Cultivated Stupidity

Aloud and Proud

2007-09-05T22:05:00.000-04:00

Countdown to Girls Aloud 4th album began with the new single, "Sexy! No No No...", and continues with the B-side, "Dog Without a Bone" (November can't get here soon enough, dammit!). Legally stealing a riff from Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" (now we know where Goldfrapp's "Train" comes from?), the ladies do a good job of sharing verses, and come off with a sexy lil' put down of a song. Girls Aloud, belittling men? Wha?

Also is a horrific quality copy of "Singapore", from the super hard to get 2nd disc of their greatest hits, The Sound of Girls Aloud. Good up-tempo ballad. Of sorts.

Download: Girls Aloud - Dog Without A Bone

Download: Girls Aloud - Singapore (tres shitty quality, sorry)

You only come out at night

2007-09-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

Seriously, can Timber/Timba take a break for even one damn second? From their upcoming CD, Red Carpet Massacre, this track by Duran Duran is, really, actually, truly, a fucking Justin Timberlake and Timbaland song. I don't really know what Duran Duran contribute. It's a good song, don't get me wrong, I'm digging it, but it feels too much like a desperate attempt by a band 50% known for it's hotness to capture the teenaged hearts they once knew.

I saw Duran Duran in concert a few years ago, and they were fucking great. Good sound, good vibe, and, believe it or not, Le Bon Bon mos def had that sexual control down. But it was very natural for him, on the cheeky side, and this song feels too forced. Nothing to do but wait and see, though.

Download - Duran Duran - Nite Runner (Ft. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)

Hands up, guns out

2007-08-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

From M.I.A.'s newest, Kala, comes "World Town". I loved M.I.A.'s last outing, Arular, but I might be liking this newest one more (despite the lack of Richard X songs and the presence of a bizarrely defensive and bitchy interview). It feels more overtly political than Arular, in a more violent(?) way. This M.I.A. is sadder, more weighed down than the previous incarnation, while seemingly embracing dance music more (see the amazing disco strings of "Jimmy").

The two forces collide on "World Town". With a chorus going "Hands up/Guns out/Represent/That world town", and a bridge of cracked-out Hindi flutes, M.I.A. ruminates on a world with no allies (trustworthy ones, at least), and seems to be calling her comrades to arms. Maya, apparently, is mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. All to a catchy beat, no less.

Download: M.I.A. - World Town

Loosen up my buttons, babe

2007-07-27T09:14:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I can't stop watching Sia's video for her new single, "Buttons". In the post-Gondry-low-tech video world, it's not spectacularly inventive, but there's something about the marvelous yearbook backdrop combined with a tow-headed woman with a condom on her head that's quite engaging. The song itself has bouncy 80's beat and lethargically good vocals. Seriously, has this woman ever yowled in her life?

The video:

And, for good measure, the best car commerical ever filmed:

Download: Sia - Buttons

YES YES YES!

2007-07-20T09:58:00.000-04:00

After a 2 year wait, the new Girls Aloud album is on the horizon, coming out in a few months. Until then, a semi-ok radio rip of their upcoming single "Sexy! No No No..." will have to suffice.

An excellent vocoder intro that leads into a track a little less 90's dance than "Something Kinda Ooh", a song I wasn't 100% into, full of crashing guitars and a yelling call and response chorus whose vocals morph into something similar to The Knife's "One Hit", oddly enough.

I have a hard time explaining to people just why I love Girls Aloud so much. It's not very convincing when I say that I love them because they're drunk all the time and love to party, but that's a big part of it, actually. To hear young women sing about having a too many margaritas and sleeping around ("Wake me up"), while sharply observing the downside of said behavior ("Swinging London Town") is refreshing, and the fact that Girls Aloud do it with such humour and panache is the cherry on top.

The Xenomania productions are swirling masterpieces of pure pop perfection, paired masterfully with the almost never boring lyrics. I feel like no one working in the pop medium plays around so much with song structure. The extended intro of "SNNN" is on example, the 3-songs-for-the-price-of-1 jumble jangle of "Biology" being another.

Listen, just give yourself over to Nadine, Sarah, Kimbo, Nicola, Cheryl. They're on iTunes and youtube now, so there's no excuse to avoid them. DO IT.

Download: Girls Aloud - Sexy! No no no...

I will if you want me to...

2007-07-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

New Rilo Kiley, "The Moneymaker", off of their upcoming CD Under the Blacklight.

