Today's post will be of interest to about, oh, two other people somewhere on the Internet, who'll have to stumble across it while randomly googling some day. Still, those two people, like me, will be very glad to have this little footnote of pop history in their collection.
I have an unhidden love for American pop-rock group the Click Five's debut album, Greetings From Imrie House, though I haven't had much reason to discuss it recently. Still, it's pretty reflective of a side of me I don't get many opportunities to feature here, since sadly there aren't too many people making great music in that particular style. With a lead single penned by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger that is just about as much of a dose of radio-ready light-guitar sparkle as "Stacy's Mom" or "That Thing You Do"...
...and just-as-good tracks penned by the group's own underrespected Ben Romans (and often featuring healthy doses of synth)...
...the album felt tailor-made for me: energetic pop-rock with youthful intensity, boy band-style vocals, and polished, controlled rock chops. It's probably the first album that took over my life for a period of time.
Anyway, as teen hearts must be, mine was eventually broken. The lead singer, Eric, left the group, and took his keening-friendly voice with him. I wanted everything to be the same, clung for a while to the hope that nothing had changed, but was left feeling a lack of attachment to the group's second album, Modern Minds and Pastimes. Maybe the level of song quality had dropped off somewhat, though gems were still to be found, but I was left feeling most of the (I hesitate to use the word even now, as it's not really his fault) blame fell to new lead singer Kyle. His voice seemed a little more Plain White T's, a little less capable of soaring, teen dream-style (if it's any consolation, Kyle, most of Eric's solo material seemed intent on leaving behind that style of singing and mimicking yours or an even more unappealing sludgy type of rock). The album didn't sell as well as the first, though the lead singer change was probably the least of the problems there, and I was left listening to a few live recordings of a couple of the new songs as sung by Eric, wondering about what might have been.
I still live in ungrounded, feverish hope that some day we'll get to hear any and all studio recordings matching up Eric to those second album era songs, but here's one for now, albeit not one of the album's highlights--well, not a highlight as it appears on the actual album.
This recording of the ballad "The Reason Why," which appears on Modern Minds and Pastimes as sung by Kyle, is still unfinished, but it features Eric's voice, and that change alone instantly makes it better, much as the part of me that wants to let go of this whole lead singer disappointment thing would rather have my suspicions in that regard proven unfounded. If this is your first exposure to the group, though, don't start here. They have better introductory songs--almost anything on their first album, really.
You can buy the Kyle-featuring second album by the Click Five, Modern Minds and Pastimes, here (physical) or here (digital); it includes his version of this song. Alternatively, you can buy the Eric-featuring debut album, Greetings From Imrie House, here (physical) or here (digital).
I'm having computer issues yet again (this time iTunes related--basically, iTunes keeps telling me the files for almost all of the songs [with the exception of songs in the "recently added" list] can't be found even though I haven't moved them [I do keep my music on an external hard drive, and I suspect that's got something to do with it]--all the songs are still where they're supposed to be, so it's not a matter of music loss, just weird pathname stuff, but it means I'll either have to go through all the thousands of songs individually and tell iTunes where each one is located or just re-add the whole library to iTunes, which would mean a loss of playcounts and stuff...unless there's some other option, which is what I want to check out first [and by "check out" I mean "follow the time honored tradition of going to bed and hoping when you wake up the next morning everything's fixed"), so for today, let's just watch a video from my favorite ever American band. Well, they were when they had this lead singer and during this era, anyway.
I haven't written nearly enough about them recently, though my subpar enthusiasm for their latest album (partially as a result of the loss of their lead singer--I didn't want to be one of those "oh, I'll never accept the group after this!" people, especially given that said singer left the band, but that album really made me realize how important Eric's voice was to my love of their music) and how in depth I covered their first album near this blog's beginning probably explains that. Still, Greetings From Imrie House (the UK edition in particular, since it swaps out their cover of "Lies" for their much better cover of "I Think We're Alone Now") remains probably my first or second favorite album of all time.
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I have to. I truly hope other people disagree with me (well, the majority of people will disagree because they don't think this group has ever been any good to begin with), but I am very worried about McFly after hearing their latest material. Preface: for as long as I've cared about music, they've been one of my favorite bands, only ever rivaled by the Click Five, and, after the Click Five's second album and McFly's third album, McFly were very clearly in the lead. In short, I love them. But I'm very worried I may not in the future.
