Sex and Smarts: Lady Gaga and R.Kelly team up for Do What You Want

In just over five years Lady Gaga has achieved the kind of success most popstars would struggle to achieve in ten. And as much as she's a star whose success relied on the always-on 24 hour media whirl we live in now, it's the same system that can make her seem she's no longer "relevant". She's griped recently about feeling misunderstood (like this excellent Guardian interview) and made a video that played with all the internet chatter about her just before Applause dropped.

Yesterday ahead of new song Do What You Want (one of a handful of songs that aren't singles that she'll be unveiling before new album ARTPOP arrives next month) debuting Gaga went on a Twitter rant, linking to videos and images of things people have said about over her career from her weight to what Madonna thinks of her. In one way it can be seen as her throwing her toys out of the pram (and how boring is it when popstars say they don't write for the charts? sigh) but it's an oddly self aware flip of the bird from someone who has more of a mask up in public than her contemporaries.

Self-help Quotes, Bubblegum and the Big Leagues: Katy Perry Prism Review

Banal yet brilliant, cutting yet corporate, Katy Perry occupies a strange place in the pop sphere. 2010's Teenage Dream was only her second album but it turned her into a chart juggernaut. From California Gurls through to Firework and then two huge hits from a reissue, Perry ended up with 6 number ones on the US' Billboard Hot 100, the kind of staggering feat that comes from a heady mix of big tunes, big marketing and a star relentlessly out to up their pop game.

Katy and co bring you some new tunes

Head over to GCN.ie now and you'll catch this week's Friday Four with the new Katy Perry single, James Vincent McMorrow, Ghost Beach and the amazing Lulu Jones.

A look at the casual homophobia of Eminem's new tune

After some tweets on this yesterday Una Mullally asked me to do a guest post for her Irish Times blog Pop Life on the new Eminem tune Rap God and his use of homophobic language. It surprised me how few people were talking about it and realised that it's part of a wider acceptance of what made him so shocking in the first place.

Read the full piece here

Recent Pop Tunes You May Enjoy

I'm about to prep tomorrow's Friday Four post for GCN.ie but if you missed last week music from Lady Gaga, TLC, Bastille and Jessie Ware and Julio Bashmore are still worth a look. 

Vegas, Vogueing and Bros Fist Pumping: Britney's Work Bitch reviewed

It's already something of a ridiculous time in pop with Katy Perry and Lady Gaga being pitted against each other and a "fourth quarter" schedule that sees everyone from Cher to Miley Cyrus unload a high profile pop album before the year is out.

But there's always going to be some space for whenever Miss Britney Spears decides to bring us some new stuff ahead of album number eight arriving before the end of 2013.

There's been a drip feed of collaborators mentioned all year and while some fans winced at the involvement of Will.i.am as executive producer  his touch seems to be bringing interesting people onboard, from Naughty Boy and Emeli Sandé (who could easily adapt the emotive pop-soul they've been huge with over here to Britney and take it to a new audience) and even possibly the likes of Charli XCX.

The general message seemed to be "this is going to get personal" and the dance side of Brit Brit might take a break.

But then comes along new single Work Bitch which is neither personal or as "urban" as we may have been lead to believe. But is this all part of a Vegas ready strategy behind Britney's next move?

Work Bitch is a hyped up dance tune (I can't bring myself to embrace the horrific term "EDM" when it comes to talking about commercial dance music) that riffs on the kind of giant, wall of sound electronica favoured by Swedish House Mafia et al. 

In fact it was thought that Sebastian Ingrosso, one third of SHM, had worked on the song but it's in fact one of the acts he handles, Otto Knows (whose Million Voices is one of the biggest crossover dance tunes of the last 12 months) who is responsible for the beat on the Will.i.am produced track (Which also features Irish pop songwriter Ruth Anne Cunningham on co-writing duties). 

Still, it's easy to see the DNA of tunes like Million Voices or Swedish House Mafia's Greyhound in the sense of build and frenzied, thumping bass that form most of Work Bitch's production. There's definitely a sense that melody has been sacrificed for raved-up excitement at times but thankfully there's enough sass and Britney talk-singing to elevate the enterprise. 

It's got a bit of a weird structure and while it rubs shoulders off  of every enormous dance-tinged pop single of the last few years it has a slightly more aggressive and demented swing that makes it feel like a bold move for her. And like the best Britney singles it manages to fit in with where pop is and feel slightly in it's own lane.

