After reminiscing about my grunge-fueled high school days last week, I was reminded of my other favorite genre from the ’90s — Britpop. And when I randomly heard an insane mashup featuring the killer “Connection” guitar riff from post-punk outfit Elastica, I knew I had to share it here.
The remix features the vocals of Roisin Murphy — back when she was still in Moloko — on a No. 1 club hit you might remember from 1999 called “Sing It Back.” I’m not sure where this remix came from, but it definitely provided me with an energetic, twisted trip down memory lane. Check it out:
To be honest, U.K. singer Little Boots (born Victoria Hesketh) didn’t do much for me at first. Unfortunately, her debut disc dropped overseas last June in the midst of a surplus of similar female-fronted electropop acts. While many of these artists, including La Roux and Ladyhawke, seemed to carve out a niche for themselves in Britain, it hardly translated to mainstream success on this side of the Atlantic.
Surprisingly, Little Boots looks set to distinguish herself from the pack as Hands was released in the U.S. this week with mostly-positive reviews. I decided to give her a shot when she recruited my beloved Dragonette to serve as her opening act on her brief North American promotional jaunt, which kicks off tonight in Seattle. (Granted, she probably had nothing to do with this.)
So why wasn’t I completely enamored from the get go? She’s worked with top producers like Greg Kurstin and RedOne and she has more talent than many of her club-friendly contemporaries. I suppose I don’t have the answer, but I can tell you that lead U.S. single “Remedy” has really grown on me — which is why I’ve got the Kaskade Club Remix for you today. It’s about dancing getting you through tough times, a theme that suits the Saturday Spin to a tee. Download and dance!
If you’ve not seen it before, why not watch the futuristic, kaleidoscopic clip?
Kate Nash certainly doesn’t waste any time! Snappy new single “Doo Wah Doo” just leaked a few days ago and already the quirky video has emerged. It’s got a retro airplane steward theme, with in-flight instructions doubling as dance moves. Brilliant! It certainly joins the ranks of memorable airborne clips, both silly (Foo Fighters’ “Learning to Fly”) and sexy (Britney’s “Toxic”). Looks like this one could be a hit after all.
I’ll never forget cruising around with my fag hags while I was in high school blasting Hole’s Live Through This and screaming along to “Violet.” Precious memories. Things sure have changed since the glory days of Ms. Love’s then-acclaimed band. No questions there.
But let’s fast forward to 2010. Courtney is shifting the focus from her brilliant Twitter career to tour the U.K. and actually put out some new music. I’m not sure if new single “Skinny Bitch” is technically released by Hole or some band she’s started called Nobody’s Daughter, but you can download it for free TODAY ONLY (3/4) after entering a few personal details (ie selling your soul).
The verdict? Not as wonderful as “Olympia” but not as terrible as Love’s solo material. In other words, I’m ambivalent. Apparently there’s an LP in the works — considering Ms. Unpredictable’s track record, there’s no telling how long that’ll take to come to fruition.
Up, up and away! Goldfrapp flies high in the new clip for “Rocket,” the electropop group’s soaring new single. Ok, that’s quite enough of the (not so) clever wordplay with the track’s title, just watch the damn video already. It’s out of this world! (sorry.)
Forthcoming disc Head First launches (!) Stateside March 23.
Let me draw your attention to a new item in the sidebar specifically for my local readers. Under the headline “Music City Rocks!” I will be maintaining a list of ¡viva la graham!-approved performances and events right here in Nashville. Right now I’ve only featured music, but in the future it may include art and comedy items as well.
So far for March it’s a mixed bag of lovely ladies: the stunning modern-Motown stylings of local sister act Like Candy Red, sultry jazz courtesy of the phenomenal Annie Sellick (pictured, above) and the irresistible kitsch of ABBA tribute outfit Knowing Me, Knowing You.
Otherwise, we have a diverse group of talented gents passing through town as well, including country-punk band Lucero, California-based rock act The Soft Pack plus indie hipster faves We Are Scientists.
I’ll be updating the list in the sidebar as more events are announced, so please feel free to submit a suggestion. Disclaimer: I can’t guarantee its inclusion.
Welcome to ¡viva la graham!, a music blog dedicated to top pop, rock, dance, soul and indie from around the globe -- with an occasional dose of pop culture and gossip thrown in for good measure.
Any mp3s or videos shared here are purely for entertainment purposes. Please contact me at vivalagraham (at) gmail.com to request the removal of any content.
Take your time, look around. You'll certainly find something of interest within these pages. And when you do... TURN IT UP!
