La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)

It was mentioned on the dubstep thread but deserves its own. Self consciously huge, it's set up like the dubstep Born Slippy. The vocal carries the track well enough that the big spaces work, and when the breakbeat kicks in at the end it's totally obvious but still fantastic, I'd like to see an edit that went another four minutes.

vocal is bad

i had the misfortune of hearing this out a couple of weekends ago. sounds like fucking kosheen.

so nearly good but sadly that fucking voice is still there. la roux is such a loser, totally indefensible.

I refuse to listen to anything that has any trace of this atrocious fucking song in it.

i don't really rate this but not just because of the voice (which i can tolerate until after the first line of the chorus). more interested in dubbier (i.e. reduced and fx'd fragments of the vocal) 4/4 mixes of the track.

i liked "quicksand" although i've heard her other stuff isn't up to scratch.

I liked 'Quicksand' too. I listened to the original of 'In for the Kill' and, although I like some of the slightly unexpected chord progressions (which were a feature of 'Quicksand' too), I find the drum and synth sounds rather abrasive and cheap-sounding. I presume that was deliberate but to me it would have sounded better with richer, less tinny/scrapy sounding synths. Her voice seems to be in an unpleasant register as well. I wonder if the song should have been recorded in a lower key?

As for this remix, it's ok. In a way it exploits the unsettling quality of the vocals.

I'm intrigued by the 'such a loser' and 'totally indefensible' comment above? What is it you dislike so much about La Roux?

- her name. you JUST CAN'T SAY 'LA ROUX' holy shit, you idiot woman
- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch
- her face. specifically the same blank, unsmiling, unchanging facial expression she wears in every photo and every video, as if it is the same thing as possessing artistic mystique. she looks like a sulky teenage girl, and not in a good way
- her voice. as blank, unsmiling and unchanging as her face. shrill, grating, nails on blackboard. one of the most purely awful sounds i've ever heard. obv she makes no concessions to "singing in key" or subtlety or nuance or emotion. completely charmless
- her music. just let the 80s gooooooo

read through that post and got to the end - was very surprised it was written by you lex.

this record is like sand in my eyes

Yeah her voice is so ridiculously autotuned I'm actually grimly anticipating the live performances because I think she may well be able to give Ian Brown a run for his money.

i mean, it's not as if it doesn't sound almost identical as annie from norway, which is either a good thing or a getting-to-be outmoded thing depending on how you look at it.

the 80s thing - '80s revivalism has been a musical staple since about '98, but it seems that this is the year the bubble bursts. la roux, little boots, kanye west, flo and the machine, all these are talking about going back to the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of, and in that way the '80s revival could be seen as having finally saturated the hivemind conscience of '09 as opposed to being a trendy point of reference for fashionistas and musos.

it's the impending '90s revival i'm sure you're dreading lex ;-)

btw, haven't heard song above, just "quicksand" which as i say, i like well enough and doesn't seem to have much autotune.

Yeah her voice is so ridiculously autotuned I'm actually grimly anticipating the live performances because I think she may well be able to give Ian Brown a run for his money.

She sang with Franz Ferdinand at some awards ceremony and apparently it was a total car crash

i mean, it's not as if it doesn't sound almost identical as annie from norway, which is either a good thing or a getting-to-be outmoded thing depending on how you look at it.

She doesn't sound "almost identical" to Annie. This is all just the fifth or sixth reiteration of electroclash we've had this decade and it gets progressively less fun with every Xerox.

the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of

I like the idea of that too.

Vocally and persona-wise La Roux certainly has to watch it. She does seem to be a little in danger of becoming the new Hazel O'Connor.

she doesn't sound remotely like annie

the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc)

what does this actually mean? i'm serious, it's an idea i've seen casually referenced here and there, but it really doesn't make sense to me. or at least, it doesn't seem a specifically 80s ideal.

pop doesnt go in italics you tedious prats.

She doesn't sound "almost identical" to Annie. This is all just the fifth or sixth reiteration of electroclash we've had this decade and it gets progressively less fun with every Xerox.

Annie being about the third.

also, there isn't much connecting the aesthetics of the artists you mentioned, apart from their penchant for talking the talk in interviews - ie acting as though they have some sort of higher vision of pop than your britneys and mileys. but we all know this has no bearing on the quality of the music, right?

i genuinely do want to know why she picked "la roux" as her stage name though. that is the one question i would ask her. like, why not "la rousse"? why not go for the actual word? or "le roux" if she wants to be tediously androgynous, even

cos she thickens people.

Lex, I think it's something Kanye West was talking about in an interview I read, and he's probably getting a bit lackadaisical about it or how much you'll agree - it's the idea of going back to the idea of pop stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna etc, whose persona and songwriting could be described simply as "pop" as opposed to r'n'b, rock'n'roll, boy/girl band, and appeals almost universally in that capacity.
Compared to the popstars of more recent times - Take That, Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Beyoncé, who are arguably marketed towards more specific markets.

