I’m a bit late to the party with this one, kids, and for that I apologise.

Thanks to the lovely lasses at The Most Cake, I found Micachu, and I’ve decided to keep her.

And here she is with Speech Debelle:

More: web / accidental records / rough trade records

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2. Great form
3. Top lady

“What is the sound of an avalanche taking out a dolphin? What do get when you cross a hamburger with a hot dog? The answer is: WILD FLAG.” 

So read the first MySpace biography of Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Janet Weiss and Rebecca Cole’s newest musical venture. If those names and that fantastic description still leave you bemused, let me explain that Wild Flag hail from Portland, Oregon and Washington DC and consist of alumni from Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Autoclave, The Spells, Excuse 17, Helium and The Minders. A Venn diagram probably wouldn’t go astray here! 

Several wags on the interweb have already hailed them a Riot Grrl supergroup, but we here at Gaelick like to do our own research, so out I went and got their debut album, which shares their name.  Convenient!

Full disclosure: Seeing Sleater-Kinney at the Temple Bar Music Centre in 2005 was in my top ten musical experiences of all time, no question. This grrl pogo-ed about half her body weight off in sheer rockin’ bliss that night.  When it was announced the following year that the band would go on indefinite hiatus, I was so blue I think I put all that weight straight back on again. 

While I sad-sacked it for a few years, Carrie Brownstein hung up the guitar for a while, got a job in an office, quit said job and made funny little videos with Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen which eventually developed into the TV series Portlandia. (Hipsters, look away now!) 

Janet Weiss continued to drum with her other band, Quasi, as well as working with Stephen Malkmus and Bright Eyes to name but a few.  Then I hear that they are back together playing music again, along with some new pals!  And then I hear that Gaelick want me to review the album! No pressure, Wild Flag, but I’m expecting you to be extremely awesome.

This album copes well with the five years of crazy that I bring to the party, in all fairness. Romance, the opening track, immediately puts a smile on my face. It’s straight up guitars, keyboard and drums with catchy lyrics, noodly riffs and thumping beats. I was driving my car the first time I listened, and it was somehow perfect. This song is coming soon to a road-trip playlist near you.

Apparently Carrie Brownstein came up with the melody for that one after a day of listening to Rihanna and Beyoncé. I’ll get that mentioned now before the two of them starting bragging about it.

So what else is good? The ominous intro of Electric Band is nicely counterbalanced with vocal harmonies and a bouncing chorus, shades of the Breeders on there methinks. Brownstein gets her Ramones on with Boom, the final line of “we’ve got nothing left to lose” is as much a “hey, come get me” as an F-You, a song that almost bursts with attitude.

Ten great songs, but If I had to pick just one, Racehorse is a standout track: shades of Patti Smith from Brownstein, Cole mashes the keyboard while Weiss beats her drum-kit to within an inch of its life, for almost seven minutes. I love it.

This album is upbeat without being glossy, it’s post-punk in a really good mood. If you’re not familiar with the members’ previous work, that might not be a bad thing. I get the feeling that they are getting a real kick out of this, and it’s so fresh that they almost sound like this is the first album they’ve ever made.

So if they can dump all the baggage that their respective CVs seems to bring, they maybe I can too! I decided that there’s no point in direct comparison to Sleater-Kinney, as easy as that is to do.

This album is its own woman, plenty of good tunes, strong vocals and a real sense of humour. Go get.

• Wild Flag is out now on Merge Records.

Related posts:

1. Review: 4
2. Review: Florence + The Machine “Ceremonials”
3. Review: Dixie Chicks Storytellers

• We bring you an article from another of our new writers, Jen Gore. Enjoy, pop pickers!

 
Janis Ian comes to Ireland to play two intimate gigs at the end of this month. For those of you who are thinking, “Isn’t Janis Ian the ‘dyke’ from Mean Girls?” Well, perhaps, but here we’re talking about the Grammy Award winning, musical icon.

Janis Eddy Fink grew up in New York City and started writing music at the age of 12. The first song she wrote was called “Hair of Spun Gold” which appeared on her debut album in 1964. Thinking a stage name would be a good idea, she decided to take her brother’s middle name and present herself as ‘Janis Ian’ to the world.

From a young age it was apparent that Janis was incredibly talented and had an understanding of the racial problems in society. The first hit song she wrote and performed at the age of 13, “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)”, was about an interracial relationship shunned by friends and family which eventually breaks down because society has forced it to.

The song was a hit after its third release but it was considered too taboo for the liking of some radio stations and they refused to air the song. In fact, Janis even received hate mail and it has been revealed that a radio station was burned down over the song’s lyrics.

Despite the controversy, the song was inducted in to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 because of it’s musical significance and timelessness.

Many thought that after the uproar and success of Society’s Child, that Janis Ian was just a flash in the pan. But in 1975 her biggest hit “At Seventeen” was released and it raised her up to a new level of fame.

“At Seventeen” was a reflection on the downfalls of adolescence, teenage angst and peer pressure. At the time Janis was 24 and in that year she won a Grammy for the Best Pop Vocal Performance. She was also the first musical guest to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Janis Ian married Tino Sargo in 1978 and they split in 1983. It was revealed in her autobiography, Society’s Child, that Sargo had subjected Janis to emotional and physical abuse. In 1993, after 12 years and with the release of “Breaking Silence”, Janis Ian revealed that she was a lesbian. She had been with a woman named Patricia Snyder since 1989. She said:

Everybody in my family has always known … Everybody in the music industry has known. But it is something I didn’t talk about with the press, or evaded when I was pushed.

Janis and Patricia married in 2003 on 17th August. Janis has a stepdaughter and grandchildren
by Patricia.

Janis Ian continues to write and perform her own music. She is also a columnist, sci-fi
author and has most definitely not appeared in any films with Lindsay Lohan.

• Janis Ian plays The Venue Theatre, Co Meath, on 28th January 2012 (tickets €30) and Vicar Street, Dublin, on 29th January 29th (tickets €36.50).

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Merry Christmas, everyone!

