VV Brown is back and somehow more amazing - listen to 'Children' now

This is a picture of a very good pop star

It's frighteningly rare that we get blown away by a single, especially when the artist is one of our favorites and subject to our PERFECTLY REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS.

But the actually amazing VV Brown has managed to do it with her comeback single 'Children.'  It's one of those 'schoolchildren shout-singing over an urban beat with a straightforward melody' things but with enough of a twist that it manages to sound new and fresh and fantastic and all the other things a young brilliant artist needs to break into the mainstream. 

Hopefully this time around she will do just that because let's face it, the mainstream needs something to shake it the f up.  The Ke$ha/Britney/Katy Perry/Gaga formula of slick polish and overwrought production was great for a while, but for chrissakes people, we need a LITTLE bit of variety.  The world of pop has become pretty monochromatic as of late, and VV brown might be the one to add a splash of musical color to it.  



"yes."

Florence + The Machine 'Shake It Out' in the new video - watch now!

Florence did not react well when shown a mirror.

So Steve Jobs died last night and we're kind of really sad about it.  He was awesome, visionary, groundbreaking, and also TOTALLY A HOT PIECE OF ASS back in the day. 

Oh, the things he could do to us with that apple...

 But the thing we appreciate Jobs most for is his uncanny sense of how to make things do exactly what they needed to but also look elegant and classy.

Which is why we're talking about him in this post.  Not just because we were looking for ANY EXCUSE to laud the man, but also because the new Florence + The Machine video is a great example of something that does just what we want it to, but is classy as f*ck as well.

FloMo has always had a bit of bite to her, and a sort of wildness, like she was raised in the woods and didn't even see an indoor toilet until a few months ago.  But she also has a polish and sheen to her, which in the age of Ke$ha is an accomplishment in itself. 

Not Steve Jobs.

Flo's two sides shine through on almost every one of her songs.  New track, 'Shake It Out,' is the one that will officially launch the new Florence LP, and, as per usual, encapsulates both faces of Miss F.  It's certainly got an edge, but also has a soft underbelly.  The video, for its part, is gorgeous in its own way.  It's beautiful, classy, and streamlined, but also sexy and carnal at the same time, what with its masked orgies and all.

It's pretty much a home-run of style and substance, but whether it will sell like her past tracks is yet to be seen.  The song is knocking around the lower reaches of the UK top 20 at the moment, but we have a feeling no one will really care as long as the album sells bucketloads.  And it will.

For the moment though, before all the chart positions come rolling in, we can all sit back and enjoy a great tune by a great pop star in a great video.  It's shiny, pretty, sexy and tantalizingly restrained. 

And it'll look great on our iPad. 

Beyonce's 'Countdown' preview is rather amazing

"I told you I'm not Tyra Banks, so stop calling!"

Beyonce is probably the most consistent pop star on the planet these days.  We say that not because she's necessarily our favorite, but because no matter what she does or when she does it, we all know well ahead of time that it will be UH MAY ZING.

But beyond the raw talent, B has something that most other acts don't have anymore - a little bit of subtlety.  Sure, everything is highly stylized, and yeah, a lot of the stuff is over the top, but this is pop for chrissake, it has to be.  What we're talking about is Bey's ability to make a point without beating the listener over the head with it, or get a message across without ramming it down our throats.

Like in her new video preview for 'Countdown.'  Where the message is 'THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING.'  And rightly so.  It's the best song on the album and arguably one that could have started things off a tad better for the campaign.  The LP wasn't the flop some were predicting, but it didn't exactly blow everyone away with its sales either.  But had 'Countdown' led things off, we have a feeling history would be VERY DIFFERENT INDEED.



"Yes."

Jessie J's is 'Who You Are' in her new video - watch the premiere now!

I am Jessie J and I have an angular haircut

Two things.

1.  We love Jessie J.  She's got a buttload of talent and is generally amazing in most every way in which a popstar can be amazing.  However, her new song 'Who We Are' is kind of a bit too much.  It's not a bad song at all, mind you, but during 85% of the track we are overcome with the urge to throw our speakers against the wall while screaming "IT ISN'T A SHOUTING CONTEST, CALM DOWN."  Seriously.  Dial it back a little.  We know you can SANG and all that but you don't have to beat us over the head with it.  Take a page out of Pink's book. She knows how to take it to the edge and push right up against it, but also knows that NOT EVERY BALLAD NEEDS TO BE SLEDGHAMMERED INTO A MICROPHONE. 

So are we saying that Pink would have done this song better?

Yes.  Yes we are.

Ok 2.  This whole "WE R WHO WE R ARE BECAUSE WE ARE BORN THIS WAY AND EVERYTHING IS FINE BECAUSE WE ARE ALL FIREWORKS" thing is great for the kids but how many times do we have to hear this song?  Does anyone else remember a time when EVERY SINGLE SONG ON THE RADIO was not about either going to "the club" or about telling us how amazing we are?  We're not even going to go into the fact that NOT EVERYONE IS AMAZING and that telling a bunch of selfish, immature, bratty 13 year-olds who have never been punished by their "best-friend" parents and who think being successful in life only requires a great audition on a reality show that they are perfect already just the way they are is MAYBE THE WORST IDEA EVER, or that your cousin who slapped her teacher and then got arrested shoplifting from Wet Seal listens to 'Born This Way' and takes away the message that it's EVERYONE ELSE'S PROBLEM.  No, that's a whole different issue and this is simply about the music and how maybe it's time someone wrote a song about something else like trees, or mideast political policy or something.

