Lopez Blogs

Madonna was wrong. Time does not go by. So Slowly. In fact it whizzed by at a million miles per hour this week, which of course is way too fast and you probably experienced some motion sickness. So once again, blog posts got thrown out the window and I sometimes wonder why people stick around for such sporadicus! But you do and hurrah for that, etc. So here are lots of things I meant to do longer blogs on this week, but didn't get the time. It's your fizzypop weekend supplement!!

There is very much a need in the world for sparkling, uplifting, sunshine drenched pop music that makes you feel quite marvelous from your head to your toes. The Candle Thieves provide such music, delivering a realistic world view yet one saturated in optimism, dancing keyboard melodies and sing a long choruses. They had an EP out last year called The Sunshine EP which has four great songs on, but standouts in the summery The Sunshine Song (with a great hook "you can't stay young forever but we can stay young for the rest of our days") and the brilliantly titled Love Will Clap Its Hand For You. The latter is a cross between the genius of Sound of Arrows and immediacy of Owl City (but without the twee factor and always remaining effortlessly cool and lovely). Amazing. And double hurrah, they have a new single coming out soon called We're All Gonna Die. It's as upbeat and joyous as anything they've done before (whatever the title might lead you to believe) and if there is any justice this will be the first massive hit of the burgeoning spring weather, with thousands of people simultaneously crying "everybody just clap your hands". Heaven.

I'm rubbish with getting press releases and promotional e-mails. I always seem to forget to check them out/write about them, but still they keep a -coming :) And this is ok too because every so often one will stand out. This week it was the unique approach of The Dirty Disco who fair made me smile with a genuine mistake. But it also made me take notice so kudos to them :P Their debut single, Sista! (above) is a stand out slice of fuzzy synth driven pop that is full of theatrics, glam influences, energy and a massive dose of in your face personality. Vaguely reminiscent of the amazing Fuzzbox, the song grabs you by the short and curlies, swings you around the room and leaves you a bit breathless before you've even got to the brain-infecting chorus. Play it loud and let your freak flag fly. Oh and because they are lovely, there is a free remix version of the song to download here and a cover of Florence + The Machine's epic Rabbit Heart here. Brillo on toast.

Quick bits:

• Hurrah - it's time for melodifestivalen again! I'm not as dedicated a follower as some and usually live vicariously through Nick, PPG and ScandiPop. However, once again some of my fave artists are competing this year which means brillo new music from them. I'm particularly watching out for Alcazar, Darin, Ola, Erin Lanto, Salem Al Fakir and of course Neo. Ola and Salem have already previewed their clips here and I currently stand at satisfied with what I hear...
• Remember Steve Appleton? There was a bit of noise about his Uk-surfer boy brand of pop last year but then it all went a bit quiet despite a couple of quite good songs. He's making waves again at the moment, currently with a free download of his acoustic version of Fireflies, which is a pleasant way to pass a few minutes if you so have the desire. Check out his previous singles too, they weren't half bad...
• I've written about Waterloo a few times, and they are busy polishing their pop sound for the world at large. A plethora of remastered clips and new tracks are available to listen to on their myspace page. Four Letter Word is still a top notch tune, while Live Your Life sounds like it is quite the singalong disco-reggae pop song in the making (a bimbo jones remix of this could be entirely titillating). Excited to hear more from this band. Go check out their music and let me know what you think of the latest...
• Finally click here to see a promo for new Nickelodeon show Victorious. The stars of Spectacular are certainly making a name for themselves this year and while this could be the usual tween fare, Victoria Justice seems so charming and witty in it, plus sings rather good pop star songs as well so it's zipping up my boots and going back to my youth for this one. Hurry up March... :P

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Hugh Sheridan, All About Me (NE)
20 ~ Donkeyboy, Ambitions (NE/VID)
19 ~ Alexandra Burke, Broken Heels
18 ~ Dangerous Muse, I Want It All
17 ~ Alphabeat, Hole In My Heart
16 ~ The Saturdays, Ego
15 ~ Leona Lewis, I Got You
14 ~ Mika, Rain
13 ~ JLS, One Shot
12 ~ Hurts, Blood Tears and Gold (NE)
11 ~ Jason Mraz, Kickin With You
10 ~ Matt Morris, Money
09 ~ Owl City, Fireflies
08 ~ Natalie Imbruglia, Scars
07 ~ Nerina Pallot, When Did I Become Such A Bitch?
06 ~ Ryan Ferrada, Room 501
05 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, Hollywood
04 ~ Simon Curtis, Diablo
03 ~ Barenaked Ladies, You Run Away
02 ~ Boyzone, Gave It All Away
01 ~ Elouise, Fireman of my Dreams (1 week)

Hello again everyone :) My gosh it's an absolutely gorgeous weekend out, and that has contributed to Birmingham Gay Pride being a rather lovely event. And before I say way, I really must direct you to Dan and Heidi who seem to tirelessly campaign for the same rights for GLBT people in the USA that I take for granted. This tiny mention represents a millionth of the respect and admiration I have for them :) Anyway, for me, Bham pride is really just about catching up with all my friends, having an absolute full house (if you look in the background of this pic, you can see my apartment building - it's that close!), cooking delicious good mood food recipes by Donal of Industry (amazing interview up at Chartrigger and a generally positive reception over at Mike Poptrashaddict's singles review panel featuring ace singer James Leon!), having lots of fun and watching the plethora of upcoming pop acts on the main stage. For my pride updates, check out the tweets over at twitter and some photos here :) And with that in mind, here are some upcoming acts that I would have personally loved to see on the main stage this weekend :)

(PS ~ of course I haven't forgotten about the totally amazing clip of the Benny Andersson Band song over at popjustice. You can't imagine how excited I am for the full version to play on radio 2 on Monday, particularly as I forced my buddies this week to live through another dissection of the second best to none video. Expect me to be RAVING about this next weekend!)
(PPS ~ had i been blogging at the beginning of the week, you probably would have lived through my brief obsession with Alexander Rybak's Fairytale. I loved it on monday, had overplayed it by tuesday and was tired of it on Weds. I still think it's a decent song, albeit essentially a remake of Dolly Parton's version of Those Were The Days and can't wait for an album. Read Nick's thoughts here...)

