You make me feel like the act of love is empty

Is there a song with sadder lyrics than Darren Hayes's "Unlovable"?



The electro-pop song's structure is flawless: the verses find the former Savage Garden singer aggressively spitting out his feelings while the chorus mixes a squelchy beat with a more expansive melody that in another context would be radio singalong fodder across the world. Musically, it's perfect. Darren could be singing almost anything and I'd love it.

Those lyrics, though. They, in all their awful emotive specificity, are what secures this song its place as one of the best things recorded in the '00s. The disgust the narrator feels for his subject and for himself, his depression, his anger, his desperation, his helplessness--I hope no one reading this ever has reason to feel "Unlovable" strikes them straight to their core, but it captures the tormented state of mind of an emotionally abusive relationship better than any song I can imagine.

"Unlovable" is on Darren Hayes's excellent second album, The Tension and the Spark, which can be purchased here (physical) or internationally on iTunes here.

Use me, I know the way to paradise

How does the idea of JC Chasez singing something by the creator of Jennifer Paige and Nick Carter's charming duet "Beautiful Lie" from last year sound to you? Like not such a bad idea, right?

Don't Stop by poppostergirl

Swedish songwriter Carl Falk has an eclectic discography but has recently been delivering quality work in a way that gives you the impression he's just about to break out and get the credit he deserves soon (personally, I've got high hopes for his work with Darren Hayes). When he feels like it, he does a good job updating the Cheiron sound of the late '90s with the more electronic sound of today to create catchy, fun pop songs like this one, with its little percussion progressions sprinkled throughout the kicky, poppy beat. Unlike, say, "Beautiful Lie" or the Backstreet Boys demo "Fire & Water," "Don't Stop" is pure fun, an up-tempo romp without any real dark undertones (or any of the dirty funk of JC's own earlier work). Carl posted "Don't Stop" to his MySpace, so the safest bet is that he and JC wrote it together with the intention of selling it to another artist--it's just a demo, but it comes with the pleasant perk of being sung by JC.

Speaking of JC-penned and -sung demos, a few more have leaked this year: "Teenage Wildlife" is a "Mr. Brightside" imitator that AJ McLean recorded for his debut solo album and "Build Some Love" was a ballad Kris Allen considered using. JC has always been one of the more underrated American male singers and I still regret that his second solo album was never released. Schizophrenic, its predecessor, deserved more success than it found; it's a fun, sexy/ridiculous-in-an-entertaining-way summer album. I still carry the hope, no matter how in vain it might be, that he'll release music again in some way.

There's nowhere to buy "Don't Stop," but you can purchase JC Chasez's album Schizophrenic here (physical) or here (digital).

#9 Darren Hayes, "Casey"

If you take me away
All the pain will change into a memory
Of when we were amazing

There are so many things I could praise about this song. I could rave about the gorgeous synth backing. I could (try to) wax eloquent about the emotion in it. I could focus on the strings that bring a touch of class and poignancy to a song that already has both of those traits but can only be enhanced by the fleshing out of its musical skeleton with the use of that section of the orchestra that makes any pop song better. I could talk about the melody, the lyrics. What best sums up my relationship with this song, though, is the fact that every time--without fail--"Casey" reaches a certain point about two-thirds into the song and begins to wind down, I always think it's about to end and wish that wasn't going to happen...and then it doesn't, slowly unfolding itself and instead cycling back for another minute of music that, if anything, is even better than the minutes that preceded it. That a year and a half after it debuted "Casey" still enchants me so much that I never want it to end, still captures me in its journey, and still surprises me with its musical twists and turns says more about the enduring power of the song than anything else I could ever write.

Find it on: This Delicate Thing We've Made

Like you do when no one is around

I had full intentions of writing that post about demos today--in fact, the beginning of it is sitting in the drafts right now--but I realized that there are at least a few more tracks from said artist that I need to evaluate before that post; it may need to be reworked or expanded, or turned into a multi-day thing or something. For now, then, I'll just recommend that you go over to Darren Hayes's MySpace and download his cover of Madonna's "Dress You Up" (it's in a post on his blog). He's also posted a demo from the This Delicate Thing We've Made era on his MySpace which you can download as well.