This morning, as you tear the wrapping from your gifts like a rabid animal, and as I make a dent in this bottle of cava, click “play” on this here playlist to set the tone of the day.

I promise that there is nothing but pure Christmas cheese included.

(Okay, Sufjan Stevens may have snuck in there, but only for 37 seconds. Full track listing is below!)

Edited to add: If the above links don’t work, you can also listen to the playlist here:

(Do ignore the, er, “videos” though!)

• “Sleigh Ride” by The Ronettes
• “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee
• “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
• “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid
• “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens
• “Last Christmas” by Wham!
• “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
• “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea
• “Let it Snow” by Dean Martin
• “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
• “Wreck the Halls (Angry Birds Seasons)” by Ari Pulkkinen
• “Jingle Bells” by Sufjan Stevens
• “O Tannenbaum” by The Vince Guaraldi Trio
• “Christmas Countdown” by Frank Kelly

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As fans of the Dixie Chicks will tell you, they are consummate storytellers, so this is a forum that suits them down to the ground. You expect Natalie Maines’ entertaining irreverent banter, but what marks this DVD as a must-have are the tales behind the songs. Both Marty and Emily get a chance to speak up and the chat between them is not only funny, but smart and you get a feel for the relationships between the three.The only negative is that it’s just 8o minutes long, I could’ve gorged on another 80.

Then there’s the music. Incredible musicians fronted by a woman with an amazing voice, the Dixie Chicks are everything you could want. Don’t dismiss these girls as “just a country band”, there is much more going on here than songs about trucks and crops. Silent House, we find out, was written for Natalie’s grandmother who has Alzheimer’s:

And I will try to connect; All the pieces you left; I will carry it on; And let you forget; And I’ll remember the years; When your mind was clear; How the laughter and life; Filled up this silent house

It’s a real privilege to listen their stories, to see the songwriters moved when letting us in on their secrets, it’s something you just don’t get a chance to do usually.

It’s impossible to talk about the Dixie Chicks without mentioning “the controversy”. Quick background – they were the big shining stars of the country scene in the states, sold more than any other female group in the world and won fist-fulls of awards. Then, in 2003, at the height of the Iraq war, Maines told a concert audience that she was ashamed that the President was from her home state of Texas. There was uproar with the red-neck, country music loving brigade. No radio station south of the Mason-Dixon line would play their music and they couldn’t give away concert tickets. The band stuck together and refused to apologise. Maines even had to contend with death threats. It was a tough time to say the least.

As a result, the Dixie Chicks have a whole new batch of fans, but will never have the success of the past. The whole events was excellently depicted in the film Shut Up and Sing, which is interesting even to see the extent of people’s radical response.

Storytellers is a great sequel to Shup Up and Sing. It’s 8 years later and the dust has settled on a trio of older, wiser and stronger women. You get the sense that they were battered and bruised, but are quite happy with how they evolved. It takes hardship to make great music and Storytellers is proof that the Dixie Chicks have managed both.

Related posts:

1. Review: 4
2. Review: Florence + The Machine “Ceremonials”
3. Review: Wild Flag

When I recently fell down the rabbit hole of out-lesbians-making-trippy-music, I also landed on Syd tha Kyd (NSFW).

At just 19 years of age, Syd (Sydney Bennett) is a music producer/engineer/DJ from Los Angeles, and a member of alternative hip hop collective, Odd Future (aka OFWGKTA).

She has recently teamed up with fellow Odd Future member and roomie, Matt Martians, to work on a separate, soul hip hop project under the moniker of The Internet.

The Internet’s debut album, Purple Naked Ladies, is due for digital release 20th December next. (No word on the release date in Ireland.) The first single from the album is Cocaine, an infectious yet sinister tune, featuring Left Brain and Syd’s own vocals. She told SPIN magazine:

See, I’m not a singer. I sing, but I’m not a singer. I’m just a producer who sings on her own songs because I can’t find anybody else who sounds like me. Who can sing with my voice better? I haven’t found that person yet so I just do it myself.

Odd Future – especially the band’s Tyler the Creator – are no strangers to controversy, including criticisms over sexually violent and homophobic content in their lyrics. Still, she states:

For one, Matt and Mike G live with a homo. And Tyler acts so gay! [Laughs] The thing about the content and all is that, when I first heard it, I was the same as everybody else — like, whoa! He’s cussing every five seconds, I never heard anything like this, what’s going on? But I really liked the music behind it, and I really liked the way he was rapping. I was just curious so I kept listening. And the more I listened, the less I listened to the curse words and more to what he was really trying to say.

In that sense, that’s what really sold me on the whole thing before I was a part of it. That’s the reason I didn’t charge them to record in my studio. By the end of that, I was behind them a hundred percent. Because I was totally desensitized and a much happier and different person. I walked around and was no longer offended by anything that what someone I didn’t know my say about me. My self-confidence grew.

Hm.

In relation to the girl-on-girl goings on in the video for Cocaine, she also told SPIN:

I just feel like if I’m gonna do this, I should use it as an outlet to inspire people like me. ‘Cause there ain’t nobody inspiring out there. Especially now that I’m getting more accustomed to the whole fame thing and the attention, because that was the hardest part. For one, with my mom, my parents in general and the amount of me that they see in the public eye, and just trying to be considerate of their feelings and try not to disappoint them. But at the same time be myself, which was hard to get to a balance. I felt like I was wobbling in the middle, getting used to the fans and the attention. I feel like I’m at a comfortable enough place to put myself out there now. I still won’t want to answer any questions [about my sexual orientation], but in a sense I won’t need to.

So, she’s out in the world of hip hop, is doing something original with The Internet, and has the support of her moms. All-told, I’m hooked and I likey. Keep an eye out for this woman in 2012, pop pickers.

You can listen to Cocaine as well as two other tracks from the record – “They Say/Shangrila” and “Love Song” – on the album’s website.

Here’s the bauld video of the debut single (it’s probably NSFW, given that it’s about drugs and depicts attempted roidin’, and reaches a fairly disturbing conclusion), and further below are some of Syd’s solo tracks, as well as Little Dragon and Lana Del Rey remixes. Enjoy!