THE FIZZYPOP DREAM MAIN STAGE LINE UP:

It's hard to consistently write about good new acts. Often there is a lack of new product from them as they work hard to promote what they already have. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one with any enthusiasm for them! There are those however, that deserve more than the scant few mentions they've had on here so far - it doesn't do justice to my enthusiasm for their music. So yes, I would have loved to see them on the pride stage this year (and hey, some are at London so already good news there!) but really you should be checking out their music and letting me know what you think!

• Elouise: Yes, i'm starting to blog about her with alarming regularity. That is clearly because you should paying her an awful lot of attention. I just find her so charming and delightful to listen to. And total bonus - she seems absolutely lovely in person too! For proof, check out her interview at puffta. She just makes me want to grab the one I love and shimmy. Best soundtrack for this is her superb track Miracle Man. I'm absolutely transported back to the more innocent pop world of the sixties when the focus of the song was a cracking melody, hand claps. a sumptuous vocal and a chorus to die for. Miracle Man has all that in spades - the chorus positively sparkles with a declaration of the type of love that gets your stomach in a knot. Just bloody gorgeous. Thank god Elouise is still making pop like this. And by god, hurry up and buy your tickets for the stratford show! Daz, I, Mark and Simon will be there!
• Sparkling Arrest: Because frankly there should be more people playing piano at these pride events. How about an early evening slot when the sun is just casting a gorgeous orange glow over events and everyone's a bit lethargic from the day's events? Sparkling Arrest's music is pensive, reflective and emotive all powered by some intricate piano (and i'm a sucker for an ethereal piano melody) and a haunting vocal. Check out the all too beautiful Skyman, one of the most lush tracks I've heard for a while. Those crashing chords juxtaposed with the guitar at 2m10 give me goosebumps everytime. Aces :)
• Paloma Faith: Not only does she have the most brilliant popstar name that I've heard for ages and not only because she lit up the screen in St Trinians, but mainly because her jazz tinged single Stone Cold Sober is utterly addictive. A pop song that was created with real instruments, including horns is absolutely ok and brillopants in my book. (oh! check out the beautiful torch song sounding Broken Doll on her myspace. Deeee-licious)
• Steve Appleton: Dirty Funk indeed was an eclectic mix of genres and a more than decent introduction to the fine young talents of the brilliantly coiffered Steve, but it's his new single City Won't Sleep that should launch him quite rightly into the stratosphere. A shuffling beat that just won't quit and some All Saints Pure Shores-esque instrumentation all frame Steve's impassioned vocal before exploding into a chorus where steve proclaims "I don't want to be any other place I don't want to take this night any other way". It's urgent yet still beautifully understated and has all the makings of a massive radio smash. Fingers crossed.
• Julian Velard: Last but certainly not least are the quite talented fingers (ooer) and vocals of the engaging Mr Velard. Not only did he do a mean "gig" (ooo get me, all muso) on Broad Street in Birmingham last month but he peppers his youtube channel with cover versions of today's electronically engineered pop hits stripped back to just him and a piano. Hot n Cold and Sex on Fire particularly rock may I say (and i think I may!). Sounding just as brilliant as those are his songs like Feels Like Love Again For The First Time which totally draws you into Julian's lyrical world (like which dvds from HBO?! Sex and The City? Oz? Sopranos??) and again, brilliant piano that must have his fingers literally flying over the keyboard. It's a song that is designed to be played loud and one that makes me feel quite lovely inside and quite satisfied each time I hear it. Surely this man must be MASSIVE very soon. Please.

TOP 21 TRACKS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Simon Curtis/Victoria Justice, Things We Do For Love
20 ~ Alcazar, Stay The Night
19 ~ Kelly Clarkson, I Do Not Hook Up
18 ~ Infernal, Redefinition
17 ~ Jordin Sparks, Battlefield (NE)
16 ~ Lily Allen, Not Fair
15 ~ Pet Shop Boys, Did You See Me Coming?
14 ~ Industry, My Baby's Waiting
13 ~ The Killers, World We Live In (VID)
12 ~ Paolo Nutini, Candy
11 ~ Same Difference, All Roads Lead To Heaven
10 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Hope & Glory
09 ~ BWO, Right Here Right Now
08 ~ Annie, Anthonio
07 ~ Take That, The Garden
06 ~ Alesha Dixon, I Get Excited
05 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot
04 ~ Elouise, One Night Only
03 ~ Freemasons ft Sophie Ellis Bextor, Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer
02 ~ Little Boots, New In Town
01 ~ "Abba", Second Best To None (2 weeks)

Off to Windsor this week for some r'n'r :) Maybe back mid week with a very special post. stay tuned! If not see you next Sunday :)