britain's Got Talent format?
I actually really don’t like the new audition format its very cringe. I used to love the editing of the x factor I thought it had a very dry British sense of humour to it, which, shows like American Idol and Britain’s got talent didn’t. That’s why I could never watch them.

Why didn't you return to The X Factor like Ricky with the scary eyebrows from last Saturday's show? Everyone is on about this poor kids eyebrows I didn’t actually notice them! I don’t think X-Factor is for us anymore, we couldn’t go on anyway because we have a record deal but were we wouldn’t be able to stand up there singing someone else’s songs being styled by someone else - it wouldn’t be us at all.

Very wise. I think you have your own little niche carved out now :) Ok, I'm gonna leave you be now but lastly - fashion tips please. As an "aging" gentleman (ie, i look on my twenties as my youth!) which KangaROOS should I wear on Saturday night with the classic jeans, shirt/tie and waistcoat look?!
Definitely the shiny gold ones!!

Thanks for the advice girls. And there you have it. Dolly Rockers, KangaROOS, and shiny gold shoes. I'm off shopping :) Come back tomorrow for the latest Fizzypop Chronicles playlist :)

The Saturday night part of this weekend's double bill was possibly the most poorly edited and put together bit of television I have seen in a long time. It's actually a bizarre show, and I think I'm only annoyed because I genuinely do love the format so much. I can't be bothered to recap the show as most of it passed by in a blur of far too short vignettes that don't give you enough time to connect with the contestants. Task one was getting the acts to team up in 3s and all sing on stage. This is not only insanity but utterly ridiculous television. It does however showcase the highs and lows of this entire show as follows:

• The scripting is better than ever! Three solo girls "randomly" choose each other and perform as a girl group. They don't get through. Cheryl then asks them to become a group. They accept because the script says they must. More on them later...
• Being a bitch is helpful - one girl is asked by the judges if she choose her other two for her team because they were essentially crap. She says yes she did. Ooo you bitch! And the judges like this because the music industry is cut-throat and she will probably do well.
• Being a bitch isn't helpful - the weird twins that Louis liked quite a lot from earlier in the series are back and they totally sing over everyone in their group. Simon says this has basically made it harder for everyone in their group and they are booed. Simon says they would spit on their own mother for success (they probably didn't because they needed her to iron their shirts). He doesn't like that attitude!
• The judges don't have to be consistent - the above two bullet points are a perfect example of this.
• Dermot's platitudes are getting ridiculously cliched and annoying. Everyone needs it more than anyone else. Everyone is feeling the pressure. It is the most important moment of their life. They are singing for their lives. I appreciate this is all to build the drama, but it's getting beyond a joke. It's the living end :P
• The show is making contestants lazy. Lots of 17 and 18 year olds say that if they don't make it, it's the end of the line for them. This is preposterous and hopefully just said in the heat of the moment. The X Factor isn't the be all and end all of a music career.
• Although it's easy to write this now because I'm publishing after the Sunday show, I am writing before it airs and I can guarantee that at least one judge will use the "it's bad news - you'll have to come back for judges houses" type fake out! And I will fall for it.

LIVE NOTES FROM THE X FACTOR:

Night two continues the insanity by introducing the audience to... the judges! My god! Thank heavens they did that! Then they do a nice flashback of last night to take up some more time. Marvelous. But amazingly the continuation of top 50 performances start pretty early with an absolutely alarming performance by Behruz. He does Purple Rain in the style of Mika (and clearly thinks he is brilliant) - Simon clearly thinks he is a twat. He is right.

Script development! Let's have a contestant lose their voice. The unfeasibly spelt Treyc does a nice husky version of Ben and is probably better with a sore throat in the same way Phoebe is when she has a cold in Friends and has her sexy phlegm. Next up is popstar looking 16 year old Lloyd who also does an MJ song (You Are Not Alone). I'm not sure whether MJ is dead at this point in the filming but he's quite a popular song choice, though not always a wise one.