Basically we're talking Swedish House Mafia's Greyhound, the British-ney bits of Scream and Shout (and sadly of some of Britney's oddest run ins with the paparazzi making it something of a fan reference point), the energy and stomp of a track made for vogueing too (the rumours that it samples RuPaul are sadly false but Britney screaming "WORK BITCH" definitely channels the same kind of idea as Ru's signature hit Supermodel) and the kind of weird vocal delivery that summed up Blackout highlights like Toy Solider and Hot as Ice.

And it's obvious that Las Vegas has been factored into this single too. From the forthcoming confirmation of her long mooted Vegas residency to the cheeky Vegas sign in her single cover, it's obvious that this is a big part of the next phase of Britney (and probably a big money deal).

And Britney going to Vegas isn't just going to compete with the Cher, Celines and Bette Midlers of this world, she'll be expected to pull in a younger skewing audience. 

With Calvin Harris and co. packing out clubs along the Vegas strip, this new investment in dance music for young partiers heading towards Vegas is surely an influence on this new tune. One that will sound as good reswizzed in a Vegas superclub as it will opening her own headline show. Certainly what TMZ reported about the Vegas show and it's aimed audience today would confirm that. 

It's likely that we'll get a more "straightforward" second single before we get the album (As is now de riguer these days and likely a ballad) and it's still a bit of a jolt to hear Britney half singing / half talking over such an aggressive electronic-driven cut but it's got enough humour and camp thrills to suggest that Britney is going claw her way back to the top of the pop heap by fitting right in and doing her own thing all at once.

In case you were wondering...

....why this has been a bit of a graveyard posts wise it's because my main job over the last few months (alongside DJ stuff and other freelance things) has been writing for DailyEdge.ie

I'm writing about pop culture stuff, internet things people are obsessing over and other stuff in that vein.

You can click here to see all the stuff I've written so far should you want a browse. And it's worth keeping tabs on The Daily Edge generally too for an Irish slant on pop culture and the web.

There's still the small matter of my GCN music work too whether you wanna check out this month's issue and my music page (and some brilliant new columnists) and the music posts on the site. They've added lots and lots of content online and given that GCN just hit 25 years going (!) it's amazing to see them offer up even more for their readers.

I'm beavering away on ideas to get this blog going a bit more regularly but do say hello on Twitter should you feel the need.

What We Can Learn from Ke$ha and The Saturdays In Their New Videos

Maybe you have a degree. Maybe you are still in school. Maybe you were home schooled or maybe you say things like "WELL I REALLY LEARNED AT THE SCHOOL OF LIFE TO BE HONEST" at house parties. Either way, you probably still love to learn. Who doesn't? And where better to learn about life than from pop videos? You're in luck because The Saturdays and Ke$ha are here to school you! Hurrah. Now, quiet down the back!

Ke$ha - C'mon

What is it: Single no. 2 from K$ not-selling-that-well-so-far 2nd album Warrior which is actually great despite the fact that this and single no. 1 Die Young don't do the album justice. Oh well.

What We Learn: 

- Ke$ha would clearly make a terrible waitress what with her insistence on ignoring customers and ruining their "cup of joe" and then quitting her job and calling her boss a "dick". It's a good thing she has that pop thing to fall back on.

- Leaving your job can be amazing however. As soon as she leaves a bunch of guys in animal onesises take her in a van, K$ hops in a jacuzzi (IN THE VAN) and flops around in a one piece. Then they have a dance party in a corner shop. Who knew unemployment could be so.. fruitful.

-Revenge is a dish served dance party. Hate your bold boss? Then run into his premises with your friends dressed as giant animals and dance around. Huzzah.

- K$ new blonde wig/weave/whatever it is ain't cute and we learn that we shouldn't get our hair done that way.

The Saturdays - What About Us

 What Is It: The new single from The Satz whose fourth album The Chase is out later in the year. This is also their first US single as they try to break into the American market (As we mentioned yesterday). It's all synths and dramatic rave-pop/dubstep builds and drops but it's still sort of mid-tempo. This has actually grown on me alot but I'm still not convinced that they'll score an American hit with it. Sadly.

What We Learn: 

- The Saturdays are having a GREAT TIME IN AMERICA OMG!1! There they are, walking down some boulevard, then hopping into some lovely vintage clothes emporium for chic buys. Playing pool with cute boys, lounging around pools and breaking into football fields to ... eh, dance around.

