Lopez Blogs

Oh my days and a half! It is actually only five days til Christmas! And I am in full festive spirit. The weather outside is genuinely frightful (snow snow and more snow), i've decked my halls, i've hung my stockings with care, etc. I've trudged into work through the (centi)metres of snow and ignored all around me while singing festive faves at the top of my voice, regardless of who else was around (my walk is usually quite deserted)... I've played a fair few of them on Larry Flick's Morning Jolt t'other day, but this weekend decided that there had been such a delightful plethora of brand new Christmas recordings this year, I would kick off my Best Of lists (singles coming Dec 27th, then lists all that live long week) with the best new songs of Christmas 2010. Magnifico!

20= ~ Big Time Rush, Beautiful Christmas: Hurrah! Boy band mania rules. Not content with covering Mariah's All I Want For Christmas as part of their festive episode, the foursome managed to whip out an original tune full of perky rock-pop jolliness and good times.
20= ~ St Etienne, Come On Christmas: Frankly this would probably be much higher up the list if my postman (sort of hot, so forgiveable) hadn't taken two weeks to deliver the Christmas album it features on. Still, it arrived today so I have a full week of playing it non-stop until next year. This track is vair good and DanP76 approved...
19 ~ Todd Alsup, This Christmas (above): Todd is all sorts of quite lovely as it happens. His music has serenaded me all throughout 2010 and then to top that off, he records a cover of the 1970 Donny Hathaway classic This Christmas. With backing singers. And a video. And looking like he's having a rollicking good time around the piano doing it. In amazing glasses. Watch it. Love it. Worship the ground he walks on.
18 ~ Gavin Mikhail, Evergreen: Gavin is frankly one of the most underrated singer songwriters out there, and I've been a fan of his since I heard Brave in 2006. He has released a Christmas EP this week with some covers on, some instrumentals and this soaring piano-vocal only track that he penned himself. Gorgeous piano work, lovely to listen to over and over again. And interestingly, sounding as classic as any of the other tunes on the EP...
17 ~ Wilson Phillips, Warm Lovin' Christmastime: Oh glorious. Wilson Phillips get back together with Glen Ballard (of their debut album fame) and produce a festive album of material that is like a lovely steaming cup of hot cocoa. With marshmallows. Their harmonies are still exquisite and produces an aural alchemy that just keeps on giving...
16 ~ Glee Cast, Baby It's Cold Outside: I wasn't hugely taken with this at first but having actually seen the Christmas episode and my continuing (and growing) obsession with lovely Darren Criss has put the tune in a whole new light. Expect to find my Darren (non-Criss but obviously equally as lovely) and me miming to it at any given point over the next week...


15 ~ Puppini Sisters, All I Want For Christmas Is You: You may think there are more than enough Mariah cover versions out in the Christmas marketplace as it is and you are probably correct in that assumption. However, when a unique take on this perennial fave emerges it's a joy to behold. It's a jazzy-tinged, Andrews Sisters-esque marvel that holds up to many repeated gleeful listens :)
14 ~ Hurts, All I Want For Christmas Is New Years Day: Hurts have had quite a good year haven't they? Duetted with Kylie, covered by Kylie and produced a sombre but elegant seasonal tale which they have generously given away for zero pennies. And it mentions New Years Day which so many people (other than Abba and Sugababes) forget about. Plus they look proper good in suits. (PS embedding disabled by request? Bah humbugs!)
13 ~ Coldplay, Christmas Lights (above): I felt that Viva La Vida was quite festive sounding anyway, so an actual proper bonafide Christmas tune from Chris and the guys has proved to be incredibly welcome. It sounds immense, gets better with every listen and has lovely festive themes such as sadness, sorrow, hope and redemption. Plus an amazing to the power of balls video (as evidenced above). Tremend.
12 ~ The Killers, Boots: And for the fifth year in a row, the lovely Killers manage to whip out an altogether amazing Christmas single to raise money and awareness for HIV charities. And this is their second best of all their efforts to date (Don't Shoot Me Santa Claus still remains their finest festive moment). And the video has an entirely lovely story to go along with it. Absolutely delightful and as charming as anything on Brandon's still quite good solo album...
11 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, December: Mans does big band at Christmas and the results are both surprising and delicious. Mans remains as genetically perfect as you can get and this swinging little tune does nothing to dampen my need to smooch him ferociously underneath the mistletoe. Here's to more Mans in 2011...


10 ~ The Pipettes, Santa's On His Way: I'm still vaguely amused at the text that alerted me to this song "'av you heard that new Pipettes song Satan's On his Way?" marvelous. perhaps they can consider a bit of a downbeat dub remix of the tune to give away next hallowe'en?! This is as perky and bouncy as a ride on Rudolph's back and will no doubt be as essential at Christmasses to come as mince pie and milk left by the fireplace for old Saint Nick...
09 ~ DeeDee, Winter Wonderland: I wrote about this just a few days ago, so I'm not going to go on about it too much. It's brilliant. As is DeeDee. As is the video. It shows that people with swagger can do sweet just as brilliantly as they tackle pop-venom and errant lover bashing. Check out her interview on lovely Dontstopthepop...
08 ~ Mariah Carey, Oh Santa!: Oh it was never going to reach the levels of amazosity that All I Want For Christmas has attained but actually what transpired was a totally fun, quirky little ditty that got better upon each listen, got people hand clapping away (essential for those cold winter mornings) and made me feel like I could go outside and do some skipping rope contests to the tune along with the best of them :)
07 ~ Kylie, Let It Snow: A new version of Santa Baby and a feather coat filled appearance at Rockafella Centre in NYC performing this tune? Could Kylie give her fans a better Christmas present?! The answer to that question is no she could not, though the news that Steve Anderson is working on new Aphrodite tour arrangements is the bow on the present, the icing on the christmas cake if you will :)
06 ~ Indigo Girls, Feel The Christmas Spirit: Perhaps the most surprising Christmas album of the year came from one of my long time faves. Their bluegrass take on Christmas was often fun, often poignant but always excellent and this exuberant tune was a sheer joy from start to finish. Much like the Wilson Phillips song earlier in the list, it's a song that embodies the ethos of the title from first note...


05 ~ Luke Leighfield, So Confused By Christmas: Ok, I'm cheating. it's actually a song from 2006, but it's new to me and it's my blog so nuh! A vividly clever look at the self imposed rules of enjoying Christmas that hit home a little too hard at times (I'm sure I had a strop as a child over the colour of my hat from the cracker) and makes you want to concentrate on actually just being a better person. This song has actually made me do nice things for people so hopefully Luke's sense of hope isn't kicked too much. Do check out Luke's Christmas tour blog. It's rather brilliant...
04 ~ Pink Martini, Snowglobe Christmas (above): Thank you Starbucks for having this album by your delicious polar bear cookies while I was in Florida. This track in particular made me absolutely swoon over it's lovely islands lilting tune, it's dreamy Doris Day-esque vocals and the timeless beauty of it all that will be forever encapsulated in my heart, just like the flakes of snow in the globe they sing about. divine.
03 ~ Owl City, Peppermint Winter: This song basically lists everything that I love about Christmas in a musical wrapping that is so twee and glorious that it makes the already brimming with goodness festive season seem even better. It's just so so me. E.G. "I twirl down the driveway with angelic grace/til i slip on the sidewalk and fall on my face". Happened to me this morning and still i felt no need to complain. If you feel down this season, just listen to this. It's as good a tonic as Love, Actually. Yes, it's that good!
02 ~ Glee cast, We Need A Little Christmas: I initially was quite loyal to the lovely Kimberley Locke's version of this tune, but Glee have worn me down and won me over. There is something so wonderfully happy and innocent about the tune that is utterly in line with the theatrically needed to perform it. What I love about the version is that the backing vocals are as important in the mix of the track as the main vocal, there is actual delight in the voices of the singers (there is no way they were frowning when they were recording this) and some truly edifying instrumentals - particularly that instrumental breakdown before the end that makes you want to leap for joy. Is played every morning on my walk to work and never feels to imbue me with some Christmas magic :)


