Robyn is amazing. That Robyn is featured in a new video is also amazing. That Robyn is featured in a new video that is a reworked version of her EPIC MASTERPIECE 'Be Mine' is even more amazing. That the bulk of the song is made up of a thing called Rye Rye is....less amazing. But still amazing.
'Be Mine' never did anything here in the States, though it was top 10 in Europe and the UK, but hopefully that can change with this new release. The protege of up-and-comer-who-never-came rapper M.I.A., we're not 100% sold on Rye's output yet, but this is a giant leap in the right direction.
The video was partly filmed at Robyn's recent Cherrytree Sessions live performance, and otherwise filmed on a street corner where Robyn and Rye Rye were hooking or something. Anyway, it's good, and here it is:
This is her brand new, VERY GOOD collaboration with the adorably-named Teddybears (whose 'Cobrastyle' she covered a few years ago), and in it Miss R shows off a rockier, edgier, and more natural sounding "I drink beer but you still want to f*ck me" vocal than we're used to. Could it be that Robyn's picked up on the growing wave of electro backlash? It certainly seems like it would be a wise career move. With all the autotune and synths flying around these days, it seems inevitable that a more organic, live sound will pick up some steam, and while Gaga and Britney may be ruling the charts with overly slick club bangers, their tracks are becoming increasingly divisive among music fans. In fact, the Gaga and Brit albums might just be the collections that push the movement over the edge, as listeners start to hunger for something different.
The more popular these things get - and the more artists jump on a genre's bandwagon - the more " tHe hAteRz" etc. will gain steam and decide that they love whatever music is exactly the opposite of whatever is popular at the moment. So essentially right now we're in the 90's Ace of Base stage of the game, and if we're not careful we will ALL HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH GRUNGE AGAIN. Or, at the very least, we'll chuck Dave Matthews and co back to the top of the charts and have to deal with another Boyz II Men "ooh they can sing without any effects and no music" movement.
Seriously. Don't believe us? Well, even Poppers Princess Kylie Minogue is working an acoustic album for her next release.
TRAGIC FORESHADOWING.
So get out your Kurt Cobain t-shirts, spark up some Reds, stop bathing, and be glad that Robyn won't be left behind when this whole DANCE MUSIC IS AWESOME thing goes south and club acts have to start dueting with the Hootie and the Blowfish reuinion lineup.
But until that happens, let's all enjoy a very good song:
Sometimes when I'm sad I just look at my boobs and then everything is ok
In the future everything small will be smaller and everything big will be bigger and everyone will be smarter and prettier and Robyn will sing lead vocals on everything because that IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
It is truly one of the wonders of the modern world that Robyn keeps managing to chuck out brilliant tunes with such alarming consistency. More shocking is that her tracks are awesome EVEN WHEN THEY AREN'T HER TRACKS. You see, usually when we see any incarnation of "Random DJ ft. Established Pop Star," it is a signal to groan, beat our heads into our desks and then go on and on about "The 90's" and how everything bad is Jay-Z's fault, but RoRo has thrown our entire worldview into utter disarray with her latest offering.
The song is by some people called Savage Skulls & Douster, who we think are lumber suppliers or the owners of a mildly successful glass repair business or something, but none of that is really important. What IS important is that Robyn sings on it and is in the music video and that both are GOOD.
The video, quite thankfully, breaks out of R's usual "Omg I love this song...wait THIS is the video? That's stupid." mold and instead we get a delightful romp with a van and tennis and Robyn wiggling her hips while holding a rose. Also, in the video Robyn is wearing a jean jacket, which everyone knows is the harbinger of AMAZINGNESS.
There are a lot of top 10 lists at the end of each year. It can be difficult to decide which one to rely on as GOSPEL TRUTH - a problem which inevitably leads to new-year depression and shame-sex. Luckily, though, ScopiSat has the solution to this very real social malady: just use ours.
CRISIS AVERTED. And now you have to blame your shame-sex on something else.
So here we go - the details: we've limited the applicant pool to those songs that were released as singles (although who the hell knows what that even means anymore) during the 2010 calendar year, and which placed in the official singles chart in either the UK (Official top 75), the US (on the Billboard Hot 100, Pop or Dance charts) or Europe (Billboard top 100 aggregated from all European charts, including Germany, UK, Spain, etc.). Our list order was determined by a host of hazy criteria, starting with the number of plays each track received on ScopiSat's iTunes and iPod but also taking into account some boring things like sales and charts and "artistic accomplishment."