Part of the problem may be that, though conventional McFly wisdom is that Wonderland is their best album, if they had to make a sequel to anything, I wanted a sequel to Motion In The Ocean, not Wonderland--or at least to the best songs on Motion In The Ocean ("Friday Night," "Transylvania," "We Are The Young," "Sorry's Not Good Enough," "Please Please," and maybe you could throw "Little Joanna" and their cover of "Don't Stop Me Now," maybe "Bubblewrap," into the mix; they fit with that style and are pretty good...and though I sort of see why "Don't Wake Me Up" is being called a sequel to "Little Joanna," it's nowhere near as good--it doesn't have any of the playfulness). I don't think that's really it, though--Wonderland's songs are much more enjoyable to listen to than the new tracks on their greatest hits. Where is the fun, the color? Gone.
They're losing their pop.This isn't really what I meant--see comments for more.
I was initially worried by "The Heart Never Lies," but as a one-off, it could work. I just didn't want that to be an indication of their new direction. The style they adopted for their cover of "Umbrella" worried me even more--I didn't even recognize them to begin with. And now neither of the other two tracks on their greatest hits or new Dougie b-side "Ignorance" has that spark for me. "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Don't Wake Me Up" aren't bad songs, but compared to, say, Motion In The Ocean album track "We Are The Young," they just seem pedestrian. Dull. Mild flashes of interesting ideas covered up in pleasantness but nothing that I'd want to hear a whole album of.
I got worried when they revamped "5 Colours In Her Hair" for the U.S. market, but "Just My Luck" and "Please Please" assuaged my fears. I really hope something similar happens this time. I thought the new greatest hits songs might do that. But they haven't--they've made it worse.
McFly, you are on notice.
Prove me wrong.
Edit to say that it's worth checking out the comments for this post!
Last.fm provides hours of entertainment. I'm trying not to get addicted to just messing around on it, but it's hard when I get such a kick out of just reading, say, the Click Five comments. A selection:
"The new album made my ears bleed. Yet somehow I'll end up listening to it inevitably."
"They have many songs better than Just the Girl. Just fyi to the 3000 people that have only listened to that one song." [6,000+ people have listened to "Just The Girl," while 3,000-some people have listened to the second most played track, "Catch Your Wave"]
"The Click Five without Eric Dill is like Queen without Freddy Mercury.."
"that side fringe really annoys me"
"Why? You think it's too emo?"
and some mild debate about Eric versus Kyle.
Though McFly's latest album is better than the Click Five's latest album, Last.fm-commentary-wise, the Click Five definitely win out.
(Oh, and speaking of McFly, I haven't mentioned yet that they have a greatest hits album coming out this November, preceded by a new single called "The Heart Never Lies" [that title is not promising...]--apparently you can listen to some live versions on YouTube, but I've deliberately avoided doing so. They've got a cover of The Jam's "Town Called Malice" on a Radio 1 compilation album coming out soon, too.)
(Another "oh": I'm listening to "All I Need Is You" right now, and it's really very good.)
I love the Click Five. Love love love them. Don't let my reservations about their latest album fool you: I have all the good will in the world for them, love them, love their music--hearing "Jenny" on the radio for the first (and so far only) time caused me to completely flip out and increased my enjoyment of the song exponentially.
I saw the music video for "Jenny" for the first time on TV today (I've seen it before via YouTube) and got incredibly excited all over again, though I expect it to do absolutely nothing.
As I mentioned over at The Zapping, it's nice to see they've reconciled themselves to having to rely on the Asian market. Sigh. As long as they release their music somewhere.
Anyhow, I've maintained for a while now that the marketing behind this album has completely baffled me--maybe when you have lower expectations, you go about marketing differently, but I'm used to the "release a single that gets some buzz behind it before releasing the album" model, so to release an album when the song was being played on virtually no radio stations and especially when the music video wasn't even out yet seemed really strange. Poor planning.
And, well? Excited as I was to see the video on TV, I couldn't help but notice as it faded off the screen what the album it came from was listed as:
"Modern Rhymes and Pastimes"
Now, I'll freely admit that I've gotten the name wrong before--I often call it Modern Times and Pastimes (it's actually Modern Minds and Pastimes), but I'm not promoting them on national television.
Somewhat exhausted and after a week with no Internet connection, I'm back! I'll catch up on everything eventually, but for now, I'm just going to copy up what I wrote about the new Click Five album, Modern Minds and Pastimes, on the day I bought it. I do think I underrated it at the time--written now, the review would sound a little more positive, but I think I still agree with all the general points made. My writing is probably too long, but when one of your favorite two bands releases a new album, it's hard to resist having too much to say.
