This Is Not A Perfume Ad.

But it looks like one. This is the cover of Kylie’s highly anticipated eleventh album Aphrodite. Woohoo! I love Kylie and by the sound of first single “All The Lovers,” I’m sure it’ll be a hit. If one were to fling criticism at her past effort, X, it might be that it sounded disjointed and haphazardly strung together, which surely won’t be the case this time around as now… drumroll… she has roped in that god of a man Stuart Price as Executive Producer, to apply his cohesive pop sheen to the project. Collaborators on Aphrodite include Pascal Gabriel, Richard X, Calvin Harris and Jake Shears.

The details are as follows:

ALL THE LOVERS
Written by Jim Elliot & Mima Stilwell
Produced by Jim Eliot
Additional production and mix by Stuart Price

GET OUTTA MY WAY
Written by Cutfather: Lucas Secon, Damon Sharpe, Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen & Mitch Hansen
Produced by Cutfather, Peter Wallevik & Daniel Davidsen
Co-produced by Damon Sharpe, Lucas Secon & Stuart Price

PUT YOUR HANDS UP (IF YOU FEEL LOVE)
Written by Fin Dow-Smith, The Nervo Girls

Produced by Starsmith. Co-produced by Stuart Price. Additional vocal production by Nervo.
Mixed by Starsmith and Stuart Price

CLOSER
Written by Stuart Price & Beatrice Hatherley
Produced & mixed by Stuart Price

EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL
Written by Fraser T Smith & Tim Rice-Oxley (“Keane”)
Produced and mixed by Fraser T Smith

APHRODITE
Written & produced by Nerina Pallot & Andy Chatterley
Additional production and mix by Stuart Price

ILLUSION
Written by Kylie Minogue & Stuart Price
Produced & mixed by Stuart Price

BETTER THAN TODAY
Written & produced by Nerina Pallot & Andy Chatterley
Additional production and mix by Stuart Price

TOO MUCH
Written by Kylie Minogue, Calvin Harris & Jake Shears
Produced and mixed by Calvin Harris.

CUPID BOY
Written by Sebastian Ingrosso (“Swedish House Mafia”), Magnus Lidehall, Nick Clow & Luciana Caporaso
Produced & mixed by Stuart Price & Sebastian Ingrosso & Magnus

LOOKING FOR AN ANGEL
Written by Kylie Minogue & Stuart Price
Produced & mixed by Stuart Price

CAN’T BEAT THE FEELING
Written by Hannah Robinson, Pascal Gabriel, Borge Fjordheim, Matt Prime & Richard X
Produced by Stuart Price, Pascal Gabriel & Borge Fjordheim.
Mixed by Stuart Price

Pop Genius Alert!

In this digital age of music, I don’t get around to listening to new things as quickly as I used to. Fileshares from friends, the immediacy of iTunes and the presence of probably over 5000 songs in my iPod that I am not completely familiar with, leads to an inevitable backlog and Hot Chip’s new (and highly satisfying) disc One Life Stand fell victim to the “pile.” But a recent road trip gave me the perfect excuse to listen to their new disc in its entirety, from start to finish and without interruption (okay, maybe just a highway pee break). Hot Chip are one of those bands that just get better and better. Whereas their previous disc Made In The Dark was fun and flirted with a range of musical styles (at times, verging on frenetic), One Life Stand is fun, albeit in a more subdued way and, as a whole, far more cohesive than past efforts. Single “Hand Me Down Your Love” is classic Hot Chip, but not representative of the album. That honour falls to new single “I Feel Better,” a sublime collision of beats, strings, percussion and angelic vocals that soar. “Thieves In The Night,” the first track grabs and doesn’t let go. It could be placed in a similar category as Owl City‘s “Fireflies” but Hot Chip just do this sort of thing better; the quality of songs on One Life Stand is, I would venture, superior to a lot of what’s out there right now and doesn’t disappoint. “Take It In,” the closing track, grooves so beautifully you don’t want it to end, while at the same time, features sunny harmonies so slick that it would make [Beach Boy] Brian Wilson smile.It’s an album that makes you wonder why some bands even bother – Hot Chip are, hands down, one of the best bands of the last decade and One Life Stand is the sonic proof. Great songs, thick beats and rousing strings.. What more can you ask for?