Don't know if that's a very good way of explaining it - I guess it's just a want to make great radio music that everyone knows and sings along to without inviting the listener to deconstruct the music too much.

I'm not sure Prince fits there

- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch

― lex pretend, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:27 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark

honest wtf moment here

Set Sister Rosetta Tharpe on her

i reckon prince almost certainly does, especially with his aesthetic of introducing many many pop-elements from funk, dance, rock, hiphop into his sound without it diverging from the "pure"-pop element.

She sang with Franz Ferdinand at some awards ceremony and apparently it was a total car crash

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:42 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This was at the NME awards and is well worth checking on YouTube (if it's there) coz it was pitiful. I heard that her live performances were being limited coz she's so appalling. And only has like six songs or somthing.

i reckon prince almost certainly does, especially with his aesthetic of introducing many many pop-elements from funk, dance, rock, hiphop into his sound without it diverging from the "pure"-pop element.

He constantly diverged from pop!

I'm not a fan of their original tracks but I like the vocal on the remix much better in the context of overblown somewhat off-key female vocals in classic rave tracks.

La Roux is much better as a name than La Rousse. It's just more visually striking, ending on the 'x'. It's shorter, more graphic, harder (regardless of it being incorrect French).

grozart, i think in that paragraph you've managed to somehow do a disservice to every single artist you mentioned as well as the entire concept of pop music, well done

(regardless of it being incorrect French)

nnggghhhhhh

oh yeah and a disservice to pop fans who don't want to deconstruct anything, too

lex is boycotting "lil" kim on grammar principles now too

bah beat me to the point

Don't get him started on Mötley Crüe.

He constantly diverged from pop!

what does this mean? surely everything he did was considered as and under it as an umbrella term.

when people pine for a new Prince they're talking about an absolute 'does everything - mostly brilliantly' act and it's true there's been a figure like that missing since he set a modern standard. but i suppose people on his level only come thru once in a generation.

Not sure where the idea that Prince was totally pop comes from, he was more like Bowie

What a bad voice.

ah yes Bowie the hugely famous and successful pop star

Fair enough, I suppose Eric Clapton is a pop star too

Clapton is primarily a rock guitarist. Bowie is a CHAMELEONIC performer of excellent pop songs such as 'Starman', 'Modern Love' and, of course, 'Little Wonder'.

You Look Wonderful Tonight

... not making a point, just paying you a compliment

you are all missing the point of how bad this is. I'm still completely at a loss to why this woman is making music, who is her label owner boyfriend? I was hoping this was one of the hardcore sounding tunes skreams been playing out the last couple of months but a dubstep kosheen is completely OTM

this woman and Kosheen singer's voice are so different tho that despite some conceptual similarities i'm having trouble imagining them singing each other's best known songs

http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/1930659/300.png

should have dropped a bet on how long it was before kate moross got involved.

that horse has an adam's apple

had the misfortune of hearing the original song in a shop the other day. ugh.

i really like the remix. everything is so painfully simple it really highlights that vocal. it sounds like it took about 5 minutes to make.

so i guess its a question of whether or not you can put up with the vocal. yes its overblown, epic and if you know who she is... annoying i guess. but i heard this without knowing anything about her, thinking it was just some unknown vocalist skream got to sing on a track. it'd seem silly to turn around and be all oh rite she's a dick, don't like this anymore.

the deal breaker is really the "doin it for a thriiiillllllll..." bit in terms of actual worst singing moment. hard to imagine her looking like she was doing anything for a thrill so far too.

jesus that was bad.

Song of the year so far imo.

if by song of the year you mean suggest ban then yes

- her name. you JUST CAN'T SAY 'LA ROUX' holy shit, you idiot woman
- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch
- her face. specifically the same blank, unsmiling, unchanging facial expression she wears in every photo and every video, as if it is the same thing as possessing artistic mystique. she looks like a sulky teenage girl, and not in a good way
- her voice. as blank, unsmiling and unchanging as her face. shrill, grating, nails on blackboard. one of the most purely awful sounds i've ever heard. obv she makes no concessions to "singing in key" or subtlety or nuance or emotion. completely charmless
- her music. just let the 80s gooooooo

― lex pretend, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:27 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

More half of these points have nothing to do with music and to be fair, you should give her a break attitude wise. After all she IS ALMOST a teenager.

