N.E.R.D. are back - preview their new video with Nelly Furtado!

N.E.R.D. have been off the scene for a while, so ScopiSat did some nosing around (read: wikipedia-ing) to see what they had been up to. The answer is "nothing particularly interesting" but we did find out that as a band, N.E.R.D. have not been nearly as successful as we assumed. The group has never (!!) had a top 100 Billboard single (excluding dance charts) and while their first two albums went Gold, their last has only sold about 250,000 in the U.S. Then we remembered that N.E.R.D. is actually just a side project and two of the three members are actually THE NEPTUNES who produced EVERY NUMBER ONE HIT in America between 2001 and 2006. So they're doing fine.

Anyway, N.E.R.D. has a new song out with Nelly Furtado and they made a video for it. Here's a preview.



The new album is out Sept 7

Katy Perry shows us her 'California Gurrls' in new video - watch the premiere now!

Ah, always classy, this one... True to form, Katy's got all sorts of debauchery and nonsense up in her new video.  There are COLORS and BOOBS and COLORFUL BOOBS and Jell-o for some reason.

It's actually quite fun, and matches the unapologetically pop sound of the track perfectly.  It's also one of the few songs we don't mind having a completely pointless rap on.  Somehow the whole thing just....works.



Out now in the US and from June 21 in the UK.

Kylie Update: 'All The Lovers' charts and a new movie role!

 So 'All The Lovers' has finally rolled as a single-track digital download out in almost every territory, and the results are looking pretty solid.  It currently sits at #3 on UK iTunes, behind only the World Cup themes (notorious for selling bucketloads and then diving off the charts altogether) and #141 on US iTunes.  That last number might sound a little disappointing, but the track was only released a few hours ago, and considering that #140-1 are all Glee it's probably not a terrible result.  Most of the interest in the U.S. will likely come when the remixes are released in a couple weeks, and might be boosted by the upcoming North American album promotion she has hinted at.

Just in case you've forgotten, here's the video ONE MORE TIME:



In other news, Kylie recently revealed that she is not only considering returning to the big screen, but is actively deciding between roles that have been offered.  Let's just hope she's not considering 'Bio-Dome 2'.  Read all about it here.

Adam Lambert asks 'If I Had You' and it is very good - watch the video premiere now!

Despite any initial doubts about Adam Lambert's career trajectory after debut single 'For Your Entertainment' failed to crack the top 40 in the US and scraped a rather non-canon 37 in the UK, he managed to turn things around with the US top 10 hit 'Whatya Want From Me.'  Hoping to continue that success, Glambert has just released the video for 'If I Had You,' and we're actually quite digging it.  It's sort of 'Mad Hatter meets Mad Max.'  There is so much 'Mad'-ness, in fact, that we even toyed around with a new nickname for Lambert...something like Madbert or Madam Lambert, but we decided against it at the last minute. 

Anyhoodle, here's the clip.  It's pretty ok don't you think?  The song isn't half bad either. 

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'If I Had You' is available for download now.  Let's hope the video helps it out on the charts, as its current Billboard placing is......#112 :-/

Does anyone else wish the new Kanye West track 'Power' was terrible? Listen now!

Kanye's been flying a bit low lately, after something apparently happened at some awards show.  Not one to rest on his laurels, however, he used that 'time off' to record some music, and to all you 'hAtErZz' out there (ScopiSat included) we are sorry to say it's actually quite good.  It's very 'Jesus Walks,' and serves as a nice reminder that behind the ridiculous ego there lies some very real talent. 



The album 'Good Ass Job' is out in September and boasts some of the finest talent in music today. 

Kelly Rowland looks at the world through "Rose Colored Glasses" - listen to the new US Single now!

Kelly's big summer tune 'Commander' is already out worldwide, but the US - with all our special music needs - is getting a double A-side of two brand new tracks. One of them, 'Grown-Ass Woman' is pretty alright, but the real corker is 'Rose Colored Glasses.' It manages to stay consistent with Kelly's emergence as a big dance diva, but slow things down and stay true to her roots at the same time. ScopiSat is loving this jam, but what do you think?

THE INAUGURAL SCOPISAT VIDE-OFF: Kylie 'All The Lovers' vs Gaga 'Alejandro'

Welcome to the very first ScopiSat VideOff, where two videos face off in an EPIC BATTLE TO THE DEATH. Each video will be rated according to a number of largely meaningless factors which are then assigned arbitrary point values.