MTV, Sia & More (Well Kept Secrets…)

Last night I had the opportunity to attend an MTV Live taping, featuring Australian-born, UK based singer Sia. I’ve been a fan of Sia since I first heard her earlier work with chillout masters Zero 7. On the promotional rounds before her show tonight at The Phoenix, she stopped in to MTV on Tuesday night to perform three songs, including her current single “Clap Your Hands” which is climbing the charts, doing particularly well in Europe. In Facebooking, and uploading pics, I’m surprised at the reaction I got from some people – “Sia who?” Do I assume everyone knows and loves Sia because I do? Of course not, but I cannot help but think she is a well-kept secret. For now, anyway. So take this post as a friendly suggestion; if you’ve not heard of Sia, give her a try. She’s on iTunes, and her forthcoming disc We Are Born, produced by Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Little Boots, Ladyhawke, Britney Spears) promises to be her biggest success yet.  I promise you, dear reader, I am not wrong on this one!

A Frothy Pop Frappe.

GOLDFRAPP Head First (Mute Records)

Over the past decade, Goldfrapp (Members: Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory) have flown under the radar, yet possessed a sort-of popularity at the same time. Their first two albums, 2000′s Felt Mountain and 2003′s Black Cherry, were instant cult classics among the electronic music set. Then, their third album, 2006′s electronic glam rocker Supernature opened the floodgates and set them on fire as possibly one of the best U.K. duos since the Pet Shop Boys or, hell, maybe even Soft Cell.  Interestingly, after their 2006 explosion in Hipsterville, they retreated from the disco dance party into a folk-pop cocoon, coated in a sweet Beatle-y shell.  This was clearly evident on 2008′s Seventh Tree, which was a pleasant, if unexpected surprise. Now they’re back just two years after Seventh Tree with their new collection of songs entitled Head First.

Head First is straightforward dive into electropop, and also more musically upfront than they’ve ever sounded. It has its great moments (“Alive”), some good ones (“Believer”) and some vapid ones (“I Wanna Life”). But Mixed Bag would have been a more honest title. Being Goldfrapp though, they’re kind of awesome to begin with, so in other words, the bar is set high; which is why Head First seems to fall a bit flat. In the great circle of pop evolution, it must be noted that Goldfrapp have borrowed heavily (stylistically speaking) from everyone from Brian Eno to Marc Bolan and T-Rex, and this is no different. Head First, for some reason, feels like an electronic collection of 70′s and 80′s rock covers. The Van Halen-ism of first single “Rocket” can’t be denied. In this way, they’re like Scissor Sisters; they produce fantastic, modern pop tunes for the twenty-first century, yet they seem to replicate more than innovate. It doesn’t make the music any less enjoyable, just a bit derivative in the sense that it always reminds me of something else.

Perhaps this is coming off as a bad review, which is not the intent. Let’s put it this way: If you loved Supernature, you will love Head First. If you loved Seventh Tree, this new disc might seem like a bit of a step backwards. 6.5/10

Creating Pandemonium.

The massively successful UK duo Pet Shop Boys have just released Pandemonium, their 2009 tour document, a nicely packaged CD/DVD doublepack. I was fortunate enough to see this show in Montreal, as well as meet Neil and Chris that night [but that's another post]. Simply put, this CD/DVD release is the best they’ve done in years, handily capturing their live magic much more effectively than on previous live efforts including 2001′s Montage and 2007′s Cubism. And somehow, their most recent live album, Concrete, didn’t quite do it for me. Medleys are highlighted on this release, such as the perfect blending of “Se A Vida E” / “Discoteca” / “Domino Dancing” / “Viva La Vida” [yes.. a Coldplay cover] as well as the title track nicely woven into their 1993 hit “Can You Forgive Her?” Credit these nice, hi-NRG blends to Stuart Price, who produced the tour audio. I love Stuart.. and as a side note.. I am THRILLED that he’s produced the as-yet-unreleased third Scissor Sisters album.

