Pop Culture Platinum

Cyber Punk, Synths and Arhthur's Day: Bressie Flies Solo

2011-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Whichever way you slice it, Mullingar's Niall Breslin i.e. newly solo pop hunk Bressie, is a busy man. As the front-man of The Blizzards he helped blaze a pop-rock trail through the charts, student unions and numerous live venues across Ireland. The group disbanded for a career break at the end of 2009 while Bressie headed to London to work as a songwriter for hire and to beef up his production and song-writing skills.

Photo courtesy of Ronan Healy

After an extended break from the public eye he returned in May with Can't Stay Young Forever. An 80's inspired Snow Patrol-y ode to the good times it's become a slow burning radio hit, notching up some serious airplay miles. While The Blizzards where a formidable live presence, constantly on the road, Bressie's live shows have been noticeably fewer. A sold out Whelan's gig, an Oxegen slot and a place on the bill at the recent Corona's Marlay Park have been well recieved but his next high-profile slot is as part of this year's Arthur's Day celebrations (a nationwide tour follows).

The now-annual event brings a veritable feast of domestic and international acts to Ireland. The celebrations take place on the 22nd of September and the line up is undeniably impressive. Scissor Sisters, Stereophonics, Paloma Faith and Calvin Harris will be visiting Irish shores while local acts Cashier No. 9, Ash, Royseven and Ryan Sheridan join Bressie in flying their Irish flag while people countrywide sup on their pints.

Bressie's album, Colourblind Stereo is due 16th of September ahead of a nationwide tour and before that is second single Good Intentions. At the launch of Arhthur's Day last week in Whelans, I caught a few minutes with Mr Breslin to get the lowdown on the new single, his new sound and his Arthur's Day memories.

Although Bressie admits that the second single uses "the same sound" as the previous he points out that lyrical content itself is quite different. "It came from literally an array of girls who I kept meeting" he begins, that "refused to believe that all men weren’t bastards." Becoming more passionate he continues "Just because some lads are bastards doesn’t mean they all are." The song, Bressie says sets out to "tell this particular girl who’s been battered her whole life emotionally, that not all men are like that and some men do have good intentions". He says that "it's not really a love song" but that it has "an uplifting positive approach". You can watch him perform it live below:

Speaking about the album itself Bressie says that it's takes it's cues from 80s pop such as Tears For Fears and Duran Duran that in his words is "really well produced" but also admits that "I like the cheesy Whitesnake stuff and the power ballad stuff." Again, he warms up joking that if "Here I Go Again comes on and you’re not smiling forget about it, just go live in Tasmania under a tree or something".

Although Bressie prides himself on his pop roots he has found himself taking on a slightly more serious edge with some of the subject matter on the new album. Pointing out that some of the song are "cyber punk" he notes that one track Animal has because a live favourit. He reckons it's because it touches on the the "things that have happened in the last 2 years" and "how badly we were treated it" and "how we’re gonna come back".

Despite his brooding-hunk status Bressie cuts a quiet but confident figure as his obvious passion for his new project bubbles to the surface. As we wrap up he discusses his memories of the first Arthur's Day, when The Blizzards followed Dizzee Rascal which he points out shows you how "it's so eclectic". This time around he says he's most excited about catching Scissors Sisters and Ed Sheerhan. His nationwide tour kicks off after Arthur's Day and with Bressie saying "the live show means the world to me", it's sure to be a treat for fans of The Blizzards and Bressie himself.

For more on Bressie visit his website. Colourblind Stereo is released on the 16th of September, Good Intentions is released on the 9th of September. Can't Stay Young Forever is out now. For more on Arthur's Day click here. Check out Sony Music Ireland on Facebook.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Pop Near Misses Vol. 01

2011-07-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

More than anywhere else, pop music is ruled by the weird and wonderful world of the single. Having a hit single is the lifeblood of many a chart act and still a vital tool for an artist to capture any kind of audience. You only have to look at how the likes of Katy Perry can sell 2.5 million downloads per single in the US but only 1.5 m of the album those singles come from to see that the single wields more power than ever.

One of the frustrating things about being a pop fan is when you pick up an album by an artist that has more than it's share of singles or the very least that one song you just know would be a huge smash. Sometimes it's a song almost too good for the artist in question, sometimes it's one that never makes it to the charts due to the album flopping. Whatever the reason there are many a song that should have, could have, would have been huge. Here I'm starting what I hope can be a regular look at a handful of tunes that never quite got the glory they deserved. From singles that flopped to album tracks that never got a release at all, here is a chance to give a few songs a their moment in the sun.

(1) Breathe On Me - Britney Spears

image via Coverlandia

Britney's 2003 release In The Zone was an attempt by Team Britney to have the starlet grow up, growling her way through a mish mashed of sexy club cuts, R&B bangers and the odd ballad. In The Zone contains some of Britney's finest moments including Toxic and Everytime and some of her worst (The Hook Up was Britney's first and only entry into the cod reggae genre thankfully). There were a handful of gems scattered throughout the album that would have marked an interesting chocie single wise (Showdown, Early Mornin') but the pick of bunch is Breathe On Me. An icy Kylie style synth riff, a trademark breathy-y Britney vocal and a slinky chorus mash together for one of the most mature and interesting tune in Spear's back catalogue. Still sounding fresh today, in the current David Guetta dance friendly radio landscape a song like Breathe On Me would still do good business. Hands down one of Britney's best tunes.

(2) Fire Bomb - Rihanna

Image via Coverlandia

Rihanna's Rated R was considered something of a commerical misfire despite being her best album yet. Rude Boy was the obvious smash hit of the set and a signifier for where RiRi would end up with her next release. The moody textures of Rated R yielded a few chart misfires (Rockstar 101, Te Amo) but it's hard to fathom why somebody at her label didn't give Fire Bomb a shot at chart glory. A huge stadium ready chorus, a yearning vocal from Rihanna and plenty of music video friendly imagery (just imagine the girls go on the road video that could have been. Sigh) make this pop-rock number one that could have shown another side to Rihanna's chart personality.

(3) Janet Jackson - Enjoy

The last decade has not been kind to the sales of former chart juggernaut Janet Jackson. I caught her recent live show in Dublin and was suitably blown away by the presence and energy Janet still exudes. Her hit-making powers may have diminished somewhat but Janet has had plenty of strong material over the last decade but post-Superbowl has found it hard to connect with radio programmers and a wider audience.

2008's Feedback almost turned the tide, managing a decent performance Stateside but never quite did the big business many expected it would. Enjoy, a cut from her underrated 20 Y.O. set, is in many ways the biggest missed opportunity of the bunch. A chirpy, euphoric slice of soul pop it's got an uplifting, cheery quality last seen in her late 90s megahit Together Again and a sleek groove that recalls her heyday. Enjoy would have been the perfect antidote to how Janet has been ignored by radio playlisters were it not for her then label Virgin getting cold feet with how the 20 Y.O. project had performed. It's a shame, Enjoy would have sounded great on advertisments, blaring out of radios and reswizzed for the clubs. As it stands it falls into a pile of lost classics provided by Miss Janet.

There are many many more tunes in this vein to think about so we'll hopefully look at some more soon. If you have some ideas feel free to suggest below.

Your Handy Guide to Britney's Leaked Gimme More Vid

2011-07-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

At the height of her mid-life meltdown Britney Spears gave us the near-perfect pop masterpiece album, Blackout. It was of course preceded by the fantastic Gimme More, one of Britney's best singles. A swirling cocktail of a throbby post Timbaland electro-R&B beat and the air of a popstar gone bad it never really had the visuals to back it up. Now we have Britney performing it as part of her current tour but back in 2007 all we had was that ropey VMA performance and the oft delayed and ultimately disappointing music video.

Despite a lengthy shoot and promises of a dark, funeral orientated concept fans were given a video of Britney whirling around a pole with two friends while some random guy and Britney in a blonde wig with friends watched on. It made little sense but was said to be the record label's attempts to cover over the cracks in Britney's life, despite reports of a scene involving a rapper, Britney facing off her blonde self and an extended funeral sequence.

Now a leaked cut of the original video has surfaced. It's a little more conceptual than the version we're used to but not much. There's footage of Britney walking the streets, sitting in bed and plenty of sloppy, out-of-it dancing to be had. It's a mess of badly cut footage, a clearly not all there popstar and little or no plot. But it's oddly hypnotic and an eerie reminder of how lost Britney looked at one point.

What else do you need to know? Well this gif about sums up how "lucid" Britney probably was for the whole thing. She seems to be picking lint out of the air here. Or talking to herself. Who knows?

Other important visual "motifs" in this new cut:

1: Just-out-of-bed-ney

2: Funeral Chic Britney

3: Lots of extra "dance" footage of Brit & pals

4: Bald-patch-ney

There you have it, the Britney fan holy grail is now with us. It works on a car crash "laugh until you cry" level. But it's also a hypnotic slice of what could have been, were Britney really coherent enough to command this dark (i.e slutty) and challenging (i.e. slutty) a vision throughout the whole Blackout campaign.

And again, at least there's this to enjoy:

Watch it in full here:

Magical.

Pop Boys Do Pop Things: Calvin Harris, Will Young, The Drums and.. Olly Murs?

2011-07-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you went festivaling (yes, it's a word. ahem) recently but I was down at Oxegen DJing multiple times last weekend. I saw only a few bands but given that one of them was surprisingly good Pretty Reckless and the other was Amanda Brunker and Friends it truly was a culturally enriching weekend. I didn't see Beyonce because I was DJing at the time so let's NOT TALK ABOUT THAT PLEASE.

It was a ball but it has completely knocked me for six, I'm only feeling normal now. The upside was having lots of pop treats to catch up on over the last week or so.

While I was "away" lots of male pop types did interesting pop things mainly through the medium of giving us new tunes to listen to. Here are my very succinct and journalistic comments on them:

(1) Calvin Harris has just given us new single Feel So Close. It's a bit dance-y as is Calvin's wont but is not the same sort of dance-y as previous efforts. It's a dance tune that is a bit sad and a bit slow but also fast because it is a dance tune. I really like it and the video is suitably lovely. I was a bit unimpressed with a label press release dubbing it an "emotional rollercoaster" but I felt like a proper cry watching it so be warned. But overall I would give Calvin 4 slow but fast but slow dance tunes out of five for this one. Well done Calvin. Take the rest of the night off and have a takeaway.

(2) Will Young has come along with his newie Jealousy. We haven't heard from Will much lately as he has been busy doing acting type things and probably clearing out his Sky + box (do you reckon he watches Made In Chelsea?) but now he is back with a sad sack but amazing synth-ish pop number about ... deep stuff. It's V.G. and apparently there are lots more synth delights on the way. I mean if you like Will Young and you like synths this'll be right up your Will Young Synth Street. There is an album coming that is produced by Richard X which in itself is EXCITING news.

(3) The Drums have also popped up with a new number called Money. It sounds like all their other songs but not in a bad way and I would give it 4 Songs that Sound like Your Other Songs out of 5. In other words, I quite enjoyed it. I never understood why The Drums didn't become properly properly huge as they are the perfect jangly indie band with a pop undercurrent but perhaps their new stuff will send them into chart orbit (yes, I just wrote that phrase. Yes, I do feel an appropriate level of shame about it)

(4) Olly Murs has shocked us all with a song that is not stomach-churningly dreadful. Heart Skips A Beat slaps all kind of vogue-ish UK dance music trends together and works way better than it should. It also helps that Rizzle Kicks, the painfully cool but also brilliant rap duo, are on hand to keep things moving along. The song is a little corker and could be the first proper "everybody enjoys this not just X Factor fans" crossover tune in his arsenal. As long as we ignore the video which would be perfectly good if it had less Olly Murs mugging throughout. WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO RUIN YOUR OWN VIDEO OLLY? WHY?

That is your pop boy lot for now. I would like to thank all the pop boys involved for their time and tunes. Calvin Harris and Will Young in particular have made me a bit of an emotional wreck as I type this in a bustling (kind of) Dublin cafe. And if that's not the mark of a good pop tune, then I don't know what it is.

Ke$ha, LMFAO & Alexis Jordan Live in Dublin: A Review

2011-06-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Despite sluggish ticket sales, much hyped pop roadshow Summer Jam brought it's poptastic line up to Dublin's 02 Arena last night for an evening high of teen hormones, screeching girls and surprising amounts of fun.

Stepping into the 02 was a bit like stepping into a huge teen disco where the smell of fake tan, teen hormones and hair gel could have killed an elephant from a hundred yards. Of course being hip, relevant and at one with the young 'uns I was completely at ease and made my way to balcony seats with plenty of appropriate attitude. I'm sorry, I mean to say I scurried to my seat for fear of being lynched by yoofs.

After some anonymous hip hop duo and Aggro Santos did a decent job warming up the enthusiastic crowd. Alexis Jordan sauntered on stage. I really loved Jordan's debut when it was released earlier this year. A well put together pop album with plenty of charm and a surprising amount of solid tunes, it made a virtue of Jordan's considerable pipes and hints that with enough time she could go on to be quite the huge popstar.

Her short set only confirmed my suspicions. Bounding out on stage Jordan had a level of confidence and sass sometimes missing in her too cute to bear music videos. Whipping her hair and twirling her hips like Beyonce Jr, she nailed many a high note, executed some spot on choreography and oozed presence. After performing a clutch of tracks she was gone but not before belting out a suitably rousing rendition of her first single Happiness. Keep your eyes on this girl, her deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation and production with pop masterminds Stargate hints at big things.

LMFAO were next up and their set was every bit as brash, obnoxious and garish as I had expected. It was also highly enjoyable. Souped up "electro house meets hip hop gone pop" floor fillers were the order of the day from start to finish with rarely a moment for the audience to catch their breath. LMFAO's music is noisy and one note that it's cheeky air and ridiculous outfits that give the whole thing a much needed injection of fun. Joined by band members and freestyle dancers decked in their signature silly leggings and cut off tees they looked like a gang of particularly party hearty clowns let loose with a pile of synths. There was a smoke canon on stage, costume changes and frequent use of the words "party rocking" "the club" "bottle" and "ladies". Cliched it may be but LMFAO spin things into such a goofy, oddly endearing package that you find yourself fist pumping and dropping it low along with them without even meaning too.

