Scissor Sisters go 'Any Which Way' in new video -watch the premiere now!

Scissor Sisters' album launch has been a bit of a misfire this go-round, if only for lack of an iconic and accessible lead single.  This seems to be the way of the world these days, however, as artists have realized that once they achieve huge success there is a pressure to perform to that level - a level that almost always is a fluke and almost never is repeatable.  One way to get around that is to, on the next album, "soft launch" a record and manage expectations by not being as in-your-face as most blockbuster artists are.  A media blitz and corker of a single may get a lot of attention, but chances are the impact won't live up to the prior album's glory right off the bat.  And nothing stings harder or makes better headlines than an EPIC ALBUM CAMPAIGN that results in tepid sales (yes, that's Christina Aguilera you hear being thrown under the bus right now).  To avoid that stink of "flop," artists and record companies have realized that if they don't try so hard, no one slates the record for not being as big as the one prior.  Cue the Scissor Sisters' 'Night Work,' a solid collection of tunes that makes for a great follow-up.  Since there really was nowhere to go from their last LP but down, the band have scaled things back a bit and allowed themselves room to grow.  Because nothing is more claustrophobic than a pop act's huge success.

Anyhoodle, long story short, the Sisters have a new single and video out and both are very amazing.  The song features KYLIE ON BACKING VOCALS and the video features HOT SHIRTLESS MEN AND NEON COLORS.  Quite obviously both are incredible.

Sky Ferreira has an 'Obsession' for the US - listen to a clip now!

So Sky Ferreira, quite frankly the best candidate for "next big thing," has decided not to launch into the US market with the ACTUALLY INCREDIBLE 'One' that the UK and other territories is getting.  Instead, she (read: her people) has selected a Ryan Tedder jam that falls a bit more into the "American Top 40 Blandness" mold that us listeners stateside swear by for some tragic reason.  As these things go, however, it's pretty damn amazing - at least it seems so from the low quality 30-second clip that showed up on the interwebs.  Check it out let us know what you think! 



The album 'One' comes out on 1-1-11.  Genius, no?

A song that sounds like it is from the 90's but is not - watch the new Alphabeat video now!

Alphabeat are a very electronic band and have thus far stayed with the imagery that befits such a group.  That all changes with the video for 'Heat Wave,' which shows the group backstage and performing in some sort of perhaps-misguided effort to paint them as a "proper band" in the vein of those knobbish boys with guitars that play festivals and are generally very crap.  It's still quite pretty though, and the guy who is clearly the hot one (you know exactly who we're talking about so stop pretending you don't) keeps getting hotter so we're fine with it.  Also, as live videos go, it's a pretty great way to approach it.  The effects and such are spot-on.

The song itself is....not their best, but somehow, coupled with the video treatment, the whole things just kind of works.  Which is super in theory but will quite obviously do nothing to save the floundering 'The Beat' album campaign.  With this run at the charts all but lost, look for some kind of either crap or very brilliant rebranding their next LP. 

Alesha goes glam in 'Drummer Boy' video - watch the premiere now!

Here's the thing about the new Alesha single. It is loud, tuneless and a little annoying at the best of times. That puts it about on par with the vast majority of chart-toppers (We are looking firmly in the direction of you, Rihanna), but 'Drummer Boy' has something going for it that many other tracks don't: despite all the foregoing, it also is very very good.

The video is perhaps Alesha's best so far as well. Gone is the girl-next-door simplicity and in its place is high concept styling and a Snooki hair bump to end them all. Long story short, Alesha has really upped her game this go-round. It's a little reminiscent of the Jamelia 'Beware of the Dog' makeover, and we all know that is a very, very good thing.

David Archuleta minces his brand new video onto the interwebs and it is quite good - watch now!

David Archuleta the American Idol alum has been laying low recently, and as a result we kind of got him confused with Joe McElderry the X-Factor winner who just bravely came out to the whole world, and started writing this whole article about how David is gay now and blah blah blah.  Well that is totally not true (in the way that it is ACTUALLY true but David's publicist won't let him say so) so we have to talk about his new single or something instead.  It's a decent pop tune and it has a beat and you can dance to it.  The end.

And he is not gay.



Out now for download

So what do we think of Kylie's 'Get Outta My Way' single cover?

The single cover for what is gearing up to be K-mo's biggest single in years (one Mr. Stark can quote us on that) has finally been plopped onto the interwebs and it's kind of crap/fabulous in a low-res 'let's wait until we see the finished product' way.  With an absolutely epic remix package and what will hopefully be a big budget video (for once, EMI, please) the GOOMW launch is shaping up to be very exciting indeed.  Thoughts?

Shirley Manson goes solo on 'Pretty Horses' - listen now!

To be honest we kind of forgot Garbage existed.  Not that we didn't love them, they just sort of faded away and as it turns out they didn't leave much of a void behind.  But now - because the time is PERFECT FOR A COMEBACK or something - former frontwoman Shirley Manson is finally unleashing her first solo material. 

In the interest of managing expectations, let's just say right off the bat that it's a bit underwhelming, so don't get too excited.  It's kind of a Fiona Apple cast-off, right down to the copycat "I've been a bad bad girl" lyric and melody ripped from Apple's genius 'Criminal,' and - while not terrible - is completely and utterly forgettable.  But, as Shirley takes great pains to point out, this is just a demo, so we can all hope and pray that somewhere tucked beneath her shockingly well preserved exterior she is hiding some brilliant and original ideas. 



"Adequate."

For Hurts, it is a 'Wonderful Life' - dance to the delightful Freemasons mix now!

Hurts are from Manchester.  But before you let that turn you off, they are also very stylish and make some excellent music.  There are two of them (thus, we imagine, the reason they are Hurts instead of just Hurt) and one of them is very attractive and one of them can sing very well. 

Up til now Hurts have been one of those bands that make all the critics vomit superlatives over themselves but don't really find any commercial success of note.  That might change, however, with this rather genius Freemasons mix of the group's new single 'Wonderful Life.'  It manages to be completely poppers-friendly while still being credible, and as EVERYONE knows that is a very hard line to toe. 

The video itself is a re-edit done by something called a 'Riley York' and we are pretty sure it has nothing to do with Hurts officially, but does manage to make the original video fit the feel of the mix a bit more. 

And yes.  We have a crush on the guy in the band that just stands there too.