More platitudes from Dermot - everyone is feeling the pressure, no one wants the dream to end. Really Dermot? His insightful views into the process leave me astounded. Bravo (slow clap). I often wonder if I looked back at last year's episodes whether they have just used the same voiceover as last year. This platitude is because some kid (Dominic) got to Dannii's house last time and doesn't want to miss out this time. Although if he gets through to the next stage, it will only be as far as he got last time so no reason to get excited just yet. His version of Last Request is quite lovely and soulful though and mature beyond his 17 years. Bit strained at times though.

The 3 girls who miraculously chose to work together yesterday and then were miraculously asked to be a girl group by the judges (in another scripted plot twist) get to audition for the first time as a group. They look bloody awful together (although to be fair they haven't had much time to rehearse) and only Cheryl has that look which says "i'm so right about putting these girls together". Everyone else looks bored, then a godawful rap appears and some hideous harmonies which of course means Simon now looks interested. Infuckingcredible. Oh, they have called themselves Miss Frank. FAIL.

Latest platitude - the pressure of bootcamp is getting to everyone. Good grief. Conveniently someone forgets their words. And then someone else does. Simon looks annoyed. Not as annoyed as I am when Dermot tries to be sincere and sympathetic. It is not his strong point at all (just like remembering the words wasn't these auditionees strong points). More sore throats from last year's auditionee Ricky who sounds bloody awful. He still hasn't sorted out his bloody eyebrows so frankly he deserves to be kicked out!

New platitude - the acts sing for their lives! Now that would be cutting edge and exciting. Imagine if all the people who weren't good enough got murdered! Surely that's a Japanese horror film waiting to happen. It could then be remade as a shot for shot but not quite as good English version. Just imagine that! Are you imagining?! Oh, by the way Ollie the cheeky scamp from Essex sings Your Song in a horribly oversized cardigan and completely misses the first note by - well, not quite a mile, but a fairly sizeable distance. Then the criminal Curtis comes on and sings a flat version of You Are Not Alone. Followed by a bunch of grossly disappointing groups - most of whose names I can't remember, even though I am typing this about 6 seconds after they appeared on screen.

NO ONE WANTS THAT CHANCE MORE ALERT!! One of Dermot's favourite sayings (that is used at least once each show of the entire series) and is attached this time to Afro Jamie who takes the predictably safe option of With or Without You. I'm still not a big fan I have to say. In fact he is starting to irritate me in quite a large way - clearly the producers love him because he gets a lot more screen time than other people. Oh great, everyone is on their feet and Simon winks at him. This means that I am in the minority and everyone loves him - ooo except Louis who is disappointed and thinks he is trying to hard. For once I want to hug Louis - only he'd probably enjoy it and cop a feel. "I don't know what i'll do if I don't get through" says Jamie to Dermot after the audition. Well, I'd start with checking for insects, his hair looks like a birds nest.

Lovely Stacey from Essex sings that Faith Hill song from Pearl Harbour. She's a bit all over the shop, but she's so bloody likeable and engaging that I really want her to do well (even though she hawked her single mom story and shed tears about wanting a better life, etc). She's followed by unfeasibly spelt Danyl who then says that if he wins the show, the kids he teaches will feel they can do anything. I sort of like Danyl a lot, but this is the biggest pile of shit I've ever ever heard. He then does some incredibly weird beatbox version of Holding Back The Years. The vocal is quite nice, but let's face it, he's no beatboxing Blake Lewis and half the time I'm torn whether he is singing the song he said he was or a Will Young cover version. It sort of reminds me when Darius wrecked his "Popstars" chances by doing that entirely bizarre version of Baby One More Time. Louis actually looks like he is going to be physically sick. The judges say it is too bizarre (not 3 minutes after they said that Ollie was too safe and should take some chances. I blame Cheryl for this just because I can).

That's it! The auditions are over and the contestants are "waking up to the most important day of their lives". Cue lots of clips of nervous auditionees saying how nervous they are and how important this day is. The judges then talk lots and lots and lots about of acts, though you are never entirely sure who they are talking about so it's very frenetic and epiletic and gives me a migraine. Finally they have come to a decision, and they tell people. There are lots of NO! including the lad who got to Dannii's last time (and she is pretty devastated not to have him through) and Behruz who looks genuinely shocked that it is a no in a comedy "whadafuck" sort of way. Also Rozelle doesn't get through which infuriates me. Lots of people do get through to judge's houses including Danyl, Ollie, Ethan, John & Edward, Stacey, Lloyd, Jamie Afro, Trucolourz, De-tour, One True Voice and lots more who have been the focus of the series so far. Now just to see if the papers were right about the judges categories... Simon (over 25s as the papers predicted); Cheryl (the boys - papers said she had the girls); Louis (groups - shocker, as predicted of course) and Dannii (obviously the girls - quite pleased, much stronger than the boys)...

back tomorrow!