- The Saturdays need to work on their dance moves. WHAT are they doing during that dance break? Really. If you're going to break into a football field with some attractive blokes shouldn't you be doing some seriously intricate moves? They seem to find the most basic of routines very streneous. It's all a bit "five girls on the piss, have a twirl" but maybe this is to make them seem more relatable etc etc.

- You know you are in America when everything looks a bit sepia-ish. The lighting/colour palette is the music video equivalent of a Instagram filter. The whole thing looks a bit bleached out like they thought things would make things more "Californian". Weird.

To Sum Up:

Today we learnt that if you hire Ke$ha to work for you she won't be very good at her job and she may wear a bad wig. BUT you might get to see some guys in animal costumes which is quite cool. And that if you want to be in a girlband and "do America" you need to make sure everything is a bit sepia and that you can't do a basic dance routine. Hurrah!

Ke$ha's second album Warrior is out now including C'Mon. The Saturdays have released What About Us for American audiences now and release it as a single here on the 15th of March (Ireland) And the 17th (The UK)

Pop Roundup: The Original Sugababes, Beyonce & Justin Timberlake and more

Thursday means you nearly have the weekend to look forward to. Or something. But either way it's the end of our first full, not sort of stuck between New Year's Eve week of pop excitement and it's already been quite something. Here are some pop bits I've been enjoying this week.

Mutya Keisha Siobhan Finally Sort of Unveil a Song

The reunion of the three girls that made up the first run of the Sugababes has many pop fans in hysterics. They've been fairly quiet bar some red carpet apperances and promising press rumblings. After they sang some songs on New Year's Eve they unveiled an acapllea version of upcoming tune Boys and Popjustice have more info and a studio clip. This is not just one of the most exciting things of the week but of THE YEAR SO FAR. Which is about two weeks long but whatever.

Beyonce is Going To Be Everywhere This Year

Beyonce's GQ cover has had everyone going in to a tizzy this week but the interview accompanying it is possibly more illuminating. The real revelation is that she's creating an archive of all of the images, interviews, performances she's done. Incredible. There's also some tidbits about the new album with plenty of references to 90s r&b etc. This whole "90s R'n'B" has been bubbling under with indie/dance artists for ages so it looks R'n'B is "back" again. As in BACK all over the charts/radio/to the point of it being annoying not just "Jessie Ware covers Brownstone" back.

Justin Timberlake is Also Back

Later today apparently JT will announce a single or debut a single or give us something musical. THANK GOD. THANK. GOD. Billboard are saying that he's done "around 20 tracks " with Timbaland. How exciting. There are also whispers of Jay-Z and Beyonce being on the song (and Beyonce does mention working with Justin in the GQ interview above). I need to lie down. 

The Saturdays "Conquer America"

The Saturdays are, I suppose, quite successful here and in the UK and their attmepts to do the same Stateside will be followed by a new TV show on E! Basically Ryan Seacrest is putting his TV muscle behind them to make them Kardashian-size famous. I'm not convinced this is going to work but given that their first US TV interview is with Chelsea Handler, at least we're getting a solid laugh out of it. Although my fave, Irish Stunner Una, doesn't get my chance to talk. Disappointing.

Robyn's Stylist Sounds Very Interesting

This Spin interview with Robyn's stylist is fascinating. (Thanks to Idolator)

I'll be doing a new music post on GCN.ie tomorrow too but for now enjoy that lot and perhaps you too would like to start working on your personal archive? If Beyonce can do it then so can you!

Back In The Game: New Music Post for GCN

2013 is here (I'm still in shock and think it's November 2012, SERIOUSLY) and am trying to get back into the swing of things after a Christmas break and lots of DJing. Head over to GCN.ie now to see the return of The Friday Four including the new tune from Hurts. Beavering away at some new ideas for things around here so keep an eye peeled and feel free to tweet me with anything you'd like me to cover.

Brandy "Two Eleven" Album Review

Brandy has certainly had a long but eventful run as an R&B superstar with a sideline in teen sitcom stardom and ongoing personal drama. What she also has is a voice that goes deep, intense and right into you heart on the right material. Since the failure of her last album, 2008’s Human and her parting ways with her record label Brandy has spent time licking her wounds and convincing a stellar line-up of contributors to assist her in a much-needed comeback on Two Eleven.

Named after her birthday and the date her close friend Whitney Houston passed, Two Eleven is an attempt by Brandy to update the sort of music she made at her peak. A lofty ambition it might but she just about pulls it off. The likes of Bangladesh and Rico Love pepper Two Eleven with productions that feel slick, modern but also churn with the sort of solid, hook driven R&B pop that informed Brandy’s strongest mid 90s output.