Also, does anyone remember Josh Hoge?


Anyone? Raspy-voiced singer with some fantastic songs behind him, released the single "360" in 2006 but it never took off, I wrote about him multiple times a while back (and he's toured with Elliot Yamin since)...apparently he's actually got an album just out (U.S. iTunes link here)! Shame "Take It Or Leave It"'s been reworked--I would've loved to have a good quality version of the original of that. Apparently rumor has it that one of the songs I posted from his album sampler, "Undone," is going to be redone by the Backstreet Boys. I'll be definitely giving the album a listen and I may write something about it (as of right now, excluding the songs on that original sampler, I'm listening to "Stay Away" and LOVING it--yes, capital letters and italics-level love. Wow, I'm so tempted to start writing about it right now--I should really give it more time, but rest assured you'll be hearing about it again).

Anyway, I've never stopped loving all those sampler tracks from him--"Work That Body" remains fantastically slinky sleazy falsetto-based fun and the pictures I saw of him back then gave off that whole bad boy Southern frat boy vibe, which works pretty perfectly with a song like that.

Next up: those demos really will be tomorrow or the day after that. There's a good chance "Stay Away" will be tomorrow.

#12 Darren Hayes, "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful"

On the verge of,
On the verge of something wonderful.
A resurgence,
On the edge of something wonderful

I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful"--in my dream world, it would without doubt be a huge radio hit in the U.S. Failing that, though, it's worked well throughout the year as my own personal hit. It's without doubt one of the most uplifting songs of the year, probably the most uplifting single; I don't know that any other song this year was able to instantly instill a sense of hope--or, at the very least, a "you can get through this" feeling--in me better than this one.

Find it on: This Delicate Thing We've Made ($14.99 for two discs! Really, buy it; songs like "Casey" and "Conversation With God" are more than worth the price of admission alone)

A moment that time forgot

Sigh. Swoon. Ohmygosh. And all that stuff.

I've mentioned before that there was a very good chance, based on the thirty second clip, that Darren Hayes's new single "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful" was going to be a contender for my favorite song of the year.

Now, we have the video for it, providing the first opportunity to listen to the whole thing; watch it here.

I don't care what anyone else thinks (well, I mean it won't dissuade me; the more people that like it, the better, of course); I looove this song. The chorus is one of the most uplifting things ever (even if I sometimes expect it to be the bridge leading into something even bigger).

Plus, it's nice to see a video featuring lots of CGI that doesn't feel like it was mocked up in a media studies class by a seventh grader or that looks like it should be the trippy background Windows Media Player displays while playing songs, something that cannot be said for some other recent videos I could name.

That's right, our love is overrated

Music I'm loving on other blogs at the moment (and as I write, it's expanded to just things I love on blogs in general):

You can never have enough Lena love, can you? You Don't Know Pop features Lena Philipsson, Helena Paparizou (if you like pop and haven't heard her music before, you absolutely must--start with "Mambo," "Gigolo," and "The Game Of Love"), and loads more.

Poplicious has a great song by Polish girl group Queens, written by a Swede; very catchy.

I know it's old, but the more time passes, the more I wonder: how did blog world not flip out over Dhany's song "Miles Of Love"? This is what dance music with pop sensibilities should sound like! The definition of a storming dance anthem. Find it at A Kind Of Love In.

I somehow missed the fact that Swedish artist Montt Mardié had a new (well, it's not even really new anymore at this point) album out, despite it being mentioned all over the place (including, most notably, on It's a Trap and Swedesplease) but I love current single "Metropolis," floaty pop with electronic influences that features one of the former members of Le Sport. Find it over at Swedesplease. With my love for the new Tough Alliance album and a personal Lo-fi-fnk revival going on, I'm thinking I may go through a mini Swedish indie pop phase.

Everything Don't Stop The Pop posts is a must-listen, but I have to single out the new Patrick Nuo song, even if only to give me an excuse to include a picture of him; catchy pop with guitars with chorus lyrics that, despite not being anything that should be particularly memorable, I love (note that the title of this post is not a coded message to these blogs; I just wanted an opportunity to quote the song).

