ANNIE - TUBE STOPS AND LONELY HEARTS

Every four or five years the world gets too terrible to handle and in those moments, a perfect human named Annie Strand emerges and presents the world with a song that is so perfect that it momentarily cures all earthly woes.  That's what it does for everyone else, too, right?  It's not just me, is it?

Anyway, Annie is back and it is officially the best day of the year so far.  I can't fully express how I feel about "Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts" at the moment because as I'm listening to it, my brain just keeps shouting, "ANNIE IS BACK!  ANNIE IS BACK!"  But I am positive that the song is absolutely brilliant and better than every other song this year so far.  And aside from consistently creating nothing but perfect pop songs since 1999, she also continues to pleasantly surprise me with her ability to come up with the most perfect amazing jacket/skinny jean combos.  Gods bless you, Annie Strand.

BEST HUMAN EVER.

CHARLI XCX - CLOUD AURA (video)

This isn't my favorite Charli XCX song, but it might contain my favorite Charli XCX chorus and this is definitely my favorite video of hers so far.  I liked it throughout, but the clip of Quinn Fabray crying at the end sealed it for me.  Unfortunately, I'm just not that crazy about Brooke Candy.  I don't hate her or anything, but I don't think she fits in the song very well.  I liked her a lot more when she was just strutting around being a weirdo in that Grimes video.

Anyway, enjoy the tears!

ELI & FUR - TONIGHT (video)

Eli & Fur is one of the most promising acts of the moody and a bit scary subset of pop.  And by scary, I don't mean Fever Ray scary.  I mean music that just makes you go, "Ooh, dark!... but pretty!"  I think some people have settled on the name noir pop, but I can't keep up with genre names.  The duo have only graced us with a couple of songs so far (unless I'm wrong which is entirely possible), the really rather brilliant "Sea of Stars" from earlier this year and the possibly even more amazing "Tonight" from not so earlier this year.

They've also just plonked the video for "Tonight" online.  It's an old-fashioned smoke and flashing lights affair, but the simple concept works very well in this case and suits the tone of the song perfectly.  And you can clearly see that the girls play their own instruments which earns them at least ten points on the authenticity scale, if that sort of thing is important to you (It shouldn't be).

So, to sum it all up, Eli & Fur is incredible and will probably be even more incredible next year.  And the video is good.  Well done, everyone involved.

QUEEN OF HEARTS - WARRIOR (video)

I've already talked about how brilliant this song is right here.  And now there's a video to go along with it.  Now you can take a break from looking at Tumblr while listening to music.  The video features the Queen looking perfect and amazing in lots of different great outfits.  That shirt with the forest on it is really good, right?

Oh, and Popjustice made a joke about Skyfall being the movie she is standing in front of.  That got me thinking that Queen of Hearts should definitely do the next Bond theme.  Unless Daniel Craig and decent directors are done with Bond after this one and the movies go back to being terrible.  Although Madonna did a song for one of the terrible ones and the song was still really good so maybe it doesn't matter.

Anyway, here's the video.  Enjoy!  Or else.

GIRLS ALOUD - SOMETHING NEW (video!) + tons of other amazingness!

Today was the most glorious day of the year.  Perfection held a press conference in the form of five women.  That's right, the greatest band in the universe, Girls Aloud, is back.

I'll give you some time to stop shaking and crying.

The girls already graced us mere mortals with the presence of their brilliant comeback single, "Something New" earlier this week.  And today in London, they celebrated the announcement of their upcoming greatest hits collection and new "turr" by answering some questions from journalists and fans.  The questions basically amounted to nothing but, "OMG, WE LOVE YOU, WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A DEITY?"  Which is all well and good, but why didn't they select me to ask them whether or not they're ever going to work with Xenomania in their solo careers?  ANSWER ME THAT.  I would die of happiness if there was ever a Cheryl Cole solo album as earthshatteringly amazing as "Crazy Fool".  Or a full album of Slaydine Coyle Xeno-bangers.

