So the Ting Tings excellent "Shut Up and Let Me Go" has been all over US TV, making them the latest act that nobody in the US would pay any attention to until Apple gave them a commercial and Voila! made them cool. They join Feist, CSS, and Yael Naim in that club.
The always insightful Popjustice made an interesting point today about "Shut Up and Let Me Go." Namely, that the opening guitar bit seems to be exactly the same one that Ali Love used in his incredibly unappreciated "Late Night Session"
Ali Love, despite being a really fun artist, is probably best known for doing vocals on the Chemical Brothers' modest hit "Do It Again". That would be because his own songs don't even register as modest hits. Why? No other reasons than these most likely:
1. Gay people only have so much money to spend on records
2. Radio 1 only had Late Night Session on the C list. Radio 1 can pretty much make whatever songs successful they want.
3. NME and the indie cool brigade snobs didn't decide that Ali Love is uber cool and hip and indy.
4. Apple didn't put "Secret Sunday Lover" in a commercial with dancing silhouettes.
Despite all that, both Ali Love and the Ting Tings remain Quite Good (TM Popjustice) and worth your time. I encourage everyone to illegally download or, if you must, buy the Ting Tings' "We Started Nothing," which is on iTunes now and should be in stores soon. Or you could just hit up vampydoesntstopthemusic.blogspot.com or letshavetext.blogspot.com and download it. Your choice.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
50 Gayest Songs Ever!
Contrary to what Dan Juilfs might think, I am not gay. But I must say, gay people have tremendous music taste. To wit: this fabulous list of the 50 gayest songs ever, which I have blatantly stolen from vampyloveskylie.blogspot.com, which is pretty much the best blog ever. Take a look:
50. Elton John and George Michael “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
49. Dead or Alive “You Spin Me (Like A Record)”
48. Pet Shop Boys “New York City Boy”
47. Diana Ross “Chain Reaction”
46. Deborah Harry “I Want That Man”
45. Cher “Strong Enough”
44. RuPaul “Supermodel (You Better Work)”
43. KD Lang “Constant Craving”
42. Culture Club “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”
41. Chaka Khan “I’m Every Woman”
40. Wham “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”
39. Paul Lekakis “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back To My Room)
38. Kym Mazelle “Young Hearts Run Free”
37. George Michael “Outside”
36. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
35. Dannii Minogue “This Is It”
34. Belinda Carlisle “Summer Rain”
33. Peter Allen “I Go To Rio”
32. Sylvester “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”
31. Heather Small “Proud”
30. CeCe Peniston “Finally”
29. Madonna “Express Yourself”
28. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
27. Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”
26. Tim Curry “Sweet Transvestite”
25. Barry Manilow “Copacabana”
24. Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “No More Tears”
23. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
22. Sister Sledge “We Are Family”
21. Queen “I Want To Break Free”
20. Dolly Parton “9 to 5”
19. Coming Out Crew “Free, Gay and Happy”
18. Village People “In the Navy”
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Relax”
16. Village People “Macho Man”
15. Judy Garland “Over The Rainbow”
14. Bronski Beat “Smalltown Boy”
13. Diana Ross “I’m Coming Out”
12. Cher “Believe”
11. Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”
10. Alicia Bridges “I Love The Nightlife”
9. Madonna “Vogue”
8. Olivia Netwon-John “Xanadu”
7. Kylie Minogue “Better The Devil You Know”
6. Pet Shop Boys “Go West”
5. Kylie Minogue “Your Disco Needs You”
4. The Weathergirls “It’s Raining Men”
3. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”
2. Village People “YMCA”
1. ABBA “Dancing Queen”
As you can see, quite a bit of disco, three Minogue sister appearances, and a few George Michael tracks, which is what you'd expect.
To help celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, last month Samesame.com.au asked readers to vote for what songs out of the vast catalogue of musical history they thought deserved to be called camp classics.
