Sometimes, readership, you read a Q&A with a popstar and get the distinct impression that, when it comes to the interview, “their heart’s not in it”.
Like, say, when the questions they’re asked are considerably longer than the answers they give.
Anyway, on a completely separate matter here’s Daisy of Daisy Dares You almost-fame (right, after losing a contact lens) answering some tricky teasers from this webalog.
Braggage is an accepted part of the rap “game”, but it tends to be much more compelling when it’s done with a subtle sense of humour. Tinie Tempah seems to recognise this, as he shows in his soon-to-be-sizable-if-it-isn’t-already-I-dunno-I-don’t-keep-track-of-the-charts-these-days tune, “Pass Out”.
“I got so many clothes I keep some at my aunt’s house” is probably my favourite bit, but there’s a pleasing rags-to-riches feel to “now I drive past the bus I used to run for”, as well.
Love the track too, although in my ‘umble I think the hook/chorus/whatever - sung by a chap in a fetching checked jacket - interrupts the songs’s momentum a bit. The drum n’ bass outro suggests there should be some decent remixes out there as well…
The Man, of course, doesn’t understand how Ver Kids consumify music these days. That is why universalmusicgroup make their music videos unembeddable.
(Do you ever get a frisson of somethingorother when you use a word and suddenly think, “Wowzers, that chunk of language wasn’t even close to existing ten years ago. And if you’d made it up and said it at someone, it wouldn’t have meant jackpoo to them.” “Unembeddable”, everyone.)
One of the consequences of such Man-ness is that sometimes, rather than watching a video on a blog, you have to actually go all the way over to YouTube - which can take up to 5 seconds, depending on the buses - to watch something. And one of the consequences of *that* is that you come, once again, upon YouTube commenters. And what an interesting breed they are.
Anyway, this is all pointless preamble to me slapping in a screenshot of this comment what you can find on the page for Delphic’s “Doubt“. Many feverish words have been walloped onto the internet in anticipation of what these Delphic people are going to produce (my hunch: jerky, vaguely synth-y indie pop which a certain section of society will love while everyone else goes “muh”), but surely their PR team will be most pleased with this:
Hey, she said it. But to be fair to her, Bertie was a tad tired at the time. BUT NOT TOO TIRED TO CHAT TO JANE BRADLEY FOR THIS HERE BLOGAZINESITE.
Yes, since I asked “Who is this Bertie Blackman person, then?” a couple of months back after encountering her splendid single “Thump”, Jane went along to have a mouthwag and find out ‘first-hand’.
They talked about Bertie’s ARIA-winning albumSecrets and Lies (which is vay good), crushes on Fronch pop stars and, um, “nanimals”. BEHOLDIFY:
I became a bit smitten with Bertie Blackman while I was interviewing her. Not only is she infuriatingly talented, she’s also disarmingly charming; whimsical but self-assured, and a pleasure to natter to. By the time we meet, jetlag, exhaustion and a gruelling schedule of interviews and photoshoots have taken their toll, and I’m gobsmacked she’s still able string a slurred sentence together.
“My brain is like mush,” she explains. “This feels like it’s all a dream.” Guessing that I best take advantage of her whilst she’s still awake, and better still, amiable and articulate, we press on in all haste. Continue reading »
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Monday December 14th, 2009 at
9:20 pm
There’s something a bit Common about the rapping man from Fly Gypsy (Common, not “common”), in that during “You” he manages to rap about the dirty without coming off like a braggart or fibbacious schoolboy. I will admit I am rather fond of the line that goes “my cursive is curvacious”, too.
Um, it sounds better coming from him.
And doesn’t the video make you think of all those classic “I am shooting a video on a beach somewhere tropikaaaal, therefore I shall be doing lots of boning ‘neath a coconut tree, oh yes” videos of yesteryear? You know, like this? And this? AND THIS?
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Wednesday November 25th, 2009 at
9:30 am
Earlier this year I went all frothy over Two Door Cinema Club’s rather zingful “Something Good Can Work”. I even offered it as a free download, which would seem to be the ideal opportunity for me to link to it again. Only, er, in changing my hosting and whatnot that link don’t work no more. PISS.
Oh well, here it is again:
In’t that nice? (Yes.)
Now they’re back and they’ve got a noo single called “I Can Talk”, the video representation of which you can see over the internet page.
I’m not one for R&B ballads, really. They tend to be syrupy and over-emotive, which is obviously a generalisation but, you know, given the choice between a ballad and a club “banger” it’s the bangful one that wins me over 85% of the time.
However, like the very best pop songs, Brit soul type McLean’s “Broken” manages to transcend the genre with which it would be most closely associated. It’s a heartbroken, overwrought fist-clencher which, in a landscape of overproduced, autotuned pop spaff with half an eye on ringtone sales, actually makes you believe the singer is properly, hair-tearingly lovewrecked. Marvellous.
It also has a very interesting history, having first surfaced way back in 2006, when McLean went by the name of Digga (since changed because an American artist went by the same name). Unbeknownst to me, it became an online sensation, racking up millions of plays on YouTube and prompting, seemingly, everyone with a webcam to produce their own version. Continue reading »
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Tuesday October 20th, 2009 at
8:30 am
Look at that image, and listen to this song, and like me you might just come to the realisation that Kid Sister is surely destined to be a bona fide, proper, soon-to-be-sullied-by-a-guest-rap-from-Akon pop star.
Her songs are ravey enough for clubs but accessible enough for the pop charts, she’s collaborated with Kanye West already and she gets remixed by people so cool you haven’t heard of them. Although she has been “up and coming” for a while now, so let’s hope her moment hasn’t passed. Her album Ultraviolet is out in November.
While I’m being nice I’ll also apportion two and a half props to RCRD LBL, which not only showcases splendid music but is also the kind of site pilfering bloggers like me like a lot - they provide handy, easily-shareable wee widgets like that one up there.
Sounds simple, but it’s a notion that still escapes a lorra record companies…
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Monday October 19th, 2009 at
8:00 am
Interesting tactic from Ali Love’s PR folk here - sending out an email as if it’s actually FROM Ali Love. There was me thinking a nascent pop star was getting in touch to say hi, but nah, it’s just another email full of remixes.
Still, it got me to open the message and now I’m giving their “client” “coverage”, so job done really.
The email contained his new video “Diminishing Returns”, which you can see below. It’s all a bit dull (unlike the song, which is rather good) until Ali decides to don some chainmail. An underused accoutrement in music videos, the old chainmail.
Having said that, I am telling you now: if I see someone wearing chainmail in an east London bar, I’m emigrating.
Sometimes, readership, you read a Q&A with a popstar and get the distinct impression that, when it comes to the interview, “their heart’s not in it”.![[Post to Twitter]](http://mychemicaltoilet.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-micro3.png "tt twitter micro3 photo"){kind=icon}
I’m not one for R&B ballads, really. They tend to be syrupy and over-emotive, which is obviously a generalisation but, you know, given the choice between a ballad and a club “banger” it’s the bangful one that wins me over 85% of the time.
