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Monday, 12 March 2012

Write for us about: Girls Aloud

What's your favourite Girls Aloud single? Tell us in this week's readers' panel

The most exciting pop news this week is that Girls Aloud are back.

You didn't know they'd gone away? Well, they had. The group went on hiatus in 2009, initially for a year, but that was extended as the fab five pursued solo projects, with varying degrees of success.

Speaking last week, Nadine Coyle confirmed that the Girls will be reuniting for a 2013 arena tour, releasing "one or two singles" to mark their 10th anniversary.

To celebrate the news, we're taking on Girls Aloud as the subject of this week's readers' panel. If you'd like to take part, write a brief (no more than 150 words) review of your favourite Girls Aloud single by 11pm Thursday 8 March, and email it to adam.boult@guardian.co.uk. We'll be publishing a selection of the best reviews on Friday.

Adam Boult

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/06/write-about-girls-aloud

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BBC's The Voice aims to overpower Britain's Got Talent

BBC battles to win Saturday night viewers from ITV by investing �25m in talent show in which auditions are done 'blind'

It is billed as a unique take on the TV talent show, but BBC1's The Voice has proved controversial even before it has begun. From the creator of Big Brother, with a budget of �25m over two years, the singing contest has already become so important that the reputation of the BBC1 controller, Danny Cohen, is on the line.

But it faces the most difficult possible start, after ITV and Simon Cowell decided to greet its arrival by bringing forward the Easter juggernaut Britain's Got Talent by a month so the two could go head to head.

With a line-up of judges intended to appeal to all ages ? including the 23-year-old Jessie J; will.i.am, 36; and Sir Tom Jones, aged 71 ? The Voice differs from its rivals because the auditions are done "blind". Jones and his fellow panellists ? or "coaches", in the parlance of the show ? get to see what the singers look like only after they are chosen.

The BBC and ITV have blamed each other for the 24 March scheduling clash; it remains to be seen which show will suffer most as a result.

Cohen played down expectations at the programme's launch. "Of course I would love it to be a mega hit overnight but I am very conscious of the fact that these shows tend to build over time," he said.

"Whether it's Strictly [Come Dancing] or the X Factor, they build and build. We are in this for at least two years, and we are waiting for it to grow rather than explode straight away."

ITV has already got its criticism in early. Its chief executive, Adam Crozier, described The Voice as "derivative", complaining that Cohen was spending licence fee-payers' money on a show that a commercial broadcaster could have aired. (Cohen flew to Holland at an hour's notice in order to beat ITV to the rights.)

Cohen said he was keen to avoid a clash with Britain's Got Talent, but some sort of overlap was inevitable with a spring launch; the ITV show having launched in April every year since 2008.

The last series of Cowell's show was a shadow of previous years, with a lacklustre panel featuring Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff. But it was still one of the most popular shows of 2011 and will return with a rejuvenated judging line-up including David Walliams, former Strictly judge Alesha Dixon and Cowell (pictured right) himself.

The Radio Times editor, Ben Preston, said: "It's going to be one of the biggest television stories of the year because it's already being painted in very personal terms: Simon Cowell versus Danny Cohen.

"There's a lot at stake. Simon Cowell is back and itching for a fight ? snatching judges, leaning on schedulers ? but he's getting fidgety. Is he nervous?

"Now you've got a talented new BBC1 controller who's desperate to launch his own big entertainment show; he's gone out and found one, backed it, and is very ambitious for it."

Preston added: "It's always going to be a gamble for the BBC. You can win the viewers, but the PR battle is harder still ? If The Voice does brilliantly, then there'll be people who ask if the show's distinctive and accuse the BBC of sacrificing public service. And if it doesn't do well, they will say it's a waste of licence-payers' money. There's a lot riding on it."

BBC1 needs a new "shiny floor" entertainment show after So You Think You Can Dance ? another bought-in talent format that was big in the US ? was axed last year. Its run of Andrew Lloyd Webber-inspired West End talent hunts ran out of steam and the theatre impresario has taken his latest project, to fill the lead role of Jesus Christ Superstar, to ITV.

"Saturday night entertainment on the BBC is really important to viewers," said Cohen. "We've seen that with Strictly, Let's Dance [for Sport Relief] at the moment. They are always high-risk shows, you always want them to be big and ambitious. What you need them to do is offer something for all the family."

