Fanboys of the Universe

kylie’s APHRODITE drops 7/6/10

2010-07-03T21:42:40-05:00

Here’s a link to the NPR preview. Can’t wait for this one! The title track is my fave! “I’m fierce and I’m feelin’ mighty, I’m a golden girl, I’m an Aphrodite!”

Anyhow here’s the link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=128109135&m=128115091

Glimpse of Aguilera in “Burlesque”

2010-07-02T08:57:20-05:00

USAToday.com has a brief article about “Burlesque,” which stars Christina Aguilera and Cher. The article includes a photo of Christina in action. Check it out here.

And right now you are listening To?

2008-08-25T19:24:14-05:00

This type of thread is a must, specially for us lurker types lol.

I’m listening to Blue Jeans, by Ladytron

Liza Sings “Single Ladies”

2010-05-21T13:48:41-05:00

From the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLCRisDDjxI

Go Liza!

New Goldfrapp Coming March 2010

2009-12-02T11:19:55-05:00

British electronica duo Goldfrapp will release their fifth studio album, Head First, on March 22 through Mute.

Goldfrapp recorded the album this year in London, England and Bath, England. It was entirely written and produced by the twosome of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory.

“Rocket,” the first single from the follow-up to 2008’s Seventh Tree, will precede Head First’s release on March 9.

No tracklisting for Head First has been revealed yet.

From Alison’s blog:

Hi

my god its a crazy fast world! news gets out on the net soooo fast. we are still here in the west country mixing the album but in case you havent seen stuff on the web today the album now has a title ‘Head First’ and comes out in march, the single titled ‘rocket’ is also out around the same time.

catch up soonxxxxxxxxalison

On a side note, Ladytron are releasing their Best Of in the first quarter of 2010. Sia is putting her new studio album out in the first quarter too. All in close proximity to Christina’s new one. :P

Review - Christina Aguilera: Bionic

2010-06-18T07:28:33-05:00

Album: Bionic
Rating: 7 out of 10 / B

Christina Aguilera sings “I’m not myself tonight” on her latest album, but it’s hard to tell exactly what norm she’s deviating from. In 11 years, she’s only recorded four full-length albums, and she’s yet to develop a signature sound beyond “Damn, that girl can SING!” Which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. More successful pop careers have been launched with voices that could barely hold a note (like Xtina’s perennial media rival Britney Spears).

This tends to work in her favor during the playtime of Bionic, though, since the album careens around to so many styles and genres that it makes the album difficult to succinctly categorize. Christina tends to fully assume the identity of her collaborators whether they be M.I.A. (the charmingly banal “Elastic Love") or Le Tigre (the infectious, Peaches-assisted disco stomp of “My Girls") or Sia (a handful of ballads in the center of the album). The deluxe edition—which contains the best tracks—also includes collaborations with Santigold (the pleasant dance track “Monday Morning” and the cheerleader kiss-off “Bobblehead") and Ladytron (the lush, exotic “Birds Of Prey").

The “girl can sing” crowd will end up disappointed, however, when they find out that Christina’s impressive belting is completely absent for at least half of the disc’s running time. Christina’s voice is always perfectly formed, although in many cases she’s happy to form it around a more direct, deeper vocal than the wild voice from her 2006 album Back To Basics. When that voice does show up, it’s almost as if Christina is acting as her own featured vocalist. Her voice displays much more versatility here than it has in the past even if the throaty, rich vocal people have come to associate with her only makes occasional appearances. When it does show up—like on the killer ballad “You Lost Me”—it’s amazing.

For an album that’s ostensibly all about a robotic future, Christina certainly looks to backward for some of her tracks. That’s not good or bad, simply curious. The silly-but-catchy “Vanity” could easily have been a lost track from Lords of Acid’s first album (it’s “The Most Beautiful Girl” mashed-up with “I Must Increase My Bust") and the slick house track “Glam” sounds like a cut from RuPaul’s first album re-interpreted by Daft Punk. The album has the same grindhouse vibe that Madonna’s Erotica did, and the Latin club beat of the campy “Desnudate” really drives that point home. Christina even mines her own past, with Linda Perry giving her what’s essentially “Beautiful (Part 2)” with “Lift Me Up.”

“Lift Me Up” is, sadly, one of the weak points on the album. When Christina stops the dance party to sing a few ballads rather abruptly in the middle of the album, the flow that’s come before is harshly disrupted. The ballads range from OK to excellent, and they’re segued into by the vintage slow jam of “Sex For Breakfast”, which ends up working well. However, the torch song of “You Lost Me” is suddenly replaced by the rowdy “I Hate Boys”, and the transition is rather jarring.