But anyway!  They announced their new greatest hits album which is called Ten.  And it includes FOUR NEW SONGS.  You are not prepared.  There are one and two-disc options but really what you want is the deluxe limited edition box set, which includes both CDs, a 2-DVD set of The Passions of Girls Aloud (witness the origin of Push 10!), six beautiful art prints, and the possibility of a golden ticket to win one of ten prizes that will probably give your life new meaning.

• triple platinum personalised Out Of Control presentation disc
• A pair of shoes worn by one of the girls in the Something New video
• A signed, personalised art print of the album sleeve for Ten
• A phone call from one of the girls
• @GirlsAloud will follow you on Twitter (LOL!!!!)
• Tickets plus a meet and greet with the girls at a forthcoming tour date of your choice
• A piece of clothing from the Girls Aloud archive
• The complete Girls Aloud back catalogue, signed
• A signed, personalised and framed photo of the girls
• A triple platinum personalised Sound Of The Underground presentation disc

Those Nadine shoes are mine, you bastards.

The most important question that was asked was actually the first one.  I don't remember the exact wording because I was still freaking out, but it was something along the lines of, "Are you going to destroy our world again by abandoning us after the tour is over?" and Queen Nadine spoke right up and said something like, "Bless you, sweet child, we haven't made up our brilliant minds yet."  ARGH!!!!!

Oh, and speaking of that "turr", I don't even want to think about it because they aren't coming to America and my whole life is ruined and I'm never eating again, etc.

You can watch each monumental moment of Girls Aloud perfection right here.



And if all that wasn't enough, they also premiered the video for "Something New"!  And it's basically the best thing that's ever happened.  For instance, this happened and I "AWWWWWWWW'ed" until my head fell off.

But you don't have to take my word for it.  You can have your very own heart attack by watching the whole thing yourself!



To sum up the day, this happened:

And I was like:

*Credit for me knowing these gifs exist goes to oneofthosefaces and MuuMuse.  Thanks, guys!

QUEEN OF HEARTS - WARRIOR

Behold! It's the latest popstorm of brilliance from Queen of Hearts! "Warrior" sees her reunited with previous collaborator, Diamond Cut, who produced the stunning, "Where Are You Now?" from last year's The Arrival EP.  Diamond Cut opens the track with the literal sounds of heaven and then some AMAZING afro-funkish percussion drops and then the Queen's voice comes in and you think, "Oh, do you know what?  This is actually better than heaven.  I think I'll drop dead now."  It's an incredibly powerful tune and like all of her songs, worthy of aproximately one million repeat plays.

It's actually mind boggling to me how great this artist is.  I don't even imagine her making these tracks in a studio.   That's too domestic.  Being the enchantress that she is, she's probably reciting some sort of spells from an ancient tome while sprinkling some magic dust into an open flame.  And then voila!  Pop masterpiece!

It seems like only two months ago I was writing about the last amazing Queen of Hearts song.  Oh, it was only two months ago.  It has become quite clear that this woman can do no wrong and goes around doing no wrong quite often.  I think I'm going to have to put a limit on how many times the same artist can be on my year-end list because otherwise, it's just going to be a bunch of Queen of Hearts tracks with a few other people scattered throughout.  Dear Liz, what's it like to make one of the best songs of the year every time you make a song?

The only Queen that matters is gracing us mere mortals in America with her presence starting this week.  She is playing her first show on American soil this Friday at DC9 in Washington DC and is doing another gig in New York on October 16th at Santos Party House.  And as British people apparently love to say (according to X Factor), I am absolutely "gutted" that I'm missing the show in DC.  So, if you're in the area, make up for my absence by swooning like a teenage girl in the front row. 

Warrior will be released on December 2nd via NightMoves.

BRITT LOVE - MUSIC MAKES YOU LOSE CONTROL

I'm personally devastated that Britt Love didn't make it through to the live shows of this year's X Factor.  She was literally the only contestant I was looking forward to.  Not that all of the contestants are bad, but none of them hit the spot with me yet.  Honestly, I think Britt should have just gone out on stage with a boombox, played Mini Viva's "Left My Heart in Tokyo" or "I Wish", and then said, "See, I'm amazing."  Oh well.

