A second look at the best songs of 2009

Now, viewers, sometimes when you're making lists such as the Best Songs of Such-and-Such Year, you realize that there were a few other great songs that perhaps should have made the countdown the first time around. But since everything here on Mp3s and Cookies is said and done for once it's available "for the masses", we decided to make a second list to reflect some choices that, in hindsight, should have been on that list.

Mini Viva "I Wish"
We've raved about this track at least three or four times on here, so clearly that's a sign of just how amazing it is. In a time where we were beginning to doubt Xenomania's creative output due to our slightly underwhelming reaction to the last Girls Aloud album, their work with Mini Viva has completely reversed our opinion. "Left My Heart In Tokyo" was great (and rightfully made the top 10 on our Best of 2009 list), and "I Wish" is just as great albeit in a different direction. Its wistful nature and overall clean, crisp sophistication place it right in step with other great Xenomania tracks ("Biology", "Ace Reject", "If You Go", etc.). We would also like to point out that the "Oh-oh, no-no, he could be the one who hits the light inside of my soul" bit is one of the greatest pop moments in 2009.

Here's a remix of "I Wish" for you. Which doesn't deviate much from the original except for making it a little bit gayer.




Little Boots "Remedy"
Now that we think about it, "Remedy" really should have made the official Best of 2009 list. And it should have made very high up on the list. Because Christ help us if this isn't just one amazing tune. The chorus is a hands-aloft, sing-along affair that will put the stupidest grin imaginable on your little faces. Excellent stuff here.




The Dead Weather "I Cut Like A Buffalo"
Jack White's new side project didn't really do much for us when we heard the first single "Treat Me Like Your Mother" earlier this summer, but for some reason "I Cut Like A Buffalo" is going down much nicer on these ears. Like most musical things associated with Mr. White, this is a no-holds-barred, filthy rock track that just we just can't stop playing.




Well that sounds good enough to us.

Just so we're clear on this.

Please refer to the following graph for any questions regarding comparisons between Girls Aloud's music and the solo efforts of Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole.





We think that sums it up. Moving on.

What the hell?

Mini Viva's amazing new single, "I Wish", charted at NUMBER 73 this week on the UK singles chart.

Sigh. Not a great day for pop fans, that something as incredible and HIGHLY listenable as "I Wish" is doomed to be "that second single from Mini Viva that flopped", instead of "that great second single from Mini Viva that is really one of Xenomania's finest productions".

But no no, we've got to make sure mediocre drab by X Factor contestants invade the top 10.

In case you need a reminder of just how fuck-me-amazing "I Wish" is, please refer to the video below.

The Best Remixes of 2009

Now we don't typically go venturing for remixes, but hey when a good one comes across, who are we to deny it? 2009 had some fairly good remixes on hand, so let's review some of the more listenable ones.

Friendly Fires "Skeleton Boy" (Air France Mix)
We can't quite put our finger on it, but there is something very nice about this mix. Maybe it's the warm piano hues, or the slight bounce to the groove, or the way it sounds a bit like a dance track but it also feels right just listening to it at home. All right, so maybe we did find some things to put our fingers on about this.



Little Boots "Remedy" (Wideboys Stadium Mix)
It's big and gay and coming your way. Everything you ever loved about cheesy-as-Velveeta dance music all packed under one fairly incredible song called "Remedy" by one quite good singer called Little Boots. Whip out the feather boas, kids!



Dragonette "Pick Up the Phone" (Richard X Mix)
We didn't think it was possible to turn an already euphoric track into something even more grandly euphoric, but Richard X (aka GENIUS) managed to do just that with his rather exquisite mix of "Pick Up the Phone". Lush and heavenly sounds adorn this glittering and frankly beautiful piece of electropop that deserves to be aimed squarely at the dance floor. Brilliant stuff.



Phoenix "1901" (Build Remix)
Set yourself adrift on memory bliss with the decidedly '80s sounding remix of Phoenix's "1901". It's very pleasant and dreamy, like a cocktail on a Sunday afternoon in Bermuda. Not that we'd know what that feels like, so if someone could please inform us what it's like to have a cocktail on a Bermudan Sunday, we'd greatly appreciate it.



Röyksopp featuring Robyn "The Girl And the Robot" (Chateau Marmont Mix)
It's like someone took the track and raped it in the ass with a giant sequencer and a keyboard. Double penetration, if you will. And then they took Robyn's vocal and completely fucked it sideways with AutoTune. And the result is the Chateau Marmont remix of "The Girl And the Robot", which was this named the number 2 song of 2009.



Mini Viva "Left My Heart In Tokyo" (Pete Hammond Retro Mix)
They took the retro disco feel of the original and replaced it with a retro '80s sheen along the lines of a SAW hit (i.e. Dead or Alive, or very old Kylie Minogue tracks). It's quite massive and really just makes you want to get up and jump around like a gaylord.


All right, six songs is good enough in our book. Mp3s and Cookies - the least-laziest music blog on the Web.

Best lyrics of 2009

While we're on a roll discussing the year's best this and best that, let's review some of the best one-liners to come out of various songs in 2009.

"Kiss me where your eyes don't meet me" - Franz Ferdinand, "No You Girls"
This is probably a reference to blowjobs, if we had to guess.


"So get your leather, leather, leather on" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Zero"
In a year filled with Lady Gaga "pushing the fashion envelope", it's nice that someone like Karen O. can sing a simple request to just put some leather on. Because really, what else besides leather would you wear when you’re shoving the neck of a beer bottle down your throat?


"I'm in love with a robot" - Royksopp featuring Robyn "The Girl And the Robot"
Perfectly describes where the iPhone generation is headed.


“Darling it is no joke, this is lycanthropy” – Shakira “She Wolf”
Your move, Lon Chaney Jr.


I’m starting to feel just a little abused like a coffee machine in an office” – Shakira “She Wolf”
All right, who molested the espresso maker this time?


“Who would you rather be- the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?” – Metric “Gimme Sympathy”
A question that everyone needs to ask themselves at some point.


“Before you, my whole life was acapella”- Kelis “Acapella”
Well if that isn't the best pick-up line I've heard yet...


"It’s twenty seconds till the last call, you’re going hey hey hey hey hey hey" - Phoenix, "1901"
Better hurry up and get that last martini in!


Overall rating on 2009 lyrics - 7.5 out of 10.

Top 20 Songs of 2009: What Have We Learned?

During 2009, we learned that the music industry is even more confusing and ridiculous than it was at the start of the decade. The Internet is definitely in the driver’s seat when it comes to dictating the popular masses' musical temperature, and therefore everyone should just get wise to that and let us, THE BLOGGERS OF THE WORLD, predict the musical future. Of course, if I were left in charge of the musical future I'd completely eradicate Lady Gaga and Beyonce with a single keystroke, but that's just me.

Anyway, the top 20 songs of 2009. Here we go.

20. Friendly Fires "Kiss of Life"
Who’s responsible: An English band described on Wikipedia as “dance-punk”. Painful reminders of 2001 coming back to us…
What’s going on here: It sounds a bit strange during the verses, but just wait for the chorus to kick in and all you’ll be singing is “kiiiiss of liiiiiiife”. Trust us. It will happen.
Why it’s the number 20 song of 2009: All right, let’s be honest…we ran out of other songs to put in the list. But it is a good song. Just not good enough to rank any higher in the list. But hey, as they say, it’s an honor just to be nominated bla bla bla.



