Sick of waiting for your love

German singer Jeanette, launched as a result of the teen pop boom of the late '90's and early '00's, gave us great pop in the form of her 2002 single "Rock My Life," a knockoff of Mandy Moore's "In My Pocket" which didn't quite live up to the impossibly high standard set by its inspiration but still holds up all these years on. Special mention also has to go to the more pop-rock "Rockin' On Heaven's Floor," even if only for its title alone.

When the hype for her new single "Undress To The Beat" started early this year, I was hopeful that Jeanette was about to turn herself from a singer with a few lucky moments of brilliance into a proper popstar. Once we finally got to hear the whole thing properly, it wasn't quite as fantastic as I hoped, but it was still a good fun song that indicated an interesting direction for Jeanette's new album, as if she might pursue a danceable pop sound that combined Holly Valance, Rachel Stevens, and some Kylie but wasn't exactly like any of those singers. That Jeanette would ever truly exceed either of the aforementioned artists was always unlikely--something a little more...downmarket was to be expected--but I was left hoping the album of the same title as the lead single would provide us some solid pop moments.

With the album out now and me only having partially digested it so far, I can say it does that. As expected, this isn't an album that those whose music tastes run towards more sophisticated pop will take to their hearts, nor is this an album I'm going to go around begging everyone to listen to--it has more niche appeal than that. Boy, though, what a niche. If you've got a love for your random European pop starlets doing up-tempo modern pop songs (as I do), you'll enjoy even those and probably find the album as a whole not only listenable but exciting. It has some great electro-dance-pop songs, ones which I can imagine many the fan of the European pop scene loving.

Picking which song to share was pretty difficult. The sweet poppy "All Mine"? The slinky but up-tempo electro "Feline" (which has fantastic verses and bridges but a chorus that isn't quite as good until same backing vocals are added to it the last few times around)? "Undress To The Beat," which, despite mentioning numerous times and linking to, I've never actually posted? "In Or Out," with its expansive catchy synth-filled chorus and slightly less great but also slightly more haunting verses? The cheesier stop-start synths of the more mid-tempo "No Rules"? The choppy "Chasing A Thrill," with its insistent drum beat, layers of synths hooks, and catchy vocal part? "Material Boy (Don't Look Back)," originally pitched to Monrose and with a dirty electro sound and strong percussion part that makes it unsurprising that the song comes from Remee and Thomas Troelsen, who did that group's "Hot Summer" (though it's not as amazing as that song and has changed since its appearance as a Monrose demo)? I could keep going, but the bottom line is that you probably already know whether or not this is an album for you. I'm sure by tomorrow, when more than two hours since I first heard the album have passed, I'll be thinking that I chose the wrong song and will be feeling the urge to dedicate a new post to a new song, but for now, here's "This Love," which I think is kind of Rachel Stevens-esque. The chorus doesn't quite attack like I want it to, but the song is still pretty great.

To buy Jeanette's album Undress To The Beat, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe more about Måns or about Erik. Or another Jeanette song.

A good beat never hurt no one

I was going to try not to have any more interruptions of my countdown until it finished, but I can't help it--I need to take a moment to talk about some things I'm listening to.

Remember Johan Krafman and his Ola-meets-the-Bassflow-remixes-of-Martin-Stenmarck song "Disarmed"? Well, he's uploaded another Bassflow-produced song onto his MySpace. It's called "Chain Reaction" and, though it's not instantly as addicting as "Disarmed," I'd eagerly buy an album in this sound.

Speaking of songs you can listen to on MySpace, I also noticed today that the full radio version of Jeanette's "Undress To The Beat"--a kind of Holly Valance-esque song (I say "kind of" partly because that's not a perfect comparison but also because I don't want you to get your expectations too high) I mentioned my interest in a little while ago--is playing on a MySpace site here. It'll need some time for me to decide its long-lasting value, but I'm willing to give it that time. Its co-writers include Johan "Kermit" Bobäck (Cyndi Lauper's "Into The Nightlife" and "Echo," Elin Lanto's "Speak 'n Spell," Darin's "Seasons Fly") and Måns Ek, I think.

Do you ever wonder to yourself how you've been missing out on an artist all this time? That's how I'm feeling about Swedish artist Kocky (the artist name for David Åström) at the moment. I've always known of him, for sure, but I've never really paid proper attention to him, so yes, it's all my fault for not picking up on him earlier. It's his connection to Rosanna, whose new music I've been excited about since Robpop wrote about it some months ago, that got me to check him out now. I'll be writing more about him in the future as I digest everything, but I just wanted to give you the heads-up--he may have multiple moments of amazingness. Basically, HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE. Check out his MySpace in the meantime.

