― Eppy (Eppy), Monday, 13 February 2006 22:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 14 February 2006 00:22 (eighteen years ago) link
http://s64.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1Q5R4YXR74O661AVSK830JDQUH
― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 10:25 (eighteen years ago) link
But for all that, the sound is way more tepid than it ought to be. Or that's how it seems right now, with my not yet having swamped myself in her songs.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:41 (eighteen years ago) link
Anyway, this is the Sugababes covering "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor":
http://www.popjustice.com/downloads/sugamonkeys.mp3
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 22:52 (eighteen years ago) link
The song, by the way, sounds good but not great. Nice to hear Pink's voice.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:02 (eighteen years ago) link
One of the themes of this thread is that teenpop is hardly just play play play joy joy joy kids kids kids fun fun fun.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:09 (eighteen years ago) link
Tash Bed launched her solo career with a track called "Single", which was a kinda P!nk-esque "I am a WOMAN and will take no shit from you MEN" track with a few catchy bits and an awful video. I always got the feeling that the reason for "These Words" as the second single was so people wouldn't assume she was a lesbian.
I think my problem with calling her teenpop is that she always has been, and always has been marketed as, the dance-wing of Dido.
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:13 (eighteen years ago) link
It's about the Sugababes covering "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor"
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:14 (eighteen years ago) link
So, I sort of want to like this mohawked and punkabillified (where, um, "billy" means "ska" I guess) Horrorpops album *Bring It On!* on Hellcat. Bang Sugar Bang made my top ten last year after all. I guess the idea is making the Dance Hall Crashers or early No Doubt rock as hard as the Distillers or something. And I don't *not* like it; it's not *not* catchy; it all sounds perfectly pleasant, but also nothing on it is reaching out and grabbing me. I'm thinking the problem might mostly be the singer (whose hairdo makes it look like she has devil's horns); her voice is probably too thin, but then again the rhythm section is probably too thin too. But at the same time, I'd say both the vocals and rhythm are COMPETENT. Shrug. Jeanne, have you heard this? I have a feeling I'd trust your Horrorpops judgement implicitly. Also possible that they just don't have songs (where Bang Sugar Bang have NON-STOP songs). And if they DO have songs, which they might, the Horrorpops singer just can't put them over, for whatever reason. -- xhuxk (xedd...), February 15th, 2006.
― xhuxk, Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:14 (eighteen years ago) link
Back to the Pink vid, and to repeat something I said over on the rolling country thread: I may not know much about videos these days, but I know from stupid, and whatever you think about Jessica Simpson's cocktease routine in "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," it's not stupid: Get out of car, swing your hips, prance into rowdy redneck club, get guys to beat themselves up over you, flirt with Willie, sashay out, leaving the joint in shambles. You may not like that version or that vision of girl power, since it's not the one that the enlightened We-who-know-better embrace and doesn't prefigure Our hoped-for social transformation, but it's not stupid.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:22 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:30 (eighteen years ago) link
I'm not sure that the U.S. has a Dido equivalent: Sheryl and Alanis would be occupying that social spot, but neither is hitting big at the moment. Maybe the spot is currently occupied by Kelly Clarkson heaving her voice and guts at us. (She seems to be occupying twenty or so spots.) Hooray for us!
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 23:40 (eighteen years ago) link
I would also like to ask our English friends for thoughts about Mercury Prize nominee KT Tunstall, whose imminent (here) *Eyes to the Telescope* (especially "Suddenly I See" and maybe "Miniature Disasters" and "Heal Over" so far; "Universe & U" kinda stinks) I have been enjoying this weekend in a sort of vaguely jazz-folky post-Laura Nyro/Rickie Lee Jones stewardess-pop (stole that idea from an old Xgau Quarterflash review!) sort of way, which is to say approx. 15 percent country maybe, though I could see her appealing to an '06 US country audience if they heard her. Have no idea how she's heard or thought of in England. If I pay closer attention to the words will I hate her? I am sort of scared of that. -- xhuxk (xedd...), January 1st, 2006.
The KT Tunstall tracks I don't like are probably more Natalie Merchant than to Nyro/Rickie Lee. Second most energetic and therefore likeable song after "Suddenly I See" (which is a real good dance track) might be "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," with its sort of Diddley beat.
-- xhuxk (xedd...), January 2nd, 2006.
― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 14:18 (eighteen years ago) link
― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!! (ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!!), Thursday, 16 February 2006 14:27 (eighteen years ago) link
Joseph, is "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" really about a horse asking KT to marry him, and she says no? That's what she seems to be singing about. Wacky! Though it would be even wackier if she said yes! Also, tracks # 2,3, and 8 have good power-ballad buldups, I have decided. -- xhuxk (xedd...), January 3rd, 2006.
is "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" really about a horse asking KT to marry him, and she says no?Yup: Her black horse is Joni Mitchell's Coyote, I figure. -- Joseph McCombs (jmccomb...), January 4th, 2006.
― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 14:34 (eighteen years ago) link
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 15:53 (eighteen years ago) link
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 15:56 (eighteen years ago) link
(Also, Scottish IS British, isn't it?) (Or are you saying that, for Scottish women, being propositioned by a horse is perfectly normal?)
― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:59 (eighteen years ago) link
*some ambiguity, though, as to whether Holly's resurrection is a living one or occurs after death, e.g., she stopped loving dope today, they placed a wreath upon her door, perhaps.
**I assume that Breakaway is basically a collection of songs rather than a concept album, and the song order has as much to do with sound and mood as anything; so the story that gets inadvertently told is just the way the songs happened to fall. But even on random play you get the basic story, the anguish is so prevalent. And being good pop music, there's always another story anyway, 'cause there's usually a dance and an enticing come-on no matter what the words are saying, and there's always a voluptuousness of sound, even in despair. Especially in despair.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 17:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 17:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:04 (eighteen years ago) link
KT Tunstall says she has a big lesbian following after 'accidentally' wearing rainbow braces on the cover of her album.
"I have a massive lesbian following," she told the Mirror. "There's always a gay crowd up the front at my gigs. It's a huge compliment. No one thinks Katie Melua is gay.
"I think it's because I'm a singer-songwriter with a personality - balls and some sassiness."
KT believes she unintentionally sent out mixed messages about her sexuality when she wore a pair of rainbow-patterned braces - a gay symbol - on her record cover.
She says she only realised the implications when a friend in the U.S. sent her a text saying: "The girls in San Francisco are loving your braces."
KT adds: "I was onstage in Dublin when I heard a girl in the crowd shout: 'KT, you're a lesbian!' What the hell do you say to that? I didn't want to upset the lesbians but I didn't want to make out I was one.
"I said: 'You can't say that!' Then I realised that none of the other 1,500 people there had heard her. So I said: 'That girl just called me a lesbian.'
"At the end of the gig, a roadie handed me a note from the woman. It said: 'KT, I was saying 'legend'."
Copyright © 2006 Ananova Ltd
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:09 (eighteen years ago) link
As a side note - Delays - Valentine. What we r reckon to this, then?
― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:14 (eighteen years ago) link
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000DN5VJY.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:16 (eighteen years ago) link
Well, making fun of dumb blondes seems pretty status quo to me. (As opposed to raping and killing your mom, which is Eminem's idea of the forbidden.)
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:18 (eighteen years ago) link
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007A0GD4.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:27 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:56 (eighteen years ago) link
That's gotta be a pretty relative scale. And Pink sure acts like a *kid* with her license plate reading No. 1 Superstar and her comparing her life to Vietnam because her mom's going to change her last name and her family won't pretend they're all really happy. I didn't hear Try This, though.
― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 16 February 2006 19:02 (eighteen years ago) link
Fr Kog: links at the bottom of this page should prove more amenable.
― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Thursday, 16 February 2006 19:12 (eighteen years ago) link
How is this sort of thing perceived in Britain? As just more indie poprock, or is the Hi-NRG dance sound recognized?
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 20:58 (eighteen years ago) link
(Yeah, I know
Now, I won't pretend that Messina or Pinson are teenpop, but I bet lots o' Brit teens and teeny-weenies go for the Kaiser Chiefs. My impression is that their official category is "indie" (though they're major label).
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 21:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 21:22 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 21:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 21:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 16 February 2006 22:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 16 February 2006 22:07 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 22:11 (eighteen years ago) link
Interestingly, I was just listening to the NEW Buzzcocks album *flat pack philosophy* today, and what's clear to me is that Pete Shelley's voice just doesn't hold up; he seemingly can't get it high or nasal or swishy enough to convey his old sweetness and manic excitement anymore. which might not be that big a surprise, except that i actually liked the buzzcocks's *modern* album in 1999 (or at least i did at the time; maybe if i pulled it out now, i wouldn't be so impressed.) band still sounds like they might be fairly tuneful, if not nearly as energetic as they once were. without shelley's voice, though, it just doesn't matter. i gave up after five or six songs.
― xhuxk, Thursday, 16 February 2006 23:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 16 February 2006 23:36 (eighteen years ago) link