Pop Blitz 5/6/11

Friendly Fires - Live Those Days Tonight
Like their past singles, this has that distinct electro-indie vibe. I can appreciate it, and I actually quite like it, but there's something holding me back from loving it. The production is probably the strongest aspect. B

Jordin Sparks - I Am Woman
She's recorded exactly two brilliant pop songs in her career and everything else has really failed to impress me. This, unfortunately, will be filed with "the rest." From the cluttered production to the girl power lyrics, it's like a subpar Beyonce b-side. C

Hard-Fi - Good For Nothing
It's been a long time. The band definitely suffered from the sophomore slump, but I'm not sure if this is enough to bring them back out of obscurity. They've lost much of their electronic influence in favor of guitars. C+

Lady Antebellum - Just A Kiss
They're clearly aiming for the kind of crossover success they achieved with their breakout single, as this isn't all that country. Instead, it's a calibrated-for-radio-success ballad that sounds an awful lot like their last one. Nice vocals and melody in the verses, but it's a little sleepy. The chorus should be stronger. B-

Jennifer Lopez - I'm Into You
It's certainly a comedown from the excellent On The Floor. This midtempo, slightly Latin sounding pop song has some of the dippiest lyrics of the season, but the melody is infuriatingly catchy. B

Rye Rye - Never Will Be Mine (ft. Robyn)
I never thought something that sampled Robyn could be so bad. Rye Rye basically takes on of the best songs of the last decade (Be Mine, the acoustic version in this case) and craps all over it. My only hope is that this would lead people to listen to the original. D-

Cody Simpson - On My Mind
He's tried to be the next Justin Bieber so hard, but it was never gonna happen. Now that his voice has changed, he's aiming to become the next Chris Brown, apparently. As derivative as this is, it's still the best thing he's recorded by far. B-

Melody Club - Sweet Disaster

"I still sleep with the enemy"

We've got a new Melody Club single! Personally, I was pulling for the superb Dreamer's Wasteland, but I'll gladly take this track, which has grown on me immensely since listening to it for the first time a few months ago. Sweet Disaster is a catchy midtempo number in the classic MC style. It features some great female background vocals in the chorus and a stirring middle eight. It's not the kind of track that hits you over the head immediately, but the melody is so insistent and the production so flawless that you find yourself coming back to it over and over again. I hope it has the same effect on the Swedish public (though if The Hunter couldn't do it, I've got my doubts). If you haven't yet, please check out their latest album. It's my favorite of the year so far and about as good as classic pop music will get this year.

Melody Club - Sweet Disaster by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Almighty Club Mix)

"Always say we're gonna stop"

I usually try to focus these day-to-day posts on lesser known artists, but I've gotta take a brief break and give props to Katy Perry. Her album, Teenage Dream, has spawned four number one singles so far and I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes her fifth. I can't think of another album since Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad that has held so many bona-fide hits (and Perry didn't even need a re-release to do it!). To me, Teenage Dream hearkens back to those great, shamelessly commercial pop albums of the 80's -- a real blockbuster. And surprisingly, it's grown on me more as time goes on. Even more surprisingly, I was not a big fan of Perry before this "era." I loved I Kissed A Girl before radio played it (same thing with Hot 'n Cold), but the rest of the album left me bored. Disagree all you want, but she's well and truly won me over. Reliable pop stars are hard to find these days. I can even forgive some of the stupid lyrics of this song (though the term "epic fail" is pretty unforgivable). It makes for a slamming remix, too.

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Almighty Club Mix) by POPONANDON

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Kobojsarna - La Perla

"Meet the girls of Norway"

Both the name of this song and band are more than a little foreign (props to anyone who can tell me what "kobojsarna" means, if it means anything... it translates to "Chris Brown" on google translate, but that can't be true, can it?), but the sound of this is pure Europop. Sometimes you just crave a nice, easy club song like this. It's definitely in the Eiffel 65/Basshunter vein of silly/stupid pop music. The lyrics are pure cheese and don't really make any sense (how exactly does a "pearl in the ocean" "set the world in motion"?). There's something in here about a "graduation," too, and "rock stars on replay," whatever that means. I find it all very charming, though. And the most important aspects -- the melody and production -- are totally stomping. In fact, I foresee myself listening to this quite a lot in the near future. It's a good stress reducer!

Kobojsarna - La Perla by Kobojsarna

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to more here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Rupaul - Responsitrannity

"I had to learn it on the radio"

This song should be nothing more than a novelty. I never really thought about listening to Rupaul's music for this very reason. Don't get me wrong, I think she's hilarious, but I expected a Rupaul album to play more like a comedy record than a real collection of pop songs. The lame title of this song doesn't help, either. Surprisingly, the album's full of striking club-influenced pop. Many of these songs could have been recorded by an artist like Kylie Minogue and nobody would bat an eye. The melody of this song is mature, shimmering electro pop that doesn't quite jibe with the silly title. It's a self-empowerment anthem (as most of the tracks on the album are) and, with slightly different lyrics, would have been taken completely seriously if recorded by any other artist. Listen with an open mind. I think you'll be very surprised!

Rupaul - Responsitrannity by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Win an ARC of SKYSHIP ACADEMY!

Pausing music posts for a moment, I wanted to announce that you can enter to win an Advanced Readers Copy of my debut novel, Skyship Academy, over at my goodreads page. It's only open to readers from North America, but if that's you, go on over and enter! The contest is open through May.

Enter here!

And a reminder, if you haven't already, to head over and "like" the facebook fan page so you can stay updated on the latest news :)