Mika - Elle Me Dit

"Elle me dit, c'est ta vie"

Mika's back? And he's French now? Whatever. Although I really don't listen to his music very often, I'm always curious to see what he'll do next and I do enjoy quite a large chunk of his musical output. I certainly didn't expect this, though. I think I was one of the only fans of his last single (the RedOne pairing was interesting, to say the least) and I guess this follows along with the dancey feeling of that, but there is still the little detail of the language. I'm not sure if he's trying to break in with French audiences (or if he's already popular there? I can imagine that), but he's gone and released this--the first taster from his upcoming album--as a French-only single. Forgetting the fact that I can't understand a word, I'm liking this more the more I listen to it. It's incredibly simple, while retaining the manic energy he's known for. If the album's anything like this (but in English), I'll be happy.

Elle Me Dit - Mika by Mehdy B.

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

Movie Blitz 7/6/11

A quick Movie Blitz today, and a bit of a review sandwich (you'll see as you read... it's very symmetrical)

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
Oh my. Let me preface this by saying that the first movie in this series is one of my favorite action films of the last decade. The second is unwatchable. This one falls somewhere between the two, though far closer to the second than the first. The problem is, it's just a lot of noise lacking story. The humor's the worst it's ever been. The action's better, but without any meaning behind it, a 45-minute climactic battle becomes a bore. Is it sad that I dozed off multiple times while watching this last Friday? D+

Super 8
Yes, yes, yes! My favorite film of the summer so far. Everything Transformers lacked, this had in spades. Characterization, story, mystery, an aura and setting that felt real. Great cast, great suspense and a great, great movie. I didn't know they made them like this anymore! A

Green Lantern
I had a free ticket. I wouldn't have gone otherwise. The movie was about as bad as I was expecting, which was pretty darn bad. When the climax involves the titular character being chased through space by what looks like a giant, frowning hairball, you know you have a problem. D

Eric Saade - Stupid With You

"I keep doing stupid little things"

Eric Saade's new album is now out and... errr..... I'm not loving it as much as the debut so far. It seems to me that he's gone for a more global sound this time around (maybe hoping for a UK breakthrough?) and thus lost a little of what made him special. The production and songwriting sounds a lot like what others are doing, and the Popular album remix is not as all as good as the original. But enough with the griping. It's still a fun pop album, and there are definitely some highlights. I really like this late-album track. It's not working so hard to be marketable, instead focusing on an excellent melody. The lyrics are so-so, but it's one of the poppier (ie: not trendy) tracks on the album. I really, really love the chorus. Maybe it's just because it's the only other Kempe track besides Popular on the album. His presence as a songwriter is definitely felt here.

Eric Saade - Stupid With You 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.

Jedward - Bad Behaviour

"I've got a little problem that I can't seem to solve"

Jedward are back! After their Eurovision success of the fantastically catchy Lipstick, they're embarking on a complete album of original material. Now, this isn't exactly "real" music, but I don't care. Sometimes you just need something a little fun, and this has the potential to be the guilty pleasure of the year. The producers have used just enough autotune to make it sound like these guys can almost sing, and the boys have been surrounded by huge, blockbuster hooks. It's totally bubblegum, but I'd expect nothing less from Jedward. Now, if only the American X-Factor could find a novelty group with this much sticking power. After all, they've been (by far) the biggest successes of their season. Who would have thought? UMG is being real quick about taking down any trace of this song on the internet, so this is a video rip... not quite HQ.



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