Here you are, six songs I love at the moment. Just a selection but a fine bunch of tunes nonetheless.
Wiley feat. Chew Fu - Take That
At the risk of coming over all Annie Mac (no bad thing I suppose) this is a TUNE. I've been obsessed with Chew Fu for the last six months with his pile of mindblowing remixes getting bigger and bigger every week. Not least his work on many of Lady Gaga's recent singles. Still this collaboration with Wiley (he of "Wearing My Rolex" fame and darling of the UK garage/grime scene) is undoubtedly going to swallow the charts and the clubs whole over the next few months. And quite right too. Surprisingly off the wall and bonkers for a mainstream dance track, this is an abrasive, agressive slice of upbeat grime pop. Harder than some of the recent Chew Fu mixes and no doubt a bit of a retort to critics on Wiley's part it sounds a bit like Dizzee Rascal's "Bonkers" put through a blender and bashed off a wall several times. If that makes any sense.
The video is suitably bonkers too:
Janet Jackson : Make Me
Janet is one of my favourite artists of all time and my feverish love of her is mocked sometimes. But with the release of a new career spanning best of those who doubt her contribution to pop might do a double take. I don't want to bore anyone or go off topic but Janet has had a significant hand in shaping the last 10 years of pop videos, genre hopping R&B/pop and dance routines. Thankfully her new single, Make Me sums all this up in a few short minutes. Infectious, brash and charming this is a bouncy piece of effortless pop. The MJ references are obvious but its totally Janet too. And a new video that manages to make Janet look contemporary but not like mutton dressed as lamb (which has eluded Janet recently if I'm being honest) this should be the song to remind many what they've been missing. But if not its another treat for the long time fans. And the video is like a masterclass in how to wear shoulder pads. Work.
Kelis : Acapella
She set the internet abuzz with this David Guetta produced track a couple of weeks ago. And rightly so. A tad more stripped down than some of his recent big hit productions this is joyful and hard to resist. A simple laid back vocal from Kelis meshes with the blippy and smooth beat. Kelis has been hard at work with a gaggle of top producers (as is her style) including Crookers (see recent dubstep track "No Security"), Boyz Noize, and Burns for an album that will be released next year through Interscope. Kelis is one of the most interesting people in modern pop, handing out hits alongside offbeat gems and the signs are good for this new album to be another stonker.
Lady Gaga: Telephone feat. Beyonce
The Fame Monster is another piece of perfect pop from Miss Gaga. And this second single, a breathless piece of pounding dance pop is kind of brilliant. Featuring an urgent cameo from Beyonce (returning the favour for Videophone I'd imagine) it sounds ridiculously good blaring out of club speakers and features more hooks catchy chorus than your average pop single. This will be everywhere during the next six months and its easy to see why.
Not only that but this amazing unofficial video has been doing the rounds, a truly interesting piece of pop art:
Name The Pet : Club Kid
Found this rather lovely electro pop track over at Dödselectro. It seems a tad low key at first but this one works it way into your brain and is something of a floor filler. A sharp piece of electro to start of a particularly great weekend. And a track that makes me want to check out this artist in a bit more detail.
Rihanna : Russian Roulette
This song has really really grown on me. The Rated R album is one of the years best and this slow burner power ballad is one of the standouts. The emotion ripples throughout the track and it is hands down one of the best vocals Rihanna has ever done. She may not have as big a voice as other pop singers but she can sell songs like this with ten times more intensity. One of the best pop singles of the year.
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