BBC Radio 1 chart show presenter Reggie Yates, who will host The Voice with Holly Willoughby, was keen to play up the musical credentials of the panel, which also includes the Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue. Pop Idol winner Will Young was due to be involved, but was reportedly turned down at the 11th hour.

"This isn't a joke, this is very serious. It is very real and authentic and you have got people who are credible," said Yates.

Contestants include Sean Conlon, a former singer with boyband Five, and 34-year-old Toni Warne from Great Yarmouth who has had alopecia since she was a child. With the judges unable to see her first performance, she said she was "looking forward to walking on the stage and being me for the first time ever".

But with the bar set high for the singers, the programme risks missing out on the publicity generated by less talented contestants such as Wagner on The X Factor and Ann Widdecombe on Strictly Come Dancing.

The winner of The Voice will sign a deal with Universal Music, a rival to Simon Cowell's Syco Music. But while the show makes much play of its blind auditions, panellist Jessie J said image remained important.

"You can talk about music and passion and stuff but you have to know how to hold a microphone, you have to know how to accentuate certain parts of your body to look nice," said the London-born singer songwriter, whose hits include Do It Like A Dude. "But what the show is saying is that the voice is the first thing and everything else stems from that."

And she had a warning about the price of fame: "Celebrity is something that picks you, you don't choose that. You know what's crazy is that what I had for dinner makes the news. At the end of the day when you step into this industry you have to take on that.

"I didn't get signed [to Universal] to tell people what I had for dinner or what underwear I'm wearing. I tell them about the music."

John Plunkett

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/mar/12/the-voice-britains-got-talent

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Sunday, 11 March 2012

Write for us about: Girls Aloud

What's your favourite Girls Aloud single? Tell us in this week's readers' panel

The most exciting pop news this week is that Girls Aloud are back.

You didn't know they'd gone away? Well, they had. The group went on hiatus in 2009, initially for a year, but that was extended as the fab five pursued solo projects, with varying degrees of success.

Speaking last week, Nadine Coyle confirmed that the Girls will be reuniting for a 2013 arena tour, releasing "one or two singles" to mark their 10th anniversary.

Adam Boult

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/06/write-about-girls-aloud

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First listen: Madonna's MDNA

We've had a sneak preview of the new album ? get ready for terrible French accents, amazing pop raves and heartfelt ballads

Girl Gone Wild

After the relative failure of the album's first single Give Me All Your Luvin' ? in with a bullet at No 37 in the UK ? this throbbing, having-a-bit-of-a-dance electro-pop stomper was released a few weeks ago in the form of a fairly embarrassing lyric video. Embarrassing because the lyrics are probably the worst thing about it, all "you got me in the zone, DJ play my favourite song" club LOLs. Co-produced by Italian DJ Benny Benassi, it's a lot more exciting musically, especially when the whole thing disintegrates in the middle eight, dropping out completely as Madonna coos "forgive me". A signal we're back in Confessions on a Dance Floor territory following the relative misstep of Hard Candy.

Gang Bang

Madonna in playful mode. Big throbbing industrial-tinged beats, spoken word verses, no real chorus, just a ridiculous collection of sound effects (police sirens, gunshots) and imposing menace that's actually pretty fun in a kind of slightly unhinged way. Gang Bang recalls her American Life album in its slightly uneasy marrying of genres, with a sudden dubstep breakdown its most obvious detour. Lyrically it's a twisted revenge fantasy rather than a sordid romp, closing with the line: "If you're going to drive like a bitch then you're going to die like a bitch."

I'm Addicted

Again co-produced by Benny Benassi, this continues the theme of "Fun!" (however forced it might seem) that permeates most of MDNA's first half. "I need to dance," Madonna trills over squiggly synth squelches and a beat that morphs into a fairly ridiculous Calvin Harris-esque breakdown. By the end she's chanting "M D N A", which you imagine might be shouted back at her by some fairly large crowds come summer.

Turn Up the Radio

This one, co-produced by Martin Solveig, should have been the second single. Its relatively calm intro is a timely breather from the throbbing bass and feels more carefree and instinctive than what has gone before. Over a bouncing beat that filters, stutters and drops in all the right places, it slowly morphs into an anthemic raveathon, with a lovely middle eight underpinned by almost tribal drums. Again, the theme is the need for one and all to chill out and have some fun.