Of course the evening's headliner was Ke$ha, the queen of auto tune, the high priestess of trashy pop and She Who Must Have Her Name Spelt With An Ironic Dollar Sign. I am unapologetic in my love for Ke$ha. Before Tik Tok and her insistence on talk singing, she was serving up plenty of intelligent electro pop demos that hinted that the Nashville born starlet had a wit and scrappy quality not usually seen in major label pop divas. She's gone on to become a hugely successful act, managing an impressive run of hit singles from only one album and cheeky added on EP. She's also raised the ire of many a critic with her "wacky" persona, glitter heavy aesthetic and the notion that she might not be that great a singer.

So how does that sort of carry on translate into a live show? Surprisingly well in fact. Opening the show in a light up diamond, surrounded by a bed of synths, branding a light up visor Ke$ha started things on a icy, cyber queen note. A few numbers in she started to stalk the stage like a grubby lioness, all hair flips and swagger. Flanked by a troupe of dancers, backing vocalists and a live bands Ke$ha threw herself into a prop heavy set with abandon.

The singles had the audience suitably riled up but Ke$ha worked enough of a show into lesser known numbers to keep the crowd in a frenzy. Cannibal was an oddly graphic and moody slice of pop performance with Ke$ha n co. sacrificing a dancer while she drank blood from a prop heart. Dinosaur, her kiss off to sleazy older men and the girls they hit on, involved zimmer frames and Backstabber had her boy dancers throw on wigs and heels for a suitably tranny fierce bit of dancing. Even the requisite slow number Animal had the crowd going with Ke$ha showing that yes, she can sing and quite well in fact.

The hits were all present and correct too with many of the songs sounding a bit thicker and less tinny live which matched Ke$ha's surprisingly sultry stage presence. If you could imagine the trademark Britney sexy shuffle and hair flip move given a dirtier, drunk party girl twist with a thumping electro pop backing, you're halfway to imagining the Ke$ha live show. I was much more impressed than I expected and though it's "bad ass rebel" schtick is obviously tightly rehearsed the lack of inane stage banter and air of messy fun gives the Ke$ha live show an edge over some of her contemporaries.

Ke$ha's next big gig here is her slot on the Sunday of Oxegen. Despite my initial cynicism I can see her tongue in cheek, sparkly romp of a set going down very well with a boozed up festival crowd. Put aside your prejudices and give it a go, the Ke$ha concert experience is quite the ride.

All in all, Summerjam was a enjoyable evening of fizzy pop, the concert equivalent of chugging a 2 Litre Bottle of Fanta and doing dance routines with your mates to whatever song just came on the radio. I've a feeling that the gaggle of teens at the show last night probably have a less wholesome way of spending their time but either way SummerJam does a fine job of providing pop thrills. Here's hoping to a suitably exciting follow up run next year.

Mistaken Identity & Good Work of ReachOut.com

2011-06-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Confession time: I don't often get to take part in photocalls. Despite my best efforts photographers and PR agencies don't really call me to stand in Stephen's Green holding a banana and winking seductively in a swimsuit. THEIR LOSS I say.

So you can imagine my surprise when I ended up at a photocall just yesterday. Now, it was for ReachOut.com, a charity I did a video for recently so it wasn't too much of a shock. ReachOut.com is a web service that takes about mental health issues for young people in a matter of fact way that is much needed.

Their latest campaign involves Oxegen festival, wellies and just a smidge of spray paint. This weekend in Dundrum Town Centre the team will be styling up festival headed wellies for only a fiver. They'll put stars, hearts and all sorts of lovely things on them. It's a great way for them to raise funds for the charity and everyone who gets their wellies did (technical term) goes into a draw for VIP camping tickets for Oxegen. It's a welly good prize. Get it? Welly go- never mind.

Part of the photocall involved us running around tied together in wellies, leaping over a sign, and working it while holding a wheelbarrow. It was all very exhausting and quite frankly I can see why Naomi Campbell throws phones at people now. Modelling is hard y'all. Despite my flawless model credentials (I am definitely getting the cover of Cosmo in like, Malta or something soon) the real draw was of course Brian and Dara from Spin 1038 who very kindly use their Spin show to give Reach Out a mention.

So, while I was working it for the camera (Tyra Banks came to me in a vision and said... "SMIZE GURL" and "PACK YO BAGS, WE GOING TO JAAPPPAANN") alongside some festival lovelies little did I know what was about to happen.

In great news for the charity the lads landed themselves on the frontpage of today's Metro Herald. Lovely. Except, hang on -

WHY AM I ON THE FRONT OF THE PAPER?!? Could it be? My moment of fame? Somebody call my agent! Somebody get me an agent! Somebody call someone!

Oh. Hang on:

Cool. Metro's mistake. Thinking I was Brian "Meagher" from Spin (it's MAHER goys). My dreams of front page glory tainted. Obviously this has not stopped me booking high profile interview slots with many high profile publications (which I cannot name right now) and booking numerous high profile appearances at events which I cannot name at this time.

Meanwhile you can get your wellies made all fabulous at Dundrum this week and rock them down at Oxegen. The line up this year is pretty stellar and yours truly will be DJing on Sunday! How exciting. I'll also be standing around saying things like "Um, I was on the front of the Metro Herald once? I'm basically the male Georgia Salpa".

For more on ReachOut click here. If anyone needs me I'll be e-mailing Assets Models begging for a gig.

Bridesmaids: Just As Funny As You'd Hoped

2011-06-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Everytime a much hyped US comedy appears on my radar I find myself getting excited and wary in equal measure. I don't know about you but I find myself regularly disappointed by many flagship comedies. The Hangover left me cold and while I was huge fan of Judd Apatow's TV work (including the oft overlooked teen dramedy Undeclared) many of his own films and produced by efforts let me wanting. One thing in particular grated on me, how such supposedly witty films consistently painted the female characters as shrill, one note harpies with no redeeming qualities.

Bridesmaid is from the same stable but takes a way more female friendly perspective on things. Co-written by it's star and SNL alum Kristen Wiig and actress/screenwriter Annie Mumlo, it had set tongues wagging before it had even set foot in cinemas. Industry sniping about female orientated comedies, hopeful bloggers expecting a feminist friendly flick and more importantly an actress like Wiig, unproven at the US box office opening her first major film.. Bridesmaids had alot resting on it's shoulders. Thankfully it has delivered on it's promise in spades with critical buzz abound in the US and a box office gross well over 100 million dollars.

And so it flies into Irish cinemas on a bed of hype. This was where I start to get nervous. How will it live up the any of my expectations? The trailer impressed and the wealth of talent involved gave me increasingly high hopes. I was lucky enough to view the movie at the Irish premiere. With some of the stars in attendance and a full house it was sort of the perfect way to view it with the big laughs and pithy script drawing many a belly laugh from the capacity crowd.

The plot is relatively simple. Permanently down at heel Annie is asked to be the bridesmaid of best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) for her forthcoming nuptials. Soon she has to contend with a rag tag group of friends in the bridal party, spearheaded by the neurotic and hyper efficient Helen (played with aplomb by Rose Byrne) and Lillian's future sister in law the gruff, boisterous Megan (Melissa McCarthy gleefully playing against type). Alongside this is the presence of two very different men in her life, the caddish casual sex buddy (John Hamm) and the earnest cop who seems to have her best interests at heart (Chris O'Dowd, who oozes charm throughout). To say anymore would ruin many of the surprises but suffice to say there are plenty of painfully funny scenes scattered through the proceedings.

The movie was reportedly improvised heavily off of the original script and that loose, chaotic vibe gives the film plenty of verve. Not only that but it manages to flesh out it's characters too. Too many comedies reduce characters to ciphers in pursuit of big laughs. Bridesmaids deftly brings to life it's motley crew of stifled mothers, repressed newlyweds and life long friends with some quiet character moments dropped in alongside the raucous gross out material. Without resorting to Sex and the City style over emoting, Bridesmaids serves up a tale of messed up, confused women groping for some sort of sense in the whirlwind of marriage. But despite this it's not a "chick flick". It has been a bit painful to see the moviemakers insist that this isn't just a "women's film". But, ultimately they're right. Bridesmaids is undoubtedly female orientated but also a brilliant character piece and more importantly very very funny in it's own right.

Bridesmaids is a pure joy to behold, gleefully playing with expectations and also serving up a seemingly endless stream of priceless moments. You owe it yourself to see this film.

Lady Gaga Releases Edge of Glory AKA THE LADY GAGA WORKOUT VIDEO

2011-06-17T03:54:00.000-07:00

So there's a new video from Lady Gaga out. Even when people are sneering at her ridiculous "high concept" videos featuring avant garde blahdy blahdy performance art thingy type stuff I always enjoy a Gaga video. I was especially excited about the Edge of Glory clip. It's such a big, thumping pop song laced with a euphoria and sadness.

BUT the video is a bit of a mess. If I had to sum it up in a sentence I would say it looks like Madonna doing Janet Jackson's The Pleasure Principle on the set of The Cosby Show while THE ACUTAL COSBY SHOW MUSIC IS PLAYING. Except not as good as that sounds. (I'm aware I already tweeted this today but you didn't think I was going to throw away a line like that did you?)

I'm all for a simple, sleek Gaga video but this is clearly a video scrapped together with footage freed of little things like "concept" and "storytelling". Plenty of grumbling online suggests that the elaborate story planned was junked. Shame.

What the video does work as though is a sort of Lady Gaga fronted aerobics class. Seriously.

From my viewing of the video the Lady Gaga workout video involves the following key moves:

- The Freddy Krueger style lean and creep out of a window/side street : an important move for both stretching those muscles groups and creeping people out with your long talon-y fingers

- The Britney inspired sidewalk strut: warms up those ligaments (especially the throw your head back sexily ones ) and leads nicely into..

- The pointing at Clarence Clemmon finger: a great one at parties this. "Everybody point at the guy with the saxophone!"

- The stair / balcony / front porch shimmy: Drape across that stair well! Throw that head back! We're burning calories the Lady Gaga workout way!

- The Sidewalk Crawl: stretch yourself out on that pavement like fashion roadkill

- The Spinning Top : Twirl until you can't twirl no more. Great for working key muscles groups. I'd imagine.

Throw in a couple of hair flicks, some errant fist pumping and repeat ad nauseam for 5 & half minutes.. BOOM. You've just worked out with Lady Gaga. It definitely beats the Britney "Look confused and flip your hair halfheartedly" Spears workout at least.

Tweeting Yourself A Taxi: Twitter Makes Everything Better

2011-06-17T03:03:00.000-07:00

Given my further descent into a full on Twitter addiction I am always trying to think of ways in it which it has improved my life. Blagging tweet seats for the fried chicken delights at Crackbird has probably been my favourite so far. Free chicken wings? Don't mind if I do.

Many businesses talk about their "social media strategies" which usually amounts to throwing a Facebook logo on the corner of their latest ad for no reason. Slick stuff. I heard about a new campaign that launched recently though that is actually quite clever.

Beepbeep.ie (AMAZING NAME ALERT) sell used cars but have decided to branch out into offering a free Twitter taxi service which you can book via their Facebook page or Twitter. it's a gimmick sure but if you need to get somewhere on Friday between 4 and 9pm in the next 2 months and want to chance booking, it's a handy number. It may not be as tasty as a hot chicken dinner but it'll at least get you from A to B.

With hashtags from Job Fairy to Ticket Fairy making Twitter The place to catch a bargain, what other services could be offered up via a cheeky twitter deal? As it stands you can blag a free meal, concert tickets and a job? Whatever next?

If I knew that I wouldn't be spending my time tweeting pop lyrics and moaning that I'm hungry on Twitter now would I? I bet Bill Cullen knows though. Look at him there, flogging Tweet Taxis, confident in the knowledge that he's very rich. Hmph.

Head over to www.facebook.com/beepbeep.ie for more info or check out their Twitter. And if you see me on your travels giz a lift will ya? Or at least throw me some chicken wings.

The Last 2 Movies I've Seen: No. 2: X-Men : First Class

2011-06-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

To conclude my exciting new segment The Last 2 Movies I've Seen (ha) here are my thoughts on the new X-Men prequel (which of course many of you have already seen. Always up to date, that's me).

X-Men: First Class

I have been a huge X-Men fan for years. I spent years regularly reading the comics, particularly enjoying the Chris Claremont/John Byrne run which is still my absolute favourite. As such, I've always had a soft spot for the X-Men movies. I remember watching the comics I'd spent so long reading finally crossing beyond the mainstream following of the cartoon to an older, cinema going audience.

It's easy to forget just how important the first X-Men movie was. Reinvigorating the comic book movie franchise and making Marvel see the film potential of it's vast back catalogue, it was a slick piece of fantasy filmmaking that lead to an equally impressive sequel. Sadly the third film derailed the whole enterprise. After the assured direction of Bryan Singer, X3 fell flat at the hands of Brett Ratner, who delivered a serviceable action film but one with none of the depth of the previous films. I've avoided the Wolverine prequel since it's release awhile back purely because I couldn't further taint my X-Men movie memories. Thank god then for First Class which attempts to bring the series back to it's roots.

For the most part it can be seen as a success. Getting into the backstory of both Professor X and Magneto is a stroke of genius, fleshing out both characters while providing more screen time for fan faves such as Mystique, Moira McTaggert, Beast and Emma Frost.