Whatever, here's Jessie's video.

The Saturdays put down the poppers for 'My Heart Takes Over' - listen to the premiere now!

Not Girls Aloud.

The Saturdays, in all their handlers' infinite wisdom, decided to chuck in the R&B-lite sound they had since their inception, and go for a full-on club attack on their new album 'On Your Radar' - a new album which has already had three singles taken from it, and won't even be out until next year.  So basically it will be a compilation album of a bunch of singles you've already heard, and some filler tracks that after hearing you'll wish you hadn't.

But insane state-of-the-industry rantings aside, we're totally fans of The Sats' new direction, albeit in an apathetic "meh" kind of way.  Sure, they're chasing the Britney/Rihanna/Everyone Else trend, and yeah, they haven't put out even one song in their entire history that could qualify as a "classic," but is anyone really expecting any sort of artistic achievement from these ladies?

The answer is no.

To be completely fair (AS WE ALWAYS ARE Ed: this is blatantly false. Delete.) the album's second single 'All Fired Up' was a bit of an underrated masterpiece of forward-thinking pop, but again, to be completely fair (Ed: STOP SAYING THIS) the band themselves really had nothing to do with it other than showing up for a few minutes and yelling into an autotune machine.

For album single number 3,  the girls have done one of those songs that happens during a concert right after the band has said something like "if it's all right with you, we're going to slow it on down."  Inevitably, in those situations, it most certainly is NOT alright with us, but it's something we all have to deal with and sometimes we all have to realize not everything can be glitterbomb donk fierceness all the time.  As mid-tempo ballads go, it's actually not half bad, but it's got a shelf-life of about a week on our iPod after which it will fade into oblivion only to be recalled in the context of the group's Wikipedia discography.  

Long story short, at the end of the day we're left with some girls who sing what their told to, some label execs who have made relatively wise decisions regarding their repertoire, and the comforting personal knowledge that the Sats' new track is fine and that when the album FINALLY comes out after another six singles and a stadium tour, it will be fine too.

Which is good enough.

The boys from The Wanted do a porn - watch the video for 'Lightning' now!

And this is only two of them.

Ok so it's not really a porn.  But it's close.

It seems like ever since the young one (Nathan, we think, or Chris, or James or something...) turned 18, The Wanted have gotten racier and racier.  Not that we're complaining mind you - it's just an observation.

We basically "would" with them all, even though we'd only do it with some of them because they're in a famous band, but to be fair it is A VERY GOOD BAND who does VERY GOOD SONGS like 'Lightning.'  Actually, though, now that we think of it, maybe we ARE complaining about their OVERT SEXINESS.  We almost wish that they weren't quite so damn hot, since that is bound to get in the way of anyone enjoying their tracks for what they are - rather brilliant slices of of-the-moment pop.

Take 'Lightning' for example: while we're all staring at their chiseled-but-not-too-chiseled triceps, a great beat is happening, and while everyone is enamored with the post-production-"sexy" flesh tone they've all been given, a catchy melody is thumping around.  So in the interest of journalistic integrity we must ask:  ARE THE WANTED TOO SEXY FOR THEIR OWN GOOD?

And of course the answer is no.

Take it off, boys.

Luciana ropes in THE ACTUAL BETTY WHITE for 'I'm Still Hot' - listen now!

We would totally see this "buddy cop" movie

We could spend hours and hours wringing our hands in confusion as to how this collaboration came about exactly, or we could spend those hours enjoying the very good song that resulted. 

It's a song by Luciana and it features Betty White.  So, it is AMAZING. 

The track is called 'I'm Still Hot,' and is a by-the-numbers club track but done exceptionally well - which is kind of Luciana's "thing".  She doesn't really bring anything particularly new to the table ("ooh look a woman talking over some beats" etc.) but her mode of delivery is pretty great.  She's also featured on some rather awesome tracks (Taio Cruz's 'Come On Girl' being just one) but now has gotten QUITE THE STAR to feature on one of her own.

The original version of 'Hot' has already hit the top 3 of the dance charts, and we have a feeling this remix will push it to the summit.  Because who doesn't love Betty White?  She's sweet, she's crass, she's funny, and most importantly, she's still hot.

If this version of 'Hot' charts, this will be Ms. White's first appearance on Billboard in the US, or on the official UK countdown.  And we can't wait to see her name on both of them.

Rihanna/Calvin Harris' 'We Found Love' premiere! Listen now!

Just another day at the office.

So the new Rihanna is here and it is both very good and very disappointing. 

It is very good because, objectively, it is VERY GOOD.  It has a great catchy hook and a punchy beat and bassline that just begs to be shoulder-dipped to. 

It is disappointing because, listened to in context, it is a song we have heard many times before, from an artist who has made a career of being different and somewhat special. 

Of course it will be #1 for two months and, at the very least, make everyone stop talking about Lady Gaga for a precious few moments, but to be honest, Rihanna, WE EXPECTED A BIT MORE FROM YOU.

You can listen to the premiere HERE thanks to some French piracy.

"Needs work; see us after class" etc