What Are You Listening To?

[EricMontreal22]

Besides producing and writing for Kylie, Lily Allen, Little Boots, etc, etc, Greg Kurstin has the odd, kinda 60s cocktail music group Bird and the Bee (he's the Bee, the Bird is his vocalist, Inara George). Their new album is the first in a series dedicated to covering "Guiltless pleasures"--groups and songs that don't get much respect. This album is all dedicated to Hall and Oates (!) and I admit I love it, even if at some points it gets maybe a BIT too precious--I almost wish he'd thrown in a few dancier tracks--this cover of Maneater comes close. Still, great stuff (I never thought they had much mainstream success, but they were just on Ellen this week and apparently have been before).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzmM85wnM8k (Shirley Manson does backing vocals... lol)

Another band that works with Kurstin (he does final mix--doesn't help write) is my fave Canadian group, Dragonette who I got to see for the second time this year, just last week (I've seen them so much actually that the lead songwriter/guitarist recognized me before when he was hanging out at the bar lol). Here's their great new single--as usual for flop Canadian acts, ultra low budget video.:

Edited March 24, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[EricMontreal22]

And just to blow any last shred of credibility I may have on here music wise (ha!), Sylph knows my love for the current Swedish writer/producer Anders Hansson who is just now having sudden international success with the classic pop/dance tracks he's done for Agnes Carlsson (like the Leona Lewis-meets-disco brilliant track Release Me she did). Far more campy (if possible) and shameless are his two recent disco/pop groups for two of the other Swedish acts he does.

BWO (Bodies Withour Organs):

And absolutely dreadful/great was the latest song he did for Alcazar for the Swedish Eurovision entry--and once again it came in second in their Melodifestivalen elimination round LOL I think this is like the 5th time they've come in second as Sweden's entry to Eurovision. Shocking as it's trash camptastic! (I'm learning the dance routine as we speak)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmaP4G_rze8

And let's not forget that within a month we're meant to get the lead single to what will surely be my album of the Summer--Kylie Minogue's

Edited March 24, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[Cat]

Oh, God, Eurovision. Is it that time of year already? I can't get into it anymore because the songs are no longer so-bad-they're-good, they are just forgettably bad. And the voting is so political that no good song ever really wins -- Cyprus gives Greece douze points and vice versa, all the Scandinavian countries vote for each other. As a Kylie fan, EricMontreal, you may already know this but the UK entry (which managed to scrape nul points the last few years) is being penned by Pete Waterman of Stock, Aitken & Waterman fame -- the guys who produced Kylie's early hits like I Should Be So Lucky and Especially for You and, my personal fave I Still Love You (Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi).

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Little Boots! I'm not a mega fan but that "New in Town" song was the song of last summer for me. That and this trashtastic summer gem ("I Know You Want Me - Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro") by a one-hit-wonders Pitbull:

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[EricMontreal22]

Pitbull had a second video that got a tiny bit of play here in Canada, but you could tell it wouldn't take off.

Yeah I used to be a huge Stock/Aitken/Waterman fan--still have at least 24 albums they've produced (they did do one for my fave Donna Summer of course) even if after a while I realized that there's only so much SAW you can listen to without your ears bleeding I still pull them out sometimes though (and some of their later moments for Kylie--Better the Devil You Know, What Do I Have to Do, etc, are still brilliant as well as their early Dead or Alive stuff, etc).

The problem is--I've heard contrary things--some say Mike Stock WILL be working with Waterman on the Eurovision entry, others say it's just Waterman. If it's just Waterman, we're in trouble. He's an arrogant ass who doesn't have a musical bone in his body (which is why his company PWL had zero hits when Stock and Aitken left to form their own company in the 90s--until he found a new songwriting team, Topham/Twigg who gave him Steps). He would come up with catchy song titles, gimmicky band concepts, etc, but that's pretty much it--he was the showman. Anyway I know him and Mike Stock (who was the main songwriter of the team) are friends again now, so maybe they'll come up with a retro piece of camp fun. But if it's just Waterman, don't expect much (Topham/Twigg were tired of his showboating as well and no longer will work with him). The way he has the press still wrapped around his little finger though is amusing--when they mentioned that about eurovision and him they did make it sound like all these classic UK hit songs were his doing LOL.

I agree about Eurovision--which is one reason I'm always surprised Alcazar never make it past the Swedish finals (their entry last year, Stay the Night was frankly even more camptastic, and probably would have done very well). The problem is Sweden usually has a bunch of decent (or better than most) entries at their preliminary "Melodifestivalen" contest (last year Alcazar, BWo, AND Agnes Carlsson with Love Love Love all had entries that probably woulda have been at the top of the Eurovision finals) that the stuff that's more cheezetastic, and would make it far at Eurovision, gets ironically weeded out...

But yeah, largely the so bad it's good/fun stuff is sadly lacking from the contest...

Edited March 25, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The Police - Wrapped Around Your Finger

[Soapsuds]

Who knew you liked the police. I didnt figure you as a fan.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I like many different things. It's really hard to pin-point my exact tastes in music.

[EricMontreal22]

That's my all time fave Police song (though Tea in the Sahara from the same album comes close)

When I had my 30th bday bash the other week a bunch of people I didn't know ended up at the party--who weren't really feeling the Kylie, etc lol Anyway someone put on a bunch of my Police CDs on shuffle--and they went over way better than I'd expect.

I have 6000+ cds and about 500 vinyls, and they're not all cheezy synth based dance or disco. Glad I'm not alone--I never get why people are so stagnant with musical taste. no one would be surprised to see a movie obsessed person have a section for horror, for arthouse, dramas, weepies, etc. But with music, you're always meant to liek the same genre no matter the mood or purpose...

[Sylph]

Blah, nothing special.

I expected more. Kind of passé.

[Sylph]

[Soapsuds]

We need to chat about your 6000 plus CD collection. I think I still top you in that category. I didnt keep much of my vinyl. I do have some but not 500.

Right now listening to

[EricMontreal22]

Are you a fan? I had no idea. I kinda agree--I guess that's oddly one reason I like it though--it reminds me of the music I liked when I started going clubbing ten years back. I do love the modulation between verse and chorus though which is classic Biffco.

Still the best single release she's had in some time.

Edited March 27, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[Sylph]

Of course. Why are you surprised (that I'm a fan)?

Too bad for her, she had that nice streak, then vanished, and now came back with the same [!@#$%^&*]. And you know how things are these days, no one wants more of the same. Even if it's great stuff, everyone will proclaim you to be a failure because you're continuing the same kind of sound from your last album.

[bellcurve]

Can't Let Go (Edit). Have always preferred this to the album version, which had the high note at the end. Without that, it makes the song more haunting and dramatic.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm surprised cuz a while back you admitted you had no idea Kylie Minogue was a big star outside of the US, so I just kinda assumed these pop darlings called minor Kylie's wouldn't even make a blip on the Sylph screen

You're spot on though. And one thing that sold her first album was her deadpan humour--how funny Won't Change You and Murder's videos were--with her new TINY label they can't afford that in videos. Still, her album reads like a brilliant mix of collaborators--if it was Kylie and 2001. But I'll no doubt love it.

My all time fave Mariah ballad. Gorgeous.