Top 10 of February 2011.

This is where the fun starts. We're firmly in 2011, and potential songs of the year are already rearing their heads. More truly great albums appeared as well, Cut Copy didn't disappoint and James Blake surpassed expectation for some, whilst bitterly disappointing others (generally those who thought the singing bits in Feist cover "Limit to Your Love" were pretty).

And behold! Radiohead come along, with their usual cheek and casually drop a record with less than a week's notice. And whilst some of us think "wait, this can't be it?! There must be more!" as those who are disappointed by afraid to say often get, others of us, myself included, see a modest little release, half full of gorgeous, instant Radiohead classics, and the other half requiring us to work a bit to find the beauty. But my friends, it's there.

Otherwise, my top 10 tracks of the month come from a variety of different musical sources. From obscure gems to, quite frankly, the guiltiest of pleasures. It's all good though, I promise you.

Gaga does not feature, so you know.

10. Glee Cast - Thriller/Heads Will Roll
Despite being a distinctly lacklustre and inconsistent show since its opening episodes, the musical side to Glee still occasionally manages to hit a streak of brilliance. Mashing up an arrangement of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll" that is most certainly influenced by the thunderous A-Trak remix, with what could've been a standard Glee performance of "Thriller", makes it anything by standard. It goes to show that when it wants to be, Ryan Murphy's high school geek fest can be much more musically current and exciting than its dreary plotlines.




9. Toro Y Moi - New Beat
Toro Y Moi's sophomore record "Underneath the Pine" has yet to grow on me. After the lustrous glowing lo fi "Off the Wall" pastiche of "Causers of This", "Underneath the Pine" is a much more difficult listen to those, such as myself, listening out for the same gorgeous ear candy of their 2010 gem. However, first single "New Beat" manages to be right on the money from the first listen. In the same way that Ariel Pink's "Round and Round" managed to be both gloriously era-authentic and melodically hypnotic, "New Beat" entrances us with its clumsy disco beats and greasy 70s squelch-synths.




8. Ke$ha - Blow
Bad taste alert! Ke$ha's "Cannibal" EP offers nothing that we didn't hear on her ALMOST impressive out-of-hand-party of a debut, but that doesn't mean that her dirty club anthems are any less addictive. As with her collosal "We R Who We R", "Blow" employs a cut and paste vocal on the chorus, one that shields us from the blast of what would've been an immense vocal attack, but we're still showered with the debris of beats and electronics colliding. And as with any Ke$ha track you'd care to mention, it doesn't relent.




7. Cut Copy - Pharaohs and Pyramids
It is such a relief to find that "Zonoscope" is as good as its first two magnificent, genre-defining singles, and "Pharoahs and Pyramids" almost approaches the dizzying heights of those tracks, starting off, as so many tracks on "Zonoscope", with restraint and subtlety, before well and truly unleashing its glorious climax upon the unsuspecting listener. In this case it's a chaotic wall of synth chords that pummels the beats into the background, but its a battle that results in nothing short of sheer euphoria.




6. The New Division - No Health
And now a pupil from the Cut Copy school of indie dance music, outimpressing their teachers in this case. From their above average EP "The Rookie" (very aptly named), "No Health" would sound very bedroom-indiepop if it weren't for its undeniably beautiful hooks and a syncopated bass donk taken straight from the late 90s. The New Division certainly couldn't sound in better health here.




5. Jessie J - Abracadabra
There's not much I need to say about this album highlight that I haven't already raved about in Popdar #16, (see here: http://givepopachance.blogspot.com/2011/02/popdar-16-jessie-j-you-win.html) so I'll just repost the video and leave Jessie to cast her perfect pop spell upon you once more. Sadly, it's the only time on the album that I personally was bewitched by her, but one blissful pop song is better than a mediocre record without exception.




4. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers
Terrifying as always, but this time Tyler has a record deal and means business. You can read what I had to say about "Yonkers" here: http://givepopachance.blogspot.com/2011/02/unpopdar-1-im-fucking-walking-paradox.html

3. Radiohead - Give Up The Ghost
One listen to the introspective and fragile "King of Limbs" and you can feel yourself growing old with Radiohead. On "Give Up The Ghost", a gathering of background Thoms weakly emplore "don't hurt me" on a loop throughout, and his falsetto has rarely sounded more fearful. But there's no sign of angsty, panicky tenor here, ala "Wolf at the Door", this is resigned fear and gentle pleading, and quite honestly, Radiohead has never sounded more beautiful.

2. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
"Limit To Your Love" was nothing compared to this. How anyone who loved Blake's quirky cover of "Limit" could be disappointed with a self-destruction anthem this heartbreaking is beyond me. "I don't know about my loving anymore" sings a resigned and defeated Blake over a gorgeous chord sequence, that is gradually enveloped by glass shatteringly loud percussion and a crescendo that leads a cacophony of feedback. The track sounds like its drowning slowly, and Blake tries to resist at first, but eventually concedes: "might as well fall in". A strong contender for track of the year already.




1. Radiohead - Codex
...Well, "Wilhelm Scream" is certainly a strong contender until one first hears the opening notes of Radiohead's latest perfect piece of music, entitled "Codex", then its entirely possible that you will reconsider. There's actually quite a lot of Radiohead influence to be heard in James Blake's remarkable lonely soundscapes. But whilst Blake, in his youth, seems unwilling to emotionally commit to his listener, hiding behind big, confusing vocal arrangements and sharp clicks and beeps, Radiohead left that behind many years ago.

As with "Nude", "Sail to the Moon" and "Pyramid Song", no one does a surreal power ballad like Radiohead. But this time round, we're hearing the message clearer than ever. "Jump off the edge, into a clear lake" Thom peacefully murmers to us, and so enchanting is the shimmering piano that we could well be enticed in ourselves without realising. As with all of Radiohead's thoughtful suicide ballads (or what we assume to be), there is a level of innocence and even optimism that makes it even more beautiful and poignant. Thom rhymes "dragonflies" with "fantasise", and all of a sudden we enter the fantasy world that only Radiohead can open up to us.

And with every record, although it seems we are let further and further into the mindset of Mr Yorke, it's my bet that we will probably never understand quite what these beautiful words mean. But isn't that where the magic lies?

Popdar #17: Conor Maynard

Now this is cheese beyond cheese. I normally don't endorse this kind of American Idol schmaltz, cutesiness and sentiment, but something just clicks here. Jessie J's "Price Tag" hardly knocked me off my feet, but here, sung soulfully and impressively by YouTube sensation Conor Maynard, the song itself is laid bare. With just a lonely piano for backing, and the lyrics focused on, suddenly the whole anti-greed-in-the-music-industry premise of the song is a whole lot more believable. Although this track will hardly "make the world dance", I was hardly moving my feet much to Jessie's uncharacteristically dull backing track, so at least here the message can be appreciated. And it's actually a pretty good song after all.

Popdar #16: Jessie J... you win.

Let's see.

"Do It Like A Dude": Catchy as hell, but literally overflowing with slightly forced attitude, and dare I say it, a little try hard.

"Price Tag": Again, very catchy, but on first listen it sounds like a million songs you could've heard in 1998, draped over the oldest chord sequence there is. This one grows on you with time, particularly after you listen to the lyrics. But still, I need more convincing.

"Abracadabra": SOLD. Previewing the tracks of the upcoming Who You Are, this one jumps out of the speakers at you and slaps you with sheer joy. This is what one calls the perfect pop song. What other songs it sounds like is irrelevant: that leisurely piano hook, and Jessie's squeaky yelp is effortlessly addictive and that's all there is to it. For the first time in my listening habits, Jessie J has come out with something unpretentious and simple, and it's knocked my socks off. Maybe this is really "who she is". It's certainly who I want her to be.

Popdar #15: The Naked and Famous.

The Naked and Famous are coming. For many in the UK they've already arrived, but after witnessing their brief but blistering live act at Heaven in London, it's clear that the band could end up a lot bigger than I initially imagined.