Not actually mp3s, but I can't not mention Adem IAR's amazing post about McFly--you have to love his writing.

Why is everyone in the world not reading Thnairg's work? Some of my favorite writing on the Internet--well thought out but never pedantic. You know those sort of blogs where you know you'll at least search out samples of anything the writer mentions, just because of their writing and your trust in their taste? This is one of them.

The Zapping interviews up and coming Swedish singer Jonathan Fagerlund; "Playing Me" is still a great boy pop song I can't wait to hear the rest of.

Pop Unlimited must surely be one of the best blogs around. I was just thinking I wanted to hear more from the Tamperer when we get a post with three songs; I could go on and on and on about the great pop songs on this blog, but just visit it already! Poppy and international.

Great mini-reviews of a bunch of albums, including Just Jack, Maroon 5, Mika, and Mutya, over at XO's Middle Eight.

This news is ages old, but you absolutely absolutely must go listen to a clip of Darren Hayes's upcoming single "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful" over at Popjustice; it'll probably be a contender for my favorite song of the year when it comes out, based just on that clip. Still electronic, but so uplifting in a "wow, suddenly everything seems just that little bit better" way. Everything I could have hoped for from this album.

It's hard to know what's the best part of Chart Rigger sometimes--the pun-filled or blatantly honest titles? The writing? And you can't visit without reading the comments. Whether it's Shayne Ward in Sweden, Rihanna's new video for "Shut Up And Drive," or Enrique's single finally starting to rise up the U.S. charts, even if it's only still in the 20's, it's news with a slant--and that's a good thing.

Mobius has been writing about Jason Donovan's new single for a while now, and with good reason--it's really good! Definitely worth buying.

Worrapolava is back from France, bearing great songs like Christophe Willem's "Double Je" and a dance song by Tom Snare.

Ever wondered what it would be like to see Sahara Hotnights, Fibes, Oh Fibes, the Ark, Laakso, Laleh, Juvelen, Marit Bergman, Those Dancing Days, the Pet Shop Boys, Lisa Misokovsky, and amazing acts you didn't know existed yet in the space of three days? Read #1 Hits From Another Planet's report to find out.

Roxane's song "I Ain't Playin'" is so summery and so poppy! Featured on Pop Trash Addicts, which is also writing about drama surrounding Salt 'n' Pepa's "Push It," Sophie Monk, and Roxane.

Just in general, I'm loving Work Your Magic, a blog which loves Russian music and Dima Koldun, and EuropeCrazy, which loves European music, Måns Zelmerlöw, and Sebastian Karlsson.

The return of one of my favorite blogs--Digital Technique is back!

I leave my pride, yeah, I let it slide and I let you know

Danish singer Bryan Rice seems lovely. He's also got a great "backup singer to national star" story. And, though a lot of people will brush off many of his songs as MOR and dull, I like most of them. Shayne Ward's version of "No Promises" may have improved on Bryan's original version, but the Weekend Wonderz remix of Bryan's version is so good that there's no clear winner on the "No Promises" front. "Homeless Heart," even if Amanda Stott might have done it first (I can't tell), fits Bryan perfectly, and he's got some other good songs buried on his album, something which record executives seem to recognize as they've been passed around to numerous other artists, too. It'd be lovely to see Bryan get some more international attention (though I think he's done all right in South Africa, and maybe elsewhere), but I'm worried that, if that was ever going to happen, his debut album would have been the time to do that. I'm certainly not writing off the quality of his new album yet, but I would guess that the lead single for it (and the song I'm posting today, with some reservations) has less chance of getting him that international break than several songs on his debut album.