19. A Camp "Stronger Than Jesus"
Who’s responsible: Nina Persson of The Cardigans’ little side band.
What’s going on here: It’s a bit soft-rock (often a phrase that makes our iTunes quake with fear), but in this particular case it’s quite lovely.
Why it’s the number 19 song of 2009: Because anything involving Nina Persson deserves inclusion on our countdowns.



18. Passion Pit "The Reeling"
Who’s responsible: Passion Pit, who have the best album of 2009, mind you.
What’s going on here: They sing about being dissatisfied with life, which can apply to practically every person in the world right now. So really they’re the voice of a generation, etc.
Why it’s the number 18 song of 2009: Because they set modern disillusionment to a nice electro beat. Kudos.



17. Freemasons featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor "Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)"
Who’s responsible: Freemasons, who produced the best song off Kylie’s last album, and Sophie, whose unsuccessful last album was a major pop injustice.
What’s going on here: Freemasons release their usual brand of overblown club music, and Sophie adds her usual brand of “I’m completely devoid of any emotion” vocals. All in all, business as usual for all parties involved.
Why it’s the number 17 song of 2009: Because heartbreak certainly does provide a good dance tune.



16. Shakira "She Wolf"
Who’s responsible: Some warbling Colombian whose hips claim to be truthful.
What’s going on here: Shakira’s gone ELECTRRRRRRO (that was supposed to signify a rolling “r”). It’s about having a she wolf in your closet, which is kind of frightening, and it closes out with some strings ripped from a Boney M record.
Why it’s the number 16 song of 2009: Because any song that can include a lyric about lycanthropy is immediately one of the top 20 songs of its given year.



15. Arctic Monkeys “Crying Lightning”
Who’s responsible: The most-hyped British band in decades that sort of went away for a couple of years.
What’s going on here: It’s a bit rough-n-tough but that’s exactly what we love about these lads, so march on, as we say.
Why it’s the number 15 song of 2009: Because it’s certainly better than “Poker Face”.



14. The Bird and the Bee "Love Letter to Japan"
Who’s responsible: You may remember this duo for a great song they had a few years back called “Fucking Boyfriend”.
What’s going on here: This one is even better than “Fucking Boyfriend”.
Why it’s the number 14 song of 2009: Just listen to the chorus and tell us that doesn't scream "number 14 song".



13. Annie “Anthonio”
Who’s responsible: Annie, the Norwegian pixie who saved pop.
What’s going on here: Annie went away on holiday for the summer, she met a guy named Anthonio, they had some sex, and at the end of the whole thing OOPS she has his baby.
Why it’s the number 13 song of 2009: The first 20 seconds are BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. The reset of the song is a not as brilliant, but nonetheless brilliantly throbbing piece of Italo-disco.



12. Metric “Sick Muse”
Who’s responsible: They gave us “Combat Baby”, “Monster Hospital”, “Succexy”, “Poster of a Girl”…need we go on?
What’s going on here: Emily Haines is warding off Cupid, it’s got the beats-per-minute of a proper dance track, and once it breaks into the chorus GOOD GOD HEAVEN IS OPENING ITS GATES.
Why it’s the number 12 song of 2009: Well another Metric song makes the list higher up, but “Sick Muse” was our first proper introduction to their Fantasies album which is one of the year’s greatest albums, and that’s reason enough to make it number 12.



11. Girls Aloud "Untouchable"
Who’s responsible: The best pop group of the decade.
What’s going on here: Forty stories tall, going through wind and rain, swimming with the sharks – that’s one heck of a relationship if you ask us. Oh and it also contains one incredible lyric about beautiful robots dancing alone.
Why it’s the number 11 song of 2009: For one, we became obsessed with it when their Out of Control album came out last autumn, but the fact that it was released as a single earlier this year made it eligible for 2009. Still, we’ve been listening to this at obsessive levels for over twelve months now.



10. Mini Viva "Left My Heart in Tokyo"
Who’s responsible: Mini Viva, two girls who got sucked into the Xenomania hit factory with rather splendid results.
What’s going on here: They got jiggy with a Japanese guy, and apparently they also keep it tight because they know we really like that. While the vocals could be a bit natty, it’s a cheeky and clever Euro-disco concoction that bears multiple listens.
Why it’s the number 10 song of 2009: We feel bad for Xenomania, who clearly need to have some outlet for their talents while Girls Aloud are on hiatus.



9. Sia "You've Changed"
Who’s responsible: Sia Furler of Australia, who sang on a couple of Zero 7 hits and is dating one of the girls from Le Tigre.
What’s going on here: Sia expresses her surprise at an ex-flame’s reformed ways, all set to a glorious disco backdrop. It’s also a hundred times better than the previous version she did with Lauren Flax.
Why it’s the number 9 song of 2009: She got damn lucky that a song that just leaked a few weeks ago from an album that’s not even released yet is one of the top 10 songs of the year. So clearly it had to be just that good.



8. Dragonette "Pick Up the Phone"
Who’s responsible: Dragonette, who made one of 2007’s finest pop albums that ended up going completely unnoticed by the general public.
What’s going on here: While not as naughty or swaggering as previous singles like “I Get Around” and “Take It Like a Man”, “Pick Up the Phone” is a warm, blissful pop anthem. Which is a nice contrast to listening to sleazy sex music.
Why it’s the number 8 song of 2009: Because it’s the type of song that deserves to get played at top volumes on the happiest day of your life.



7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll"
Who’s responsible: Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, a.k.a. the best rock band in America.
What’s going on here: The band went electronic on their latest album, and though it was a bit jarring at first, there’s no denying that “Heads Will Roll”, among others, are among the finest in the group’s entire catalogue.
Why it’s the number 7 song of 2009: Because it made “off with your head!” a bona-fide call to the dancefloor.



6. Saint Etienne "Method of Modern Love"
Who’s responsible: Saint Etienne, who’ve been making great indie-dance records for nearly 20 years now.
What’s going on with it: It sounds like a hybrid of Kylie Minogue’s “The One” and Girls Aloud’s “Call The Shots”, and that’s quite a spectacular thing for these ears to come by.
Why it’s the number 6 song of 2009: The “oh-whoa-whoa-whoa” bit in the chorus immediately ensured it would make the top 10 on our end of the year list. Number 6 is just where it happened to fall.



5. La Roux "In For the Kill"
Who’s responsible: La Roux, a one man-one woman electronic act (sort of like Goldfrapp) who make electropop music in a very deliberately ‘80s way (not really like Goldfrapp).
What’s going on with it: Once you get past Ellie Jackson’s somewhat grating vocal, it’s absurdly catchy and one of the finest pop tunes to emerge in the last five years. It’s so close to perfection, they can almost taste the kill. Which is from a Girls Aloud song. Which sort of fits this song because it’s called “In For the Kill”. Which we realize doesn’t exactly make sense.
Why it’s the number 5 song of 2009: Because it definitely deserves to be in the top 5.



4. Phoenix "1901"
Who’s responsible: Phoenix, who hail from the same part of France as Daft Punk and Air. Except they’re a bit more rock than Daft Punk and Air. Oh, and the lead singer is Sofia Coppola’s babydaddy.
What’s going on with it: Despite being “a bit more rock” than Daft Punk and Air, “1901” is filled with plenty of lovely electronics. It’s also the sort of stylish, slightly pretentious indie track that we occasionally love to flaunt here at Mp3s and Cookies. So sue us.
Why it’s the number 4 song of 2009: You heard it in those car commercials a hundred times this year. So why not?



