Blogger Blues

I have no idea how it happened, but my entire template was nuked this morning (probably by me, but I don't know how that's possible). I'll try to get things back to normal by the end of the day. All previous posts were saved, but comments have vanished. I'll try to stick them back in through Haloscan as soon as possible, but I've disabled commenting for the time being [EDIT: Haloscan back up, comment away]. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The Carters Show Is My Friend

...And it could be your friend, too! Not sure if this page is legit (doubt it), but they do have wonderful promo pics like this one...



And this one...



And this one (which isn't so much a promo pic as it is an old family photo).



Ah, but I left off the one with Nick and Aaron standing by a car. So you'll have to visit the page yourself to see it! Filming has begun and the show is scheduled to air on the E! network Oct. 26 for an eight episode run. If anyone would like to help me devise compelementary drinking games, you know where to find me.

My first contributions to the singles jukebox ran yesterday. I would post the blurbs that didn't make the cut, but they suck so I won't.

Also, props to Jessica P for starting a great Europop forum, Europoptastic. Just found some strange Israeli twinpop by Sharona and Daniela. Here's "Hello Hello" from the 2005 Eurovision preselection. Wait, they aren't identical, are they? That would mean this is just FRATERNAL TWINPOP! Who cares about that?

EDIT: Just found this over at T2, Marit Larsen does "Don't Say You Love Me" solo!

Strong enough to move over and give me Myspace

Some great Myspace finds who are any or all of the following: (1) not Lily Allen (I still like her, but she's crossed over to Mislabeled Monday land. I wish her well there, I'm not bitter or anything...we've just grown apart lately. I mean, we've both changed, I guess, I just wish we could hang out and talk, you know?), (2) ex-models, (3) Radio Disney-bound cover fluff (not the good kind), or (4) FROM BOWIE, MARYLAND!



The Revelations

Less of a revelation (yeesh, sorry) after all the Pipettes hype, but a great little 60s girl group wannabe, not as good or as fun as their record collections (the Pipettes sound bored, which sort of works for them but not for me). The stuff from their Fierce Panda record ("You're the Loser") is closer to the hatbox'd girl group sound than what they're streaming from the Mercury album (due in September).



Brit and Alex

Thin, chirpy twin-pop that displays about half Brit and Alex's stated influences. Some bubblegummy hip-hop and dance-pop, a sub-par Michael Jackson attempt (not like they could hope to be on par or anything, and it's not terrible), shades of twinfessional in the intro to their only ballad, "If You Knew," which quickly turns into more of a (bubblegummy) R&B track. Overall they strike me as two Hilary Duffs sans robot precision. And the idea of that is awesome, but the music is kind of boring. Wow, wouldn't have guessed they were child performers-turned-models but I can kind of see it now.



Ruthe Charles

WOOOOOO BOWIE MARYLAND REPRESENT! Wow, teenpop masterminding was happening in my own backyard and I was too dumb to even notice! Ruthe recently changed her profile to read "Washington, D.C.," which is pretty much what I did when I got to college, too. But have some hometown pride! (Actually says she was born and raised in Croom, MD, no idea where that is.) The music is pretty good, kind of stuck in a netherrealm between c. 2003 power-teenpop and new wavier punk-pop.



Jena Kraus

I wrote "Joanna Newsom meets Marit Larsen" in my one note. Not sure what that would sound like (doesn't really describe it in retrospect), but I don't think I'd want to hear it. "Both Dads R Dead Dogs" is a great title, but my roommates are watching Freaks and Geeks w/ director's commentary right now so I can't turn the speakers up loud enough to hear it.

EDIT: Just listened to "Both Dads R Dead Dogs" about five times in a row (starting on six). From Koganspace1:

She puts on a little girl voice and then double-tracks herself as another little girl, the two girls shadowing each other, going from baby talk to sharp screams. Blazing fury made from scraps and castoffs, feedback and fuzz. Jena holds her dad responsible for the death of her first dog, her stepdad responsible for the death of her second. She promises vengeance - karmic vengeance, cosmic vengeance. A special message just for her stepdad: "When you reverse dog, what does it spell? She's gonna get you, you're gonna rot in hell."

Something else that's really interesting about this song is its structure. It starts as a disturbing lullaby to Jena Kraus' first second dog, Cocoa Bean. "I remember she used to smile as I rubbed her tummy/ ...She'll never be mean like him/ ...She'll hold my secrets/ She'll never tell." So the dead dog becomes a literal site of confession before the shouted chorus comes in, with no prior biographical context (to be explained in the next verse), "BOTH DADS ARE! DEAD DOGS!" Then there's some more straightforward linkage of the dads to the dogs, and then the quiet breakdown with the step-dad line -- which sounds even better than it reads because Jena has somehow made it funny. The situation is sick but so is her delivery; it's self-conscious without compromising the tragic undercurrent, about equally absurd and profound. Now I'm hung up trying to list everything that these dogs symbolize...her childhood, her trauma, both dads and their failures (as dads, as men), and the wrath of God, to name a few ("she's gonna get you"...I imagine her step-dad being attacked by Cerberus, two heads for each dog and the third for Jena with a twisted little smile on her face).



IQ Music

Gicelle! Mikayla! Nyla! and Sadiea! make IQ Music! Except, um, two streamed songs spell "you" as "U." (Maybe it stands for Irony Quotient?) There's also a cover of "Big Girls Don't Cry" that's waaaay worse than anything Girl Authority has ever done. But I think Girl Authority are inspired despite their occasional godawfulness, while IQ Music is just -- groooooan -- kind of dumb. OMG DISNEY AFFILIATED? NO WAY! But I'm glad that they led me to Lil' J Xavier, one of the few recent incubaTor artists whose Myspace page I can actually find. Hey IQ Girls, y'all seen any Lil' Josh prude-rap streaming anywhere?

Mislabeled Monday Redux!

Who will emerge victorious?

The premise, as always: name the proper tracks in the comment section and win our grand prize! Today's winner gets one copy of Leslie Carter's only officially released single, "Like Wow!" (b/w "True") of which I now own two copies.