Give Me All Your Luvin' feat Nicki Minaj and MIA

If you were one of the 108 million people who watched this year's Super Bowl halftime show then you've probably heard this first single. If, however, you listen to the radio then you probably haven't, seeing as it wasn't playlisted on Radio 1 and received limited exposure elsewhere. Though admittedly not her best comeback single ? that's Frozen, in case you were wondering ? it's still a fun song, Solveig slightly reworking the bouncing beats and acoustic strums of his amazing Hello single and drafting in Nicki Minaj and MIA to add some personality to a middle section that's slightly dubstep-interlude-by-numbers.

Some Girls

Probably the album's weakest moment, with Madonna's vocals pulled, processed and buried deep in the mix, acting more like another instrument within a deluge of filtered beats. It could have easily been a leftover from her Music album, William Orbit unable to find a melodic core in a song that probably should have been included as a bonus track.

Superstar

Opening with a massive Cheerleader-style drum beat ? reminiscent of the extended intro to Solveig's Hello ? this is much better, Madonna sounding playful and energised, singing about how her new boyfriend is pretty amazing. In fact, she likes him so much she'll let him "have the password to my phone". Unfortunately, as with most songs on the first half of the album, the chorus is a bit weak, a simple "oh la la, you're my superstar". Also, memo to Madonna: massive pop stars knowing about dubstep is probably a bit old hat now, but we get another dubstepesque breakdown nonetheless.

I Don't Give a feat Nicki Minaj

Brilliantly odd. Opening with a bang, literally, it goes on to morph into an America Life-style rap (no wait, come back) that features a list of things Madonna has to do ("meet the press ? sign the contract"). The industrial beats soon make way for spooky chants and out of nowhere Minaj pops up, finishing her rap with "there's only one Queen and that's Madonna, bitch". If this isn't being made into a T-shirt as you read this then there's something wrong with the world of merchandise.

I'm a Sinner

Futuristic-sounding, double-tracked beats hail a song that veers from having fun on a night out ("all the boys and the girls wanna be like us tonight"), to a religious revelry ("Hail Mary, Jesus Christ on the cross died for our sins"). Produced by William Orbit, his signature motifs are all over it, from the Ray of Light-style guitar line that emerges from nowhere to the bit later on that sounds like Beautiful Stranger.

Love Spent

Back come the guitars, this time working around processed strings, a pretty melody and lyrics about wanting to replace money in a man's affections. "Hold me like your money ? Spend your love on me," Madonna sings over four-to-the-floor beats and a properly ravey middle eight. There's an amusing moment when she deadpans: "Frankly, if my name was Benjamin, we wouldn't be in this mess we're in."

Masterpiece

Over a simple fingerclick drum beat and a pretty acoustic riff, this ballad ? which appeared on the W.E. soundtrack ? takes the painting metaphor hinted at in the title and runs with it. "If you were the Mona Lisa, you'd be hanging in the Louvre," Madonna sings, with the implication being that it's hard to love something perfect and distant ("the look but please don't touch me type"). It's one of the best vocal performances on the album, her voice soft and sweet throughout, lifting effortlessly into the chorus of "I'm right by your side, like a thief in the night, I stand in front of the masterpiece." A breath of fresh air after heavy bass and ravey synths.

Falling Free

Opens with a spooky, slightly unhinged piano section that's more lonely woman in haunted house than Coldplay stadium filler. Deep strings underpin the whole thing, with just the piano and strange electronic textures ? similar to Ray of Light's Drowned World ? for company. As with most of the later songs, you could easily read a lot into the lyrics, specifically thinking about Madonna's divorce from Guy Ritchie. "We're both free, free to go," she sings as the strings sigh and slowly settle. It's a haunting way to end the main album.

Beautiful Killer

The first of four bonus tracks, this draws on a fairly popular Madonna theme: that of being drawn to something bad for you. "Baby I'll let you shoot me down" and "I can't really talk with a gun in my mouth" are two lyrical highlights on a song that was rightly left off the main album.

I Fucked Up

This, however, definitely should have been on it. Opening with a big, bass-heavy beat and a snapped "I fucked up", it's Madonna at her self-lacerating best. "I made a mistake, nobody does it better than myself," she sings as the beat is joined by strings and sudden bursts of guitar. Suddenly the beat skips and speeds up, creating the album's grimiest, least polished moment. Fans of Confessions on a Dance Floor's Sorry will be pleased to hear her sing "je suis desol�" in the least convincing French accent.