The shrill, overblown voice may be a turn off for many but not for me. And maybe I'm tone-deaf but her vocals sound completely on-key to me. Don't know it's Autotuned, but from the live clips I've seen on youtube, it sounds like it's not... not that it matters.

yeah, I don't know why people are not able to differentiate the singer with stupid answers from the fucking great song which is this one.

to be fair, half my points were entirely about la roux' terrible music, and i don't know why people think that being annoyed by the persona of a singer artist entirely talentless idiot as well as her music somehow invalidates the criticism of the sound. cheap, rinky-dink 80s starter kit casios aren't as interesting to criticise but they still sound fucking annoying

the rinky dink 80s starter kit casio sound is completely absent from the skream remix though, which is why for me it's so much better than anything else she's attached to. i have no idea why i love the vocals though, its like they're being deliberately abrasive, way too shrill and manufactured but they just work

the original is unforgivable shite though

i don't know why people think that being annoyed by the persona of a singer artist entirely talentless idiot as well as her music somehow invalidates the criticism of the sound.

It doesn't, it just makes it more obviously subjective. I agree though that if you don't like Elly's voice listening to La Roux must be a painful experience. Oddly I like it for the same reasons you hate it (except being off-key, which I don't think it is).

I'd say so far "Quicksand" is very good and "In For The Kill" is a bit boring, not unforgivable shite, by any means.

liking/hating music is kind of inherently subjective, dude

though she is intolerable, that is a fact

I guess I didn't really mean subjective, I meant biased.

Her persona is 100% open for criticism because that persona is so obviously a very intentional aesthetic choice to match the music.

yep, we all agree with that. I just don't hate her persona.

Just heard the song and her voice is incredibly annoying.

There are people out there who think this person can sing. That scares me.

Never listened to the original mix. But it seems Skream, as usual, did a great job.

Anyway if the autotune criticism were applied to every (new) singer here in ILM...

I just went to see La Roux live and they were very good. Elly is one of the best live singers I've seen... and very nice too.

Such catty vitriol! I mean, "at a loss to why this woman is making music, who is her label owner boyfriend" -- really, on ILM? Comments tended to be a bit more kind and considered here in the early 2000s, but what can you do.

Saw them tonight in SF and Elly gave a fantastic performance. Her vocals were outstanding live, and she had great stage presence, banter with the crowd, confidence. I was struck by how Quicksand and In for the Kill were actually two of the weakest tracks live, vocally. There were three songs in the middle of the set, "Fascination" one of them, that stood out as particularly powerful and better showcases for her range. A few of her embellishments had the whole crowd cheering (admittedly, that's not so hard to do in a crowd of 18-and-up kids).

The elements they do use from the '80s are terrific and considered -- there's a Vincent Price-esque interlude in one song that brought a big grin. The live show's something to reconsider for those who've given her a pass. Once she gets warmed up, she burns; though she doesn't have nearly the oomph, the last song, "Bulletproof," reminded me a bit of Alison Moyet. The autotuning is a concern, but if they've managed to capture her voice properly on record, it could end up high on my end of the year list.

http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/1930659/300.png

I need this shirt like now

I remember hearing "Quicksand" back when it was said to be a demo for Britney Spears' Circus album... really good song.

New single "Bulletproof" should be more appealing/less annoying to people who complain about Elly's shrill voice. Personally I liked "Quicksand" and "In For The Kill" better:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_8038000/8038450.stm
She desperately needs a new makeup stylist though!

"I love the fact that it's not 80s - that was really what I wanted from this video. I don't want every video and every single thing from here on out to be this 80s recurring theme."

WTF it's TOTALLY a TRON/mid-80s Studio Line ad ripoff!

Lil' Silva remix is best.

Also the Wookie remix of "Bulletproof" is good.

Bulletproof is good, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmE6LwowsQ

got the whole album today. i'm really digging it. i'm kind of surprised it's a "major big deal" as it does sound a little bit cheaper than say little boots or gaga's production, but as one who appreciates pop music, i think these songs are damn good. she has a very odd voice, and i wouldn't compare it to someone who can really belt it (kate bush, for instance), but it has a flinty, octave-above-the-music quality that i kind of find appealing. which is more than i can say for the generic vocals of boots or gaga or ladyhawke.

i quite like the cheap 80s sound tbh--it's less-is-more feel makes it feel clean and un-ornamental--and since i like her voice, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that this rivals electrik red as my favorite pop-sounding album this year.

favorite songs: "cover my eyes" (great slow jam with only a little reverb on her voice... really nice), "tigerlily" (she comes across as very aggressive/almost stalkery...) "fascination," "as if by magic" and, of course, "quicksand," which is a phenomenal pop song.

had a listen to itunes clips but the sound seems just too thin throughout. i want propaganda-esque drama.

this is an uninteresting bit of wub-wub-wub even by skream standards

lex fairly otm on this thread

also who is ilx user 'Dare'?

Such catty vitriol! I mean, "at a loss to why this woman is making music, who is her label owner boyfriend" -- really, on ILM? Comments tended to be a bit more kind and considered here in the early 2000s, but what can you do.

