THE FIZZYPOP MUST LIST:
- I totally miss writing about new music from Simon Curtis. Yes, I've been spoiled with an album I adore (Alter Boy) and of course his poptastic contributions to Spectacular (which I also found in HMV last week. Woo!) which showed off a different side to his vocal style. While I (im)patiently wait for new stuff, I'm more than happy to continue my love affair with Candy Coated Chaos who Simon and his producer Jadion introduced me too. Both are involved with CCC - their amazing new single is written by Simon and produced by Jadion. It absolutely spits out dance floor ready beats and a frenetic groove that builds up in such an intense way that by the time you get to the chorus, it explodes out your speakers. If that's not enough to convince you (and it should be) try the glorious Masquerade which is so radio ready, it stands head and shoulders above anything Britney has done lately. Make these songs hits by purchasing them now. Don't disappoint me :) (See also: Previous posts on CCC; Mel's blog)
- Oh Industry! I see no shame at all in loving sunny pop songs like My Baby's Waiting by new Irish popgroup Industry. While Same Difference are off seeking success in Asia and Australia (their concert last week was mega - all of the album plus their version of When You Believe. And they are utterly adorable people - fizzypop SD page updated with more live vids!), I'm embracing the latest pop combo to hit - their debut single is perfect pop fare harking back to the glory days of Steps/All*Stars/SClub. It's string laden chorus and catchy hooks are custom made for people like me. And of course they are all ridiculously gorgeous and make me feel slightly prettier just watching them :P (See also: Previous post on Industry; D'luv's discovery; PosterGirl feels the love; Nikki approves!)
- Lovely Samuel Taylor has put up his version of The Cardigan's epic song Communication up on his myspace. I absolutely adore this song and hearing it sung by Sam's soothing tones is an utter treat. It's very understated, beautifully elegant with Sam's vocal being the focal point of the chorus despite a crescendo of strings. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye, and nearly did when I was feeling melancholy and slightly drunk last week. Exquisite :) (See also: previous post on Sam)
- Hurrah! Bonkers pop star Mika is back. And his new EP doesn't seem to have set the blogging community alight, but I actually quite like the introspective Mika sound. Blue Eyes is the perkiest (and most Jason Mraz-y meets Rusted Root) of the bunch, it's the sumptuous Toy Boy that I like best. As I stated last week, it's entirely Disney in it's execution but has some deliciously dark lyrics juxtaposed against the perky pop. I'm quite excited now for his second album later this year... (See also: If you are tired of waiting for Mika to return "proper", you might want to check out another bonkers popstar who could quite easily be the French Mika - Sliimy's Wake Up is not quite as immediate as you would hope but soon hooks into your brain with it's part brilliant pop song, part novelty chorus. Check out his version of Womaniser too!)
- IDOL GOSSIP: Jordin Sparks new single (the quite good actually Battlefield) has to be the most overtwittered song of all time. I went from being bemused by it, to OBSESSED to what-is-the-fuss-about to actually quite liking it (though I've had to stop playing it for a while so i don't fall out of love from it's inevitable overexposure!). Overall, it's clearly the best idol single since 8th World Wonder. Meanwhile Blake Lewis not only looked extremely spaffleable on AI Extra but turned in a kickass version of Rihanna's Disturbia. (Check out PPG for album news). And JLS have premiered their debut single Beat Again (clearly not a song title Chris Brown should use!) - it's only ok, but they are so charming and adorable that I am allowing it to grow on me! (See also: Nikki's opinion; Ken's views!)
- TV FINALES: I'm probably going to break my new once a week blogging habit already by doing a tv overview of the latest US season on Weds, but for now some very quick opinions on some of the most recent finales - Lost I thought was utterly epic. A bit barmy, but love the Man in Black and his connection to the island. Prison Break - as inconsistent and frustrating as ever, but overall a decent end to the show that had me sniffling ever so slightly. Thought Bro & Sis was nicely understated and set things up well for next year. Half way through Grey's Anatomy but they have totally turned it round from the near-unwatchable show it was for the first 3/4 of season 5...
- While I am reading Henry: The Virtuous Prince by David Starkey (as I love the Tudor period and it's the 500th anniversary of his ascension to the throne), my latest literary obsession is the amazing Johnny Mackenzie by Keith Mansfield. It's described as Alex Rider meets Dr Who and so far is entirely brilliant. Hurrah!
- FINALLY! Paolo Nutini was brillopants in concert earlier in the week. I nearly wept of course at his epic These Streets, but the new material sounds epic. Candy of course is already garnering hits at youtube but Pencil Full of Lead sounds like it was created in a test tube and engineered perfectly for summer festivals. Chorus is out of this world. Glorious :)
Thanks to the utterly delightful, 60s influenced, delicious slice of perfect pop Since You've Been Gone being back on her myspace, Elouise has the highest new entry of my playlist this week. And fast becoming a pop obsession on par with Simon Curtis and Same Difference. Every track is a drop of heaven. Check out her full show at Stratford Circus on 20th June - backing band, full set, the works. A labour of love for a new artist. Can't. Wait.
