Girl I Wanna Party With You

Major Lazer (producers Diplo and Switch of Santigold and M.I.A. fame) have a hot summer song from their album, Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do, and it features Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze. It is entitled Keep It Goin' Louder and it's infectious. The beat makes you want to dance as soon as you hear it. The drums are irresistible. It gets repetitive after awhile but it's a lot of fun. I love the Nina Sky bit: "I got the girls in the truck, about six chicks deep and you know cause we're rolling that we're straight sexy". There are some great synths in it as well. Enjoy!


Another notable song is the second single of British producer/singer Calvin Harris' new album: Ready for the Weekend. The song has the same title and is lighter and more summery than his number 1 from a few months ago: I'm Not Alone. Weekend is fun Harris-fare until the belter of a chorus kicks in featuring a rip-roaring vocal by Mary Pearce. The verses feature a great piano bit and some "ahhs" in the background. It will sound great blasting out of radios in England this summer. His new album should be out August 17th in the UK. Sorry for the radio man talking at the beginning and end of the song. It was the only version I could find.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M53vb9sXJD0

Tidbits

-Yesterday, La Roux hit number 1 in the UK for the first time with their fantastic new single Bulletproof. Their album is released today in the the UK. Congrats! Florence + the Machine debut at #12 with Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), their wonderfully odd new single. This song would never even crack the top 100 here.

-Sales of Michael Jackson albums and singles have shot through the roof since his death last Thursday. 8 songs in the iTunes Top 10 are MJ, the number 1 spot occupied by Man in the Mirror. 7 of the top 10 albums are his as well.

-Here's a clip of a Jordin Sparks demo called Vertigo that should totally be on her new album which comes out July 21. It's super fun and dancey.



-The Spanish version of Shakira's new single has appeared online. The song is called She-Wolf and it is a big change of pace for Shakira. It's got a funky bassline, a disco feel, and it's overrall very pop. It suits Shakira well. I'm really loving it. Can't wait for the English version.

Tidbits

In other news:

-One of Charlie's Angels died yesterday as well: Farrah Fawcett. Rest in Peace.

-Sam Sparro and Adam Lambert will work together on Lambert's album. This could be very interesting.

-There was a great article about Men's Fashion Week in Milan in yesterday's Thursday Styles section of the New York Times. It's a very interesting read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/fashion/25MILAN.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Michael Jackson

Like many, many others the news of Michael Jackson's death at age 50 shocked me. I heard it on the radio last night, but the source for it was the questionable gossip fiends at TMZ.com. Then it was on the news and they played his songs all night on the radio. I discovered the Thriller cassette tape at the beginning of seventh grade and fell in love with the album. It's the most consistent pop album ever I would say. From the giddy Baby Be Mine to the shimmy shake of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' to the rush of P.Y.T to the slightly silly but charming The Girl is Mine with Paul McCartney to the legend of Thriller to the riffs and hard hit of Beat It to the smooth funk and sexiness of Billie Jean to the glorious beauty of Human Nature. I had a friend of mine make a CD version from the cassette tape recording. I grew up in the time when Michael Jackson's bizarre life was more prevalent then his pop genius life, but I also grew up with other pop singers who all listed him as an influence like Justin Timberlake for instance. Thank you for making us dance, Michael. You set us free with your music.

Tidbits

-American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert will be working with RedOne on some songs for his debut album due this fall! This is so exciting. RedOne and Lambert will make some good stuff.

-Kylie Minogue will be working with Girls Aloud producers Xenomania on her next album. This is also exciting. Xenomania make some of the most exciting pop music around and Kylie and them will make beautiful dance floor heaven for the world.

-La Roux's next single after this week's probable #1 Bulletproof will be I'm Not Your Toy, another delicious 80's style confection with steel drums. The lyrics are great: "I'm not your toy, this isn't another girl meets boy...it's all false love and affection, you don't want me, you just like the attention" I'm really looking forward to this album. All the clips I've heard are very promising. Apparently, the album will be out in the US in October! They will be touring around the US this summer. No Boston stops though.