Given how much I loved the Click Five's debut album Greetings From Imrie House, there was always a chance that the followup might disappoint--and it does. Don't get me wrong--it's generally listenable--but, while almost every song from their debut still makes my iPod nano two years on, I truly doubt the same will be true of Modern Minds And Pastimes--three or four songs, maybe. There are a lot of possible reasons--change in lead singer? songwriting? musical direction? budget?--that I might delve into later (some more important than others), but I think my thoughts can be summed up like this: where's the joy? GFIH, in addition to being chock full of hooks, was packed full of bouncing-off-the-walls, feel-good, youthful energy; even songs about how badly their girlfriend treated them were made to seem like almost the happiest thing in the world (possibly related to this change, music- and rhythm-wise, jerkiness has replaced the swirling of GFIH). It's not new-Kelly-Clarkson-esque angst (maybe more on that later), but where are the songs that make me want to sneak off to my room, lock the door, and dance?
I suspect one of my main problems, one of the hurdles I keep running into, is new lead singer Kyle Patrick (formerly known as Kyle Dickherber)'s voice. It's not that it's a bad voice, and trust me, I wanted almost nothing more than to be fine with the singer switch; wishing for original lead singer Eric Dill's voice, after he left the band, seems like siding with the parent who's run out on the family. Change happens, I know; music evolves. We all know cases where fans go crazy and refuse to accept a new singer just because it's a change, and I wanted to avoid that, to show that I'm open to change--I wanted to love their new material even if it was different. Maybe especially if it was different, just to show that I was open to it. But there's a spark missing. Everything has been toned down--tempo, fun, even those high sung bits (gone, given Kyle's lower voice) and synthesizers. "All I Need Is You," performed live on tour by Eric, is the case in point for this problem. Slowed down and without Eric's distinctive and often high vocals, the song pops less, sounds more generic; it's still at least a good song, but it used to be great; now, it's close to the "aren't there a million other bands or singers that could make songs like this?" trend that prevails throughout much of the album.
I'm never sure to what extent songwriters have an impact on any given song, but it might be worth noting that, although keyboardist Ben Romans continues to be the main man behind the Click Five's music, the contributors have shifted--names like Andreas Carlsson, Kristian Lundin, and Chris Braide all crop up on MMAP, while GFIH had co-writers like Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and KISS's Paul Stanley. Looking at those names, you'd probably expect me to side with the former's songs, but really, it seems like the Click Five create better pop songs when working with rock artists like the latter. Interestingly, my favorites tend to be written by Ben Romans and guitarist Ethan Mentzer with little or no outside help. If it means better songs, I'm all in favor of giving some or all songwriting duties to professionals, but that does make me wonder if the Click Five would have been better off with less help--or maybe just better help, since their songwriting instincts, though often excellent (my favorites on the first album also show the same trend), aren't always spot-on; witness "When I'm Gone," written by Ben and Ethan, a harder song which suits Kyle's vocals and should be an easy contender for any list of the album's best songs but is dragged down by what may be the worst instrumental break in music history. Though the break, which sounds like someone just let a bunch of teenage boys into a room full of musical instruments and told them to make noise, is short and quickly followed up with a nice (and also short) revving guitar part, it completely throws off the pace of the song. The rest of "When I'm Gone" is strong enough (very strong) to make it worth listening to, but as a single option or song to play to others, assuming no "single edit," it's irreparably maimed.
