I suppose it is, at least here in America, where they bizarrely start their seasons on the quarter days, so that summer doesn’t start until midsummer. Besides which, most of the songs I’m listening to right now I’ve been listening to for a while, so they probably fulfill the rigorous terms of the meme:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.
The new tATu single “220” has apparently been causing some controversy among fans, which is pretty incomprehensible, as it’s wholly excellent. I don’t think I’ve mentioned their last single, either. I saw somewhere that they thought its video carried an anti-abortion message, which is disappointing; we may have to count them out as leaders of the cybernetic communist revolution. It’s a pretty great video, though, all giant concrete structures and soviet goth uniforms:
I think the only thing that could make Girls Aloud better would be if they started filming their videos in Britain’s decaying industrial heritage.
Once upon a time, I suggested adopting Britney’s image as a kind of collective anonymous identity for protests, rather like a more stylish version of the white overalls. In her last video, Britney herself adopted the idea, although admittedly in the struggle against the paparazzi, rather than against global capitalism.
So, although shaving her head may not have ended up marking her conversion to militant radical feminism, perhaps we can still hold out some hope for Britney the revolutionary.
I hadn’t realized until I was back in England over Christmas, but I kind of miss Radio 1. At least during the day, the playlist still has a vague remnant of a kind of public-service universalism, which is very different from the rigid demographic separation of American radion stations. Of course, given the state of pop music at the moment, this does mean that 75% of the time they’re playing Chas and Dave shite, but the rest of the time it’s ludicrous dance music and/or the fantastic new Kelly Rowland single (which is not even being released over here), and the contrast is so appealing its almost worth listening through the crap. Read more↴
I wonder what the chances are that Girls Aloud will release “Control of the Knife” accompanied by a video featuring them all in braces and two-tone trousers? Probably not, really, all that high. It’s just as well I’m busy writing a paper on the welfare state, otherwise I might have accompanied this post with a photoshopped picture of Girls Aloud as Bad Manners. Instead, I’ll have to leave you with this YouTube clip:
Damn, the new Girls Aloud record is out, and I still have a post to write about Britney’s album. With “What You Crying For” and “I’m Falling,”Tangled Up gives Blackout some unexpected competition for “Best early-90s hardcore record of 2007.” Well, I suppose it’s not totally unexpected from Girls Aloud, but I wasn’t anticipating the bassline from Britney’s “Freakshow” (well, it’s more a bass noise than a base line), or “Get Back,” ignominously relegated to being a bonus track.
These are both Danja tracks, of course, and, great though they are, I wonder if it wasn’t maybe a mistake for Britney to use Danja so heavily on the album. It invites comparison with FutureSex/LoveSounds, which I’m not sure does Britney any favors. Read more↴