3. Metric "Gimme Sympathy"
Who’s responsible: Refer to number 12 on this list.
What’s going on with it: “Gimme Sympathy” has got synths, it’s got guitars, and it’s got one of the must exuberant, shimmering choruses we’ve heard all year. Do we really know what the song’s about? No. Does it matter? No.
Why it’s the number 3 song of 2009: Because it wasn’t quite as good as the top 2 songs of 2009, but certainly better than the 17 other songs on this list.



2. Royksopp featuring Robyn "The Girl And the Robot"
Who's responsible: Royksopp, basically the hippest of a gaggle of Norwegian electronic whizzes, and Robyn, basically the hippest of a gaggle of Swedish electronic warblers.
What's going on with it: It's demented, it's ominous in a completely cheesy, ripped-from-the-soundtrack-of-an-'80s-scifi-flick way, and it's about a girl who stalks a robot. What else could you possibly want in a modern pop record?
Why it's the number 2 song of 2009: Given our society's obsession with iPods, iPhones (no, this isn't a plug for Apple products), “The Girl And the Robot” is, we suppose, a fairly appropriate anthem for this generation.



1. Pet Shop Boys "Love etc"
Who's responsible: Pet Shop Boys, who've been making great British pop records for 20+ years, and Xenomania, who've been making great British pop records for Girls Aloud for 8+ years.
What's going on with it: It's a pristine electronic tune that calls for bedroom listening rather than trouncing around in your local gay bar. It's decorated with plucking keyboards and a call-and-response chorus. Our only gripe is that the title "Love etc" does not actually appear anywhere in the lyrics...now that would have been a rhyming challenge we'd love to see someone tackle.
Why it's the number 1 song of 2009: Well it was a tough draw between the top two other songs on this list, but we think this is just the sort of "anthem" we need in our recession era, etc...or should we say, love etc.?



And there you have it. On to 2010, shall we?

The Grammys...let's not even go there.

Congratulations, Grammy People. You have once again proved that winning the music industry's highest honor requires very little artistic value. You can be an 18-year-old "country sensation" who sings music that 13-year-olds write in their diaries, you can be a psuedo hip-hop group that records a bunch of electronic noise with lyrics like "I'm so three thousand and eight", you can be an American Idol winner with song titles like "I Do Not Hook Up" and "My Life Would Suck Without You", and STILL earn the highest accolades modern music has to offer.

Let's take a look at the Record of the Year nominees just to get a taste of what we're dealing with here -

Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"
Beyonce, "Halo"
Kings of Leon "Use Somebody"
Lady Gaga "Poker Face"

It seems like the Academy ("the Academy") skimmed through the iTunes playlist of a high school sophomore for their nominees, and then at the last minute decided, "Oh, let's just throw in the Kings of Leon for some credibility".

We really don't need to explain much else, you can imagine what sort of garbage made the rest of the list. Although kudos for nominating MGMT as Best New Artist. At least the Academy ("Academy") had that much sense.

Some Black Eyed Peas ranting for your weekend.

We had the misfortune of hearing the Black Eyed Peas single "Meet Me Halfway", and we could have sworn we heard the opening guitar from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" sampled throughout the track. Further investigation into this shows no official crediting for sampling "Maps", but the possibility that this dastardly group appropriated one of the very best tracks of the last ten years into their wanker of a tune is insulting.

Listen beginning at :45 and you'll see what we're talking about.



Depressing, isn't it?

Owl City...viewers beware...

We've heard bits of the Owl City album.

To sum things up - what a piece of shit.

Let's place the most poetically banal lyrics imaginable over the same 12 copied-and-pasted synthpop landscapes, and you get this concoction that really should only appeal to 14-year-olds.

The Postal Service mined similar territory years ago to much, MUCH better effect, so in reality Owl City is just frankly insulting.

Some new Rihanna for your Tuesday evening.

We're not always entirely on the Rihanna boat, but there's no denying that she certainly gets her pick of the catchiest songs floating in the pop universe.

Rated R is her new album, and from what we've been hearing on the web, it's looking to be anything but disappointing.

"Rude Boy" is one of the new tracks on Rated R, and these ears are loving every bit of it. It's one of those "low slung" midtempo R&B tracks, with a particularly great keyboard riff during the chorus and some rather naughty lyrics about being with a dominating pervert.

Lyrics such as "I like the way you pull my hair" do make things a bit awkward if you take into context some previous Rihanna headlines with a certain ex-boyfriend, but as a pop song it is more than just a little bit listenable.

Well this is interesting.

Heard of Ke$ha? No? Neither have we. Until now.

This is a very peculiar addition to the pop-o-sphere. On the one hand it's complete and utter trash, not in a delightfully Euro-trash way, but in a Gaga trash way. This song "Tik Tok" is the stupider younger sister of "Just Dance", done by someone resembling Taylor Swift's sluttier, electronic alter-ego.

What's even more peculiar is how she's aping an image and sound that bears more than just a few similarities to Uffie or Yelle. Like this is America's tween answer to some hip, indie-ish electro bee-yotch. Except there's nothing hip or indie-ish about this.

All the same, we've certainly heard something worse. It's sort of like Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" the first ten times you hear it- you know it's rotting your brain cells but you can't help that guilty liking you have towards it. A million times later, however, the effect has completely worn off and you're just left with a massive headache and musical nausea.

We have a feeling this Ke$ha character will follow a similar route.

Now that we think about it...

Girls Aloud's "The Loving Kind" really is one of the most underrated of their singles. I think at the time it came out, everyone thought to themselves "Christ, a sequel to 'Call The Shots'", but a year afterward its beauty becomes much more apparent and singular. It's a very straightforward, uncluttered paean to modern heartache, and in this day and age, who can't relate to that?





Still doesn't excuse that terrible single cover, though.

In other news, viewers, we're beginning to compile a list of the best songs of the last 10 years. Not very easy.

In case you were wondering...

We're completely in love with the new Mini Viva single.

Some thoughts on the new "Sugababes" single.

Tomorrow the "Sugababes" are releasing their first post-Keisha single, "About A Girl", and here are some of our thoughts regarding this.

The problem with "About A Girl" lies in the inability to separate the quality of the song with the physical changes in the group and also in the sound. This Euro, electro-R&B sound isn't awful, but nor is it particularly unique, particularly when drawn up alongside previous Sugababes singles that could truly be considered unique ("Freak Like Me", "Hole In the Head", "Push The Button" - none of them sounded much like any other mainstream pop songs at the time).

If this were any other artist's track, we would probably say "All right, fair enough", but when one stamps the Sugababes label over it, it really is a curious and ultimately wholly disappointing affair. Sad, really, that a group regarded a mere four years ago as the UK's most credible and genuinely good pop act have turned into nothing more than a revolving door, whored-out-for-the-masses nonentity.

A bit of Dragonette to start off your weekend.

Dragonette has given us some rather nice pop songs over the past couple of years, i.e. "I Get Around", "Take It Like A Man", "Pick Up the Phone", and I think we can add "Easy" to the list also. It's from their latest album Fixin' To Thrill, available now on iTunes viewers.

