Volume 14: Bollywood and Bouncy Beats!

Hidy ho there, poptarts. Had the pleasure of watching a Bollywood movie last week, and since then, I cannot get songs from the soundtrack out of my head. Yes yes yes, it was "3 Idiots" -- a classic, I've heard, and one of the best-selling Bollywood films of all time. A great movie with a great message. Meanwhile, on the internets, a certain Ellie Goulding released her new song, "Burn." While I didn't love "Burn," a youtube commenter turned me on to the greatness that is "Figure 8."



Aal Izz Well - 3 Idiots
Ah, yes. Bollywood's greatest. There is just enough silly in this song to make it 100% fun and no regrets. I can dance my ass off to this all day, ever day. So what makes it so great? One word: Indians. "Life o Out of control"! "Aaaaal izzzzz welll!" I love the intermittent English splashed in with lines in Hindi. All is good. The drumming and the horns are on point also. Not sure about the guitar. LOVE the lyrics.

"Confusion hee confusion ha! Solution kuja buta na hee! Solution yup minna ta salad Question fiyat ha na hajja hi!"

Isn't that enough to make you want to watch it?

*Dances like crazy, complete with arm-flailing!*

Giggu-gigga-ga ga! All of the different voices and sounds in this song make it so detailed and delicious. If you don't like it the first time, I encourage you to listen to it a couple more times. There are some real gems in terms of vocals and mouth...sounds.

Worth watching?: It's damn funny and crazy.
Downloadable?: Def.


Ellie Goulding - Figure 8
This song is straight up powerful. It gives you the sense of buildup, urgency, and fear at times. I like haunting stuff like this, and I am so glad it exists. Her sound is somewhat similar to Goldfrapp or Imogen Heap, so if you like them I think you'll like this, too. There's a bit of dubbysteppy thing going on, which is always fun. I picture really awesome landscapes when she breaks into the chorus, which I love. The little melodies and electro-sounds throughout out are fresh and very, very welcome.

In terms of the vocals, I'm not totally sure if they are unique. I do like "Lovers hold on...to everything/ Lovers hold on...to anything." BECAUSE IT'S SOOOO TRUE.

In general, I think this a good bedroom track, a good riding the ferry to work song, and in general a very spiritual and moving piece of work. It echoes some of that celestial sound that is so popular nowadays. IF YOU'S A POPTART, you'd better appreciate! :) Toward the end of the song there are some serious keyboard jams going on. Not to be missed.

Worth watching?: Haven't seen it yet. At work.
Downloadable?: Very much.

That's all for now!

Volume 13: American Pop!

After a 1-month hiatus (I'm sorry! I've been in the US!), I bring you my top three favorites from the US and Canada top 40 radio. I'm usually very out of touch with the music scene in the US, and for just a few weeks I'll feel relatively up to date. YAY.

P!nk - Just Give Me a Reason

I find this song to be incredibly moving. I'm not sure what it is that I like about it; a friend of mine in New Jersey absolutely hates it, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people do, too. I think it speaks to the hearts of people who have been in this situation before, though. In a relationship that you can kinda tell may be ending, but hanging on to a strand of hope that may/may not ever prove real. I understand P!nk in this song. Sometimes it's really hard to feel like that person you "love" is worth "loving" and whether or not you still "love" each other. Every time this song came on the radio in my rental vehicle I belted it out. I think that's another reason I like it. It's in my vocal range!

Worth watching?: The video is a bit melodramatic.

Downloadable?: Definitely. It grows on you, man.

Selena Gomez - Come and Get It

This song should not be as catchy as it is. As much as I like the African drumming thing and the ethnic vibe, her vocals are not that great and the chorus has probably been done 1,034,322 times. But oh well. I like the male backup vocals and many other things about this song. Mostly I love how strong it sounds, and anything that is electronic that can be danced to. I just like stuff like that man, I'm a goddamned pop tart after all.

Lyrics are really mismatched with the sound of the song, which is a shame. I wish she had kinda kept the spiritual Africa thing going throughout the track. Hey, you can't have everything.

Worth watching?: Dunno, haven't seen it yet.

Downloadable?: Deffo. But expect to skip it on occasion due to cheesiness.

Icona Pop - I Love It

Let me preface my praise for this song by saying that my mom does not enjoy it. Aforementioned New Jersey friend loves it, though, so that makes it okay for me to make it my jam. I will admit I was a bit drunk that day when we rocked hard to this song in her car. But that was so fun that I will always attached extreme fun to this song. I also heard it about 1 million times on my way from Maine to Toronto. So, it's engrained in my brain.