The DVD component clocks in at 1h 37min and is quite well captured, although the ‘peak’ excitement moments [such as when the 'wall' falls, looked better as a live spectator] fall a tad flat. They definitely could have benefitted from Depeche Mode‘s filmographer Anton Corbijn; but nonetheless, this is a worthy addition to any pop collection; At 55 and 50, respectively, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe put on a better show than most performers half their age. Here’s what you get:

CD TRACKLIST

01 More Than A Dream/ Heart
02 Did You See Me Coming?
03 Pandemonium/ Can You Forgive Her?
04 Love Etc.
05 Go West
06 Two Divided By Zero
07 Why Don’t We Live Together?
08 New York City Boy
09 Always On My Mind
10 Closer To Heaven/ Left To My Own Devices
11 Do I Have To?
12 King’s Cross
13 Suburbia
14 Se A Vida E/ Discoteca/ Domino Dancing/ Viva La Vida
15 It’s A Sin
16 Being Boring
17 West End Girls

DVD TRACKLIST

01 More Than A Dream/ Heart
02 Did You See Me Coming?
03 Pandemonium/ Can You Forgive Her?
04 Love Etc.
05 Building A Wall
06 Go West
07 Two Divided By Zero
08 Why Don’t We Live Together?
09 New York City Boy
10 Always On My Mind
11 Closer To Heaven/ Left To My Own Devices
12 Do I Have To?
13 King’s Cross
14 The Way It Used To Be
15 Jealousy
16 Suburbia
17 What Have I Done To Deserve This?
18 All Over The World
19 Se A Vida E/ Discoteca/ Domino Dancing/ Viva La Vida
20 It’s A Sin
21 Being Boring
22 West End Girls

There are tons of DVD Extras too

PURCHASE LINK Amazon.ca

A Robyn Trio….

Hmm.. Not entirely sure what to make of this. According to [the very reputable] Pitchfork.com, Swedish comeback pop kid Robyn is set to release three albums in 2010.  Pitchfork: Swedish pop genius Robyn is coming back with three new albums that will roll out across 2010, according to an interview in Swedish magazine Bon. (Take that, Newsom!) Among her bounty of new, more “dance-oriented” songs is a “rap duel” with Snoop Dogg, a track produced by Röyksopp called “None of Dem” that she says sounds like a Timbaland song, one called “Fembot” that’s about “30-year-old women who want to get pregnant” (Robyn turned 30 last year), another one called “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do”, and “Dance Hall Queen”, which was produced by Diplo and mysteriously found its way onto the internet earlier this month. So yeah, feel free to get excited.”

I know she’s making up for lost time, but I’m not sure three albums in one year is the best idea. Expect about 1/3 of it to be worthy of release. This harkens back to Prince in the 90′s for me; Warner Music took serious issue with his commercial overproductivity, so once he was “emancipated” from the label [his words], he released just about anything and everything he had. Sure we got a few good songs, but he saturated the market and his brand has still never recovered. Think twice, Robyn! We love you, but….Hmmmmm.

Talent As A Foreign Concept?

[[This article got me into a lot of shit with Xtra readers; I was half-proud, half ambivalent...]]

I’ve often thought that gay men fall into two camps; those with impeccable taste in music, and those who have abhorrent taste. There are those who know who Edith Piaf or Nina Simone were, and there are those who have the same taste in music as teenage girls, at their most annoying. (ahem Miley Cyrus) . If I meet one more gay guy who really believes that Britney Spears is a rare talent, I’m gonna vomit. I’m not saying that Homo A is better than Homo B for knowing the works of Piaf and Simone, Homo A is just fortunate enough to have been properly educated about music. There is a marked difference in the way I perceive someone when I found out what moves them musically. In most people’s eyes, this would make me a music snob; a label I am entirely comfortable with, by the way.

Being the unabashed musical snob that I am, I was perversely delighted to hear about the recent shaming of Britney Spears in Australia, where, according to reports, people walked out of her show en masse, protesting the lack of anything resembling a true artistic performance. The Spears camp essentially said it was “all made up” and it didn’t really happen, but unless you were there, who can really know? I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s happened to Spears countless times before, in Australia or any other given country. Often paying hundreds of dollars for good seats to watch a white trash girl from Louisiana parading around in a lion tamer outfit, lip-synching to songs she had no hand in writing, it’s no wonder people are fed up of it, regardless of whether the Aussie-revolt rumours are true. The fact is, Britney Spears, bless her heart, has precious little talent. Her songs are overproduced and same-y. Sure, “Toxic” was brilliant, but she just lucked out in selecting it. It could have been sung by anybody. She’s essentially good at stripping, pole dancing and sorry to say, she comes off as dumb as a sack of hammers.  And if you’re gonna lip-synch, at least try to put some effort into it.