Saw them tonight in SF and Elly gave a fantastic performance. Her vocals were outstanding live, and she had great stage presence, banter with the crowd, confidence. I was struck by how Quicksand and In for the Kill were actually two of the weakest tracks live, vocally. There were three songs in the middle of the set, "Fascination" one of them, that stood out as particularly powerful and better showcases for her range. A few of her embellishments had the whole crowd cheering (admittedly, that's not so hard to do in a crowd of 18-and-up kids).

The elements they do use from the '80s are terrific and considered -- there's a Vincent Price-esque interlude in one song that brought a big grin. The live show's something to reconsider for those who've given her a pass. Once she gets warmed up, she burns; though she doesn't have nearly the oomph, the last song, "Bulletproof," reminded me a bit of Alison Moyet. The autotuning is a concern, but if they've managed to capture her voice properly on record, it could end up high on my end of the year list.

― Dare, Friday, April 10, 2009 10:04 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark

i mean is this a real person y/n

hm. i dunno. seems like a real person to me; maybe they're taking the whole thing a bit seriously. i too like the vincent price thing on "tigerlily," if only because i'm having an mj moment like the rest of the world. i know it's pop music, but i'll defend it as good pop music.

also, not a big fan of the remix that this thread is about. i think i like la roux as an album, but felt a second la roux thread would be superfluous...

this year is kind of turning me against the idea of women making electronic music

actually, new thread

no don't

yeah, that's a bad idea

it sure was

worth it for the Royal P track

Just to add to the general dislike of La Roux...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jul/01/la-roux-women-beaten-up

I was kind of horrified when I saw the original Quietus interview, and don't really know where to start.

http://static.guim.co.uk/artsblog/authorpics/christina_mcdermott.jpg

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:lWGQLXxhTR41MM:http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/Timberlane/students/SteveM/images/familyguy_lois.jpg

I like that two of her three other entries are about pies

WS

It would actually kill you to discuss the actual content of the article, rather than make slurs about the writer of the piece, and her appearance?

Do you do this deliberately, as some kind of wind up? That's a genuine question.

Comparing anybody to Lois Griffin is totally not a slur

I hope Christina McDermott's career can recover from the massive slurs in this thread but yeah TBH a moronic statement from a person whose music I don't care about isn't really inspiring any more of a definitive post from me than it is from you at this moment

"Clearly, Jackson could do with an education in the basics of feminism."

had a lol at this. I'm not a feminist and I can see that La Roux's statement is horribly offensive rubbish. She could do with an education in the basics of not being a twat.

La Roux labels R&B 'empty'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_8131000/8131238.stm

gfjkdjkdkldlkdssopsosapaddjksnskcllaa stupid fucking ho just die

"I think a lot of it is, 'Baby I love you, I want to kiss you'. It's just like what are you on about? Shut up."

LOL, somebody needs to have a serious talk with this girl. The thing is, I still like her and its pretty obvious to me that her only problem is that she is incredibly stupid and arrogant (bad combination). Still, I really believe she's not a mean person, she just needs to grow up and, well, STFU in the meantime.

"I think a lot of it is, 'Baby I love you, I want to kiss you'. It's just like what are you on about? Shut up."

this from the woman who pens lines like "what are feelings without emotions?"

seriously can the silly ho just GO AWAY NOW

why you keep calling her a ho?

why you asking that instead of showing your repulsion at her stupid comments?

i wonder if she even knows what she's referring to

Lex, I understand your anger, but she is NOT a ho. Please. She is a FUCKING IDIOT. There is a big difference.

this from the woman who pens lines like "what are feelings without emotions?"

Ha it just now struck me that I had the lyrics in the booklet in front of me here and FFS - the average line in her song is not even really different from what her idea of a generic r'n'b lyric seems to be, let alone any better... like I get that it's the sort of music that isn't liable to be dragged down by what's being sung especially, but it's a world of clunkers in there

Thing is, everything she says is so obviously idiotic and ridiculous to everyone it doesn't even seem worth getting irate over. Pop hasn't thrown up a Crispian Mills in some time and I'm sort of glad we have someone around who gets funnier every time they open their mouth.

TBH I'd not noticed anything she'd said before this week but I did like the thing from the Popbitch mailout - this was at the start of the year I think - about how she was known as 'Danny' in the biz due to being so demanding and diva-ish

lolz at the "Early Demo Version" youtube vid.

Thing is, Crispy Ian wasn't being sold as a "paragon of Jewish rights" when he was making his "I <3 Swastikas LOL nazis" comments. La Roux is being marketed as a "feminist".

not least by herself.

i mean, if she does end up as a crispian mills figure of fun, all well and good, but interviews with her are still prefaced by how smart and alternative she is, and her music is genuinely (if bafflingly) popular. so this is all still unbelievably aggravating.