The album version is a nice midtempo, '80s-sounding affair, but you should also check out the Buffetlibre mix. There's not much that separates it from your standard electropop fare, but it's a pleasant, sublime mix, and sometimes that's all you need in life. Nothing terribly groundbreaking, just something that goes down easily.

Album Version:


Buffetlibre Mix:

Well this is slightly amusing.

Happy Friday, viewers.

Another run-down of a few things we like, and a few things we don't...

Let's take a moment to discuss this.

Something we like: Mini Viva "I Wish"
This is the duo's next single, and though it did take a couple of listens to catch on, we decided that overall it's a job well done (and really, eight times out of ten you can't go wrong with a Xenomania-produced track). Our only gripe is the girls' rather natty vocals, but production-wise, lyric-wise, chorus-wise (particularly the "Oh no...he could be the one that hits the light inside of my soul" bit), we have nothing but high marks. The video's a bit odd too, but does a nice job of portraying Mini Viva as a rather jolly couple of girls.




Something we don't like: Britney Spears "3"
Oh dear. There are so many things about this song that just aren't right.




Something we like: Annie "Don't Stop"
After leaking a bunch of tracks from her second album Don't Stop last summer, most of which were met rather enthusiastically by pop fans, then deciding after the first single didn't exactly "do business" to push back the release date, we finally have a slightly re-adjusted but official release. Listeners, it was worth the wait. The title track of Don't Stop is one of the new songs not initially on last year's proposed tracklisting, and it is quite good. It's a bit of a '90s-sounding dance tune with some bongo-esque percussion going on in the background, and a piano riff that was commonplace on most '90s dance tunes. Basically anything that sounds like it could have been made in the '90s is typically a good sign in our book. (That explains your shit taste in music, says everyone else.)




Something we don't like: Justin Bieber "Love Me"
Some prepubescent upstart from Canada decided to record this nonsense (it can't even be called a song, not with a straight face at least), and it utilizes a portion of The Cardigans' "Lovefool". We here at Mp3s and Cookies are rather offended when people trash songs by bands that we generally consider to be quite good, and The Cardigans certainly fall under that category.




Oh dear.

We're going to be rather busy...

Like all good music blogs, Mp3s and Cookies is certainly aware that before long, we'll have to start compiling a list of our favorite songs from the past year. With just 66 days left to 2009, we should probably get started sooner or later.

This time around will be a bit different, however, because not only are there 66 days left to the end of the year, but there are only 66 days left in this decade.

This, of course, means that we shall have to compose our favorite songs of the past decade.

We think you'll agree that will be quite an undertaking. So please bear with us if there are a few days without any posts from Mp3s and Cookies, while we busily put together this extravaganza.

(An extravaganza that maybe two people in the entire world care about)

Well all right...

The more we listened to Girls Can't Catch's "Keep Your Head Up", the less amazing it becomes. Nice chorus, and it's a pleasant enough listen, but certainly nothing in the league of outstanding.

And the world continues its Sunday afternoon without even pausing to care.

Another excellent girlband song.

Girls Can't Catch supported Girls Aloud on their Out Of Control tour this summer, and they released this song, "Keep Your Head Up", as their first single back in July. Not too much happened with it then, pity because it's a surefire, nail-on-the-head pop hit. Lyrics about turning the other cheek instead of launching an angry tirade against an ex, set against a pristine electronic backdrop...it's all quite good.

Here's the video. They're playing croquet in a junkyard. How edgy.



Probably not going to make The Saturdays or the "Sugababes" quiver in their stilletos during the Aloud hiatus, but a pleasant addition to the pop-o-sphere nonetheless.

P.S.

The new Rihanna single can't possibly be as dull as "Fight For This Love", can it?

Pointless update for a Thursday.

After releasing fifty singles from her last album, the campaign for which seemed to go on for at least 1,000 years, Rihanna is finally back with a new album. The new single is called "Russian Roulette" and we haven't heard it yet, and in reality we're not much interested in the Rihanna universe (though she has a fairly reliable track record of releasing catchy songs), but we'll let you know our thoughts on it eventually.


Expert music journalism right here, viewers.

Cheryl Cole's album.

We've heard snippets of Cheryl Cole's forthcoming solo album.

To sum it all up - Yawn.

We're fairly certain that the world doesn't need a rehash of any r&b-attempted pop sounds circa 2001.

Thanks for trying, love. Please return to work on the next Girls Aloud album ASAP.

Well, this is a good song.

We all know you love Mp3s and Cookies for consistently being on the pulse of up-and-coming, just-reached-your-ears music, and this time is no exception. There is a song called "Love Sex Magic" by Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake, and....all right, it was released seven months ago and pretty much anyone who pays a slight bit of attention to the top 40 is well aware of this track.

Oh well, the fact that we're late on this certainly doesn't take away from how good it is, and we're pleased to say it's going down nicely in these ears. Better late than never, as we always say. The song is a "funked up" sort of affair, veering a bit on the electro side, with a nice chorus, basically all the ingredients for a good pop song.

Here is the video, which we think you'll agree is rather well done. Lights, leotards, odd sunglasses, and Timberlake rubbing his hand all over Ciara's rear end. What more could you want in pop music?



Nice job, everyone. Better than that whole "1,2 Step" fiasco from a few years back.

A couple of good Xenomania moments.

In honor of Xenomania's recent top 10 success with "Left My Heart In Tokyo" from their brand new act Mini Viva (and by recent, we mean this is at least month-old news), we have decided to reflect upon the many wonderful moments that Xenomania has provided for the world of pop music.

No, this will not be just all Girls Aloud. We're fully capable of listening to music other than the Aloud, thankyouverymuch.

That's not to say that there won't be Girls Aloud songs in this list, because Xenomania are an integral part of the Girls Aloud formula and that would just be nonsense to say that no Girls Aloud song qualifies among Xenomania's greatest moments, but the general idea is there and WE'RE JUST GOING TO SHUT UP AND GET ON WITH IT NOW.

Sophie Ellis Bextor "If You Go" (2007, from the album Trip The Light Fantastic)
Why it's good: While they are renowned for numerous balls-to-the-walls, "who in the hell came up with this?" concoctions with most Girls Aloud singles, Xenomania are wonderfully capable of working within more melancholy realms. This is a good example of that.
Best lyric: "Because I'd like, like to be somebody who you'd take a chance on/I would take a chance on you everyday"
Best sonic moment: The intro, where Sophie's "aahs" blend nicely over the synth bassline. It's all very atmospheric and all that sort of thing.




Gabriella Cilmi "Sweet About Me" (2008, from the album Lessons To Be Learned)
Why it's good: 16-year-old Cilmi sings like a 30-year-old woman, and Xenomania show what it's like when they record a song without synthesizers and computers for a change.
Best lyric: "When you're playing with desire, don't come running to my place when it burns like fire"
Best sonic moment: The break between the chorus and the second verse. The drums stop, there's a nice guitar in the background, and just a moment's anticipation before the Cilmi begins growling again.




Girls Aloud "No Good Advice" (2003, from the album Sound of the Underground)
Why it's good: Yes yes, it's the moment Girls Aloud's potential was first realized, it's the moment we realized they weren't just a one-hit wonder, it was Xenomania's first true musical triumph, etc. etc.
Best line: "Shut your mouth because your shit might show" (in the original, unedited version, at least) and "I don't need no beauty sleep, no need to count those dirty sheep"
Best sonic moment: The surf guitar breaks and the "My Sharona"-esque opening.