Thom Yorke - Spider Song

For this Eraser outtake, Thom Yorke, in an eerie vocoder castrato, reimagines the venerable children's spider (of "itsy bitsy" fame) as a harbinger of the apocalypse. Nigel Godrich contributes ominous minimal blips and bloops and a skittering alien-cyborg backbeat evocative of c. 1995 cyberporn paranoia made flesh and then made robot-flesh and then run through a Cuisinart by a bigger, eviler robot. Yorke has never been more effectively or affectingly cryptic, as his portentous yarn hopelessly frays:

Spider spider/ In my head/ Or are you/ Or are you/ Spider spider/ Water spouts/ Cut it up/ Drag it out/ To the streets and you are dragging it about/ Would that you could/ Would that you would

The glitch-seizure finale (wherein Yorke scats free-associatively until his words dissipate into schizophrenic phonemes) might be the sound of a hypoglycemic fetus being aborted in a nuclear holocaust. Not his strongest effort.

Lily Allen - Wot You Got (The Cancer Song)

"Wot You Got" is a demo that pre-dates "LDN," so it's important to remember that Lily Allen was only 16 when she recorded this (and, allegedly, 12 when she wrote it). But it's hard not to cringe at the delight Allen expresses after learning that her ex-boyfriend -- who, admittedly, once confessed to finding another woman attractive before she dumped him -- has been diagnosed with cancer. Lines like "The cancer wot you got after/ We split fills me up wif laughter" are tasteless and meanspirited, no matter how cheerful the accompanying sunshine-ska sounds in comparison.

Blögospheer - Hivemind

Skronky spit-sax, angular zither, and paleolithically pounded-out toms percussion are the only quasi-musical sounds that make it through the faecal junkyard haze of this Brooklyn-based Icelandic trio's post-urban cacophony. Enigmatically-monikered lead singer Fjörn caterwauls apoplectically, sputtering out phrases that might be English (I think I even heard some biting commentary: "Fucka Boosh! Fucka Boosh! Blood n' skin t'eat!"). This is quickly becoming my favorite new find of the year -- you heard it here first. Quick, you can still see them perform in Williamsburg lofts before P4K "discovers" them three weeks from now!

Post all answers below. (Note: Proper remix titles must be specificied.)

SKYE FRIDAY LAST MINUTE EDITION

Complete with last minute art!

Just wanted to post this, hot off the pressez:

Hey Bubble Bee's and Bumblegums!

You're all probably wondering y I was in Sweden... not only is it a wonderful place but there's wonderful music men who make magic songs that turn into magnificent mega hits! And I was seeking their services like Dorthy on her way to the Wizard. I captured the Wizard and brought him back to Kansas ( LA) where we're finishing a song as I type!... k ... jkjk... sing!...hjakj GUITAR!.. ghsja

It's hella hot in Cali, summer has arrived my friends! Can you feel it? Protect your skin, SPF!

I hate to say it but this means the records pushed back again! Thanks to my spastic amounts of creativity surging unexspectedly. Haha! Not like you guys haven't found out yet! You always know what's going on before I do! So yes, Oct. 3rd is where we stand right now... so hold on!

LOVE YOU!!! oxox

Skye Sweetass

Can anyone say...


THE WIZ!!!!

Who else do you think Skye might call THE WIZARD? Hint: It's probably not Jorgen Elofsson!

Chaff Post 2 of 2

Another random posting...grappling with a lot of ideas for larger pieces right now and also looking for work. Another list...

1. Edited in the last message, but there are some limited copies of Fefe Dobson's new album circulating. I ordered one online.

2. Myspace is impelementing a plan to restrict 18 y/o and over types from friending 15 y/o and younger without specific personal details. Parroting from Tommy2 again (ew, sez that Superchic[k] are playing something called the Pro-Life Music Festival)...my question is whether or not this will affect 15 and under teenpop artists' ability to network! I doubt it, most artists are, for whatever reason, 102 years old. Still an interesting (further) glimpse into widespread internet paranoia, challenged in Wendy Chun's Control and Freedom. An excerpt:

On the Internet, others mirror one's perversities; one recognizes in others one's personal idiosyncrasies. On the Internet, one becomes a statistic, but through this reduction, one's "personality" is reinforced... This validation of so-called private desires, also described as community, leads to broader questions of computer networks and crises of discipline -- questions foreclosed by the emphasis on children. This myth of the agentless child victimized by cyberporn "simplifies" issues (just as focusing on pornographic materials simplifies the issue of electronic exposure); it enables adults to address issues of vulnerability without acknolwedging their own, and enables parents to admit their deficiencies as disciplinary agents without fear of condemnation.

Anyway, I don't think any of this has any direct result on artists, but it's disheartening to see paranoia continue to overwhelm any meaningful discussion of internet communication. I have a (paranoid?) feeling that Myspace is on the verge of collapse of some kind, that it can't continue to make concessions to so-called "privacy" without the primary reason for its popularity (and maybe its existence) being fundamentally undermined and destabilized.

3. Speaking of paranoid reactionary rhetoric aimed at kidz, Aly and AJ have a new single called "Chemicals React." No, it's not fundiepop's answer to "I'm Straight" (I bet there are about a million of those already); A&A are flexing their Ashlee muscles:

Were you right, was I wrong/ Were you weak, was I strong, yeah/ Both of us broken/ Caught in the moment/ We lived and we loved/ And we hurt and we joked, yeah/ But the planets all aligned/ When you looked into my eyes/ And just like that/
Watch the chemicals react

Aly/AJ, sit down a moment, I need to explain something to you. See, when you use the "chemicals react" metaphor for that tingly sensation you feel with the scumbag boyfriend who makes you feel "broken," you're referring to a desire for sexual intercourse. Your parents may not have explained this yet, but...well, sometimes in pop music, thinly veiled euphemisms and metaphors are used as a means of overcoming censorship issues stemming from ideologies very closely resembling those that you've chosen, however autonomously, to embrace. This has actually been a good thing, because it introduces new and unique (and often very funny) ways of expressing lust than, say, "I want to have sex with you immediately." I just want you to know that it's OK to write songs about sex; I even encourage it, so long as you can think of something more interesting than "chemicals react." Just thought it might be appropriate to spell things out if it wasn't obvious already. PS - the "broken" stuff isn't working for you. This seems more like a song about how your ingrained impulses toward chastity are at odds with the intense biological demands of your hormone-addled post-monkey body...follow it through! There's a great song in this idea somewhere. (Oh wait, it's called "The Bad Touch.") And then you can write a song about how great the HPV vaccine is, and why you support its FDA approval wholeheartedly.