So, after all this, what are the songs to look out for? As mentioned before, "When I'm Gone" and "All I Need Is You" are, with the aforementioned caveats, good. Given the sticker on the front of the album, "Happy Birthday" may be the next single (if they even get one), and it's OK in a generic sort of way, mainly based on this repeated up-and-down vocal hook. "Addicted To Me" may have a title that makes me think of Anthony Callea's "Addicted To You," but it was definitely the pleasant surprise of the album; the Click Five's trademark synths have never sounded more '80's than on this somewhat sparse track. Though "I'm not a killer/I'm just killing your doubts" may be a heck of an awkward lyric, the music is great, rhythmic switchups and all, even if it doesn't start to come together until the first bridge. "Flipside" should be more of a highlight than it is; it sounds like it was influenced by the time spent opening for McFly last summer, though the "doo-doo-doo"'s, the most obviously co-opted element, are more first album McFly than the later McFly they were actually touring with. I adore McFly and love nonsense syllables and handclaps in music, but these almost seem half-hearted, cheap. The chorus is harder and more explosive and, in context, good, but without those stolen McFly traits, the song might not pop much. Lead single "Jenny," with its melancholy synths, may not have been the exuberant burst of guitar pop I was hoping for, but in retrospect, it's pretty good. As expected, "Headlight Disco" is a stand-out. The female voice (listed as "Amazingly Sexy vocal on 'Headlight Disco'" in the credits) may be disconcerting at first, the song at times may veer towards "we've found one good line, let's just keep reusing it," the synths may sound a tad cheap, and, like several other songs on the album, it doesn't know when or how to end, but the song is great overall--catchy chorus, good music in the verses, and, though not fulfilling my desire for uptempo dance-like-you-don't-care songs, it does bring back a sense of playfulness that GFIH had and that's missing from much of this album. If you like ballads, you may enjoy "Mary Jane," but, since it too was performed live with the original lead singer, I can't help imagining what it would sound like with him. Here, it may have been improved, though it's difficult to tell whether it's Kyle's voice or just studio production that has made the difference.
So, if you only buy three songs? Make it "Headlight Disco," "Addicted To Me," and "When I'm Gone." "Jenny," "Flipside," "All I Need Is You," and "Mary Jane" are all noteworthy. "I'm Getting Over You" (which I expect to be a grower), "Happy Birthday," and "Long Way To Go" (which has a primarily chanted chorus) are worth a listen, too. “Empty,” which I presume is the theoretical third single based on the album cover, would be a baffling choice (as would be “Happy Birthday” as a second single), as I suspect it, like the better "Resign" on GFIH, exists mainly so the lead singer has at least one writing (co-writing) credit on the album.
To buy the Click Five's second album Modern Minds and Pastimes, go here (physical) or, if you live in the U.S., visit iTunes.
Let me make one thing clear: this album is not perfect like their last one was--maybe a three out of five as opposed to a five out of five--but the Click Five are still one of the best groups out there.
(But will we ever again such a perfect pop moment as when Eric's voice soars over the penultimate chorus of "I Think We're Alone Now"?)
The best concert line-up ever (for me) was last year's series of concerts where the Click Five opened for McFly--my two favorite bands, both at their peak (well, McFly have improved with every album, so that's more like "peak so far"). It narrowly beats out the whole V/McFly/Busted thing, though it's close.
Now, though? We've got another rival. I don't expect it to ultimately win out, but it'll put up a good fight.
BWO Army Of Lovers Alcazar (!!!!!!!)
At G-A-Y on July 21. Can you imagine? I'm a little confused as to why Alcazar would perform in the UK, especially if it's a one-off--surely this would be huge if in Sweden?
(By the way, some of Sweden's summer tours should be in contention, but I guess I think of those as somehow different--more festival-like, or something. Illogical, but whatever.)
Just a comparatively quick post today. With Stand By For... released, the Måns Zelmerlöw updates may have slowed down around here, but that doesn't mean I've stopped enjoying his music (or stopped following news about him, for that matter). With the release of his new single, for example, I had to buy the remixes that accompanied it. To be honest, I haven't noticed a difference between two of them yet, which could mean that I've not had the patience to listen to two long remixes back to back and compare them and so haven't noted differences or that the store I bought them from has accidentally provided one song when they should have provided two. Genreal mislabelling is a possibility as well, but whatever version it is, I like it (though it's not necessarily my favorite version--I haven't properly listened to the others yet).
Work Of Art (Da Vinci) [Ali Payami Club Remix]--while the original has drawn comparisons to Andreas Johnson and Mika, this remix--which is a longer version, clocking in at a little over six and a half minutes--makes it more housey. Surprisingly (at least for me), it works well in this style; it's a catchy song no matter what and I now love the original, but I could maybe even see myself listening to this version more. If you don't like any house songs, this one's not going to change your mind, but it's well-done, fun, and, like the original, catchy.
To buy Måns Zelmerlöw's single "Work Of Art (Da Vinci)," which comes with the original song and four remixes, go here (physical) or here (digital).
I was going to say more about this, but maybe I'll do that tomorrow; for now, I'll just mention that you can hear thirty second clips of all the songs on the new Click Five album here.
A little while ago, I said the two songs I was counting on to save the new Click Five album, if anything could save it (gosh, this is sounding awfully negative), were "Headlight Disco" and "Flipside." Well, guess which two songs the Click Five have chosen to reveal snippets of in the runup to their album?