I Lied--I've been listening to this song for a few days now and I think I know what my main issue with it is: it's a good bridge and some pretty good verses in search of a good chorus. The build-up through the verses and the bridge works really well, but the chorus just doesn't live up to the rest of the song. The end of the first chorus is even OK, when Bryan switches back to a more normal register and practically speaks that last "I lied," but for some reason, the main part of the chorus just doesn't click with me--I think it's especially true for the highest notes. Still, when the second chorus transitions into that big long note, I'm willing to buy the song. I do enjoy "I Lied"--I don't want to give the impression that I don't--but I can't help feeling that it could've been better with some change in the chorus. Still, I like most of it enough to look past that (knowing me, I'll completely love it in another week) and I'm interested to hear more from the album.

To buy Bryan Rice's new single, "I Lied," the lead single for his second album Good News (due out this fall), you can visit his website, which has a digital music store. However, it's worth noting that, unless I just haven't updated Windows Media Player or something, it's not burnable to CD. Since this is a new single, it'll only be posted for a few days.

If you're interested, you can hear another song from Darren Hayes's upcoming album, this time the non-remixed version of "Step Into The Light," on his MySpace.

Next up: I'm not sure--maybe something French.

(P.S. The most interesting description I've read of Bryan is "a mix of Gavin DeGraw, James Blunt, and Savage Garden," which I've only just heard and will have to think about some more.)

Nobody told you there'd be days of silence that no one heard

I'm so glad Australia is so many time zones ahead of us...

Darren Hayes's official site now has "Who Would Have Thought?" up to listen to.

I'm not posting it (though I'm sure it'll be spread all over the Internet in a matter of hours, so it wouldn't ultimately matter). Just go listen to it and be completely enveloped by music.

I've never been in love before

A mini-explanation: I love Darren Hayes's music. However, I don't stay nearly as up on what he's doing as I do with a couple of other artists because I know I can count on other places for information about him. Thus, don't be surprised if I'm behind the times with anything. Still, I know he's got a preview of a song that fan club members can listen, and that everyone will be able to listen to the song on his official website on Monday. For now, though, I'm enjoying a clip of a remix of another of his songs, "Step Into The Light," which you can find on the MySpace of the remixer.

Don't you know a wave is coming through

Breaking news alert! Go visit Electroqueer for some news about the new Darren Hayes album.

If you kiss me now, I know you'll fool me again

Do you know what album arrived in the mail today, more than a week before I was expecting it? A New Chapter! My feelings are a bit all over the place about it before even listening to it, but I won't be writing about it until the Christmas special is over at the earliest.

Today's song, like yesterday's, comes from a compilation album--this time, a holiday album put together by Rosie O'Donnell. Many of the songs on the album feature a famous singer and her; however, there are some that don't include her, and this is one of them. It's also a song most people have probably heard covered dozens of times (though this version of the song was the first version I ever heard of it): Wham's "Last Christmas." However, before you run away at the thought of another "Last Christmas" cover, let me point out one more thing: Darren Hayes is singing it.

Last Christmas--I think a lot of people might even have heard this particular cover already, but it's so good that it's worth sharing anyhow. In fact, I like it so much that, despite my leeriness of covers, I haven't even bothered to seek out the original in its entirety yet. That does limit by ability to compare and contrast, and to know how much Darren himself brings to the song, but I have a feeling it's a good deal. I know this is an overused word, but there's the tiniest bit of something ethereal about it--it just has this slightly floating feeling, both in instrumentation (though occasionally a certain type of electronic beep occurs that does pin it back down) and in Darren's singing. It's a bit like "Like It Or Not" with more energy and a tad more cuteness, or maybe a slightly more mysterious version of "Miss You."

To buy A Rosie Christmas, go here (physical) or here (digital; only valid for U.S. residents).

Next up: possibly something horribly stereotypical.

My bed's so cold at night

All right, so no, this isn't the song I said it was going to be--I really do think that will be tomorrow! This song just seems a better fit for today.

We are now, what, four months into this blog, and I have not posted a Darren Hayes song. Does anyone else find that hard to believe? I have no good explanation for that--all I'll say is that some artists are just so...magic...that you're hesitant to even try to write about them, because there's just no way you can do them justice. It's sort of a shame that the first Darren song I'll post here is a cover, but it's such an exquisite cover that I really don't have any regrets about it (plus, hopefully it will help me work up to being able to write about his own songs). Anyhow, Darren first became famous as a member of internationally successful duo Savage Garden, perhaps best known for the ballads "Truly Madly Deeply" (the "I wanna stand with you on a mountain" song) and "I Knew I Loved You." After releasing two albums, Savage Garden split up and Darren has gone on to have a solo career. He's so far released two albums and is working on his third, which is going to be a double album.