01 ~ Bananarama, Baby It's Christmas: Sigh. It's just so utterly glorious. Not only have Britain's still premiere girl group managed to whip out an absolutely edible teardrops on the disco floor christmas boogie on down number, but it's also one of the more amazing pop treats of the entire year. Entirely in line with their Viva sound, yet moving towards a new era of dancefloor dominance that absolutely must continue in 2011. Love the juxtaposition of the sad lyrics against a joyous grab the one you love and shimmy soundtrack. A deserved and brilliant number one :)

Back on Wednesday with the 5th annual Myfizzypop Online Christmas Card. It's going to be amazes!

Hurrah! It is only 35 days until Christmas and therefore I feel totally legitimised to undertake some Christmas magic and start doing a whole host of Christmas lists to take us up until the big day! I know you are just as excited about this as I am and cannot wait to join in the festive spirit! Deck your halls! Roast your chestnuts! Get those lips puckered for the mistletoe!! I always like something as brilliantly deliriously amazing as Mean Girls doing Jingle Bell Rock (above) to kick off my Christmas Crazy so you all enjoy that while I compose my first list of essential festive feel gooders to persuade you over to my way of thinking! Oh! And read the comments for how to contribute to the online Christmas Card this year. It's going to be a doozy!

CHRISTMAS GOES POP, VOLUME ONE:

• Glee ~ Deck The Rooftop: One of the two saving graces on the Glee christmas album (the other makes a different list)is this medley of Deck The Halls and Up On The Rooftop - all set to a backing track that owes quite a lot to Beyonce's Single Ladies! It's perky, it's joyous, it's fun, it's catchy, it's like a sumptuously filled marks and spencers mince pie (not one of the cheap ones from Asda). Absolutely essential...Sue The Grinch airs when I'm in Florida too (Dec 7th). Amazes.
• Bananarama ~ Baby It's Christmas (above): I was lucky enough to give you a preview of what this sounds like a little while back and played it on Larry Flick's Morning Jolt yesterday. It's a hi-NRG, big beat, solid dance floor filler that is equal part tears on the dancefloor as it is hopeless optimism. A chorus that is more giving than Santa's sack, it beautifully complements the Viva era Bananarama and proves that they still have a knack of churning out absolutely brilliant tunes. So baby, just stop stop pulling my heartstrings...
• A*Teens ~ I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday: The turn of the new millenium saw a whole host of poptastic acts like A*Teens taking on festive faves with a whole new disco spin to them. The Swedish four piece give this Wizzard classic a dancefloor dressing down that will keep your candy canes spinning until new years... PS Christ on a trampoline, have you seen Dhani lately (scroll down! Thanks Scandipop!)
• Fast Food Rockers ~ I Love Christmas: It's all sorts of a travesty that the FFR didn't somehow manage to break out of their food themed debut. There is something deliciously melted cheesy about this song with it's snowy video and warming message. It should absolutely be my anthem.
• Girls Aloud ~ I Wanna Kiss You So: Bish bash bosh, whooo! You give me something that i never get from santa claus!! What else is there to say?! I always use this song to seduce Darren :)
• Kimberley Locke ~ We Need A Little Christmas: Mame the film is grossly underrated. This song from Mame is criminally overlooked. And Kimberley's definitive version of it from her entirely delightful Christmas album should be played loud and proud as you start to welcome those festive revellers who have come around to help you pop up your eco-sustainable Christmas tree. So good I can never listen once.
• Kylie ~ Santa Baby: There are many naughty, saucy, slutty and downright disgraceful versions of this track. Kylie manages to of course ooze the right amount of sex appeal while balancing it with a charmingly innocent and naive sounding vocal - almost like she doesn't know how foxy she is being. And seeing as this is circa the gold hot pants era, that's quite the achievement. Brava diva kylie, brava.
• Play ~ As Long As There's Christmas: Take the song from one of fave Disney spin offs ever (Beauty and the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas), give it a shuffling disco-swe-pop beat and I'm in jingle bell heaven. It's one of those ridiculously optimistic christmas singles that just makes you feel a little bit better knowing it exists. Or is that just me?
• Steps ~ Merry Christmas Everyone: Hurrah! Steps do Christmas! Well they did about 8 years ago, but it's still a giddy little treat. Essentially exactly the same as A*Teens did with I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday but with the Slade classic. The middle 8 manages to sound positively filthy somehow. What on earth were people getting upto under the mistletoe?!
• S Club Juniors ~ Sleigh Ride: I love Sleigh Ride and you can't really top the Debbie Gibson version from the early 90s, but this is just so enthusiastic and jolly that it makes want you to pop on bobble hat, scarf and those mittens that have the string that goes down your coat sleeves so you don't lose them! Roast those chestnuts!!
• S Club ~ Perfect Christmas: And finish off with one of the most beautiful yearning ballads that those slightly more mature S Clubbers did. Wasted as a b-side but I somehow manage to use the lyrics in Darren's Christmas card every single bloody year. He must be sick of it by now but the tradition will continue this year... Poor lad :P

Many more Christmas lists coming soon! And here's this week's festive top ten NEW Christmas songs... 10) Annie Lennox, Universal Child 09) Indigo Girls, I Feel The Christmas Spirit 08) Lady Antebellum, All I Want For Christmas Is You 07) Pink Martini, A Snowglobe Christmas 06) Wilson Phillips, Warm Loving Christmastime 05) The Puppini Sisters, Step Into Christmas 04) Sarah Dawn Finer, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 03) Mans Zelmerlow, December 02) Mariah Carey, Oh Santa 01) Bananarama, Baby It's Christmas (2 weeks)

Top 21 songs of the week:

21 ~ Robbie Williams, Heart & I
20 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag
19 ~ Joe McElderry, Wake Me Up
18 ~ Darin, Drowning
17 ~ Eric Saade, Break of Dawn
16 ~ Kylie, Better Than Today
15 ~ Ola, Riot
14 ~ A1, In Love & I Hate It
13 ~ McFly, Shine A Light
12 ~ Shayne Ward, Gotta Be Somebody
11 ~ Daniel Boys, To Make You Feel My Love (NE)
10 ~ Le Kid, We Should Go Home Together (VID)
09 ~ Westlife, Safe
08 ~ EMD, What Is Love
07 ~ JLS, Love You More
06 ~ P!nk, Raise Your Glass
05 ~ Deborah Gibson, I Love You
04 ~ Andrea Lewis & Simon Curtis, Talk To Me
03 ~ Elouise, You'll Never Walk Alone (NE)
02 ~ Take That, The Flood
01 ~ Gravitonas, You Break Me Up (3 weeks)

I've had such a busy week that i'm not sure i'm caught up on everything enough to do a decent blog today! So I had a quick butchers at last years blogs to see what I was getting up to while I impatiently waited until it was feasible enough to start doing all the new Christmas music reviews (I'm giving at least one more week). And keeping with, but not quite, the festive spirit I was having a gander at what songs should be Christmas singles for todays popstars (none of them were. Bah. No one ever listens to me. So I present some songs that absolutely should be the big Christmas single promotional push for artists. But won't be...