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2. Your partner or your mates

For your listening pleasure – via Curve Magazine and AfterEllen, hailing from Detroit, by way of the centre of the hipster lesbian universe, Williamsburg, we bring you out musician lady, 11 years in the making – we bring you the ethereal, haunting sound of out musician: Holly Miranda!

“Waves” From ‘The Magician’s Private Library’ by Holly Miranda

“Slow Burn Treason” From ‘The Magician’s Private Library’ by Holly Miranda

“Pelican Rapids (poolhouse mix)” by Holly Miranda

I started writing [“Pelican Rapids”] during the Prop 8 stuff that was going on and we played it a little bit then, but then really started playing it live with my band on the Tegan and Sara tour last year. And you know, sometimes I’d just be looking and thinking, maybe they’re gay. Maybe they’re straight. A lot of them kind of look gay [laughs], but I’d look at them and just think about where I was when I was at that age. And how confused I felt and how I felt like I couldn’t come out. Or I couldn’t be who I was inside because of the religion that I came up in or the way people thought around me in Michigan, or whatever.

So when I sing that song I feel like I’m talking to those kids just saying it’s all right. It’s okay who you are, whatever it is. It doesn’t mean you’re anything evil or wrong. I think that’s the hardest thing to come to terms with is the feeling of feeling guilty almost because of who you are. As proud as you might be outwardly, there might still be some more questions happening inside.

(Do I spy KT Tunstall-esque use of loop pedals?)

From the “Sleep on Fire” EP

Vocally she reminds me a little bit of Cat Power, a little bit of Sia (but better) and someone else, but I can’t figure out who…

The music Miranda makes is influenced by what she refers to as a combination of the things she grew up listening to.

“I love Jeff Buckley and Edith Piaf and Nina Simone. I grew up on Motown,” Miranda said. But what most people compare her to are modern day chanteuses like Cat Power and Feist which she says she “hears all the time.”

“Somebody the other day told me I sounded like Joni Mitchell,” Miranda said. “What? What are you smoking? Can I have some?”

Two of the above tracks are from her last album, “The Magician’s Private Library”. She told Curve: “I also don’t even own the masters to [the album] because I didn’t pay for it. Chrysalis owned the master and now Excel owns the masters. I’ll never own that record.”

She’s been toiling away writing and recording music for over a decade, but now she wants to release a record on her own terms, retaining full creative control, DIY-style:

For each donation she receives, Miranda offers a unique “reward” to the kind giver. And if she makes more than her target, she intends giving the surplus to the I Live Here charity, which funds education projects with young people in Kachere Juvenile Centre, Malawi.

And god bless her, she’s an unrepentent hipster. But we love her anyway.

Here she is on CREEP’s latest release:

(P.S. I love that she’s worked with someone named Marques Toliver. Does Armistead Maupin know this?)

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First of all, comparing anything to her first album would be pointless. What was obviously the fruit of many years of songwriting and collaborations confounded all critics, leaving some to wonder if they could award six out of five stars somehow. How was she going to top it? Would she just retire to the Cotswolds in a cloud of chiffon and not even attempt it? No, it would appear not. She stuck with long time collaborator Isa “The Machine” Summers, kept on the same producer as album #1, booked time in Abbey Road studios and gave it a good old bash. I’m glad to report that the sophomore slump can’t be applied in the case of Ceremonials, but on first listen, you probably won’t be blown away. That’s no bad thing. This album is a bit of a grower, or an onion, if you will, (think layers, not vegetables, work with my metaphor) which might make you sniff a bit, but in the good, life-affirming, way. That’ll be the sweeping orchestrations then, if you’re a fan you’ll be glad to hear that they did indeed retain the harpist. This album won’t stop you in your tracks like the first time you heard Cosmic Love, but there’s still plenty to inspire on this offering.

So much was made of what were deemed lazy comparisons to Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Bjork and so on, I was cautious of the immediate instinct to think “hmm, that one’s a bit like…” but then I thought, why not? On many of the songs on this album, you hear similarities to others in the first verse, and your mind floats to Tori Amos or Bat For Lashes, but then along comes the chorus, her voice soars, and there’s no mistaking it – her unique ability to absolutely give it socks with every note that she sings. All the aforementioned get a nod, but her sound is her own. Chamber Soul, she calls it!

Lead single Shake it Out will doubtless be up there with all the firm favourites from Lungs, it has the quiet intro then thumpy beats then soaring feel good chords that wouldn’t go amiss at an Arcade Fire concert (I did manage to get tickets for their gig! Balls in your court, Flo, you know how to find me…) It’s probably the best getting ready to go out song I’ve heard for some time, best played at full whack while you’re throwing on your glad rags and preparing for what you know will be a great night.

Another standout is Breaking Down, sad lyrics belied by fabulously swervy strings and an insanely catchy pop beat. The earworm potential for this one is high, so I expect it’ll be a single sooner or later. I would guess the same for Lover to Lover and Heartlines, but that’s all the guessing I’ll be doing on this one – Ceremonials is definitely an evolution, not a departure. The angst levels are lower, which makes sense as I read that Lungs was a break-up album. In that case, Ceremonials is “going steady”, and that’s perfectly fine too.

Related posts:

1. Review: Wild Flag
2. Review: 4
3. Locked on Ke$ha

A. A year old

B. One of my friends uses it and I stare blankly until they smile pitifully and explain it

or

C. It’s painfully uncool now and I’m still unaware. And usually, not really arsed with it.

To put it in basic terminology – I am a 22 year-old student, and I am so not down with the kids. I don’t know much about what song/recording artist/group is the hot new thing, I don’t watch music channels and I don’t go clubbing.

Now you may read this with some sadness thinking ‘My god, she must be some kind of college loser who never goes out’, but let me assure you, I am fantastic. Joking. I just don’t see the point in following what’s deemed to be cool if I like something completely different.

