Lopez Blogs

For Volume 3 - Part one click here. You know you want to...

• Dan Black ~ Gimme Into Cloudbusting: Possibly the most genius Madonna inspired cover/mash since Irish group Fifth Avenue blended a song about Infidelity over the Papa Don't Preach melody. It's a rather wonderful lo-fi reading of the song, seemingly seamlessly fused together with Kate Bush's tune alluded to in the title. It kind of just hovers at the periphery of sheer amazingness without even realising how special it is. And that is what totally makes me get into the groove about it. And all from a free mixtape! Aces!
• Blake Lewis ~ Love or Torture: Much like Jordin of the Sparks, Blake should have whizzed out three singles from his superior Heartbreak On Vinyl set at the end of last year (including the two he did, plus I Left My Baby For You). But he didn't and the title track of his album continues to win hearts through a more grass roots approach. That's ok - I still love it, but am paying more and more attention to this fiery electro-corker which sizzles from the very start. Please don't stop indeed. Blake knows how to use his 80s influences to great effect and if the world were paying attention this would be huge. True story!
• BWO ~ Rise To The Occassion (above): Ok, yes this was actually the third single from last year's Big Science, but I ignored that little fact back then and chose Love Come Crashing Down instead. I stand by that choice. This still works as a final single from an album - and one that bids farewell to BWO for a tiny while as thingy is concentrating on his new band Gravitonas. It represents all that is good about BWO - their ability to just knock out a solid pop tune that is instantly memorable and singalong, even if they aren't quite as groundbreaking as they used to be. Always enjoyable though. Hurry back.
• Agnes ~ Secret Love: Little Agnes is taking the Annie route to pop stardom - releasing a number of versions of her album all with different tracks on (apparently there is one with an Erik Hassle duet on?) Anyway, this is probably a decent type follow up to Release Me although not quite as pecs on the dancefloor tastic as that little number. It's all explosive disco beats and nowhere at all in the vicinity of being close to a Doris Day cover. She don't half wail the chorus though...
• Whitney Houston ~ Nothing But Love: Ah Whitters. Gawd bless her for continuing to try and most the time at least landing in the vicinity of the area she needed to be. This is probably a very sensible and well thought out follow up to Million Dollar Bill as it's essentially the same song with different lyrics. Now if the Freemasons do a remix it will go down proper bonza and climb from it's number 12 peak - particularly if she comes and does a bonkers performance of it on current show du jour, Dancing On Ice. Can you imagine?
• Mariah Carey ~ Up Out Of My Face: Ah Mazza. Gawd bless her for continuing to try and ... well you've heard this song before. And the Mariah one - she's not come out with her remixed Angel with anything new. At least it's familiar and inviting, if not her best work (that remains songs like Make It Happen, Always Be My Baby and All I Want For Christmas) and the video is a typical Mariah hoot. I stopped caring as intensely a long while ago yet the feelings still linger (longer than she does)...
• Miley Cyrus ~ Time of our Lives: I do have a soft spot of old Miles. I like when she sings "and the gaga song was on" in live performances of Party and does crazy cat moves. When I Look At You was a much better choice of download at Christmas than Joe's The Climb because essentially it was an updated version of her own song, but better. And with the EP that keeps giving this is a typically goofy fun tune that I can't help but have warm fuzzies for!
• Lady Antebellum ~ Need You Now: Damn you pop music notes for making me fall and fall hard for this song. It's just lovely isn't it? I have to be in the right mood for country music, but this gets me everytime. It's plainative, emotive, reckless and relatable in every note. Gorgeous melody and quite heart tugging. I can see why it's such a huge hit stateside and would be quite foolish to bet against the same thing happening here very soon...
• Amy MacDonald ~ Don't Tell Me: I have finally forgiven Amy for being very rude to a friend of mine at her concert once. Perhaps she was having an off day. LIke me today :/ Anyway, much like the tune above, this is one of those great emotive relationship songs that will probably fit in with you at some point in your life - future or past. Ergo it's instantly relatable and she does have quite a distinctive accent that makes the song memorable and lovely at the same time...
• John Barrowman ~ The Doctor And I: I can always count on John to deliver at least 2 knock out tunes on his albums. The last one had the Gary Barlow composition and of course the more than brilliant duet with gorgeous Daniel Boys on I Know Him So Well. He's back with a rewriting of the Wicked! musical song The Wizard and I. Reimagined here as almost a love song between Jack Harkness (Torchwood) and Doctor Who, it cleverly works in references from the DW universe ("do you think the doctor is dumb? Or like Oods so small minded?"). Of course the genius of the Wicked! version is that the lyrics pointed towards forthcoming events we all knew would come to pass ("I'd be so happy I could melt"/"there'll be a celebration all through Oz all because of me") that don't quite work as well here. And it gets a bit weird in the middle eight when the Doctor offers to, er, defabricate him! Oo-er. Overall though, it's quite engaging and very nearly amazing. (Ps - his duet with Jodie Prenger on the Enchanted song So Close is lovely too)...
• Robbie Williams ~ Morning Sun (below): Bit of a grower rather than a show-er; allegedly written about Michael Jackson, this third single is also the sports relief charity single (actual video here). Whatever happened to original one off songs for things like that? Anyway, it's very grand and lush and splendid, because, well, it's Robbie but really something like Starstruck or Difficult For Weirdos would have been more adventurous. Oh well. There's always single 4...

New artist special coming soon!