A week dominated by big pop releases this week with Lady GaGa, Shakira, VV Brown and Kid Cudi. Thankfully we have Rammstein, Lethal Bizzle and Ian Brown to even things out. No clear winner for single of the week this week but Browny takes it on points.
Ian Brown – ‘Stellify’
The master at made up words, (see ‘Solarized’), Browny is back with another, ‘Stellify’. It’s pounding keyboard and drum motif kicks things along nicely, with some horns sprinkled later in the song for variety. It’s not Earth shattering but good for what he does, watch the video for a good summation of how this track feels. While a marching band and massed flag wavers follow him around Manchester, Ian does his best to look disinterested and limit his movement to a half hearted point for the line “I’m miles high”.
Shakira – ‘She Wolf’
Admirably strange, Shakira returns with a European disco kinda thing with her trademark ‘distinctive’ wordplay. Fair enough, English isn’t her first language but the strangest thing is the half arsed wolf howl she delivers in the chorus. With a suitable remix this could be rather entertaining.
Rammstein – ‘Pussy’
Further strangely accented musings , this time from Germany’s Rammstein with ‘Pussy’, apparently a satirical take on sex tourism. Despite the sludge of guitars, the synths lift the song enough to create a decent, dare I say ‘radio friendly’ chorus. Mind you, teamed with the pornographic promo video (directed by Jonas ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ Åkerlund), ensures you won’t be hearing this one too much. A shame really. Head on over to YouTube, sign up to prove you’re over 18, and enjoy (or watch above ;-))
Lady GaGa – Lovegame
Another artist obsessed with sex, but playing within the rules, is chart topping Lady GaGa. Centering around the refrain “Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”, it’s more of her risqué dance pop fodder. The fact that it’s the third from her album should give you an indication, sliding scale style, of it’s quality. Given her background as a behind the scenes pop minion, I’ve never sure whether to admire her subverting of the industry or ignore her on the grounds that she should know better.
VV Brown – ‘Game Over’
Whereas Lady GaGa scraps the bottom on her album barrel for her new single, VV Brown keeps the best for last with ‘Game Over’. Equally, the fourth single taken from the parent album, here she just seems to hit high gear with a suitably ostentatious ‘Best of British’ video to fill out the package.
Kid Cudi – ‘Make Her Say’
Did you ever hear the original of Cudi’s ‘Nite ‘n’ Day’? A pretty bog standard R’n’B effort that clearly shows how much Crookers contributed to the songs chart success. ‘Make Her Say’’s hook is a clip from an acoustic version of Lady GaGa’s ‘Poker Face’ and boasts both Kanye West, Common and Dj A-Trak. Yet, even with all that heavyweight talent onboard, the most interesting thing is their names and that ‘Poker Face’ sample leaving me still unsure of Kid Cudi’s own talent. Best I can say is, he has loads of talented pals.
Lethal Bizzle – ‘Going Out Tonight’
Not sure where it’s for the streets or the charts, ‘Going Out tonight’ has, on the plus side, a dubstep bassline and Bizzle’s proven lyrical skills, and, on the down side, a naff female sung chorus and a babes and bling video. Maybe the video is tongue in cheek, “deconstructing the Hip Hop stereotype” but I can’t keep up. Either way it’s full of girls in bikini’s washing a bling-ed out Range Rover.