Why do I love it? I just love it. I love it. I also enjoy the premise of kinda destroying everything and going crazy because you love it so much. Also, I think this is the perfect example of 2010s music--super electro dance funky. Thumbs up from me.

Worth watching?: Yes, it's fun.

Downloadable?: Absolutely!

That's all for now, pop tarts. I'll try to keep in touch next week. Until then, keep it poppin'!

Special: Thoughts on Eurovision 2013 Semi-Final 1

The ones who qualified are in bold:


Austria: Natália Kelly - Shine
I thought I liked this song, but it turns out her voice just didn't do it justice. The song itself is nice, but the girl was just very basic with an overall weak voice.

Estonia: Birgit - Et Uus Saaks Alguse
I'm not sure about the song. I mean, I appreciate that she sang in Estonian, and it was a powerful ballad. But I disagree with her dress and the fact that it made to the final. Same old crap.

Slovenia: Hannah - Straight Into Love
This song was actually better than the Estonian one, I thought, yet didn't make the cut. An interesting dubby bit at the beginning. The girl was not bad. But who cares about Slovenia?

Croatia: Klapa s Mora - Mižerja
When I first heard this I was massively disappointed. Then, something happened, and after a few listens I realized that it was melodic magic. Six gentlemen singing from their hearts is awfully lovely. In a traditional style and dress, how could they not win? Unfortunately, they also failed to make the cut.

Denmark: Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops
I'll be honest -- this was my early favorite, simply because it's catchy and the girl is kind a crazy bitch. The song is really haunting in a way...not uplifting. Buuut yeah. The performance was excellent and well produced, it sort of looked like it had already won. We'll see.

Russia: Dina Garipova - What If
Girl - unattractive. Not that unattractiveness is a deal breaker, but this is Eurovision and you are Russia. A real wtf moment. Also the message of the song is cliché and lame. I get it. Imagine all the people, living for today. Should NOT have qualified for the final.

Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich - Gravity
My German friend Anna knew right away that this would make it, but it has absolutely no character whatsoever. I didn't like it before, and I hate it even more now.

The Netherlands: Anouk - Birds
Most people in the Eurovision community seem kinda disappointed that this song made it through to the final. I agree that the song is weird, but I think Anouk is talented. Not a winning entry, but good enough for the final, yeah.

Montenegro: Who See - Igranka
Biggest letdown ever. Performance was crazy Eurovision good, singing was inspired, and the rapping was perfect. I don't get how all of Europe watched this last night and did not unanimously vote for it. I mean, guys in astronaut suits?

Lithuania: Andrius Pojavis - Something
I cannot remember a single thing about this song.

Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya - Solayoh
Belarus had picked another, more interesting song. This came out of left field kinda and while I think Belarus deserves a spot in the final (since it got eliminated so early other years), this song is average at best and imitates older, similar songs too much.

Moldova: Aliona Moon - O Mie
Wow! I can't believe a song with lyrics like "The Mayans were not so wrong it's the end of the world" ended up being sung in Romanian. Bravo, whoever made that decision. And Pasha Parfeny on piano!

Ireland: Ryan Dolan - Only Love Survives
Good performance, and strong voice. I was pleased that there weren't really any bad singers, so to speak, in this edition. I mean I really disliked some of the ballads, but all the people held a tune at least. As for this particular track, nothing special.

Cyprus: Despina Olympiou - An Me Thimasai
Ugh, good thing this underwhelming nothingness is not going anywhere. I have no idea what this was about, and wayyyy too much plastic surgery on her.

Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills
Totally creepy eyes. That's all there is to say about this. Song was mediocre and also scary.

Serbia: Moje 3 - Ljubav Je Svuda
I was very disappointed in Serbia's national final, so not letting these three 'hos into the final is a welcome decision made by voters.

Well, that wraps it up for now. I'll post a recap of the second semi-final on Friday!

Volume 12: I've Been K-Popped

It happened. I became obsessed with K-Pop, and it only took about 2 weeks. That's record time. So let's get to it.

Why do I love K-pop?

I think this track answers the question.


T-ara - Roly Poly HD
What to say about this song? If you liked J-pop and a few Korean songs in the late 90s or early 2000s, you will love this. Everything about T-ARA embodies cuteness. Their dance moves are adorable, their singing is cute, and there is EVEN a Japanese version of this song for people like me, who love and understand Japanese. So happy!