(also the whole "but pop stars should be provocative" argument is so lame - she's not being provocative, she's being an ignorant dickhead)

The correct approach to ignorant dickhead pop stars is mockery, unless they actually start supporting the BNP or whatever.

I have to agree with lex on this one. La Roux is an annoying cunt.

Jesus Christ this thread

I didn't mind this track until I moved to a flat above a shop on the corner of a road and had to hear it emanating from townie wraparound bezmachines as they roar past the bedroom every ten minutes.

she does look annoyingly/fake moody in most of her pub shots and the 'im opinionated' shtick is a bit stupid but she has good pop songs. bit ace of bass ocassionally though. got that sort of cheapo euro pop thing happening more than glacial 80s synth pop.

really shit drums, no depth to the sound, nothing under the surface. if they see this as a good thing and representative of 80s then i despair. and the synth bloops aren't even as good as Crystal Castles.

yeah but thats so much modern pop - no sonic depth. not that ive sat with little boots or florence songs more than hearing them on youtube/radio 1 but they all sound really thin and not exactly abrasive but like theyre very efficient. thats just standard digital production i think.

yeah but thats so much modern pop - no sonic depth.

Maybe, but La Roux takes it to such an uncomfortable level. That album is unlistenable.

i mean i liked girls aloud a lot on radio 1 but hearing the actual cds half the time was a really harsh experience. hopfully its not the same with la roux.

The La Roux album is like a glass wall. All the levels are the same (and they're all LOUD). There's no texture or sonic depth to be found anywhere on it.

going by spotify listen but it sounds a lot flatter and harsher than GA to me xp

i thought something similar with little boots' stuck on repeat. it had that horrible bludgeoning wall of BLARE type production.

or maybe were all just old.

There's actually a really good bass rumble near the start of Stuck On Repeat.

Stuck On Repeat doesn't sound half as bad to me - there's some resonance in the synth bass giving some sense of depth and drama. I really like it (also like recent GA b-side 'Memory Of You') xp

still not a patch on Propaganda's 'Dr. Mabuse' or early PSBs which is what they should all aspire to but can't

"Men write about women in a far more interesting way, and I try and take things from that. Women always cuss men in song; men write in a way that's more fragile, urgent and desperate."

- GUESS WHO??????

what an intolerable human being she is.

Calm down, dear, it's just LaRoux.

i wonder why she generates so much hate. (and yes i can't stand that song/video either)

Heh, I saw that quote this morning and thought "Uh oh, A CERTAIN SOMEONE is going to kick off when he reads this...!"

i'm more baffled by how anyone can actually stand her. her music, her opinions, everything.

Argh, this is one of the failings of twitter, I've been trying to think of a way to say this to you, Lex, in 140 characters and can't do it.

What saddens/enrages me most about La Roux (or at least the way she is presented in the media - which makes me wonder about the gender of her *interviewers*):

There's something so... adolescent to her outbursts. She reminds of nothing so much as the teenage tomboy who is suddenly burdened with a woman's body and the expectations that that body brings. And suddenly, overnight, she has to notice that the entire world has been divided up into two genders - and that it is divided very *unevenly*.

Yet, being like a petulant child, rather than realising that it is "society" or sexism or misogyny or those expectations that are to blame - she decides that it is the *WOMEN* themselves that are at fault. (this goes along with the whole "women who dress like sluts deserve to get abused" thing she spouted last time.)

It's like, she doesn't want to be a woman, she recognises that being a woman in this society, with the things it values, is the lesser deal. But rather than rail against the society, she decides she doesn't want to be a woman. She wants to identify with men, identify with the way they dress, with their lyrics, etc.

She's held up as some kind of paragon of "androgyny" - she completely isn't. In her hatred of women and their "weakness" she doesn't come across as being the slightest bit interested in re-assessing gender roles or redefining what it means to be Woman on her own terms. She wants to make a claim at being male (good) and denigrate female (bad) in the process.

This to me is not interesting or positive. This to me is just reinforcing that patriarchal duality rather than actually having the courage or taking that grown-up step to say "it's not my gender that's wrong, it's the limited roles into which our society forces genders that is wrong."

Is she really the daughter of somebody in "The Bill"?

Google (and the Sun) tells me yes!

I know nothing of La Roux and your post, Kate, makes me glad that I don't - I am far too old to care what petulant children think about anything - but I shazam'd a magnificent thing I heard at the shops and it turned out to be 'Reflections are Protection'. I checked out the rest of her stuff last night and have been disappointed thus far, but that one tune's great.

not Burnside tho, which is surprising as she probably calls ppl "slaaaag" all the time xp

Let's take some counterpoint from the expert here...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/13/lauren-laverne

Are you a feminist?