But all is not lost because we now have this brilliant new Britt Love song that will be better than the X Factor winner's single, anyway.  It's another example of how incredible Britt's voice really is.  Perhaps not in the over the top diva way that the talent shows require, but she sounds like no one else.  And the song itself is a properly amazing dancefloor anthem.  And I don't even think there's one mention of "the club".  It's a lot more full on Euro dance pop than a lot of what's in the charts these days, but that's totally fine with me.

I really hope something positive comes from her stint on X Factor.  Whether it's just more fans, or some attention from a good label, or perhaps a collaboration with one of the current superstar producers.  Come on, Calvin Harris, you don't only have to work with the Rihannas and Ellie Gouldings of the world, you know?

SAINT LOU LOU - MAYBE YOU

"Maybe You" by Saint Lou Lou is one of my favorite songs of the year, but I first heard it when I was just starting my blog and I guess it got lost in the shuffle because I never wrote about it.  But now they have a lovely video for it so I can make up for that.

Saint Lou Lou is an amazing twin sister duo from Sweden/Australia.  They've only treated us to one song so far (as far as I know anyway), but on the strength of that one song, I already feel like they're one of my favorite current bands.  "Maybe You" is proof that when a ballad is done the right way, I am an absolute sucker for them.  For me, a ballad is not about an over the top "emotional" performance.  It's about staring out a window or lying on your bed looking at your ceiling and feeling like you might weep because of how stunning the whole thing is.  And that's exactly what this song is.  Weep-worthy beauty.  It's also one of those songs that mercilessly ends before you really want it to, which has the effect of making you play it over and over and over again.  So, it's all okay.

The video reminds me of an extended ad for fancy underwear, or perfume, or something else I can't afford.  Which basically means it's sexy and gorgeous and in slow motion.  Oh, and filmed in black and white, of course.  It's pretty much amazing.  But the male model guy is a bit too male modely in at least one scene.  But I don't care.  I still love this song and this video and these girls.

The song is out now on Kitsune.

CATCALL - ON MY OWN (ORIGINAL EXTENDED MIX)

Have you heard Catcall's album, The Warmest Place?  If you have not, you are doing yourself a disservice if you do not change that as soon as possible.  It's one of my favorite albums of this weird year.  One of the highlights of her album is the brilliant "On My Own".  And apparently a version of it made an appearance on little known indie TV drama 90210.  Catcall has made this extended mix of the song available to download for free (so nice!).  It's basically brilliance squared.  Giving the song more room to breathe places it a little closer to the Glass Candy or Chromatics side of the pop spectrum.  But it still sounds like it's more focused on being a proper pop song instead of the soundtrack to an alternate universe 80s movie.  What I'm really trying to say is it's really good and you should download it and be pleased that you have made an excellent decision.

TAYLOR SWIFT - WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER

If you don't like this song, you can go straight to hell.

CADY GROVES - LOVE ACTUALLY

There's lots of people in the world who moan about country music being too poppy these days.  Actually, people have probably been moaning about that since the 80s.  But if you are one of the rare and beautiful breed (like me) that hears certain country songs and thinks, "This country song sure is great, but it doesn't have enough pop in it!", then Cady Groves is the girl for you.  She basically just makes straight up proper pop songs, but her voice is twangy enough and her attitude "fuck you" enough to appeal to modern country fans and pop fans alike.

Her latest single, "Love Actually", is one of those songs where I literally don't know why it hasn't sold a bajillion copies.  Sometimes you say something like that just because you like a song so much, but deep down you realize it wouldn't be a big hit even with the right kind of exposure.  But this song.  This song should be up there kicking the ass of every other song on the charts.  It is an absolute MONSTER of a pop anthem.  With it being the catchiest thing you have heard in forever and its lyrics detailing a messy romance, it's perfect for singing at the top of your lungs while punching the shit out of your steering wheel (I hope I'm not the only person that does that).  Or shouting along while getting drunk with your friends.  And I'm just assuming on that one because all of my friends are too straight to like a song as amazing as this.