21 - Neo, Flower Power Super Girl (Official video)
20 - Simon Curtis, Things We Do For Love (Movie video)
19 - Industry, My Baby's Waiting (NE/Official video)
18 - Kelly Clarkson, I Do Not Hook Up (GMA video)
17 - Pet Shop Boys, Did You See me Coming (Official video)
16 - Alcazar, Stay The Night (Melodifestivalen video)
15 - The Killers, World We Live In (Official video)
14 - Paolo Nutini, Candy (Official video)
13 - Lily Allen, Not Fair (Ant and Dec video)
12 - Infernal, Redefinition (Official video)
11 - BWO, Right Here Right Now (Live video)
10 - Same Difference, All Roads Lead To Heaven (Concert video - ace!)
09 - Mans Zelmerlow, Hope and Glory (Acoustic video)
08 - Alesha Dixon, I Get Excited (Feelgood Factor video)
07 - Annie, Anthonio (Static video)
06 - Take That, The Garden (Official video)
05 - Elouise, One Night Only (NE)
04 - Freemasons ft Sophie Ellis Bextor, Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer (Official video)
03 - Marina & The Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot (Static video)
02 - Little Boots, New in Town (/Jools Holland video)
01 - "Abba", Second Best To None (1 Week)
Previous number ones: Marina - Robot (2 weeks); Mans Zelmerlow - Hope and Glory (4 weeks); BWO - You're Not Alone (4 weeks); PSB - Love Etc (1 week); Sugababes - Every Heart Broken (4 weeks); Simon Curtis/Victoria Justice - On The Wings of a Dream (4 weeks)
(Check out Mike Poptrash singles of the week with comments from respected and wonderful bloggers)
Midweek TV Season report! Then back next week with Bham Gay Pride update!
Looks great! Very modern.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about Mike being Jason Mraz-y meets Rusted Root sums up why I think he sucks! :)
You SO need to interview Deb G about her new movie.
Now, do you think Paolo's voice has changed a bit? He's all warbly now, vs growly. I am not sure I like that. It's like when Billy Bragg got an American accent on his last CD!
Last, the banner, is that Spectacular stylee breakin'?!
Love the new design!!
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering when you'd break radio silence about Debbie's new effort. Looks cheesy as hell, and to think, over a million hits and a viral video status. So will b-movie overtake her original success? Probably not, but I think she's being totally serious and not tongue and cheek as you suggest. I could be wrong, but this reeks of desperation. She needs to stick with the music and hook up with the likes of Cathy Dennis or someone to get her going in the right direction.
wow! great post. i must tell you how much i adore this new look. it's gorg.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed the clip of SD covering "When You Believe". whomever their musical director is, is doing a great job. they have a very signature sound already.
re: debbie gibson.. my gosh, i hope her financial desperation motivates her, rick, tiffany and samantha to extend that nostalgie 80 tour to other parts of the world!! :p
i had no idea Mika had an EP out. thanks for the headsup. will check it.
xx
Oooh, new look! You gone all hip hop now.
ReplyDeleteBut, best Idol single since "8th World Wonder"? I take it you mean song from a former Idol contestant? "Since U Been Gone" or "My Life Would Suck Without You" or even Jordin's own "No Air" and "One Step At A Time" rank much higher than "8th World Wonder" for me.
- You saw Paolo? I was pretty disappointed that I wasn't going to be in town for the Tuesday night show.
ReplyDelete- Completely agree on the Blake Lewis appearance on both fronts.
- I actually heard Freemasons on a station down in Kent, and it really worked on the radio.
- I can vouch for you lighting up when you saw the Spectacular soundtrack at HMV. Brief moment of nirvana, for sure.
XO - thanks. i like it. i feel funky. In the same way if you wear a t-shirt that is slightly outside your graphic comfort zone :P The banner - let's pretend yes, i knew it was very Spectacular themed and leave it at that :) I'm sad you are not totally on board with Mika, but half expected it :) Paolo's voice didn't seem overly different on his old stuff in concert so I will wait to see what his studio versions sound like. He was positively edible. And yes, i so need to interview DG about Mega Shark :)
ReplyDeleteYuri - absolutely disagree. She has been quite candid about this on her blog and twitter, before it even took off as a viral hit - she did it because she thought it was a lot of fun and a kitschy thing to do. I'm obviously on board for life at this point whatever she does - sure it's no work of art (More Sunset Beach than Sunset Boulevard) but if it reminds people to go check out her music, i'm all for it. Reeks of desperation? Who knows - i don't think so. I'm sure she is eager to be known for her music again and maybe that will happen maybe it won't. Not many teen stars from the 80s have worked as consistently and solidly as she has since the mid 90s though in theatre and music. And i absolutely think she is perfectly capable of writing her own tunes, though if she wants to team up with my beloved Cathy Dennis i'm all for that :) God i'm virulently defensive of her aren't i?! Hehe.