I think what makes Roly Poly so danceable is the background beat, which has a sort of uncha, uncha, uncha, uncha, to it. You know what I mean? It's electronic at its best. But the hook is sooooooo such a good hook. I also like the "Mola....mola!" going on during the verses, although I have no idea what it means. Please give this song a try. You will not regret it if you like pop, and disregard the fact that it is in Korean, and yes. It is a masterpiece.

Uhhhhh, I can't get enough. This is definitely a song worth dancing to in the kicthen. Or bedroom. Or any room, really. I even chair dance to it at work.

Apparently it's old news, but I think you'll like it.

Worth watching?: YES.
Downloadable?: DOUBLE YES.

VIXX - On and On
Now for some men. Now, first of all, I do think this song is catchy and good. But what makes it awesome and necessary for your collection is the crazy attractiveness of some of these guys. They rival classically hot Asian musicians such as Junichi Yamamura and Gackt. Not to mention the lovely gentlemen from Dir en Grey. In any case they are HOT.

But anyway the song is also catchy as hell. I don't totally understand why, and I'm not a huge fan of the rapping either. I haven't downloaded this yet since hearing it over a week ago, but it seems like I might have to. There are some very, very catchy beats here. I am getting very involved with k-pop. I realize I'm late getting on the k-pop bus but what I can do. At least I'm sharing with you.

And it's also a welcome distraction considering how awful Eurovision 2013 is shaping up to be.

Worth watching?: HAWT.
Downloadable: PERHAPS.

Enjoy! Please share the k-pop love!

Volume 11: Just In Loveeeeeeee!

Well, good news tarts! Justin Timberlake finally released a single besides "Suit & Tie," from his new album the 20/20 experience. I'll be reviewing up one of those right this minute. On a different note, I find a song that is actually quite old (6 months-ish), which gives me a very soothing and tranquil feeling.

Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
This is amazing already, I can barely take the excitement. My first impression is that it is very catchy, in a Lovestoned kinda way. It's making me want to dance a little bit, even though the lyrics are not exactly clever. They may stick with me later. His voice really sounds different, I guess Justin is growing up a little bit. Well, it's clear that he's talented, and he always has been, but his sound is evolving into something more mature, and this song is good proof of that.

When the song changes a bit at 3:40, I do feel hesitant, it's not a melodic as I had hoped. There is a distinct feeling of love in this track, and pure happiness or bliss. It's so sweet because he just got married. Ahhh, yes, love is adorable. And now, toward the end of the song (5:20), it becomes instrumental, and this is what I love about Justin. No...wait, something weird is happening, a kind of rap thing with weird electronic sounds going on in the back. Song's not over yet.

Well it's getting a bit cheesy. Wait a second now, Justin...are you sure you want to be this cheesy? Ughhhh I can't say no to this, because I love it madcore. It's too late, I fell into the Justin trap. I do like what is happening at the end of the song, actually, and I think it will grow on me.

Worth watching?: No video yet. Give it a listen.
Downloadable?: I downloaded it after the first 12 seconds. I suggest you do that, too.

Note: second time through, I'm channelling "My Love."

Wynter Gordon - Stimela
Thanks to my new flirtatious feelings toward last.fm, I am gathering new music. Wynter Gordon is not really new, and in fact, a few of songs you have probably heard. And then you thought they were Rhianna. Well, this song is not like that. This song is different and amazing, and there is NAKEDNESS! Well, not totally but enough to make me interested.

First of all, I get an Enya or Enigma thing from this melody, which I love and throws me back in time to my more innocent music days. But secondly, and most importantly, she sings in a different language, which I presume is something from Africa. I seriously love it, and I feel like she must be so underrated for releasing this in the wake of crazier radio-friendly tracks.

Anyway, the video is beautiful, the meaning is valuable, and above all else, it is relaxing. There is so not enough relaxing music on the market these days (which isn't super adulterated).

Worth watching?: 100%.
Downloadable?: For those lazy mornings and after work yoga.

Enjoy, darlings!

Special Edition: The Spirit Indestructible

Okay, let me preface this entry by saying that I haven't actually listened to the whole album yet. Just a few of the songs that have come to my attention over the past 10 hours. I found a great channel on Turkish TV to watch Western music videos and I wasn't pleasantly surprised by Nelly Furtado's new song. So I checked out some of the tracks on youtube today. And this is what I bring to you.

TRIPLE PLAY!

Nelly Furtado - Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)
The video is soooooo, soooo, weird. The song is much, much weirder. I can't believe this is real. I mean, it's got quite a bit of views (7+ million), so I was a bit late for this boat. But there is something catchy about it. I think it's just that in general there are very deep and interesting melodies at the background of this track. I love those tones. And also, I find Nelly Furtado to consistently release stuff that is danceable. I don't love her talk singing throughout though.