Here are the TOP 50 Gayest Songs:
50. Elton John and George Michael “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
49. Dead or Alive “You Spin Me (Like A Record)”
48. Pet Shop Boys “New York City Boy”
47. Diana Ross “Chain Reaction”
46. Deborah Harry “I Want That Man”
45. Cher “Strong Enough”
44. RuPaul “Supermodel (You Better Work)”
43. KD Lang “Constant Craving”
42. Culture Club “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”
41. Chaka Khan “I’m Every Woman”
40. Wham “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”
39. Paul Lekakis “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back To My Room)
38. Kym Mazelle “Young Hearts Run Free”
37. George Michael “Outside”
36. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
35. Dannii Minogue “This Is It”
34. Belinda Carlisle “Summer Rain”
33. Peter Allen “I Go To Rio”
32. Sylvester “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”
31. Heather Small “Proud”
30. CeCe Peniston “Finally”
29. Madonna “Express Yourself”
28. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
27. Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”
26. Tim Curry “Sweet Transvestite”
25. Barry Manilow “Copacabana”
24. Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “No More Tears”
23. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
22. Sister Sledge “We Are Family”
21. Queen “I Want To Break Free”
20. Dolly Parton “9 to 5”
19. Coming Out Crew “Free, Gay and Happy”
18. Village People “In the Navy”
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Relax”
16. Village People “Macho Man”
15. Judy Garland “Over The Rainbow”
14. Bronski Beat “Smalltown Boy”
13. Diana Ross “I’m Coming Out”
12. Cher “Believe”
11. Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”
10. Alicia Bridges “I Love The Nightlife”
9. Madonna “Vogue”
8. Olivia Netwon-John “Xanadu”
7. Kylie Minogue “Better The Devil You Know”
6. Pet Shop Boys “Go West”
5. Kylie Minogue “Your Disco Needs You”
4. The Weathergirls “It’s Raining Men”
3. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”
2. Village People “YMCA”
1. ABBA “Dancing Queen”
As you can see, quite a bit of disco, three Minogue sister appearances, and a few George Michael tracks, which is what you'd expect.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Unexpected Wisdom from Popjustice
If there's one websiteI can't go a day without reading, it's Popjustice, the excellent blog on all musical things "pop," especially those tending towards electro and synth-heavy sounds. Basically, if they pimp it, I end up liking it. I know it sounds robotic, but I've almost giving up on trying to find new music on my own because Popjustice's recommendations are great almost 100% of the time.
But I go there to find new pop acts or read snarky comments about the world of music. Not to get statements of philosophical truth. But I ended up getting both today.
The news item was about the new Taio Cruz single "I Can Be," which basically carries these messages, as summed up by Popjustice:
"1. The prettiest things can come out of the coldest night
2. Even with broken wings sometimes you find your way to fly
3. It's time to be bigger, stronger, harder
4. Sometimes the pain is what we need for us to grow"
So pretty much it's standard inspirational stuff, and the song itself is quite good (TM). But get a load of Popjustice's commentary on the subject matter:
"Unfortunately the sad fact of the matter is that for every person who succeeds in turning their life around through positive thinking, there are ten people whose lives never really improve and whose lives may in fact be even more packed with disappointment and perceived failure thanks to nonstop daydreaming about how great things really could be. 'These things' are not sent 'to try us' - 'these things' are usually shit events in and of themselves. Sometimes life is just terrible and no amount of positive thinking will change that fact. Nothing changes. It's just day after day of struggling to keep your head above water until one day you die, the only tragedy being that you're not alive to feel relief that it is all finally over. Still, put your fist in the sky and sing along with Taio..."
Agree? Disagree? I know it's a pretty bleak perspective, but it really struck a cord with me, and I felt like sharing it.
Here's the youtube link for the "I Can Be" video. Check it out. It's worth your time. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ar2pKa1fp98
But I go there to find new pop acts or read snarky comments about the world of music. Not to get statements of philosophical truth. But I ended up getting both today.
The news item was about the new Taio Cruz single "I Can Be," which basically carries these messages, as summed up by Popjustice:
"1. The prettiest things can come out of the coldest night
2. Even with broken wings sometimes you find your way to fly
3. It's time to be bigger, stronger, harder
4. Sometimes the pain is what we need for us to grow"
So pretty much it's standard inspirational stuff, and the song itself is quite good (TM). But get a load of Popjustice's commentary on the subject matter:
"Unfortunately the sad fact of the matter is that for every person who succeeds in turning their life around through positive thinking, there are ten people whose lives never really improve and whose lives may in fact be even more packed with disappointment and perceived failure thanks to nonstop daydreaming about how great things really could be. 'These things' are not sent 'to try us' - 'these things' are usually shit events in and of themselves. Sometimes life is just terrible and no amount of positive thinking will change that fact. Nothing changes. It's just day after day of struggling to keep your head above water until one day you die, the only tragedy being that you're not alive to feel relief that it is all finally over. Still, put your fist in the sky and sing along with Taio..."
Agree? Disagree? I know it's a pretty bleak perspective, but it really struck a cord with me, and I felt like sharing it.
Here's the youtube link for the "I Can Be" video. Check it out. It's worth your time. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ar2pKa1fp98
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