Will - aw thanks dude. I think if Same Diff had won the X Factor and sung When You Believe instead of Leon, it would've set up their career a lot better than a ten month break :( The concert was aces.
Dluv - yeah that's what i meant. And it's not that I don't love those other singles you mention, because I absolutely do. It's just that I was entirely in love with Kimberley Locke and thought 8th World Wonder was a BRILLIANT pop single. I still love it to this day. I'm weird like that ;)
John - Paolo was adorable. Shame you missed out on him and the barrowboy! And Spectacular - i was quite pleased wasn't I?! hehehe
New look is great Paul, D.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, Paul. Fair enough. :) I don't follow Debbie (that's what I have you for) so I wasn't aware of her "ok guys this is me being not serious here" outlook on the movie. I'm glad folks are talking about her again, so I'm sure she is too. Why wasn't "Out of the Blue" remixed and used in the trailer?!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you redecorated more than just your place--I like the dark colors. So edgy. Debbie Gibson's movie sounds hilarious, Mika sounds like he's making a mistake IMO, and Little Boots at #1--Great choice! I hope her album is as good as what we've heard so far.
ReplyDeleteDebbie should just come clean and admit it she did it for the £££££££! She's too old now to do Playboy. :P
ReplyDeleteThe "Fringe" season finale is amazing, just downloaded it yesterday. The producers certainly have balls!
Better yet, "Better Off Ted" and "Chuck" have been renewed, and "Reaper" could survive.
Love the new layout! :))
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting to see some changes. :)
Anyways, I had "Communication" about a month a go and I never thought that it was a cover. Oh those old days. LOL.
I'm happy to see Little Boots at the top of your weekly charts. It's such an awesome song.
I checked out Elouise and I love "Since You've Been Gone" and "Set me Free". She's growing on me. Nice. Thanks for the heads-up. :)
Fucking amazing new look. You gonna come down to Stratford Circus?
ReplyDeleteDavid - thanks :) I can do none of the moves in the silohuette :)
ReplyDeleteYuri - hahahaha indeed. And good call on the Out Of The Blue observation. It was ideal for a megashark remix!!
ADH - well redecorating wasn't as annoying as it could've been so i funked out my online pad as well. Poor Mika seems to be alienating everyone but me!! And i'm sure Little Boots will be huge. It's practically preordained!
Kevin - well I'm sure $$$ came into it. I'm sure she didn't do it out the goodness of her heart. But then i do stuff at work that i think will be fun or cool but certainly not for free :P Fringe i will be watching over the summer and oh, if only Reaper could survive!!
Ken - yay! I'm so glad that you like Elouise. Now fly over to London and come see her live show. It promises to be amazing. That is an actual guarantee :P
Robpop - of course.
Great new look. Very swanky. The Deb Gibson movie looks ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. I saw a vid on her site saying she was told to take it very seriously all the way through in terms of her character though she wanted to crack up!
ReplyDeleteExcellent pop picks again this week. Nothing tops the cardigans version of Communication but sam's version is just delightful nonetheless. And the Candy girls look gorgeous. masquerade continues to be amazing!!
Wow! Total appearance revamp. I agree with ww_adh--it looks edgier now!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely looking forward to hearing what Mika's new album sounds like, but I don't think I'll be listening to or at least spending much time with this EP, from the little clips I've heard.
Let me take a moment to throw some love in the direction of "Eighth World Wonder," too--probably not quite as much as you, but I do love it! "Battlefield" is good but not amazing for me, but I'm really holding out for the final full version of "Walking On Snow."
Yay Industry, yay CCC, yay Blake, yay Sam! Oh, and yay for the always great tracks of the week list which would make for an especially killer playlist this week.
PS - JLS Beat Again (clearly not a song title Chris Brown should use!) Hehhehehe
ReplyDeleteLoving Battlefield, and can't wait for CCC to make it huge!
ReplyDeleteLoving the blog redesign too! Fantastic!
Ben - yay! you should check out the Sharkypuss movie. It's definitely worth some chuckles. And so glad that you are still feeling CCC. They are totally gorgeous aren't they? And yes the cardigans of course have the definitive version of Communication but i like that a guy sings it and Sam really brings it at the end :)
ReplyDeletePPG - poor mika isn't getting much love at the moment is he? I get that - i'm surprised myself at how taken I have been with the EP. I guess it just works for me. And yay yay! I'm glad someone likes 8th World Wonder almost as much as me. Had I been blogging when it came out you would have seen some serious same difference level obsession directed at it :P
Aaron - As i said, i've had to hold back on Battlefield so i can appreciate it long term rather than a short obsession and then totally bored :P
this Mega Shark movie went straight to DVD right? maybe even straight to Walmart's $5 DVD bin (yeah, I know, harsh)
ReplyDelete