Lost Without You (Live at the ARIAs)--Darren covers Delta Goodrem's "Lost Without You" at the 2003 ARIA Awards (the big music awards ceremony in Australia). He's accompanied only by piano, but that's all he needs. Gorgeous. Really. Whether you do or don't like Delta, give this song a listen. It is a ballad, and, though it was sung in support of Delta, who had cancer, when you just listen to it, there's something tragically sad about it. I'm not the only one who loves this performance--it recently was part of the top spot on a countdown of the ARIAs top twenty moments (you can watch the top spot of the countdown here).

Finally, for the sake of completeness, here's Delta's closer to mid-tempo original version.

Lost Without You

To buy Delta Goodrem's album Innocent Eyes, go here (physical) or, for just the song "Lost Without You," go here (digital).

Next up: I really think it will be that song in Spanish; it, too, is a live performance.

J'étais sans toi

Greetings from alternately rainy and far too hot North Carolina! I feel so out of the music loop, but the ocean and beach are helping make up for that (even if I've already managed to burn horribly). Here's what I've managed to learn, mainly from MTV:

• I'm not hugely excited by Justin Timberlake's new music video--or rather, even after watching Making the Video, I still don't understand it (what's the whole spy plot about?)
• More video news: Nick Lachey's new video for "I Can't Hate You Anymore" is nothing exciting, but, even though the song is pretty similar to "What's Left Of Me," "I Can't Hate You Anymore" is an improvement. I'm holding out hope that, after getting these emotional issues off his chest in this album, Nick could go on to be a good male popstar (we could use some more in the U.S.), even though it's probably more likely he'll fade out of the public eye.
• I tried to watch Jessica Simpson and Fergie's new music videos, but since it was TRL playing them, I only saw about a minute of each and cheering covered up the audio for fifteen seconds on either end.
• Lance Bass is coming out. I could have sworn my sister told me this months ago, so it can't be very surprising, but good for him.
• I saw a commercial for Stefy's song "Chelsea" on MTV, which was exciting--I don't expect the song to break records, but I'd like to see it do well. UPDATE to say that I just saw TRL preview a clip of the video, which probably means it's been floating around on YouTube for weeks, but the more publicity, the better.
• Hugely belated congratulations to Darren Hayes for getting married!
• We met the brother of one of the boys on So You Think You Can Dance (the one who danced to "London Bridge" last night) at the beach, which is the closest I've come to meeting a celebrity...unless you count seeing the runners-up in Trading Spaces's million dollar home contest.

Onto today's post...only one song, and I'm not hugely excited about it, but it's all right (and I didn't bring my music collection with me, so I don't have many options).

Thierry Amiel was the runner-up to Jonatan Cerrada on the first season of Nouvelle Star. He's released one album so far and has another scheduled to be released this November. I don't own his first CD, so I may be mistaken in my judgement that most of the songs on it seem a little boring--maybe it was an attempt to prove that, though he lost to Jonatan, he was the better and more serious artist. His music is distinctively French; it doesn't follow the typical mold that, say, most U.S. pop songs do.

Sans toi--Aha! Another moment for my French skills to shine. I'm going to tentatively guess this title translates to "Without You." I hope so, because that's what this song feels like--the chorus seems like Thierry's crying out (not in anger, but not really regular sadness either--maybe desperation?) after being abandoned. It's not a ballad--it has too much energy for that. The chorus is easily the best part of the song, but the rest does an admirable job building up to that chorus cry-out.

To buy a hard copy of Thierry Amiel's CD, Paradoxes, go here; to buy a digital copy, go here.

Next up: probably Norway, but definitely back to English. I should be home on Sunday or Monday, so regular updates should return then.

thierry amiel nouvelle star