a few thoughts...

I absolutely love this song at the moment and am listening to it non-stop:



It's the catchiest tune I’ve heard for a while and an phenomenal sample of Echo Beach

I also adore the new album from the Gossip, Music for Men. Beth Ditto once again fuses dancefloor pop-punk with a political message without coming over at all heavy-handed or preachy - a talent that no doubt made Standing In The Way of Control a favourite of the otherwise largely politically apathetic 'Skins generation'. The album's larger objective is to expose the privileged position that white, middle-class, straight men enjoy in our society (it goes deep kids, fight the power), but it is in the second single Love Long Distance and the phenomenal Vertical Rhythm that the Gossip's talents are best demonstrated. I always felt that Ditto's voice was the most distinctive of my generation and her soulful, strong-yet-world-weary vocals on both tracks allow the listener a level of empathy that is reminiscent of Dark Lines on the Standing in the Way of Control LP and as ever accompany the thumping beat perfectly to make it a thoroughly danceable tune if nothing else! Some have seen the Gossip as merely 'one-hit-wonder' but this follow up to their 2007 release (which is one of my favourite albums) surely discredits any such notion.

Along with Ditto, Lily Allen is holding the flag for the sisterhood with her latest single 22 and somewhat predictably I am rather taken by this little number too. Her vocals well reflect the sense of despair and injustice with which women yet to have bagged themselves a husband/long-term partner face when approaching 30; no longer considered prime-stock for the marriage market but also supposed to uphold a facade of strength in a society which with tells them they are to be iron-women of industry and independence whilst it worships still at the altar of the cult of motherhood and female domesticity. The lyrics are witty and well chosen, amongst a follow up album which hasn't as of yet grabbed me to the extent that Alright Still did.

Singles in my line of fire at the moment are Battlefield by Jordin Sparks and Soulja Boi’s Kiss me Thru the Phone. Sparks' comparison of love with war has to be the most contrived pop-music simile to date and frankly a little part of me dies when she suggests her boyfriend-come-nemesis should ‘go and get your armour’. What does that even mean? There’s more depth to your standard under 5s paddling pool than to this song, so I was very surprised to find it among this month’s Attitude magazine’s ‘Turn-Ons’, surely even the most stereotypically shallow of my brethren couldn’t actually enjoy this song, even on a level one might enjoy Britney etc. As for Soulja Boi’s Kiss me Thru the Phone here is a song that sounds like it was merely written so it could sell its own ringtone. I haven’t got anything against personalised ringtones, I don’t have one myself because I’m a bit of a miser, but at the risk of sounding middle-aged this merely appears to be a rather cynical commercial exercise, but then maybe it's a reflection of the extensive use of communication technology in our culture... no I’m not convinced either. I also take issue with the line ‘Baby I know that you like me, you my future wifey’. I sincerely hope that 'wifey' was only employed for reasons of poetic convenience; otherwise it is almost too offensive to countenance.

Something about being back at home politicises me, maybe it's the Daily Mail culture in my home time or maybe i have too much time on my hands left to thinking which turns me into a PC bore...


anyway kids that's all for now =)