Rachel Stevens "Nothing Good About This Goodbye" (2005, from the album Come And Get It)
Why it's good: Despite the fact that the woman sounds completely disinterested in every one of her records, there's no denying that 7 out of 10 songs in the world that has Rachel Stevens on the bill ends up being rather amazing. This is one of those songs, a poignant and mature look at a failed relationship etc etc.
Best line: "Snap decisions cause you so much pain, then you come 'round again and there's nothing left at all"
Best sonic moment: The chorus, and the middle-eight break where Rachel repeats the aforementioned line through a vocoder and everything except the bass has dropped out.




Girls Aloud "Graffiti My Soul" (2004, from the album What Will the Neighbours Say?)
Why it's good: Better question would be, why is it NOT good? Guitars, "industrial"-esque sounds, rapping, no coherent sense of verse-chorus?
Best line: "From the table onto the floor, it's procreation and nothing more"
Best sonic moment: Everything within the first 56 seconds of the song- from the opening salvo "Spiked heels and skin-tight jeans..." to the manic breakthrough of guitars, beats and synths.




All right, two out of five were Girls Aloud songs. So sue us.

Kylie Minogue, live in the USA

You're probably wondering, "How was Kylie's first-ever live concert in Los Angeles last night?"

WELL.

As to be expected of someone like Kylie, it was quite the spectacle. What we mean by someone like Kylie is someone who is a true showman/woman. Kylie is certainly that. She is not the strongest vocalist, nor the best dancer, but she has the gift of pulling it all together when she's onstage, and yes we realize there's a huge helping hand with lighting, staging, choreography, and even right down to the fact that the majority of her finest music was written for her by other people. But in spite of all these elements not within her control, she still brings the life and energy forward, and all that is completely on her shoulders.

For someone who's just barely over five feet tall and has the physique of a fairy, Kylie's stage presence is surprisingly commanding, and yet inviting at the same time. She interacts with the crowd. She's light-hearted, she's funny, she is unquestionably sexy but still has a twinkle in her eye that almost says "Yes, I am writhing about in leather pants that were practically painted on my dainty ass, but this is just a show and we're all still having fun". She doesn't jet into show-stopping moves like Britney used to, nor shatter the amplifiers with a voice like Christina, but the entire time you're glued to her.

The songs, of course, are the other important factor. It's rather telling that of all the songs on this mini-tour's setlist, the five tracks from X were without a doubt among the weakest when done live. X is a bit of an odd one in our opinion (some days we like it, some days we don't), but there's no denying that most everything on the album does not exactly translate well onstage.

Something that does translate INCREDIBLY well to the stage (and you wouldn't think so; we certainly didn't) - "Slow". One of the best numbers of the night, surprising considering how sparse and trapped by electronics the studio version is. The older hits definitely were a joy to hear live- "Can't Get You Out of My Head" predictably drew a massive crowd reaction, "Confide In Me" was powerful, the jazzed-up rendition of "The Loco-motion" was quite the showstopper, and "Love At First Sight" expertly ended the show on a euphoric note.

Overall, a rousing success.

Just wondering aloud...

Now that Keisha Buchanan has become a "solo singer" (i.e. ex-band member now assed out of a proper career), HOW AMAZING would it be if she were to reunite with failed soloists Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy and re-create the ORIGINAL Sugababes lineup, ten years later?

In a world where unexpectedly good things happen, this would take place immediately.

In our reality where Cascada gets to number 1 with that God-awful dance floor evacuation song while decent bands like Dragonette barely prance into the top 100, this will perhaps never happen.

But it's nice to dream.

Cheryl Cole's solo career, and what this means for Girls Aloud

In a few weeks, Cheryl Cole's debut solo single arrives and the future of Girls Aloud shall be told from there.

It's a very peculiar time for the band. Tangled Up truly helped establish them as a major force in the UK pop scene. While they had been enjoying accolades, rave reviews and continued top 10 hits ever since What Will the Neighbours Say?, they still hadn't quite crossed the threshold that divides a music group from being popular to being massive. That all started to change when "Call The Shots" refused to leave the charts from late '07 into early '08, and when "The Promise" and Out Of Control both stormed their way to number 1 later that year, it was apparent that the Aloud had paid their dues and earned their place in the "massive" category.

But now we've reached a turning point in the Girls Aloud story. Cheryl Cole has become the focal point of the band due to her new job on X Factor, and with the girls on hiatus for the next year or so, she's striking while the iron is hot and launching her solo career.

This could go a number of ways.

1. Cheryl Cole could become an even bigger star and have a massive-selling album, which would render those four other cows she sang with before completely useless and there would be no need for that little girl band. (NOTE: This does not in any way reflect the opinions of Mp3s and Cookies, and in fact we would be unspeakably devastated if this were to happen.)

2. Cheryl Cole's first single would enter the charts at No.7, not too shabby but not impressive, whereas the accompanying solo album would bomb because people would say "Christ, can't we get something like 'Love Machine' on this?"

3. Cheryl Cole's first single would enter the charts at a high position- top 2, at least- and the solo album would perform marginally well- not spectacular, not enough to completely eradicate anything she's done before, but enough to prove that there is an audience for her- and Girls Aloud would still return in 2010 because, come on, that's her real money maker.

Number 3 seems most plausible out of all these scenarios, and the one we would be most pleased with. Let's face it, we'd be happy with number 2 as well because that would still imply the necessity of more Girls Aloud.

Let's just hope that the next Aloud record is a bit more of a corker than Out Of Control. I think I might do myself in if I have to hear anything resembling "Live In the Country" again.

We like to ask the obvious questions around here.

Is it really necessary for Britney Spears to release a second greatest hits collection? Jesus Christ, it's only been five years since her first singles compilation, and since then she's only spewed out two albums.

So we checked out the anticipated tracklisting, and it's essentially everything you heard on My Prerogative: The Greatest Hits with six more songs to reflect the last two records. Hardly sustainable for a second helping of hits.

Not to mention Britney sounds like an oversexed six-year-old on the new single "3". Good Lord. This whole thing just smells bad.

A bit of an oldie...

For whatever reason, over the past couple of days we've been rehashing the Killers' "Somebody Told Me". Quite possibly the best track in their catalogue, and you can tell that to the Queen Mother. (Erm...isn't she dead?...)

Anyway, if you fancy following in our footsteps (crickets...crickets...), then go ahead and check out this rather splendid remix. It's one of those hands-in-the-air-at-your-local-gay-bar moments, but there's still plenty of guitars there so that keeps things relatively level.

Just a thought....

Who kidnapped Cheryl Cole and replaced her with Victoria Beckham?









Just saying.

In memory of...

Before we bury the hatchet on this whole Sugababes fiasco once and for all, let's recall some of their great moments from the past.

"Overload" (2000)

Few debut singles are as affecting as "Overload". Ten years down the road, it still manages to sound more hip than anyone in teen pop at the time could ever dream of reaching. The magic lies in its ability to ooze indie-cool whilst retaining the youthful naivety appropriate to the age of its singers. A fantastic introduction to the Sugababes catalogue.