4. Sugar Shock #2 published yesterday and the Confessional Jamz mix is available on the Summer Jamz feature, third one down. I think it turned out OK, although I'd like to write more about "Family Portrait" (and pop trauma) later. We had a very interesting discussion about it the other night, but now I forget most of what was said so I'll bring a tape recorder next time.

5. Final thought for the day is about the Ashlee/Orange Bowl incident. I'm planning a longer essay comparing the rapturous experiences of (certain) members of the Beatles' audience with the vitriolic response that followed Ashlee's performance, possibly establishing a kind of audience participation dichotomy and exploring what that event meant, not only in terms of Ashlee's career but also in terms of audience participation with live pop music. I don't want to suggest anything too definitive, ultimately I just want to compare two similar phenomena that interest me; it's not like no one's ever been booed off a stage before, but there is something so deeply unsettling in that performance, I want to figure out why what happened was so disturbing to me when I finally saw it. Working from Meltzer again, I think that the "baffled, indifferent" males who met the Beatles with a kind of incredulous fascination constituted the majority of Ashlee's audience at this event. Everyone was skeptical, everyone crossed their arms, and what followed is what happens when enough arm-crossers are given free reign to express themselves. I'll bet a few people booed the Beatles, too, but you couldn't hear them -- you couldn't even hear the music, ever. And frankly you can't hear Ashlee, the sound is terrible even from the TV feed, can't imagine it being any more intelligible in a giant stadium. More later...

[Fanfare]

OH MY GOD IT NUMBERED ITSELF. THAT'S HOW GREAT IT IS. WOOOOOOOOO GOODBYE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WE HARDLY KNEW YE BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T NETFLIXED THE DVD YET!!

2. Also at RD, Jonas Bros. second single gets swept into rotation nearly unanimously, an unprecedented (wait, extremely common) feat. "Year 3000" (Dr. Octagon cover?) will take the nation by storm. Except I've never heard it, so maybe it sucks.

3. Ashlee Simpson did not write "Invisible," as reported by CBS. It was written by Jaded Era, whose Myspace page offers more of their bland-but-not-altogether-terrible music ripe for tacking on to the end of cash-in rereleases. Apparently the video for "Invisible," in which Ashlee's Jaded Era's on-the-nose lyrics nicely complement the boxing metaphor (maybe if someone punched Ashlee in the nose it would return to its distinctive original shape?), was shot in the same location as Million Dollar Baby.

4. Why is everyone going to Namibia?

5. Fefe Dobson has been dropped from Island, which means that Sunday Love is delayed indefinitely. This is a major disappointment, as I've been listening to Fefe's first album fairly often these days and I'm getting more from it with each listen, particularly with "Unforgiven" as a centerpiece, really ties the album together.

EDIT: From Tommy2.net:

Fefe Dobson fans have been scouring stores in search for her new release. Most stores aren't stocking it, while a few have received limited shipments - however, once they are gone they're gone! She has stated that when she finds a new label they'll release it, but as of now if you want it you better start looking.

I ordered mine! I hope it arrives...

6. We bought a rug! It's from Target and it's green. It's also softer than we imagined it would be.

7. Belated Skye Friday news, a few confirmed song titles include:

BABY DOLL GONE WRONG
SCARY LOVE
VIOLENTLY IN LOVE

And, as kinda-sorta predicted, or at least kinda-sorta danced around, in this discussion over at Mincetapes, the Sugarcubes have officially infiltrated teenpop via Skye Sweetnam and the Matrix. Sez Lauren Christy:

We’re also excited about the songs we did with Skye Sweetnam (on Capitol Records), who is a new artist from Canada that is a cross between Gwen Stefani and the Sugarcubes, Her style is different than pop/rock – it’s more hip-hop and grunge.

Uh...right. Hey, Sugarcubes!

8. To make this go to ten eventually, I'll use one point to say that the Wreckers' album is BOOOOOOOOOOORING.

9. New Girl Authority album arrived in the mail. Haven't gotten through the whole thing, but nothing is really working past "Hollaback Girl" yet. What's great is that this song gives me an excuse to vote for "Hollaback Girl" two years in a row. Also the Kidz Bop rendition of Crazy Frog's "Axel F." My goal is to have at least 65% recycled material on my year-end list, because I just saw Al Gore's power-Powerpoint presentation An Inconvenient Truth. We walked home on Spruce St. and noticed that it was just far enough from commerce areas to be annoying to live there. Hence, An Inconvenient Spruce. We also discussed the film briefly in a kind of gloomy, distracted way.

10. I just realized that Aly and AJ will never write a fear-mongering global warming song, which is a shame because they're so good at it and fear should probably be mongered. I'm eagerly anticipating their semi-covert abstinence anthem, "Plan A" (Target exclusive!).

Pop Trauma vs. Shemo

I'm not a big fan of the new buzzword on the block, "SHEMO," describing the angst/confessional/therapy-rock c. 1999-present, although practically it's closer to c. 2001. Skye, you need an ANTI-AVRIL sticker on your guitar to go with your ANTI-MATRIX sticker, although that's mighty big of you not to name names.

So for an upcoming column, since my wannabe academic musings on this site tend to sprawl aimlessly for pages without saying all that much, I'm going to explore this stuff a little bit and try to establish a workable framework for myself, to be expanded in a more manageable setting. Shemo doesn't work because it contains both "she" and "emo," neither of which adequately describe confessional rock (that's still probably the safest category for it, wouldn't call it a genre exactly). Being a woman isn't a prerequisite to making this sort of music work; women just happen to be overwhelmingly better at it. But males can be shemo, like Ashley Parker Angel, and guy/gal units can be shemo, too, just got Flyleaf and Meg and Dia in the male. I mean, mail. Granted, lead singers are female in both of those groups, but the SHE part (singing) isn't necessarily what defines the EMO part (music, maybe singing, too). Women can be "emo" if they wannabe, just don't really know why anyone would aspire to it (and Lindsay and Ashlee and Fefe and Marion don't aspire to it. So wait, who are we even talking about?).