Following a 40s based prologue, the plot unfolds in the early 60s and sees a pre-Magneto Eric Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) out for the blood of the man who tortured him and his family in the Nazi concentration camps. Meanwhile a young Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) spends time drinking, womanising and acting the cad alongside his best friend Raven (soon to be Mystique, played with aplomb by Jennifer Lawrence). When the US government, at the behest of Rose Byrne's Moira McTaggert, realise they need a genetic mutation expert, Xavier is drafted in, convincing Eric to join him when their paths cross in pursuit of Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). What follows is an a race to stop World War 3 with plenty of interpersonal drama scattered along the way.

Thankfully the solid storytelling of the previous films returns here. Director Matthew Vaughn, originally slated to direct X3 and famed director of Kick Ass (among others), injects the affair with plenty of energy. Weaving together characters with aplomb, First Class creates an impressive story with some excellent casting giving things a gravitas sometimes missing from comic book movies.

Jennifer Lawrence is particularly good, slowly peeling away the layers of Mystique to make you understand why she ends up the way she does. That said, the double act of Fassbender and McAvoy steals the show. Both ooze leading man confidence tempered with an unusual amount of vulnerability that gives their friendship a earthy, believable air. Rose Byrne is likeable and convincing though underused, Nicholas Hoult does a good line in tortured geek, Kevin Bacon glowers magnificently as the villainous Shaw but sadly January Jones fails to convince as the icy Emma Frost, instead coming across as wooden and uncomfortable.

The 60s setting and grandeur of the proceedings lead to the odd uncomfortably cheesy moment but for the most part this is tonally on the button. The action sequences and CGI are full on and enjoyable with the solid storytelling and characters giving proceedings an emotional impact beyond your usual blockbuster. And unlike X3 which groaned under the weight of too many characters, First Class does a fine job of having many mutants and enough moments scattered throughout for everybody to shine.

Undoubtedly a return to form, X-Men : First Class is a fitting entry into the series and a brilliant summer blockbuster in it's own right. It'll be interesting to see just where the series goes next but for now Matthew Vaughn can be proud of creating a film that will tick the boxes for comic book geeks and general movie-goers alike.

Given that this is a prequel much of the fun is in watching the proceedings build towards certain key moments. Vaughn understands this and offers plenty of fan friendly moments.

The Last 2 Movies I've Seen: No. 1: Last Night

2011-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

I seem to be on a roll of seeing movies in the actual cinema of late. I'm mildly impressed with myself and have decided to review whatever I see in an attempt to make myself see more movies. I'm bullying myself basically.

Last Night

Myself and my flatmate watched the trailer for this only last week and suddenly I realised it was out in the cinema. Can't you tell that I'm on top of my movie news? Ahem. Anyway, the subtly sexy trailer and strong cast really made me want to see how it would all unfold.

A low key relationship drama, it sees young couple Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington) squabble over Michael's interest in a glamourous new co-worker Laura (Eva Mendes), before he heads on a business trip. While Michael spends time away from home Joanna bumps into an old flame Alex (Guillaume Canet) and soon finds herself ruminating on a love affair that never was while her husband flirts with temptation.

The plot, what little there is, does not neccessarily drive this slow burning romantic drama. Ultimately, despite some neat cameos, this is a foursome with Knightley and Canet weaving flirtatious rings around each other while Worthington and Mendes hammer out a tentative but intense bond. Last Night isn't afraid to play with audience expectations and build tension and once it gets past a stiff and overly talk opening act, it crafts plenty of romantic and melancholic moments.

Knightley and Worthington clash more than they sizzle as a couple but once they meet their respective temptations that seems to be the point. Both Joanna and Michael reveal whole new sides to their personalities when they meet their prospective lovers. But, this isn't a movie about a couple cheating on each other and to say any more would ruin much of the enjoyment.

What this film does deliver is a engrossing portrait of love and desire and lets a fine ensemble play to their strengths. Knightley is jittery and beguiling as she revels in the easy charm of Canet's character while Worthington plays an emotionally complex male understandbly unnerved by the confident yet subtle sexuality of Mendes' Laura. Writer/director Massy Tadjedin has created a movie that doesn't patronise the audience and so you'll find yourself playing out a fair few moral dilemmas in your own head throughout.

A clear attempt at counter programming a summer of noisy action flicks, boisterous comedies and superhero flicks Last Night is an intelligent and powerful drama piece. While not quite as clever as it likes to think it is it offers up some interesting characters and has a hypnotic, easy rhythm that will draw you in.

A Neon Tinged Feast At Body & Soul

2011-06-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Attending last year's Body and Soul festival was one of the best things about last summer for me and I'm suitably raging I can't attend this weekend's festivities. It's an eclectic, chilled out experience and every bit as daft, engaging and entertaining as you would hope.

The line up and buzz about this year is building and it's easy to see why. One particular highlight that I really wish I could check out comes courtesy of the rather brilliant Queens of Neon. They've been thrown lavish tea parties and other food-fun-meets-creative-madness events for a few years now and have quite the reputation.

For this year's Body and Soul festival they've a lavish banquet for 200 people planned in the festival forest ground. You'll have to book ahead of time but a five course festival in such lush surroundings is surely to be a treat.

If that hasn't convinced you then the viral video they've done might just tip you over the edge. A trippy, surreal mish-mash of colours and food it'll have you drooling and booking tickets in no time.

Amazing.

For more on the event click here and check out the Queens of Neon online here.

Spin That Record - Top Tunes Circa May/June 2011

2011-06-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

A simple one this, a list of the tunes, remixes and such I'm digging at the moment. This isn't necessarily the coolest tunes, the newest ones, it's just whatever has lodged in my head, gotten repeat plays etc over the last while.

Top of The World feat. Dev - The Cataracs

Who Says - Selena Gomez and the Scene

Beat Of My Drum - Nicola Roberts

Prophet (Better Watch It) - Rizzle Kicks

I'm The Fool - Soundgirl

Turn It Up - Taryn Manning

Asthma Attack - cocknbullkid

Bass Down Low feat. Tinie Tempah - Dev

Heavy Metal Lover - Lady Gaga

We Are Stars - The Pierces

Too Close (Nadastrom Remix) - Alex Clare

Right There (The Sound of Arrows Remix) - Nicole Scherzinger

Notorious - The Saturdays

Moment 4 Life feat Drake - Nicki Minaj

Forbidden Fruit Festival: My Wholly Unprofessional "Review"

2011-06-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

Forbidden Fruit, the first of many a music festival to take place in Ireland this summer was seen by many as the kicking off festival season. And instead of bailing down to some country location, tent in hand and a song in your heart, Forbidden Fruit offered Dubliners the the chance to sample various stages of music, overpriced falafel (Does anyone actually eat falafel?) on their doorstep. Basically, go see some cool bands and then sleep in your own bed at the end of each day. What's not to love?

I decided to head along to day one in an attempt to soak up some festival cool, expose myself to the sort of music I frequently read about but rarely see live and also laze about in the sun staring at hot indie boys. Many a muso-head told me that the Sunday line up was like, so,much better? but for me Saturday had the best spread of dance/rock/Irish acts.

Thankfully the festival was "boutique" (whatever THAT means) meaning it was easy to navigate and you could plonk yourself between stages and tents with ease. The atmosphere was great although the grumbling about the lines for drinks threatened that peace. While I can see why people would be frustrated by bar delays I still fail to see why they couldn't just go see and a band instead. Oh well.

Bands wise this is my (not entirely scientific or highbrow) breakdown of who I saw:

Bitches With Wolves : I rave about this bunch all the time but can you blame me when they're so bloody amazing? Having caught BWW live a few times now it's been a joy to watch their show get better and better each time. The tunes were all there, including a newbie Rewind, a 90s house flavored number with a melancholic air. Great stuff. BWW are down to play many an Irish festival this year so do make it your mission to see them.

Jape: Confession time, I sort of spent half of this set rambling on with mates, bumping into friends so my attention was split but what I do remember was a jaunty, indie dance set that got the main stage hopping relatively early on in the proceedings. Fun.

Bombay Bicycle Club: I'd heard a tune here and there by these critical darlings and so was excited to see them live. Sadly they didn't really grab my attention, though the feel good, Vampire Weekend air to the set and a couple of key tunes clearly went down well with the crowd around me who were are all cooler than I could ever hope to be *clutches Britney album to chest, cries a single salty tear*

Wild Beasts: I interviewed these guys last year at Oxegen and they were suitably lovely. New album Smother has had many a rock journo foaming at the mouth (I guess they had to take a break from listening to Born This Way on a loop? Riiiight?) but it's a style of folk infused guitar pop that's not necessarily my thing. But between earnest chats and avoiding spilling Bulmers from passers by I found myself really enjoying their set. (If you feel like this all too insightful, I completely understand)

Beardyman: Myself and festival partner in crime Sarah where very aware that this was an act we were really "supposed" to see. But given that we'd sat ourselves between his tent and the main stage we settled for listening to a chunk of his set from just outside, with a capacity crowd piling in. We couldn't resist a few minutes inside for a sneaky rave up. The crowd were suitably in awe of the beatboxing, head spinning show on stage and I could see why. I couldn't quite brave the party hearty crowd for too long but this was great fun. I completely get the hype now.

Aeroplane: clearly where me and Sarah decided to man up and just go up to the front in advance and have a proper dance fest. So that's what we did. A DJ set fueled by remixes, thumping French house and an infectious audience made this a highlight of my weekend. I did spy the lovely Cock and Bull TV filming and a had a moment of fear, picturing the awful crowd shots of my dance moves.. but hey. Worth it.

Flaming Lips: I've never really been a fan of this band's psychedelic rock but have always wanted to catch their visually explosive live show. And what can I say, it was suitably impressive. Although fifteen minutes in, after a stage full of costumed dancers, lasers, a giant screen, Wayne Coyne flying into the audience and giant balls everywhere it felt like we'd seen most of the what they had to offer so we cut our losses and decided to have a mooch around.

The Subs: which lead us to catching the majority of The Subs' set. I knew very little about them before I went but part DJ set-part noise punk poppers The Subs were brash, obnoxious, unsubtle, silly and lots and lots of fun. Sadly, their studio cuts of their frenetic electro rock doesn't have the same bizarre energy of their visually arresting and thrilling live show. Still, if you see The Subs on a festival line up, go, disengage your brain and flail like a maniac. You'll love it.

Alongside this decent line up I enjoyed a properly brilliant organic burger (oh, music festivals), briefly danced on a disco bus (boom), had an impromptu dance party to a Frankie Grimes DJ set and even had a few lovely people come up to me about Following Fade Street. Forbidden Fruit, for me was plenty of fun and by all accounts did a decent job of entertaining the music starved masses. I'm excited to see what they get up to next year. Keep an eye on CockandBull TV who will be uploading videos and pictures from the festival over the coming weeks too. You can one below and their amazing Flickr photostream with images by Peter Fingleton. Wahey.

Being "Enthralled" by The Dirty Epics. Ahem.

2011-06-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've been doing bits and pieces for RTE's Red Radar music blog over the last few months and you can catch a piece I wrote about the new single from The Dirty Epics here. There is an also sidebar about pop vocabulary but listen, it's important to tackle the big issues.

You can watch the video for Enthralled below. It's rather good:

How I Made Lily Allen Laugh. Kind Of.

2011-06-08T13:55:00.001-07:00

Lily Allen became of an instant pop sensation when she debuted with Alright Still, some fine singles and plenty of attitude circa 2006. After a blaze of chart glory, including a triumphant second album Allen announced plans to leave music.

This generated plenty of eye rolls but it seems like she wasn't lying. Allen hasn't hinted at returning to music as yet. Instead she's become a prolific tweeter and started a boutique with her sister Sarah Owen in London, Lucy in Disguise, the story of which was profiled for a fly on the wall C4 documentary earlier this year.

Now, Lucy in Disguise has been turned into a clothing line, launched here in Brown Thomas last week. Inspired by the vintage clothes they grew up on and also stocked their latest business venture with, it's a neat spin on the celebrity clothing line angle (particularly given Allen's previous much maligned work with New Look).

The launch last week saw Lily and Sarah fly into meet the assembled press and take some snaps. The lovely Mikey Robinson asked me along and I duly said yes. I thought we were being asked along to some weird press call. When we got there we realized we were in line for a snap with the pair. Gas.

It was clear that Lily wasn't over the moon about having to stand for endless pictures. Not that this is a bad thing. She was friendly, polite and clearly grateful that people were there to see her. But Lily Allen has always strained at the seams of fame, uncomfortable with the attention but understanding how it's changed her life for the better in some ways. She's not a picture perfect celebrity, smiling away while inside they'd rather be on the sofa sipping Fanta, watching Gossip Girl and being fed jellybeans by a harem of topless men (Did I just write down how I'd like to spend my every waking day? MAYBE).

Meeting her too then is an equally interesting experience. You're not starstruck meeting Lily Allen, you feel like you already know her. Her wry lyrics, her candid and humorous way of dealing with the press means that she's put herself out in the open time and time again.

And so my exchanges with Miss Allen were typically hilarious. When she saw my Animal House t-shirt she immediately remarked "oh that's one of my favorite films". And here was the awkward bit. I haven't seen it (I know. I know) Cue awkward mumbling from me. Then the following gem: "So, are you having fun?" I asked dryly, knowing she was bit at ease "Um, not really" she giggled. "That's ok, I like that you were honest. I'd be worried if you were like "Yaahhh, it's amazing"'. Allen laughed, a sort of "well duh" laugh. It was a bit awkward but also hilarious. It completely matched what I felt I knew about her. It was tongue in cheek, likable but also a bit unsure what to make of the circus around her. In essence, it was a true Lily Allen moment.

Well, either that or I just acted like a dickhead and she responded as such. Who knows? Either way the photo that was snapped while this exchange took place was suitably hilarious:

Sadly I didn't get to make a tit out of myself with Sarah. Maybe next time I can elicit an awkward laugh.

Still, it was an interesting experience. Big thanks to Mikey for bringing me along (if you're not following him on Twitter by now, please do so. Quality tweets guaranteed). As soon as I finish this, the four of us are off to hit up the clubs and be famous mates 4 life. Fact.

