News Round-up

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

- HMV follow up their acquisition of 18 Zavvi stores with the purchase of 11 live music venues. Ugh. The thought of going to a gig at the HMV Forum fills me with disgust.

- Biggie's Mum wants to speak to Lil Kim about her portrayal in 'Notorious', the biopic of her son which is released this week Stateside.

- Kelis and Nas expecting their first child together.

- XFM have posted a photo gallery to bid farewell to the Astoria.

Dubdobmoptop

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

http://tomewing.tumblr.com/post/70658547/sinker-on-beatles - it strikes me that I made a mistake extracting this (excellent) analysis of the Beatles' success and putting it on Tumblr, where you can't do post cuts, instead of here, where you can.

(The original context for the discussion is here.)

Christina Milian - Us Against The World

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

Fear not, she hasn't covered Westlife! This is the first single from her new album. I think it's interesting to see how acts like Christina and Brandy, who were around pre-Rihanna and have been away a while, will fare with their new material now that female r'n'b acts are so prevalent in America and internationally. Will they adapt to the new sound or stay true to what they were known for? Will they be able to compete in a now very competitive area of music? Christina has released quite varied music in the past, and her voice and persona are flexible enough that she can change with the times, which I think she has managed to do here. Us Against The World is a ballad, and there's something very familiar about it (I'm wondering if I've heard it before, but can't think where or when), but what I'm pleased to hear is that it's not just another rehash of Irreplaceable. I love Irreplaceable, but it's great to hear something which fits current trends (should please Umbrella fans) while retaining some originality.

Us Against The World - Official Music Video

There's also a fairly good remix from Jason Nevins, although it's no patch on his take on Tattoo.