Hey that's not even what I wanted to write about. Point is I started reading the reference copy of Aesthetics of Rock in the library today and by page 50 my mind's been blown. Of many ideas, one I'm interested in is Meltzer's commentary on tragedy and the role of overstatement and tragedy in rock music. He states that "only rock 'n' roll of all contemporary arts is capable of dealing with overstatement in the necessary manner," going on to connect the idea of overstatement (good example was from the Beatles' Hard Day's Night [movie]; a homoerotic scene ["how bout a kiss?"] confounds Freudian analysis by being overstated, capitalizing on the strange pull between the awesome [Beatles' performance atmosphere, aura, mythology, whatever] and trivial [wink wink nudge nudge]) with implicit tragedy.

"Originally, all rock n' roll dealt with tragedy as it is manifest most blatantly to the almost-present-day buyer of rock records." That included high school tragedies (hit by train while lookin' for your, er, promise ring[?]), adolescent existential angst, buncha other stuff. Which rings true for "shemo" themes, except I don't know that "tragedy" is quite adequate -- the moment of shock, the "Patches" moment, has been replaced by something much more complex, something (which I also hinted at writing about "Family Portrait" on the summer mixtape, didn't expand as much as I'd like) about the trauma of time, of growing older.

I still haven't explored this enough yet (or at all, really, just got home from the library, gimme a break), but I'm thinking about how these songs are defining what kind of tragedy is "manifest most blatantly" to the record buyers, downloaders, whomever. The tragedy happens over time, happens with experience, happens with a slow, painful loss of innocence that may be due to parental separation, heartbreak, whatever -- but it's lasting, these aren't straightforward narratives, but rather reflective assessments not only of the imagined "moment" of trauma, but the lasting wounds, that -- according to Kelly Clarkson among others -- can never heal. That's why there is no Patches, there's no story most of the time, just a kind of exposure or glimpse of ongoing trauma. Hence, pop trauma. Also because so many songs are about father-daughter (or -son, can't think of any current examples...Everclear I guess, Ashley does this in reverse, a pre-emptive PRO-SON song to make sure Ashley Parker Angel, Jr. [Lyric Angel, yeeeeeeesh] doesn't write "Son to Father" in fifteen years, except he probably will anyway because the trauma will be there no matter what Ashley says or does, it's just a part of growing up, particularly growing up with a name like LYRIC ANGEL). Or maybe trauma-pop. I think there's something to it, but I'll write about it more elsewhere if they let me.

Oh, and I'm also interested in this bit right now: "Girls cried and girls pretended to cry, and both responses were valid." Meltzer re girl reactions to the Beatles live, compared to the baffled indifference of the males (everyone is bafflingly indifferent to Ashlee, which I guess makes her better than the Beatles?). Mostly interested in it because there was a kindred passage about Corsican death rituals in a Sebald essay I read the night before.

AUGH MORE TO WRITE CAN'T THINK OR TYPE FAST ENOUGH BUT TIME TO DRINK COFFEE AND TALK ABOUT TRAUMA VS. TRAGEDY WITH EMILY WHOSE STANCE IS UNSHAKABLY TRAGIC SO OH WELL.

(Shemo Schmemo? Or is it just Schshemo?)

I need time...love...joy...Myspace...

Decent batch today. Something to be said for quantity over quality...

ACTION!


Colette Trudeau

LiveonRelease member Colette Trudeau goes solo, continues to be awesome. Her old band has its own page, and the gals have this to say for themselves:

Not all teens listen to Britney Spears or Nsync. And why should they. Rock & Roll has edge, grit, angst, aggression, rock has protested wars, fought injustices, and supported good causes around the world, rock is based on the ability of free thinking people to display their beliefs no matter if it's about driving in a car on a sunny day or a bomb that can end the world, and it's cathartic not only for the people who perform it but also for the people who hear it and relate to it. Rock is about voicing what's on your mind when others are afraid to say it. Rock can be about sex, drugs, anti-drugs, anti-sex, rock can be just about rock and roll itself.

You really think Britney Spears doesn't have edge, grit, angst, or aggression? DELUSIONAL. (You can find all of these traits and more on display in the "Everytime" video, which I saw for the first time a few days ago! XTREME VID!)

Apparently Colette's not quite so afraid of Britney/NSync et al. these days...striaght-up edgy gritty angsty aggressive POP.



Meg and Dia

MORMON EMO! Nah, they're just from Utah. These are some strange kids...Meg, Dia, and two dudes act out domestic violence done up like fairytales, or vice versa (at least that's the vibe I'm getting from "Monster"). They have extensive "side notes" to their lyrics that look like this:

The couch. Always behind the couch. Under the table. The closet under the stairs. Three places to run. Three places to hide. Every time their voices would rise I would run to the closest sanctuary and thank God I was small enough to fit. Those voices that ran across each corner of the room seemed to reverberate off my very skin. Dad. He told me to call him Sir. Never Dad. Mom. She told me to call her Hannah. She was so pretty when she slept. She was so pretty when she was happy. Now, her body of twenty years was old. Tired from no sleep, breaking from fingertips pressed into her sides, and boiling with too hard of liquor for her fragile, porcelain outline.

After every uproar, every tear by her, and every empty bottle by him they would come looking. Her, happy to see him turn his malice towards me. Him, happy to turn his malice away from himself. I was the six year old pathetic coward.

Sir, I would say.

My eyes would wander to Hannah with frightened curiosity.

What had I done?

I called him sir. I called her Hannah.

They called me Henry at school.

They called me Henry at church.

They called me Monster at home.

Yikes, can't spell "erm, no" without EMO. They can execute a nice harmony or two when they put their minds to it (cf. downloadable older track "Indiana"). More on this one when I actually receive their album...