THE CHRISTMAS CHART THAT WON'T BE...

• Jason Donovan ~ When You Come Back To Me (Yuletide Sleigh Mix): Should absolutely be rereleased to not only celebrate his new covers album I Love The 80s but also his brillo double cd rerelease of Between The Lines. It's as festive and jolly as you remember, but this lesser heard version has a entirely seasonal talky bit at the beginning which is as cheesy but delicious as some festive stilton. ESSENTIAL!
• Joe McElderry ~ Someone Wake Me Up/There's A Place For Us : Mercifully, this is the second single from Joe's album and is released the week before whatever cover version Simon foists upon this year's X Factor winner. It's the perfect chirpy follow up to Ambitions, but to give it some extra welly, it totally needs to be a double A side with the rather lovely traditional ballad from the new Narnia film (performed by EMD here).
• Bjorn Johan Muri ft Kelly Mueller ~ Nobody Knows: In a perfect world, Bjorn would have had some sizeable hits in the UK now with Yes Man and Once Upon A Time. But whoever said this world was perfect? This sparse, electro-tinged and slightly haunting but very pretty and melodic ballad duet would light up the ending of any Christmas party while drunken, ill-matched couples smooch away in their corner and cop a good feel. Lovely.
• Maroon 5 ~ Never Gonna Leave This Bed: What has gone wrong with the Hands All Over campaign? It's sort of fizzled out in the UK and the lovely Adam and his gang need something that's a bit familiar, a bit warm and a bit catchy to get it back on track. This radio friendly, singalong track would be perfect. How about some cozy hotel room ski lodge style video with a nice roaring fire to make it a bit more "tis the season"...Ta.
• Scissor Sisters ~ Sex and Violence: See above about latest Maroon 5 album campaign? Ditto the Scissters. Bah humbug I say, bah humbugger. Every Christmas needs a song that is so wonderfully not festive and such an antithesis to all the sleighbells and good tidings - this dark, disco tinged creation is just that and so exquisitely dangerous. Play loud.
• Le Kid ~ We Should Go Home Together: It's perhaps the perkiest pop song you've heard in the longest time - sort of a mix between Alphabeat's 10,000 Nights of Thunder and Britannia High's perennially amazing Start of Something (exuberant live version of course). Just the sort of skip along with happiness that you need when you've been splashed from head to toe by a bus driving through a slushy puddle. and need cheering up (yes this was my walk home from work)...
• Elouise ~ Massive Christmas song: That's not the title of the song of course but I need a nice festive single and while Bananarama and Mariah are doing that quite wonderfully (see chart below), I think Elouise could clean up with a rather heavenly Christmas album - all class and none of that shouty wailing that Mercedes is doing all over the Glee Christmas album. Give her an elegant version of As Long As There's Christmas and pair it with a heartbreaking ballad such as Deborah Gibson's Christmas Without You. There won't be a dry eye in the house...
• X Factor Finalists ~ All I Need Is You: Tragically this will never happen. Britain gets a dodgy cover of David Bowie's Heroes. I still maintain that Hotel Rival's Second Best To None should be the perfect X Factor finalists single that would linger in the charts for weeks. Swedish Idol has done the next best thing by putting out this gorgeously optimistic and uplifting tune. Just imagine how brillo this would be with Wagner doing a line, Nicolo Ford Fiesta being all bitter and Cher(yl)Clone being all rap-esque like Lady Sovereign in the middle somehow. It would be top ten for weeks.
• X Factor Winner ~ My Heart Is Yours/Story Of A Heart: How about being a bit daring and having a great double A side winners single like the glory (hole) days of William of Young?! One side could be the eurovision entry for Norway this year originally sung by the devillishly goodlooking Didrik Solli-Tang and the other side could be the yearning beauty of Benny Andersson Band's Story Of A Heart. Both epic. Both not v well known in the UK. And if they are too sweeping, the winner (aka Matt) can always do an acoustic version with some nice soprano here and there...

Top 21 Singles of The Week:

21 ~ Joe McElderry, Someone Wake Me Up (NE)
20 ~ Joe McElderry, Ambitions
19 ~ Grobbie, Shame
18 ~ Darin, Drowning
17 ~ Eric Saade, Break of Dawn
16 ~ Kylie, Better Than Today (NE)
15 ~ Ola, Riot
14 ~ A1, In Love & I Hate It
13 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag (VID)
12 ~ Robbie Williams, Heart & I
11 ~ Le Kid, We Should Go Home Together
10 ~ JLS, Love You More
09 ~ Westlife, Safe
08 ~ McFly, Shine A Light
07 ~ EMD, What Is Love?
06 ~ P!nk, Raise Your Glass
05 ~ Deborah Gibson, I Love You
04 ~ Andrea Lewis ft Simon Curtis, Talk To Me
03 ~ Shayne Ward, Gotta Be Somebody
02 ~ Take That, The Flood
01 ~ Gravitonas, You Break Me Up (2 weeks)

Christmas singles chart (full version coming next week) ~ 3 - Annie Lennox, Universal Child; 2 - Mariah Carey, Oh Santa; 1 - Bananarama, Baby It's Christmas (1 week)

I'm not normally a massive fan of Hallowe'en - especially after my mom calls to say I am just like "that Sue Heck from the tv programme The Middle" WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?! Charmant. However, Hallowe'en is the final gasp of life for the cork that plugs my obsession with Christmas. November 1st is always a good barometer of when I can start being festive far too early. Still, I'm having an ace gang spooky weekend - Scared Shrekless, some Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors, Saw 3D and of course The X-Factor Hallowe'en theme week (despite my absolute and irrational rage about some of the song choices! Relight My Fire?! OH COME ON!) Then, unbeknownst to them (until they read this, evil cackle), I shall foist my annual viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas upon them. Mwah haha ha ha! It is bloody good though isn't it? And to get you in the festive mood, here are some more Christmas previews after a flash of This Is Hallowe'en...

