Lopez Blogs

As Boney M so succinctly put it, hooray hooray, it's a holi-holiday. Or at least it will be in 18 hours when I'm up at 3.30am driving up to Manchowder airport for our ridiculously early flight to Gran Canaria (Starbucks better be open, that's all I'm sayin!) I'm all packed, chosen my books for some lazy afternoon reading (mornings are always strenuous hikes through the slutty sand dunes), popped some tv shows to catch up on for the archos (better not break this time :/ ) and selected a ridiculous amount of music to listen to (including, bizarrely, the rare demo album of Prisoner: Cell Block H the musical. Amazing)... So I'm all ready to immerse myself in energetic mornings, lazy afternoons, creative early evenings (progress on the novels are woefully slow :/ ) and boozy nights. I'm leaving the blackberry at home, so no twitter, blogger or gmail. It's back to basics and I can't wait :) See you back here next Friday!

TWEET THE WEEK:

Blimey! Their popping them out like puppies in a litter! Yes the lovely people called Industry are back! Their third single (when's the album coming out?!) is entitled In Your Arms (and was previewed by D'luv way back in April) and is their most stripped back organic sounding track to date. It goes without saying that they all look quite ridiculously stunning in the video (above) and while Lee's pop-rocker vocals dominate track, if you concentrate you can hear some lovely layered harmonies in the background. Rumour has it that the debut UK single will be a balls to the wall (not literally obviously) party banger. *Whips off top and swirls round head*!! Oh and Donal's excellent Good Mood Food cookbook is on the shelves now! Great Christmas gift...

Does the world need another female singer songwriter? They do if it's the exquisite Elsa Chapman. She has put together a bunch of songs ahead of her debut album in 2010 that evoke the musical sensibilities of the girl groups of the sixties (harmonic adlibs, melodic choruses, true storytelling in the lyrics and strong powerful vocal delivery) yet that sounds timeless and relevant in today's crowded musical market. Cry Baby is a gorgeous singalong number with a hand clap beat while Breakup has a bouncey feel to it that contrasts with the genuinely sad lyrics and Suffocate is a brilliant piano driven lightly dusted funk fest with girl power (actually anyone power who has been in that situation!) sassing through it's veins. Think early Mariah mixed with Alicia and throw in some lovely lyrical traits and it's definitely a pop package that is charming me completely. Lovely.

The latest act to (deservedly) garner some blogger buzz is the spunky indie-pop group Flamboyant Bella. Their new single Get A Reaction is a pulsating mix of energy, enthusiasm and rowdiness that completely grabs you by the synapses and refuses to let go until a breathless 3+ minutes later. It's effortlessly easy to like - whether it be the breakneck speed addictive chorus, singer Flo Citron's likeable vocals, infectious dancing, pearl necklace and handclapping in the video, or the spazz out moves of the (quite attractive) bass player Mitch. It's positively don't care, fun music that just exudes cheerfulness each time I listen to it. Amazing song (and you can download a legal free remix of it here) - and frankly a group that has a track called Absolutely Wankered has my vote for "next big thing" (and they are not even twenty yet!)...

Turns out Simon Curtis has been tweeting a lot recently (who hasn't?!) and it's all super good news - he's back in the studio recording some tracks with Jadion (who he worked with on one of my fave albums of all time, the tragically unreleased Alter Boy), utilising a sample in a song that he is very excited about and even come up with a name for the new album. It's been a long time coming but i'm still extremely positive that success is just around the corner for the guy who's been my fave new singer since 2006!

WEEKLY GLEE: Oh once again it was all sorts of marvelous this week pitting Sue and the Schue against each other in all sorts of dastardly ways. As always some brilliant laugh out loud moments and excellent musical choices. Of course the highlight was the brilliant use of Avril Lavigne's Holding On for the closing number - yes, even beating No Air. Love the guys in white as well :) That's how Sue c-s it!

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Mini Viva, I Left My Heart in Tokyo
20 ~ Mika, We Are Golden
19 ~ Madonna, Celebration
18 ~ Shakira, She-Wolf
17 ~ BWO, Love Comes Crashing Down
16 ~ Mariah Carey, I Want To Know What Love Is
15 ~ Whitney Houston, Million Dollar Bill
14 ~ The Dolly Rockers, Boys Will Be Boys
13 ~ Madonna, Revolver
12 ~ Mika, Blame It On The Girls
11 ~ Alexandra Burke, Bad Boys
10 ~ Leona Lewis, Happy
09 ~ Alphabeat, The Spell
08 ~ Little Boots, Earthquake
07 ~ JLS, Everybody In Love (VID ABOVE - Amazing Cahill remix version)
06 ~ Robbie Williams, Bodies
05 ~ The Killers, White Demon Love Song (NE)
04 ~ Nerina Pallot, Real Late Starter
03 ~ Blake Lewis, Heartbreak On Vinyl
02 ~ William Young, Hopes and Fears (NE)
01 ~ Darin, Viva La Vida (NE/1 Week)

Back next Friday. Don't miss me too much during this week's X Factor!!