"Round Round" (2002)

A few months before Xenomania changed the face of British pop with the very first of twenty Girls Aloud singles, they put together this rather brilliant tune and got the 'babes their second number 1 hit. Riding a garage-pop groove and boasting a chorus that sort of feels like it's going "round round", the track expertly showcases the varying shades of the girls' vocals - Mutya's husky growl, Keisha's soulful croon, and Heidi's quivering softness.

"Push The Button" (2005)

2005 was really a year when it started becoming cool to like pop music, and Sugababes joined the pack with "Push The Button". It's a simple, straightforward electropop tune, but it's the details that count. There's the buzzing, tinkering noises whirring in the background, the "ooohs" behind the chorus' lead-in; the chorus itself, come to think of it, is just about as catchy as the flu. It's so mainstream and yet so very clever and knowing all in the same breath, and those are the qualities of a great pop tune.

"Ace Reject" (2005)

Wistful, contemplative, subdued, and altogether lovely, this is truly one of the group's finest, albeit heart-wrenching, moments.

"Easy" (2006)

All right, it's really not one of their best songs. It's sleazy at best, it's got none of the satisfying aloofness of their previous hits, but by golly we love it because of that chorus. And that's all we need to say about this.

"My Love Is Pink" (2007)

We here at Mp3s and Cookies haven't really enjoyed any Sugababes output beyond 2007, so that particular year stands as a sort of watershed year for them, in our opinion. "My Love Is Pink" is one of just a handful of great songs on the otherwise "meh" Change album. Again produced by Xenomania, it's expertly crafted and rather sophisticated for something aimed squarely at the dancefloor, and probably one of the last times that we've felt the girls resembled any of their past incarnations.

And there we have it. Thank you for the music, Sugababes.

The demise of the Sugababes

Yes, pop fans, it has finally happened. The Sugababes have come to an end.

They've officially announced that Heidi, Amelle and some new girl named Jade will continue on as the Sugababes, but for all practical purposes the Sugababes franchise is done for. Keisha was the last founding member to survive all previous line-up changes, and though Heidi has been around for seven years and is still a valuable asset to the Sugababes formula, and Amelle had carved her own niche in the band, there truly is no point in carrying on without Keisha.

Let's review the Sugababes story, from the beginning, shall we?

1998 -
Teenagers Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhan Donaghy form the Sugababes.

2000 -
Their debut single, "Overload", reaches #6 in the UK and is nominated for Best British Single at the 2001 BRIT Awards. The brilliant track combines r&b, electro and a bit of funk and made all the more affecting by the group's girlish vocals.

2001 -
Two more singles off their debut album ,One Touch, fail to duplicate the success of "Overload", the band is eventually dropped by their record label, and there are rumors of quarrelling among the girls. During a promotional tour of Japan, Siobhan abruptly hops a flight back to the UK, never to return. Siobhan is then replaced by Heidi Range, a former member of the English pop group Atomic Kitten.

2002 -
Heidi, Keisha, and Mutya begin work on their second album. During the recording, they ink a new deal with Island Records and have a chance meeting with producer Richard X. Renowned for his work in the "bastard pop" scene, X asks the girls to record vocals for a mash-up of Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric" set to the lyrics of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me". The resulting song, "Freak Like Me", is released as the album's first single in April 2002 and storms the UK charts at number 1. It is an instant critical favorite, earning praise from areas not typically keen on pop music. Their next single, "Round Round", produced by Xenomania, becomes another UK chart-topper and cements their status as 2002's break-out pop act. Sugababes' second album, Angels With Dirty Faces, is released in August and goes triple-platinum.

2003 -
The girls waste no time in following the critical and commercial success of their second album. Their third album, aptly titled Three, is preceeded by the band's third #1 hit, "Hole In the Head", again produced by Xenomania. "Hole In the Head" is released as a promotional single in the United States in 2004, and though they fail to break the market when it peaks at number 96 on the Hot 100 chart, the song does reach number 1 on the club play chart and is a dancefloor favorite for that year.

2005 -
Sugababes return in autumn 2005 with their fourth album, Taller In More Ways, which debuts at number 1. The lead single, "Push The Button", is their biggest hit at the time, spending three weeks at number 1 and nominated for 2005's British single of the year. In December, following the top five success of the single "Ugly", Mutya announces that she's leaving the Sugababes to spend time with her daughter. She is replaced by Amelle Berrabah.

2006 -
With the third line-up change in five years, Sugababes push forward with the new single "Red Dress". Its top 10 success proves that fans are warming up to Amelle's presence. Later that year, they issue Overloaded, a compilation of past hits and two new tracks. A new single, "Easy", becomes the group's twelfth top ten hit.

2007 -
Sugababes earn their fifth number 1 with "Walk This Way", a collaboration with fellow girlband Girls Aloud for the Comic Relief charity. Later that year, the new single "About You Now" takes the charts by storm and becomes their biggest hit ever. "About You Now" spends four weeks at number 1 and is the sixth best-selling UK single of the year. Their fifth album Change reiceves mixed reviews, and subsequent singles "Change" and "Denial" both miss the top 10.

2008 -
After touring in the spring to promote Change, Keisha, Heidi and Amelle record their sixth album, Catfights and Spotlights. The first single, "Girls", reaches #3, but the album barely limps into the top 10 and is their lowest-selling album to date. Critical response is mixed, though the majority of reviews agreed that the group is loosing the cool edge that made them such an acclaimed act.

2009 -
The Sugababes announce they were jetting to Los Angeles to record a new album and inking a new deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation label. "Get Sexy" is the first single off the new album, and reaches #2 in the UK. Shortly afterwards, rumors swirl that Amelle has quit the band. After days of speculating, the Sugababes' label announced on September 21 that Keisha, the last founding Sugababe, is leaving the band and being replaced with Eurovision contestant Jade Ewen. The new album, titled Sweet 7, is still expected to be released in November.

There we have it. Eleven years of Sugababes, most of those years churning out some fairly incredible pop music. You can't deny though that the last two or three years have not been their best, and though Amelle was eventually welcomed by the majority of Sugababes fans, the group has lost much of their cool, mysterious edge.

With this brand new line-up, there really is little point to continue on with the band, and everyone involved ought to just move on with their lives.

It was nice while it lasted, though.

The 2009 VMAs...or, How To Continue Being Culturally Useless

Well in case you've lived under a rock, you knew that the 2009 MTV VMAs were held a few days ago, and the only reason you might have known about it is because of Kanye-Swiftgate and how Lady Gaga bled all over the stage.

There's no need to rehash the details of Kanye-Swiftgate and how he's a dirtbag, shame on him, poor little girl, oh wasn't that nice of Beyonce, bla bla bla bla bla bla zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

But you've got to admit, this picture says everything - look at how unbelievably embarrassed she looks.







All right, that's done and over with.

Moving on.

Lady Gaga is continuing to baffle us. One can't help but wonder whether she is just one very elaborate hoax on the entire music-gobbling public. That a glorified drag queen who continues to chart hit after hit, though each single continues to sound dangerously like the previous one, while she's wearing Kermit the Frog or dressed like the Mad Hatter and wearing one-piece leotards that just barely cover the crotch while walking around London in December...it's just too absurd to be real.


Then she goes and pulls the following nonsense at the VMAs. First, she walks in wearing this -














...

And then she gets on stage looking like this -












....

And then she accepts her award for Best New Artist looking like this -











And after that she wore what appeared to be a bird's nest around her face but we can't find any pictures of it.

