No Doubt – Settle Down

That’s at least two minutes longer than it needs to be.

Tom: Like yesterday, it’s the first single off the new album. Unlike yesterday, the video’s got more than one colour in it.

Tim: Shame. I had hopes for a week of monochrome videos, then each post could have a theme song. Yesterday’s was Eiffel 65, then we could have had Coldplay, Will Young, Prince and finish off with Spandau Ballet. Well, maybe another time.

Tom: Yellow, Evergreen, Purple Rain and Gold, for those keeping track at home.

Tim: That’s at least two minutes longer than it needs to be. Radio edit, possibly?

Tom: I thought this was going to be terrible until the chorus.

Tim: Hmm. Given the length, I was hoping for that first verse being a lengthy introduction followed by verses in the style of what is actually the chorus. But no.

Tom: Actually, let me rephrase: it is pretty terrible apart from the chorus. I don’t know why I was expecting more from Gwen Stefani (particularly after seeing Adam Buxton’s version of Hollaback Girl).

Tim: Umm, no, me neither.

Tom: But that chorus… well, I think it would save the track, were the song still not far too long. It doesn’t need the long intro and ending, it doesn’t need the “in line and settle down” bits. It does need more of that chorus.

Tim: So much more.

Example – Say Nothing

If this isn’t a corker, then something’s gone very wrong.

Tom: First single off the new album. Out shortly. If this isn’t a corker, then something’s gone very wrong.

Tom: Well, that will do nicely.

Tim: It’ll do…alright, yes.

Tom: Example’s always been a bit of a mystery to me: he’s an okay singer, he’s an okay rapper, but somehow the whole package works brilliantly. He just seems likeable, and the production on his tracks is so damned glossy and professional that I find them impossible to dislike. This is a man who knows how to make a pop record.

Tim: There, you’re not wrong. To be honest, there’s not a lot to say here – it’s a straight up pop-dance track that does everything just as it should, and doesn’t venture anywhere that it shouldn’t.

Tom: Should he be striving for more after four albums? Maybe: but if the fans like it, and he likes it, best of luck to him.

Tim: I can’t really add more than that: it hits all the right beats, it’s danceable, and it’s probably – and rightfully – going to be a big hit.

Tom: As for the post-apocalyptic entirely-blue video: while it’s very pretty, it does seem a bit low-budget and phoned-in.

Tim: I just like that he’s taking inspiration from Eiffel 65.

Tom: Shame, really, ‘cos the track’s brilliant.

Saturday Flashback: The Baseballs – Hot N Cold

“It’s better than that.”

Tom: The Baseballs, along with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, are one of the few exceptions to the rule that “all novelty cover bands are crap”.

Tom: This should be a by-the-numbers cover. Yes, well done, you made a Katy Perry song sound like it was from the fifties, now move on. But… it’s better than that. My question is this: is it because these guys are particularly good, because Hot N Cold is a terrific pop song, or both?

Tim: Both. Them, because they’ve managed to infuse it with exactly the right level of speed and excitement from the piano that it needs to match the original and not disappoint. Also the song because I was disappointed when they missed out the extra ‘no’s from the “you don’t really wanna stay…” line, indicating that it was forefront in my mind and there helping this along.

It’s a perfect combination, really, and a belter.

Three Green Trees – River

“I’m a proper sucker for that ‘ah-ahh’ing over a good instrumental.

Tim: Bands occasionally write to us and say “love your site, can you feature our track” etc, and it’s about fifty-fifty as to whether they actually know anything about us at all. But Stéphane from this Swedish band got in touch and seems genuine, and to top it all it’s actually a track worth featuring.

Tom: I’m always astonished how little Swedish accent most Swedish bands have when they sing. Can you imagine someone British trying to sing in Swedish? We’d mangle every vowel there was to mangle.

Tim: Probably, yes, but then non-English-speaking folk have vastly more exposure to English than we do to other languages. And, as I found out, pretty much everybody in Sweden speaks English to a high level. Aaaanyway, to the song:

I think I’m a proper sucker for that “ah-ahh”ing over a good instrumental, because that’s one of the things that I really like about this, and it’s not the only song with that in it that I’ve liked.

Tom: Yep, that last chorus is beautiful.

Tim: I don’t quite know why – maybe it’s just that with the right notes it’s easy to get something that sounds emotive and tuneful, but I don’t care if it is that simple because it works for me. It’s not just that, obviously, because there’s a good deal more to it. Simple but very effective instrumental bits before/between the verses.

Tom: I did think it took a while to get going, but the payoff at the end’s worth it. It’s a pleasant indie tune with no great pretentions, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Tim: Nice lyrics with it as well – let’s go and be alone together in a place of natural beauty, and who’d say no to that?

Tom: People with a sun allergy, technically, and pretty much anyone if you happen to be holding a hammer and a sack at the same time, but I get your point.

Tim: Well, with an attitude like that I’d add: anyone if you happen to be Tom Scott.