Yup, "Headlight Disco" and "Flipside." Assuming you want to promote yourself with your best work, this has me worried. The two songs sound fine (if maybe a little cheap, but hopefully that's just a sound quality issue) and I'll probably end up loving them, but the fact that there weren't other better songs to showcase, that they (the Click Five, not the songs) didn't confound my expectations in any way by revealing some as-yet-unheard great song, has me worried about how much depth (number of good songs-wise) there will be on this album.
In terms of thoughts before albums come out, I'm often harshest on the artists I love most, so don't read too much into this. I'll probably adore the album once I get my hands on it, and the two songs they've posted, based on the clips, do sound good. I can't shake my worries, though...
(There's also a long description of the album on that page that I haven't bothered to read yet.)
They are both very good. In fact, so good and so layered that I'm really too immersed in them at the moment to engage in any other song at the level necessary to write about it. So, instead, some news:
Via the Cheiron Songwriter forum, clips of some songs from the new Enrique Iglesias album. I'm pretty excited for it, even if I'm not expecting to be knocked over by every song, and I like the first three songs particularly, as well as a couple later on. "Ring My Bell" sounded a lot better in the Tommy Hilfiger ad--hopefully the clip here was just poorly chosen.
If you're Swedish, you can buy the (live) acoustic ballad version of "Live Forever" that Magnus Carlsson performed recently on iTunes. His site also says that the countdown to the album has begun--did I miss the announcement of a release date?
Speaking of Swedish music, I really like the new Danny single, but why is it that the album Heart. Beats is so far only for sale on CDOn and Ginza, neither of which ships to the U.S.?
The Click Five are holding "listening parties" to preview the new album. I've not heard much of the entirely new songs yet, in full versions only "All I Need Is You" and "Mary Jane," which have been around forever. However, the "All I Need Is You" performance worries me.
Here's the version now, with Kyle singing.
Here's the version with the original lead singer, Eric.
This is why I shouldn't listen to live performances of not-yet-released songs--I'm going to always expect those Eric-sung high bits now; it has quite a different feel this way--it pops less. It's still good, but I don't know if it's good (note that I'm referring to what I imagine the studio versions would sound like). None of this is to say Kyle's voice won't work on songs (I hope it does, and I think it fits well with "Jenny"), but I wonder if maybe they should've scrapped some of the songs written when Eric was around...or maybe it's just my fault for "spoiling" them and now expecting them in a certain way. I'm having trouble explaining why the new version doesn't work as well for me, but it's less distinctive, less fun...I'm probably overthinking this way too much. And, knowing me, I'll love it once I get the album.
If you want to hear more, there's a Kyle-led performance of "Mary Jane" here and other assorted performances posted by this user, this user, and this user. Hopefully, there are some more fun upbeat tracks on the album--"Headlight Disco" (also watchable here, but you only get the beginning there) has an interesting title and, though it's difficult to judge anything at this quality, it sounds like it's got some nice synths (another written-while-Eric-was-around song, I think). I may be pinning most of my hopes on it.
I shouldn't doubt before I hear the album, but I'm so worried that they've gone "generic guitar band." Can a band crash from making probably my favorite album to making an album I don't even like that much? Hopefully not, but I'm fearing it.
(Shallowness: I like suits, but I'm fine with them not wearing them--did they have to switch to skinny jeans, though?)
Edit: I did some more catching up on video watching and they've stolen McFly's "doo-do-do-doo"'s for "Flipside" ;) Hopefully that's a good sign for the song! It sounds pretty good, too--all right, so my fears are being allayed somewhat. As long as there are at least some songs I like.
I love the title of this post (about Liberty X's breakup) over at Popjustice...
Next up: a Mexican or American group, or maybe something about the aforementioned albums.
The Click Five have an announcement on their MySpace page stating that their new singer's name is Kyle (last name Patrick, or so the goes the official line). Possibly more excitingly, they've given us the name of their new album, due out June 26:
Modern Minds and Pastimes
Oooo...I like it! I'd like it more if it was an actual rhyme as opposed to trying to use the same word to "rhyme" with itself, but it rolls off the tongue quite nicely.
They've also got a new picture up:
Well, it's mildly better than the last set. Someone needs to teach Kyle what artfully tousled hair is supposed to look like, though.
So, you know, I get that the Click Five don't want to do the whole scrubbed-up-in-suits thing anymore, and I'm fine with that. The suits were nice, but they still looked pretty good in their "Catch Your Wave" video even when they weren't wearing them. However...