• Bananarama ~ Baby It's Christmas: I don't normally like writing about songs that you can't generally hear yet. It makes me feel snobby and elitish - which is exactly how Hugh Grant felt about being serviced by Martine "where the fuck is my fucking coat" McCutcheon in the greatest Christmas film of all time - Love, Actually. But this track is so good that I must sing it from the rooftops. Or at least give you a little preview of what it is like. 1) It fits very well with the Viva Bananarama sound but also wouldn't sound out of place on Girls Aloud Christmastry... 2) It's very synth driven with a pulsing disco beat, ooos-ahhs, and sleigh bells 3) The vocals are very wistful with a hint of melancholy... 4) The lyrics are equally heartbreaking - sample "Remember how we kissed that time/the mistletoe and too much wine/At Christmas time - baby it's Christmas". Sniffle... As soon as this is widely available to listen to, I'll direct you! OH! And there is an extended mix. Teardrops on the disco floor festive fantastic!
• A Very Glee Christmas: The Rocky Horror Glee special was actually quite decent. Mostly. It has got me singing Touch A Touch A Touch Me all the live long week. Now Glee is set to challenge Ally McBeal as the purveyor of greatest Christmas episodes ever by having it's own Christmas special. With accompanying album! Imagine! The marketing possibilities! The sales! Now, that's the true meaning of Christmas :)
• St Etienne ~ A Glimpse of Stocking: Now here's some Christmas news that has had me bashing out I Was Born On Christmas Day all week, much to everyone's annoyance. The mighty and hallowed St Etienne are doing a festive album. Of all new songs (ie written by them). It's going to be glorious. All the details are here, and if anyone wants to buy me the personalised version please feel free to do so because I'm broke from Kylie & Take That tickets/Robbie merchandise...
• (For previous Christmas previews see here and here)

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Eric Saade, It's Gonna Rain (RE/Vid)
20 ~ Ola, Riot (NE)
19 ~ Darin, Microphone (NE)
18 ~ Charlotte Church, Back To Scratch
17 ~ James Blunt, Stay The Night
16 ~ Gravitonas, Religious
15 ~ Le Kid, We Should Go Home Together
14 ~ A1, In Love & I Hate It
13 ~ Joe McElderry, Ambitions
12 ~ McFluz, Shine A Light
11 ~ Grobbie, Shame
10 ~ Westlife, Safe
09 ~ JLS, Love You More
08 ~ Brandon Flowers, Only The Young
07 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag
06 ~ P!nk, Raise Your Glass
05 ~ Deborah Gibson, I Love You
04 ~ Robbie Williams, Heart & I
03 ~ Shayne Ward, Gotta Be Somebody
02 ~ Take That, The Flood
01 ~ Andrea Lewis ft Simon Curtis, Talk To Me (3 weeks)

It's been quite a lovely week away in the tranquil remote rural prettiness of (uh) Uckfield. Sure, the internet connection has been quite ghastly so I haven't quite managed to do some of the almost pre-prepared blogs I had planned on (Gravitonas and Darin, your time is coming!). And sure, the tranquil calm of a Pimms & lemonade on the verandah overlooking a gorgeous woodland meadow has been interrupted by a fox pouncing on the pheasants (not cocks as I erroneously identified the pretty little flockers on twitter) and creating hideous carnage. And yeah, watching The Blair Witch Project literally in the middle of nowhere with the trees outside creating weird shadows inside probably wasn't the greatest idea in the world. But all in all, it's been quite a heavenly week. My mind often goes to weird places when I'm in the wilderness and I sort of decided that a brilliant Comic Relief single for 2011 would be the reformation of Bananarama with Lanananeenanoonoo on the song embedded above. How festive and fabulous would that be? Can someone please PLEASE make this happen?! For now though, because I am totally out of the pop music loop, why not check out my fave songs of the week (yes, I'm devastated at the rumours that a #2 smash on my chart for Same Difference isn't parlaying into the same success in the top 40 UK charts :/ Though yay for the news at Scandipop) and you can tell me what i've missed (or just read this post at PosterGirl)....



Top 21 Songs of the week

21 ~ Brandon Flowers, Crossfire
20 ~ Kylie, All The Lovers
19 ~ Same Difference, Shine On Forever
18 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, Love Me Cos You Want To
17 ~ Bright Light x2, Love Part II
16 ~ Alesha Dixon, Drummer Boy
15 ~ Maroon 5, Misery
14 ~ Mcfly, Party Girl
13 ~ Amy Meredith, Lying
12 ~ Ace of Base, All For You
11 ~ Elouise, Winner Takes It All (NE)
10 ~ Kelly Rowland, Shake Them Haters Off
09 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Not Giving Up On Love
08 ~ Eric Saade, Masquerade
07 ~ Scissor Sisters, Any Which Way
06 ~ Maroon 5, Give A Little More
05 ~ Kylie, Get Outta My Way (VID ABOVE)
04 ~ DeeDee, Balls
03 ~ Darin, Lovekiller
02 ~ Robbie Williams, Shame
01 ~ Gravitonas, Religious (2 weeks)

It turns out that Volume Six of le chronicles de pop au fizzay could actually be one of the most amazing in a while. I mean they are all quite amazing to be modestly frank with you, but next month's could be spectacular. Rumours that Kylie will be back in June, coupled with Maroon 5 being closer and closer to release make me very excited indeed. However, today I was all nippleated at the news of the Scissor Sisters return also in June. You can check out the news of this on almost any blog (though Chartrigger is always a good bet!) and listen to a new track "Invisible Light" on their website. It's a very bonza indeed track and somewhat reminiscent of a Frankie Goes To Hollywood track - a view the very wise Vinny Vero shares... Expect mucho coverage of this album when it gets released because I adored their last set...

The Essential Playlist for May 2010...

• Elouise ~ Pretender: Listening to an Elouise track is like flopping onto a perfectly formed mattress and/or man after a long day at work - it really is quite heavenly. I've espoused the virtues of this track many many times now, so I won't go on about it. Why not read Aaron's review of the EP instead?! Delightful.
• Christina Aguilera ~ Not Myself Tonight: Since I last wrote about this track, it's grown on me somewhat. Though not enough to debut in my top twenty tracks I post each week. At least I'm recalling the chorus now which is a positive step. I like Christina a lot though and am quite excited for her Bionic album...
• Mika ~ Kick Ass: It's a little bit We Are Golden part two and I am more than fine with that. This track is taken from the movie of the same name, though honestly *sshhh, gather closer* I find it a bit tittersome to imagine Mika kicking anyone's ass. Still I do find myself poncing along to the chorus as I get ready for work in the morning and that'll do me quite nicely.
• Bananarama, Every Shade of Blue 2010:It's one of my favourite 1990s Bananarama tracks and it's back! in 2010 format! Which basically means it's a bit more modern sounding, not as frantic as the original version but unmistakeably and deliciously Bananarama. Plus massive bonus points for choosing a not very obvious track to remake. Out to buy now everybody as part of the Love Don't Live Here single package!
• The Saturdays ~ Wordshaker: I, bluntly, am much better at picking singles from the half good half not very good latest Saturdays album. They should have followed Ego with One Shot (maybe JLS fans would have got confused and purchased that as well) and then released this little stomping pop gem. It's perky and upbeat and has a cracking little chorus and would actually remind people that they have an album out called Wordshaker. Sigh.
• Leona Lewis ~ Outta My Head: Inexplicably, SyCo have decided to go with the not as good Love Letter for the third single from Echo. This again is record company lunacy. They should be on the fourth single now (they missed a trick not releasing Stop Crying Your Heart Out at Christmas) and it should be the most energetic Leona single to date, Outta My Head. It's a right disco inferno in my bedroom when that comes on I tells ya - which is more than can be said for Leona when she performed it on Jimmy Kimmel (who?!)...
• Shakira ~ Gypsy (Freemasons edit): Oh my god, she looks like Marina :P I absolutely insist that you only listen to the Freemasons version of this tune. It takes a nice guitar twangle during the alluring verses and then builds it into a seductive and addictive chorus in a most pleasing and radio friendly manner. Much improved from the album version and therefore totally worthy of single status. Even if the label continue to ignore the superior Men In This Town.
• Sugababes 3.0 ~ Miss Everything: I'm still sticking to version 3.0 otherwise this time next year I'll be writing about Amelle, Jade and Josh Dubovie!! I've actually quite amused myself with that sentence. How tragique I am sometimes. Anyway, this has Sean Kingston on guest vocals/rap and isn't too shabby. It fits in quite well with their Sweet 7 sound and yet is a little bit quirky for them. And I can't abide Sean Kingston!
• Little Boots ~ Symmetry: I'm not one to give up on an album I like until I've milked it as dry as Darren on a Saturday night. Symmetry is a blindingly good duet from Little Boots' Hands album with Phil Oakley of Human League fame. It's a modern day version of any 80s song and sounds absolutely magnificent. Sometimes I wonder how epic and immense this would have been if performed by Kylie, but then I realise I'm quite happy with this version - particularly the talky bit in the middle...
• Marina & The Diamonds ~ Shampain: She's quite rightly re-releasing I Am Not A Robot "for the masses" to enjoy, but I (and bajillions of others) was writing about that back in February 2009 so it's time to move onto a new potential single from the excellent Family Jewels. Shampain is a bit Kate Bush meets xenomania (no, really) and sounds like nothing else in the charts really. If only we were all drinking champagne made by the angels, the world would be a tippsier place :) And oh my god, she looks like Shakira!
• Maria Mena ~ All This Time: No don't run away. It's not a cover version of the Michelle McManus song! It is in fact a) the debut UK single from very good indeed Norwegian singer Maria Mena and b) an incredibly pretty and lovely aural diary entry set to a lovely shuffling uptempo beat and delivered with an engaging and impeccable vocal. It's also known as the Pick Me Up song and a less "rocky" but equally gorgeous original version can also be found on youtube. If you like artists like Judie Tzuke and Marit Larsen, you could do a lot worse than this absolutely soaring and heavenly little ditty. Je t'adore to the power of a million :)