EDIT: Received and am currently enjoying the album. Not much to say, except the rerecorded "Indiana" is awesome.



Elias

"Who's Da'Man" has been tearin' up the Swedish charts lately. Fun facts:

1) The song is sung not by Elias, but by some kid named Fredrik.
2) Fredrik sounds like the kid who sings "Schni Schna Schnappi."
3) I prefer Fredrik's voice to Elias' voice, making the rest of the tracks on the Myspace irrelevant.
4) He's singing about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a soccer (er, football) player. Which makes this part of World Cup Fever, along with Crazy Frog and Infernal. Note: I know nothing about this sport.



Brian Anthony

Huh. Nondescript club jamz (musical influences: Pat Benetar [sic], Anne Lenux [sic], Yin Yang Twins [sic], Emminem [sic], Andreas Carlson [sic], Dave Mathews Band [sic], and "PRINCE!") good enough to get on the Garfield 2 soundtrack, which officially qualifies Brian as teenpop.



Carmireli

Ra-cha-cha native with decent Kelly C chops ("Only You") and less-decent J-Lo pop leanings a la Top 8 friends Kaci Brown and Jeannie Ortega.



Tina Sugandh

Bollywood meets Hollywood Records (har har) as Tina Sugandh scores a track on the Ice Princess OST and hooks up with Dr. Luke. Internet is being tempermental so I can't remember what she actually sounds like...seem to remember it sounding like an American pop diva (Xtina maybe) plus "needs more tabla."



Jzabehl

Kelis-soundin' duo who look kinda angst-rock in their live photos (the ones under the Budweiser logo). They want you to know that they have GUITARS and can PLAY THEM, even though I don't remember hearing any guitar in their single.

EDIT: Since I won't be able to post this anywhere else...

So no, it's not the Arctic Monkeys' form that sets them apart; it is, rather, their content.

No, nothing "sets them apart" from anything. That's why it's such excellent music to listen to while I'm reading, and it's the only thing giving them a shot at my super-exclusive Top Ten, so don't MUCK IT UP with your nonsense!

Still Me Still Mad

It was those eyes...those crazy little eyes

Critique-as-you-listen, Amy Diamond edition!

1. Amy Diamond - Big Guns

Oh man, music hall player-piano meets poopy bass meets Amy Diamond stompin’ and swaggerin’ in a Swedish saloon made out of Nerf, or maybe the Korova milk bar that actually just serves milk, 13 and under. Don’t mess with the best, kid. Have a cookie and some television. Damn, she’s kickin’ ass all over this song, whoa shift into minor-key carnival chorus. Who are the big guns speaking for the young ‘uns? Y’know Amy’s delivery is pretty sharp. [Note: The song is about kids being force-fed mass entertainment/junk. Ha. Amy, you realize you could make these same kids your slaves for life, right? "My young allies"..."Get with the program/ The real truth's coming from the youth/ Check what I'm singing/ Respect our opinion/ Pie in the sky/ We don't have that anymore." Way more dangerous than cookies.]

2. "Don’t Cry Your Heart Out"

Already heard this on the Swedish chart stream but sounds better in context. Man, those “doo doo doo”’s sound vicious after taking this guy to task for being such an emo schmuck. [Wait, is this the anti-emo song? I swear she’s making fun of this guy...] Desolate and chirpy at the same time…doo-doo-doom.

3. "My Name Is Love"

Haha, this album rollicks. And is therefore rollicking. Wow, Amy Diamond multi-track funhouse mirror harmonies are sweet. Crams a lot of STUFF into the song, quick glissandos, a washboard (?), some glock, fingersnaps.

4. "That’s Life"

Now she sounds like Hilary Duff to me for some reason. Except no Hilary sounds this hyperactive. I think that this entire album is approximating the eerie shade of blue in Amy’s eyes in that press photo I commented on a while back. Draws you in at a glance (at the glance?) and you’re kinda mesmerized before you realize that you might also be terrified. This music is giving me heart palpitations. Oh damn, she just ripped off “you can plan pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather” almost verbatim. Another abrupt ending.

5. "All the Money in the World"

Slows down a bit but not quite into ballad territory [EDIT: Nah, it's a ballad]. I feel like I’m missing lyrics here...“I’m happy as it is/ Thoughts Love still counts for something...” thoughts LOVE makes her rich. Well, maybe this album will help. Great use of strings and Beatle-horns. And, uh, these guitar solos have all worked so far even though I’m not sure any of these songs have actually required the use of guitar.

6. "Don’t Lose Any Sleep Over You"

Haha when Amy goes vibrato it’s like listening on the wrong speed. Dude, They Might Be Giants coulda written this circa Flood. Except they would have killed the ambient sound and kept it closer to the “jazzy” (some dissected approximation of “jazzy” that works better than jazzy anyway) horn section, all the sounds clinically separated. She’s getting away with a lot of angst in the lyrics, too, whenever I can pay attention. Yet another abrupt ending.

7. "Diamonds"

Further into TMBG territory, plodding minor-key cartoon theatrics, animated skeletons dancing. This is both a great summer album and a great Halloween album, maybe good for an unusually warm Halloween. Haha the first sarcastic (maybe just silly) guitar solo. Borrows at random from “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”...actually just references the title.

8. "Life’s What You Make It"

Now I don’t even know what the hell is going on. I’m hearing some “Fido Your Leash Is Too Long” or something, and plenty of laser gun FX. Amy Diamond has a way of surrounding clichés with enough weirdness to either render them irrelevant or actually provide some context to reconsider them. Not in any meaningful way, just the passing thought that hey, this cliché isn’t so bad. Life’s what you make it, right? Live every moment like it’s your last, but I imagine Amy Diamond smiling and laughing maniacally with her eyes.