Also, if you're into that sort of thing (i.e. you are a girl who can actually wear vintage inspired dresses) the dresses themselves seem quite lovely. This recent spread from Elle UK is a good way to get a feel for the pieces.

Lady Gaga - Born This Way : A Review

2011-06-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Whether you did you own personal review 5 minutes after it leaked or would rather slice off all your extremeties than hear 5 seconds of it there's little ignoring the titanic hype, media push and sales Lady Gaga has drummed up with 3rd album Born This Way. Reviews have been mixed but that's hardly news. Gaga's previous records were met with varying critical response as is par for the course with any mainstream pop release. Now that we've had the chance to digest and watch it set the charts alight, does this album live up to the hype?

Sorta. One thing is for sure Born This Way is clearly Gaga's attempt to branch out musically. It does a fine job matching the big, brutally efficient choruses that are her trademark with weirder moments. Born This Way is a pungent, dense affair rippling with Springsteen references, variations on commercial dance music and Gaga singing in a myriad of registers. It is gleefully lacking in subtlety and is all the better for it.

In working almost exclusively with producers Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow, Gaga has crafted a more cohesive and consistent vision than most popstars manage with a new release. Gaga has taken a concept and seen to it's logical endpoint. That concept is a loud brash journey of self acceptance, preach-y self love messages and belting vocals of course but still...

Born This Way is a high-octane, exhausting listen but it's also brimming with warmth, fun and plenty of perfect pop moments. It's clocked up a hugely impressive first week of sales but whether it has the same wide appeal of it's predecessors is debatable. This is still a shameless-y "pop" album but one that veers from the slightly more conventional moments of The Fame & The Fame Monster.

Overall: Various shades of amazing. Let's do a track by track shall we?

Track by track

Marry The Night : Suitably epic and melodramatic opener. Like Whitney Houston riding a motorcycle while wailing over electro beats. Sets the scene perfectly.

Born This Way: A song that improves immensely in context of the album. A breezy, infectious disco-throwback-meets-modern-day-pop charmer.

Government Hooker : Britney style sleaze shot through with tongue in cheek political references and plenty of attitude. The first of many songs to see Gaga play with a different register and thumping electronic production.

Judas : Some have been harsh on this but it's fast become one of my favourite Gaga singles. Relentless, chaotic but also brilliantly conceived. I have a feeling this will be looked back on as a bit of a Gaga classic in a few years.

Americano : Demented Mariachi meets club pop tune with "political overtones". On my first listen to this I was twirling my kitchen using my pots and pans as maracas. If that's not a sign of a cracker I don't know what is.

Hair : I can't decide on this one. It's sweet but also produced in such a way that the hook gets buried in over cooked 80s sitcom instrumentation. A bit too slight although the Cyndi-Lauper-on-speed-vibe of it is appealing.

Schieße : The closest this album gets to heavy electronica. German style gibberish, infectious melodies and a relentless pace add up for a track that feels instantly Gaga and completely different from everything she's ever done.

Bloody Mary : Amazing and one of the strongest tracks on the album. Retreading the lyrical themes of Judas over a mournful mid tempo synth rumble and some monk chanting. A icy, ear-worm of a tune.

Black Jesus (Amen Fashion) (Bonus Track on Deluxe Edition) : Very much a bonus track. A fluffy and harmless ode to fashion, working it etc etc. Easy to see why this was left off the standard album but it is still fun.

Bad Kids : I wasn't sold on this at first but unlike Hair this wears it's "love yourself misfit" vibe so much better and is actually one of the best melodies on the album. Like a Madonna album track circa 1983. Sweet and charming.

Fashion Of His Love (Bonus Track on Deluxe Edition) : as has been widely pointed out sounds very like Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. This is an enjoyable romp with R&B goes dance pop tones, if hardly earth shattering.

Highway Unicorn (Road To Love) : Horrific title aside, this is brilliant. Channels the rock'n'roll vibe Gaga references so often with a soaring, fist pumping melody and a sense of urgency.

Heavy Metal Lover : This is my personal fave. Dense electronic textures sidle on a Kylie style hook with plenty of sexy overtones. A song half grunted over juddering electro shouldn't work this well but this is brilliant. Another example of Gaga doing pop music in a different way to her earlier work but still attaching a solid gold hook to it.

Electric Chapel: More highway rock'n'roll meets electro pop. Brims with a strange sense of ceremony and energy and brilliantly sets the scene for the closing moments of the album

The Queen : As close the entire project gets to a stinker. The variation in tempo is a welcome change of pace on such a thumping body of work but it's also grating and underdeveloped. A missed opportunity.

You and I : Gaga's most Queen moment yet. Brian May turns up on guitar and it also "contains elements" from Queen's We Will Rock You. The chorus is the stuff Elton John dreams about at night and the vocal is among Gaga's best, earnest, endearing and euphoric. Thankfully the studio version adds enough oopmh without taking it's magic away. Lovely.

The Edge of Glory : A stunner. A rip roaring tale of living life to the very last, like a hybrid between Bruce Springsteen & Bon Jovi coated in Madonna gone mad vocals. Some of have criticised the sax solo as twee and self indulgent. In truth it's a moment of genius perfectly suited to the earnest throwback nature of the tune. Likely to be the next huge Gaga hit. (well, it technically already is. but still)

There you have it. At the rate this lady is going who's to say we won't have another Gaga album in oh, say, 6 months. For now Born This Way stands up as an exciting slice of bonkers pop.

Music Video Run Down: Your Guide to Gaga, Rihanna, JLo.. and Nicole!

2011-05-12T03:59:00.000-07:00

It’s been a big week or so for the hallowed music video. Why? Because Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and er…. Nicole Scherzinger all unveiled new videos. Oh my, how exciting!

To celebrate such a momentous time in my favourite video related art form (sorry “Cinema”.) here is my handy guide to the current crop of big music videos.

You’re welcome.

Lady Gaga – Judas

What is it: Why it’s the new video from Lady “Yes That Really Is My New Album Cover” Gaga. It apparently cost “10 million dollars” to make which I reckon is bullshit and/or they spent all the money on the lipstick gun.

Is it good: Yes, actually it is. Gaga co-directs alongside longtime collaborator and choreographer Laurieann Gibson and finally finds a neat middle ground between symbolism/messages/that sorta shit and a stylishly executed pop video with plenty of attitude, dance and energy. Gaga has mentioned that the video has a “painterly” look which is a good description.There are some brilliant images scattered throughout. In short , this video is very good.

Do Say: “I really like the new Gaga video, she drapes out of Jesus and does her best to nail the dance break. What a champ”

Don’t Say: “Oh my GOD, like it looks like a Madonna video? Like why can’t all pop videos be completely original. URGHGHAHGAH”

MTV Video Music Awards Moonmen Out of 10: 9

Jennifer Lopez “I’m Into You”

What is it: Why it’s the new video from Jenny from the Block, J.LO, your friend and mine … Jennifer Lopez! I’ve already blogged about my love of this sun drenched pop treat and now we have a beautiful video to go along with it. Marvel! As Jennifer reclines on a palace step, headscarf adorned across her popstar head. Gasp! As Jennifer looks even YOUNGER than she did 10 years ago. Wonder! If that metal dress wasn’t a bit heavy when it got wet. Hmm.

Is it Good: Um, it’s AMAZING. It’s everything you’d want from a traditional blockbuster pop video. Beautiful people floating around being beautiful, an impromptu dance break, lots of sizzle from La Lopez. The Melina directed video isn’t a million miles from the vintage Herb Ritts music videos (like this) and that is a very good thing.

Do Say: “This is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life”

Don’t Say: “What the f8*k is a love controller?”

MTV Video Music Awards Moonmen out of 10: 8

Rihanna “California King Bed”

What is it: It’s the new single from the pop behemoth that is Rihanna. Her latest album Loud (despite being a case of 3 amazing singles and a boatload of filler) has been a huge success and well we all know how the singles have done. California King Bed is the token ballad and with that comes the token ballad video. In fact I would like this song 900% more if it was called Token Ballad.

Is It Good: No. This is shit. Seriously. It’s not even that it’s bad … it’s BORING. Rihanna, god bless her is rarely dull even if her “I’m so sexy, no, look, honest” shtick wears thin. But this is painful. Rihanna lies around, emotes poorly, makes you wonder why she chose this as a single. It looks lovely and there is some unintentional giggles when the video inexplicably shifts from colour to black and white and back to colour again. There is also a hilarious bit where a bed lengthening magically is supposed to be a key emotional moment. But overall, NOT GOOD.

Do Say: “Isn’t her hair nice?”

Don’t Say: “This is the exact kind of moving ballad and emotionally resonant music I want Rihanna to do. No more club stompers please”

MTV Video Music Awards Moonmen out of 10: 3

Nicole Scherzinger “Right There featuring 50 Cent”

What is it: The 3^rd single from Scherzinger’s solo album “Killer Love” and the first to be launched in the US now that Nicole is co-hosting The US X Factor with Steve “I Went Out With Pam Anderson Once” Jones. And also because it is 2003 and it’s 50 Cent appears on the “radio edit remix”.

Is It Good: Kind of. I mean the song is actually a bit of an earworm, slight but infectious and has a nice bounce to it. Nicole bops around with so much vigour you sort of bounce along with her. Like dancing at a wedding with your elder aunt who is surprisingly good at dancing. BUT hold on. What is Nicole wearing,? what are those odd dance moves she’s doing? Why does she end up at a lesbian night club drinking brand name alcohol? Has she rejected the smooth moves of Fiddy Cent for some lady love? Possibly. This is a fun video but one that works more on a “is she REALLY giving me the thumbs up while dancing on a moving platform?” level. Y’know?

Do Say: “ I could DEFINITELY whip the dance routine to this out in the club. If it was 2003.”

Don’t Say: “The clothes in this video are flawless”

MTV Video Music Awards Moonmen Out Of 10: 6

Looks like our winner is.. Lady Gaga! But honourable mention to JLo bringing up the rear (BOOM BOOM), trailed by Nicole Scherzinger. Meanwhile, Rihanna lounges on a bed somewhere, crying fake unconvincing tears.

The Return of J-Lo: Why Jennifer Lopez's next single will continue her success

2011-04-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Proof positive that you can't keep a popstar-moviestar-fragrance seller-TV judge-former Fly girl-Latina Diva-serial dater down, Miss Jennifer Lopez is back.

After a series of misfires with a long term record deal being terminated, an album in limbo and the air "is that it?" it seemed for a second that Lopez might just be out in the cold with other things that were successful in 2001. Like stone washed denim. and belly button piercings.

But like a particular sassy fungus Miss Lopez is once again all over our radios and all over our TV screens. Cynics may have sneered at the decision to place Lopez at the judging table for the rejigged American Idol but it has done wonders for her profile. The show is enjoying a creative and commerical renaissance with ratings as high as ever and the judges gaining praise for their easy chemistry. It helps too that Lopez is a joy to watch, full of humour and empathy and that hard to resist movie star glow that makes her every move feel like a moment.

It's no surprise then that she has relaunched an attack on the charts. Her new deal with Def Jam/Universal still places her in the top tier of popstars and working with hot shot producer Red One has clearly helped her big time. Current single On The Floor has caught fire. It was an instant smash across Europe once it hit iTunes and it's music video surpassed Gaga's Born This Way in the YouTube stakes in a matter of days. Having landed at the top of the UK chart last week Lopez is at the centre of a pop perfect storm. Sure her profile is huge but the song has clearly caught on aswell, a throwaway infectious club banger that screams summer.

Readying herself for a follow up can't have been easy but Lopez's next single I'm Into You sounds like every inch the massive smash. Produced by Stargate (whose discography is truly impressive and you know pretty much ALL their songs) it's a slower tempo much in the vein of Rihanna's What's My Name that has a sunkissed balmy feel perfectly offset by a few drawl-y bars from Lil' Wayne.

Take a listen below, it may seem slight on first listen but this one is a grower and will surely attach itself to radio playlists and not let go for the duration of the summer months.

Ultimately it's nice to have J-Lo back. Sure she's not the best singer but she is an entertainer supreme who glowers with charisma and presence in everything she does. And if that means we can revisit gems like Play, Ain't It Funny and the underrated Do It Well then where is the harm in that?

Britney Brings The Heat on Femme Fatale: A Review

2011-03-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well to say I was excited about this an album would be a huge huge huge huge understatement. Despite many a flaw, from not singing live to questionable interest in her own music I'm constantly drawn into the perfect pop of Miss Britney Spears.

Sure some of it is driven by the heady Britney obsession of my teen years but it also helps that Britney has been serving up genuinely edgy pop cuts for the past decade. Blackout was the zenith, a swirling mash of thump-y beats, groaned vocals and a sense of danger that was enthralling. Follow up Circus sold better and attempted to re-establish Britney as a down to earth and healthy popstar but it wasn't as cohesive or thrilling.

Thankfully Femme Fatale stands somewhere between the two. It takes it's thumping, club ready cues from Blackout with a sprinkle of the brighter Britney sheen of Circus. It's a perfect mix of brave ideas and glossy, radio ready melodies. The cliche of modern pop albums is that "Every song could be a single" and generally speaking it's rarely true. But Femme Fatale is such a slick and polished affair that with the right push any song from this album could enjoy a healthy chart lifespan.

Britney sounds great, even if her voice is processed, analysed and torn apart by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and all involved. But that's part of the point. Britney has always been pop's most robust robot, her vocals and personality spliced, diced and delivered by a ruthlessly efficient. That in truth makes her out of step with today's current crop who display more agency, more control over their image and are reaping the chart rewards. Spears is struggling to compete right now. The first 2 singles not having the staying power needed to build buzz on an album truly deserving attention.

Still even the most casual pop fan will find plenty of moments to raise a smile on Femme Fatale. It's jumpy, thrilling and addictive and it just may be Britney's best album yet.

