It was just a kiss, but I could see you meant it

Talk about random--does anyone else remember Go:Audio (formerly the Vacancy, who I loved) and "Made Up Stories"? I was blown away by the song when I heard it at the end of 2006, but had kind of given up on it ever getting released and stopped paying attention to the group (it didn't help that though "Made Up Stories" was the best song the group had ever done I generally preferred their Vacancy songs to their Go:Audio songs).

Apparently, though, it's coming out as a single on May 26! That's fantastic--I never thought I'd have a good quality version of this song, which is complete top-class pop-rock. Well, "pop-rock"'s a bit of a deceptive term here--the group's got more of a fondness for synths than that would imply. "Made Up Stories" is what you'd get if you took the best of McFly, Busted, the Click Five, and Veto Silver and tossed it all into a blender to get one energy-packed pop song about realizing you're being cheated on. The synth-siren noises, the "ahh-ahh" backing vocals, the crunchy guitars, hooks everywhere--it's been FAR too long since I've had a brilliant bouncy pop-rock song that makes me want to jump up and down singing along to obsess over, and my revived love of "Made Up Stories" may be just the ticket.

I fear for what they may be styling themselves to look like now, though. And I imagine 95% of people online are going to hate them for seeming too pop-punk or too emo or something. In my eyes, though, "Made Up Stories" is an incredibly exciting pop song that I've been waiting for ages to have a copy of; suffice to say, I'm thrilled by this news.

Edit: oh wait, I guess I could always go look at their official website to see what they look like now. Wait--no way--can this really be the same group? This is what they look like now:



This is what they used to look like:



I have to say, I'd go with quirky and semi-preppy over moody and "we really want to be in Angels & Airwaves" any day (NOTE: this is not me necessary criticizing Angels & Airwaves, but now is not the time for any discussion about them), but if the music's good enough, I'm on board.

On the plus side, their site is actually playing a good audio quality version of "Made Up Stories."

There you were, and the floor was empty

An update on Go:Audio (who, along with the Click Five, seem to have undergone quite the restyling, though not in the same direction): you may remember them from how excited I was about their song "Made Up Stories"? Well, it's still brilliant and the band has been taking new songs on and off their MySpace. To be honest, nothing has reached the giddy highs of "Made Up Stories," so I'm hoping the songs they're letting us listen to aren't definitely on the album, but more works in progress. Don't get me wrong--they're not bad, and I generally like them, but if they want to have a smash debut album, they need more than a killer single. On the plus side, I've now heard seven separate songs by them under the name Go:Audio and eight by them under the name the Vacancy, so even if they never get around to putting out an album (and hopefully that doesn't happen), we've already heard more than an album's worth of material. On the downside, though what's probably their best song, the aforementioned "Made Up Stories," was made under the Go:Audio name, I'd say they had proportionately more hits than misses as the Vacancy than as Go:Audio. Still, I'm excited and hopeful!

(Incidentally, this picture is back from the days of The Vacancy--given the redesigns on their MySpace, I imagine they'll be "redesigned," too.)

And I'm allowed to change my mind

It's been a little while since I've done a real news round-up (though I know I've done a lot of "breaking news" sort of posts lately), and there's a lot I'd like to mention, so today will just be some random thoughts and news.

In the "news I should have brought to you yesterday but didn't want to mention" file is information about Gareth Gates's new single. It's confirmed for an April release, and he's also confirmed which song it will be: "Changes." It's the latter that resulted in my hesitation to mention it yesterday. I haven't heard the whole song yet, let alone heard the whole studio version yet, but from what I've heard of the song, I'm not sure about the choice. Well, that's not entirely correct--it would be more correct to say I have an opinion which could be totally wrong, but I'll throw it out there anyway: I see this as the sort of song that might be loved by fans, but isn't a good choice for lead single. Facts about "Changes": it is a ballad. You can't view it as anything else--it's not a Shayne Ward "No Promises" or Anthony Callea "Rain" song that you could maybe make a case for it being something else. I'm trying not to let my own preference for the uptempo influence my analysis of this decision, but that might seep in somewhat, which is why I'm so leery about actually saying much. It's also a very intimate-sounding ballad. Very singer-songwritery sounding. And (I can just hear the screams of derision coming from the PJ Forums already) it's co-written with one of the writers of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful." Ballads can do very well, but I feel as if normally they tend to be catchy, or less..."rambling" isn't the right word...less hushed? More commanding of your attention? As I said, I haven't heard the whole thing, so I could be utterly wrong on this (and I hope I am), but to me it just doesn't feel like the super-strong comeback single he needs. I don't expect anyone to want to download these, but if anyone wants to listen to them, here are a couple of clips (taken from the documentary) of "Changes": longer clip (the song's beginning, I think) and shorter clip (probably leading into the chorus). Anyone else have any thoughts? And be honest--I can take it!