OK it may be 10 years old, but on any night in any bar in any Turkish holiday resort I guarantee that this will get played, with an accompanying dance routine by some rather lovely waiters no doubt :))))

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the lovely Tarkan with "Şımarık" (a.k.a. the original version of "Kiss Kiss"):



By the way I bought Tarkan's latest album "Metamorfoz" whilst on holiday and will eventually get around to reviewing it on here. :)

According to Aftonbladet (I haven't managed to catch up yet) here are the finalists in this year's Swedish Idol:

Andreas Johansson
Carl Chapal
Camilla Håkansson
Clara Hagman
Eddie Razaz
Erik Grönwall
Erika Selin
Jon Sindenius
Karolina Brånsgård
Mariette Hansson
Moa Carlebecker-Forssell
Nicklas Hocker
Nicolle Walles
Patrik Öhlund
Rabih Jaber
Rasmus Ingdahl
Reza Ningtyas Lindh
Sabina Täck
Tove Östman-Styrke

Competing for a final place:
Piotr Pospiech
Calle Kristiansson

I didn't always have such contempt for female singers..back in 1982/83/84 for example, there were female/female-fronted acts with so much to offer musically. Notably Tracey Thorn, who was my absolute favourite female singer from those years. Nowadays her career seems to have been summarised to EBTG's "Missing" and Massive Attack's "Protection" but her first solo mini-album "A Distant Shore" is probably my favourite of all her recorded output. There's nothing fancy - it's just one wonderful voice and acoustic guitar, but it was very special for me at the time, particularly "Seascape" and "Plain Sailing": the latter was featured on "Pillows and Prayers" and can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2GLsoxOJE

Another track from "Pillows and Prayers", this time "Compulsion" by Joe Crow which has a nice little home-made lo-fi feeling about it. I don't know anything about the man who made it, but I just like this song, anyway....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kifY99v6BTM

It's not the first time I've featured Mr Leer on Retro Saturday - he's been here before as one half of the sublime late 80s duo Act - but I often find inspiration for this feature when my mind takes a little wander through the past, and so it was again this week. I remember receiving Cherry Red's excellent "Pillows and Prayers" album as part of my 1982 Christmas present bonanza - extremely good value for 99p, back in the day, and featuring a wide variety of acts signed to that label. If they all appealed to you, then congratulations on your ear for musical diversity! - anyway I enjoyed a fair amount of them and I thought I'd feature some of the tracks tonight. "All About You" by Thomas Leer is a very wonderful (and overlooked) electro-ballad which still sounds as fresh, and as touching, today.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLZ4ObI8-d4

Vanessa Hudgens Sterling Knight Pictures

The pictures of Vanessa Hudgens with Evian water on her hand and Sterling Knight walking on the streets shopping downtown Vancouver.

Paris Hilton Prego Restaurant Pics

The pics of Socialite Paris Hilton arrives at the Prego restaurant in Beverly Hills in order to attend the "Candy Ice" Fine Jewelry Launch dated 24 September 2009.

Anne Hathaway Variety's 1st Annual Power of Women Luncheon Photos

The photos of Actress Anne Hathaway arrives at Variety's 1st Annual Power of Women Luncheon held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California dated September 24, 2009.

Ashley Tisdale Fame Premiere Pictures

The pictures of Ashley Tisdale at the 'Fame' Los Angeles Premiere Arrivals held at the Pacific Theatres, The Grove dated 23 September 2009.

Beyonce Live In Perth Photos

The photos of Beyonce performing live in concert at the Perth Western Australia dated 24 September 2009.