More tomorrow, with added Glee!

I'm very busy and important at work you know. Ok, well I'm not as busy this week and probably not all that important, but it's nice to big "oneself" up every now and again isn't it? Plus I'm proper pleased with myself today because I've finally mastered those crashing piano chords in Marit Larsen's If A Song Could Get Me You. I sound dead sexy and my fingers look all inviting! Anyway, besides the point. I'm pretty bad at responding to or acting upon the press release e-mails that somehow end up in my inbox. Sometimes they sit there for weeks before I open them which means I'm not particularly topical am I?! But when I do feel inclined to open some, I occassionally find something worth listening to. Here is a selection of the best I've received over the past few weeks...

THE PRESS RELEASE PLAY LIST:

Bananarama: Of course you know that Bananarama are releasing the best song ~ Love Don't Live Here ~ from their Viva album! And of course you know how it is an entirely massive disco epic that deserves a good few weeks in the top five. The video shows off the gently different but alluring swanky remix. And apparently one of my fave Rams songs (Every Shade of Blue) is getting a new version on the cd single. PLUS! The Runner is being remixed for the b-side. I've already got some ace dance moves (stolen from Elouise). I'll be the belle of the gaydisco ball...

Kameron Martinez ~ Kameron is a sassy little bugger isn't he? Not only does he have this weird eyewear fetish thing going on that makes me go a bit wobbly in the pantal area, but he has a fuzzy dirty electro pop ditty doing the rounds called Mr Manhater. There's a lot going on in the song - skeezy synths, hyper beats and a vocal that becomes more seductive as the song presses on. It's designed to enflame the senses and it would fit quite easily onto a sweaty dancefloor, men bumping carelessly into each other as they strut their funky stuff and get down with their bad selves. Surprisingly, the chorus is quite low-key melody wise, but it works well within the concept of the song and amidst the intoxicating rhythm is an addictive little ditty. Free download on his myspace page...

Performance ~ I have to say that one of the most eye catching email senders in PR is Andre from Work It Media. He has a rather distinctive way with words that I really like. He introduced me not only to the adorable Candle Thieves but also to Kiss In Cities which form 2/3rds of this band Performance. The band are fronted by Joe Stretch who has also written for the upcoming Hurts album and I feel I don't need to even write anything more to love them. Yet their rather wonderful single The Living is a pulsating and vibrant piece of pop that matches their rather bleak lyrics to a tune that soars. It's carefully crafted and apparently details the fractured relationships the band members sometime have. It's raw and honest, yet deliriously delicious while it's at it. Quintessentially British and proud of it too. Je t'adore.

Holestar ~ The name says it all doesn't it? Sometimes, pop needs someone to come along that is a bit larger than life and challenges your perceptions of what a popstar can be. Holestar is that woman and what a woman! She dresses up as a man, who dresses up as a woman! Emerging like a butterfly from the alternative London club scene with her debut single NyLon Woman, I just love how this gives the world an insight into the creative cabaret that exists on the London (and beyond) scene but is often overshadowed by more conventional fare. It's a sound of the underground pumping electro house ditty that resonates with feel good vibes and a throw your hands in the air atmosphere. What's particularly ace is that it never makes you feel like you are not cool enough to be part of the crew - it's more a grab the one you're with and party song. Bonza...

The Bang Bang Club ~ Good garden gnomes! Remember Protocol? I think I saw them live back in the very early days when I was thezapping. Well a bit of them are back, spruced up and now known as The Bang Bang Club which is actually quite a very good name for a band because it instantly makes their fans feel like they are part of something - and something a little bit naughty too. They have basically come out with a single called Chemistry which is rather splendid - it's drenched in synths, exciting beats and a blinding chorus that channels the best of the 80s synth-pop influences into something modern and brilliant. At time, it's reminiscent of the fun and passion the Scissor Sisters bring to their music Absolutely addictive, they are bloody gorgeous, they release the song on my birthday and good grief, like I need a new obsession in my life, but I have one. Bang bang. I'm there.

Don't forget to check me out on lovely Larry Flick tomorrow at 8am EST/1pm GMT!!

Oh I am getting lazy with blogging aren't I? I blame a) Twitter - because it's a bit addictive isn't it? I've put up a nice new pic on mine if you want a butchers as well as a pic from Darren's birthday celebrations and dinner at Ruthies... b) Debbie Gibson ~ I'm so addicted to youtubes of her Japanese concert promoting the Anything Is Possible album from 1991. Another Brick Falls is one of my favourite tracks from that album - look at the gorgeously intricate piano work in the vid above (though ignore the dreadful Carmen Miranda outfit!!)... c) Work. It's all go at the moment which is both brilliant, exciting and time consuming and d)Novels. Tinkering away. Still despite all that, there is plenty of time to have a gander through upcoming and rumoured singles from some of my favourite acts...

Whitney Houston: Why does it already feel like Whitters is on single 4 from her latest album? Possibly because various tracks floated around for a while before Million Dollar Bill was settled upon as a lead-off, dress-popping single from I Look To You. Nothing But Love is probably a sensible second single because with a bit of reswizzling it could be as dancefloor and dance your tits off as Million Dollar Bill was. And that can only be a good thing. A Song For You next though please...