Tense vocals by Jenny Lewis and a squeal-ly guitar play nicely with a hip jangling beat. It comes off like toned down Fever to Tell Yeah Yeah Yeahs crossed with some early 80's rock ladies. A little punkish, a little dangerous, and a little sexy. Fingers crossed on CD, y'all. It comes out August 21st.

Download: Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker

The video:

To the Lighthouse

2007-07-17T13:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not even going to bother buying Interpol's latest and greatest, Our Love to Admire. "Untitled", "NYC", and "Leif Erikson", from their first CD Turn on the Bright Lights, are in my top 200 hundred favorite songs. They're dark and moody landscapes, and I didn't find anything approaching them on the rest of the CD. Maybe they're buried in Antics, the follow up album, but iTunes tells me I've barely listened to Antics at all, and I trust the damn program. I just couldn't get into the structured monotony of it all.

On a whim, though, I downloaded "The Lighthouse" from OLTA, and damned if the quietly desperate vocals and shimmering guitars didn't draw me in. Sounding like the Cocteau Twins cover of Jeff Buckley's "Song to the Siren", the song falls into an apocalypse around the 4:25 mark. The song is too low-key to hit the heights of "Untitled" and its kin, but it's utterly compelling.

On the flip side, Ana Da Silva's "The Lighthouse" is the song equivalent of someone running through the woods, branches clawing at their face, mud squishing between their toes. Both very moody songs, each equally unsettling.

Download: Interpol - The Lighthouse

Download: Ana Da Silva - The Lighthouse

Wiggle that ass before you throw it on me

2007-07-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

Another Timbaland track so soon, but who gives a shit. Collaborating with The Hives, "Throw It On Me" is a totally stupid, fun song that clocks in at a paltry 2:11. Try to get that damn chorus out of your head, though.

Download: Timbaland, ft. The Hives - Throw It On Me

I just want to get slow tonight

2007-07-15T15:21:00.000-04:00

Richard X turns in a glamorous new tune for Chungking. Coasting on a low-moan, Jessie Banks breathy vocals have been finely tuned to pique your libido.

For a pop maximalist like RX, this song is pretty soulful. New direction, maybe?

Download: Chungking - Slow It Down

Bombay, Salaam

2007-07-13T20:24:00.000-04:00

I didn't really listen to the new Timbaland album much when it first came out. "Give It To Me", while enjoyable enough, seemed kind of lazy, and there was a vibe to the CD that just seemed to be a bit too...mean? Loose and FutureSex/LoveSounds, while cold at times, had some great, fun songs, and, more importantly, songs that grew on you. Timbaland Presents..., besides being CRAZY long, wasn't accessible on the first spin, and even then, didn't have too many stand out tracks.

Lately, I've given it another chance, however, and it is warming up to me. "Bombay", along with "Throw It On Me" and "The Way I Are" (what a dumb fucking name, eh?).

"Bombay", below, manages to be cooly sexy without being off-putting, thanks in large part to the Indian singer's high pitched coo-ing. With English lyrics that could basically be in Bulgarian ("freaky freaky break down"? "There aint no way in the world im gonna leave you baby " suhriously?), it's still a nice late night track to make sweet love to your mistress to.

Download: Timbaland - Bombay (ft. Amar & Jim Beanz)

I totally flip

2007-07-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

Of the Kissy Sell Out songs I've managed to cobble together, the Excellent Adventure Remix of the All Saint's "Chick Fit" is the only one that totally works for me. It's in this song that the bleeps and boops, stuttering and chopped up words and phrases, and buzzy keyboard blend together in a song light years ahead of the not terrible original song. Perfect summer song to jazz you up.

The original:

This is the remix (the jeep's pump this new remix):

Download it: All Saint - Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure)

Careful with the label

2007-07-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

My new, Scottish (Irish? Where's Glasgow? Scotland. She's Scottish) intern and I recently bonded over our mutual love of Girls Aloud. While she says it's a guilty pleasure, I unabashedly will admit my love for those drunk brits. No other pop group in recent memory has managed to cram as much fun, sex, alcohol, and short skirts into each album as the Girls.

From their recent greatest hits, The Sound of Girls Aloud, comes "Money", a typically awesome GA song. It features crunching guitars, funky horns, a rawkin' chorus, and enough sass to sassify the un-sassiest of dried up old ladies. The icing on the cake is the way they pronounce "dinero" like De Niro, comma Robert.

Have a listen and download: Girls Aloud - Money