It's rare that a truly great ballad comes along these days. Too often they are filled with ridiculous vocal acrobatics (Beyonce/Xtina), "of the moment" gimmicks (we're looking at you, autotune) or just aren't particularly moving or genuine (Celine). But, the foregoing just makes Gabriella Cilmi's new track 'Defender' all the more special, with its restrained delivery, natural production, and a confidence that is rare in fifty-year-olds, much less 18 year old girls.
Yes, barely-legal Aussie songstrel Gabriella has churned out one of this years' finest tracks so far, and as artists are wont to do she has made a video for it. In it she does some things and then gets naked but none of that is really important because the real star of the clip is the VERY GOOD SONG.
Apparently in celebration of Cilmi's "legal to perv on" status, her people have decided to give the video exclusive to the always-classy Sun newspaper. You can watch it here but be careful not to click on ANYTHING ELSE on the site or you may be bludgeoned with boobs and lager ads until you are left writhing in a pit of lowbrow mediocrity and take a job driving an airport shuttle van until you get fired for running over someone while distracted by a girl with big boobs or a football score of some sort.
If you don't want to risk it (we don't blame you) then you can just listen to the song below.
The good news is if you loved Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' you will ADORE 'Hang With Me' in all its new, rerecorded glory. It has that same "weeping at the discotheque while your mascara runs fabulously down your face" feel of 'Dancing' but has a more accessible and immediate melody. And the bad news....well there really isn't any, because this whole thing is pretty brilliant and even though the video's been cobbled together with "candid" (read: not candid at all) clips of Robyn just "being Robyn" it's somehow still pretty satisfying.
What are the words you think of when you think of Katy Perry? If you're anything like us, it's words like "cheap hair dye" and "genital herpes," but we think we speak for everyone when we say that "effective" and "balladeer" are not among them. That all may change with new single 'Teenage Dream,' which manages to shoehorn the K.P. trademark sound into a ballad form in a way 'Waking Up In Vegas' attempted but failed miserably at. After the all-conquering 'California Gurls' and now this, it seems Miss Perry might actually be here to stay. While that prospect terrifies us, we can at least take some comfort that with every single she releases, Valtrex stock doubles in value.
Apologies for the lack of posts recently. ScopiSat is currently studying for next Tuesday's Bar Exam - which, for our foreign readers, is a two-day test given after law school that must be passed before a you can become a practicing lawyer, for the apparent sole purpose of destroying any flicker of joy or happiness that may still exist within you - and 13 hour days of studying are not conducive to pop-blogging. Having said that, we are of the opinion that pop music exists to encourage and nurture the very gaiety that the exam seeks to eradicate, so every so often we take a tiny little break and check out what's going on in popland. In fact, ScopiSat's 'future article' folder is bursting at the seams with a variety of pop nuggets that we just don't have the time to tell you about, but rest assured that we will be back to our old selves again just as soon as this whole nightmare is over. Until then you'll have to make do with only the absolute necessities that we stumble across during our "sanity breaks." Necessities like this new Robyn track, which we have managed to play 3x already today despite having 9 hours of practice essays to write or something ridiculous like that. THAT IS HOW COMMITTED WE ARE TO POP.
First of all, we love Robyn. Ever since we rocked out to 'Show Me Love' while lugging our Trapper Keeper and slap bracelets to school (yeah we're gay, get over it) way back in the day, she has been churning out consistently great music except for a couple things in the 90's but we will just ignore all that. The winning streak continues with her epic reworking of ballad 'Hang With Me,' which originally was an acoustic track at the end of her 'Body Talk Pt 1' album/EP thing. It's the next single, and it is quite good. Will it go on to rule the charts? Probably not, because no one has any taste anymore, but at least all of us pop fans can light up a little inside every time it comes up on our iPods.
Sometimes there is just nothing to say. This is one of those times.
Here is former glamor model/wife of Peter Andre/boob-enlarging/boob-reducing/reality-tv-starring/mess-of-a-human-being Katie Price "performing" her new single 'Free To Love Again.'