Also, speaking of singles, Sebastian (Karlsson)'s latest single "Words and Violence" (which I wrote about and posted a live version of back in December) is finally availabe to purchase in a physical format, meaning we non-Swedish residents can finally get hold of it. I'm not sure if anyone else has grown as obsessed with this song as me recently, but if you want to, you can buy the single for it here.

No news from Go:Audio (except that they keep redesigning their MySpace), but I just wanted to mention again how great their song "Made Up Stories" (which you can listen to on the aforementioned MySpace) is.

Also on the guitar-pop tip, the Click Five's song "Time Machine" is being used to advertise Orlando--that's lovely, boys, but when do we get a new album? (Rumors say fall 2007, but that's based off of nothing.) Those live performances of some of your new songs are too low quality for me to stand listening to, no matter how intense my withdrawal symptoms get.

What has happened to Veto Silver? According to their MySpace, they still have shows coming up, and it looks as if they've lost and replaced a member, but when are we getting new music?

My reporting that Anthony Callea's single "Addicted To You" would have two new b-sides was wrong--one will be "Meant For Love," previously only available on the Australian iTunes. The other is called "Try," and is, as far as I know, new.

Ever since Kevin recommended Sondre Lerche in the comments, I've fallen in love with him. His upcoming album, Phantom Punch, might be more hipster than what I normally listen to, but it's so much fun...I definitely recommend picking it up when it comes out in early February! I really want to write more about him later, but if I do, Kevin gets all the credit (and huge thanks!) for introducing him to me. In the meantime, if you like well-done music videos, check out the one for his song "Two Way Monogue" (also courtesy of Kevin's recommendation).

I'm a horrible comments lurker, but I do it in hopes of finding new blogs. A couple of blogs new to me: Give Your Ears A Taste Of The Visual and PopMusicWorldWide. I only just found out about PopMusicWorldWide this morning, and I absolutely adore it already; when its creator says "world wide," that's the complete truth. Incredibly thorough, it's already introduced me to artists I'd never heard of before and given me a lot more information about artists I only knew in passing. I only wish I'd known about it sooner. Give it a visit--you'll love it!

Other excellent blogs have relocated: Digital Technique is now at the All New Digital Technique and Aria of Pop is now at Synth Me Spaghetti. Both are top-quality blogs that I adore.

Next up: maybe that band from Germany.

Här kommer jag

Swedish singer Jimmy Jansson is perhaps inextricably linked to Fame Factory, on which he was a contestant (he's steadily dating one of the other contestants from the show, and is expecting a child with her, which I can't believe--2004, when he released his debut album, wasn't that long ago, and he seemed so young!). However, he's also had several experiences with Melodifestivalen. Before Fame Factory, Jimmy competed in Melodifestivalen in 2002 as part of a group called the Poets, though he didn't make it out of semifinals. In 2005, he competed as a solo artist and made it to the finals, placing sixth. He'll also be competing in Melodifestivalen this coming year. He's released two albums so far and is working on a third, I think, but both these songs are from his first album.

Som Sommaren--I know it's the middle of winter (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere), so this song couldn't really be more out of place. Not only does the title probably translate to something about summer, the song itself is full of a bouncy happiness and youthfulness that makes it feel like it couldn't be anything than a summer song--like it's meant to be played under maximum sunbeams. Jimmy's voice is a bit different--it's neither what I'd expect from a teen idol nor someone singing such happy songs as this; I'd be less surprised to hear it in a punk-pop environment, but I'm glad he's chosen to go in this direction.