Nerina Pallot: Why must Nerina work so hard for success? It should be oozing out her ear'oles by now so marvelous is she. Darn. As my current obsession from The Graduate is When Did I Become Such A Bitch, I haven't spent nearly enough time with I Don't Want To Go Out. This is as much a crime as Nerina not being huge as it's an incredibly catchy track and a whip-smart choice for second single. Brilliant video too - features giant lipstick!! What more could one want?!

Sugababes 3.0: I'm still being obstinate and refusing to move on, so sticking with the 3.0 version of Wear My Kiss. Still not the most brilliant next single choice for the 'babes (that would be Wait For You, far superior in my opinion) and everytime they sing "wear my kiss all over my body", I just launch into the rather excellent stood-the-test-of-time Dress You Up by Madonna instead. Oh well...

Bananarama: I'm still all over Viva like a rash and Love Don't Live Here was my choice for second single on the fizzypop chronicles last year so it's nice that the record company has caught up. It's one of the most dramatic and grandiose pop tracks on the album and although I feel I've done my "tour of duty" with that song, I'm very excited it's getting a wider release and a video. Also very exciting is the news that the "flip" side will be a buzz junkies remix of The Runner. It's going to be Bananaramarific!

Robbie Williams: I'm reluctant to let go of how lovely I find You Know Me, but if the rumours are true that the fabbo Starstruck is the third single then I'll be more than satiated by the Robster's output (oo-er)... It's a rather engaging, lush and warm gentle disco epic track where Robbie shows off his best George Michael influences (and Kate Bush - he's vaguely reminiscent of Running Up That Hill when he sings about his deal with God). Plus following on from Bodies and You Know Me, it shows how diverse the album is and will hopefully add to it's already not bad sales tally...

Westlife: I almost didn't want to like Shadows because I thought it would just be another Ryan Tedder cast off. It is in a way, but the production and the vocals make it really stand out and the help of AJ from BSB must have added some boyband sparkle to it because (for me) it really works. Although it's not guaranteed to be the second single, it's a pretty decent choice and they've been hawking it on a few tv shows of late. Personally, I'm still loving Sound of A Broken Heart but the popjustice interview with Mark seemed to rule that out singlewise :/ Bugger...

Back tomorrow (or poss Thurs depending on how busy work is) with mini-album reviews of Matt Morris, Billie Myers and Maria Mena...

About the same time I learnt that Bananarama's excellent new single "Love Comes" is hovering around the edges of the top 30 in the midweeks, I was contemplating that, while they might quite like a more mainstream success, Bananarama don't really need to be huge to make a pop impact. Much like their 80s counterparts Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys, they have managed to carve out a very respectable career with a solid fan base that keeps them going long after other more successful flashes in the pan have fallen to the wayside. So while Viva is still totally relevant for today's pop market, it's still got that devil may care attitude that makes Bananarama Bananarama in the first place.

I need to get this out the way straight away. Viva is not a perfect album. However, it is a jolly fun album and quite entertaining all the way throughout. In terms of where it fits into the Bananarama catalogue, you're probably best listening to alongside Pop Life, Ultra Violet and Drama (and although I adored it, best skip Exotica from the pop-dance canon of the Rams!) It's pure pop dance from start to finish. And what a start - Love Comes is brash, energetic and totally in your face. Hardly what one would expect from a pop group that's been around nearly 30 years and I can't help but feel that if The Saturdays had recorded something like this instead of that Forever is Over dirge, I might be feeling a darn site more positive about their comeback right now. Check them out performing the song (at 5.04 onwards) above on This Morning as a medley with the groovetastic update of Cruel Summer. Immense comeback single whatever the chart position - and if it's not followed up with the album's best track Love Don't Live Here then my whole world will just fall off kilter. Not only the best song on the album, but one of the best Bananarama songs period (American period, not British period because that would be repugnant). It's all strings, dramatic keyboards, gothic backing vocals, lyrically downbeat and a chorus so sumptuous Harrods will want to put it in their soft furnishings department. The fairytale may be dead and gone, but with songs like this Bananarama will live on long into the future...

The album could easily support five singles. Tell Me Tomorrow is a sleek modern classic that recalls some of their S/A/W work if it was recorded with todays production values. It's almost hypnotic in it's delivery and the girls sound quite delicious in the chorus, while the middle 8 is positively seductive. Album closers aren't often singles but We've Got The Night totally deserves to be single number four. Parts of it (baby i want you) are almost Could It Be Magic samples, while the chorus line of "say that you want me" yearns to be mashed with Kylie's Come Into My World. It's a comforting moment of familiarity in a song that pulsates and throbs with synths, electro sound effects and yet is still softened by some gorgeous harmonies. Quite marvelous. Fifth single I hear you ask (Well I don't - I'm not that schizo)! I have to go for their cover of The Runner. It's a fairly traditional cover version with an updated dance sound that completely pays tribute to the disco original. Now wouldn't it be entirely delightful if they borrowed Elouise's choreography for the video? Yes it would be delightful is the answer to that rhetorical question. I can't get enough of this song this week and the girls just ooze spunk and vitality in their delivery.

Other winners on the album include the enjoyable Dum Dum Boy with it's Spice Girl tribute middle 8 ("who do you think you are/you ain't no superstar), the sultry Seventeen which succeeds mainly because of it's subject matter, it's delirious lyrics and an insistent beat, and the brilliantly bonkers Twisting. Possibly the most innovative track on the album, it's all weird sound samples, random drum patterns and a fuzzy electroclash vibe to the whole thing. It all sounds quite dark and strobe light worthy, it's a bit dirty and you feel a little bit naughty just listening to it. And that's really what Bananarama do best. It's a pity that the more generic songs on the album (such as the average S-s-s-single Bed and could-be-sung-by-anyone Rapture) don't aspire to these lofty heights. It's not that these songs are bad - just that compared to the 8 very very good songs on the album they could've done so much better. Overall though, a rather brillo and enjoyable album. And hey, even when Bananarama are just being average they still make me feel like Marilyn Monroe (ie, they are still a cut above the rest!). Long may the reign...
(Read DontStopThePop's review here)

PRETENDERS TO THE THRONE:

Dolly Rockers ~ Something has gone very wrong in the Dolly Rockers camp. They debuted at 46 with Gold Digga and I'm certainly hoping they get a second stab at the pop pie. For me the problem was the chosen single was not quite as good as the song that created all the buzz for them over three months ago. Je Suis... was fresh, exciting and a bit in your face (much like when Bananarama launched on the scene). Gold Digga was just more of the same, albeit quite enjoyable same. So the British public needs to be convinced. I just hope the record company gives them a real shot at the giddy heights of success they deserve.
Mini Viva ~ Conversely, Mini Viva - the latest horse to bolt forth from the xenomania stable - must be doing something very right. Their Mel n Kim'esque Left My Heart In Tokoyo is all set to debut top ten this week and feels both funky and fresh. Bedroom Viber is still a bit reminiscent of a Girls Aloud album track so they might want to remain entirely distinct while they stake out their musical sound in singles... (Must stop calling them Mini Vulva though)
Beauty Skool Dropout ~ Ok, not strictly a girl group (cos one of them's a dude), but instantly part Veronicas, part Shampoo, part Fuzzbox and part something quite brilliant that draws you into their f*** you sound. It's all fuzzy synths, electro clash and genius choruses that seem to embody the raw spirit of rock n roll in an unconventional pop setting. They seem - in the nicest way - utterly loony and I really can't wait to hear more and more from them.