Enter Lady Gaga. I’ll admit when I first heard Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) I pegged her for just the latest in the assembly line of overproduced, American skanks who can’t lay off the auto-tune button. How wrong I was. I finally came around when I heard the Cherrytree Sessions EP issued earlier this year; her latest single “Bad Romance” is so anthemic, its video so utterly crisp and clean yet dirty and bizarre (check out the last 5 seconds of it. It’s genius.) It’s quite clear that there is far more to this woman than the vast majority of her peers (if you can call them true peers). A recent YouTube clip of Gaga on a French TV show, saw her chatting to the audience [in French], improvising French lyrics to her music (which she writes, by the way) and generally enthralling the crowd who were clapping along with her at the grand piano, in happy amazement that America has finally (once again) produced a truly gifted entertainer, her talent matched only by her flair for the creative side of things that we, as a society, have come to not expect anymore.

What a sad reality; but that’s what makes the current Gaga craze so exciting, and inevitable. There’s something afoot that’s long overdue. How great it is to get excited over a performer who actually deserves her spotlight? And why is this such a foreign concept? As a music connoisseur, DJ and writer, it restores my faith in things somewhat, because the major labels have been profiting off the force-feeding of derivative, brainless garbage to the masses for far too long now. Could the stupendous rise of Gaga spell the beginning end for Spears? It believe it could; and I hope it does because [I don’t think I’m off the mark here], if Spears doesn’t show some depth of artistry, depth of character, and maybe some shred of musical skill, people are going to really tire of her and her ilk very quickly. I already sense it happening. By the way, I am absolutely certain that Stefani Germanotta knows who Piaf and Simone were. Vive La Gaga!

The Definitive History Of The Remix

Depeche Mode – Remixes 81-04

Always at the forefront of remix culture, Depeche Mode conquered dancefloors the world over by commissioning remixes of their songs from the top DJ’s and producers. Not an unusual thing now, of course, but unlike most bands…Depeche Mode have been doing it for nearly 25 years. Remixes 81-04 pulls together all their best remixes onto one collection. Not only does this collection highlight DM’s biggest hits remade for the dancefloor, it highlights the very evolution of the remix itself, from simple extended versions in the 1980′s to radical re-workings that became popular in the mid-1990′s. A dance remix of any given artist is usually always indicative of the musical climate of the time. Pretty interesting for pop music history buffs. Remixes 81-04 contains Depeche Mode remixes by the likes of Underworld, Goldfrapp, Kruder + Dorfmeister, William Orbit, Headcleanr, Francois K, DJ Muggs, Beatmasters, DJ Shadow, Portishead, Rex The Dog, Dave Clarke, Air, Timo Maas, Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) and many more.

The Girl And The Robot.

Last week’s Kylie Minogue concert at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, was, in case you haven’t heard by now, quite the spectacle. Lasers flying, massive screens with incredible graphics, eye-candy dancers, life size golden panthers, Kylie atop a giant skull in full diva regalia, a parade of worldwide hits [though interestingly, not really many Canadian ones and certainly only a tiny handful of American ones]. Kylie is the global pop princess who still confounds American ears. Her debut single, a 1988 cover of Goffin & King’s “Locomotion,” a song notable for the fact that it has hit the charts three times in America; [first by Little Eva in 1962; again by Grand Funk Railroad in 1974; lastly by Kylie in 1988; who will do it next?]. That, coupled with 2002’s infectious “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” remain her only pair of hit songs in the United States; therefore it is no surprise that the vast majority of people have absolutely no idea what happened in between those singles. What did happen are some very, very good albums (1994′s Kylie Minogue, 1997′s Impossible Princess and 2000′s Light Years remain her greatest bodies of work to date). America paid a bit more attention in 2002 for the Fever album , whose first single, the aforementioned “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” was [and is still] hailed as the “perfect pop song,” as theorized in a book I highly recommend: Paul Morley’s Words And Music, a thrilling pop-culture journey and one of the best books on the subject of pop music that I have ever read.