Godmorgon Världen--less "bop along in the summer" and more "fun with guitars!". I'm going to guess the title means "Good morning world," but this isn't a sweet ode to the rising sun--yes, it may be more flowingly melodic than "Som Sommaren," but the light use of guitars drives the song along at a decent pace and brings the song an up and down feel (which "Som Sommaren" also had, I know, but this is more wave-like, whereas "Som Sommaren" was more staccato). The ending is a bit too abrupt, but it's still a great song overall. It's difficult to compete with "Som Sommaren" for pure catchiness ("Som-som-sommaren!" is just so easy to chant along with), but I think I may prefer "Godmorgon Världen"--maybe because some parts of it could be called pretty, or maybe because it feels like it might yield longer-term benefits (sketchy reasoning there), or maybe just because it's not summer yet.

To buy Jimmy Jansson's debut solo album, Flickan Från Det Blå, go here (physical) or here (digital). If you like your pop with guitars but not in the shouty rock-out style, I definitely recommend listening to more of his songs.

In music updates, Go:Audio have another new song on their MySpace. It doesn't beat "Made Up Stories," but then really, what could? I have such big hopes for this band, mainly in terms of quality but also commercially. There would be a nice parallelism, given my favorite album this year and my favorite album last year, if they were to make my favorite album of 2007, but I'm going to try to not get my expectations too high.

Next up: maybe that remix I mentioned yesterday

Mistletoe, Christmas songs, let it play on and on

I realized several days ago that I'd left out of the Christmas special one of the songs that had been my inspiration for starting it; at that point, I thought it might be interesting to post it on Christmas day itself, but I've just realized that that would take away from the ability to play it in the lead-up to Christmas, when the vast majority of Christmas music gets played. It's from someone who I've written about countless times, and who has a TV documentary airing December 23 (featuring some of his new music!): Gareth Gates. In addition to releasing two excellent albums, the Pop Idol runnerup also had some great B-sides on his singles; this is one of them. (Incidentally, I just have to say: if we were giving out awards for best popstar hair, I'd have to nominate Gareth--post-2002, that is--and he'd be a top contender for most photogenic popstar, too.)

Christmas To Remember--as you all probably know by now (but I really can't say it enough), I love Gareth's music; his second album was full of so many excellent pop songs that he should have been able to release singles off of it for years. His music is really pop, and I love that about it. This song is exactly in that vein--complete pop--and it's pretty adorable. Sweet and mid-tempo, "Christmas To Remember" is, as you might have guessed from the title, a love song (convenient that "December" and "remember" rhyme, right?). This is first album era, so he sounds young and the song itself is more reminiscent of the songs on his first album than, say, "Sunshine."

To buy Gareth Gates's single "What My Heart Wants To Say," which has "Christmas To Remember" as a B-side, go here (physical).

Oh, and as a reminder, "Made Up Stories" by Go:Audio is still amazing (even if the band has rather frustratingly decided to start making news about their album viewable only to MySpace "friends"...). My favorite song of the moment, in fact.

Next up: maybe a Swedish singer.

One day, we'll put all this behind us

Sadly, I only have time for a quick little post today, so essentially this will just be a check-in on some of the popstars I follow. To begin with, though, don't forget to vote for your top 10 pop albums of all time by e-mailing Adem from I'm Always Right at myfavouritepoprecord@gmail.com... well, no, I haven't actually done it myself yet, but I'm going to!

Research (by which I mean bothering to look at the names of the boys in the band and doing one search) that I probably should have done before writing two posts about them reveals that go:audio (or is it Go:Audio?) are the former the Vacancy, which is hugely exciting for me. It does mean, though, that I'm going to do as I promised back when I wrote about the Vacancy and remove the links for their songs. If you haven't listened to the song on their MySpace yet, you absolutely must; I'm still completely in love with it--intoxicated by it, in a way. If they can follow up on this, I may have a triad of current bands representing pop perfection (music perfection).

(Credit for this picture goes here; thank you!)

The ever-amazing Ben Adams has a new song on his MySpace, "I Messed Up." It's one of his laid-back jazzy numbers...which, to be honest, aren't my favorite of his songs; I much prefer songs like "Get Off My Girl." However, you can still hear the excellent "Crash and Burn." I really hope he gets to release an album! (You can buy his debut single, "Sorry," and the top-quality B-side "Delicious" here.)