9. "No Regrets"

A little bit Sesame Street a little bit XTC. That goes for the whole album sort of, but definitely this song. “Everything works out for the best/ We’ll get it together/ We had to settle for a draw, that’s all.” No lost pride on either side. Uh huh. Anyone who calls a draw with Amy Diamond probably got his/her ass beat. Like she just schooled some guy in ping-pong or sex or something but they weren’t “keeping score” and she said, oh, we’ll call it a draw. [SMILE WITH CRAZY EYES]

10. "It Can Only Get Better"

First ballad to speak of and it works. Amy’s voice is slathered over this album like cream cheese, doesn’t so much ground the music as covers it, thick, gooey vocals except after each track there’s this abrupt BEAT (silence) and there’s just...something...wrong. Like you know she’s crazy, she’s completely mad. She can’t “get better” because she can’t “get hurt” because she is inhuman. She’s like...I dunno, the robot girl on Small Wonder. I bet she’s a psychopath. I bet she gets paid in gold bullion so that currency won't fluctuate, like ABBA (is that just a rumor?), and she has oil money and she drinks tea and reads the stock exchange and giggles and then flashes a look back and it freezes “Thriller” style except the eyes don't change color because they are already crazy.

xx. "What’s In It For Me" [first album, next in iTunes playlist]

Um...the album is over??????? I’m gonna have nightmares tonight. Just like last night, and the night before that. Last night the Pillsbury Doughboy tried to kill me by glomming onto my ankle (somebody else finally cut him off but his little hands were still stuck to my leg) but tonight it’s going to be AMY DIAMOND the CRAZY-EYEZ KILLAH.

Demon day

1. Cooled down today with a Frosty and took it to the LOVE statue with the intent of subtitling the picture "Frosty w/ cheese!" This did not happen because I forgot to put batteries in the camera and then threw the cup away (I think the Frosty made me a little sick).

So please trust that I did have a Frosty, belatedly, to celebrate a very different sort of third anniversary that has nothing (well, little) to do with Satan or Brie Larson. E!

2. To further saturate the internet, I reluctantly started a LiveJournal page. I probably won't post anything there but I do enjoy making friends, for those of you who have taken the LJ side in the Blogger vs. LiveJournal Wars.

3. $1 purchases today: Zongamin, That Dog., The Pierces, Imani Coppola, Aaron Carter. $2-$3 purchases: Liz Phair - Whitechocolatespaceegg and Kelly Osbourne - Sleeping in the Nothing, which I really like so far.

4. Relistened to the new Pink and have definitely warmed up to it. I was way off about "Who Knew" being a "Since U Been Gone" clone (the beat is a little similar, but it's not very angry at all). Also fine-tuning my Confessional Jamz mix. Included Aly and AJ after all but couldn't find room for Hope Partlow (choice between "Sick Inside" and "Cold," I picked neither but am posting the latter...it's a little bit angst-rockier). Waiting on Meg & Dia and Flyleaf.

5. A pre-Skye Friday tip, album pushed back indefinitely but Skye is currently in Sweden, no doubt recording her surefire #1 single with Max Martin and Dr. Luke Gottwald. Or at least Jorgen Elofsson w/ input from Andreas Carlsson. When will Skye have her shining soarus moment?

666. Truth Squad sneaking up on the RD Top Ten, cue aneurysm. Hannah replaces Ri-hannah at #2 with "SOS" slipping to #8. I'm doubting that "Unfaithful" will crack the chart. Can nothing knock HSM from the top? ...How did THE MACARENA make it back on the list????

DEMON ANNIVERSARY "FROSTY" PICK: Hope Partlow - Cold

DEMON ANNIVERSARY "CHEESE" PICK: BWO - Marrakech

Never gone. 2 the XTREME

Because I'm not gone (I'm here). Damn, didn't think things would get rollin' so fast, but why not do my inaugural post from my new top secret location?

Lessee, what'd I miss in two days...OMG.

PINK BULLDOZER

No, not the aborted Skye title...I'm referring to this:

I got the idea that if you could designate some things "extreme metal" you should also be able to designate things "extreme pop."

So, my nominations for EXTREME POP would include:

Mariah Carey (esp. her 1991 peak) because she's just fuckin' extreme, and 'cause she squeaks.
Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming to Take Me Away" because it's extremely silly and irritating and because the flipside is the same song played backwards which causes people to shoot themselves in the head.
The Veronicas' "4ever" for its deliriously gorgeous harmonies.
Boney M for being guilelessly eclectic.
Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park," because someone left the cake out in the rain.
Lindsay Lohan's video for "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)"
Johnny Ray
The Shangri-Las
Little Richard

You can figure out what's extreme about the last three. This list is just to get the concept going.

[...]

PINK BULLDOZER
The Magazine of Extreme Pop

(Except the title would have to be in pink; and it would probably end up as a Website rather than a magazine. Metal Mike Saunders could interview Skye Sweetnam, and Dave Bedbug could review the record. Brie Larson would publish promo tour diaries. Reports from Europe on Marie Serneholt, Eurovision, Iranian disco.)

Lots of conversation happening at Blogger nemesis LiveJournal, here and here.

So who's going to spearhead this and actually do it? Grab some webspace, get some writers together, raise hell. Include MP3s. You could do it at blogspot for free, I'll letchyall use my rinky dink server for the music, although I'm sure you could do better than that.

Bedbug Dave v. Dave Bedbug, or y'all could call me "Diabetic Dave" like in high school (haha, "sugar shock," get it! Seriously though don't call me that) or D-Mo or Dawg Mo or D. Buggo or Dabug like in Russian class.