Yes, of course. I know why you're asking it, because people now say no. But how stupid do you have to be to say, "No, I believe in gender inequality"?

agree with kate about her motivations. to have this bullshit sold to the public as a strong, feminist role model is disgusting. plus SURELY after the last 3-4 times, someone from the record label must have spoken to her - so why is she STILL running her pig-ignorant mouth?

Because it's being sold by a generation of people who bought all that post-backlash garbage about "being a feminist = hating men" and there's really nothing a backlasher loves more than a woman-hating woman because, like, she can do all their dirty work for them, while they are still being seen to be "including women" etc.

(sorry this bit is a bit more ranty and not as well thought out as what I was thinking above, in fact, I'm probably going to be told of for saying it, as it is probably sexist or something)

sounds to me like it's ideal from their point of view xp - no such thing as bad publicity and all that

why is she STILL running her pig-ignorant mouth?

A certain amount of controversy is good for sales. Plus, I'd think her opinions go down well with some teenagers, both male and female.

(XP)

^basically this - I mean I think there is such a thing as bad publicity but in a broad sense I'm not sure the shit she comes out with is capital-C Controversial

A million women or something read the Daily Mail every day and seem to get on OK with the undercurrent of self-loathing <amirite/>

haha based off the one song I heard, I feel like she says this shit because she knows her music sucks and is desperate not to lose media focus

haha lex the more you post of hers the more forgiveable i find her: i am developing a sense of why she says the things she says, and perhaps the ire has been blunted by repetition.

"Men write about women in a far more interesting way, and I try and take things from that. Women always cuss men in song; men write in a way that's more fragile, urgent and desperate."

this makes total sense in light of the canonical fact that she doesn't listen to r'n'b and thinks it's all "baby ooh i love you". She has noticed a lack of nuanced female perspective in the music she listens to: what she hasn't noticed is that, most likely, 80+% of the music she listens to has lyrics written by men reflective of the male heterosexual experience.

That is a pretty obvious fact to miss, is the thing.

i mean, it's not just that rnb has a lot more of a nuanced female perspective than indie does; it's also that her way of not-listening to rnb involves making a completely false assumption about the lyrical content.

xpost

yeah but she's kind of, you know, not super bright about gender - kate is super super otm above with "the teenage tomboy who is suddenly burdened with a woman's body and the expectations that that body brings."

Even if she doesn't listen to R&B and she just listens to whiteboy indie all the time - it's still inexcusable to posit that females don't write interestingly about love in a world that contains, oh, PJ Harvey, Kristen Hersch, Marnie Stern, Tori Amos, Courtney Love, Joni Mitchell AND ON AND ON AND FUCKING ON.

My problem, like the Lex's, with her discussion of music is how utterly pig ignorant she comes across.

i hate when girls say they are "not a man-hating feminist or anything lol"

well, I hate it when anyone says that actually

i mean, it's not just that rnb has a lot more of a nuanced female perspective than indie does; it's also that her way of not-listening to rnb involves making a completely false assumption about the lyrical content.

ha so what you're saying is, it's ignorance on top of ignorance!

i also hate the defence which runs: oh, but we WANT our pop stars to say mad things and be mouthy in interviews! uh, no. la roux is as much of a crazy provocateur as lady gaga is an avant-garde artiste, ie not much. she's coming out with offensively ignorant and pretty conservative bullshit, and it's pissing people off, not entertaining them.

i only really care what pop stars say in interviews when it's me interviewing them. otherwise i'll be more than fine with great music thx.

ILX so much more evolved and enlightened than the rest of humanity, as usual

I'd say it was entertaining considerably more than it's pissing off. I'm sure plenty of her target (teenage) audience find it all very thought-provoking and exciting.

I think you're vastly underestimating the intelligence of teenage music fans there. (Or at least, based on experience of the ones that I know.)

Eh I've seen quite a lot of people clowning her about this but no-one holding it up as some sort of piercing insight... I might be looking in the wrong places I dunno

Well, I'm old enough to remember finding the things David Bowie spouted about this and that (incl. 'exploring' androgyny and gender) vaguely exciting. That's what it reminds me of.

I don't agree with what she says, by the way. I'm just reminded of certain things and I can imagine some 13 and 14 year olds going for it.

Oh come ON.

I mean, at least it was still actually trailblazing and shocking when Bowie did it, at a point in time where it was still fresh in most people's minds for homo/bisexuality to be a criminal offense?

Even 10, 15 however many years ago, I can remember thinking that Brett Anderson's comments about being "a bisexual who has never had a homosexual experience" pretty cringe-worthy.

At this point, La Roux isn't even transgressive or trail blazing or even interesting. It's just conservative, retrogressive crap.