The ALL NEW ScopiSat VideOff (c) is being trotted out now because, well, we feel like it, and also because Gaga and Kylie have given us two superstar videos that couldn't be more different, each competing for the same audience.

First, here's Kylie:


And the Gaga:


Now, in response to HUGE DEMAND (read: no demand whatsoever), here is a dodgy MS Word cut and paste comparison chart.

Let's see how they stack up, shall we:

There. That's decided.

Though the chart is certainly exhaustive, we feel that there is somehow more to be discussed here. "An opinionated editorial on the state of pop music and the deeper meaning of the differing ways artists choose to express themselves?" you ask?

Yes. Yes exactly.

Much of pop discourse has been about Kylie/Madonna and Gaga/Madonna. But most of what has been said can be applied to an EPIC KYLIE/GAGA SHOWDOWN as well. For instance, a lady from The Telegraph once said "Simply, Madonna is the dark force; Kylie is the light force." Similarly, Rufus Wainwright famously told The Observer that "[Madonna] subverts everything for her own gain. I went to see her London show and it was all so dour and humourless... I love Kylie, she's the anti-Madonna. Self-knowledge is a truly beautiful thing and Kylie knows herself inside out. She is what she is and there is no attempt to make quasi-intellectual statements to substantiate it. She is the gay shorthand for joy."

It's becoming apparent that each quote could be just as easily be applied here, by simply replacing "Madonna" with "Gaga." Perhaps the biggest thing that watching the videos side by side exposes is just how concerned Lady Gaga is with making her image and statement in a very self-conscious fashion, while Kylie has emerged as an artist completely confident in her talents and strengths, but more importantly herself and who she is. To break it down, Gaga seems like the high school girl trying desperately to be shocking in a bid to be noticed and somehow find herself, while Kylie is the confident, self assured college woman who couldn't give two shits what anyone else thinks - she just wants to have fun.

Pop is about both things equally - it is a vehicle through which many find themselves and glean inspiration for where they'd like to go, but pop is also about expressing exactly who we are right at this moment, and celebrating everything that we are and that exists as it is.

Gaga, a still-emerging artist with visions of a future where the "freaks" turn the tables on the rest of the world, speaks to the youth of today who all feel a bit like "little monsters" in their schools and social cliques. She necessarily condemns one view while espousing her own, in a constant effort to shape the future.

Kylie, on the other hand, a seasoned pop star who has seen artists come and go, seems to recognize that this struggle of subculture versus culture will always be going on - that the subculture will one day become the culture and a new subculture will wage war against it. Instead of diving into that ultimately futile war, Kylie takes the focus off of us and instead celebrates the genuine contentedness she feels in her life right at this very moment.

All this seems to be a bit overdramatic, admittedly. It's "just pop music" after all. But these two videos represent two equally dynamic world views. One is always clawing toward a future that may never come, while the other celebrates each moment as it happens.

So which one are you, pop fans? Are you a Gaga or a Kylie?


EDIT: One reader noted that we are all probably a little of both Kylie and Gaga (and indeed some of us may be neither, though we'd never want to meet those people...what a sad life they must live), and still more have noted since this was originally posted that it comes off a bit harsh toward Gaga. We have nothing against the woman - any casual perusal of this blog will reveal a high degree of respect for the Lady. She's a newer artist, and one that comes at pop and life with a very different - and very successful - approach. Her music is brilliant, her videos are incredible, and her persona is delightfully outlandish.

We're still totes a Kylie though.

So the Lady Gaga 'Alejandro' is finally here - watch the premiere now!!

Here is the Lady Gaga video (amazing).  It is 9 minutes long (ridiculous).   It is black and white sort of but at the same time not (amazing). 

ScopiSat has made it no secret this is our favorite track from 'Fame Monster,' with its Ace of Base beat and overdramatic flair.  The video, then, had a lot to live up to.  Never one to disappoint, the Lady has offered up a taut, other-worldly adventure where women lord over buff male models with their eyepieces and have guns strapped to their boobies.  All in all it's very 'Gaga' which is great, but in danger of getting a little old.  Chalk this one up as a big win for pop but with the caveat that it's certainly not going to win Miss Germanotta any new fans.  To be fair, though, is there really anyone left that hasn't made up their mind about the star yet? 

In the interest of full disclosure we should tell you that we weren't really feeling the clip, until exactly 5:37 when something INCREDIBLE happens and the remainder becomes something of a masterpiece. Just when we think the whole 'Gaga world domination' thing has turned a corner she pulls it back from the brink and wins our sad, doubting asses over. 





'Alejandro' is out for download now.