Christmas is coming - the goose is getting fat! Ah the festive season is a mere 3 months away. Yes of course it's far too early to be getting into that seasonal frame of mind, but that doesn't mean that people aren't planning ahead. It's the most important time of year (seemingly) for record labels and artists with the biggest releases planned to compete with the X Factor winner for the Christmas number one (and actually the bigger sales that the holidays bring). That will all be very exciting in due course but really 90 days til the big day this year means just 90 days til I fly to Las Vegas for Christmas and New Year! Hurrah! And prior to that I have Gran Canaria to fit in :P And prior to that I have to finish today's blog about the music flooding the market this week :)

WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK:

• Bah. Not quite out in time for Christmas true, but one of my fave groups Maroon 5 have been squirrelled away in Switzerland working hard on their 3rd album. To positively titillate and delight the senses, the boys have released a little preview of the album on youtube. Notice a topless Adam at 22seconds :P (Love how the fadeout sounds a little like the dramatic endings in Lost!) They've been fairly quiet this year (other than a simply lovely cover of The Way You Look Tonight) but will be previewing new music on their Back To School tour. Sigh. If only I were there...
• (Scissor Sisters won't be out for Christmas either, but there is a rather good interview with Jake Shears detailing what's going on with it over at Popjustice)
• As D'luv reported earlier this week, one of my other 2004 faves The Killers have a track on the Twilight:New Moon soundtrack. While the trailers for the film look absolutely dire and sinfully boring, I am of course very excited about this track entitled White Demon Love Song. Just from the title alone it has the potential to be epic and brilliant. Of course, all vampire soundtracks have to live up to the impossibly high bar that Annie Lennox set with Love Song For A Vampire. Shall we listen to it again? Yes, lets.
• While the new Dashboard Confessional song on the Jennifer's Body soundtrack (Finishing School) sounded a little bit "Sex and Candy" by Marcy's Playground (I still liked it), I'm loving the new single proper Belle of the Boulevard. Because it sounds like exactly what you would expect from DBC - and sometimes, if you are a fan of the band that is more than enough :) Much like the Indigo Girls & BArenaked Ladies, they are a group I consistently enjoy and who sometimes knock an amazing tune out the ballpark...
• There are a shocking 5 x-factor (or similar) related songs in my top 21 this week. And a plethora of new x-factor product videos hitting youtube, because Simon only likes to release new music near Christmas. Alexandra's Bad Boys video (despite the entirely gratuitous FloRida cameo) is oddly engaging, perhaps cos it's rare for an X Factor winner to be allowed to release an uptempo first single and perhaps because she busts some moves. Overall it's still rather catchy. And of course JLS (I wrote about the single here) have premiered the video for Everybody in Love. Apart from looking like it's been filmed in the Bad Girls prison, it's as generic and cheesy as the song - but therein lies it's charm, because it's delivered with such sincerity and conviction that you can't help but love it. And really it's all about Marvin's arms and Aston's trainers...
• Plenty of re-releases out for Christmas too - Erasure (as I mentioned a while back) are celebrating the 21st birthday of The Innocents with a gussied up edition for the market (they've been wooing every tom dick and bloggy with a Frankmusik remix of Phantom Bride too!); The London Boys 12 Commandments of Dance FINALLY gets a rerelease on cd (see the epic London Nights below) and Sinitta has a jam packed greatest hits coming your way with a new song and a bound-to-be-fab selection of Pete Hammond remixes. Start saving your pennies kiddies!

TOP 21 TRACKS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Benny Andersson Band, Story of a Heart
20 ~ Dolly Rockers, Boys will be Boys (NE)
19 ~ BSB, Soldier Down
18 ~ Little Boots, Earthquake (NE)
17 ~ Little Boots, Remedy
16 ~ JLS, Everybody in Love (NE)
15 ~ Same Difference, Better Love Me
14 ~ PSB, All Over The World
13 ~ Nerina Pallot, Real Late Starter
12 ~ Shakira, She-Wolf
11 ~ Mini Viva, I Left My Heart in Tokyo
10 ~ Sugababes 3.0, Get Sexy
09 ~ Alexandra Burke, Bad Boys
08 ~ Whitney Houston, Million Dollar Bill
07 ~ Madonna, Celebration
06 ~ BWO, Love Comes Crashing Down
05 ~ Alphabeat, The Spell
04 ~ Mariah Carey, I Want To Know What Love Is
03 ~ Mika, We Are Golden
02 ~ Leona Lewis, Happy
01 ~ Robbie Williams, Bodies (4 weeks)

Coming soon: What I would release as Christmas singles; the fizzypop book report; a few more album reviews - and the X Factor double bill (!)...