I wasn't suggesting it was as innovative or ground-breaking as how Bowie was, but that it was similar in its effect on the target audience, albeit LaRoux is insignificant as a pop star even in today's terms, compared to how Bowie was in the '70s. I maintain that there are people out there of a certain age who will think it's exciting and thought-provoking.

loooool, from the moment I saw this thread was updated I just knew it was going to be Lex ranting about something she'd just said.

La Roux singer Elly Jackson has blasted Taylor Swift's music as "manufactured princess pop".
...
Jackson added: "I do think people should stand up more against rubbish music and people should say, 'No, sorry this isn't that good'. It's not. Taylor Swift's music isn't good, it's manufactured princess pop, we've got enough of it, let's have something else."

shut the FUCK up, for real, elly jackson. you're a fucking pygmy next to someone of taylor's talent.

was in the pub with a friend of a friend who works as a celebrity hunter for the N0TW. He declared to me that he wants to become a serious music journalist and in the same breath spoke of how sorry of his disappointed that La Roux failed to win the Mercury. He then read aloud a supportive text he had sent her on the day. And her reply. :-|

so what was it then? if you don't say i'm just going to assume the worst. email if u want!

She has a better voice than Taylor but I don't really want to listen to either of them.

okay maybe not "better", but more open, less pressed

okay never mind, forget I said anything

I don't think I'd grasped exactly how irritating La Roux is musically before now.

I can't really imagine a worse voice.

Basically I was reacting to a massive amount of echo put on her voice in a remix; remove that and it's pretty obvious she has no idea what she's doing when she's trying to sing. Taylor, OTOH, has tinges of the Britney quack in her voice but by and large seems to be producing the sound she's going for.

Whatsit from La Roux sings like a Dalek.

I can't help but really love her songs. There's something "off" about each song - be it the pronounciation or the beats - but at the same time I quite like it. It's never instant love, I can't get it, nor do I really listen. All the song have something in common, I instantly recognize it. And in a funny way it's the fact that I just like it that is the common element. Whatever.

(I feel a bit silly posting here bcz I don't really care that much abt music but I enjoy La Roux; Lex I am happy to try and answer any "how could anyone like this" qtns you may have.)

As daughter of a famous celeb, how the fuck does 'er from La Roux NOT count as "manufactured princess pop"? With her levels of self awareness, I'm just surprised it wasn't a "Lily Allen only got to where she was because of a famous parent" exact quote.

I don't really care that much abt music but I enjoy La Roux

these two things may be connected!

seriously yeah, if anyone wants to tell me how they're ok with her horrible voice, her horrible tinny music, her horrible trite lyrics and her horrible ignorant opinions, feel free.

Elly's horrible, shrill Kelly Marie-esque voice was the first thing I objected to with La Roux but I realise now that the lazily-written hook-deprived songs are just as much of a problem.

la roux is a they? huh.

hahah Lex, for a moment I thought you were on about Neil Young when you said bad voice.

And not care about music and liking La Roux could be related, but I do care about music AND I like La Roux, so how does that work out? I find your whole hatred somewhat cute.

I do have to admit that I have a very fucked up attitude when it comes to pop cult: I actually follow up on famous people I actually abhore. I know more about Katie Price than, say, my next door neighbour. So I guess I have a high tolerance for *crap* or mediocre music (or any other pop cult product). La Roux hasn't really inspired me to analyze her music or be swayed by it, I just find it enjoyable.

my knowing more about katie price - who i NEVER actively try to follow - than my next door neighbour says more about neighbourly relations ~these days~ really. i know she's japanese (have taken post for her), works from home (always bump into each other at like 2pm), lives with her bf, that's it.

seriously yeah, if anyone wants to tell me how they're ok with her horrible voice, her horrible tinny music, her horrible trite lyrics and her horrible ignorant opinions, feel free.

The synthy bit and the chorus of bulletproof are great pop rushes! They are like Negotiate With Love only slightly less good. Also the video is great, with The Future, and primary colours. Also her hair is memorable which is good in a popstar - as someone not paying much attention I cannot remember what Lady Gaga or whoever look like, but La Roux is instantly recognisable.

Her voice is just kinda neutral? It is an autotuned whatever voice, like Kimberley GA or whoever. Are the lyrics really that trite? Again they just seem pleasantly okay!

The lyrics are like something Vince Clarke scribbled on the back of an envelope and then threw away in disgust back in 1982.

it's weird that you cite lady effing gaga and her innumerable attention-seeking outfits as something less visually memorable than la roux - not into gaga at all either (though christ, am nearing crumbling point on this one) but next to her, elly jackson is an indie boy in t-shirt and jeans.

