Yep, it’s back! I’m reviving my bloggy version of CD:UK, probably only for the summer, but we’ll see how it goes.
http://www.youtube.com/p/1659D65C1FE3B5A9
Marit Bergman – Out on the Piers
She may have given up on releasing proper CD albums for the time being, but luckily Marit is still making videos, because this one is quite brilliant. You may remember me mentioning a song that Marit said was written for Kylie and about gay sex when I went to see her live a few months ago, and this is it. It’s a beautiful song, up to Marit’s usual amazing standards, but also sounding different to her previous hits. Kylie is seriously missing out for not releasing this herself, just as she was with Ready For The Floor. What kind of mad person thinks 2 Hearts is better than either of them?
Next of Kin – 24 Hours
I remembered this lot the other day, and was quite amazed to find that their video was actually on YouTube. They must have had more fans than I expected. I can remember them being on kids TV a lot in the late 90s, when they were launched as a UK answer to Hanson. This catchy single was a small hit, but they soon disappeared, having discovered that one Hanson was enough for British pop fans. I actually used to know all their names, but now I can only recall that one was (I think) called Kieran. Quite amazingly, my research shows they are still going! Unfortunately, they don’t have any fans whatsoever…
The Parade – Terrorise The Dancefloor
Can you tell I’ve been reminiscing about boybands lately? Here is an absolutely brilliant boyband song from around the same time (turn of the century). This could easily be out now, as it has aged very well in my opinion, although it fits in best with things like Protocol and The Modern from a couple of years ago. I never actually saw this video on TV, as I didn’t have music channels in those days, but it was on a free video I got from a pop magazine, and they used to be featured in Smash Hits sometimes. I miss those days so much, when there was enough good pop music for genuine, non-ironic pop music coverage to have a place in the media.
Rosie & the Goldbug – War of the Roses (Because You Said So)
Now heading into the twentieth century, 2008 in fact, here is one of my current top tips for the future. This group could be placed in line with Dragonette, Stefy etc., but War of The Roses is definitely one of the best ever songs of this sub-genre of pop music. It’s super-catchy and totally brilliant. As with the similar acts, I don’t know if huge success can be predicted, but I know a lot of pop fans will totally love it and be very excited to hear and see more from these sassy popsters.
3SL ft. Est’elle – Touch Me, Tease Me
One last boyband for this week, and I’m posting this to point out something very interesting. Before American Boy, before 1980 (the song, not the year), Estelle Swaray first came to my attention under the slightly different, and in my opinion much cooler (Frencher = cooler), name of Est’elle. She was the rent-a-rapper for the second single by the boyband made up of Lisa Scott-Lee’s brothers, a song I actually rather like for no discernible reason. It got Estelle her first ever top 40 hit, so she shouldn’t be embarrassed of it, although I’m sure she is… so all the more reason to point it out! The song is actually a cover of an American singer called Case, whose version featured Mary J Blige and Foxy Brown.
And now for this week’s top 5 most poptastic tracks, as chosen by you, my fabulous readers:
5. Mystery Jets – Two Doors Down
4. Kleerup ft. Titiyou – Longing For Lullabies
3. Maroon 5 & Rihanna – If I Never See Your Face Again
2. Madonna – Give It 2 Me
And this week’s no.1 favourite is…
Alphabeat – 10,000 Nights of Thunder
A very wise choice! This year has definitely been the year of Alphabeat so far, but I’m quite sad that it doesn’t look like my prediction of them reaching no.1 with this song is going to come true. It does seem like it’s a bit divisive among Alphabeat fans, some loving it even more than Fascination while others think it’s nowhere near as good. For me, it’s my favourite of their songs, and one of my favourite songs in the whole world ever, and has been since the moment I heard it. They’ve definitely done well enough to warrant a second album, although in a way I’m a little saddened by their success, since they’re now starting to play in much bigger venues and you have to book way ahead for their next tour. At least I’ve had the chance to see them 3 times up close and personal, and they were 3 of the best gigs I’ve ever seen, so I’ll just have to savour those memories until they become unpopular and I can see them in a small venue again.