My love lies with old rock/metal/blues/punk/jazz, I read (and partake in art) and clubbing is not for me because it’s sweaty and packed and I can’t bring my easel in without getting weird looks. I went to visit my sister (in Holland) in the last week of July and would spend some of the days while she was in work watching the music channels for a source of entertainment, and so stumbled across a music video for Ke$ha’s song ‘Blow’, fully believing this was a brand new track from a singer I’d only heard described as ‘skanky/dirty/sleazy’.

To be honest, I thought those words were apt as the only songs I’d heard from her were auto-tuned electropop aural sodomy with lyrics that seemed to celebrate the debaucherous and vile lifestyle of my bored and horny generation. The first song I’d heard was ‘Tik Tok’ and I thought she sounded like she was going to climax and fall asleep at the same time.

The lyrics alone made me want to avoid her music like the plague I thought she may have had. Judgmental? Oh, so much. This was back in 2009.

I’d heard about two others songs after that, and was wholly unimpressed, until I realized something. Her bloody songs were infectious. I may not have liked hearing the almost lazy yodel-like noise pumping from her lungs, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Soon I was You-tubing the songs just to hear them, grinding my teeth when I realised I actually enjoyed this! Now before you think ‘Oh of course, the rock music enthusiast would naturally hate the pop genre’, let me be honest. I love music in general.

If there is true talent and pure emotion in the song, chances are I will love it, regardless of genre. So when it comes to pop or softer rock, I can still like it. I didn’t like Ke$ha because in my mind she was a filthy skank promoting promiscuity and alcohol poisoning to an already impressionable set of people: Twenty-year olds. Yes, I know, I sound like a lunatic. But this was what we call ‘surface impressions’. Book being judged by cover etc.

I had the same feelings for Lady Gaga when I first heard her stuff, but I admitted the woman had talent regardless of her dubious lyrics. I eventually realised that this is the stuff people want to hear when out clubbing, hammered on the dance floor with one arm around your best friend and the other waving some sort of glowstick while moving like your life depended on it. This music may speak of filthy antics and regrettable choices, but it’s not like you weren’t going to do it anyway. It’s not like the song suddenly made you go ‘Ah! If (insert popular singer) wants us to do it, we must do it!’.

I finally caved when I realized that this sort of wild, party-til-you’re dead music is perfect for working out, and so I left my moral high ground rotting in the shit-heap of High-Horse-Land where it belonged (let’s face it, I sounded like some sort of prudish weirdo who thinks it’s not the people who do it but the music that says, therefore becoming the crazy person who thinks music is evil, and that’s just not me) and bought Ke$ha’s EP ‘Cannibal’.

I listened to it and noticed that beyond the lyrics I’d once furrowed my brow at and slightly twitch-inducing auto-tune, the songs are damn good. ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ is an upbeat, joyful summer-song that captures that teenage feeling of being so crazy about somebody that you almost feel addicted to them, that when they aren’t around you feel withdrawal, you become this moody dry-shite, but instantly perk up and feel your heart swell at the mere thought of them. It’s a celebratory song that actually makes me chirpy every time I hear it.

Then there’s ‘Tik Tok’, which I originally hated but now find puts a spring in my step, makes me upbeat and ready to take on the day, even at 7am. One of my new favourites is ‘We R Who We R’, a catchy anthem with an addictive beat and melody to it that just snakes its way around your brain and leaves itself there until you cave and listen to it again.

After getting my first fix of the album, I looked up Ke$ha to see her background and what it is that makes her this electric personality and ended up surprised and impressed, and humbled. She comes from a single-parent family and initially had to live off food stamps and welfare payments, then spent her childhood sticking out like a sore thumb in school because she was so unconventional and different. She’s had musical influence since she was a toddler as her mother is a singer-songwriter, and had her vocal talents noticed during her early teenage years, eventually leading to her dropping out of school at 17 to move to Los Angeles to fully pursue a career in music. During this time she waited tables, which led to her replacing the ‘S’ in her name with the dollar sign as an ironic twist;

I was so happy being broke. And I’m happy not being broke. It doesn’t really affect me either way. I care about taking care of people that have taken care of me – that’s important to me. But to be honest, I’m kind of repulsed by the gluttony and excesses of a lot of people in the limelight.

After reading this quote, I realised that so many people critique her, denounce her and run her down (myself included, in the past) as if she’s just another trashy singer getting high on fame and money and sings about it because it’s all she knows. So many people think she’s just like the others, singing about all they have and how great they are and all of the filthy exploits they can do, but it’s just the opposite.

Having the life she had, growing up being so different, earning her way up the food chain and not changing who she is because it’s what’s expected when you become mainstream has made her this phenomenal person who realistically is a role model in some ways. She stuck to her guns and made the music she wanted to make, she kept her look that others called ‘dirty’ because she didn’t want to be all glammed up like so many other female artists; she wanted to look like how she is.

She’s unashamed of the content of her music and expresses herself through her look, not once acting pretentious and holier-than-thou because she’s just being herself, and after all, how great is that? I’m glad that I sat and watched her bizarre video for ‘Blow’, and I’m glad that I bought her EP, and I’m glad that I looked up who she is and where she came from, because it enlightened me to so many things, one of which is that she’s truly a diamond in the rough.

She stands out so much, even if it may ruffle other people’s feathers, but is unapologetic and unwavering in her ways, much like Lady Gaga, much like Madonna, much like Dolly Parton. All of them fell under criticism for their music, their looks, their life (or what people believed was their life), all of them were judged unfairly, and all of them still stuck it out and battled on and shone through because all of them had talent and guts and determination, which is certainly what Ke$ha has. In bucket-loads.

The next time you see a music video or hear a song or see a performer that you might have originally fobbed off because you thought to yourself ‘Ah that’s shite’ when only hearing them once, barely, just stop for a second. Find out the name of the artist or the group or the song and give it a fair listen, and if you like it, do what I did. Go buy the album, look up the background and find yourself delighted that you found a gem just because you gave the dirt a chance.

Related posts:

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2. Lady Gaga – Born this Way
3. Introducing: Syd tha Kyd

One such product is earphones.  Yes, you read that right.  The humble earphone is what it is, it does what it says on the tin as it were.  However, the folks over at Altec Lansing have created a line of headphones with women in mind.  No, I’m not kidding, they really have.  What a load of crap!  Are our earphone needs really that different from our male counterparts?  Have you ever seen or heard of a women complaining that her earphones are not feminine enough?  I mean where do these people get these stupid ideas?

