Bo Bruce/Lady Catherine Brudenell-Bruce
Morning! I kept my promise so happy Sundays all round. Here’s Bo Bruce, probably one of my favourite contestants on The Voice (although my favourites keep being eliminated so maybe she doesn’t want that honour):
Mysterious Girl: Where exactly has Rihanna been?
That’s not deja-vu, Rihanna just released a video for the song about which I’ve already blogged. More details below:
Ingrid actually did find love recently, confirming her marriage on Twitter (Twitter!) in January.
Thursday’s my favourite day of the week and coincidentally, this is the my favourite cover of a Rihanna song I’ve heard all week. What are the chances?
KP, LMFAO and RiRi: 2011, it’s like we never left ‘ye.
Welcome to 10 Things I Love About Pop: 2012! Or, 10 Things I Loved About Pop In The Year The World Was Supposed To End. Whatever works for you. Let’s have some good news anyway, shall we? Michael and Jonah have both returned to the blog: Good for fans of Drake and indie bands respectively (more news from them later) and great news for Henry’s energy levels. There’s only so many unreleased Katy Perry demos one can write about. So let’s head into another year of pop music, head’s high and smiling. It’s as glossy and slightly disconcerting as ever and we’re going to have a lot of fun analyzing it. Enjoy:
Collabs (abbreviations are the only way that this post is going to be written with a trace of coherency before I collapse into my bed surrounded my holiday prep and Hardy) came into their own this year. We’ve had some inspired pairings and some purely marketed for number 1 status (I’m looking at 2/3 of yours, KP.) Let’s take a gander at some of the best:
Picture Perfect: 2011’s best (according to Henry, Michael, Jonah and Bal) albums
It’s been a lovely week in popular music. We’ve been surrounded by lists of lists of the best lists of 2011 which is always a pleasure. When Christmas comes round, all the best things collide at once: Lists and tinsel. On another note, this will be our last TILAP column of the year as there will be some special one-offs over the break and I need some valuable hibernation time. But we’re going out with a firework, the cherry on top of a truly magnificent year for pop music. Enjoy, my lovelies, enjoy:
Do you remember when I promised a review of Talk That Talk earlier this week? Well, do you remember when I promised a review of 4 earlier this summer? The point is, I can be forgetful. So to strike while the pop-iron is hot, I’ve decided to dedicate this week’s column to the two hottest things in pop music at the moment. That’s five highlights from Rihanna’s new album, and three from Drake’s. As a side note, I won’t be featuring previously reviewed tracks, We Found Love or Where Have You Been. Jonah, who is a much more accomplished Drake source than me has already reviewed Make Me Proud, Crew Love, Shot For Me and Underground Kings (hence why I’m reviewing fewer Drake tracks). So check that out. If Barbadian pop stars or Canadian rappers aren’t your thing, I apologise. Better luck next week?
I don’t know if you know this guys, but Rihanna’s latest album is about sex. That was sarcasm. Of course you know it’s about sex. Sex sex sex. There, I said it. Every single review you read of Talk That Talk will mention that Rihanna mentions sex. So much so that as I was searching for the album on YouTube, I accidently typed in ‘Talk That Sex.’ But does it really matter? Not by virtue of being about sex it doesn’t. Sure, I wouldn’t give this to a seven year old niece but it’s nothing they’re not going to find out about with a few clicks on the internet, or a glance at any billboard. And no-one would bat an eyelid if this were a male contemporary singing the exact same lyrics. By virtue of being, you know, a female, Rihanna doesn’t owe society an image of sanctity or lady-like manners. If the subject matter is convincing, on the other hand, is a different matter. It’s been said that Rihanna’s albums often don’t feel like albums, so much as a highly-produced set of singles tied together by an album title, which can be as vague a word as ‘loud.’ To which I say: Have you heard Rated R? That album is Rihanna’s most consistent, and I would argue brilliant that absolutely has a ‘point.’ So in short, no it doesn’t matter that Rihanna (or any other female popstar) sings about sex. Yes, it is an acceptable subject matter (to a point.) And the music itself? Well yes, it’s rather good!
Talking That Talk (in black and white): It’s been a moody time in pop. Not really, but I couldn’t find colour photos.
Last week was pretty dramatic for me, and pop music. And the WORLD. So let’s take a more peaceful gander through the world of pop music this week. No apocalyptic visions, just ear-friendly beats. It was a Rihanna-centric week which is good news for anyone who’s a fan of the Good Girl Gone Debauched, bad for anyone who still has Umber-ella-ella-ella ringing through their brain. This is also a video-heavy post, because a) there seemed to be rather a lot this week and b) I’m tired. Let’s pop!
Michael Crewe
Elliot Taylor
Henry Ellenthorpe
Jonah McGowan
Kishen Vora
Can You Hear This 