Track by Track

Hold It Against Me : Hasn't quite hit the chart home run all on Camp Britney clearly thought it would but this is still a stone cold Britney classic for me. Icy, pumping and melodic it's all that is right with pop in 2011.

'Till The World Ends: I've gone back and forth on this single. It's anthemic, likeable and lodges in your head for days on end. But it's a bit too anonymous for an artist like Britney whose strangled cat warbling is imprinted on to everything she does in the best possible way. Mind you if this is Britney at her less than stellar it's still a damn sight better than most popstars.

Inside Out : If this isn't a huge smash single than something is NOT RIGHT. Melancholic, downbeat but still possessing a sleek, dirty groove this is a gem. The chorus is undeniably impressive but those verses are clearly the real winner. Britney's syncopated delivery is on the button and this is a song that manages to both be slinky and seductive and still chug along at a mechanical pace. Brilliant.

I Wanna Go: Sort what 3 should have sounded like, this upbeat and cheeky number again has single stamped all over it. The jumpy beat, the infectious whistle and the vaugely raunchy lyrics make this a satisfying slice of Club Thumper Britney fun.

How I Roll: The quirkiest track on the entire album. Bloodshy and Avant prove their genius here on a jagged of robot electro pop. This one clicks and whirrs itself along in a very minimal but it's sleek melody is gold and although it's not as immediate as other songs on the set, it's also a real grower and one of the strongest.

(Drop Dead) Beautiful: A pleasing update on pure pop Britney. There's very little that's new about this one but it's so snappily written and dripping in sass that it's kept me coming back for more with every listen. It's hard to not love a song that contains the line "Yeah your body looks so sick/I think I caught the flu"

Seal It With A Kiss: Another ode to the early Britney with a naughty update. The lyrics may have Britney lining up illcit liasons over a dubstep pop beat but the melody is as light as air. She coos her way through this one and you'll find this is one of Femme Fatale's most earworm-y tracks.

Big Fat Bass: This should have been the album's stinker but Will.I.Am has rolled out something of a corker here. A house music piano riff, a huge huge beat and some brilliantly distorted vocals give this tune a menacing sound that offsets the vocal back and forth of Will and Britney perfectly.

Trouble For Me: UK producer du jour Fraser T Smith competes with the big guns to great effect on this tune. A grime inspired beat flickers underneath one of Britney's strongest vocals. This is a glittering gem and could be a fine single.

Trip To Your Heart: Britney's does her take on Madonna's Get Together (which she already tried on Circus bonus track Trouble) and it is pretty great. Sure the main hook is a tad cheesy but the trance-lite production and bubbly vocals make this hard to resist.

Gasoline: As close as this album gets to filler. Not a bad tune but stumbles in comparison to some of the corkers on display here.

Criminal: What. a. TUNE. Imagine if you will Madonna's Papa Don't Preach, Miles Away and Love Profusion in a Britney blender you're halfway there. This is lovely, rippling with melancholy but also with it's tongue firmly in cheek. It's completely not what you expect from Britney but brilliant for that very reason. If there's any justice in the pop world this will be a huge huge smash single.

There are numerous bonus tracks floating around too but we'll get to them later. Long story short: you need to get your hands on Femme Fatale right this minute.

Kylie Brings Les Folies to Dublin: A Review

2011-03-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Kylie Minogue rolled her sutiably lavish tour into Dublin this week and I was lucky enough to head along to the first night in The 02. Aphrodite Les Folies is the latest in a long glitter-y line of big budget jaunts the star has undertaken to air new material. Touring has clearly become a priority for the star. Les Folies comes equipped with a suitably enormous stage, a suitably enormous budget (did you think those dancers were going to pay for those artfully ripped vest themselves?) and a suitably elaborate theme.

(if you haven't seen the show then stop now, as it is a tad spoiler-y)

Actually let's just get this out of the way, the whole Greek goddess theme almost threatened to derail this fine production before it was even 10 minutes in.

While you wait for Kylie to arrive you take in the heart shaped catwalk heavy stage set up, the impressive use of Ancient Greek motifs/design to cement the now standard giant screen into the proceedings in an engaging way. You can't help but be impressed and be excited. Even if you haven't heard a tap about the water feature madness awaiting you or the amount of money gone into the show you know straight away that you're in for a treat.

Except act one, which opens with the title track of Aphrodite, left me a little nervous. The opener is great, Kylie arrives looking like a bit of a female Gladitor (isn't that a reference to Ancient Rome though? Are we getting mixed up already? Oh dear) prancing around and happily working the room. A handful of hits are then deployed with The One going down well (considering it's single release was truly bungled) and Wow getting plenty of whoops from the crowd. Wow feels too stagey though, with more focus on a bunch of dancing gladiators waving shields around, it feels too forced and "themed" to be truly enjoyable. The same plagues the next cut Illusion which for me was the only dud of the whole show. The performance drags not least with the inclusion of a vaguely ridiculous belly dancing sequence which reminds you that Kylie is not really an amazing dancer.

It had me a bit worried I was going to spend my night watching Kylie flail around an historically inaccurate performance art piece. The closing number of this act, the usually brilliant I Believe In You was just as worrying. Still one of her best singles, this take sees her wheeled around in chariot around the arena waving regally at the fans asking repeatedly "Do you believe?". Sure it's camp, it looks fabulous but it's also a bit too stuffy to really work.

Well THANKFULLY come act two the whole thing lifted. Clearly sticking to the goddess theme gets thrown out the window for a series of distinctly styled segments that managed to balance plenty of hits with clever use of key Aphrodite album cuts. There's a simple version of Spinning Around with Kylie and perky back up singers bringing an entire arena up on it's feet, oh hell there Get Outta My Way in it's full "this is the amazing dance routine from the video glory", welcome along spot on rendition of In My Arms and would you look at that it's a heart stopping version of Confide In Me.

Once the show really gets rolling there is a brilliant mix of simple pop thrills and full on production numbers. The big hits are left to breathe for themselves with beautifully executed dance routines and piles of energy leaving you breathless with excitement. The big set pieces relied on Aphrodite album tracks meaning audience members not knowing the words where not an issue.

The Angel segment is a neat example. It was basically Kylie singing Looking For An Angel, an ANGEL appearing (See what she did there?), Kylie hopping on his back (did I make a barebacking joke? YOU BET I DID), Kylie flying closer to the audience while singing Closer (Kylie, you are... a genius) then Kylie hopping off the angel and doing a full on rave up version of the Eurythmics There Must Be An Angel. There was an indeed an angel Kylie. There was indeed.

It is obviously camp as tits but it's so much fun and you see clearly how Kylie is a lethal cocktail of cute, bubbly charm personified popstar next door and hardened stage professional. Her on stage banter is refreshingly down to Earth (take note every other popstar ever), she attacks old tunes with a sense of enjoyment many performers are loathe to give their old stuff (think of how sniffy Madonna gets about her 80s back catalogue) and ultimately delivers you non stop entertainment. The staging is also genius, she spends her time working the whole room, giving everybody their own little up close moment (including those in the specially priced Splash Zone in the middle of the set up) with the pop queen. Of all the "revolutionary" stages I've spotted (I see you Madonna tours, I've got your number Britney's Circus tour) this was probably my favourite. Brilliantly executed.

And that's before the encore/finale which hasn't so much set the bar for other shows so much as placed the bar so high that every other tour will struggle to even see it clearly. The double whammy of On A Night Like This & All The Lovers lets those specially constructed water features break out a water show the likes of which the 02 has never seen before (I'm guessing). All The Lovers ends with Kylie on a giant fountain at the centre of the arena, the combination of such a visual and such an euphoric pop song the best way to end the show on a high. Literally. She's on the top of a flipping fountain like.

The show was amazing and probably one of the best pop concerts I've ever attended. If you get a chance to go then you absolutely must.

And for all the water works, all the bells and whistles can you honestly, HONESTLY argue with a show that has one of the most likeable popstars ever, with some of the best tunes ever swaggering around in an outfit that is one third Mardi Gras Drag queen, two thirds Ghetto Fabulous Street Walker?

No. No you cannot.

I nicked the photos from the Twitter account of super talented artists Adrian + Shane, make sure to follow them and check out their website, they are very very very good.

For more on The Les Folies Tour click here, the album Aphrodite is out now.

Britney & Born This Way: 1 Month on Planet Pop

2011-02-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Holy crap. You wait a month (as in don't blog for a month) to blog about a huge pop tune and then two come along at once. This isn't an attempt to pit Britney's "Hold It Against Me" against Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" in some kind of do or die battle BUT two big artists, two big songs.. why not do one quick blog post? Here is your cheat sheet to the new tunes from both Britney and Lady Gaga

HOLD IT AGAINST ME

Who? Britney "Enigmatic or just crazy?" Spears

The Team : Pop heavy hitters and hit makers who owned 2010: Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Bonnie McKee

The Song: A relentless club pop stormer that's about as subtle as a bag of glow sticks being ground up in a blender by a gaggle of pilled up drag queens. The underpinning beat is stompy and obtrusive but the vocal gives it a sense of desperation. The first time Britney croaks (and she sort of does, it sounds like they've let her voice sound a bit raspy for some reason) "if we could escape the crowd somehow" it's a weird moment of isolation and dread amid a song that takes a cheesy chat up line as it's main chorus. It combines a slightly disjointed Xenomania style structure with an out of the blue would be dubstep breakdown and a whizzing climax. It is in a word: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Sounds like: Britney's Unusual You + Ke$ha's Take It Off + Magnetic Man's I Need Air with a smidge of Rusko for good measure

How has it fared? Insanely good at first. With minimal promotion it broke US airplay records while shifting over 400,000 downloads all in one week and flew to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It was instantly a top 10 smash in most major territories also. It has started to slide but this is a single that is still in the middle of it's chart run. With the immediate iTunes release this track has garnered a decent chart performance but we'll see how the video and possible promotion from Miss Spears allows this one to shape up over the next few weeks.

The Video : Directed by Jonas Akerlund (squeal) and already the subject of fourteen seperate online teasers to be released daily until the official premiere next week. Sounds like it'll be a chaotic affair, heavy on the dancing according to dance-commander Brian Friedman. Exciting.

Do Say: "It's good for dancing isn't it? It's bit like a rave, a bit like that moment you come off something and feel a bit weird and a bit like that time you ended up at dubstep night and spent the night wobbling around"

Don't Say: "I preferred If U Seek Amy"

BORN THIS WAY

Who : Lady "Why would I take a nap, when there's so much WORK TO BE DONE?" Gaga

The Team : Gaga, Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow

The Song : Well to say this has arrived with a bit of hype is an understatement. Gaga has declared this her anthem for a generation, a song about loving yourself blah blah blah. Basically she talked it up way too much. After talk of a deeper heavier side to the music the resulting confection that is Born This Way is a tad dissapointing.

Picture if you will Madonna, Kylie, Gaga and a desire to name check as many minorities as possible combined with a rattling cheesy dance pop beat and you have Born This Way. It's not that's a bad tune. It's actually tremendous fun. Infectious, catchy and feel good it's a pure pop blast that stands well amongst the current batch of chart ready electro inspired numbers. It's well crafted with a strong melody but you can't help but feel the urge to throw the kitchen sink of production at the track makes it too layered. Compared to how Telephone mastered the wall of pop noise alongside an airtight melody Born This Way sounds like a track in desperate need of a pruning. If you can get past the hype though (and let's face it, that's not easy now) this a great little pop tune.

Sounds like: Well, Express Yourself obviously. But also Kylie's Better Than Today. and also quite like Mandy Moore album track from years back You Remind Me. Seriously.

How has it fared: Well it was released Friday, topped the iTunes chart in 23 countries (it just debuted on the UK chart at number 3), broke that radio play record Britney had up until a few weeks ago and looks set to go to number 1 in more than a few places by next week. and there's a small matter of a Grammy's performance tonight, which as I write Gaga has just arrived to in a coffin. And a giant egg. Subtle.

The video: Directed by Jonas Akerlund (Squeal AGAIN), set in New York with talk of Gaga giving birth, trannies and we're sure more than a few jaw dropping outfit choices. Let's just pray it's 100 hours long like some of her previous efforts.

Do Say: "This song is good fun isn't it? and isn't it nice that she just wants us to be loved? Pass the cocktails, this makes me want to dance"

Don't Say : "UGH IT'S SO CONTRIVED, IT'S LIKE A MARKETING EXERCISE MORE THAN A SONG" Really?

To be honest I'm really enjoying both songs for different reasons but the fact that both artists are releasing new albums in the next few months is cause for much excitement. Britney's Femme Fatale feels like it might be a collection of brilliantly produced pop masterpieces with a slightly souless sheen while Born This Way will offer soaring melodies with a side order of cheese that might begin to grate. But who knows? As Gaga arriving to an award show in an egg shows you really can't predict the pop world sometimes.

Yasmin Kicks 2011 Pop Off In Style

2011-01-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

There are lists and lists and lists of lists and LISTS of acts that are hotly tipped to do big things this year. Whatever your flavour there is sure to be an act that covers it. Or at least sounds like someone that already does.

One act that I'm excited about and already has a killer single is Yasmin. She's been a highly prolific DJ, whose London based hip-hop night Bad Intentions a smash success and she's also toured with acts like N.E.R.D, Eve and will.i.am after Pharrell Williams (!) spotted her. Eh, nice one.

All that aside Yasmin is also a popstar in the making. She's logged time with producers like Benga and Labrinth and could have a potentially mind-blowing debut on her hands. So far, so next big thing for 2011. But her debut single On My Own is a genuinely brilliant mid tempo number with a faint whiff of Massive Attack and chilled out R&B loveliness too. Her blog and DJ credentials suggest a music loving, hard working perfectionist with bags of ambition. From re-shooting her video with her own friends after she wasn't with the initial cut (True story) to her spot on DJ mixes she posts online, this girl has me awfully excited to see what she gets up to this year.