According to the hype, these earphones are smaller (to fit our delicate ears) as well as designed to mimic the look of earrings.  At this point it is difficult to keep writing without using bold words.  These puppies carry a price along with their shiny ladylike carrying-case, the Bliss Platinum MZX736, for example, is $70.  Yes, for earphones!  I don’t care how cutsie they are, that is such a ludicrous price that any women who buys them deserves to be ripped off.  Fear not though, they do have earphones for $50 and $30 so … oh wait, that’s also crazy!

As a woman I am used to companies trying to overcharge me for the “female version” of a product that is as unisex as a persons ears, but this one has to be right up there with the most ridiculous and unnecessary.  It’s not like they play the music so much better that your periods don’t hurt any more, or that the music out these days has lyrics.  They are just earphones for God’s sake, it’s still the same old crap you’re listening to.

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Although the album was leaked on the internet before it was to be officially released, the singer took a positive approach and, instead of cussing out those who did it or complaining about fans who have no respect, she instead went online to say

My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans.. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs.

It’s clear from this, and from her musical variation on her album, that Beyonce truly about her fans and her music and puts her all into her work, bringing the best she can offer to the table each time. The new album sparkles with that real ‘Beyonce’ feel to it. Although I’m not usually a fan of her music, I can safely say I enjoyed it and found myself liking the challenge of being outside my comfort zone.

I won’t go into massive detail about all the songs as I think they’ll speak volumes for each individual person because of how they feel and how the melody strikes a person, but I will mention a few that stood out to me and that stuck in my head.

The obvious one is Run the World, which has become huge, and understandably so. It’s a pumping club hit that makes you want to throw your body into motion and feel the rhythm go through you, but it also carries a very strong empowerment vibe with it. It contrasts beautifully with songs such as Start Over and I Was Here, which carry a very balladie feeling and set the tone for slower, more heartfelt melodies.

The idea of the song is in fact that women run the world, in case you didn’t get that from it, and it seems to celebrate the different roles that are filled by women and acknowledges the effort they put into life. It has that ‘stuck in your head for days’ feel to it, and rightly so. It’s a great song with so much life and energy within it that it’s hard NOT to feel adrenaline when you hear it.

Countdown was one that stuck with me as a very ‘for this era’ song as opposed to very 70s/80s funk feeling songs like Love on Top, which reminds me of Michael Jackson’s earlier funky style, or Rather Die Young, which has a very 90s RnB feeling to it. It samples a Boyz II Men track (Uhh Ahh) and has such an amazing vibe to it. Interestingly, when Beyonce wrote this, she brought a variety of genres together to create something totally new and looked to all of her influences, from old funk to afrobeat and even rock festivals, which makes it a song to commend for the fact that it seems so new and fresh and different, something that’s quite difficult to achieve in this day and age with music.

And finally there’s Best Thing I Never Had, which reminds me of Mika’s We Are Golden in the beginning and instantly sets this uplifting emotion, as the premise of the song seems to be discovering your own self-worth and not needing to be bogged down with somebody else’s bullshit anymore.

I could see it being used in a movie for the scene where the main character finally realizes what they’re worth and wants to move on and up with their life, knowing they have it in them and realising there are so few limits and obstacles in their way. Certainly a song for the ipod, and definitely one of those the-second-you-hear-it-you-love-it.

All in all, though the album had a few slower songs that tick the ‘I’m so in love and happy’ or the ‘I’m in a dodgy relationship and I’m not sure what to do’ boxes, it offered up some interesting mixing of genres and powerful music, shying away from the traditional RnB/pop singers standard and goes off the beaten track.

Beyonce may not have released an album bursting with club hits and chart shoe-ins, but she’s certainly shown her range as a songwriter and shown her talent as a musician, not to mention her absolutely beautiful and powerful vocals that lift every song from just a song to so much more.

This album is a Must-Hear for two reasons:
1. It’s so different to what’s considered the norm in pop culture and is unashamed of itself, showing how truly strong the album is.
2. It shows this woman who used to be considered just a sexy singer in a three-part group as a talented, powerful person who doesn’t need to sing about banal or controversial bullshit to get ahead in life.

This album brings to us the work of a woman who knows exactly what she wants, what she’s doing, and where she’s going. It may not be my cup of tea musically, and I may not want to listen to it on repeat for days on end, but I can certainly respect the level of talent, effort and commitment that went into it and I can certainly be impressed by such work and ambition.

Well done Beyonce, you powerhouse of music!

4 is available from Amazon and is, without doubt, at your local record shop.

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Whether you believe it or not, it’s true what they say: any publicity is good publicity, and Rihanna has proved it yet again with the release of her video for ‘Man Down’ on BET. If you haven’t yet seen it, the basic storyline is as follows: at the beginning, Rihanna shoots a man in a crowded public area, and the video goes on to show us that the man that was shot had raped her (in an implied scene), and this was her act of revenge, or in the eyes of many, retribution.

Although many have found this video to be a huge empowerment for women everywhere, not everyone agrees with it. The Parents Television Council have blasted Rihanna for hawking a ‘cold, calculated execution of murder’ in her video, and are appalled and outraged that she would suggest that gunning down a rapist in a crowded area is a suitable form of justice. The PTC were further outraged when Rihanna tweeted that her video contained a ‘Very strong underlying message 4 girls like me!‘

But it’s not only the PTC condeming Rihanna. They’ve apparently joined forces with Industry Ears and the Enough is Enough! campaign to publicly denounce the video, and are attempting to rally support to have the video taken off BET by appealing to its parent compant Viacom. Paul Porter, co-founded of Industry Ears and former voice of BET said of the video:

“‘Man Down’ is an inexcusable, shock-only, shoot-and-kill theme song. In my 30 years of viewing BET, I have never witnessed such a cold, calculated execution of murder in primetime. Viacom’s standards and practices department has reached another new low… If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass and BET should know better. The video is far from broadcast worthy.”