(Thoughts that follow are to be taken with one grain of salt:)

Aqua and Toy-Box are both EXTREME POP, but Ch!pz and Daze are not. The A-Teens are capable of EXTREME POP. To connect to another idea, it seems like EXTREME POP has to do with how many free lunches you get in one serving. So "Hypocrite" might be EXTREME POP, but "Billy S" is not. This might explain why the "Confessions" video is clearly EXTREME POP but the song isn't necessarily...the second link to the Poptimists discussion includes a bit about the "tabloid violence" video, which in music video terms is full of free lunches. When the video came out, someone said Lindsay's singing in Charles Bukowski's bathroom (still one of the funniest things I've read all year), which would not be a free lunch in a Fiona Apple video but is in a Lindsay Lohan video. Indie cannot be EXTREME anything because all indie has rubber bumpers on it. No matter how hard you slam against the extreme wall you won't get hurt, so no EXTREME chances can ever be taken, only normal chances, albeit huge normal chances. Being labeled "indie" in the first place -- as a socially cosntructed category but not an aesthetic one (genre), just as teenpop isn't an aesthetic category/genre -- signals the loss of extremity, whereas being stripped of that label (cf. Liz Phair) might mean you're finally being adventurous in an EXTREME POP way (meaning post-Matrix Liz Phair aspires to EXTREME POP, and some later Courtney Love, though I've only heard America's Sweetheart so I won't draw that out too much). But that doesn't work in reverse, to say that whatever it is that classifies music as TEENPOP signals it is by definition EXTREME POP (as indie by definition is not), because there is teenpop that is not EXTREME POP. Maybe TEENPOP is a signifier of the potential for EXTREME POP, whereas INDIE is a signifier of a threshold of extremity beyond which the music can never pass unless it stops being defined as "indie." The Pipettes will never, can never be EXTREME POP. Lily Allen aspires to EXTREME POP but I'm not sure that she's there. "Finally Out of P.E." might be EXTREME POP but "Stilts and the Titanic" is not.

Teenpoppers who live and breathe EXTREME POP, past and present: M2M, Skye Sweetnam, Brie Larson, Daphne & Celeste, DaHv, Aaron Carter(moved from the "aspire" category), Nikki Cleary, Devo 2.0, Aqua, Toy-Box, Hampton the Hamster, Crazy Frog.

Teenpoppers who aspire to EXTREME POP, but don't always achieve it: Britney, A*Teens, Fefe Dobson, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Hannah Montana, Huckapoo, Hoku, Hilary Duff, the Veronicas. [EDIT: I think Kelly C belongs somewhere between aspire and live and breathe...when she WANTS to do Extreme Pop, she does it, when she doesn't, she doesn't...so maybe "tactical extreme"? "Occasional extreme"?]

OTHER NEWS: Marit Larsen has a Myspace; I erroneously called "Bring It Back" a "preview," when in fact it has not been confirmed or denied as a track on Sound Soldier; finished my Confessional Jamz mix for Stylus, still tinkering with the Myspace column which I don't think I'm ever going to be happy with, but hm, maybe I'll get a chance to expand my thoughts in a big fat essay someday; I was going to buy an Enuff Znuff album for three bucks the other day but decided against it (ditto David Banner's MTA2 and the Hoot soundtrack); Frosty Day has passed and I still haven't gotten a Frosty, but I will do so today on my way about town; I did not pack too many oat groats. EDIT: Oh, and I REALLY WANT THIS ALBUM. Heard it in a coffee shop last night, followed by the Polysics, who will become EXTREME POP when they go Polysics 2.0.

OPEN DISCUSSION: Has anyone noticed how strange Rihanna's "Unfaithful" is? The recent singles jukebox kind of touches on it, but not really. It's a confessional jam, so you won't hear it from me yet.

i m ME & i wont chng 4 ne1 like U

Last post for a while...seriously this time!

Me, a few weeks ago: "Who is Brittney Cleary??" (note: I already knew who she was, this is intended for dramatic effect)

Me, today: Oh, it's Nikki Cleary's real name before Jive made her change it. Jive: "We already have a Britney!"

So while you scrounge up change to buy your June 3rd Frosty and then TAKE A PICTURE OF IT, you can play Brittney's debut single "I.M. Me" in the background. Sorry if you have a Pavlovian response to the door-opening sound at the beginning.

The lyrics so you can sing along:

Let's meet at the same time
Same place
Send your jpeg, I wanna see your face
Girlfriend, send an I.M.
TTYL
No time to spell
Oops, there goes that little bell
Bye, bye for now
BBFN

[Chorus]
Hey LOL, G2G
I gotta go, but baby watch for me 'cause
I'll be right back, BRB
So sign on, and I.M. me

Mom thinks I'm doing me some homework
Yeah, research
But I can't help it I've just got to surf
I gotta chat with my girlfriends on line,
We're digital diva's
Believe us
This Girl Wide Web is hot stuff
My buddy list is growing all the time

[CHORUS]

[GIRL TALK CONVO COSTARRING GIRL TALKERS CARLY BARTELSEN AND ALYSON MADELL]

I got a web page
A domain
Sign my guest book with your screen name
Check it out, then send an I.M.

What's your profile
Favorite quote?
Hey! This is just like passing notes
It's easier to type than use a pen

[CHORUS 2x]

And the mid-song breakdown (transcribed into IM-speak and backtranslated where appropriate):

Brittney: wassup QTs ;)
girltalker1: [carly or alyson, "stephanie" in this exchange] not much here :)
girltalker2: [alyson or carly, not "stephanie"] same here :)
Brittney: did u c that note stephanie got from mike? :o
girl2: no what did it say
girl1: omg[osh] he said our relationship wasnt going newhere
girl2: he doesnt evn no what thatmeans >:o
[girls roffle :D]
girl2: did u get yr hw done?
girl1: i was tryin 2 but billy imed me
Brittney: OMG[osh] hes such a hottie ;)
girl2: hey guys i g2g
girl1: yea me too my mom was yellin
girl2: bye babes lyl
Brittney: ok ttyl sweetie [actually spelled out t-t-y-l] ;)
girl2: ttyl :)
girl1: bye

And FINALLY, the liner notes:

Hi! My name is Brittney and if you're anything like me, you LOVE to instant message your friends. When my producers asked me what I wanted my first single to be about, I knew right away. I wanted to sing about talking to my girlfriends online. I love I.M.ing and I even have my own website where you can learn more about me and my music. Listen to my new song and let me know how you like it! Check out my website: www.brittneycleary.com I'm waiting to hear from you! ♥ Brittney

While I'm gone, I would love to see a discussion happen about the role of IM language in music, culture, conversation, whatever else. Which artists use IM-speak in their songs? For what purpose or overall effect? Should there be more or less IM-speak in pop music? Can you think of better questions than the ones I've posed?

And to give an EXTRA incentive to say NEthing at all, here's that Ashlee/Missy remix. LOL! Oh, LOL! Oh, Vee! Eeeeeeeeee!