Very chill track, though. I like the "I can go fast/I can go slow/I can go places nobody else goes" motif. Very catchy and very chilling. However, the song is not really sticking with me on the third or fourth listen. It may fall by the wayside, but I'll check it out again in the next couple of weeks.

The Native American dancers are sweet. Does anyone know if that's authentic? It's true, Nell, I ain't never seen nothing like that.

Bigger the better...

There was probably no need for the pickup at the end. The next song I'm about to review does the same damn thing. A weird pickup. Reminiscent of Black-Eyed-Peas' "I Just Can't Get Enough."

Worth watching?: Yes, if only for the weird Illuminati and imagery.
Downloadable?: Leaning toward no.

Nelly Furtado - Waiting For The Night
I do love this song. Actually I fell in love with the video last night because I like the day of the dead/flamenco hybrid thing going on here, and the makeup is amazing. Even if you don't like the style of music or the girl herself, watch the vid, it's very artful. The dancing is quite cute and the imagery is unique. I love how colorful and exotic music has become in the past few years. It's all about being extravagant in the pop industry these days.

As for the song, there are so many interesting sounds that I'm getting a bit addicted to it. I hear accordion, but I also like the underlying whine. And there is a very interesting Asian-sounding or morphed guitar pinging at a certain point, which I find very sexy. Then there are dropping beats also, very mysterious. I very much enjoy what she or her producers have done with this one.

I don't really understand the meaning of the lyrics, however: are they about being in love but having to wait a lot for her lover? Or maybe he's a secret lover and she's trying to draw him away from his wife/girlfriend? Or maybe, he only booty calls her and she wants more? All very interesting.

Unnecessary pickup again at the end of the song, but so be it. That's the style these days, is it?

Worth watching?: Def.
Downloadable?: Oh, sure!

Nelly Furtado - Spirit Indestructible
Starts very weird, very slow. The second string of this song is great though, and it does inspire me to get up and dance, and possible engage in some other weird behavior. Actually, I would consider downloading these three songs and doing crazy shit to 'em, tonight!

There's something eerily cheesy about this song though, and it extends beyond the lyrics of being indestructible. I think it may be the background scenery and her costumes in the songs. It is generally uplifting, but that's just the melody and the drumming doing some work on your inner rhythm, probably.

Again, mad chill beats on this one though, for a pop girl. And she is definitely more prude that your run of the mill sexy Canadian. Did I just say that?

Worth watching?: If you're in to the Uli from Project Runway thing.
Downloadable?: Nahhh...


That concludes this special edition! Have a field day!

Volume 10: China crazy!

So, I went to China and I discovered new music. Sort of. I actually can't believe I have never heard this song, it is so awesome. Specifically, I went to Foshan, China, and checked out four night spots. For more about THAT, check out my other blog....

Also, Denmark chose their song for Eurovision, so I've thrown that in here too. Congrats Denmark. I'm not ashamed of you and your song doesn't make me feel uncomfortable.


Porcelain Black - Naughty Naughty
I may be biased because I watched a stripper dance to this song with two sexy male dancers also while drunk at a nightclub in China. But I LOVE it. I can't believe I missed it for over a year, I feel really behind. It has a certain Lady Gaga feel, but the bridge and the chorus are unique. It gives you the sense of a strip tease, and it also sounds very Asian.

Well, after a bit of research, I have learned that she is, in fact, American, and has not released any album yet as far as I can see. She has got amazing talent and an amazing sound. I'm looking forward to her next thing...she is just lovely.

LOVE.

Here's the crazy bit, though...why did I hear this song first in China? This is obviously going to be big in the US, as it is being produced by RedOne. YAYKES.

Worth watching?: Video here, but go for a listen.
Downloadable?: YES.


Emmelie De Forest - Only Teardrops
This song has its ups and downs. It starts off a little cheesily, and I don't really like the verses leading up to the chorus. The chorus is catchy though, it has a very addictive sound and I think this song has a chance at winning. The bridge....ugh, I'm listening to the bridge again and yeah I can say I really hate it a lot. But I do like the song overall, and the piper.

In the video, it does seem like he has the potential to become the next "epic sax guy," if he performs well at the show. On stage it will definitely be different.

Her voice is also impressive....for Eurovision. I mean, she has very nice tone quality. Bravo, Denmark.

Worth watching?: Nothing special about the video.
Downloadable?: Yes, I think so. Give it a try.

Until the next, darling tarts!