It was certainly a triumph to have ten thousand Canadians screaming for the diminutive Ms. Minogue, who was singing songs that were mostly never really bonafide hits in this country. Such is the appeal of the woman; she’s so damn loveable. And she’s gotten to where she is by being a class act; she doesn’t rely on burning crosses, obviously deliberate wardrobe malfunctions or any given number of cheap stunts involving the tragicomic Britney Spears. For those who think Kylie is cheesy, I say they’re not paying attention to the details. Madonna is tackier by far; Janet’s past decade has been one long, stale orgasm, and Lady Gaga? She’s just having fun and doesn’t give a fuck [which, don’t get me wrong, is totally fine too] but Kylie, and back in the day, Annie Lennox, are the only ones who pulled it off with an ounce of class.

Kylie, more than any other pop diva, truly embraces her gay fans. Her current tour verges on soft core gay porn at one point; it’s fucking brilliant. I know how cliché it has become for a female pop star to espouse about “gay fans,” but there’s a reason for that, and an important one; we are the best fans.

A frequent criticism of Kylie Minogue is that she can be a bit robotic, but it is worth noting that at the Air Canada Centre on October 9^th, Kylie Minogue was singing live, and man, did it sound good. To those who would say that her music is robotic and mechanical, the warmth she exudes in a live setting needs to be mentioned, especially as she performed encore “The One,” par example, one of her best songs, and I’ll go out on a limb here, one of the best dancefloor pop songs of the past ten years. Listen and believe. Look a little closer and you’ll see a genuinely sweet Aussie girl from Melbourne underneath that robot armor. What last Friday’s concert achieved was showing us all in North America what the rest of the world has known for years; there is nothing wrong with being unashamedly pop- and perhaps that’s a recent discovery for the masses of this inward looking continent.

Music For Autumn.

Upon hearing of the sad passing of actor Patrick Swayze, it of course got me thinking about what a great movie Dirty Dancing is, and not just for the immortal lines “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” and my personal favourite, “I carried a watermelon.” The defining scene at the end of the film which features Swayze and Jennifer Grey (with her old, better nose) dancing in the hall at the end of summer gala, to the tune of “Now I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” is, without argument, one of the greatest dance scenes in the history of film. That gem of a song was a duet sung by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and Jennifer Warnes.

Warnes, an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, is an overlooked talent. A lifelong friend of Canadian living legend Leonard Cohen, she recorded one of the best albums of the 1980’s [and a tribute to Cohen], Famous Blue Raincoat, whose songs have handily shown that Warnes is one of the most talented interpretive singers of our time. The combination of Cohen’s breathtaking poetry and Warnes’ incredible soprano/ contralto voice make for a one of a kind listening experience for those mellower fall moments.

Alison Moyet is another hugely underrated voice. While we are far too often subjected to the shrieking histrionics of types like Mariah Carey not to mention the much lesser talents we’re forced to endure in today’s culture, it’s an opportune time to revisit the recorded work of Alison Moyet. Formerly a member of the shortlived Depeche Mode offshoot Yazoo, she went solo after that and went on to conquer the genre of white soul, albeit not as completely as Scot Annie Lennox did. Her album Hometime (2002) ranks among her best work, and is aural proof that the best rhythm and blues music tends to be understated and not overproduced bombast. Less is more, no?

Another record I associate with autumn is Release by Pet Shop Boys (2002). It’s the poorest selling album in their discography, yet one of their most critically acclaimed. Despite having no trademark disco stompers or radio hits, Release metaphorically signifies the end of a something, a relationship, a dream.. a literal release, containing songs like “Birthday Boy,” “London,” and my personal favourite, the resplendent “Here.” Adding to all this sonic gorgeousness is The Smiths’ Johnny Marr whose guitar work is all over this. On the track “Samurai,” lead singer Neil Tennant even muses on the challenges of being an aging popstar: “It’s not as easy as it was / Or as difficult as it could be / for the samurai in autumn…”

PET SHOP BOYS “Here” from Release
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3P4MlzF104

And how could I neglect to mention that THE ENTIRE FREAKING BEATLES CATALOGUE HAS BEEN REMASTERED in stereo and mono and is now commercially available, so you seriously need to go buy it (or some of it). As expected, the music sounds utterly fantastic in the new stereo mixes. Some people swear by the mono recordings, but unless you’re playing the music on a single-speaker audio unit, don’t bother with them. The Beatles have always been autumn music to my ears. We are now upon one of the most beautiful seasons of the year; now.. Go set it to a great soundtrack!

SP