The new Anthony Callea single will be "Addicted to You," one of the rocky, more uptempo songs on his album--I don't think it's the best of those songs, but I do think it's good, and hope it does well; if it doesn't, I fear a reversion to ballads all the time. Actually, it's just important that it does well, period. Is there a universal rule that all the Idol grads I support have to stop selling as well as they used to as soon as I start supporting them? Watch out, Will Young--I didn't really start appreciating you until around the time of release for "Who Am I," and that was your lowest charting single yet...

Jesse McCartney's new single will be "Just So You Know." The video for it has just come out, and it features shameless cellphone product placement in the vein of most Rihanna videos...but then again, he might need all the money he can get given this album's performance so far, and even the Click Five have some cell phone placement in their videos, so I can't be too harsh on him. The video's nothing revolutionary--Jesse falling in love with another boy's girlfriend--but it does make me like the song more, I suppose; I still see "Just So You Know" as one of the album's middling tracks, though. Then again, my favorite album track, "Daddy's Little Girl," probably wouldn't work as a single (and my sometimes-overall-favorite, and maybe the album's best song, "Running Away"--which really is such a good song--is only a bonus track).

Next up: that plea to buy a single.

You and him, getting more than friendly

I have to do this. I know I wrote about Go:Audio yesterday, but I have to do it again. Last night, when I wasn't itching to bounce around the room listening to this song, I kept feeling compelled to go blog about it while listening to it. I managed to hold off until today, but I have to do it now. I'm going to take down yesterday's download link, but you can listen to it at their MySpace.

Go:Audio - Made Up Stories

I don't want to listen to anything else (I had to follow it up with the Veronicas, but even their bottled fun and power had lost some of its sheen because I was so desperate to get back to listening to "Made Up Stories." The only thing that came close to being able to work as a followup was "Gotta Get Thru This"--that sheer desperation coming through in Daniel Bedingfield's voice, mixed with how amazing the beat is, wasn't able to replace "Made Up Stories," but something about it came so close to my emotional state that it just about worked)! And you know what? I think this could be a U.S. hit! It really could! Maybe not top of the charts success (although it should be), but All-American Rejects-level success at the very least. It makes me want to dance, shout the chorus out loud, jump on a bed, hairbrush sing with lots of dramatic gestures--it is brilliant. Best song on MySpace by someone who hasn't released anything yet? I think so. Maybe even the best song on MySpace. Most exciting song I've heard in a long time.

The only trouble is I keep wanting to sing "the night you've had with your mate at [some random location like "Storrey's"]" instead of "made-up stories." I have not been this excited about a band since I heard the Click Five's album for the first time, and that--for me--is saying something. I'm petrified that I'm going to wear this song out by overplaying it, but I just can't stop.

This--this song and this sort of feeling--is what music is about.

(As for what it sounds like...I don't know...think the Click Five, the All-American Rejects, McFly, and Busted mashed up and with more synths thrown in.)

It was just a kiss, but I could see you meant it

Why does this get its own post? Well, partly because I didn't want to worry about messing with something that had a YouTube video embedded in it, but mainly because I wanted to draw attention to it.

Sooo...long story short: post on Popjustice by a new band, listened to the song, excellent song, but all I could think of while listening to it was that the singer's voice sounded exactly like someone else's. I mean exactly. And then, about two-thirds in, it hit me: you know who this sounds exactly like? The Vacancy! You remember--I wrote about them awhile ago, posted some songs, and said that I was really disappointed that their MySpace site had disappeared, because they were so good. Well...I'm pretty sure they're back! Listen to this song (up only for a very limited time--it's brilliant, but I'm hoping they'll do well this time around, so I don't want to hurt their chances. It's low audio quality, though, so hopefully that will help) and tell me what you think...isn't the voice a dead ringer? Can anyone tell me? Does go:audio (the name of this band) = the Vacancy? Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. Sigh.

Go:Audio - Made Up Stories (download link removed--visit their MySpace)

and, for comparison purposes:

The Vacancy - Bad Luck Boomerang (link removed)

The Vacancy - Catch Your Tear (link removed)

(Low audio quality for both, sorry!)

At any rate, how genius is that Go:Audio song? Very, very, very genius! I think I have a new song to put on practically constant repeat. If it is the former Vacancy, they're back and improved. Visit their MySpace here, and I really hope we hear more from them.