B-Day Song feat MIA

Rumours that this MIA collaboration was bumped from the main tracklisting following middlefingergate were not confirmed during the playback, but it's more than likely it was left off because it's Motown/Spectorish beat doesn't really fit with the rest of the album. It's a jolly romp though, with MIA joining in on the chorus but letting Madonna deliver the line "give me a spanking, start the day off right" by herself.

Best Friend

A real highlight. With a massive electro beat that pogos all over the place, this is a brilliant rush of darting synths. Lyrically it's about a relationship that should never have been, Madonna lamenting the loss of a friendship after things went wrong. There are nods, perhaps, to her previous life as part of the English gentry ? "I miss the countryside in which we used to lay" ? and it's one of the few times on the album where the chorus truly soars. It ends with the line "it's so sad that it had to end" and, generally, this is true of Madonna's MDNA, an album that's been trailed by weak singles, but contains brilliantly bonkers moments.

Michael Cragg

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/07/first-listen-madonna-mdna

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Ask the indie professor: What do we mean by 'folk'?

Devendra Banhart? James Yorkston? Mumford and Sons?! Our indie prof asks who is the folkiest of them all

Is the folk thing finished yet?

Alex Kapranos via Twitter

Folk originates from the German word "volk", meaning people, and therefore a fairly inclusive term. The word most commonly used by a culture to refer to itself is "people". But as the meanings of words change, folk came to be associated with the "common people". Currently, the use of "folk" is deeply enmeshed in American political discourse. It is a way for politicians to express affiliation with the American working and middle classes. In the US, the imagined middle class is conceived as the common people. In music, folk was initially used to describe traditional song and dance. The originator of the work was unknown and therefore it became the property of the folk, along with stories and other forms of intellectual property.

This "folk thing" hardly refers to traditional music, so it must concern a more recent trend. My first thought was Mumford and Sons, broadly described as a British folk band. Also, because one of my favourite questions was: "If marooned at sea, which member of Mumford and Sons would you eat last?" I asked some musician friends what they thought "folk" means. Lou Barlow said: "Does he mean freak folk like Devendra Banhart? Or someone like James Yorkston?" I speculated that modern folk meant having lots of interesting instruments and lots of members, but I was overruled because Arcade Fire have lots of interesting instruments and no one was willing to call them folk. The person who said "it has a banjo" was booed.

I thought it could be useful to use SXSW to check the status of the "folk thing". As the festival could be considered a snapshot of emerging artists attempting to get a foothold in the industry, it is an apt location to consider the health of various musical styles. In applying to play a showcase, artists are given a set of genres they must choose from that includes folk, but does not include subgenres such as chillwave or sadcore. Other options are country and alt-country. Yet, there is only the category of rock, no alt-rock or indie. Perhaps because alt-rock/indie has become so ubiquitous it is the assumed association of rock. If so, you'd need to develop some retro nomenclature for the few rock bands culture pundits feel free to vilify such as Nickelback and Train. Maybe the genre of "uncool rock", although I'd be interested to see if anyone would dare use it.

So here is a breakdown of the genres chosen by the 2,000 bands playing official showcases. SXSW features hundreds more bands playing parties, special performances and marquee events. None of these artists are required to categorise themselves. So Bruce Springsteen doesn't have a genre under his name.

Rock 31.10%

Hip-hop/rap 12.91%

Pop 10.94%

Electronic 9.07%

Singer-songwriter 5.75%

Folk 4.46%

Avant/experimental 3.73%

Punk 3.01%

Alt-country 2.64%

DJ 2.59%

World 2.18%

Metal 2.07%

Dance 1.66%

Americana 1.35%

R&B .98%

Latin rock .93%

Country .93%

Blues .83%

Reggae .52%

Funk .52%

Gospel .47%

Bluegrass .47%

Jazz .41%

Tejano .26%

Classical .21%

Now what this data tells us is questionable. On one hand, it is clear that less than 5% of performers at SXSW consider themselves to be folk musicians, not a particularly significant number. Additionally, while many have claimed rock is dead, the majority of performers coming to Austin aspire to success in rock, more than double the closest rival in hip-hop/rap. Yet, this also demonstrates the shortcomings of self-classification. After all, the Ting Tings have classified themselves as punk and the Magnetic Fields as pop, which might not be unreasonable ways to think about their music after all.