Really, all you need to know is that these are all songs from 2010 that WE VERY MUCH LIKE and accordingly, must be QUITE GOOD INDEED.
Anyhoodle, enough with all that - you're here to lazily browse an article written at an 8th grade level, and far be it from us to delay your gratification. So without further ado...
THE TOP 10 OF '10
10. Dancing On My Own - Robyn (UK: #8, US Dance: #3)
Robyn really came into her own in 2010. She was all but written off after her brief but intense stint as a BIG POP STAR back in the 90s, and only began to return to prominence with her 2007 UK and European hits 'With Every Heartbeat' and 'Be Mine!'. It wasn't until this year, however, that the whole world came (back) under her spell. The song that kicked it all off, 'Dancing On My Own,' was, for the unindoctrinated, the ideal introduction to the star's downtrodden but still somehow uplifting beats, and yet managed to stay completely true to what her die hard fans expected. This year it might have been often imitated (yeah, we called you out, Alesha), but at the end of the day 'Dancing' is still the absolute epitome of "weeping at the disco" pop, and ain't nobody can cry into an appletini like our girl Robyn.
09. I Like It - Enrique Iglesias (US: #4, UK: #4, EU: #4)
Our number nine pick is another comeback of sorts. Enrique Iglesias' career fell completely off right about the same time his mole did, so he did what any sensible Latin act would do - he went back to his roots and chucked out some Spanish-language hits. By all accounts those releases were pretty successful, but in the English-speaking world he faded into the collective memory as a relic of the early-2000's Latin Invasion along with...well, pretty much everyone else connected to that whole thing. Then something really strange happened. And no, we're not talking about him waterskiing naked. We're talking about him, years after fading from relevance completely, pulling an ACTUAL POP GEM out of his tight little ass and flinging it to the top of the charts. 'I Like It' is an autotuned Frankenstein combination of pop cheese, sceney credibility, and even a rap by Pitbull....you know, for the kids. Add in a video featuring the Jersey Shore cast (we're looking at you, Vinny...with your big muscles and pouty lips...) and you have a perfect pop culture storm. Way to go Enrique. And seriously: Vinny.... you can call us. Any time.
08. My Wicked Heart - Diana Vickers (UK: #13)
Since losing the X-Factor in 2008, Diana Vickers has become somewhat of a musical genius, churning out tunes that are both inventive and credible, and also relatively commercially successful. Her #1 debut track 'Once' is 4 minutes of unique, personality-driven pure genius, and barely missed the cut for this chart itself. 'My Wicked Heart,' released as her third single/launch of her debut album re-release, took the quirk factor and dialed it up to 11, and in the process eclipsed all her other tunes to become one of our favorite jams of the year. It's one of those songs that is both challenging and familiar, and in this age of cookie-cutter Gaga rip-offs is a true breath of fresh air. The video's fun and stuff, but nothing to write home about - the real way to enjoy this baby is to strap on some headphones, close your eyes, and let the song take you to whatever weird-ass place it came from.
07. Wonderful Life - Hurts (UK: #21, EU#10, US )
Not too long ago, Hurts were the up-and-coming band to watch according to "the blogs" and "the critics" and a couple people on Twitter with too much time on their hands. Then they were sort of cool among annoying hipsters and "Pitchfork-is-the-Bible" types and then the hipsters got high and forgot they existed and then all of a sudden everyone loved them and they had an actual hit for some reason. 'Wonderful Life' is that hit, and it is very good. We've chosen to post the Freemasons mix of the track - not because the original is bad, but because the remix is equally as delightful and essentially was the "official radio version" for much of the song's chart campaign because while people do like to cry and be melancholy, a far greater number of people like to cry and be melancholy while DANCING.
06. One - Sky Ferriera (UK: #64)
This baby just barely satisfied our entry criteria (it eked out one week in the UK official top 75) but we are super glad it did because otherwise we'd have to change the rules completely so that it could be included and that's just a hassle for everyone involved. Though 'One' barely charted upon release in the UK, it is universally revered as a masterpiece of pop by all fourteen people lucky enough to have heard it. The song has the notable advantage of being accompanied by one of the best music videos since the medium's 80's heyday, but even sans visuals it stands up as its own work of art. It has soaring synths and addictive riffs, and while 'One' didn't set the charts on fire, it certainly made us VERY EAGER to hear what this girl has in store for us when her album is released on 1-11-11.