...you have got to be kidding me. If I saw a group of people looking like this, I'd be afraid they were going to mug me. I think they may have gone a little too far in the opposite direction.
Maybe they're being ironic?
Let's look at some of the transformations.
I swear Ethan was good looking--arguably the best looking, at least second best--when I saw them live.
And Ben didn't look that bad either.
Joe used to be at least half-decently styled.
I guess if nothing else this video makes it clear that the obvious "look, it's the nice-looking one" role is falling to Joey, since the rest of them look like they need to be sent to prison or THROWN INTO A SHOWER and given a few hours to sober up or come down. His shirt is reminding me of Patrick Wolf, though.
Image of course is not everything, nor even really that important, but I can't help but be a little disturbed by all this.
(Incidentally, I didn't blur out the fifth person--they did that in the video, even bleeping his name out when Ben said it, because for some reason they persist in this whole "guess the singer" thing even though anyone who could possibly care or who visits their site at all and so would see this video knows that it's Kyle.)
Is this the last Eric-led Click Five song we're ever going to get? Possibly yes, though I guess it depends on what's up with their movie, which I wrote about forever ago, Taking 5 (Christy Carlson Romano is in the movie--if you've heard her cover of their "Friday Night," it's from this movie) and is ...I'm not sure at all how this is working, giving that it was filmed with the "original five" but Eric's now left. I'm expecting something about on par with the quality of Just My Luck, or what I heard about that movie (I still haven't seen it--it's on my to-do list). Apparently the following song is from the movie and is an all-Click Five song, though the same site that has this song also has one of Eric's solo songs. It's not the best swan song ever and I'm still tempted to break into their recording studio and steal any demos for the new album with Eric's voice on them (not that I don't like the new singer, just that it would be interesting to hear), but it's not awful. Very far from their best work, though...these sound more like demos than anything, I think, don't they? Though they probably aren't.
Technically, the version I've just posted is the "rock" version, as they've also posted a "punk" version...err...I'm not really sure how the other one is "punk." It's slower. It's got fewer guitars, too. If anything, it seems further from punk than the first version, but whatever. The same site also has a higher quality version of Eric's "Postcard from Hollywood," which is still very good.
(As usual, I'm sure if you ask me in a few days--or probably even an hour--I'll love this song. The second time through, I'm liking it more already, but it's still nothing to compete with "Friday Night" or "Pop Princess." I'm always thrilled to hear more from them, though.)
(Another P.S.: even if this song wasn't on the Taking 5 site, it'd be a safe bet it's from the movie, giving the movie's premise about kidnapping a boy band and the title of the song.)
(Final P.S.: the Click Five's new single, "Jenny," will be on iTunes on April 10, so everyone will be able to get their legal and decent audio quality version of it then.)
Well, I feel obligated to post this. I think if it was from any other group, I'd be very excited about this...but as the lead single (which they've just confirmed it to be) from my beloved favorite American band? I think they can do better. As I said, though, and as Paul Zapping pointed out in the comments, it could be a grower, or just a song that "clicks" one day. Maybe I just wanted to bounce off the walls, and this isn't the sort of song to do that to. I'm sure I'll be listening to it repeatedly tonight at any rate. And probably raving about it in a few days.
MySpace rip (full song now, not just that looped clip)
Fact: if I see one more comment on their MySpace saying "It's good to see you're maturing out of the pop band sound" or "You don't sound as poppy as the last album, which is a good thing," I'm going to be very tempted to get a MySpace to yell at people.
1.) This song is not less poppy than their previous work. Not as good as their best songs, but it is still pop, as much as their first album was. What on Earth do you think it is? It's mellower, but that doesn't make it less pop!
2.) Even if it was less pop, that would not be a good thing! Grrr...
Edit: the former lead singer (and his "Postcard from Hollywood" is a very good song, I've decided) has a new song on his MySpace called "Love is Warfare." It's not as good, but not awful. Alternatively, you can listen to an interview (linked to on his MySpace) listening to him talking about being a "rock guy," repeatedly emphasizing that's what he's always been into and how hard it was to not do that for three years and how "not me" he was during those years, how he's going to be edgier now, etc.
I'm about to run out the door, but I had to post this: the Click Five have a clip of "Jenny," one of the songs from their new album up over at their official site (it's not very long at all--the chorus is looped).