Thurs ~ some boyband stuff. Maybe.

Today has been very something kind of poo, making me feel blue blue. So I'm going to gloss right over that and get onto the sounds of summer cd I shall be sending around to my friends soon! First off (brits), can you actually believe it's summer? I'm no fan of the summer sun (it burns my neck and arms and makes me polleny) but this weather is bizarre. It's like being in The Day After Tomorrow - only with no hunky Jake Gyllenhall to rescue you. In fact, the only reason I still know it's summer is that Big Brother 10 is still plodding on despite a huge lack of interest from the world. I still dip in now and then - in fact it has actually produced one of my fave big bro moments EVER. Silly bint Noirin (who flirts with everyone, gets them to fall in love with her then cock blocks them with the old "i just like hugs. lets be friends" line) was in the diary room telling big brother that while she liked Marcus as a friend, she fancied and had kissed Siavash (leading him no doubt to SeeHerGash) but now fancied Tom instead. She was advised that honesty might be best to which she replied "oh no, i'm going to have to sacrifice myself. I feel like Jesus Christ" !!!! Quite literally jaw droppingly astonishing. I feel like Jesus Christ. Yes because Jesus was all "ooo Pointious Pilot, I know we fooled around last week but I actually fancy Judas Iscariot" (Pontious "i'll get you for this Jesus", etc). That's exactly what Jesus was about :P Ok, now I've blasphemed, on with this list! There are a whopping 8 big come back singles on this, compared with 3 this time last year. Aren't people busy when it rains a lot...

FIZZYPOP CHOICE OF SONGS FOR AUGUST 2009:

1 ~ Madonna, Celebration: It is literally extraordinary that this hasn't properly leaked yet and the world is impatiently drumming it's fingers to the beat of a dodgy camera phone clip on youtube. I've said as much as I can about this on Monday, so just go there if you haven't already. No doubt will be the sound of the summer...
2 ~ Whitney Houston, Million Dollar Bill: It is literally extraordinary that this hasn't properly leaked yet. Tragically already the album campaign feels like a proper mess. Different singles here and there. Different mixes all over the shop. But I am confident that I will at least like most of the album and according to D'Luv this sounds like it could be proper bonza. Hurrah. I'm all for 1992!
3 ~ Mariah Carey, Obsessed: It's almost entirely out of habit that I keep putting Mariah on these lists at all. I was so in love with her music in the 90s that despite the shoddy output in recent years I still cling on. This isn't bad per se, it's just not great. Sigh. When will I learn?
4 ~ Shakira, She Wolf: I sort of forgot about Shakira until Mike reminded me. I thought Hips Don't Lie was rubbish, but loved Illegal. This is quite discotastic and sounds like Shakira has been overdosing on Annie in the chorus. I like the fact that she practically spits out the lyrics and that it all goes abit crazy around the middle 8. Better with each listen.
5 ~ Mika, We Are Golden: Oh come off it. I know that you are all secretly in love with this song by now but you just don't want to say :P Again, I've already written about how much I love this (if Madonna doesn't leak it could be number one on Sunday) so I'll just say that his gold pumps remind me of that Sex and The City episode where Carrie snogged Alanis Morrisette. They didn't look good on Ms Bradshaw and they don't look good on Mika :P
6 ~ Backstreet Boys, Soldier Down: Yes, I know that's not the official title, but it's a lot less wanky and more in line with the song - which is actually quite a decent RedOne production that does indeed sound exactly like what a BSB song should sound like in 2009. It's a bit funky, a bit dancey and totally catchy. Score. (Shame the days of soldier up are over for me when I see the boys though :P)
7 ~ Blake Lewis, Sad Song: You know, for the life of me I can't think of which Cher song this reminds me of. Oh wait, yes I can - it's Song For The Lonely. This has that mix of vocoder and dance beats. I do find Blake quite charming and I'm entertained by this tune and found myself singing it quite a lot. I am amused at the battlefield reference (unrelated news - despite not reaching the top ten, Jordin S has sold 124,000 of that track in the UK. Marvy)
8 ~ Little Boots, Remedy: Glorious, glorious, glorious. Should this song (which is a spiritual lyrical sister to Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer) have been the first single? Possibly, though I still think she should have hit with Stuck On Repeat. Poor Vicky gets a lot of stick for not being more successful (making her Sticky Vicky?!) but this song is just wonderful and I adore the album. Apart from the fact I love Stuck On Repeat a lot more than he does, Aaron has written the album review I've been stalling on for far too long...
9 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, Obsessions: I know I'm a bit late on this song, but i find it's ethereal minimalistic piano juxtaposed with Marina's quite haunting vocal to be quite quite mesmerising. I could honestly listen to her all day. I don't love this quite as much as ...Robot, but it's still a slice above most the myspace pop out there. And her blog is very often in the brilliant range.
10 ~ Bananarama, Love Comes: Oh this song gets better every time that I hear it. I'm just dying for a myriad of remixes to hit that pump up the bass and amp up the melody. Love how "love" is written in all disposal things at the beginning of the video. Love the britpop dresses at the end of the video. Quite like everything in between and the song is more moreish than a packet of Haribo Tangfastics. True.

11 ~ Industry, Burn: Another D'Luv exclusive. This will be out officially in a couple of weeks and is a lovely breezy midtempo ballad that Steps used to do so much better than S Club (though Show Me Your Colours was nice). I'm eager for ridiculously attractive foursome to make some waves in the UK - just bribe people with Donal's yummy cookies and they'll be lining up in the streets to buy this equally edible tune :)
12 ~ Same Difference, Better Love Me: As I've said many times before, I refuse to give up on the brilliant Pop album. This gorgeous track is the spiritual successor to the aforementioned Steps Way You Make Me Feel and should really be the fourth single from the album now. Sigh. Sometimes the world is cruel. PS, apparently August 1st is National Same Difference Day. I'm down with that :) (Note to self: never say "down" in that context again)!
13 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Forever: Now if I was Mans Zelmerlow i'd a) be a lot more gorgeous than I currently am (and let's face it, i'm pretty yummers :P) and b) i'd be cramming in 3 more singles this year from my "sophomore" album. Forever is the perfect late summer tune that just tinkles and dances out of the speakers with it's dance/rave "leanings". Whatever it's trying to be, it's a massively catchy tune with a great uplifting vibe to it. Brillo pants.
14 ~ Neo, Higher: I can't find a link to this :( Maybe Bobpops can help out? Anyway, I do find Neo to be perhaps the Mika that people will find less annoying?! This tune was my instant favourite of his quite brilliant debut album and his master of pop etiquette screams from every note within this song. No that didn't make any sense, but it sounds quite complimentary doesn't it?!
15 ~ Take That, How Did It Come To This?: Jason Orange, it's your time to shine. The That absolutely need to pick this as their fourth single whether they are having one or not. I love this song that makes self doubt and commentary on the craziness of modern life sound so heavenly and enjoyable. Jason sounds great - (should take lead vocal more often) and there are some great crashing piano chords in the background.
16 ~ Darin, Runaway: See, when popstars that are quite famous in their home country make an album that is meant to break the worldwide market, it can often lead to no international success and a bit of resentment back home. I'm not sure that has quite happened with Darin's latest album, but when there are great tunes like this - an effortlessly likeable "urban" club jam delivered with a lovely understated restrained performance from Darin, well home and away are missing out not making it massive.
17 ~ Kelly Clarkson, Already Gone: I forgot (already!) how much I like this song and I feel mightily ashamed that it is my number one song called Already Gone this year (sorry Deborah Gibson - oh the sacrilege). Kelly does ballads incredibly well and this is a modern day shuffling beat ballad that sounds just lovely on a dusky summer night. Raining or not. If Buffy were still going, this would be soundtracking something devastating.
18 ~ Taylor Swift, You Belong To Me: Great video for a good song. Nothing's gonna top the amazing key change adoring Love Story, but this is quite a perky little number that isn't going to change anyone's opinions of the verbose teen but it genuinely is (in my opinion) a pretty little song. I do wonder if there is anything in Taylor's life that she hasn't written about tho?!
19 ~ Arctic Monkeys, Crying Lightning: Bizarre but brave marketing campaign for this song. Played on radio then shoved onto iTunes straight away to prevent illegal downloading. No one knew about it so doesn't chart quite as high as some of their others. Now is out the chart, but a physical release is imminent and finally a video is here. The digital age is crazy. Which tells you nothing about the song!
Golden Oldie: Debbie Gibson ~ We Could Be Together: 20 years since she performed at Brosin2Summer at Wembley and was quite marvelous. WCBT is still a great summer single. I'm just sad that i ripped my 20 year old Electric Youth tour tshirt tonight :( Bummer in the summer :(