The point of all this is to state the fact that...WE DON'T GET IT. Could someone explain this to us? Because this whole Lady Gaga thing is flying clear over our heads. We don't like her music, we don't get her "fashion", we just don't get it and frankly we're tired of it. If Girls Aloud are considered "safe" or "boring" by comparison, well at least listening to "Biology" or "The Promise" doesn't make me want to set my toes on fire like "Poker Face" Or "Paparazzi" might.

THAT BEING SAID.

Beyonce won Video of the Year for "Single Ladies". Hmmm, it's interesting that three women dressed in leotards performing some ridiculous choreography is considered the most important contribution to the musical video in 2009, but hey, what do we know?

Clearly Mp3's and Cookies takes priority in our lives

Yes, viewers, it has been a while. We apologize. Send our regards to your mothers, etc.

ANYWAY, what's been going down in "the biz" lately?

1. Kanye West created a whole hullabaloo at the Video Music Awards by being a prick to Taylor Swift and getting himself properly booed. This piece of news was interesting for about 20 minutes before The World got over it and moved on. And by The World we mean everyone except the news media.

2. Dragonette have a new song called "Pick Up The Phone" from their forthcoming second album, and it is quite a spectacular fare. Much better than that awful "Fixin to Kill" single, which incidentally is also the name of the new album. We'll have a more in-depth analysis later.

3. Kylie Minogue is getting ready to "shake her tailfeathers", if you will, in a few weeks for the American gays. Lovely. We shall be seeing her at the Hollywood Bowl on October 4, and if she doesn't perform the following tracks we shall be very cross with her -

"Can't Get You Out of My Head"
"Love At First Sight"
"I Believe In You"
"Confide In Me"
"I Should Be So Lucky"
"Better The Devil You Know"
"In My Arms"
"Come Into My World" (preferably the Fischerspooner mix, if she knows what's good for her)
etc. etc.

We promise to keep up with this, because we know that the World Wide Web is going into meltdown over a lack of Mp3s and Cookies updates. Stop your snickering.

Run away.

Cascada, anyone?

Sure, we'll give it to them that "Everytime We Touch" is one of the more catchier (in a completely guilty sense) dance-pop tunes of the past few years. Only problem is they failed to record anything else that did not sound like a carbon copy of the aforementioned single. So now Cascada are back and have reached the top of the UK charts with their latest track. Viewers, it is not a pretty sight.



When you hear her singing "Evacuate the dancefloor", you'll be saying "With pleasure" once you've managed to stomach even half a minute of this. The Cascada woman mentioned in a recent interview "We have definitely developed the Cascada sound. With 'Evacuate The Dancefloor', we've taken all we learnt over the last few years and moved on. It's refreshing and fun". Right, and Mariah Carey holds a PhD in philosophy. So "devleoping the Cascada sound" goes from releasing fifty singles that mine the same faux-trance beat to recycling every element of a Lady Gaga song.

Even more hilarious is Cascada woman's claim that "People's jaws are going to hit the floor when they hear it". She does have a point. Jaws might hit the floor, but I imagine it would be from total disgust.

Something we like, and something we don't.

Thumbs up: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' video for "Heads Will Roll"
It's our favorite song off It's Blitz!, and the video in typical YYY fashion is another creative venture. It basically involves the band performing while a werewolf-looking bloke dances for a crowd of unsuspecting patrons. Said werewolf then attacks one of the said patrons and guts and blood fly everywhere. Like confetti. Confetti of horrors. It's all quite nice.



Thumbs down: Shiny Toy Guns cover of "Major Tom"
It's most unfortunate what's happened to the Guns. Two years ago they were our favorite new band. Their debut album We Are Pilots contained not one, not two, but at least four or five electronic pop gems ("Le Disko", "Don't Cry Out", "You Are The One", "Rainy Monday", "We Are Pilots", "Rocketship", etc). Then they got themselves a new female singer and released a second album that is just complete crap. Then they do what any band would do in the 21st century and whore themselves out to the corporate world by recording a cover of Peter Schilling's 1983 hit "Major Tom" for a Lincoln car commercial. The original "Major Tom"- quite incredible. One of the best '80s songs. Shiny Toy Guns' version- rather stale and just sounds like a high quality karaoke track.



That is all for now.

Every once in a while you just need to reflect...

Bizarre as it might seem, sometimes we here at Mp3s and Cookies forget (albeit very briefly) just how amazing Girls Aloud are. So, for no reason in particular, we felt it important to remind the viewers and ourselves just why we cherish this little pop band so much.

"The Promise" - Initially this song had the curious effect of being both great and a bit boring. Time, however, has proven it to be a rather excellent and necessary gem in the Aloud catalogue. Fact: the opening verse is one of the greatest pop moments of this decade.


"Sexy! No No No" - Think the Black Eyed Peas could ever come up with something this absurd and still be brilliant? Clearly, the Aloud are so 3008.


"Biology" - Basically, Jesus Christ himself wrote this song. That about sums things up.


We could go on but there are a lot of amazing Girls Aloud songs, and frankly we don't have the patience. But you get the general idea.

Now it's the Americans' turn...

First things first, the top 10. And viewers, things are not looking good...

1. Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling"
2. Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
3. Drake "Best I Ever Had"
4. Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo "Knock You Down"
5. Lady Gaga "LoveGame"
6. Pitbull "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"
7. Sean Kingston "Fire Burning"
8. Jeremih "Birthday Sex"
9. Linkin Park "New Divide"
10. Katy Perry "Waking Up In Vegas"

I literally cannot say that I like a single song that is in the top 10 this week. Of course, this statement must be followed by the fact that I have never heard the songs at number 1, number 4, number 7, number 8 and number 9. But the fact remains - none of these "artists" are remotely appealing to me. The Black Eyed Peas' dominance of the top two positions clearly proves that things in America are truly in a rotten state.

I don't really feel the need to report on the rest of the Hot 100 chart. It might cause me to lose my lunch.

Let's have a look at the UK singles chart, shall we?

Right. This week's top ten -

1. La Roux "Bulletproof"
2. David Guetta feat Kelly Rowland "When Love Takes Over"
3. Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
4. Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"
5. Keri Hilson, Kanye West, Ne-Yo "Knock You Down"
6. Agnes Carlsson "Release Me"
7. Pixie Lot "Mama Do"
8. Daniel Merriweather "Red"
9. Dizzie Rascal and Van Helden "Bonkers"
10. Veronicas "Untouched"

Thoughts on the top ten
Well done to La Roux for making number 1 with such a brilliant song. Drinks for everyone. That said, the whole David Guetta-Kelly Rowland affair is rather dull, and apparently not even the Britons are immune to the Black Eyed Peas "charms". There's nothing left to say about Lady Gaga that hasn't been said before, and I haven't heard the number 5 song, but I can imagine anything with Kanye West and Ne-Yo in the credits is something I ought to steer clear of.

All right, here's your dose of reliable music blogging - we haven't actually heard any of the other songs in the top 10 other than numbers 1 through 4. Sorry, readers. We know you count on Mp3s and Cookies to be on the cutting edge of music, and we've let you down. Send our regards to your mothers.

Elsewhere in the UK singles chart....

Freemasons and Sophie Ellis-Bextor didn't exactly perform "up to standards", as "Heartbreak Make Me A Dancer" managed to zoom its way up from last week's debut at number 15 to its current peak at....number 13. Slow down there, turbo.