I'm not falling out of my chair, but I suspect they've got better songs on the album...I mean, they must, right? Right? To be fair, it's very difficult to judge; I mean, yes, the clip is a little less than a minute long, but the actual new music we're hearing is much shorter than that, as they've just looped a snippet of the chorus (the snippet is about 17-18 seconds). Plus, I'm reassured that there's at least a chance of me enjoying the album. We'll see, I guess.
(I may just have very high hopes or standards--it's not bad or anything! And, knowing me, I'll probably love it pretty soon after hearing the whole thing.)
The ex-lead singer of my favorite American band has put a song up on his MySpace. My first thought was "oh, this is no 'Friday Night'...or 'Pop Princess'...or 'Catch Your Wave'...or..."--well, you get the idea. And it isn't--it doesn't have the hugely poppy catchy happy melodies that those songs have. However, I think I like it. Really like it. Could even see myself loving it. I don't think it would set the charts alight if it was his lead single, so hopefully it's not, but not only am I somewhat reassured (only somewhat, though), I'm actually impressed. Think a bit more epic than the aforementioned songs (that "epicness" doesn't really come in until the first chorus).
I would've loved it if the split led to me essentially getting two separate groups/artists releasing songs like those on the first album, but--and I'm shocking myself by saying this--I think I could live with this. We'll have to see what the rest of his stuff sounds like (it'd be just as easy for the album to be dull as great, just based on this one song, depending on the direction he chooses to go in), but I think I'm pleasantly surprised.
For more about what his former band is doing, check The Zapping (and maybe peep at my super-long comment there for more details about their new lead singer).
I still wish they were all together, though--it was always going to be a difficult task to top their debut album, but changes in group members will probably mean a change in style, and make that even less likely. It's probably worth noting that the lead singer never did much of the songwriting (that was mainly Ben Romans), so the swap shouldn't necessarily lead to a change in sound, but it's a possibility.
I think the Click Five are trying to tell us something...
That's the picture on their website's front page.
It's totally normal for the rumored-to-be-gone/leaving lead singer to be posing yards behind the rest so that he's positively miniscule in the picture, right?
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.
This blog seems to be getting more and more random--today will be another conglomeration of news updates and links. I'll try to go through a series of more planned posts after this, though.
The Click Five, who I raved about back in early September, have just finished opening for the McFly tour--I'm sure they did an amazing job, as not only do they have phenomenally good songs, they are also really entertaining live. Their debut album Greetings From Imrie House, when it was released in the U.S., was incredibly good; however, the UK version of their album is even better, practically perfect, though there's only been one small change: "Lies" has been replaced by their brilliant cover of "I Think We're Alone Now." If you haven't already bought it, there's no better time than now; you're missing out on one of the best and most fun albums out there. I am a little worried about their decision to star in the upcoming Christy Carlson Romano movie Taking 5, though.
I don't know what I can do to convince you to go watch Pacific Avenue's Internet TV show, but you have to see it. The episodes are pretty lengthy (20 minutes, roughly), so I haven't made it through all of them, but they are really funny. Not only do Pacific Avenue have a hilarious show (with good music in it), their own music is so classic boyband (but improved/updated/etc. etc. I'm sure their promo materials would say) that I can barely stand it (there may be about a million layered vocals in it, but I actually really like the effect)--in a good (great) way. Go watch their TV show and look at their MySpace--it's worth it.
Speaking of Pacific Avenue, a commenter provided a link to his/her (sorry! I think "his," based on some clips in the show) blog with photos of Pacific Avenue--it is definitely worth a look, not only because I can't get enough of these guys right now, but also because the photos themselves are great--the blog's pretty new, but pop over there and take a look if you get a chance! If the photographer doesn't mind, I'd love to use their photos in future posts about Pacific Avenue--with full credit and citation/links, of course :)
Jim Verraros's official website has been redesigned--very professional-looking, new photos, blah blah blah...when's the new album coming out? Oh...spring 2007--maybe you should say that on the front page and not on the page for the not-yet-open store.
A lot of you probably aren't following Australian Idol, but you really should be. It's worth paying attention to just so you can understand what Scott To Be Certain and CFB Goes Pop are talking about. Scott To Be Certain is, as always, incredibly witty. CFB has an Idol "novel" that you absolutely must read--watch the show, or just read their recaps, so that you can understand the jokes in the novel because it is ridiculously brilliant and hilarious--watching the show is worth it just so you can read what they have to say about it the next day.
