UK MEDIA HYSTERIA CAN'T STOP PAEDO-POP HITTING THE TOP
With inevitable predictability, sections of the press and television got
themselves in a lather as t.A.T.u.'s All The Things She Said
headed towards the #1 position on its first proper week of release at the end
of January. "Paedo Pop!", they cried with disgust, completely
overlooking the truth that, besides the girls being well over the legal age,
countless other acts/videos/TV shows/magazines aimed at the same teen audience
are equally dubious and unsuitable, if not even more so.
Still, the hype no doubt helped the single, although in the long term it
might work against them. A second single, Not Gonna Get Us, is already
out across Europe, but other songs from the sparkling
200Km/h In The Wrong Lane
album - such as the ballad 30 Minutes and the cover of The Smiths' How
Soon Is Now? - have been mooted as possible alternative choices in this
country.
WE LOVE THE 80s
t.A.T.u. aren't the only European pop act delving into the 80s archives for
inspiration. Hot on the heels of DJ Sammy's chart-topping tranceover of Bryan
Adams' 1985 hit Heaven and Dario G's generic exhumation of Fiction Factory's
forgotten gem Feels Like Heaven, come delights such as Aquagen's
horrific mauling of Chicago's 1984 AOR classic Hard To Say I'm Sorry,
Jan Wayne's similarly gruesome remake of Total Eclipse Of The Heart, as well as
another DJ Sammy cover of a 1985 song, this time a surprisingly decent
revamp of Don Henley's seminal Boys Of Summer.
Mind you, if it cuts down the risk of more assanine original compositions such
as Divine Inspiration's inexplicably successful The Way, perhaps we
shouldn't complain.
Brace yoursleves, too, for a Sugababes-style mix'n'match collision between
Ain't Nobody (originally by Rufus & Chaka Khan) and the Human League's
Being Boiled, in Popstars survivors Liberty X's latest bid for a prolonged
shelf-life. Being Nobody is credited to Richard X vs. Liberty X,
and comes out next month.
SOFT FOCUS
Only one month into the new year, there's already a refreshing trend emerging
in pop videos by female acts. After 12 months that saw ever-coarsening
displays of aggressive, suggestive sexuality more akin to a lap-dancing club
than Saturday Morning kids' TV, the tide might just be turning.
First, Holly Valance eschewed the pseduo porn approach with the promo
for last December's cruelly underrated Naughty Girl, with stunning results.
Next week sees the release of singles by Appleton (the graceful Don't
Worry), Sarah Whatmore (a forgettable electro-tinged workout
called Automatic) and Fame Academy runner-up Sinead Quinn, whose
self-penned I Can't Back Down is sadly even less accomplished than
winner David Sneddon's anodyne chart-topper Stop Living A Lie.
Still, all three videos are pleasingly restrained and natural, pretty to look
at, and (Whatmore's gyrating toned midriff notwithstanding), dare I say it, old
fashioned. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come.
ROCK IS DEAD?
Not so, it would seem, at least from January's UK charts. Foo Fighter's
sublime Times Like These breathed new life into their One By One
album, sending it hurtling back into the Top 10, while Just The Way I'm
Feeling added another solid chart performace to Feeder's CV, reaching
#8 and further consolidating their status as one of this country's premier rock acts.
Out soon, meanwhile, is the third single to be lifted from Red Hot Chili
Pepper's magnificent By The Way set from 2002. Can't Stop is
a typical RHCP funk-metal hybrid that sounds more like their Blood Sugar Sex
Magik era than recent efforts such as Zephyr Song. On a grungier note,
Linkin Park are due to return in March with a new single (Somewhere I
Belong) and album (Meteroa). Nickelback, stay away.
OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS, PART TWO
It's worked for many a flagging career in the past, with beneficiaries too
many to mention, so Erasure's decision to release an album of cover
versions is understandable following the disastrous sales of 2000's Loveboat.
Their Erasurefication of Peter Gabriel's 1977 hit Solisbury Hill
(immortalised in last year's Cameron Crowe movie
Vanilla Sky)
works a treat, but does anyone (other than dieheard fans) really need their
interpretations of Can't Help Falling In Love, You've Lost The Loving
Feeling and Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile)? Thought not.
ME AND MY GUITAR
Proving there's mileage in the traditional male singer-songwriter genre, two
names are emerging as ones to watch in 2003.
John Mayer has been nominated for a clutch of gongs in this year's Grammy
Awards, courtesy of his album Room For Squares which features the singles
No Such Thing and Your Body Is A Wonderland (out here for the
first time later this month).
In 2001, the eponymous debut from Tom McRae achieved minor cult status and
slow-burning sales, culminating in an unexpected Brits nomination 12 months ago.
Now, augmented by full-band arrangements and instrumentation, he returns with
the follow-up Just Like Blood. A forthcoming single, A Day Like Today,
is receiving plenty of airplay on the Q Music TV channel.
FUTURE SOUNDS
The best to come this month:
DANNII MINOGUE - I BEGIN TO WONDER: sinewy club anthem originally
released in 2002, but then only credited to JCA and featuring a different vocalist.
Gives her big sis a run for her money in the perfect pop stakes.
JAKATTA featuring BETH HIRSCH - ONE FINE DAY: gorgeous highlight of
the Jakatta album, now to be afforded single status.
Beth Hirsch was the singer on Air's Moon Safari album, and
released a bewitching solo single last year called Nest Sensation.
ERLEND OYE - UNREST: first solo set from the voice of Kings Of
Convenience, and Royksopp's sublime Remind Me.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