Oh Nats. The "broooog". According to Amazon, the UK release date of the quite charming actually "Come to Life" album has been pushed back to 2010. Considering that promo copies of the album have been sent out, reviews are in the printed word (hello Attitude Magazine) and about 11 people on the popjustice forums are gushing at the gash for this set of tunes, it's a bit of a wank decision to delay it. I am no expert in marketing music but delaying the release of an album never inspires confidence in the product. It is, in fact, up there with these other common pop disasters:

• Keisha leaving the Sugababes just as they have a spunky new album "in the can" and a top 2 single with Get Sexy. Frankly, I can't stop listening to Every Heart Broken because this is even worse than when Sean left 5ive just as KingSize was released...
• David Sneddon thinking that Sneddon was a popstar name and then failing to be the next Robbie Williams when Britain criminally ignored the amazing Best of Order...
• Simon Cowell effectively ending the promotion of Gareth Gates' second album and denying the world a single remix of the brilliant Skeletons. Sigh...
• Rachel Stevens not being number one for 11 weeks with "I said never again but here we are". I still mourn this fact on a very regular basis.

Of course there are many more pop injustices in the world, but those are the first few that sprang into my head. It's a shame that the album has been delayed because Come To Life actually contains some very fine pieces of music. Plus Natalie looks a bit like Dannii Minogue on the album cover and this can only be a very good thing indeed. By now, the "promo" single Wild About It (record companies need to ditch the promo single - it's very annoying. It's either a single or it's not!) and first single proper, Want, should be etched into your brains. The former works well as a video-single rather than an actual single - it features Natalie roaming around after a party and shows a more fun side to her that is rarely seen when she is performing darker fare (such as Identify, Beauty On The Fire and That Day). Musically however, it's like an indie version of Sweet About Me and is neither as elegant or as powerful as the music Natalie usually churns out. Want, however, is eerily gothic and subversive and just as much Kate Bush as it is Natalie Imbruglia. It's not exactly what might be expected of a first single, but it gets under your skin and promotes the album far better than Wild About It.

My God is an energetic guitar led opener for the album, with a driving beat that - matched with the sweeping vocal from Nats - powers the song and keeps what could have been a slightly lost melody firmly in check. It's Lukas however where the album really begins to shine. I am assuming this is what Coldplay are referring to when they say they gave away their best song. Written by Chris Martin, it could almost be a lyrical sequel to the Suzanne Vega hit Luka. It's got that epic "end of summer" feel about it - you know, when you need just one song to sum up your entire holiday experience. It definitely deserves to be a single - it tells a complete story and Natalie delivers it with just the right amount of reserve and intensity. Just imagine if this had been the Kylie-Coldplay collaboration instead of what the world ended up with?! The story telling vibe continues in the ever so lovely Fun (another Chris Martin composition). A song about the end of a relationship isn't the most original of topics, but it's universal and when done well, the results can be astonishing. The first few seconds of the tune sound like an Abba ballad, then the song begins to build and crescendo as the backing track grows and Natalie sings "people always ask about you" and it actually feels painful to hear. "Didn't we have fun" is the message of the song and despite the pain, Natalie remembers the good times of a relationship as the music ebbs and flows (just as feelings change in ebbs and flows as you come to terms with the end of a relationship). Quite quite brilliant. (I'd love to know XO's opinion of these two songs!)

Twenty is a perfectly pleasant jangly pop tune and continues the theme of examining relationships. It's not a bad song at all but it does suffer ever so slightly by being wedged between the aforementioned Fun and the definitely should be the second single Scars. Scars possibly would have been a better single to promote the album than Want - it's initially ever so vaguely reminiscent of Torn and is definitely one of the most radio friendly things she has done. It delivers the devastating lines "You got your brand new friends and I got a broken heart/doesn't matter who we are everyone has their scars". Gorgeous vocal, lovely melancholy and melodic chorus, spot on lyrically, just another perfect, clever and sad break up pop song.