Speaking of Australian Idol, I have to return to the topic of Dean Geyer. I mentioned several of his performances a few days ago and, though I was really amused/impressed by him, I said I wasn't sure that he deserved to win. However, there were several amazing things about Dean's most recent performance:
1.) He covered a Ryan Cabrera song! I'm not going to claim that everything Ryan Cabrera has one is genius, but his first album contains some very, very good songs (I've been meaning to post about it--this might spur me to do so).
2.) The contestants were allowed to use guitars. This, of course, proves that they are all "credible" musicians (Jessica Mauboy didn't play a guitar, but the rest did). However! Even after saying that he wanted to make "On The Way Down" rockier and less pop, do you know what Dean did? Halfway through the song, HE THREW AWAY HIS GUITAR! Yes, the precious instrument of the rock establishment, tossed aside in favor of better showmanship. I'm not sure that we can (as the judges did) credit Dean himself for the idea, but whatever--he did it, and that's what matters.
These factors, combined with his consistent improvement (I will concede that Damien's performance was quite good, for that style of music, but we'll have to see what he does next week) and the fact that he can do backflips (I have this thing for backflips--I don't know why, but they fascinate me), mean that I have to revise my opinion from last week. My official vote (even though his voice still doesn't seem that impressive) is...Dean Geyer for Australian Idol 2006! I still can't believe it, though.
Speaking of Australian Idol, I still think that Anthony Callea's latest single is very Disney-sounding. However...I've now succumbed to how absolutely gorgeous his voice is. I know, I know...I'll try to be stronger in the future. At least we have on record that at one point in time I was able to judge it critically...
I've mentioned this site before, but I have to mention it again: blog Digital Technique is really, really great--frequently updated, with the best of old (as in generally 2000's on) and new music. Some unjustly one-hit wonders and artists I probably should have heard but haven't yet--it's definitely worth checking out.
Another new-ish blog worth visiting is Ni Hao Glitter Owl, all about Chinese pop--I don't really know anything about Asian music (that's an entire continent! How can I not know anything?), but I'm finding it fascinating.
Heinz Winckler (whose third album I've ordered but not yet received) is now a married man! Very belated congratulations to him and Alette.
Ben Adams's official website disappeared a few weeks ago, which didn't seem to be a good sign in terms of his album getting released. Now, though, it appears that a redesigned website will be appearing soon, which seems like a good sign--are things moving towards a release? On a side note, all the "for friends only" messages on his MySpace are practically driving me to get a MySpace of my own.
If you visit McFly's MySpace, you can listen to a medley of three songs from their upcoming album Motion In The Ocean (due out November 6, with second single "Star Girl" coming out October 23). I think the first one is "We're The Young" and the second is "Sorry's Not Good Enough," but I'm not sure what the last one is (maybe "Transylvania"? They might say the title at some point, but I can't tell--that guess is just based on the fact that that's a Dougie song and I think that's Dougie singing). At any rate, this looks to be an excellent album (both poppy and not just a return to their first album style--maturer than that), even if I still don't understand some of the song titles ("Bubble Wrap"? Well, maybe I have a guess). I've had an incredibly difficult time getting it to play at all, let alone play the medley without stopping; I know the album release isn't that far away, but, in case anyone else wants to be able to listen to the four-minute medley without waiting for a half an hour for it to load and play, here it is.
Oh, wow--you all had to read all that for just one song, and it's not even a complete one, nor does it have good audio quality. Well...it's got no logical connection to anything I just talked about, but here's another song--I know, since this group is incredibly popular, there's a very good chance people have it already, but since I don't think it's on a regular album (it's from the On The Line soundtrack), maybe some people don't have it:
To buy the On The Line soundtrack, go here (physical).
Next up: maybe a Swedish singer (not Darin, although, in anticipation of his new album, I might do a follow-up to my earlier post about him at some point), or some electronic-ish stuff.
Your problems don't exist when music feels like this.
Songs are posted only for promotional purposes (I love them and want others to know about them, too)--if you like them, please "go out and buy the record"! If you are an artist, represent one, or are a songwriter/producer and would like your songs removed, I'll gladly do so (just let me know).
Today's post will be of interest to about, oh, two other people somewhere on the Internet, who'll have to stumble across it while randomly googling some day. Still, those two people, like me, will be very glad to have this little footnote of pop history in their collection.
(physical) or here (digital); it includes his version of this song. Alternatively, you can buy the Eric-featuring debut album, Greetings From Imrie House, here
(physical) or here (digital).