05. Lose My Mind - The Wanted (UK: #9)
Every so often, a song comes along that dares you to not love it. 'Lose My Mind' is that kind of song, and considering its source - a wet-behind-the-ears British boyband, that's a bit surprising. It has a lazy verse that draws the listener in, only to blindside their ears with a killer chorus before anyone knows what's happening. It kind of musically roofies you - coaxing you into a state of delightful, hazy calm until BAM you wake up in an Arizona State frathouse bunkbed and can't find your Umbro shorts you wore for the previous night's "Bros-only" Twister party that ended up just being you and that guy who said his name was Tony and his "cousin" who was like 40 and bought you beer.... Anyhow, while easily more than half of this track's appeal is its production, every note and transition is mixed to poptastic perfection. The group's other songs aren't half bad, of course, but this jam really rises to the occasion. We have a feeling that 'Lose My Mind' will go down as The Wanted's equivalent to N*Sync's 'Pop' - a glorious standout amongst an above-average catalog that will never be matched, mostly due to the fact that one of the greedy douches in the band will go solo and RUIN EVERYTHING before the group has a chance to try.
04. On A Mission - Gabriella Cilmi (UK: #9, AUS: #16)
Gabriella Cilmi, who made a name for herself with worldwide hit 'Sweet About Me,' returned this year with her sophomore album and its lead single 'On A Mission.' And on a mission she certainly was. Abandoning the laid-back jazzy vibe of her first offerings, Gabriella jumped, Cinderella-style, into the sparkly glass slipper of a bona fide pop diva, and the whole world watched as she fit into it perfectly. It's synthy and 80's and boasts an anthemic chorus, and coupled with her booming voice and banging body, this track certainly gets its 'Mission' accomplished.
The most successful of all the songs on our list, 'Dynamite' was pretty much inescapable this year - and for very good reason. The track managed to cross nearly every musical boundary, showing up on R&B stations, top 40 playlists and AC compilations - and miraculously didn't drive everyone crazy in the process. It is one of those rare songs that everyone in the world can sing along to, and not feel like a sell-out or scenester while doing it. This jam is just a fun slice of musical heaven, mixing urban elements with straight-up pop in a sundae of gooey goodness that does many things - not least of all reminds us just how much better we can all do than the goddamned Black Eyed Peas.
02. Satellite - Lena (EU: #1, UK: #30)
After winning the Eurovision Song Contest with our number two jam, 19 year old Lena - previously an unknown German schoolgirl - was rocketed into superstardom on the back of one of the most enduring tracks in a great while. Some tracks rely on glitz or fancy production or flashy music videos, but even with none of those things on its side, 'Satellite' rose to the top of the heap by just being a damn good song. For her part, Lena, who at first appears to be an unlikely pop star, has a natural charisma that injects something really special into the song and elevates the whole thing from an adequately delicious glazed donut into an absolutely heavenly custard eclair that we have been more than happy to gorge on all year long.
01. All The Lovers - Kylie (UK: #3, EU: #4, US Dance: #1, US: #102)
That's right, kids, our number one single of the year is Kylie's 'All The Lovers.' A slow burner - both musically and commercially - the track launched K-Mo's 'Aphrodite' album to worldwide success, including a shockingly impressive top 20 debut on the Billboard 200 US album chart and number 1 placings all over the globe. The track hung around the British charts for months and eventually became her biggest selling single there since 2001's 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head.' Even in the US the song kept chugging along, and is perched firmly as Billboard's 3rd biggest dance song of the entire year. Not content to just chuck out a brilliant tune, though, Kylie also gave us one of the most iconic videos of the year to boot, and we think it's safe to say the track owes at least a little of its success to a 50-story sex volcano, some well trained doves, and a giant goddamn floating white elephant.
So yes, here you have it. Our ten picks of 2010. Well done to you all, champagne all around, etc. Except for you, Lena. We all saw you make a drunken fool of yourself at Eurovision and we can't have any of that nonsense up in here even if it IS the holidays.
We were discussing Robyn with one of our friends today, and the conversation went something like this:
Friend: How is Robyn not bigger than Ke$ha?
ScopiSat: Totes - her teeth are jacked but at least she showers.
THE END
Well, if Robyn's brand new track 'Time Machine' doesn't finally put The Unwashed One in her place once and for all, nothing will, because it's pretty effing brilliant.
Robyn first burst onto the global pop scene with Max Martin-penned jams like 'Show Me Love' and 'Do You Know (What It Takes)' all the way back in 1995. And just in case you wanted our opinion on those, it is summed up by a word that starts with A and ends with G and is AMAZING.