It’s also puzzling why the best tracks seem to be the bonus ones on the deluxe edition. I can’t understand how “Elastic Love” made the cut but “Birds Of Prey” (hands down the best track on the collection) didn’t. Also, her much-rumored collaborations with Goldfrapp are (perhaps distressingly) nowhere to be seen. The closest we may have to that are the new tracks included on Christina’s best of collection released last year: “You Are What You Are (Beautiful)” was her “Black Cherry” while “Keeps Gettin’ Better” was her “Ooh La La.”

The critics have often not been kind to the album, and its kind of understandable. Christina is expressly doing music she truly wants to be doing, and she doesn’t really care if you came to hear her channel the Andrew Sisters doing “Candyman” and end up hearing her express feminist sexuality by demanding that you pay attention to her “Woo Hoo” with a sparse techno beat. As she says in “Not Myself Tonight”, “If you don’t like it, fuck you.” While Bionic sometimes tries too hard to seem outrageous or different, in the end its an enjoyable collection of experiments with solid production work and always spot-on vocals, starting with the propulsive, stompy opening title track. But here’s hoping for the next album, Christina has a little more confidence in the direction she wants to take herself.

Review - Janelle Monae

2010-06-10T06:34:14-05:00

(I posted this to my personal blog. I’ve reproduced the first part of the review here but have linked to the main blog to save on space. Since Janelle Monae draws heavily from sci-fi films for her music—especially Metropolis—I thought it would be appropriate to link here. Check out some of her videos at the links at the bottom.)

Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)
7 out of 10 / B

The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)
9 out of 10 / A

The world of the concept album is a difficult thing to navigate through. Good concept albums (Kylyra’s Ishtar’s Ascent or Mitch Branson’s Darkness Of Pleasure) provide a strong narrative to hang a variety of compelling songs on. Bad concept albums (the majority of them too numerous to mention) devolve into mindless self-absorption that makes any music associated with it suffer. Janelle Monae’s Metropolis and The ArchAndroid thankfully belong in the former category. As part of a planned four-suite collection, both albums show an artist possessed of a highly unique vision and drive with a confidence and audacity far beyond her years.

Starting with the 2008 EP Metropolis, Monae tells the story of Cindi Mayweather, droid 57821 from the year 2719. A messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis—a dystopia suffering from severe social stratification—Cindi falls in love with a human and is on the run from bounty hunters. That kind of description doesn’t prepare the listener for the actual music, however, which is a heady mix of multiple genres and styles combined into one. Monae combines equal parts R&B;, soul, funk, classical, pop, rock, opera, and electronica to create music that may leap across stylistic boundaries every track but never seems forced, arbitrary, or gimmicky. It’s all helped by her elastic, remarkably versatile voice which possesses Ella Fitzgerald’s clarity of tone, Anita Baker’s deep soul, and Tina Turner’s rebellious rocker scratch. She can be a crystalline soprano in one song and a growling rioter in the next.

More...

Videos:
Many Moons - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgbzNHVg0c

Tightrope - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc

Teaser Trailer for Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro”

2010-06-02T10:16:29-05:00

Sneak peak at the new video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npnD6moP4xU

I think I still prefer this version, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvggPT46Xg

Robyn - “Dancing On My Own”

2010-06-02T20:14:55-05:00

In all the hype over summer albums by gave favorites Kylie, Christina, and the Scissor Sisters, one artist who seems to be overlooked is Robyn. Her 2008 album (called simply Robyn) has hands-down the best pop album of the year. She’s releasing a series of 3 mini-albums this year, the first of which drops this month. The lead single is the glittering, instantly memorable “Dancing On My Own.” Robyn has proven once again that nobody in the world makes heartbreak shine like she does. It’s melodic, danceable, and sad all at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ

Katie Melua - “The Flood”

2010-04-23T19:58:26-05:00

I will admit that before this song, the most I knew about Katie Melua was that she was British, was a singer, and had a cameo in the “Don’t” fake trailer during the theatrical showing of Grindhouse. Frankly, I don’t know why I’ve overlooked her until now.

“The Flood” is Katie’s first single off of her 4th album, The House. Produced by William Orbit (who did Madonna’s Ray Of Light album), it’s a gorgeous, Kate Bush-sounding ballad with soaring vocals and a mid-song dance break. But what really caught my eye is the hypnotically beautiful video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E4-9yKTv_I