-Another singer I'm loving at the moment is kooky Brit Florence and the Machine. The Machine is her band. Anyway Florence's debut album, Lungs, will be out in the UK in a couple weeks. Her songs are raw and emotional almost tribal especially her new single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) which is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard all year. It has big drums, Florence's soaring voice, and an ecstatic and cathartic chorus. It's pretty crazy (same with the video), but I'm in love with it. The part in the song around 2:24 is gorgeous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHqbco0zHWo

Two other great songs of hers:

Dog Days Are Over-Handclaps, piano, and when it kicks in around 1:19, you'll totally be into it. Another soaring chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ZPTFfpO40

Cosmic Love-A massive song that swells with drums, echoing voices, and harp. It's epic and grandiose. Gorgeous. It reminds me of Bat For Lashes or Kate Bush. The "oooo" part is lovely.

An Intoduction is in Order

Young UK singer Pixie Lott just went number 1 in the UK a few weeks ago with her handclap happy debut single, Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh). It's a pleasant, very catchy song that features the retro-pop sound that has been present in a lot of female British music since Amy Winehouse blew up a few years ago. The song is extremely likable as is Pixie, but I wasn't completely sold on her. I think I am now. Her other songs are very good and she has a great voice. I would say the most notable of her other songs is Here We Go Again. It's produced by my favorite producer of the moment, RedOne (GaGa). It is a good melding of her retro-pop sound and RedOne's hard-hitting, modern dance beats. I think it could be a hit.




Her next single is Boys and Girls. It's very retro pop and sounds Mark Ronson-esque. It's a pleasant song. Very fun, but familiar sounding. Here We Go Again should be the next single though.



Another charming song by Pixie (great name by the way) is called Turn It Up (The Fall). It rides a nice beat and a light piano and the chorus is fun. Here's a snippet.

Her songs are strong, a good mix of new pop and old. I'm excited for the album.

Check out her myspace: http://www.myspace.com/pixiesongs

And Just Across the Bridge

Last night saw the premiere of Bravo's NYC Prep, the reality TV version of Gossip Girl. Much like MTV premiered Laguna Beach after The OC became popular Bravo has done the same thing with this show. It's a bizarre show. It's hard to believe the kids on it are my age. There is such a disconnect between their lives and mine which is not that surprising at all actually. Anyway these kids are trying so hard to act like adults. So there's Sebastian, the guy all the girls want. He's kind of a douche and thinks he's the shiz cause he speaks French. Then there's Camille and Kelli. Camille is all about networking and not being her age. Kelli seems pretty cool. Jessie and PC are the most interesting characters. Jessie is the queen bee character I guess. She seems cross-eyed sometimes and she's kind of a jerk, but she's entertaining. Her close friend is PC, the Chuck Bass character. I adore PC. He's so full of himself, but his fashion sense is impeccable. Skinnies and fancy dress shoes. He's all about kissing girls cheeks when he greets them. His somewhat hostile relationship with Jessie is entertaining. They have good banter. Ah, I love Bravo.