Brittney Cleary - I.M. Me

Ashlee & Missee - L.O.V.E.

PS - you could also have a discussion about the use of acronyms -- ones that stand for several words (being an NBL that TCB, for instance) or merely spell out longer words or any tangent resulting from this idea -- in the comments section or in the privacy of your own home with a loved one. Not that they're mutually exclusive. You could also talk about the weather or Prague or how many pounds of oat groats constitute "too many oat groats" (only Miss E and I know the secret answer, but she's in Spain and I'm not telling).

Skye Friday Is ON THE MARCH!

Some people might complain about a T-shirt in their pizza but Skye just WEARS it!

That's right, starting next week, you will ONLY be able to read Skye Friday posts that were written and published in Philly. Except when I post from other places.

Also, last week's discarded Skye Friday post happened (not) to occur on the one-year anniversary of Cure for Bedbugs -- which, if you haven't checked the archives, started as a place for me to put my angst (and travel writing, same difference). Now I use it to talk about other people's angst and pop music resulting therefrom.

ONE YEAR FUN FACT: This blog gets its name from an actual case of bedbug bites! Remember, googlers, there is NO surefire cure for bedbugs. You can only hope to take your mind off it a bit...by reading this blog!

Angst schmangst, blog schmlog. Big Skye news, as reported on her Myspace. You knew I was going to post the whole thing, so PLEASE READ IT. (No, I won't break up the text a little...what are you, chicken?)

The short epic history of your new favorite little monster with the candy-coated smile- SKYE SWEETNAM Once upon a time there was a little wild child born on an orange moon in 1988. She came out screaming and peeing on the doctor letting the world know she had arrived. With a big curl of hair on her head and pretty little eyes as blue as the Scottish Isle, she was appropriately named SKYE. This little girl grew up to a bigger little girl- thats me. Coming from the small Canadian town Bolton, I had been drinking some of the infamous Canadian well water that turns you into a singer/songwriter. I played hooky to write and record Noise from the Basement, my first record in my friends parents house. I was signed at fourteen and I immediately started touring everywhere from summer camps, to twenty-one plus clubs (when I was sooooo underage), to arenas with Britney Spears when I was sixteen. I was trying to pay my dues as they say I guess performing two minute versions of Cats and Les Miserables for years doesnt count. So the time came around for album number two, and it was my chance to take advantage of the big budget and show everyone Ive learned a thing or two. I had about 30 songs under my belt when I got sucked into adore ya, scorn ya, California. I was so worried it would suck me in and turn me into you know a fake bitchy poser loser diva. I did my rounds trying to force my share of creative relationships. Nothing seemed to capture my vision for the new record until I wrote a song with one of the coolest guys about the very thing I was having trouble with: Being afraid of getting sucked into the big city, yet not believing I would. That guy is Mr. Tim Armstrong. I dont believe in ghosts but Im afraid of them thats how it goes. Cmon I know you cant resist signing along! Tim and I ended up becoming great friends and we later wrote two more tracks for the record. One of which, Into Action features The Aggrolites newly signed to Tims Hellcat Records. So then I get the call from the label that the most in demand production/writing team in the industry is open to try and write together. Dun dun dun dun THE MATRIX To be honest that was exactly what I didnt wanna do especially since theyre responsible for that ever so COMPLICATED song that came up in everyone of my interviews last year! Geeze! I even had anti-Matrix written on one of my guitars. So I went ahead cautiously into the Matrix studio, prepared with books of art, lyrics and strong ideas about not sounding like anything else. I wanted comic book heroine meets heavy Hit me baby one more time. I guess working with KORN kinda rubbed off on them, because after the first song we wrote Music Is My Boyfriend, I was already chanting over heavy guitars, signing contagious melodies and writing the captain of all hooks! Yargh! I give the MATRIX all the props in the world for being so amazing. They really are talented! You can head bang to it and dance and mosh and sing along! My boyfriend is the bang, the boom, the beat! and after that song we pinpointed SKYE SOUND. So with my vintage SPICE GIRL rings from a cereal box and my huge-mongous boots I was ready for world domination. We ended up writing the rest of the record together. See kids the moral is dont dis anything til you try it! Along my travels in LA, I ran into an ultra cool MC/Rapper Aksent. After hearing her music, I knew I had to get her in on one of the tracks. BOYHUNTER, a girl power anthem about hunting down boys as if they were animals seemed to be a perfect fit! After the Matrix heard her they knew as I did, the two of us playing off each other over a hot beat was too hard to resist. I liked the idea of being a hybrid of all things cool. I took influence from being on the Britney tour, from my favorite place in the world JAPAN, from my DIY rebel roots in the basement, and from my grandfathers bulldozers in the real rock business. Ive been fed up with all young girls out today preaching that theyre REAL whats happened to the magic? And what the hell has happened to the sound? So this record is tilted SOUND SOLDIER! I am music warrior, defending noise in the fight against silence. Im a tutu wearing new breed of doll with killer lipstick in my pocket to use on the boys I hunt. I stand for auditory extremes and a wicked fashion sense! I pledge to maintain sonic integrity and I will always promise to play my music loud! So you may wonder what youre listening toone part punk funk, one part little girl wanna-be, like a razor in a lollipop, too-sugary-to handle on the outside but it bites back when you least expect! Who cares what it is as long as you like it. You can hate me after the songs over! Nanananana I got a MICROPHONE!

This, of course, replaces the triple review of My Homemade DVD (dir. Skye Sweetnam), "Radio Free Roscoe," and "Switched," all of which are extremely old. Whereas this is extremely new.

I'm a little disappointed she went with Sound Soldier, but only in relation to the comparative awesomeness of her other choices. The name does fit her tone here, and if the album is as strong as her voice (no evidence to the contrary so far) then maybe it's an appropriate title.

Note the many Angry Samoans references that now abound her page. All discarded titles would be EXCELLENT for future split EPs, rarities comps, and blog-storming mixtapes.

Sound Solider preview: Watch "Bring It Back" live, courtesy Nahdoo.net, now in not-quite-as-shitty quality! (It's a huge file, fair warning!)