Her debut full-length is one of my top ten most looked forward to releases right now.  So, hopefully we don't have to wait too much longer on that one.

Thanks, Cady Groves, for being brilliant.

JOHN ROWLEY - GUILT TRIP

John Rowley is a nice, young chap from Sydney, Australia who sent me a press release a couple of weeks ago.  I had planned on writing about him then, but I was ravaged by a merciless cold.  But I've listened to his song "Guilt Trip" a bunch since then so it's time to sit down and bang this thing out.

"Guilt Trip" is a lovely, downtempo tune about dealing with condescension and superiority in one's friends and oneself.  WHOA, slow down, John!  Where's the lyrics about loving someone or dancing with someone or dancing with someone you love?  There wasn't even one mention of being sexy or thinking someone else is sexy.  But no, all jokes aside, it's actually very refreshing to see someone making a pop song about something different (not that making songs about the same thing over and over again can't be amazing, too).  John has also accomplished the difficult task of being a male pop artist I am actually interested in.  So, bravo, John Rowley!

His youtube channel is also very much worth checking out.  He's done a bunch of cover/mashup thingamabobs.  Some of them even include him singing in a lovably awkward way in front of the camera!  Yay!  So, here is his channel.  Go nuts!

And here is Guilt Trip.  You can download it for free on his Bandcamp page or be nice and pay for it.

QUEEN OF HEARTS - ONLY LOVE

My blog needs some sort of function that automatically posts a glowing review every time Queen of Hearts releases a new song since that's obviously what's going to happen anyway.  She has done a cover of Ben Howard's "Only Love".  I had no idea who this man was, but after some wikipedia-ing and youtubing, I discovered that he is a guitar-wielder.  And makes folk music, or something.

What's interesting about this is that it's sort of the reverse of the usual "authenticizing" of pop music by men with guitars.  It's been done to "...Baby One More Time", "Beautiful", and even Ben Howard and co. are responsible for a cover of "Call Me Maybe" while they were on Radio 1's Live Lounge.  I had actually seen that video before, but I had forgotten who Ben Howard was by the time of this review.  In the comments section, there is a comment that reads, "Only Ben Howard could turn such a crap, generic pop song into something as beautiful as this."  I wonder how she would feel about Queen of Hearts covering "Only Love".

I also wonder what it is, in general, about synthesized instruments that seems to drive some "real music" fans up a wall.  They used to be accused of sounding cold and emotionless, but come on, that was the early 90s.  When I listen to this song, the first descriptor that comes to mind is 'warm'.  Followed by 'sensual', 'gorgeous', and 'absolutely fucking brilliant'.  It's the sort of ridiculously beautiful song that makes you dance around with your eyes closed making you look like a moron.  Thanks, Queenie!

It's important to remember that I'm not criticizing Ben Howard or folk music or indie rock.  Only the idea that it's any more real than something as stunning as this.  Or even something as brilliantly catchy as "...Baby One More Time" or "Call Me Maybe".

Now that that rant is over and done with, let's all rejoice in the news that Queen of Hearts has another new EP coming out in September!  Huzzah!

LANA DEL REY - PUT THE RADIO ON

Lana Del Rey continues her campaign of being perfect all the time with a new song, "Put the Radio On".  If you loved Born to Die, you'll love this.  If you hated Born to Die, you'll hate this.  So, really, unless you haven't ever heard Lana before, I'm sure you knew exactly how you would feel about this song before you ever started playing it.  Seeing as how I'm one of the ones who is head over heels in love with her album, this is right up my alley.  I especially love the line, " I like you lots, polka dots", which of course means nothing, but it sounds great.  In fact, the whole song is filled with lyrics that will make Lana fans smile and make her haters feel justified.  BUT WHATEVER, YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HER LIKE WE DO RAWR RAWR RAWR STAN RAGE.