On My Own is released at the end of the month, check out Yasmin on Twitter here.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well, well. Here we are. I had grand plans for my TOP 40 SONGS OF 2010 and my BEST MOMENTS OF 2010 posts but let's just say between the Christmas pudding and the TV boxsets my Christmas has made me a bit lax about blogging.

But why not? 2010 has been a mental one for me but in the best possible way. I've met some deadly people, been involved with some great projects and had more than my fair share of "Is this really happening?!?" moments.

To everyone I worked with, met, hung out with, said nice things about Following Fade Street or even just read this blog (and everything in between!) a HUGE HUGE THANK YOU. I've had the best year of my life and 2010 will have to do lots to top it. I'll see you post NYE for more pop culture dirt here and on Twitter.

Quite frankly this post is purely an excuse to show my favourite image that sums up the year I had. You can see the glamour, you can feel the passion in this photo from Peter Fingleton's Sharp Shock:

Beautiful. Happy New Year everyone!

Chart Attack: Matt Cardle Trounces Rubberbandits for Xmas No. 1

2010-12-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

The X Factor has taken the top of the Christmas charts ever year since it kicked off seven (that's right SEVEN) years ago. Last year's much ballyhooed Rage Against The Machine Vs Joe McElderry battle meant the UK broke the cycle but here in Ireland we've kept it X Factor friendly every year. I'm not getting into the ridiculous nature of that chart battle or this year's attempts at an "alternative number one" in the UK (I'd be here all day!) but this year Ireland has had a more interesting chart battle on it's hands.

Limerick based comedy duo the Rubberbandits have built up a steady profile over the last few years and saw that truly start to take off in 2010 with their regular appearances on RTE's Republic of Telly and plenty of live shows, including playing at the Electric Picnic. It was Horse Outside though, that has sent them nuclear.

A truly hilarious pop tune with an even funnier video it's not hard to see why the video has now amassed more than 3 million hits. The campaign to get them to number one does have the usual smug "like, the X Factor is so manufactured" nonsense behind but it also shows people who genuinely like a song, buying it and hoping it does well.

Sadly, Chart Track released the official info for the sales in Ireland today and Matt Cardle, this year's X Factor winner, has still managed to snag the top spot.

In reality it's not surprising. The X Factor was getting close to 700,000 viewers per week over here. If you sell a couple of thousand singles in the Irish chart you can do very well. So even if a tiny chunk of the show's audience buy the winner's tune, it will of course go on to do big things.

All that aside, Matt's figures are truly staggering. According to Chart Track, Cardle came within 500 sales of beating the figures of Elton John's Candle In The Wind in 1997. Unbelievable. The CD single was what did it for Matt in end it seems, as noted by Chart Track:

"the sales of ‘Where We Collide’ were split 91% CD and 9% download, handing Matt Cardle the accolade of best-selling CD single in Ireland over a week ever"

In their defense the Rubberbandits put up a decent fight, beating their own download record and setting a new record for digital sales in a week. Though as Chart Track notes their total sales were only half of Cardle's final haul. Given that Matt would have done close to 55,000 this week (unbelievable figures for Ireland) we could probably guess that the Rubberbandits did about 20,000 (this is my estimate and I could be totally wrong) which at any other time of year would be enough to put them on top by a huge margin.

There is an argument here that Limerick's finest should have taken the top spot, with that many hits on YouTube indicating there was a huge interest in the track. However a quick glance at the video's YouTube stats show a huge amount of views in the US, UK and Australia an audience that can't buy the song and affect the chart position here. Also, numerous viewings of the video could be down to repeat watches, shrinking the number of potential buyers again. Also people watching a video online does not always follow through to them buying it. The Rubberbandits appeal to an older audience who are less likely to download a single or buy one physically. The physical single of Horse Outside was always going to struggle against the X Factor. There was no way a relatively small Irish band would be able to print, distribute and sell the same amount of singles as one of the biggest record companies in the world.

Ultimately, the Rubberbandits have increased their audience a huge amount, knocked out one of the funniest pop tunes of the year and become a national talking point. Matt Cardle's chances at sustaining a decent pop career are probably not good. Despite the largest audience for the show ever this year Cardle still failed to match highs set by the likes of Alexandra and Leona with their singles in the first week. Joe McElderry has struggled to maintain an audience despite a surprisingly decent debut album while runner up Olly Murs has managed two hit singles.

Whatever happens, we'll always have the Horse Outside video and more importantly, that amazing Liveline appearance to look back on whenever we look back on 2010.

Beat that Cardle!

Following Fade Street

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

This year saw a TV event for the ages. Finally Ireland got it's own version of The Hills. Fade Street arrived ahead of huge press attention in November and soon became one of the most talked about Irish TV shows of the year. By now we've had YouTube spoofs, a parody comic, hilarious blogs dedicated to it and of course my little spoof show. I've been doing Following Fade Street, a online show dissecting the series, for every episode and it has been loads of fun.

The videos go up on RTE.ie straight after the episode every Thursday (the show is moving to a new time in the New Year. Exciting) and we've been popping them up on YouTube too. The lastest episode is below. At this point, I have to thank everyone at Straywave Media, especially Jessie Ward who does a fine job of making me and the show look good every week. And to everyone who has said nice things about the show this year, thank you very much!

The plan is to do another 6 episodes in the New Year as all the Fade Street fun unfolds, so keep your eyes peeled for more on the antics of cast of everybody's favourite reality show.

While we wait, check out the rest of Following Fade Street and this hilarious YouTube clip, probably my favourite bit of web parody I've seen yet. Brilliant:

Supporting Shakira: A Truly Surreal Story

2010-12-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks on Twitter I joking asked if the legions of hip music types looking for Arcade Fire could get me one for Shakira. I was painfully excited about her incoming Dublin gig (her first time performing here) and didn't have the funds for a ticket. Suddenly I ended up on the guest list courtesy of Brian Spollen and considered myself the luckiest Shakira fan in the world. Then something amazing happened, Brian asked me if I would DJ before Shakira. That's right. I played it cool on the phone (I still can't believe how cool) but inside this was my face:

(photo courtesy of Peter Fingleton at www.sharpshock.com)

Anyway, before I know it I'm at the 02 waiting to DJ before Shakira. It was a surreal moment, hanging around one of the biggest venues in the country and trying not to freak out. Before I knew it I'm on stage in front of thousands of people. NO BIG DEAL. It was great fun although I wasn't my usual "raving behind the decks self" due to my crippling nerves. Still, the crowd were lovely and suitably enthusiastic. In case I had forgotten both Dynamite by Taio Cruz and Firework by Katy Perry make people go absolutely mental when you play them. Always good to know.

Shakira herself was suitably brilliant. I've been a fan for years so getting to see her perform was a real treat. She is clearly made for the stage. The stage set up was quite minimal but you wouldn't have noticed so busy was Shakira flying around the place. She threw herself about the stage, bouncing over to enthusiastic audience members, gyrating in a manner that would put most starlets to shame and also gleefully moving between big hits and album cuts.

Shakira is clearly a star who has engaged with the English speaking territories on her own terms. Sure she wheels out the hits that we all know but the mixed, up for it audience went just as crazy for tracks like La Tortura and new tunes like Gordita (from her recent album Sale El Sol). The show was perfectly judged, starting with the star walking through the crowd and ending on a triumphant note with fans joining her on stage to perform the Waka Waka. In between you could see the potent mix of sexuality, business saavy, showmanship and songwriting craft that have made her on the most successful artists in the world.

I could go on but needless to say the evening was pretty incredible and a week later I still can't believe it happened. Big thank you to Brian and all at MCD for giving me the opportunity. And if you ever get the chance to see Shakira live, do not miss it!

Big big thank you to photographer Ruth Medjber for taking the shots of me playing and for letting me use them here. Check out Ruth's work on her blog and in Hot Press.

Lady Gaga Is Still Human, Gives Good Onstage Chat

2010-12-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

Obviously Lady Gaga has had what you would call a successful year. Relatively speaking. One of her biggest achievements this year has been the ongoing success of The Monster Ball tour which will continue to see Gaga flail around arenas will into next year, even after the release of her new album Born This Way.

During The Monster Ball Gaga poses, prances and puts on a huge huge show. The show is thread around a loose concept with plenty of ridiculous dialogue and highly staged numbers (see my review of the show's first visit to Dublin earlier this year here. But thankfully Gaga is willing to indulge in plenty of freewheeling banter each night. A neat reminder that she is in fact human as opposed to the part popstar-part robot air she cultivates sometimes.

You just have to love that speech. Sure, the "Little Monsters" schtick has worn thin at times this year but Gaga has a natural ease with her audience that often eludes other popstars. The icing on the cake is definitely Gaga doing such a spot on impression of "The Gays". It should be cringe-tastic but is so affectionate and funny that it's impossible to dislike.

Gaga recently described the new album as "a marriage of electronic music with major, epic, dare I even say, metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats."

Which makes it sound like it might be quite undeniably amazing.

2011 is likely to be another Gaga heavy year and thankfully it seems like she's still able to have alot of fun despite the kind of schedule that many other popstars would crumble under. I for one, can't wait.

Ke$ha gets festive... WARNING: Contains "poo" humour

2010-12-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

I am always ranting about Ke$ha on here it seems. It's not my fault she hands out trash pop gems and is generally a mess. But in an entertaining way. And by entertaining, I obviously mean, completely manufactured.

But MOTHER OF GOD.... check out her "Christmas greeting" to her fans.

On the one hand, we see Ke$ha actually singing (Which doesn't happen often enough, though I enjoyed that pretentious video of her singing a Stones tune at house party awhile back) but on the other hand it features someone pretending to take a dump in the background.

I feel like we should be rolling our eyes at this contrived attempt to remind us Ke$ha is badass but... it sort of sums hers up so well.

Ultimately, you can roll your eyes or you can think about it. Would you see Katy Perry willing to have someone pretend to shit behind her? No. Would Rihanna? No. This video, in it's own cringe-y way reminds you of Ke$ha's very own special place on planet pop.

And you can't say fairer than that.

Mariah has Christmas Covered. AGAIN (and forever)

2010-12-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

We all know that Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You is the greatest Christmas song ever. Even after years of hammering at Christmas parties, on radio playlists and in various shopping centres across the world it is a joyous piece of timeless pop that is more festive than a room full of giant Christmas trees surrounded by towers of mince pies.

Mariah is the Santa Claus of pop music. Never mind other artists and their holiday albums this and festive cheer that. Mariah Carey is the Queen of Modern Day Christmas tunes.

A few months back Mariah unveiled her new festive single Oh Santa! ahead of the release of new Christmas album Merry Christmas II You (the sequel to her 1994 album Merry Christmas). When the song first popped up I couldn't stomach it. October? Christmas songs? No chance.

But over the last few weeks I've returned to the new Mariah Christmas classics in search of some Christmas tunes.

I haven't listened to the actual Christmas album in full that many times purely because I've had 2 of the tracks on repeat so much I haven't had time. The first is Oh Santa! which is buckets of fun. Tongue in cheek, catchy and painfully festive it feels like a worthy successor to All I Want...

But the icing on the festive cake is Mimi's trash-tastic on Auld Lang Syne. The first minute is your bog standard take on the Christmas classic. But then the cheesy dance beat kicks in and away we go. There are sky scraper vocals, Mariah asking "Does anyone really know the words anyway" and all sorts of fun. Mariah has wrapped it all up in one of the funniest music videos I have ever seen. It sees uber-pregnant Mariah attempt to make green screen FX of fireworks and over the top miming pass off as a good video. It is one of the funniest videos I've seen all year and makes an already genius take on Auld Lang Syne even... geniuser.

If that doesn't make you want to pop a bottle of champagne, kiss a stranger and resolve to stop having those late night slices of chocolate cake then you are a made of stone.

Merry Christmas II You is out now and if you need an injection of Christmas pop int your party playlists you need to check it out.

Emma Bunton Gets A Nation Dancing. Kind Of.

2010-12-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I had settled down for an evening of prodcutive blogging and other computer based things but for some reason I ended up watching Gremlins and a host of other satellite TV programming instead. WHOOPS.

I did stumble across a gem of an advertisment though. You may or may not know (I didn't!) that Emma "I was Baby Spice once, remember that?" Bunton is now a radio presenter for Heart FM. Surprsingly, Heart FM does not seem to be the home of death metal on UK radio. But I'm glad Emma has landed a regular gig, her move into presenting has really suited her. Though I do miss pop gems like this:

and this:

BUT fear not because there is now an ad for Emma's station that will make you giggle quite a bit and is almost as much fun as her pop career highlights. The ad sees Emma play a tune and soon the nation is dancing. In slow motion. And with reckless abandon. Even nurses who should be doing their jobs are too busy bopping away. And good luck trying to get a haircut in this new nation under DJ Emma Bunton. Even Baby Spice herself is too busy throwing shapes in studio to get any work done. What a disgrace.

I've always loved the idea of working in radio and despite doing bits and pieces with various shows and stations in the last few years, I've never seen anybody boogie around in slow mo and turn their listeners into carefree, work-ignoring zombies.

What a shame.

The ad is airing on most of the UK satellite channels right now with "I'm Every Woman" as the soundtrack but the clip above is the exact same, just with a different track. You get the gist. And the next time you hear your favourite radio jock "drop a record" you better pray that somewhere a nurse is getting her freak on and ignoring a patient.

Parachute by Cheryl Cole : The Original Co-Writer Remix

2010-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

You may have just caught me chattering about Bruno Mars and his rather good new single. While having a little browse on YouTube I watched this lovely performance he did for Billboard online. Then while flicking through their list of videos I saw a performance of a track called "Parachute" by Ingrid Michaelson. "Ha, wouldn't it be funny if it sounded a bit like that amazing Cheryl Cole track Parachute. Haha" I thought to myself. So I clicked it and realised that they were... THE SAME SONG!