Melissa Henson, Director of Communications and Public Education for the PTC also denounced the video, claiming it is neither an empowering nor an appropriate message to send to young, impressionable audiences. She went on to say:

“Once again BET has chosen the low road over the high road. Violence is a pervasive problem in all corners of our society and today’s youth need more positive strategies for dealing with conflict than those portrayed in the Rihanna video… This video is one among several frequently played on Viacom music video networks that lyrically or graphically glorifies violence and other behavior inappropriate for teens and youth.“

Relationship coach Marc Rudov, founder of TheNoNonsenseMan.com, was also appalled by the “reprehensible video of gratuitous, confessed murder,”. He tells Foxnews.com’s ‘Pop Tarts’:

“She sings that she killed a man when she ‘lost her cool’ because ‘he was playing her for a fool.’ This garbage from the same woman who publicly bragged to Rolling Stone recently that she likes to be spanked and tied up… Rihanna gets to have it both ways – accuse Chris Brown of domestic violence and be violent herself – because she’s a woman.”

However, not everyone seems to see the shocking and somewhat hypocritical side of the video. LA-based entertainment expert Kelley Carter says:

“Rihanna is able to take a stance through her music and speak to social injustices or things that just flat out disgust her. In this new video, she channels her anger at a rapist, which for a lot of women is empowering.. I don’t think that Rihanna is advocating murder, I do think that she is saying it’s time for women to speak up and out against abuse targeted towards women. Should she be under fire right now? No. The most important thing this new video does it that it has opened a dialogue, and that’s not a bad thing in my book.”

And then there’s the flood of tweets on Rihanna’s twitter, re-tweeted by the singer herself when they praise the song and video for its message.

So far, I’ve given you the basic ‘For and Against’ from a variety of sources commenting on Rihanna and her video. But now I’d like to offer my view, if it helps you make up your mind on the video should you be caught between agreeing with the singer or denouncing her.

As I’ve said, it opens with a crowded train station and Rihanna shooting a man, then cuts to ‘Yesterday Morning’ and shows her moving happily through her neighbourhood, greeting everyone. Instantly we’re presented with the idea that she’s a popular girl and knows everyone in the community. Not to escape our notice is the evident flirtation and strategic body language; is this an underlying message that wasn’t mentioned? Next up is the club scene, where she and a number of others are dancing and grinding, with much sexual innuendo included, and we see her dancing with one man in particular, who she eventually denies, and she leaves the club. She walks off alone into the night, and the man she left behind follows her, grabs her and holds on to her forcefully, eventually leading to an implied rape scene. The next scene is of her running, then of her finding a gun and looking terrified and enraged. The end.

The video itself is so much more than Rihanna shooting an assailant and a rape scene that justifies the violent murder. It’s layer upon layer of a debate that’s been raging for a long time; she walks around in skimpy outfits, flirts with the males of the community, struts down the street with her femininity blatantly on show, she dances provocatively in the club, she dances and grinds with the assailant. All of this insinuates a girl who is unafraid of sexual attention and sex itself, and brings up the ever-present rape debate: Was her overall manner one that attracted the wrong kind of attention? Did she ‘Dress like a slut’ or ‘Act like a slut’ and bring this upon herself? Was she actually giving the man who attacked her all the signals that implied she did in fact want to sleep with him?

This video is more than meets the eye. It’s not just a video that should be banned for the violence and the possible stereotyping of black culture (one of Enough is Enough! campaign’s problems with the video could very well be that) or heralded as a monumentous video for girls everywhere. It should neither be denounced nor celebrated. It doesn’t just show us Rihanna being held down and raped, then her exacting revenge. It shows us a story of how it came to be, the subtle nuances within the scenes, why the attack transpired, and for that, whoever directed it, should be commended.

Don’t get me wrong. If this video stereotypes black culture and teaches young, impressionable minds that the end justifies the means (shooting somebody who rapes you) and that what she did is right, then somebody SHOULD stand up and say ‘Now wait a minute’. It shouldn’t just be taken off air and condemned, as usually, that just makes the people who support it all the more adamant to see it remain on air. It also shouldn’t be heralded as an empowering video, because in reality, it’s not.

Telling somebody it’s okay to take another person’s life if YOU think it is, is one of the worst things to broadcast. The people who are tweeting Rihanna saying this video is exactly the message needed for girls everywhere or that it was the right thing to do etc etc don’t seem to understand that sometimes, one of the best things a woman can do in that situation isn’t to hurt/maim/kill the assailant, because that won’t change anything. One of the best things she can do is tell somebody she trusts, call a helpline, go to the police and speak to an officer you feel won’t discriminate, go to the hospital. Yes, in the heat of the moment, whether it was you or somebody you love having that kind of hell put upon them, one of the first things that jumps to mind is ‘I’ll fuckin kill them’, but in the end, doing one or all of the things I mentioned above will probably yield better results than just shooting the person.

At the end of the day, although Rihanna’s video is massively controversial in a number of ways, and certainly sends a message to her audience, it is definitely a thought-provoking piece that will stir debates, arguments and possibly even change opinions all over the world. It is a brilliant piece of work, and as Rihanna tweeted :

‘People gon’ talk whether u doin BAD or GOOD!!! Yeeeaaaaaaa’

So, what do you think?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEhy-RXkNo0

No related posts.

Tim Jonze of guardian.co.uk writes:

If so, it would certainly fit the most recent narrative – Lady Gaga’s rise to the top of the pop tree has landed on a particularly wobbly branch during this album’s promotional campaign. First fans grumbled that the title track bore remarkable similarity to Madonna’s Express Yourself. Then disapproving voices in the gay community complained that Gaga had hijacked their sexuality as a marketing tool. So intense was the chatter around Born This Way, in fact, there was even a backlash over the artwork.

His article is riveting in its dissection of the album, but I found his judgment to be one of slightly obvious distaste for her new work, respectfully to Jonze of course. Just not his cup of tea I think. And I thought I would feel the exact same, until I listened to it.

