video club: part EPIC FAIL

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

aka, when bad videos happen to great songs.

First, a song I've been meaning to post for a while - 'Damaged', the new single from US girl group Danity Kane (apparently named after an imaginary animé character thought up by one of them) finds them leaping on the 4/4-r&b train with gusto - think Janet Jackson's 'Feedback' with more pizzazz and less icky period references. What makes this spectacular as opposed to just very good is the vocal arrangement. This song makes better use of five vocalists than any other girl group song I've heard recently, and almost every line has a really wonderful counterpoint vocal shooting off at some tangent. Plus, the lyric "Do - do you got a first aid kit handy?" is TOTES AWESOME.

The video is absolutely DREADFUL and you shouldn't really pay attention to it. I'm serious, if you have any antipathy to the colour pink whatsoever you should probably browse away in another window while this is playing.

Next, Britney herself. We all know and love 'Break The Ice' already, right? It's one of the Blackout highlights for me and definitely worthy to be a single (nb: this applies to like nine songs on the album). Love the synths (which sound extra-majestic on headphones), love the really propulsive beat (probably the easiest song on the album to dance to), love the...weird structure, in that when the beat drops out at the two-minute mark for the spacehopper break, it NEVER RETURNS. That's kind of awesome, though I'd be lying if I say I'm not fantasising about an extended version wherein, instead of ending the song at three minutes, Britney brings the beat back in and carries on for another four minutes or forever or whatever.

Oh yeah, the video: as La Spears is currently indisposed, we get a hastily cobbled-together animé short with no plot or point or anything. Animé Britney manages to be an even worse performer than Real Britney 08.

Finally, Janet Jackson's new single, 'Rock With U'! Video isn't as much of a FAIL as the others - actually it's not really a FAIL at all, it's just not very exciting, but I still wanted to put the song in here. It's less of a song than a feeling, really, with those bass pulses and everything. HOUSE IS A FEELING. Can we have '2nite' as the next single please? (NB: Janet's album Discipline = pretty good!)

Europop 2008 is go

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

If you were a fan of the Pop World Cup, or are a fan of Europop, or enjoy seeinf sensible individuals strain to apply football metaphors to pop music, or anything like that, then you will greatly enjoy EUROPOP 2008, which is organised along the same lines as the PWC except happens over at Freaky Trigger.

Here's the first match: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2008/03/europop-2008-group-a-switzerland-v-czech-republic/

You can go, listen and vote all at that post - very easy really.

I'll be posting links to new matches at the end of Poptimists posts.

Binary Friday Preview

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It's Binary Friday again tomorrow, since Pop Trumps are on holiday cos Kat's on training. If there's a showdown or two you'd like to see, suggest them here!

[Poll #1153605]