Mad. Yes, Michaelson co-wrote the track which Cole made a hit of early this year and last month decided to release her take on the song as a single in the US. Apparently the singer has had some success being an independent artist and placing songs on hit US shows (which I learnt after a cursory google, I'm obviously thoroughly researching this piece. Ahem) . It was interesting to see her logic behind releasing the tune, as she explains below:

Her point about the fact that the US audience are buying singles digitally means there is a market for that kind of release is interesting. The advent of legal downloading has dramatically changed the US charts in the last few years. After years of a chart that required radio requests and airplay to gauge success, the ability to buy single tracks and have those sales measured has meant that the pop single has experienced a bit of rebirth as people can now buy single tracks legally without purchasing an album. This seems odd compared to how it works here and in the UK where a culture of buying (or not buying as the case may be) singles has been how we've always done things.

Funnily enough, for all of Michaelson's desire to have her own pop single moment her version just doesn't have the same kick as Cheryl's. Admittedly, they're two different takes. Michaelson goes for her own folk-y, Aimee Mann-lite delivery. It's certainly enjoyable and it reminds you how solid the songwriting of the track is. But it's a bit too try hard quirky from the silly video to the would be winsome delivery.

Cole's version may feature more elaborate production and a bigger budget video but she invests her version with plenty of emotion. Cheryl Cole is hardly the biggest belter on planet pop, but a huge part of her appeal as popstar/national treasure/TV judge who cries alot is her heart on her sleeve quality. Parachute plays off that for a song that bounces along at a fine clip but also feels dramatic and layered in despair. In short, Cole sings the hell out of the song. Michaelson goes for a more measured approach that ultimately sells her work short. Either way, Cheryl will struggle to get a third single this good from her new album.

The moral of the story here is that Cheryl Cole is actually pretty good at this pop thing sometimes.

Bruno Mars Gets Melodramatic on New Single

2010-12-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

Been enjoying this new single from Bruno Mars alot this week. He's featured on two of the years biggest hits in Billionaire with Travie McCoy and Nothin' On You by B.O.B. (and co-writing credit on another, Cee Lo's Fuck You) and his own solo track Just The Way You Are was also an international success story landing on the top of the charts here, in the UK and in the US. Just The Way You Are was rather lovely. Sappy as hell yes, but also sweet and uplifting. It was a really enjoyable mix of R&B cheese and earnest balladry and is the sort of hook driven number that sounds great on the radio.

Mars' next single Grenade is already picking heat stateside and it's easy to see why. It boasts another unstoppable chorus but feels suitably darker than his last effort. A broody number with a suitably melodramatic video it feels very Michael Jackson in it's mix of emotive R&B delivery and slick but effective production. Mars knows his way around a tune but he also knows how to pack one full of emotion. Grenade is that rare thing, a melodic radio smash that still manages to ripple with a bit of pain. The best pop music often has a strangely tortured vibe running throughout and Grenade has that in spades.

It's released here on the 7th of January and Mars' album is with us (finally!) on the 21st of January.

I Love Magazines

2010-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I was a voracious reader. I used to have six books on the go, which I think explains much about why my attention span is so bad these days. Anyway, I don't read half as much as I used to which is a shame. I am absolutely obsessed with magazines though. To a painful degree. I have a huge collection building up that is both impractical and slightly scary. But at least it's better than collecting stamps. Or plates. Or crack pipes.

Magazine wise these two are the current obsession:

X Magazine is basically the weekly X Factor magazine. It shouldn't work but it does, in spades. It goes into all the gory detail on each week's show, has a lively fashion section but it's the pop music writing and humour that is the selling point. It's a music mag for people who want to hear the latest on pop with no snobby music journos getting in the way. It's been a joy to read every week and having just found out it's folding with this week's issue I am a tad upset.

i-D is obviously a bit of an institution but one I've only come to enjoy in recent months. It's a big, ridiculous fashion title that is filled to the brim with ideas. What I love about i-D is how it mixes high concept photo shoots, oodles of cool creative types but ultimately has an accessible, unpretentious air that makes the content some ten times more enjoyable than your usual po-faced fashion title.

I also divide my reading time across the year between Rolling Stone, Hot Press, Elle (UK + US), Glamour (UK) and my all time Irish fave Stellar. I'm actually mentioned in the new issue of Stellar, on sale this week and to say I'm excited would be an understatement.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have a bit of a cry about X Mag closing. Why is life so unfair?!?

Mash Up Magic

2010-12-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

I don't trust people who don't like mash ups. I remember working with a guy who was a "musician" (I believe that was the term he used) when I lived in Canada who told me that as a "musician" (there's that word again) he couldn't get behind mash ups. He said it was because it didn't sound right to throw two songs together, something about key changes, pitch, him being a snob etc etc etc. Look I'm sure there are genuine reasons why mash ups are musically unsound but honestly, take a listen to this beauty:

Now as far as I can see grafting two very modern pop gems on to a bunch of thumping dance hits can only ever be a good thing. A bit of Shakira is always amazing, a bit of Lady Gaga is always fun, throw in a Madonna beat, a bit of Pitbull (who has perfected the art of the trashy club pop tune) and a snippet of David Guetta and how can you go wrong?

I may not be a "musician" (truth be told, I just like putting quote marks on things, no disrespect to any musicians intended) but I can't help but this not only makes the case for mashups, it also makes the case for Shakira and Lady Gaga teaming up for some kind of world conquering pop superduo. Like Salt 'N' Pepa with the rapping swapped with leotards. I think it would work well for everyone.

Pop Earworm Alert - The Beach Girl5 "Scratch"

2010-12-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

This tune is one of my favourites right now. The Beach Girl5 come across like a clean cut surfer chick version of The Pussycat Dolls and with debut single "Scratch" they've a trashy pop nugget that fits that brief to a tee. A nagging synth line, some electro blips and a ear-worm of a chorus give this track plenty of addictive charm. I am also thoroughly obsessed with the video. It reminds me of the early 90s, particularly Paula Abdul, which is no bad thing and looks suitably slick. The band are managed by Kris Kardashian (mother of the Kardashian sisters obvs!) and are signed to Hollywood Records, home of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers amongst others. What a stunning pedigree.

Usually a trashy gem like this never makes it to our shores but apparently it's down for release here in January. This fills me with joy. Hopefully this will become a sizeable hit so that when I sing this under my breath on public transport I won't seem like a crazy person. Or at least seem like a crazy person who is singing a hit song.

Check out the video below, it will make you want to jump around an abandoned warehouse and run across a beach with your friends. Isn't pop music magical?

Cher Lloyd: True Star of X Factor 2010

2010-12-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Look, let's cut the shit here everyone. We've all been watching The X Factor this year, either because of our better judgement or in spite of it. Or the fact that in reality it's been a strange year with a not great line up of talent, some ridiculous press coverage and plenty of eye rolling Louis comments (I do have to say though, I treasure those moments where he makes a joke and nobody, NOBODY, in the crowd laughs. Brilliant.)

With all that in mind, I'm approaching this week's final with a slight sense of dread. There are too many boring contestants, too many ad breaks. Just too many EVERYTHING. The X Factor was always going to become more bloated as it went on.

So thank God then for Cher Lloyd. Love her, hate her, think she makes a faces like a slapped arse (you've got me there) the girl is the only fresh thing to land herself on the show this year.

Rebecca? Can sing but is painfully dull. And frankly, seven years into the show the contestants need to be able to do more than just sing and be humble. Matt is a middle of the road, singer-songwriter bore who makes James Blunt seem edgy. Plus I will never forgive him for that awful cover-of-a-cover pillaging of Britney's ...Baby One More Time. One Direction have improved quite a bit in a short space of time but they're still in need of a bit more life and energy. And at this stage they're guaranteed a decent record deal whatever happens.

Which leaves us with Cher. She may not be perfect. Certainly some of her performances haven't been as strong as that stunning first audition but each of them have shown a girl with oodles of charisma, star power and a popstar glow that most contestants would kill for. Plenty of people have said Cher comes across as cocky but clearly she's an insecure 17 year old girl under immense pressure. So of course she comes across as a bit cocky. It's clearly a front as the vulnerability in that performance of Stay displayed.

This criticism irks me however as it shows how reality TV has come to favour being "humble" and "genuine" over being interesting, having a personality or even just trying to figure out what is going on. Ultimately this is supposed to be a show about finding a popstar, a talent that people want to invest in. Rebecca's "journey" is that she's now able to look up from the floor while she warbles politely on stage every week. Wonderful. How epic. How thrilling. How shit. Cher is certainly flawed in many ways but the fact that she clearly wants to try to be herself even if that always doesn't seem nice-y nice is ten times more interesting. Cher is clearly talented, vaguely bonkers, a possible trainwreck and endlessy entertaining. In short Cher is a popstar.

Another key thing people have missed about Cher, and what makes her genuinely unique in this show, is her choice of songs and the way she views pop music. Performing a Keri Hilson remix of a Soulja Boy song (of all things!) on her first audition shows that she is someone who finds her pop nuggets where-ever she can. Cher is clearly part of a generation digging up songs on YouTube, zooming links around amongst her friends and not concerned with picking a big, safe song that she knows people will definitely get. Cher is part of a generation that follow songs when they leak online, that might not be bothered with the conventional release schedule but ultimately love music. Performing Mike Posner's Cooler Than Me at judge's house months before it became a hit here is a good example of that. On the live shows she's picked up on the many rapper/singer hits of the year and done them herself. She effortlessly taps into what is going on in chart music and putting her spin on it. The judges this year are obsessed with talking about how "marketable" each contestant is, how they'll definitely sell albums, definitely put on a good concert. Of that bunch Cher is the most effortless. There's no need to "market" her to a young audience because she IS the young audience. That makes her not only a bankable popstar but also a genuine one.

When Cher gets it right, she does it in style. Her best performances are when the staging, choreography and tone of her what's she doing are slightly pared back but energetic. Her first week performance felt like the opening number to a popstar world tour. She saunters out, works with a troupe of backing dancers and nails every inch of it. Her performance of B.o.B's Nothin' On You last week worked in much the same way. Her performances are sometimes too cluttered, too garish and slightly cheesy. Her take on Empire State of Mind was a little too day-glo/cutesy to work. But even with too much going on Cher oozes an ability to knock a song dead that lifts the whole enterprise.

Sadly, the likelihood of her winning is slim. She will be performing with Will.i.Am (not Rihanna, who for some reason is performing with Matt. WHY?) and will no doubt put on a great last show. But ultimately, the wider audience want "humility" and a bland performer. Cher Llyod is neither of those things. The show may not be hers but in a few year's time I think it'll be Cher who is the real breakout star of this series.

VOTE CHER!

Compilation Genius to Cure the Flu Blues

2010-12-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

I am sick as a parrot today (this is a phrase I use. Just go with it) and plans to try and get lots of writer-y work done is moving at a snails pace. The urge to crawl under a duvet on the couch and watch Gossip Girl is slowly starting to take over. Some people self medicate, I just stare at Blair Waldorf.

BUT as I struggle through a compilation of party tunes I've just got has made the day go a bit smoother. I've gotten alot of stick from my mates about my weird obsession with party tune/chart hit compilations but with the DJing I do and my general music collecting tendencies a good one is a little slice of heaven.

So roll up Everybody Dance. I'm aware I overuse this word but the tracklist for this is amazing.

At a glance you have this gem:

and this one:

AND THIS:

All of these numbers feature alongside a host of other beauties. I have two words for you: The Rembrandts. Honestly I feel like I should do one of those mad high concept blogs where I blog about a song of this every day for a few months. Oh could you imagine the fun I'd have.

ANYWAY of all the big party tune collections you'll see filling stockings this Christmas this is far and away the best. I love how it mixes old dance tunes, disco hits and some random pop tunes (Oh hello, Holly Valance) together. If you are anywhere near me and a party I'm playing tunes at in the next few weeks, expect to hear songs from this.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to blow my nose with To Be Real on repeat. Every flu has a silver lining.

Wigs, Tequila and Soft Focus: Burlesque gets Reviewed

2010-12-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

I got to head to an early screening of Burlesque last week, the Cher/Christina musical that I've been excited to see for months on end. A star vehicle for both a returning icon and another whose recent pop comeback was something of a damp squib this film has had "future camp classic" written all over it. In big glittery, soft focus letters.

The plot is more threadbare then the pearl dress Xtina slinks about on stage in at one point. Christina plays Ali, a country bumpkin who blows into L.A. and soon finds herself in a Burlesque lounge that she is only gagging to sing for. Despite the fact that only ringmistress Tess actually sings in the club. The rest of the girls lipsync and dance along to show tunes, making some of the early performances look like acts from particularly athletic drag queens.

Still Christina auditions for the show, gets a part as a dancer but soon gets those vocal chords stretched and blows everyone away, with Cher giving her best surprised face on seeing her sing her heart out:

What follows is mish mash of tepid love story, enjoyable but unfulfilling banter between Cher & Stanley Tucci and a parade of tunes that sound a bit like the last Christina album and a bit like the one before it. Back to Bionic Basics if you will.

The pace of the film is off. Big moments feel rushed like the whole thing is in a hurry to get somewhere. But then what feels like forever is spent on inconsequential moments that were obviously meant to build up the characters but fall flat due to a poor script. The cast, for the most part are great and are clearly trying to work with material that doesn't do them justice. Despite her botoxed face painfully limiting her ability to really act Cher manages to make a decent impression and her easy going banter with Tucci is fun to watch. Kristen Bell does a fine job of chewing so much scenery she nearly chokes and Christina does a decent job for her first time in a major role.