For those of you who are already diehard fans of Gaga *nods to webmaster*, this album is nothing short of a mouthwatering aural banquet. And this is coming from a non-Gaga fan. Every track delivers with a shameless, balls-to-the-wall confidence and yanks the listener into the songworld of Gaga, whirling in tornadoes of blistering dance beats and unadulterated vocal volcanoes where her voice is never drowned out by the effects of the song. THIS is what sets her apart. She can deliver a song like ‘Scheibe’, a German-English technobaby with a rock-hard beat that you can feel shake your entire body into wanting to dance and still keeps the focus entirely on her voice, something I’ve noticed is difficult when bringing the likes of synths and steady beats into a song. With her monotonous German intro and the steady beat the first place my mind goes to is a German fetish club with the music pumping like blood through veins and the population of the dance-floor pulsing to the rhythm. It caught my attention instantly, showing that she knows exactly how to market her music.

Every track I’ve listened to has its own aural fingerprint; every song stands out from the next one, differing so greatly from the melody to the pace to the beat to the vocals to the overall feel. Songs like ‘Judas’ and ‘Government Hooker’ almost smack you in the face with their balls-out approach and obviously controversial lyrics while pulling you back in to drink up the blistering dance beats and daring you to resist the breathless need to move your body to every pulse and every throb within the song.

‘Bad Kids’ stood out starkly because the intro was so similar to something Pink would produce, and as the song begins the lyrics catch your ear and draw you in to see what this song is saying beyond the usual mad-Gaga lyrical menagerie of insane, sexually aggressive poetry. The song seems to celebrate the idea of being, well, an asshole kid who’s proud of how bad they are and welcomes the idea of blaming it all on your parents. The reason it stuck with me was that the beat and melody was reminiscent of a happy-go-lucky 80s pop song while churning out the dark and angry lyrics such as:

‘I’m a bitch, I’m a loser baby maybe I should quit/I’m a jerk, wish I had the money but I can’t find work/I’m a brat, I’m a selfish punk, I really should be smacked/My parents tried until they got divorced ‘cuz I ruined their lives’

Quite a few of the songs are swimming in influence from 80s music with their dirty saxophone solos, mild guitar sequences, overzealous synth and upbeat, poppy happy-go-lucky melodies, most of which end up being all the richer for taking such ideas and meshing them with a mind like Gaga’s. From ‘The Edge of Glory’ which conjures images of the ending scene of a movie where our beloved protagonist finally gets to be with the one they love in standard ‘run-to-one-another-and-cling-to-each-other-as-one-of-us-is-swung-around-and-we-all-laugh-along-happily’ end-of-movie sequence, to ‘Fashion of His Love’, a beautifully upbeat and uplifting piece that reeks of Whitney Housten’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ when the chorus hits in. Both songs struck me as such wonderful additions to the album simply because they have such joyous emotion contained within them, offsetting the dirty, sleazy (yet very welcome to be on my Ipod) likes of ‘Government Hooker’, ‘Heavy Metal Lover’ and ‘Scheibe’ with their gritty, grinding beckons to the listener.

Three absolute gems on this album I found to be songs I couldn’t only listen to the once were ‘You and I’, ‘Born This Way’ and ‘Born This Way (Country Roads Version)’. Obviously ‘Born This Way’ has to be commended for the simple fact that whether or not you like it, it is in face an anthem for everyone. Although tipped as the ‘gay anthem’ by Sir Elton John and then viciously verbally torn apart by a minor section of the gay community, it has to be recognized as a standalone anthem musically. It oozes feel-good factor and shines joy and pride in big rainbows (no pun intended). It screams ‘I’m here, I’m me, I’m proud’ with every incendiary beat and every vocal explosion. It has nothing but positivity and light within its lyrics, beat, melody and core.

The variation of the anthem (Country Roads Version) is an utter treasure, something that utterly surprised me. I half expected some frightening ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ remix of the original, bracing myself for insane banjoes and heavy beats and some kind of weird Rainbow Confederate Flag imagery. And man was I impressed when I heard what it really was. Somehow the guitars and harmonica swirl melodically with her vocals, creating this intensely beautiful, paradoxical storm of soft, lovely music that merges like heavenly lovers and makes you want to stand up proudly while still chilling out in the back.

Finally, there’s ‘You and I’. At first, you’re not sure what to make of it. It has a beautiful, bluesy country feel to it but then the heavy beat trundles in, and amazingly they complement each other so wonderfully that the song just works. This song is Born This Way’s country blues love song (strongly reminiscent of Journey’s ‘Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ with a little extra happy in there) and seems to fit perfectly together despite the obvious mixing of genres that ordinarily might never work together.

The album is a must-have, by all means. From the ‘80s pop-meets-‘00s dance meshing of songs like ‘Edge of Glory’, ‘Fashion of His Love’ and ‘Bad Kids’ to the workout-must-have definite club-hits like ‘Scheibe’, ‘Government Hooker’ and ‘Americano’, Gaga definitely ‘brung it’. Every song I listened to whisked me away to the world that was contained within and painted every scene before me with every lyric sung and every beat pumped through the speakers. It might not be the ‘album of the decade’, but it’s certainly a masterpiece in itself. Whether you adore every yelp and growl and perfectly-held high note that escapes her pouty lips or despise the noises that come from the pulsing, insanely dressed character before you, you have to admit: the woman is fucking talented.

Although I’m not a fan of her and her ideas and morals, I can certainly ignore that aspect and enjoy the music she has brought to the table with this album for what it is: pure, absolute music. Lady Gaga is a performer and a writer, a singer and a theatrical enigma that brings us these insane musical pieces straight from her intense imagination and never apologizes for it. She brings us something new, something frightening, something different and unafraid and unashamed to be that kind of different. She brings us her music, as she makes it and as she wants it to be. For that, because I don’t have a hat to take off to you, I salute you, Gaga.

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We’ve been together for 12 years and are getting hitched in August. Oh, thanks. So I love her and everything, it’s just that every May she becomes this other person. Oh, god, ok I have to be honest. It doesn’t start in May, it starts in February. As soon as countries start to have their Eurosong competitions, she’s gone. I know she’s physically here with me, but mentally (and musically) she has left the building.

