Lopez Blogs

Some reasons why I couldn't be bothered to blog on Monday (lundi - i'm feeling all francais this week)

1. My car had to go into "the shop". I now have a "courtesy car" which rattles like Joan Rivers walking onto the stage and doesn't even have a bluetooth connection for mp3 play let alone a cd player. It has a cassette thingy!! Lordy!
2. I still haven't beaten Spider Solitaire on all four suits despite having wasted many hours at work trying.
3. I have doubled my daily step aerobics (how effing 80s) routine and am knackered, but increasingly buff.
4. Amazon dot co dot uk pissed me off. So did dvd dot co dot uk but they were ultimately quite nice to me.

Some reasons why I can be bothered to blog today (mardi - i'm still feeling all francais).

1. I heard Will Young singing "changes" on the radio and it is very jazz laid back and lovely in the extreme.
2. *Had* i been privvy by some miraculous means of listening to a Will Young "Let It Go" album sampler, I would say that it is largely indicative of the album, though there is a "Your Game/Switch It On" waiting to break free which would be a bonza second single.
3. Popjustice have finally picked up on the brilliance of Juvelen. Read my review of the album here, and his placing in my best albums of 2008 so far here...
4. I had a lovely chat with portuguese pop sensation Ryan Ferrada yesterday. He thought Darren looked in his early 20s which made Darren's head swell and had me questioning his eyesight :P

Finally, before I launch into a live lounge extravaganza of very varying quality, does anyone know the name of the song in the youtube video from a drunken night out above? It's probably an oldie but quite catchy in the extreme...

LIVE LOUNGE BLOWOUT!

Doing a cover version of a recent pop song used to be a cool and unique way of promoting your own single (see Arctic Monkeys doing Love Machine; Girls Aloud doing Rehab, etc). Now it's as necessary and ubiquitous as going on CD:UK was for Steps at the turn of the millenium. Basically everyone and his dog are at it. Some are brilliant. Some are ok. Some are ear bleeding representations of awful. All are here for you to enjoy. Take a look at McFly doing Born To Run above - everyone looks like they are having a whale of a time rather than trying to be uber cool. And that is what it's about for me :) So in order of brilliance here we go:

MP3: McFly - Born To Run (the boys can do no wrong. Except perhaps buy pets as a gift! Beloved at the last G-A-Y on Saturday)
MP3: Ida Maria - Nothing Sweet About Me (my new scandanavian obsession. Bloody love her)
MP3: Alphabeat - Black and Gold (turn Sam Sparro's existentialist classic into a rather beguiling love song. Well done indeed)
MP3: David Jordan - Stop and Stare (the charts may have abandoned him a la The Feeling but this One Republic cover is just shy of epic)
MP3: One Reublic - Mercy (talking of which, with Ryan Tedder at their helm they have no need to cover other's songs, but this rendition of Mercy sounds nice wrapped around male tonsils)
MP3: Kate Nash - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend (much like Lily Allen, Kate does rather well when making others songs her own. Plus she says darnce.)
MP3: Ting Tings - Standing In The Way of Snap's Control (ooo the Shampoo of the new millenium mix Snap with last years critical darlings biggest and hopefully only hit)
MP3: Last Shadow Puppets - SOS (their latest b-sides are quite elegant and fine additions to the album but this is a bit of a mess to be honest.)
MP3: Dizzee Rascal - That's Not My Name (amusing for a few seconds then increasingly irritating until you want to rip your ears off to make it stop)
MP3: Kooks - Violet Hill (Didn't like the original, don't like this)
MP3: Black Kids - No Substitute Love (failing to reflect the high quality of their album, this is a bit of a disaster all round. Don't let that put you off their general aceness though).

More live lounges by clicking here...

I was inspired to write this post today when a rather "kid" like thing happened to me on the way to work. There I was jamming away to the extended version of You Win Again by the BeeGees on my mp3 player, when I arrived at the office and pulled the ear phones out of my ears. One of the bloody little rubber end pieces of the ear phone remained in my ear!! Rather than maturely assessing the situation, i totally freaked out, dancing around like I had ants in my pants until Amanda my work buddy removed it with tweezers (which despite my distress I made her run under a hot tap for a while). I just hate foreign bodies in me! I think it's remnants of having cancer all those years ago!! Anyway, with thanks to my icky experience lets do it for the kids...

I'm always a little surprised by how often i forget how much i love Barenaked Ladies (these ones, not these NSFW ones. Oh lord!) They quietly plod along with occassional mainstream success, but never failing to churn out a jangly little pop tune, witty ode or sweeping folk tune type ballad. When singing of love, they can be quite insightful and mature, but mainly they are gleefully youthful in their punny pop tunes. Which is why making an album "that children will like" was probably a very good idea indeed. It's not their first foray into the world of children's entertainment - in 2002, they had a song called La La La La Lemon on a "For The Kids" compilation cd. Now they have gone about 23 steps further and released "Snacktime" - a joyous celebration of all things kid. What the album does incredibly well is breathe life into the mundane things they sing about whether it be hungry number 7, snack food at a party, or raisins (the shrivelled grapes, not Murphy). And although it's a kid themed album, they still have kept their pop sensibilities, their sense of humour and knack for creating ridiculously catchy tunes. I just find this whole album incredibly charming and frothy, so instead of rave on about it all day here are a few of the highlights...