Jersey Girls

I'm becoming addicted to Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The season ended recently, but I've been trying to catch some of the repeats. It is such a different world these women live in. My favorite housewife has become Teresa, the black-haired Jersey girl. She is blissfully and hilariously ignorant. Her husband is funny as are her insane, mini-diva daughters. Teresa's bubbie job was quite an amusing moment. The scary thing was during the restaurant fight when she almost flipped the dinner table. That's when I changed the channel. The fight was scary to watch. So on to another housewife: Dina. She's not exactly warm, but I love her relationship with her 12-year old daughter Lexi. They have really funny banter and a sweet relationship. The episode where they cleaned Lexi's room and found millions of stuffed animals and a drawer of candy was very funny. I enjoyed when Dina joked that her daughter was a hoarder. Hoarders are fascinating. Lexi also bought a shirt that said Shoe Whore in that episode. Gotta love it. Dina and Lexi also have the most alarming cat. It's name is Grandma. It has no fur and is all wrinkly. Very bizarre. Caroline is the mother cub of all the housewives. She's Dina's big sis and Jacqueline's sister-in-law. I love Caroline. She's all about family. She's tough and she's funny. I think she's the most down to earth. Danielle is the crazy drama instigator of the group. She's unreal. Jacqueline is the other housewife who is torn between being friends with Danielle and staying loyal to her family. I like Jacqueline, but I also feel bad for her. Her daughter doesn't totally respect her. She seems kind of weak at points. She seems to have a really good heart though. Very sweet. Well, I love this show in all its ridiculousness.

Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

Mariah Carey has a new album coming out in a few months and its title can be seen above in the title of this post: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Yikes. What a wonderfully awful title. I kind of adore it. Anyway her new song Obsessed has arrived and I'm totally into it. I heard it in our bus on the way to the Rome airport last Friday. It rides a great beat and it's quite the summer jam. Much better than a lot of last year's questionable E=MC squared. The beat is a harder version of last year's #1 Touch My Body. I especially love the "you're delusional" part after the chorus. It's all extremely catchy and radio-ready. I'm pleasantly surprised Mariah.

Home

I returned home the other day to discover some great things about Top 40 radio that I'd missed while away. KISS 108 is now playing Use Somebody by Kings of Leon, When Love Takes Over by Kelly Rowland and David Guetta, That's Not my Name by The Ting Tings, and Hush Hush by PCD! Hearing the words "Now new music. Kings of Leon. Use Somebody." is positively shocking and wonderful (I think) at the same time considering how not mainstream they used to be. Also, Use Somebody has been out for quite awhile already charting at #2 in the UK and doing very well in other countries overseas. The rest of the world have gotten on the KOL bandwagon faster than the US. Use Somebody is a very mainstream song perhaps their most accessible to date. It deserves success. It's been a slow rise for the song, but a few weeks ago they did it on the MTV Movie Awards which did wonders. It climbed up the charts to #19 on the Hot 100 and is currently at #23. This is good news. Still weird to hear Kings of Leon on KISS though. Also, KISS is about a year late on the Ting Tings song. The big news is the fact that When Love Takes Over which just went to #1 in the UK yesterday is being played on KISS now. It sounds amazing on the radio. I never thought it would be on the radio. I thought it would just chart on the US dance charts and do really well overseas like it's doing in Italy. It's such a euphoric and anthemic song. Other chart news: La Roux's next single, the hard-hitting Bulletproof, has raced up to Number 1 on the UK iTunes chart. I think it was released yesterday. It's such a great song. We'll see if it's number 1 come Sunday. Also, well I was away Keri Hilson's genius song Knock You Down zoomed up the charts! It's currently at number 3! Yay, finally chart success here for Keri. Well that was a lot. Ah, I love the charts.

Big in Italia

Italian radio is a wonderful thing: random oldies, early Avril, obscure Madonna, Italian power ballads, and American/English jams. I heard Pet Shop Boy's It's A Sin while sitting in my convent room one day. That seemed particularly fitting. Songs that are big there right now are:

Jai Ho!-Pussycat Dolls version-It's really grown on me. It was played a lot on the radio.

Not Fair-Lily Allen-This song is hilarious and I've really come to love it. I find it amusing that Italy loves Lily Allen.

Poker Face-GaGa-Of course.

Halo-Beyonce-Played very often.

When Love Takes Over-David Guetta and Kelly Rowland-This song is amazing. Anthem of the summer.

Mad-Ne Yo-Very good Ne-Yo ballad.

I also heard some Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, and a bizarre acoustic cover of 50 Cent's Ayo Technology. God bless Italian radio. Also heard Jordin Sparks behemoth Battlefield.