Tom: To be fair, me and the outdoors don’t exactly get along.

Tim: Finally, I’m not sure why, but even though it’s three and half minutes, it still seems a bit short. Don’t know what that means overall, but it does make it easy to listen to on repeat, and I like that in a track.

Tom: I was quite sad when it ended: I reckon that the middle eight’s a bit long, and I’d have been happy to hear an even BIGGER final chorus tacked on to the end.

Tim: And also I like their logo, with the whole fairly subtle shapes/letters thingy. Though I do think the middle one looks more like a Q than a G.

Tom: What do you mean, their… oh. Clever.

Tulisa ft. Tyga – Live It Up

“Hate’s a strong word, really.”

Tom: I predict you’re going to hate this, Tim, but that’s mainly because I hate it.

Tim: Hate’s a strong word, really, but you’re not far off. Still, let’s write about it anyway.

Tom: I think it’s the grating, endless air-raid siren sample that started me on the disliking path, followed by suddenly realising the speaking-in-tongues backing existed, and not being able to hear anything else.

Tim: For me it’s just so slow – during the verses, there’s an incredibly dull beat in the background, and the lines she sings are punctuated by equal amounts of silence from her, which accentuates that.

Tom: The song goes nowhere, does nothing, occasionally does an irritating fake-silent bit, and – just to kick folks when they’re down – has a not-clever poorly-flowing rap as a middle eight.

Tim: Were you honestly expecting anything else? That’s almost the worst part about the rap bit – yes, it’s crap, but you knew it was going to be crap as soon as the second chorus ended, and then it just meanders along. I’m reminded of the scene in Austin Powers where the guy’s twenty metres from the slow-moving truck and screams at it desperately to stop rather than getting out of the way, except here we can’t get out of the way so it’s not funny.

Tom: Then there’s the generic beach video, in which she seems to be wearing enough makeup for a small army of drag queens – either that, or she’s been badly digitally airbrushed in post.

Tim: Does look like quite a fun beach party, though, and by the looks of their dancing they had some much better music than this in the background.

Tom: In summary: don’t like it.

Tim: Likewise. But something good’s come from it: we’ve just written a thorough, detailed, grown-up review of a song we both dislike, rather than descending into the usual snark and cheap digs. I hate to say this, Tom, but I think we’ve matured.

Tom: Like your mum.

Tim: What?

Tom: Sorry, that doesn’t even make sense, does it?

Tim: In the literal sense of growing older, yes; as a joke? Not remotely.

Elton John vs Pnau – Foreign Fields

“I can’t call it a “remix”, because it’s an entirely new track.”

Tom: I’ve tried to write about this album a few times over the last few months, as various singles from it have come out. And each time I’m failed, because I find it difficult to come to any coherent view of it.

Tom: Do excuse the dodgy fan-video: the official one is locked down on YouTube for some reason.

Pnau are two suitably-weird Australian dance music producers, who were mentored by and signed by Elton John. They’ve released an album taking some of his lesser-known tracks and… well, I can’t call it a “remix”, because it’s an entirely new track. I can’t claim to have heard the original of this before, despite rather liking Elton John. Listening to that original shows just how much has been changed.

Tim: I’d not heard it either, but I don’t think it’s a necessary prerequisite to liking this.

Tom: And the remix is… well, I don’t think it’s an improvement on the original, but that’s because I’m a sucker for that kind of piano-melody gospel-choir track. As a reinterpretation it’s lovely, isn’t it?

Tim: It is lovely, yes. Not so sure about the weird vocoding effect at the end, but otherwise this is fine.

Tom: Granted, the out-of-nowhere ending on the remix sucks, and it doesn’t really seem to go anywhere: but I can’t help but like it.

The Killers – Runaways

I’ve got no complaints.

Tom: The Killers are known best for Mr. Brightside. Then they’ve got Somebody Told Me, which is almost as popular. Plus there’s When You Were Young, Human, Spaceman, All These Things I’ve Done and Read My Mind, in probable order of how likely someone is to remember them.

Tim: Something like that, yes, although Spaceman’s my favourite (so far, at least). Anyway, I’m sure you’d like to tell us what all this means, so apologies for interrupting.

Tom: What I’m saying is this: they’ve had a couple of killer tracks on every single album so far, albeit the big anthemic ones were both on the first album, eight years ago. This is the first single off the new album. Can they keep it going?

Tom: Yes. Yes they can. It’s not going to be a singalong club favourite, but it’s just as good as any of the tracks in that B-list I mentioned above. And when their B-list is this good, well, I’ve got no complaints.

Tim: Me neither. It sounds vaguely like it could be a U2 track from their 1980s days, before they took a dip, what with all the lengthy yelling and instruments and stuff, and I like that a lot.

Tom: Well, maybe a couple of complaints. It wasn’t until that final chorus that I thought the song had properly ‘kicked in’, so I was rather surprised when it ended. A second listen solved that, though.

