Monday, August 22, 2005

It's been a fantastic past month or so for pop singles. Here's a few I've been enjoying:

Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches
I had completely forgot about Robyn so it feels like this song came out of nowhere, and she's rapping! Not only is she rapping, she's good at it. Surprisingly good. Like wtf good. She even comes across as more menacing and fun than the humourless 50 Cent. Crash and Burn Girl and Be Mine! are two other tracks making the MP3 blog circuit right now, which are not rap, but fine pop tunes. Robyn's new album is only available as an import in North America, which means $$$ or rip.

Gorillaz - Dare
I'm glad they picked Dare as the second single instead of Dirty Harry, which is pretty much a copy of the first single. The lyrics are simple, but effective with the high pitch vocals. On the single, the Soulwax remix flat out out performs the DFA one. I still prefer this album cut best though.

Daft Punk - Technologic (Vitalic Remix)
Wheras here, the remix makes this song. Vitalic out Daft Punks Daft Punk. I wish there was a Vitalic remix of the entire Human After All album.

Rinocerose - Bitch
Like Vitalic and Daft Punk, french beats are always so easy to pick out. Here they're glammed up in a 80s AC/DC meets Prince way. With sexy results.

Annie - Chewing Gum
Even though that time honoured indie sentiment that "this should be on the radio" is cliched, but really, this should be on the radio.

t.A.T.u - all about us
Feels like a blended copy of their previous singles, but still good. I never really expected to ever hear from them again, so this is a pleasant suprise.

Rachel Stevens - I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)
Again, it's fun when lowered expectations, or no expectations, lead to pleasant suprises. Apparently this is "schaffel pop" and it's due for a revival. I had no idea what the hell schaffel was or that it was even around in the first place. From as much as I can decipher, it's a subgenre of glam pop like Goldfrapp. It's one of those terms that only dance music dorks use or know about. Soon enough there'll be Intelligent Schaffel Pop! Which means all the fun will be extracted out of it.

Goldfrapp - Oh La La
While I've never quite been a huge Goldfrapp fan, not for disliking her or the music, but because I just haven't got around to listening to anything by her other than a single here or there. So I'm ill-equipped to label this song as a regression from her past work. It's nothing spectacular, but it's servicable and good enough for those mixtapes you make for friends that will only ever get played once out of courtesy.

Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
In terms of style, Ladytron is usually grouped with Goldfrapp. I've always considered Ladytron a cut above Goldfrapp, but thought they've always lacked that one hot single that can sell an album. With "Destroy Everything You Touch", they've finally got that track. It even has a goth tinge to it, like Kylie's "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which I adore. It shows everything Ladytron is capable of. Which is making one of the best singles of the year.

Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
The backlash to this song is unwarranted. The last album was a pleasant suprise because it was sloppy and off, yet polished, but also immediately catchy. Here the complaint seems to be it's too polished and it's not immediately catchy. Which is true, but doesn't mean it sucks. It's a grower. Listen to it seven times.

Only issue I have is that the song is called "Do You Want To", but he actually says "Do You Wanna". My favourite song with the line "Do You Want To" still remains Youth Brigade's punk rock chugging palm-muted masterpiece "Violence".

Animal Collective - Grass
Holy shit, I can't stop listening to this. Yes this is Pop music. So giddy, alive and exhilirating. Thank you for the pain!

Stars - Ageless Beauty
A friend hates them because they're "so pretentious" live. I've always been fine with that and marked it as part of their gimmick, which is songs about unrequited love. Ageless Beauty is the strongest track from last years Set Yourself on Fire, and it's about, well, unrequited love. The kind that makes you think you can save the world. Next time someone asks you what's your favourite love song, instead of stumbling and thinking of Celine Dion or Whitney Houston, and you know, the fact that you've never been in love, just say Ageless Beauty.

The New Pornographers - Bleeding Heart Show
Power pop, indie pop, it's still pop. It's the end of this song that gets me. With Neko singing over the "hey la"'s, maybe I can fucking save the world.

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