We actually hesitated before metatagging this with "new music" because while it may be the former, it is certainly not the latter...
Out now for download. Which is unfortunate, because you can't stomp on or burn a digital copy :(
Remember when we told you about the big Ace Of Base comeback? No? Well, we did and we're a little disappointed in you to be honest. :(
Anyhoodle, they are, in fact, back, and despite our initial trepidation at their new porn-star-looking leading ladies, their knack for churning out quite good songs seems pleasingly intact. In our previous article we noted that the leaked 'Mr. Replay' was a bit (read: very) crap, but perhaps this whole thing isn't going to be quite as big a shitshow as we first thought. Check out a snip of the band's new comeback single 'All For You' below.
The song is sent to Euro radio today, with no word yet on a U.S. release
Congrats are very much in order for Miss Minogue, who, 22 years to the week after her very first album stormed the charts, clocks her fifth number 1 album in the UK. This makes her the only artist in history to have a chart topping record in the 80's, 90's, 00's and 10's. You'd think that would be the best news she could hear at the moment - indeed we thought so too - but we were all wrong. It appears Kylie may actually break the US, as 'Aphrodite' has officially muscled its way to #19 in its debut week on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. This is virtually without any promotion whatsoever, and with 'All The Lovers' largely ignored by radio. Next up as a single is 'Get Outta My Way,' which has been threatening to bust into the iTunes top 100 downloads without an official release or promotion. With K-mo reportedly planning to hop over the ocean and sell the heck out of both GOOMW and the album later this summer, 'Aphrodite' could actually wind up the big U.S. breakthrough she needed. Stay tuned. You know we'll keep you updated.
Miley Cyrus (pictured above just after hearing that her album only debuted at number 3) has somehow managed to squeeze a very, very good song out of her age-inappropriate hotpants. It is called 'Two More Lonely People' and it is on her new album 'Can't Be Tamed.' It has not been announced as a single but there should be ACTUAL RIOTS if it is not. 'Lonely' is a little bit of Miley's own 'See You Again' (amazing), a little bit ABBA (AMAZING) and has a middle bit that is fists-in-the-air-while-crying-at-the-disco brilliant (self explanatory in its amazitude). Accordingly, it ticks all the pop boxes and is an absolute necessity for your summer iPod playlist.
Things have been very good in Kylie land as of late. 'All The Lovers' met expectations, but no one really expected its parent album 'Aphrodite' to make quite the impact it has. Set to debut at the top of anywhere from eight to fifteen album charts this week, the new set has certainly come out swinging. Perhaps most surprisingly - and impressively - the LP looks to enter the Billboard U.S. Albums Top 200 near or inside the top 20. For those keeping track, this would be K-mo's first top 40 album since 'Fever,' and her second highest charting album ever in the country. Even 'Body Language,' with a top 100 single ('Slow') could only manage a peak of #42, and, like the JFK assassination, we ALL remember where we were when 'X' came in at #139. 'Aphrodite,' however, peaked at #3 on iTunes and has been knocking around the top 10 all week. Not bad for a record with virtually no promotion and a single that has been largely ignored. Thanks to the surprising success of the album, and more specifically of the track 'Get Outta My Way,' which has been in the top 200 iTunes downloads in the U.S. since the album's release, camp Kylie seems to be set to launch the song as the first "real" American single. Rumblings of some excellent mainstream mixes and even U.S. promo have stateside fans titillated, but for now we will all have to make do with this blazing live performance from last night's G-A-Y show.
Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers' solo project is going full steam ahead, and it's shaping up to be rather nice indeed, if lead single 'Crossfire' is anything to go by. It's not going to change the pop landscape by any means, but - like so much of the Killers' catalog - it's got a certain polish and quality that music just doesn't often have anymore.
For the video, Flowers has gone the "epic Hollywood" route, calling on no less than Charlize Theron to pull star duty. While Brandon is tied up, tortured and otherwise bullied, Char busts in like a less hot but more sane Angelina Jolie and saves his ass. To be fair, we'd save it too. I mean, look at it. Come on.