Opening track (After a perfunctory “Intro”) Wildest Dreams is a grower, a mid-tempo ode to finally finding the right lover that might not wow the way you’d expect a big single to but slowly gets under your skin, the impassioned delivery setting up an album that feels highly personal despite Brandy not writing much of the lyrics herself .  With so many producers involved it’s a credit to the team involved that Brandy’s signature vocals and tight, engaging production are joined together so seamlessly. Let Me Go and Put It Down fulfill the “club banger” quota but they’re still smart, swirling productions with beats dropping in and out as Brandy twists her deep voice around saucy one-liners. There’s some solid balladry too, like the gentle No Such Thing As Too Late that gets emotional and winds back down at just the right time before things get too soppy. Best are the mid-tempo come-ons like Slower and Can You Hear Me Now. The sex-jam is a staple of any R&B album (just ask Janet Jackon) and few get it right but Brandy’s delivery of lines about letting her inner freak out are played just right and it’s some of the most sonically interesting material on the album.

Despite the magic she came up with during her Timbaland phase on Afrodisiac, Brandy resorts to less modish sonic palettes here, instead going for a lived in vibe to the songs with a sense of space and mood created effortlessly by the songs. Frank Ocean hands in material (having worked on one of the few highlights of her last album and before he broke out on his own merits) and that sensitive, nu-R&B style in his work and in that of contemporaries like Drake, sits well on a Brandy record, a reminder of how her early work has made something of a lasting impact.

And that’s sort of the genius of Two Eleven. This is a consistent, tightly-woven piece that feels up-to-the-minute in an underhand way. With artists like The XX and Jessie Ware paying tribute to the golden era of 90s R&B in their work it’s exciting to see one of the stars of that era do music that tips a hat to their style while still sounding like themselves. A moody, brilliantly realized grower, Two Eleven might not dip it’s toe into the club-pop waters favoured by many R&B stars but is still one of the most satisfying listens of the year.

Pop Gig Blow-Out: Kelly, J-Lo, Marina and Cheryl Live Reviews

Being a fan of pop music means that sometimes you probably don't go to lots and lots of live gigs, especially if your biggest faves are the kinds who play to fairly big audiences. Thanks to some good luck, good mates and fortunate timing I managed to see a clutch of shows in the last month and decided to give each of them a mention here. I started with Cheryl's O2 show, then Kelly Clarkson the week after in the same venue, followed by Marina and the Diamonds in the Olympia before finishing with the Jennifer Lopez show in the O2 (I was in the O2 alot basically which is actually the perfect venue for a big pop show). Below is your handy guide to each show, the highlights and lowlights.

CHERYL COLE - O2 Dublin - 4/10/12

From Girls Aloud to solo-popstar/massive celeb status in many ways it makes total sense that Cheryl Cole is now touring. But for all the glitzy, enjoyable fun of her arena show it also highlights just how she’s never quite hit her stride as a solo performer. There are plenty of slick, dance-driven moments during the A Million Lights tour but there are too many moments where the whole thing feels a bit rushed and a ballad too many threatens to derail things altogether. It’s still a fun show overall, Cole is charismatic and likeable especially when nailing those trademark moves but it's not quite the flawless romp you'd love for her to do. An encore of Fight For This Love ramps up the spectacle in a way lacking at other parts of the show and reminds you that with a few bigger hits and a bit more time she could really compete with Rihanna et al.

Cheryl is back on tour with Girls Aloud later next year, details here 

KELLY CLARKSON - O2 Dublin - 10/10/12

Between that near-perfect pop voice and her genuine air, it’s hard not to fall a little bit in love with Kelly Clarkson by the end of her Dublin show. A non-stop ride through all of her best tracks and the strongest album cuts from her recent gem Stronger mean that this is a concert that never really lets up. It’s not a big, dance-driven spectacle but Clarkson and a tight backing band whip up so much pop magic that you wouldn’t even notice. Highlights include a stunning cover of Nothing Compares 2 U that brings awed silence to the arena, a jaunt into the crowd for the underrated Already Gone and the debut live airing of new single Catch My Breath. Best is an exhilarating encore that lines up some of Clarkson’s best songs in quick succession in a final charm offensives that leaves more than a few hearts broken when she leaves.