• On the song "Ninjas" it is learnt that 'ninjas are deadly and silent/they're also incredibly violent/they speak Japanese and do whatever they please/and sometimes they vacation in Ireland" Brilliant! Lovely harmonic tone to the chorus too...
• "Popcorn" is a sneaky little song that would probably work incredibly well in a young kids music class. It's actually a voice exercise song disguised as a lesson about onomatopoeias. Sneaky and amazing...
• "Food Party" is a talky jam (not literally) about the foods being guests at a party. Spicy is loud and obnoxious, Chocolate is smooth and lounge lizardy and the best of all is Orange Peel who is incredibly bitter. As you would be...
• "Raisins" is a lot like the rap bit in One Week- a pretty nonsensical jumbled stream of consciousness that has you trying to keep up with the lyrics after just one listen. Now if only I could summon fish to the dish, I hope you like the chalet swiss, etc...
• There is a rather ace bit in the middle of the title track where a bunch of celebrities describe their favourite snack foods (janeane garofolo, sarah mclachlan, gordon lightfoot, the bands kids) and it's very cute indeed.
• Crazy ABCs is bloody hilarious. That's all i can say without giving away the genius of it...

If you are looking for an alternative to BNL then you might do worse than to check out the mighty They Might Be Giants kids album Here Come The 123s. No "7 ate 9" jokes here, but an incredibly canny marketing move that retains their aging fan base as well as winning over a new generation (and all those people who saw their song on Pushing Daisies!!). They not only teach the kids the essential things like numbers, but they do it in a variety of quirky pop styles all of which are quite lovely. Check out High Five, which sees the giants go a little bit disco and a little bit B52s. One Everything is slightly weird but the more you listen to it, the more it makes sense. And that's the thing here - if you are looking for the slightly off kilter sound TMBG are well known for, you'll find it here, but you'll also find the precise meaning of zero and what exactly infinity is. Overall, i give the edge to BNL but i may very well be biased because I do love those crazy canucks so...

Related kids stuff:

• Moxy Fruvous actually created the best kid song ever back in the 90s called The Kids Song. Download it legally for free here
• Download Barenaked Ladies "789" legally for free here

Related barenaked ladies stuff:

• Is it me or does The Ting Tings current UK number one "That's Not My Name" sound eerily familiar to parts of BNL tune "Grade 9"???

that is all.

Sigh. The weekend is nearly over. I am officially old(er than I was this time last year). DazPecs complimented my ace new birthday outfit by saying "oh at least that makes you look slimmer". It's back to work tomorrow. I have mastered the "walking on the checkout conveyer" dance from 4 Minutes. I was forced to go to a car boot sale and actually enjoyed it. My new book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" is hilariously heartbreaking. I think my party went well, though there was too much chocolate cake trodden into our hall carpet. Vanish powerfoam works wonders. So it's swings and roundabouts as to how aces life can be at time. However, all 7 of these songs below remind me of my infatuation with guitar jangling brit pop that powered thezapping when it first launched. Remember The Upper Room? Mohair? Captain? Well at least one of them has survived...



Captain ~ Keep An Open Mind:
Hurrah, Captain - yes them of the ungoogleworthy name - have returned. I fell in love with the prefab-esque ways back in July 06 (and had discussions with XO over the validity of that comparison!) but they didn't quite capture the charts hearts in the way I thought they might. This comeback single is no Glorious, but is a decent progression for the band. This perky little track recalls the best of Hazelville mixed with the guilty pleasure sequinned sound of The Feeling. It may not be their most innovative track yet, but ultimately it makes me smile and that's all that i'm looking for right now...



Jack McManus ~ Bang On The Piano:
Despite having the same perm and dress sense as Bruno Martelli from The Kids From Fame, Jack McManus is rather marvelous in the extreme. Not least for the fact that he has possibly released the catchiest piano bashing tune of 2008 so far. Drawing on the very catchiest elements of keyboard lovers like Elton John and Billy Joel, Mr Mac brings in hooks at every point possible to burst forth a joyous refrain that lingers in the air like the scent of daffodils on a summers day. Yes it really is that bloody brilliant.
LEGAL DOWNLOAD: Jack McManus ~ Not The Hardest Part



The Script ~ We Cry:
Bless The Script. I wrote about them and their unofficial first single back in January and finally this week, their aces new song We Cry leaps into the top fifteen. It's a fine tune that has mixes rock giant goodness with hip bass and beats to create a sound that is reminiscent of Maroon 5, yet with a charm all of it's own. Yes the lyrics are more socially conscious than a dissertation by a do gooding social work student, yet the fact that they still manage to be listenable and endearing is a sign of this upcoming acts significant appeal. cut…

Ting Tings ~ That's Not My Name:
Rising from the ashes of other failed music projects, the Ting Tings were one of those acts who in January were all over the press for being one of the next big things for 2008. Which, frankly put me off a bit, but I liked Duffy well enough so I thought I would give them a bash. While indie hipsters love them, they are about as pop as pop can be. In fact, it's quite deliciously fizzypop - like a sparkling glass of Sprite on a hot summers day, with no ice to water it down. It's practically Hey Mickey and the fact that the girl was in an act that supported Steps makes this better than bubblegum pop. It's chewing gum pop - very wriggly :)

3 OTHER BRIT TRACKS OF NOTE:

• The Feeling ~ Without You (Acoustic studio version): Shows how much of a travesty it was that this song wasn't the group's fifth top ten hit...
• Delays ~ Hooray: XO and Alien Hits fave, this really needs to be a massive hit if only because the Kooks are doing rather well and it's a slap in the face that they have taken the best of the Delays sound and watered it right down...
• Duels ~ Regeneration: Something very special about this comeback from one of 2006's most elegant new bands. I'm saving up all the good words for an album review later this week!

LINKS:

• XO does his britpop thang
• Yuri's 7 songs
• Dan starts it all off