"4-Ever Juvenile," a Kocky single, features Tinchy Stryder, and Frankmusik is reporting that his first "proper" single (apparently "3 Little Words" wasn't it) will be "Better Off As Two," will come out in March, and will have a rap from Tinchy added in. A supposed tracklisting for Complete Me has popped up on a British CD retailer site as well as a supposed release date, June 22. A March release date, as had originally been reported, probably would be too quick, so I can live with the wait. The tracklisting:

1.) 3 Little Words
2.) Better Of As 2
3.) Confusion Girl
4.) When You're Around
5.) Complete Me
6.) Boyfriend
7.) Your Boy
8.) Wonder Woman
9.) Vacant Heart
10.) Done Done
11.) Run Away From Trouble
12.) Olivia

My first reaction was "oh thank goodness, 'Vacant Heart' is on it." My second was "aww, no 'Questionable Times.'"If "Boyfriend" is "Gotta Boyfriend"--and it might not be, I've got no idea--I think I've heard versions of all but "Your Boy" and "Wonder Woman," but that's fine; this is Frankmusik, so much of what we've heard will probably have been tweaked anyway and his album should be made as great as possible, so I can hardly hold him sharing songs with us early against him. Plus, there's always b-sides to look forward to. The kind of but not totally ballad title track is uploaded on Frankmusik's MySpace at the moment and it's worth your time.

I've now had two different lines from Daniel Merriweather's as yet unreleased material running across the top of my blog, if that's any indication of my interest in the soul singer's upcoming Ronson-produced material (though oddly neither from his new proper lead single, "Change"). I adored "Stop Me," so I'm hoping he'll end up with something to rival that cover.

I've been meaning to mention here on the blog and not just in comments elsewhere that I really like "Boys And Girls" and "The Fall" on young British singer Pixie's MySpace. "The Fall" is catchy light-on-its-feet British pop and "Boys And Girls" is a little heavier, with verses kind of influenced by that popular '60's sound, but with a bit of electro-without-actually-being-electro crunch in the chorus to cancel that out; let's put it this way: I'm exhausted of that sound, and I love it, so it's not really in that style. She's got some great songwriters behind her, so hopefully her teen pop will end up with a great year both in quality and commercial success.

While I'm on a MySpace roll, I might as well write about Jasmine Baird, who I've loved for quite some time...once again, since DSTP introduced me to her! I need the full version of "The Truth" like you have no idea. I've got absolutely no idea how to describe it, beyond AMAZING. It's got a huge opening, maybe somewhat '80's a la Cyndi Lauper but modern, too. Listen to it on her MySpace here. I'd really love for it to be her who releases it--it's the sound of a brilliant songwriter and artist creating a new space for herself in the world of pop.

Different is Dangerous's list of 2008's best remixes has me listening to the Designer Drugs remix of Mariah Carey's "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" over and over again. It has so much more energy, sparkle, and ...vroom reworked like that.

You know what someone really needs to turn into a proper pop song? "Heavy Leather," this made for TV commercials and shows song. It's got this deep bass groove, kind of a little bit like a Goldfrapp song or Christina Aguilera's "Keeps Gettin' Better" (though it's older than that song). Listen to it in the background of this video clip or this video clip. Someone turn that riff into a real song, please.

Daggers have uploaded a less joyous synth filled ballad to their MySpace. "Death It Feels," "Money," and "Lost In The Distance" are still this synth-pop group's key tracks for me, but when are they going to conquer the world like they deserve to? I'd go groupie for these guys.

Courtesy of Worrapolava, I've been playing Adam Ant's "Playboy" today. I've always loved "Goody Two Shoes" (which was just written about by the much-missed CFB Goes Pop girls), but I think I may feel a proper listen to the greatest hits of his I own coming on soon.

If you're interested in what albums I'm excited about in the coming year, you couldn't do better than read #1 Hits' and MuuMuuse's lists of the albums they're most excited for--together, they cover everything I would have included that we definitely know about (well, I'd probably throw on a few more artists participating in this year's Melodifestival).

The list could go on, but I'll cut it off there for now. Oh, wait, one more thing: Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You." As I've said elsewhere, I'm nervous about how this song will hold up in the long run for me, but right now I'm playing it a lot. Dan Priddy's electro "The Truth" fits in that same category, though I'm playing it a lot less than the very easy to listen to "My Life Would Suck Without You."