The musical numbers are slickly edited but the fact that they never leave the stage of the club means that it feels like you're watching a string of music videos as opposed to proper musical set pieces. At times like these you notice how oddly low budget the whole enterprise is. Much is made of how L.A. is this magical city that Ali escapes to but we never really see it, except in unintentionally hilarious scenes where Ali finger snaps along to her iPod as a form of "rehearsal" (if you saw someone do this on the street you would not think "there goes a successful Burlesque performer". You'd think "that person is a nut job")

The actual "burlesque" nature of this is quite questionable. It's all very Pussycat Dolls (Robin Antin the founder of the dance troupe turned pop sensation is the sister of the film's writer/director Steve Antin) meaning the choreography, while enjoyable, is basically hip hop video booty popping meets coquettish popstar dance moves with a dash of jazz hands for a bit of flavour. Still it's no surprise really. Christina famously performed with the troupe when they were picking up serious heat around L.A. in the early 2000s and she channels much of that throughout the film.

Throw in a pile of unconvincing wigs on top of Cher and Xtina's heads, more soft focus than you could shake a Botox needle at and plenty of blatant plugs for Patron Tequila (the fact that Robin Antin had a PCD style girl group sing a song about the brand in 2009 is hardly coincidence!) and Burlesque adds up to be one mess of a movie. It also turns out to be hilariously entertaining with it and if you need some quality campy laughs this Christmas this movie will surely make you happy.

Burlesque is released here on the 17th of December while the soundtrack is out now.

Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry Do Typically Low Key Cyndi Lauper Cover

2010-12-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

VH1 Divas is one of those odd US cable TV institutions that rears it's ugly head every few years as a parade of female stars belt out some big numbers and look fabulous. It used to be a real Mariah/Celine/Cher fest but last year it was rebooted as a vehicle for legendary divas such as ... Miley Cyrus and Jordin Sparks. Ahem.

Anyway this year's installment was themed as a "For The Troops" affair which I'm sure is all very nice and well done the soldiers and blah blah blah. The line up is an odd mix of current pop/R&B divas like Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Keri Hilson and then a few more country/"alternative" acts such as Paramore, Sugarland and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Not exactly thrilling. Thankfully they roped Kathy Griffin in for a bit of humour on the side.

But one performance is surely the best thing about the show and all you really need to know about. It's Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj doing a cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun that is as tasteful and low key as you could expect from an artist who places giant strawberries on her breasts and another that calls herself Harajuku Barbie.

Perry gets things going at the start but you can tell that Minaj, who has built a rabid following over the last 2 years, is the real draw for many of the audience. While Perry gurns her way through the performance and cranks out some truly horrific "Your Drunken Uncle At A Wedding" dance moves Minaj sort of wafts around with a perfect mix of diva and "aw shucks look at the troops" charm. Ultimately the pair play well off each other and the whole thing is more fun than it should be. It does sound an awful lot like the Miley Cyrus take on the tune from a few years back which depending on your perspective is either a good thing or a bad thing.

The rest of the show seems fairly unmemorable although Minaj does a fine job on Right Thru Me (And again the crowd are clearly rabid) while two more of her performances that weren't broadcast are floating around on YouTube. In one way Minaj clearly has the biggest bunch of fans in the crowd so it's a shame they didn't air more, but we guess a track like Roman's Revenge which is one giant "parental advisory" sticker of a song isn't exactly TV friendly. Still, worth a look if you're a Minaj fan. The rest of us meanwhile can enjoy Perry and Minaj bounding around on stage and question why Perry thought it would ever be a good idea to try out those dance moves in that dress.

Ke$ha releases video for We R Who We R, makes little sense.

2010-12-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

I am quite a fan of Ke$ha. I enjoy her trashy pop genius. I think she has more talent than many give her credit for and the recent Cannibal EP tied into a reissue of her album has churned out plenty of gems. Not least the current We R Who We R another fine slice of Dr. Luke approved snyth-electroy-trashy pop pleasure. I was quite excited for the video, with Hype Williams on board, how could she go wrong? Well quite easily it seems.

The video is a bit of a hack job. I found myself asking WHY? everytime I watch it.

WHY? # 1 : Why pick Hype Williams to direct a video, clearly spend a fortune on elaborate tunnel based seqeunces and then intercut it with shots of Ke$ha that look so cheap they were probably filmed on an iPhone she stole from Katy Perry's handbag? WHY?

WHY # 2 : Why would anyway look at a dating website on their laptop while DJing at an outdoor raveathon? WHY?

WHY # 3: Why did Ke$ha think it was a good idea to put studs on her eyebrows for her closeups. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for her to get those off the next day?

WHY # 4: Why is that tequila bottle so badly shot? If you're going to do product placement at least have a bit of balls about it. Please see motion picture event Burlesque for lessons on how to shamlessly plug trendy tequila.

WHY # 5: Why does Ke$ha seem intent on being a great popstar but then releases videos like these that imply that she is not a great popstar? WHY?

I could be here all day with the whys, the whys, the ENDLESS WHYS but have a look for yourself. The Cannibal release is still well worth checking out, awful videos related to it aside:

Keri Hilson Gets Dirrrrty on Explicit New Video

2010-12-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

You'll know Keri Hilson from her appearance on huge hits like The Way I Are and some of her more successful solo endeavours, not least the sublime Knock You Down which was suitably huge last summer. Her debut release In A Perfect World... (all ellipses artist's own) was somewhat patchy but with songwriting credentials for artists and occasional gems, Hilson has proven she has something of a good track record.

Currently prepping a second album for releases Stateside this month, entitled No Boys Allowed, Hilson has been dropping a number of singles to build buzz. The latest is clearly her attempt to cause a bit of a stir in a manner not unlike Christina Aguilera back in her Dirrty days.

And with that I bring you The Way You Love Me. A noisy, frenetic piece of pounding R&B pop, it's an unholy mess but I find myself loving it quite a bit. Produced by Polow Da Don (who I rave about all the time and is becoming master of the kind of destined-to-flop-skank-ho anthems I truly love) it's not a million miles from Christina's flop single "Not Myself Tonight" (also produced by Polow). It's probably going to flop hard wherever labels are brave enough to release it but it is endelssy entertaining. The track is basically Keri screaming "Fuck Me!" and talking about her pussy (that's right, her pussy) over a jittery beat.

The song is something of a trainwreck but the video just makes it even better. The directorial debut of choreographer Lori Ann Gibson who is famous for working closely with Lady Gaga, her appearances on Making the Band and a cameo in Honey (WHAT A CV!). The clip is part girls-gone-wild wannabe gangster film and part sexy club hoe down.

The choregrapher is admitedly great and Hilson is on fire. But it's also ridiculous. Featuring JoJo (yes, THAT JoJo) and Faith Evans (far from the days of I'll Be Missing You now Faith, aren't we?) as part of her bad ass posse Keri jumps between limp acting and flailing around like a Pussycat Doll on a week long drug bender.

That's not to say it isn't a pile of fun to watch, so gleefully trashy that it's almost laudible and shot with great skill by Gibson who makes a decent hash of moving things along. For an artist who has struggled to find her own identity in the pop world, this video is an interesting move. I can see it doing her more harm than good long term but much like the aforementioned Not Myself Tonight by Xtina, it's an enjoyable demented twist in the usually dull world of marketing a popstar.

Enjoy:

Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum Hits Irish Screens

2010-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

I mentioned I was working on a TV3 show throughout September and now that it's about to air TONIGHT nothing like giving it a little mention here. The show is Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum, an Irish version of the hit BBC 3 series where 8 young people who can't fend for themselves attempt to do so in a house away from their parents. The twist is that the parents are in the show too, watching as they undertake job tasks, chores etc before deciding who has to leave.

The show kicks off tonight, post Glee and will air over the next few weeks. Check out more on TV3's official site and let me know what you think of the show in the comments section below.

Robyn Unveils the Final Part of the Body Talk Trilogy

2010-10-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy year for Robyn. After spending the guts of five years pimping out her stellar self titled release across the world, slowing building a rabid fanbase along the way, she has spent the year releasing plenty of new music.

The Body Talk campaign has seen the singer issue two 8 track albums this year (Body Talk Part 1 & Body Talk Part 2) each brimming with plenty of new songs, new ideas and the same attitude that made Robyn such a pop geek fan favourite over the last few years. From the triumphant lead single Dancing On My Own to the slick, sexy groove of Criminal Intent this is a new approach to releasing music that has thrown up plenty of gems.

Today Robyn announces her plans for the final Body Talk release this year. With five new songs and then 10 more songs picked from both Part 1 & 2, Body Talk Part 3 is part compilation, part traditional album release.

In an age where most artists struggle to find success with the traditional method of releasing music, the Body Talk campaign shows a fresh approach to releasing music that is a joy to watch. Getting this many new tracks from such a strong artist is never a bad thing but at the same time it's hard to gauge if the project has really worked. With alot of the releases from these albums, I felt like we were being handed new material only to have it trumped by even more new stuff almost straightaway, with no time to properly digest what we've been given before.

It will be interesting to see how Body Talk Part 3 fares. Will Robyn spend more time with this release, promoting it as an album in the traditional sense? Certainly the lead single Indestructible has another solid chance at crossing over to the wider chart friendly public. A dance take on a track originally debuted in acoustic form (much like previous single Hang With Me) it has a pulsing urgency and a typically powerfully chorus that should see it rapidly become a dancefloor favourite. But again, if these songs are coming at us so quickly will we really appreciate them? Or is a point like that moot in the blog-now-forget-later world of modern pop music?

Robyn is without a doubt doing things on her own terms and if it means more tunes then it's hard to complain but as the Body Talk campaign continues apace is Robyn giving her material the chance to breathe that it deserves?

Body Talk Part 3 will be released in Ireland on the 26th of November and the 29th in the UK. See Robyn's official website for more.

Spin That Record - Top Tunes of the Moment Circa October 2010

2010-10-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Magnetic Man feat. Katy B - Perfect Stranger

Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me

Rihanna - Who's That Chick

Rihanna feat. Drake - What's My Name

Nicole Scherzinger - Poison

Ke$ha - We R Who We R

Cascada - Night Nurse

Sky Ferreira - Traces

Sky Ferreira - Unstoppable

Mason feat. Roisin Murphy - Boadicea

Indestructible (Radio Edit) - Robyn

Spin That Record - Top Tunes of the Moment Circa September 2010

2010-09-28T12:00:00.001-07:00

Cheryl Cole - Promise This

Nadine Coyle - Insatiable

Selena Gomez and the Scene - A Year Without Rain

Shakira - Loca

Shakira - Long Time

BoA - Eat You Up

Willow Smith - Whip My Hair

Janet Jackson - Make Me

Bloody Beetroots - Warp 1.9

Nicki Minaj feat. Will.I.Am - Check It Out

Maroon 5 - Misery

Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

Loca Loca : Putting Shakira On Repeat

2010-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, well, after a string of posts happening in quick succession I've let the oul' blog fall by the wayside. Just finished shooting a new TV3 show I was producing on that ate up all of my free time. I got through thanks to much crew related laughs and large doses of 90210 Season 2. Sigh. I'll talk about the show closer to the air date but for now please note this song which was buried in my head for the duration of my shoot this month.

Ladies and gentleman I give you Loca by Shakira. The lead single of her forthcoming album Sale El Sol released later this month. it's a slightly by the numbers but extremely addictive bit of summer-y pop. I'm not quite sure why the decision was made to give up on the rather excellent She Wolf album so quickly but if it means we get to see Shakira and Dizzee Rascal enjoy a musical team up then who am I to complain?

Strangely the structure of the English version is different to the Spanish take and is actually a vast improvement. Shakira is a busy girl though with a new album due this month, a fragrance and a tour that comes to Dublin in December (which I must. have. tickets. for.) and I'm sure a million other things we're not even aware of. All that aside, it's hard to deny the nagging hook and sass of Loca and it looks set to be quite a hit for Miss Shakira, even if it doesn't quite scale the loft-y heights of She Wolf.

AND doesn't the video look gas? Shakira flipping those Britney circa 2001 extensions around while being chased by members of the public and turning up to shake her jelly in random places. It looks suitably bonkers. Well played Shakira. Well played.

New Alexandra Burke Video Is Awful But Amazing: All At Once

2010-08-19T10:22:00.001-07:00

Despite having a really good debut album to pluck numerous singles from Alexandra Burke is pushing ahead with the release of the new Red One produced track Start Without You. It's a bit of a dud but at the same time it lodges in your head like only the most irritating pop tracks can.

The video has dropped today and it reminds you that Alexandra Burke screams star from head to toe. Love the hair flipping sass, the confident dance moves and the easy flirtation with numerous of shirtless boys who seem to either be in the gym or on their way to a ballet class. Who knows?

I am a tad confused though as this behind the scenes video is totally different which leads me to believe they are readying a different take for the U.S. Still the more Alexandra sass I get the better.

Start Without You is released on September 5th in the UK and on the 3rd here.

Chelsea Lately to Host VMAs : My Excitement Level Builds

2010-08-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well as you may have already noticed my obsession with the MTV VMAs knows no boundaries and this year is likely to be just as good. After their announcement of the nominations MTV revealed today that US comedian/talk show host Chelsea Handler will be hosting this year's show which takes place in L.A. on the 12th of September.

This is an interesting move and one that should pay off. Handler has built a strong profile and a knack for dealing with high profile celebs on her fantastic talk show Chelsea Lately and she is a fine ambassador for being perfectly snotty towards top name celebrites (and Katie Price)

Handler is a good choice and this strong New York Times piece goes into the detail behind MTV's decision to give her the role.

As if I wasn't excited for the awards already! In the meantime let's enjoy Handler grilling Justin Bieber one of the performers at the Awards this year.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Reminder!

2010-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Now before you get yourself in a tizzy about the fact that THE Michael Cera was in town this week or that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World opens Friday week don't forget that we're taking part in an exclusive competition here that allows you to win a trip to Toronto. Given that I spent some time there myself a few years ago am I RAGING I can't enter this competition.

You get to go to a music festival and be in sunny Toronto in June when the weather is amazing. So click here and get started on the Facebook treasure hunt competition. Well worth a go!