Kelly's album Greatest Hits : Chapter One is out mid-November

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS - The Olympia Theatre, Dublin - 17/10/12

Marina and The Diamonds has turned her camp-quirky-art-pop stylings into a heady mix of chart-fodder and artistic expression on current album Electra Heart. So the Dublin stop of her Lonely Hearts Club Tour has a rabid audience swooning to songs from both releases. Despite the slight change in tone between her first and second album her knack for writing sharp, brassy songs layered with wit means that nothing falls flat and her wink-wink take on female archetypes breathes life into your standard pop show. A striking beauty with an un-earthly voice and a down-to-earth presence at odds with her beaming star-power Marina held The Olympia in her thrall with just a bat of an eyelid and rightly so. 

Marina returns to The Olympia November 20th.

JENNIFER LOPEZ - The O2 Dublin - 19/10/12

Whether she’s from the block or fresh off the American Idol judging panel Jennifer Lopez still commands plenty of attention and although this is her first ever world tour you can’t help but be impressed by just how good the J-Lo live experience is. Firstly, her voice is a real surprise. It’s not big and she’s not hitting those Mariah notes but the voice you know from all those hits sounds just as good when she’s clearly singing live and even when she does an acoustic number or two (I know. I know). Better is her dancing which is completely perfect, recreating her iconic music video moves with ease. She also has a charismatic, A-list glow that is easy to be dazzled by and has a rabid audience on their feet throughout (no mean feat at a pop gig with tiered seating). By the time J-Lo has run through basically every one of her hit songs (although why Play was omitted I’ll never know) you’re left with no doubt as to Lopez chops as a performer and to why she didn’t do this world tour sooner. Stunning stuff.

JLo's Greatest Hits album Dance Again: The Hits is out now

Paris Hilton, Old Dudes and Tyres: 10 Things I Love About Lana Del Rey's "Ride" Video

Lana Del Rey has sent the internet into a tizzy again today (she has a tendency to do that) with the debut of her new video for Ride. The lead single from the Born To Die: Paradise Edition repackage (an add-on of 8 new songs as an EP of sorts, i.e. Lana's own Fame Monster moment) the Rick Rubin produced cut was always going to lend itself to an strong visual and Miss Del Rey does not disappoint. So far since Video Games blew up, we've had CGI Tigers (Born To Die), swimming with alligators in black and white (Blue Jeans), woozy JFK nostalgia with A$ap Rocky (National Anthem) and doomed lesbian love-affairs (Summertime Sadness) so it's not surprising that Ride comes with it's own visual motifs.

There's lots to like about Ride, an impressively moody piece that's equal parts David Lynch, Easy Rider and Lolita with Lana riffing off the "I was a troubled youth" stories that have populated her recent interviews and inform many of the lyrics on Born To Die. The monologue topping and tailing proceedings and the near 10 minute length would threaten to de-rail things if the Anthony Mandler-helmed clip wasn't so intoxicating in it's slow, slightly-tragic rhythm. In honour of that almost-10 minutes run time here are the 10 best things about Lana Del Rey's "Ride" video (in no particular order)

10.  Lana On A Tyre : As you can see on the single cover above you will have noticed that Lana not only sports an amazing studded jacket in this video but SWINGS OUT OF A TYRE IN THE DESERT LIKE A BAD-ASS. Thankfully this amazing image is a big part of the video with Del Rey gloomily swinging back and forth while the wind whips through her dessert. An image of which I will never TYRE. Geddit? Tyr-I'll see myself out.

9: Lana Drinking Fizzy Orange Juice: There's an oddly sad moment early on in the video with Lana's extended monologue painting the picture of a destitute youth with no sense of self who pops into her nearest shop to buy fizzy orange. Lana glugs the drink while waiting for one of her greasy biker dude boyfriends to come pick her up (more on those in a minute) and you guys, it's REALLY SAD. I'll never look at fizzy orange the same again.

The world's saddest bottle of orange.

8: Lana and A Bunch Of Older Dudes: So, the general plot of the video sees Lana hanging out with various older men, the majority of whom seem a little gross, looking both delighted and downbeat about the men she is lumped with (or humping with ahahahaha-excuse me). On a practical note the fact that these rather gross men (SORRY) get to hang out with a 5-star stunner like LDR is surely a career highlight for them all. Bring back the tattooed hottie of Born To Die and Blue Jeans I say (I get that the men are part of the video's story and blah blah blah but ..seriously)

7: Lana Performs: There are so many haunting and striking images of Lana performing the song in various club type scenarios throughout the video but the best is that first shot as the song kicks in around the 3 minute mark, a simple white dress wrapped all over Lana as she sways delicately (no SNL freeze-ups here thank you very much) is perfect.

