Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Robbie Tuesday

This: has me excited for Reality Killed The Video Star. It's good to see the British tabloids actually being positive about Robbie. I partly blame them for the failure of Rudebox, one of his best records to date. If it wasn't for them lambasting the title track and being very, very pro Take That comeback, then the album would have done better in the UK. Not that it matters so much; Rudebox was a number 1 hit here.

And another thing: as cool as it would be for Robbie to go back to TT, I hope it's not permananent. I'm quite happy with the arrangement they have now: TT as a four piece and Robbie as the mega uber star he deserves to be.

In the lead up to the release of the new album, I'll be going through Robbie's albums and assessing them, starting from next Tuesday with Life Thru a Lens . Get excited peoples!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2659297/Robbie-Williams-new-album-is-best-for-years.html

Saturday, September 26, 2009

My thoughts on: Madonna- Celebration

Ok, so Madonna this week has released her third official Greatest Hits and her last with Warner Records. Being a Madonna fan, I was put in a bit of a weird situation. Got all her 94work and beyond, Immaculate Collection and GHV2. So essentially, I paid $20 for 2 new songs (and Everybody and Burning Up. But We won't count those.) 'Celebration' (the track) is a fun, inane party song that has finally worked it's magic on me. I listened to the first 5 seconds of 'Revolver' but I haven't made any further progress on it.
The tracklisting is predicatable but good. I picked it up and did a mental checklist 'YES! Yes, NOOO (4 mins- terrible) Yep, YES, YES' etc... Although fans were asked for their input, it seems like it didn't get through to the powers that be. GHs are really for the casual/non fan and yet relative hardcore fans like myself get suckered into buying them. *le sigh*

Taken from togerland: Disc 1 vs Disc 2. My choices are in bold.

1. Hung Up vs Dress You Up
2. Music vs Material Girl
3. Vogue vs La Isla Bonita
4. 4 Minutes vs Papa Don't Preach
5. Holiday vs Lucky Star
6. Everybody vs Burning Up
7. Like A Virgin vs Crazy For You
8. Into The Groove vs Who's That Girl
9. Like A Prayer vs Frozen
10. Ray Of Light vs Miles Away
11. Sorry vs Take A Bow
12. Express Yourself vs Live To Tell
13. Open Your Heart vs Beautiful Stranger
14. Borderline vs Hollywood
15. Secret vs Die Another Day
16. Erotica vs Don't Tell Me
17. Justify My Love vs Cherish
18. Revolver vs Celebration

RESULT: 12 votes to 6. Disc 1 is a winner. Overall, worth it.
Non-fan: 4/5
Fans: 3/5

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Top 5 Coldplay songs of Viva era

All credit to coldplaying message board. Thought I would post my choices here too.
5. Lost!: Instant for me. The hip-hop beats, the way the song grows and its message. Fantastic. The acoustic version scores points as well.
4. Strawberry Swing: Makes me think about a beautiful summer's day, rolling around on the grass. Great video and they pull it off live.
3. Prospekt's March/Poppyfields: love the mysterious, weary vocals and how it grows into the climatic ending.
2. Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix): chose this as I think Reign of Love is a weak point and this mix adds something different. The song is beautiful too- make sme sort of nostalgic for a place I've never been too and a time I've never had. Double points for the video.
1. Viva La Vida: a career turning point. By far, one of the best songs from them. Looking back on 2008, this song defines that year and is definately one of the best songs this decade. Everything from the narrative, the violins and the church bell sounds majestic. Shame the vid lets it down.

Honors list
Lhuna: Yes, I'm biased, but it was so lovely to hear this duet. Sort of like 'Where the Wild Roses Grow' but less macabre. Love both Chris and Kylie's vocals.
Life in Technicolor ii: Massive singalong! And the video wins points for creative genius.
Glass of Water: Rock hard, rock long.
Lovers in Japan Acoustic: I get a bit teary eyed for some reason. Love this interpretation.

Discuss.