The album "Flamingo" is out Sept 14 in the US and the 6th of Sept in the UK
History is doomed to repeat itself over and over again. This is a fact that has long been part of the human experience. Music, fashion and culture in the twenty-teens are no exception, as the 80's are all up in our grill right at the moment. Back then, thrown together outfits, outrageous looks and straight-up pop cheese were all the rage. Sound familiar? It should.
We here at ScopiSat are of the opinion that another piece of 80's history is bound to do a repeat - in America's choice of pop diva. Back in the early part of that decade, a loud, insane, over-the-top style icon burst onto the scene with crazy hair, weird clothes, and chart-topping pop tunes. Her name was Cyndi Lauper. She was quite literally the biggest thing there was, until everyone realized that the iconic hairstyles and high-concept image were both impossible to mimic and extremely 'of the moment.' And we all know that the more 'of the moment' something is, the quicker its moment passes. Cue Madonna, who busted in on the pop scene with her own (more relatable and, importantly, more marketable) iconic looks and catchy tunes, snatched the crown off Cyndi's head and set up residency at the summit of the charts for the next three decades.
Now, in 2010, we'd like to be the first to say that history - in this respect at least - is on the verge of repeating. In Lady Gaga we have a certifiably insane woman who has considerable talent, a boatload of press, great songs, and a completely unsustainable image. Notice how the whole Gaga thing has turned these past few months? 'Alejandro' came out to a chorus of 'meh's, and the press certainly isn't concerned with praising the star any longer. We're not saying she's going anywhere, but her past level of stardom and domination just can't be maintained. So if in Lady Gaga America has found its modern day Cyndi, now the hunt is on for its new Madonna.
If EMI and a number of critics have their way, Sky Ferreira just might be it. Her image is 'now' without being over-the-top, her tunes are the very definition of 'the next big thing,' and she's just underground enough to be authentic. Take a gander at her new video for the blazing pop track 'One' if you don't believe us. It was shot by the fashion photographer Rankin, and is BALLS-TO-THE-WALL BRILLIANT.
Ace of Base is amazing. Let's get that out of the way right now. Back when a hit song could be made with a Casio keyboard and a karaoke machine, AofB slapped a bunch of catchy hooks onto drum loops and took over the world to the tune of 21 million records sold of their debut album, 1993's 'The Sign.' For a band with one hot guy, two ok babes and a guy that looked like a strip club bouncer that wasn't half bad, but alas their success was relatively short lived.
A full decade and a half later (think about that for just a minute) the pop landscape has come full circle, and Gaga has ensured that the time is right for Base to be Ace again.
The group, now 'freshened up' with two porn-star looking Scandinavian girls, is back and....not quite as good as before... with new single 'Mr. Replay.' It's a Euro-reggae stomp that is neither going to change the world for the better nor ruin it BP style, and falls squarely into the 'mediocre' column. This seems to be more of a buzz track than anything else, so maybe the quartet has some big stuff up their sleeves. We wouldn't count on it, but we'll keep you posted. For now, listen to 'Mr. Replay' while two girls lez out in a promotional picture.
Dragonette have long been ScopiSat faves, and DJ Martin Solveig has become somewhat of a pop genius as well. The two previously teamed up on 'Boys and Girls,' and have joined forces again on the absolutely great new single 'Hello.' Solveig seems to have a thing for roping random celebs into his videos - 'Boys and Girls' heavily featured Jean Paul Gaultier - and 'Hello' is no different. Rival DJ Bob Sinclair stars, and the DJ throws in some other random cameos just for good measure.
The song is an electro-stomp of epic proportions, and really drives home the point that Dragonette is one of the most underrated bands on this planet right now. While they are admittedly critical darlings, they've only managed one top 40 single in their home country of Canada, and their latest album is their most successful, having peaked at......#63.
In any case, the whole affair is a delight to watch and, with Wimbledon fever in effect, the tennis theme is quite timely as well. If you don't like your videos with lots of talking, fast forward to 3:15, but hey, it's a long weekend. You've got the time.
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