I think to myself, “why does she care more about a singing Bulgarian donkey than me?”, and I know that’s not fair on her. I know she loves me. It’s just that it seems all-encompassing. From February to the end of May I am in hell, but from June onwards I’m in heaven. Now I’m not suggesting that it’s not worth it, it is, which is saying something. It’s just so tough.

Because let’s be honest, the music in the Eurovision is a heap of shite.

I have my hobbies too. I am a Leinster ruggers fan through and through and she supports me in this. So is it unfair of me? I appreciate her remembering that Jamie Heaslip is a number 8 and it makes me warm inside to hear her shout “that was forward!” when it obviously was.

Remembering this, a couple of years ago after she has all of the entries for both semi-finals open in YouTube, I sat with her and listened to them all. A couple of times. Then we went through the different countries and picked out who we thought would win. I was Norway all the way and then they went on to win. Beginner’s luck. Ever since, though I have to have an opinion on all of the songs as she thinks I have an interest and insight.

In this way, I’ve attempted not to lose my wife to the Eurovision, but get lost with her, if you will. The problem is that as soon as I was close to her level of interest, she took off into the Euro ether. She’s obsessed! She’s even got a list of puns like “I’m just very Jedicated”, up her sleeve. And I am being dragged along with her.

I have a bruise on my arm after the Thursday semi-final, I have to look through all of the papers tomorrow so that we can get cardboard Jedward quiffs and today I walked town to find face-paint. Am I just encouraging the madness?

Thanks for listening.

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Then I saw this

What an excellent name for a band! These lads have great taste, I’m well impressed. Plus, nice font. But, no, nothing to do with me I’m afraid.

For more about this wonderfully-named band clickety click.

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I am sure you will all join me in congratulating them both.  It’s wonderful to read about happy couples, especially for us singles -- there is hope!  The couple are planning to tie the proverbial knot in Connecticut later this summer.

Wright came out last May and to see her planning her wedding for this summer is just so gay you have to love it.  I must admit to spending a while googling about trying to find out how long they have known each other, as I really wanted to make U Haul jokes, but alas you will have to live without my keen wit this time, I am here souly to congratulate.  As someone who volunteers for our right to marry this is a great story to get to write.

I hope they have a wonderful day and an even better marriage.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-WtDRvzcUM

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What do you think? Best song around or just more kaka from Gaga?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl0N7JM3wZk

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P!nk

On featuring gay couples in the video for this year’s single, “Raise Your Glass”, P!nk said, “I threw my best friend’s wedding in my backyard. She is gay and it was a beautiful ceremony. At the end of it, her mom said, ‘Why can’t that be legal?’ and started crying. It was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen and that’s why I’m doing it in my video.” Plus, she dropped in to PantiBar for a pint. Listen to (and watch) “Raise Your Glass”

The Slits

Founding member and lead singer of UK dub/punk/reggae band, The Slits, Ari Up (Arianna Forster), died at the age of 48 years due to cancer in October. The band had been together in various guises since 1976. Listen to “New Town”

Leanne Harte

Working hard, touring, and recording in 2010. She’s Sutton’s finest rockin’ young leslie. Listen to “Mr Fortune”

V.A.G.

Less pants more attitude: Limerick’s finest, Very Angry Girls. Listen to “Safety Pin Grin”

The xx

Three little words: Romy Madley Croft. Featured in this year’s Lip Service on the Beeb, and released their latest single, “VCR”. Listen to “Blood Red Moon”

Janelle Monáe

Defying both gender and genre, and always with fabulous hair, Monáe livlied up Dublin and Cork this year. Listen to “Locked Inside”

Warpaint

This year’s (west-coast, fourtet) Telepathe? Listen to “Undertow”

Tegan & Sara

Their Dublin gig, combined with P!nk’s surprise appearance in PantiBar, almost led to lesbian meltdown in the capital. Listen to this year’s single, “Alligator”

Lady Gaga

Gigging so much, she doubled up on concerts in Ireland this year. No wonder 2010 was Gaga Hallowe’en. Listen to “Telephone”. Or anything, really.

Kylie Minogue

It’s Kylie. She’s fabulous. And not just for the gay boys. Listen to “Get Outta My Way”

Not queer but here: Honourable mentions

Marina and the Diamonds (Officially go hálainn. Listen to “Hollywood”)
Unthanks (Listen to “The Testimony of Patience Kershaw”)
The Naked + Famous (Listen to “Young Blood”)
Julia and the Doogans (Listen to “Come Home”)

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Orange: Annie Lennox & Al Green – “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” form the ‘Scrooged’ soundtrack: 80s, Annie Lennox, Al Green, Bill Murray film… what’s not to love?!

CanuckJacq: Uh, I generally hate Christmas — but this new Glee scene has me in the spirit!

HAL: “The Power of Love” by Frankie. Oh and Doris Day’s version of “Let It Snow”… who knew she could do smouldering sexiness?

CherryBomb: Either Shakin Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone” or that Gary Glitter song that completely escapes me right now, it’s on the red version of
‘The greatest Christmas Album in the world’!

Gooner: Mine is the original Wham version of “Last Christmas”.

TabulaRasa: Mine is “All I Want For Christmas is You”!

Slayer: “Fairytale of new York”

I have so many and I have a song for different occasions. For example if I am out in a pub I love Shakin Steven’s “Merry Christmas Everyone” and The Darkness.

Great songs to dance around like a loon in a santa hat to. If I am cuddled on the couch with the missus and relaxing, then “Baby Its Cold Outside” (Glee Version) or “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole. My favourite Christmas carol is “The First Noel”.

So what’s your favourite? And don’t be embarrassed if it is Mariah Carey, everyone has a guilty pleasure!

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A theme from the Body Talk trilogy has been that each single featured on the preceding albumette as an acoustic track. Each of the acoustic and electro-amped versions definitely offers a new dimension to each song. Here’s the acoustic version from Body Talk Pt. 2:

Indestructible is released on November 22nd.
Body Talk Pt. 3 is released on November 29th.

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