In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, nineteen of his songs (one of them being a Jackson 5 track) have charted on this week's UK singles chart. Now we're not one to jump on bandwagons here (collective Internet audience rolling their eyes), but we will say that Jackson's death is a rather significant moment for music. Granted, he hasn't done anything worth much musical value in nearly twenty years, but even we aren't dimwitted enough to understand how important he has been to modern pop music.

That being said, here's something every up-and-coming pop artist/group needs to understand- IF YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE IT BIG, FIND SOME WAY TO DIE. Trust us, nothing screams chart success like ending up on an obituary. Look what it did for Aaliyah, or George Harrison. Posthumous number 1's fell right into their laps. (This is the part where Mp3s and Cookies ends up rotting in hell)

Something you should highly consider checking out...

This is La Roux. La Roux is a one man, one woman act who concoct brilliant electronic/pop music. Except the main focus is the woman, so everyone thinks that La Roux is actually just the woman. Sort of like Goldfrapp. But not really sounding like Goldfrapp.

Their debut album, La Roux, is brimming with some of 2009's finest moments in previously-mentioned electronic/pop music. One such example is "Bulletproof", the next single following "In For The Kill", which was a nice big hit in the UK. Here is the video for "Bulletproof", and things are looking very good indeed.



We say this a lot on Mp3s and Cookies, and we know that come December we're going to have a real problem narrowing this down, but "Bulletproof" is seriously going to land itself somewhere within our top 10 favorite songs of 2009. That we can guarantee. And La Roux will end up one of 2009's top 10 best albums. That we also can guarantee. We're willing to slice off some of our own limbs if we fail to deliver on these promises.

What's new in the stratosphere of Mp3s and Cookies?

It's been a while since we've posted, so let's give you viewers a run-down of what's been crossing our musical dimension.

1) The biggest news of the year so far - Kylie Minogue has announced a limited string of concert dates in the United States and Canada this autumn. This is absolutely incredible as we all know that Kylie knows a thing or two about putting out "some decent" pop tunes here or there (translation- "Can't Get You Out of My Head", "Love At First Sight", "Slow", "I Believe in You", "In My Arms", etc are just a handful of the greatest pop singles of the past decade).

2) Metric's Fantasies has been on non-stop repeat for the last few weeks. It has already earned itself a place among 2009's top ten best albums.

3) We're starting to become more and more comfortable with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new album. They really are genius and it would take a lot for them to fuck up, so kudos.

4) No Doubt is on tour this summer and that is something that we're definitely hoping to catch. FOR ALL YOU YOUNGER WHIPPER SNAPPERS OUT THERE - before Gwen Stefani got all wet over Japanese things while making fairly crap attempts at '80s pop music ("The Sweet Escape" and "Cool" being notable exceptions), she used to sing in a band called No Doubt that were responsible for pretty much one of the defining albums of the 1990s and for music afterwards that can be described as "very very good".

5) Pet Shop Boys' "Pandemonium" is slowly creeping its way in as another stand-out track on the Yes album. Well done, lads.

Some Earth-shattering news...if you're a fan of pop music and you live in America...

Kylie Minogue is doing some gigs in the States later this year.







Wait...




Let's say that again....


KYLIE FUCKING MINOGUE IS COMING TO THE UNITED FUCKING STATES OF AMERICA TO PERFORM LIVE.



Did you catch that, Pointdexter? The grande dame of pop herself is coming to the US, which has never given much of a toss about her, not to perform on some shitty shows like "Dancing With the Stars" or give some lame interview on "Ellen". No, she's coming to our shores to actually put on a fucking concert for all the gays to scream their willy hearts out at.

Don't even act like you're not the least bit excited. Go to YouTube, look up a video from any of her live tours (highly recommended is anything from the Fever, Showgirl or X2008 tours), and you will see for yourself that regardless of what you think about her music or her voice or whatever, the woman knows how to put on a show.

Britney Spears lip synching to "Piece of Me" inside a cage? PLEASE.

Remember when we said we'd do this?

Good to know that Mp3s and Cookies is keeping on the ball.

Anyway.

Our nostalgic look at some great (or totally shit) '90s songs. Let's start with round one.

Real McCoy "Another Night" (1994)


This was a fairly big hit, hitting number 3 in the US and staying there for a couple of months. "Another Night" is everything you'd expect from a '90s dance song - production values that already sounded dated by 1998, some fairly pathetic rapping by someone that no one on Earth would want to hear rapping (a white German guy), and the eventual revelation that the two ladies in the band were not actually the ones singing on the recording. How could you go wrong with all of these?

That said, "Another Night" is still a fucking amazing song.

We have a verdict...

We've heard more of Lady Gaga, and here are our thoughts.

Dull. Very dull.

And that solves that.

Hmmmm.

We're still not entirely sure of what to think of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album. "Heads Will Roll" and "Dragon Queen" are good listens, but we sort of miss Karen O. screaming and growling her way through songs.

You might say we're torn on the subject and we'll get back to you once we've slept on it for a bit.

The good news is...

...there are three good songs on the new Metric album.

You've already heard first single "Help I'm Alive", which is not the best thing they've done, but it's decent enough if not a bit "business as usual" for the band. Then there's "Front Row" and "Sick Muse".

"Front Row" is quite good, but "Sick Muse" is the one that's really knocking the stuffing out of our turkeys right now. We might dare to say that it ranks alongside "Combat Baby", "Wet Blanket" and "Monster Hospital" as one of Metric's top 4 best songs. Like those aforementioned tracks, the verses contain some witty, self-aware lyrics ("you better watch out Cupid, stuck me with a sickness/
Pull your little arrows out and let me live my life") and then when the chorus kicks in the world just gets a little bit better.

The album is called Fantasies and it's out today.

Lady GaGa, then.

Viewers, Mp3s and Cookies is having a tough time deciphering what to do with this GaGa woman. We just can't seem to decide how we feel about her. When she first entered our consciousness last year, things were off to a fairly good start. There was a decent amount of "underground buzz" about her (about as underground as someone produced by Akon's team can get), and "Just Dance" ended up on our top 25 songs of 2008 before it even hit big in the mainstream music world.

But then she did get big, and every gay this side of Judy Garland Land proclaimed she was "my biotch!!!!!", and then we heard more songs off her album. And the overall reaction has been..."meh"...

"Just Dance" is as silly and fun as it gets, but frankly we just weren't very impressed with much else. Though "Poker Face" has tickled a few brainwaves here and there, it's still not anything to write home about.

The problem we think is that her image and her music portray two different things. At first, we thought there was something very hip about her. She dresses as if she works with stylists that were beamed down from Neptune, she's gone on all this blabber about the New York club scene and being all into the electro "stuff" that's banging about these days. But then when we actually heard her music, it sounded like any other generic electronic-R&B crap out there. Particularly because she's worked extensively with RedOne, who has produced a number of "hits" for Akon.

Akon, in case you need reminding, is a sworn enemy of Mp3s and Cookies and the first time we discovered that he had a co-writing credit on "Just Dance" we were seriously inches away from completely denouncing GaGa altogether and throwing her into our Beyonce-Aguilera-Nickleback bin.

We'll let you know how our feelings go as time progresses, but just bear in mind that we are not necessarily jumping on the GaGa bandwagon with feather boas flying.