I'm assuming this is one of the new songs that will be featured on the upcoming Born to Die: Paradise Edition.  I was already excited for that.  Now I'm more excited.

Here's a lyric video that I don't think is official.



Oh, and here's the video for "Summertime Sadness" that I never posted because I'm a dummy. It's gorgeous and sad and makes me want to be Lana Del Rey's girlfriend, no matter how tragic the results may be.



And here's another picture just 'cause.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF ANNE LILIA BERGE STRAND FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN SHE IS LOVELY

See?

PARADE - LIGHT ME UP

"Light Me Up" is the best girlband song of the year.  It is one of the top five girlband songs since Girls Aloud went on hiatus.  I'm pretty sure it will even stand up well among the Girls Aloud reunion material and Mutya Keisha Siobhan's.  It is properly amazing.  And like all truly amazing songs, it's one that you want to play again as soon as it's over.

Perfect production, perfect hooks, perfect lyrics, perfect voices.  I would go into further detail, but to be honest, I have a ridiculous cold and I just feel like listening to the song again. So, to make a short story short, Parade is amazing.

Oh, and you can download it for free!  What nice girls!  Go here.

CHERYL - UNDER THE SUN (video)

Being an American fan of British pop music is like fighting a constant battle.  Your favorite artist releases a new video.  You get really excited.  BUT NOPE.  Can't play it in your country.  But one without the region blocking usually shows up eventually and here's one for Cheryl Cole's new video for "Under the Sun".  It's basically Cheryl walking around town looking amazing and not giving a fuck about anything.  Which is what most pop videos should be.  There is one weird bit where it gets scary for a couple of seconds.  But then she just goes back to dancing with a bunch of dudes.

LITTLE MIX - WINGS (video)

I finally found an upload of the Little Mix video that actually plays in the US.  So, here it is!  It's pretty good.  It's pretty much exactly what you want a girlband video to be.  You can read what I had to say about the song here.

CINNAMON GIRL - DEVIL IN ME

Not content to have just one great song, Cinnamon Girl smartly decided she would be amazing a second time around.  This time the song is "Devil in Me" and it is fantastic.

And even though I'm not one to slag on artists for not writing or producing their own material, it does actually make it quite impressive when just one person is responsible for all of the joy-inducing sounds on a track like this. The song is obviously very influenced by 80s new wave, but not so much that it sounds like she's just aping a style.  It sounds like it should exist in 2012 and it's a sound that very much belongs to Cinnamon Girl. 

If the rest of her followup songs are as good as this and her earlier single, "Friends", then we are going to have one serious corker of a pop album on our hands.

The video was premiered on the Guardian website and you can download the song for free right here.

Oh, also, I like the video.  It features Cinnamon Girl doing all of the amazing things she did to make this song amazing.

NO DOUBT - SETTLE DOWN

Good news, everyone!  No Doubt is still great!

When I first listened to this song earlier today, I immediately liked it, but I didn't expect to be coming back to the song/video so many times throughout the day.  But that is exactly what I did.  Because it is amazing.  It basically sounds exactly like what you want a No Doubt single to sound like in 2012 unless you are crazy.  It probably won't gain them that many new fans except for maybe some of the ones that are too young to really remember No Doubt in their heyday.  It feels weird that there are 16-year-olds out there who weren't even alive when Tragic Kingdom came out.

Anyway, No Doubt is still brilliant and this was produced by Spike Stent who has worked with about a billion other mega famous popstars.  I actually like that it's not a big in-your-face comeback single.  It's just a great song.  It's not desperate at all and actually makes you feel more like No Doubt never really went away.  It is basically a warm hug from an old friend.  Also, I quite like the video, too.  It features the members of the band driving some huge disco trucks until they arrive at an amazing party.  And Gwen Stefani is still one of the most attractive humans on the planet.  So, that's nice as well.

Oh, and I also actually like how ugly the single's artwork is.