Tim: My main niggle is that I’d love the “we all just runaway” to keep going through the instrumental bars it leads into, because I have a tune in my head that would go brilliantly there. It goes “we’re all just runaways, runaways, dum daa dum”, although with actual words in the las three bits. Doesn’t that sound great?

Tom: Minor tweaks aside, I reckon they’ve got a solid single here, sounding fresh enough while remaining true to their original sound. Not many bands can say that, eight years on.

Madeon – The City

“A fantastic dance tune.”

Tim: Every time I hear one of Madeon’s tracks I am astonished that he’s basically still a toddler. Well, eighteen, but still it’s bloody ridiculous.

Tom: I’ve said it before: we’re getting old, Tim.

Tim: Oh no, it’s not an age thing on my part – it’s just, 18. He’s incredibly (and annoyingly) talented.

Tim: It’s a bit lighter than Finale, which is good because it’s probably more radio-friendly and slightly more mainstream, but bad because I ended up quite liking the general in-your-facedness of that one in the end. But still, it’s still a fantastic dance tune, and very clearly shows off his claimed Daft Punk influences.*

*He’s also said he’s influenced by the Beatles; hopefully he won’t be vastly annoying 3 billion people fifty-odd years during the London 2064 opening ceremony.)

Tom: There is a lot of Daft Punk in this track, isn’t there? (I mean that in a good way.) But it’s all got that trademark Madeon synth sound – the particular combination of settings that no-one’s going to be able to use for years because they’ll just sound like him. That’s a high honour for any electronic music producer.

Tim: Not sure what to say about it, really, other than it makes me want to dance. A lot. And in a proper way, not in the way that Cartoon Heroes makes me want to dance. There are very few tracks I can say that about, so well done to him for that.

Tom: I could do some complaining about how much dynamic compression there is – how everything seems to dip in volume around each hit of the main drums – but that’d be churlish for such a wall-of-sound track.

Tim: On a final note, vocals come from Zak Waters, an American electropop singer who’s got a really rather quite good single of his own out right now, so you could check that out as well. Fun but disappointingly blurry video, there.

Saturday Flashback: M83 – Midnight City

“It’s light on lyrics, which is fine by me.”

Tim: This is a song. I found it on my list of ‘future Saturday Flashbacks’ with no notes as to why it was there. Then I listened to it and I realised why.

Tim: Because it’s great. They’re a French band who’ve been going for a while, and this, their only hit to date, just about got to the UK Top 40 last July. It’s light on lyrics, which is fine by me because the bits that do have lyrics are frankly a bit dull, and heavy on creepy children, which is, well, something.

Tom: You’re right about the lyric parts being a bit dull, but the rest of the track really does make up for it. They went full Total Eclipse of the Heart at the end there, didn’t they?

Tim: Part of me momentarily thought that the video was going to end with a group-suicide with the whole holding hands and looking glum on top of a building, but fortunately they didn’t because that would have put a downer on the whole saxophone affair, which is otherwise slightly unexpected but rather fitting.

Tom: It’s a rare track these days that ends with a saxophone solo; it’s a rarer one that works that well.

Tim: And yet this is one. But if you don’t want it to end, and you’ve not had your fill of creepy children, feel free to view the follow-up to this, Reunion. Music’s still very listenable, but you won’t be paying attention to that.

PRIVATE feat. Genasis – Everywhere

“Staccato drumbeats and 80s synths. I was not expecting that.”

Tim: This Danish group had a brilliant album about five years ago, My Secret Lover, and this is the lead single from their new album. And it too is great.

Tom: Crikey! Staccato drumbeats and 80s synths. I was not expecting that.

Tim: Good, aren’t they? Weirdly, I think I’ve subconsciously started blocking out rap bits from songs when I’m listening to them, because the first few times I listened to this I always thought afterwards “well sure, that’s a great chorus and that, but are there not any verses somewhere?”

Tom: The trouble with rap bits in songs like this is that my brain immediately goes “Peter Andre” and “Mysterious Girl”. It’s not a good connection.

Tim: So the seventh time I listened to it I paid proper attention to the rapping, and then realised I needn’t have bothered, because there isn’t much of it, and what there is is just a load of nonsense describing various rude things which just aren’t necessary in a lovely pop song which has not one but two brilliant hooks. That is to say, this one.

Tom: I know swearing’s pretty much standard in pop songs, but somehow it still caught my attention here. The hooks seem so, well, innocent that having the odd f-bomb in there stands out.

Tim: It really does. But then on the other hand even I would have to say that nearly four minutes of just “I’m in love” and “G-girl I’ll take you anywhere” might just get tiresome*, so I suppose it’s a necessary evil, and it doesn’t actually sound all that bad when it’s in there. But couldn’t he have talked about ponies or something?

* Three minutes would probably be okay, but not four.

Tom: I think it’s probably best not to talk about ponies in a love song. There are some unfortunate implications.

Tom: I know what that is, and I’m not bloody clicking it.