"the future" = the 80s?

idk how to respond to an argument that her piercing, nails-on-blackboard shrill is "neutral" :/

i mean gaga wore a massive bow in her hair which was MADE OUT OF HER HAIR - one stupid quiff has nothing on that

http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2007/08/05/previews/Lady%20GaGa-ADB-013713.jpg

this is one of the more conservative Lady Gaga pics on the internet

She has brown hair in that pic and looks like Chan Marshall! That is nothing like how she looks at other times! My most reliable visual signifier for Lady Gaga is "no trousers" but she does wear them sometimes; I'd be much less confident picking her out of an identity parade than La Roux who just always looks exactly the comforting same.

Is it just me or is La Roux the most boring music ever?

The shit voice doesn't help but by golly, is it fucking boring.

I apologise if this is too obvious and/or behind the curve, btw.

kbp have u
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmE6LwowsQ&feature=player_embedded

i still can't believe Ben Langmaid co-produced (with Rollo) this old track I liked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYcawl29KQ

The original "In For The Kill" is surely much, much better.

(And no wonder The Lex don't like them, as they sound like something from around 1982, i.e. before time began according to The Lex). :)

this is being used in a video game ad here in the US and damn it's pretty massive

Where did they go? At this rate they'll need another smash like "Bulletproof" or "In For The Kill", or the difficult second album will be very difficult indeed.

Waiting three years following your breakthrough album is quite a risk to take. Shame, such a promising act.

New album is going to be 'Nile Rodgers inspired' apparently. Not sure if he's had anything to do with it himself.

This still rocks the dancefloor in my experience.

Hmmm.. Nile Rodgers = great, but also known for a rather "organic" style, and La Roux is not one act that should become "organic".

she's still a vile human, but "bulletproof" is a classic

yeah I don't know how far she's going to go with the Nile thing. I'm ok with her over synthpop revival whatnot but I fear full on Chic freak would show her voice up somewhat.

not to say it couldn't be great

Chic is OK, but I don't want the synthpop revival to stop ever. It was a mistake when synthpop became untrendy in the late 80s and it will be again if it becomes untrendy once more.

Couldn't some inferior act, such as Beyonce, do the Chic thing instead?

kanye's verse from his rather dumb remix of this track contains my favorite rap lyric:

"i'm goin in, and i'ma go hard
i said what's the point if there ain't no scars
a little teeth marks? blood on the collar?
that's real love nnnnnnnngghghgnnnaannnaannnnngghhhhh [pronounced so that it rhymes with 'collar']"

Couldn't some inferior act, such as Beyonce, do the Chic thing instead?

welcome back, Geir!

I know some people hate La Roux with passion, but these tracks are sounding rather promising to my ears. And yeah, apparently Nile Rodgers is actually involved in some of the tracks, if not the whole thing. Now if only she got rid of that horrendous outfit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLP38UkwpBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGGdw6Na3Sc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8r0b2yK9g

New single. Finally!

It's OK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM

http://youtu.be/kOTEx7p-IkM

ugh, never remember how to embed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM

thx

Proper comeback single. Apparently "Lay me down gently" was just a buzz track. It's got Nile Rodgers' fingerprints all over it. Except I think he wasn't involved. I'm not sure about the vocals, but otherwise I love it.

i like "let me down gently" better for some reason but maybe it'll grow on me

Though I love "Sexoteque", and there's a couple of other decent tracks, the new album's definitely a step down from the first one

a friend recently recommended me their debut album and i was sceptical as i couldn't remember what they sounded like at all except remembering disliking the singles at the time but i was kinda shocked to find it some of the most viscerally unpleasant pop music i've ever heard. i have no idea how this album had multiple hits with its incredibly flimsy-feeling synthpop, mediocre hooks, and the way her voice sounds

the two big singles were legit great and the rest was serviceable enough

I suspect that, even though her second album was a massive improvement with some actually great singles, it being ignored by the media was a way to atone for her sins commited on that terrible debut.

"in for the kill" is a 10/10 classic to me

original obv not the remix

the true 2009 classic (the skream remix) that the nostalgia thread needs

Confession: I love love love Trouble in Paradise and I can’t believe there’s barely any discussion of it here

It’s super fun and it was an album I played a lot that summer. “Uptight Downtown” and “Sexoteque” were in heavy rotation at one of my bars and several people asked what it was, particularly with the former.

New single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS6egctCzqY

As much as I like Trouble In Paradise, I was expecting more of a departure, especially considering how long it's been. I'm not too impressed.

"in for the kill" is a 10/10 classic to me

Interview in the indie today is an interesting read

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/la-roux-interview-new-album-supervision-gay-lgbtq-elly-jackson-a9319376.html

I think I'm eternally fated to like La Roux more than almost anyone else does. New album's a bit of a step down from Trouble in Paradise but it still bangs. is there no room in this world for a (slightly) poor man's Christine and the Queens?

Her cover of "Mr. Natural" on the new Whyte Horses LP is pretty nice.