Must be something in the water

I'm not much of a lying around the pool in the middle of summer kind of girl--give me a book and some shade, thank you very much--but a weeklong early summer vacation in a humid southern state kind of demands it. The songs that fell into frequent rotation for me this year during my "would have been more deserved any time from February to April but by this point was basically just a change in location, not leisure time" vacation (it's heavy on songs I added just before taking off and losing computer access):

Kelly Rowland, "Commander" (the song of summer, and don't pretend it's anything else)

3OH!3 feat. Kesha, "My First Kiss" (does this mean I'm giving in?)

Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber, "Eenie Meanie" (my "maybe the kids are all right" moment with today's teen pop, it's enough bubblegum fun to outweigh the awful "catch a bad chick by her toe" part)

Alexandra Burke, "All Night Long" (the only thing wrong with this song is that the best part is the backing "all night, all night, all night night night night" part, not the actual chorus melody. Other than that, it's just the sort of fun, lighthearted party song the summer demands)

Alphabeat, "DJ" (what's clearly the best song from their most recent album finally gets a single release)

Kesha, "Bootycall" (another Kesha leak/demo, this one could stand with the first few opening and final seconds getting cut, but the '80s candyfloss joy of the chorus and its overproduced '80s drums makes up for it)

Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull, "I Like It" (long live Enrique, even if the cynical side of me is unconvinced about staying power here. Plus, well, how can you begrudge him working with RedOne when he's the creator of what's obviously the best "RedOne + artist" tag ever in "Takin' Back My Love"?)

Baby Alice, "Piña Colada Boy" (gimmicky summer fun)

Aggro Santos feat. Kimberly Wyatt, "Candy" (the best thing about this dance-rap song is that the worst lyrics in it--heck, probably the worst lyrics all year--are the catchiest part, delivered in a staccato style so they're as easy to understand as possible, and transcend over into brilliantly awful: "girl. you. look. familiar. Where. do. I know. you. from?/Have. you. been. to. visit. me. at. AggroSantos.com?")

Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris, "Break Your Heart" (one of my favorite pop songs of 2009, so who would have thought the insertion of a couple of Ludacris raps into it could possibly make me love it even more? The best thing Ludacris has done since Usher's "Yeah!", and we all know how amazing that was)

Rogue Traders, "Would You Raise Your Hands?" (back on track after the misfire of "Love Is A War," the Australian dance-rock team delivers a song that never fails to make me pick up the jogging pace)

Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg, "California Gurls" (lightweight, but begging for successive summer plays...and do you know what? There's no point resisting)

Kids Of 88, "Just A Little Bit" (avoiding watching the video, loving this snappy electro-pop song from a two guy New Zealand act)

Jason Derulo, "Love Hangover" (broke down and bought his album just before leaving. It's not a must-own, but why is this not the next single instead of "Ridin' Solo"?)

Scissor Sisters, "Fire With Fire" (confession: the only Scissor Sisters song I've ever really enjoyed before this album campaign was "Paul McCartney." Maybe it's due to Jake is using his voice differently that this particular door opened up, but it's the joyous uplift of the Elton John-meets-the-Killers'-"Human"-but-better of the song itself that sealed the deal)

Mini Viva, "One Touch" (most thrilling Xenomania song since, what, at least "Miss You Bow Wow"? It's the attitude-filled fresh female sound that caused us all to fall in love with Girls Aloud)

Play, "Consequence Of You" (haven't really listened to the Swedish girl group's album, but there's no way there can be anything better than this song on it)

Throw in some random holdovers from spring--Matisse's "Better Than Her," Young Money's "BedRock" (cheesy puns are my weakness; see also: above picture), Lady GaGa's "Alejandro," Kesha's "Your Love Is My Drug," Gabriella Cilmi's "Superhot," etc.--and a few other songs--Dolly Rockers' "Automatic Girl," Taio's "Dynamite"--you've got the new additions. There's a whole summer playlist that gets rolled out, of course, but those standbys will have to compete with some great new songs from the past week or so. In fact, hmm, give me a few minutes...

(By the way, Crystal Bowersox and American Idol, you couldn't have had your hometown visit one week earlier or one week later? Really? It had to be during my previously scheduled and unmovable week away?)

Will there be a morning after, should I stay, or should I go?

Remember that Fame Factory special I started a while back? No, probably not--I really will finish it one of these days, but consider this a random installment in it. Annis was on the final season of Fame Factory, the one Sandra Oxenryd won and Linda Bengtzing was part of. She released the song I'm posting as a single in 2005, shortly after the show, but if her MySpace is to be believed she's finally got an album coming out this year, and she's worked with people like Aleena Gibson (as a songwriter) and Titiyo (as a singer).

One Suitcase--oddly enough (for me), I think this song might benefit from having a slower and slightly less "produced" arrangement, one that provides time for the emotion of the lyrics to sink in, one that takes time for pauses which match the hesitation experienced by the narrator and plays up the melancholy just a bit more--or gives us time to recognize it, at least. It's already had the opposite treatment applied to it: Mexican singer Fey gave it a dance treatment and released it as "Aquí Estoy," the lead single from her 2006 album Faltan Lunas (which was just a SILLY decision made even more frustrating by the next and even more unsuccessful followup single choice; when you have the adorable "Me Has Vuelto Loca," one of the three happiest songs of 2006,* in your pocket, why on Earth you wouldn't be selling that to the largest audience possible I have no idea [though apparently that's a cover too, but from what I've heard it's a huge improvement on the original]). It's still a good song even in this version, though, though given that the song's speed (which is still no more than mid-tempo) means the lyrics are slightly less likely to hit home at first, a lot of the "heavy lifting" in conveying the angst and emotion of those lyrics falls to Annis and her slightly country-tinged voice, which luckily is more than up to the job.

You can get Annis's "One Suitcase" on Fame Factory Vol. 10, which can be purchased here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: I may have fallen madly in love with a Swedish synth-pop song, but I probably won't write about that until a few days from now--maybe a British boy band?

*Incidentally, the other two were Alphabeat's "Fascination" and Magnus Carlsson's "Lev Livet!".