Now, 14 (FOURTEEN) years later, Robyn has come full circle and has teamed up with Max Martin again. Martin has found the kind of longevity, hits, and success that most songwriters only dream of, and Robyn's renaissance has been nothing less than spectacular, so you'll forgive us if we expected quite a lot out of their new collaboration. In fact, this pairing seems like a Paula Deen butter-covered recipe for disaster, simply because pop fans' expectations will surely be high, but at times like these all we can really do is sit back, hit play, and pray for the best.
And THAT, ScopiSubjects, is how you do a pop song.
This LITERALLY EPIC tune is out on Robyn's 'Body Talk' LP on Nov 22 and is slated to be a North American single soon.
The Robyn train keeps on chugging with the release of the video for her new once-a-ballad-but-now-not-a-ballad single 'Indestructible.' And, not that there was ever a question really, you'll all be glad to know that it is QUITE NOT TERRIBLE.
'Indestructible' is essentially 4 minutes of some Armani Exchange models getting it on while Robyn sits in the other room singing and pumping what is apparently the life force of the models' lovemaking through a tube-vest. A vest which is both amazing and ridiculous at the same time, and, as such, sums up Robyn in one delightfully insane garment.
Fair warning though - the whole affair is a sexy romp that you may not want to watch with your parents, unless you have a lap-covering pillow handy and your parents were really big hippies.
So apparently every time Robyn releases a touching, stripped down ballad, we can all count on it being rereleased a few weeks later in the form of an EPIC PULSATING SINGLE that will, in that way that only a Robyn single can do, reduce each and every one of us to tears as we thrust our hips around the dancefloor wildly sloshing vodka/crans all over the bachelorette party that is taking up the whole corner even though they have no business being in a gay bar anyway.
Yes, it's that time again - Robyn's third installment of the 'Body Talk' series is being readied, and to promote it she (her people) have chosen (made the arbitrary decision) to rerelease the tender orchestral ballad 'Indestructible' from Body Talk pt 2. It's pretty much par for the course, as she did the same thing with 'Hang With Me,' but 'Hang With Me' was amazing so she gets a pass.
As for the album itself, it will break away from the format of 'Talk' parts 1 and 2, by including 5 songs from each past installment and 5 brand new tracks. So, in essence, we've all really just wasted our time with the whole 3-part thing because come November 29 we can buy all the best tracks from the first collections and 5 new (likely QUITE GOOD) songs all in one go, but whatever we're fine with it.
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.
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.
The Robyn PR machine is in full swing, with new album 'Body Talk Pt I' out June 14. Ahead of its release there are a few buzz tracks floating out in the interwebs. One of the best is 'Fembots,' which the Swedish songstress performed live on some nordic TV show the other day. I think we can all agree it is very good.
Some highlights:
1. EVERYTHING
The end.
The album, the first of three (!!), will be released June 14 (15 in the USA). No word yet on the release of the other 2, but they're slated for 2010 as well. The first official single is 'Dancing On My Own,' but that isn't out until June 7. Look for a video and some performances of that jam coming up soon.
Robyn. Is. Amazing. After the whole "giant comeback during which she topped the charts with literally phenomenal music" thing, her new album is being awaited with quite palpable anticipation. For good reason too, it seems, if this track is anything to go by. 'Fembots,' posted on Robyn's official site yesterday, is an electro masterpiece with a heart, and combines Robyn's trademark hip wordsmithery with her superior tune writing skills to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts and clearly better than anything Avril Lavigne has ever released. Avril has nothing to do with this discussion, but we just like to remind everyone that she is terrible.
'Fembots' will be on Robyn's new album later this year, which will actually be THREE albums according to an interview she just did with Pitchfork:
“They’re albums with enough songs to make them feel like real bodies of work. They are shorter than usual, but still closer to ten songs than five… Right now I’m finishing the first one, which is going to come out in June. I’m already working on the second album so I hope that’ll come out sometime after the summer."
Robyn, the same Scandi-songstress that gave us 'Show Me Love' back in 1996, went away for a while and then staged an epic comeback a couple years ago with 'Every Heartbeat' and the absolutely sublime 'Be Mine!', has been working on her brand spankin new album. Expectations are high, since her last album was an instant classic, but from the sounds of the tracks on this video she has pretty much delivered.
And just in case you've forgotten just how LITERALLY SPECTACULAR she can be, here's Robyn's 'Be Mine!' in all its glory:
There's no release date yet for the new material, and no word of what the lead single will be, but expect an announcement soon. We'll have all the details for you when it happens.
Posts