Wendy Fonarow

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/07/indie-prof-folk

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Blog jam: The Other Woman

Music bloggers tell us about their labours of love

Who are you and what's your blog called?

Ruth Barnes. I run The Other Woman.

Where are you based?

London.

Describe your blog in a sentence

The Other Woman exists as a radio show on Amazing Radio, the blog reflects current playlists and also the two tips I play for Tom Robinson as his "Girl Music Guru" on his BBC 6 Music show every week.

How long have your blog been going?

My first post was about Nina Nastasia in January 2010.

What music do you write about?

I write about female artists, female-fronted bands, women DJs and producers. I try and be as cross-genre as possible.

Why should people visit your blog?

The Other Woman is a celebration of female musicians. In an era where live music, radio playlists and TV appearances are dominated by men, or a certain kind of female artist, I give air time to musicians operating outside of the mainstream and outside of the industry's restricted and conservative view of women songwriters and musicmakers.

TOW is about making women in music more visible and hopes to encourage young girls to pick up those guitars, plug in those synths, tap that mic, and be heard. The blog and radio show is grassroots at heart, providing a platform for DIY musicians and advice for those starting out.

Finally, TOW is a reaction to the mainstream music press, which tends to revere and celebrate the same dead/dying/finished male musicians on their covers every month. Get over it.

What's your top song right now?

TOW longtime favourites Nedry, a dark electro trio from London. This is Violaceae from their new album In a Dim Light due on 12 March via Montreme Records.

What's your favourite music blog aside from your own?

I'm a big fan of the Quietus. Not just a great place to read about new music and must-see gigs, but plenty of thought-provoking, intelligent comment and journalism.

Guardian readers

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/05/blog-jam-other-woman

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'Dark Shadows': A Peek Inside Collinwood Manor

Pictures revealing the manor's entryway and grand staircase have a distinctly old-school Tim Burton feel.
By John Mitchell

Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer in "Dark Shadows"
Photo: Warner Bros.

Here we are again, folks. We're about two months away from the release of "Dark Shadows" and we still don't have a trailer.

It's a little disconcerting that a film this big and anticipated doesn't have an official trailer out yet. But since there's not much we can do about that, let's talk about the latest thing to creep into the Shadowsverse this week: pictures of Collinwood Manor.

For those unfamiliar with the '60s soap, the manor is the principal setting for the action of "Shadows." When Barnabas (Johnny Depp) returns to Collinwood in 1972 after, you know, a few centuries buried in a mausoleum, he finds the once-grand estate in disrepair. His dysfunctional descendents who now reside at the grand manor haven't fared much better. Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has brought psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) to live at Collinwood to help with her with her family's assorted troubles, including her rebellious teenage daughter, Carolyn (Chloë Moretz), and her ne'er-do-well brother Roger's troubled 10-year-old son, David (Gulliver McGrath).

Up until now, we've mostly been getting nothing but character portraits, so it's nice to get a glimpse inside the grand house. The pictures that found their way online this week are of the manor's grand staircase and of Barnabas and Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) checking out the elaborate detailing in the marble entryway.

The ornate staircase is pure Burton, with carved wood railings that give off a snake-like effect and an elaborate blue Victorian rug. We can see that the ceilings are vaulted in the style of traditional Gothic architecture and the whole thing is punctuated by a thin, nearly two-story window.

As for the marble entry, it's just as elaborate. In the image, we see Depp examining a frieze depicting what looks like the Roman god Neptune (or some sort of sea-like theme). Also Gothic in style, the marble archway behind them is likely the entrance to the manor.

We say likely, of course, because we really have no idea ... because there's still no trailer giving us any other perspective on Collinwood.

Both images are super cool and a little bit creepy, two adjectives that also describe the best of Burton's flicks. The set design certainly creates a great deal of atmosphere and is vaguely reminiscent of the styling created for Burton's "Sleepy Hollow," which wasn't a perfect flick but had a distinctly Burtonian feel to it. We hope we can say the same for "Shadows." I suppose we'll get a better sense of that when the trailer finally drops.

The sooner the better, Tim. The sooner the better!

What do you think of Collinwood? Is it as creepy as you'd like it to be? Let us know in the comments below and tweet me at @JohnMitchell83 with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns!

Check out everything we've got on "Dark Shadows."

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