NO HYPERBOLE BUT PRETTY PERFECT TBQH

6: Lana Dry Humps A Dude While Playing Pinball : this is just to reiterate how lucky all these dudes filming are that one of them gets a whole scene where Lana dry-humps him while they "play pinball" (I bet that wasn't the only balls being played wi-Ok, No I'll stop it now). This bit is actually quite sexy-sad which is a term I've just coined and could sum up 98% of LDR's visual/musical output. You're welcome.

Shudder.

5: Lana Wears A Headdress: Obviously in the context of the video Lana wearing a Headdress does make sense given that it's a Native American look sported by someone roaming the desert and harking back to the beginnings of America. But it's also basically another girl wearing a headdress and after a summer of ropey festival fashion (shudder) it's a bit like watching that girl who probably took a half a pill too many at Electric Picnic gurn her way through the campsite at 3 in the morning. Also it's clearly a homage to Style Queen Paris Hilton (see below). Clearly

Lana Del Festival Chic

One of the images from LDR's "Ride" video moodboard.

4: Lana Goes Biking: All the scenes with LDR sailing down the highway on the back of a bike are 100% amazing. Despite my crushing fear of motorcycles all I want to do is flail down the highway with some burly biker. Mind you I'll probably wear a helmet unlike Lana Del "Where Is The Safety Message in this Video" Rey. Tut tut.

3: Lana Smokes Alot: Puffing on the ol' nicotine sticks is a big part of the Lana Del Rey sexy/sad (Yes, it's a thing now. Deal with it) aesthetic whether it's the aforementioned pinball dry hump moment or another highlight when LDR hangs out at a petrol pump looking all cowgirl chic in boots and a flawfree jacket. I was half hoping for a tribute to Xtina's Your Body video with Lana blowing up the petrol station or a car or two at this point but hey.

2: Lana Is Crazy Y'all: The video concludes with Lana going wild on the top of some desert mountain as her moody monologue tells us she likes to have fun and is "fucking crazy" (Me too sis, me too). This bit has a surreal touch to it that sums up the hazy, real-life-shot-through-soft-focus tone of the video beautifully but, and forgive me LDR die-hards, when Lana utters that line about being crazy, all I could think was Kristen Wiig's impression of her on SNL. Oh dear. Still Lana likes to chug whiskey in the dessert and roll around with gross dudes and to that I say BRAVO!

Kudos to my fave MuuMuse for this image

1: This Video Has Credits So Y'know it's Important: I love the extended credits because nothing screams Extended Mini-Film Music Video like proper credits. Also I thought the fact that the stylist was called Johnny Blue Eyes was quite terrific and that the styling assistant is down as Savannah is even better. Quite frankly they both have popstar names and I would buy records by either of them based off of their names alone. And joking aside Johnny Blue Eyes styling choices throughout are totally on-point. It's a more lived in 80s teen meets wayward 50s starlet look than some of her more glammed up styles and it's perfect for this video. Blue Eyes (TOTALLY HIS REAL NAME) has an impressive CV which you can see here.

Truth be told it might seem like I'm taking shots at the video but Ride is another stunner from Miss Del Rey. It's enjoyable to see how her major label home and growing audience has been channeled into such polished and well-realised clips. Lana Del Rey is serving up smart, spooky pop music with a major label backing most would kill for.

Ride is include on Born To Die: Paradise Edition released in Ireland on the 9th of November, the UK on the 12th and the US on the 13th. 

(Sadly the single is not available to buy in Ireland right now but perhaps you'd like to buy this tribute single with it's tyre related cover-art instead?)

YES THIS IS REAL AND NO I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

Updated Musings incl. Adam Lambert and Aiden Grimshaw

I'm doing my level best to keep this going as a reguar home for writing of all kinds but mainly on the wonderful world of pop music. With that in mind it's worth linking you to some recent GCN pieces I've done so that should you want more of my ramblings you can find them in one place.

Every month I write the magazines music column and this month's issue also includes my interview with X-Factor star Aiden Grimshaw whose album Misty Eye is terrific. You can read that issue here, check out their archive for the June issue and my cover feature with Adam Lambert.

Also check out my blogs for the site incl. the Friday Four where I line up for big tunes for the GCN readers.

More stuff to come here in the next few days too and as always plenty of pop updates on my Twitter page.