Lopez Blogs

I was more than a little mortified recently to read an article about Lady Gaga in Attitude magazine where an 18 year old reader claimed that Lady G was really active in promoting equality whereas singers like Kylie don't really seem to have a message. WHAAAAA? Someone give this kid a history lesson! Kylie is implicitly aware of her audience and has a mutually affectionate relationship with them. She acknowledges them with a playful knowingness, while (for example) speaking out in favour of gay marriage and visually representing this in her exquisite All The Lovers video. Kylie supports her gay fanbase with class and dignity, knowing that they adore her and reciprocating this adoration by surrounding herself with likeminded people whose gay pride shines through in all her works. While the aforementioned All The Lovers is a delightful recent example of this, the Pete Hammond remix of her brillo album track Put Your Hands Up delivers one of the most gratifying nods to the past of recent times...

IF YOU LIKE THIS: I've been more than satisfied, if I'm honest, with the singles choices from Kylie's supremely amazing Aphrodite album. All The Lovers was a slice of summer magic. Get Outta My Way was essential dancefloor giddiness. Better Than Today was lovely end of year optimism, with a theme that linked perfectly with the It Gets Better campaign. So I was sad that there will (allegedly?) be no more singles from this opus. However and hurrah - Pete Hammond of PWL/SAW fame has only gone and reswizzled the already extremely pleasing Put Your Hands Up and created a bit of a "pop will eat itself" moment with the heady results! In the same way that Lady Gaga visited 1989 Madonna's Express Yourself with Born This Way, Pete Hammond has been utterly respectful of Kylie's past by creating a sound that is somewhere in between her own Better The Devil You Know-Shocked era, while keeping it totally relevant, fun and dancefloor ready. It's one of those remixes that completely reinvents an album track, much in the same way that the single mix of What Do I Have To Do did back in 1991. It all adds up as a deliciously edible morsel of pop that teases and tantalises the current world tour. I'm so so ready to get my splashzone on next weekend (on April 2nd), feeling fierce & mighty, and witness how the incomprable Steve Anderson has prepared Aphrodite for the stage. Squeal!!


THEN TRY THIS: If the early 90s pop majesty of the above track has got you in a spin, you could do far worse than track down RuPaul's The Main Event (Matt's 80s Pop Mix) which soundtracks the end of each Drag Race episode this year (is it me or is season 3 more scintillating than ever? Ooo girl, you got she-mail!!). While deftly recreating the Stock Aitken Waterman sound of the 80s, this devillishly delivered swirling pop-dance gem gives you a good idea of what Jason Donovan might sound like if Pete Hammond remixed an up to date pop track of his. It absolutely sparkles from start to finish and if upcoming album "Glamazon" is anywhere near as enticing as this, i'm going to be gagging on it's eleganza!! If you can't love this tune, how in the hell you gonna love anyone else?! (Can I get an amen??)