Back Fri (maybe) with a friday five. If not then deffo Sunday :)

How is July nearly over already? My goals for July (which were rolled over from the 6 month stage of the year) are nowhere near complete, probably cos I have pissed too much time away on twitter. Grrr. Oh well, it's nice to have goals for August isn't it? I'm a bit bleary eyed today to be honest with you. I couldn't even be bothered to go and get my Sunday morning Starbucks (oh the horror, etc). Blame it on a fun night out with the reunited London Pride gang. Went to our usual haunt (Eden - gets more and more packed each week and deservedly so. James Leon and Elouise *may* [fingers crossed] be playing there in the near future...), listened to some good music, had a large man with a very sweaty back brush past me and leave most of his body moisture on my arm and then got persuaded by a tipsy Mark that we should go to a "bears and their admirers" bar to "see what it was like" :/ It did not taste good :S Though I did entertain by doing poetry style readings of popular raps in a posh accent (Shoop by Salt n Pepa always sounds bonza). Anywhere, lots to catch up on this week so here are the highlights...

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

• I've been entirely in love with Madonna's True Blue album this week. It is a delightful pop album from start to finish. After feeling a bit happy that work had finished on Friday, I skipped all the way home mouthing along to and pretending I was in a new video for the ebullient title track. Heavenly.


• (Thank God that during her many dodgy outfits - and many wonderful ones - Madonna didn't lose it and wear a kermit dress. Ridiculous).


• Talking of Madonna (part one) - it was quite sad that her stage rigging collapsed killing two people. How awful for their families - and I imagine Madonna too. As happens with these things, irreverent comments and jokes pop up over the internet. Call me humourless, but I don't get that, i'm sure the families don't get that and find it a bit repugnant. I remember in my late teens making a joke about Freddie Mercury at school shortly after he'd died and a teacher overhearing and simply said "He was loved by people and his family. Do you think they would find that funny?" And I was devoured by an entirely massive amount of shame. Each to their own though...:(


• Talking of Madonna (part two) - never has 18 seconds been so analysed. Celebrate clip leaked online this week and it's hard to make a comprehensive judgement on it. From what I can tell, it sounds like a quite decent COAD-era type song.


• Other clips floating around - as I mentioned last week, the chorus to Blake Lewis' Sad Song is available to listen to and quite brillopad. Ditto Mika's We Are Golden which instantly sounds like a cross between a Queen song, a Belinda Carlise chorus (i'm thinking We Want The Same Thing) and something else, I'm not sure what yet :P Barmy but brilliant.


• Over at lovely Robbie's pad, there is the first online clip for the new Industry single "Burn". Much like Same Difference, it's an updated Steps sound and similar to their decent midtempo ballads. Hard to judge from one little clip, but it's promising. Perhaps you heard it if you were at the Pussycat Dolls gig in Ireland last night? They were the opening act and marvy no doubt :P


• Sugababes "Get Sexy" continues to grow on me, and sounded rather marvelous played loud in Eden last night. Perhaps that's the optimum setting for it to be played?


• Ditto Bananarama's new one. Love Comes. (And so did I when I heard it as I rather disgracefully twittered in the week. And then repeated the "joke" on Mike's Poptrash singles of the week reviews). It's quite bonza indeed. It's a tightly produced little number with a great chorus and this whispery vocodered middle eight that just floats enticingly for a few seconds before launching back into the chorus. Those lovely rams continue with their diverse but always entertaining career then...
  


• I managed to go all last week without mentioning Elouise, but I can hold back no further! As it seems to be a "clips" week, I absolutely must spend some time talking about two tracks on her myspace. Pretender is what would happen musically if the amazing (and one of my favourite singers ever) Dusty Springfield were still around to record music today. It's epic in the extreme, with a glorious sounding chorus complete with tremendous backing vocals and the plainitive plea from Elouise to go back in time and "remember what you're missing baby". And she sings it so amazingly well, that I'm totally drawn into the world of the song and get this conflicted feeling - sadness from the message in the tune (who hasn't yearned for lost love?) but almost giddy euphoria at the sheer spectacular sound created. Another Day, i've written before, but i'm still obsessing over. The tune sounds like it belongs at the end of a James Bond film - or is a remake of Scissters Land Of A Thousand Words, but amping up the drama to the nth degree. Oh! And let's not even discuss the utterly charming Fireman of My Dreams (below). Not only is it one of the cutest songs I've heard in a long time, but it's quite witty and instantly anthemic. In a years time, many many drag queens will be miming to this. My god, an album better be coming soon or I will absolutely explode. And that won't be pretty.

TOP 21 SINGLES OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, Obsessions (NE)
20 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot
19 ~ Freemasons ft SEB, Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer
18 ~ BWO, Right Here Right Now
17 ~ Ola, Sky's The Limit (NE/VID)
16 ~ Le Kid, Mercy Mercy
15 ~ Jordin Sparks, Battlefield
14 ~ Dan Black, Symphonies (the album UN is quite decent indeed)
13 ~ Sugababes, Get Sexy
12 ~ Lily Allen, 22
11 ~ Erik Hassle, Don't Bring Flowers
10 ~ Dolly Rockers, Je Suis Un Dolly
09 ~ Jason Mraz, Try Try Try
08 ~ Mr Hudson, Supernova (Did you see the size of his feet on Chattyman? Mazel Tov!)
07 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Home
06 ~ Elouise, One Night Only
05 ~ "Abba", Second Best To None
04 ~ Little Boots, Remedy
03 ~ JLS, Beat Again (the deserved UK #1)
02 ~ Preston, Dressed To Kill
01 ~ Benny Andersson Band, Story Of A Heart (6 weeks)

Back soon with a Harry Potter post. At some point. And some career advice for artists...