Following on from Want, the last half of the album seems to be the more electronic part of Natalie coming to the forefront. WYUT (What You're Up To) is an energetically angry throbbing retort of a song, with some synthy effects permeating the verses and a stacatto vocal that matches the needs of the song. Not the finest moment on the record, but it's nice to see some risks being taken even if they do detract from the near perfect first half of the opus. Cameo, sadly isn't a song about the late lamented group, but rather more experimental bells and master&servant style goth-pop with a rather industrial sounding backing beat. Natalie's voice is quite haunting on it, but overall the song leaves me ever so slightly cold.

Overall, the first half of the album is a quite extraordinary and brutally accurate examination of the death of a relationship. It's steeped in emotional imagery, wistful memory and gorgeous melody. This is the section of the album that really comes to life for me. The more experimental second half is perhaps more relevant to today's music market, and enjoys some interesting production values but doesn't sell itself to me as fully and magnificent as those first five tracks...
Possible singles: Want, Scars, Fun, Lukas

OTHER WORTHY FEMALE SINGER ALBUMS:

• Check out XO's mini review of the new Paloma Faith album...
• Lenka's experienced a bit of a revival with her 2008 album. Check out my review here...
• Ditto Marit Larsen and her stunning If A Song Could Get Me You (number one in Germany, chart fans!)

Hello again...I'm back from one of the best holidays I've ever had, in the lovely Turkish resort of Icmeler. Got back on Tuesday morning after a bit of a marathon final day/airport delays/night flight, but caught up with some sleep in the afternoon and should be back on track tomorrow.

Anyway we had a fantastic and relaxing time. Weather was 33 to 35 degrees most days but we managed to cope. The initial culture shock of shopping Turkish-style took some getting used to but by the end of the trip we were expert hagglers - great fun :))

Went on some very good trips/activities, ate brilliant food all week, and enjoyed the warm Turkish hospitality which truly deserves its good reputation. And let's just say I fell in love with many of those lovely Turkish men...!

As usual I'll be publishing my holiday diaries/holiday hit list on here over the next few days as I'll have a bit more time - yes I have almost another week off before going back to work next Tuesday, so expect some regular posts between now and then.

I don’t know, but a week can be a long time in the world of music. As if the continuing Sugababes game of line-up musical chairs (Jade "It’s My Time" Ewen in, last remaining original member Keisha Buchanan out) and the earth-shattering news of the Chas and Dave split wasn’t enough, now here is a strange one.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of Aussie duo Empire of the Sun, so I’m somewhat perplexed by the news that one half of the band, Nick Littlemore, has allegedly been "missing in action" for five months and will not take part in the band’s forthcoming debut live shows in Australia. Singer Luke Steele told an Australian newspaper that he has been left "holding the baby" and that he will be backed by a group called The Swiss for the live shows starting this weekend.

There is more about what can be expected from the weird, wonderful, conceptual live EOTS experience and the myths that surround the ‘band’ at http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/stranger-than-fiction/2009/09/24/1253385071568.html

Where all this leaves the future of Empire of the Sun, nobody knows. It would be a shame if Luke Steele didn’t continue with this magical musical adventure though.

Megan Fox Jennifer's Body Premiere Pictures

The pictures of Megan Fox at the TIFF premiere for "Jennifer's Body" in Toronto, Canada dated 10 September 2009.

Miley Cyrus 2009 VH1 Divas Show Photos

The photos of Miley Cyrus performs onstage during 2009 VH1 Divas held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City dated September 17, 2009.

Jessica Biel Lunch Beverly Hills Pics

The pics of Actress Jessica Biel having lunch with friends at The Little Next Door Cafe in Beverly Hills, CA.

Victoria Beckham London Fashion Week Photos

The photos of Victoria Beckham arrives at Le Caprice to celebrate 25 Years of London Fashion Week dated September 21, 2009.

Jessica Alba her Daughter Beverly Hills Photos

The photos of Actress Jessica Alba and her daughter Honor Warren in Beverly Hills, CA dated September 19, 2009.