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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, September 28, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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.
"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.
Monday, September 21, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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?
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.
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.
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