Now we've all heard the glistening keys crowd surfing on crushing guitars in "Punching in a Dream" and "Young Blood", but N&F are far from a one trick pony. Take "Spank" for example. Taking a big chunk of Yeah Yeah Yeahs groove, this could've been taken from "It's Blitz", and with no sweet synths to sweeten the dirt, we are left  with the gruesome pulse of distortion, propelled by an insanely catchy tune. It really is only a matter of time before the band take off, knocking your Kings of Leons and Vaccines out of the way.

Unpopdar #1: I'm a fucking walking paradox, no I'm not. TYLER THE CREATOR.

A one album deal. Signed with XL this year. Hilarious really. Like saying "we'll make the money then back the fuck out before the backlash hits".

But regardless, there's no sign that Tyler would ever change what he does for anyone. First single of April 2011's upcoming "Goblin", "Yonkers" even ups his game further. The beat is deliciously offensive, and Tyler runs his mouth worse than ever, and yet there's an unnerving level of genuine venom behind carnivorous lines such as "(I'd) stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus", and more control in his phrasing than before. Tyler is growing up, but he's bringing his anger with him, and each day it mutates further and further into the most perversely beautiful horrorcore.

In fact, there's only so much a naive listener such as myself can try to bullshit. The fact is, this shit is nightmarishly scary, and more thrilling than any hip hop from the last decade, at least that I've heard. "Goblin" will surely be nothing short of fucked up perfection.

And the video is a downright masterpiece of horror.

Lady Gaga was not born THIS way.

Hype is the enemy of the artist. Nothing is ever as good as the hype suggests it will be. And yet although sometimes an artist can't help the hype that develops around them, sometimes they actively exploit it. Lady Gaga is an artist who fits both these catagories, meaning that the levels of hype surrounding the release of "Born This Way" escalated to impossibly dizzy heights, and even then she kept plugging it, eventually saying she was too excited to wait any longer and bringing the release date forward.

I have another theory about the release date decision however. Perhaps HRH Gaga suddenly listened to her latest single outside of the buzzing confines of the Studio for the first time, and thought to herself "Oh Sh*t, I need to cut this hype short before it builds up any further".

Because the fact of the matter is "Born This Way" is not as good as it thinks it is. Pretentiousness has always oozed from every pore of Gaga's gay-loving, fashion-abusing existence, but with jaw dropping classics like "Paparazzi", "Telephone" and above all "Bad Romance", she wasn't pretending, she WAS really this outrageous, and had the incredible choruses and disco beats to back up her mindless self indugence.

Yet woefully, with "Born This Way" we have a meandering chorus, a million different, uncomfortably obvious musical references (all of which I don't even have to specify, every fan knows), and a slightly unaddictive, dare I say dull backing track, that doesn't appear to have had much thought or flair put into it at all. In fairness, the track is as "big" as she made out, but unlike genuinely breaktaking tracks such as "Dance in the Dark", "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face", "Born This Way" is simply big because it's loud. It's only getting your attention because it's shouting "LOOK AT ME" in your face.

I don't want to be entirely negative about "Born This Way", because it is a catchy song, undeniably a good song, and with repeated listens maybe even a great song. But Lady Gaga was NOT born this way. She was born a fighter, a perfectionist, and one who would never release a track unless she believed it would shake the pop music world to its very foundations. Today, Gaga sounds like she barely made any effort with the actual music, instead gratuitously massaging her ego (including "extras") with a dumb, cliched and overly explicit message of self love. And of course, Gaga would know all about that.

You know what the worst part is? She could've got away with those pompous lyrics if only this damn song was as good as anything off "Fame Monster". All we can hope now is, with expectation now PLUMMETING for Gaga circa 2011, "Born This Way" the album creeps up behind us, grabs us by the neck and pounds us repeatedly into the ground, laughing manically as it screams "IT WAS ALL A RUSE!!! HAHAHA!!!"

God I hope so.

Born This Way?

Dropping a hopeless 5 hours before Born This Way itself appears, we actually have a fake video worth watching.

Not pretending to masquerade as "Born This Way", simply basking in its spotlight, this little mash-up is actually quite good. A little bit Scheibe, a bit more Bad Romance, a whole lot of the xx.



Enough now though. The wait ends in 4 hours and 55 minutes as I type.