Take all your money and then disappear

Big thanks to Conor for letting me know about this song!



Round & Round (Single Edit)

I can be pretty odd with my reactions to songs sometimes: in one case I'll love the verse and bridge but be completely let down by the chorus and so completely write the song off, in another I'll just key in on and love one small element and that's enough to leave me feeling positive about the whole song. Take the new US5 single, for example--despite the fact that the German-based boy band is already three years and two albums into their career, I don't think I've heard more than a handful of songs by them, so even though I loved "Rhythm Of Life (Shake It Down)" from last year, I don't think you could really say I've got a preexisting inclination to be especially positive about their work.

That said, though there are elements of "Round & Round," their new single leading into their third album, that don't work for me--the dorky spoken section in the middle by (I presume) their British member, for example, always forces me to fight off laughter--I think I could forgive just about any boy band sins just because of how much I love the sound of the "that girl means trouble" and "she's not your lover" lines in the bridge. Really odd thing to care so much about, right? I mean, it's not a particularly distinctive or innovative (or memorable for most people, I imagine) melody there, nor are those lines really a huge part of the song, but I adore them.

Elsewhere, despite what the flashy video might make you think, the song's an unassuming synth-based mid-tempo boy band song--unassuming not in a bad way, but in that it's not really in your face and that it's making no claims that it's some revolutionary song to make boy bands cool again (though for the record and speaking beyond this song, just because a song isn't claiming to be revolutionary doesn't mean it isn't). That may still sound pejorative; all I'm trying to get at is that it's a song that seems comfortable with itself (save for the "must mimic Justin somewhere in here!" "yeah"s that open the song [thankfully the song goes its own way after that] and maybe that aforementioned part in the middle 8 which feels kind of try-hard to me, albeit in such a goofy way that maybe it's not meant to be taken seriously...which means I'm already coming around to appreciating it in that way), which is a thing I like. I don't think US5 as a group are at the point yet where "comfortable with themselves" and "not try-hard" can be applied to them (who designed this cover? seriously?!), but let's hope musically they continue to move in that direction; at the very least, it'd be nice if they'd continue making songs as great and enjoyable as this one.

To buy US5's single "Round & Round," go here (physical) or here (digital). Since it's a new single, it'll only be posted for a short time.

Also, two other comments about US5/this song:

1.) Just to really destroy any chance I might have had at being taken seriously in my enjoyment of the song, the one that based on their website I think is Chris is looking pretty good in that video in a dewy-eyed young Jesse McCartney kind of way, no?

2.) Given the whole Richie scandal (world: which one?), maybe a line like "she'll take a taste and then she'll throw you out her mouth" should have been reconsidered. Actually, if you're thinking about the lyrics at all, maybe it should have been reconsidered, but then, I like how the sounds of the words fit in the line, so I'm not really complaining.

In unrelated news, Ola's new single goes to Swedish radio next week! I really hope it's good... The re-release of the album comes out May 28.

Next up: maybe that other Belgian singer.

You're not into it? Get into it

I love finding new digital music stores. They can come and go--I lost my beloved Urban Payload and now Pick n Play seems to be requiring you to be South African to buy from them, while Tonlist is currently remodelling its English version and thus inaccessible. Luckily, Gucca came along to replace Urban Payload; even if it's more expensive and has a more confusing search function (if I'm not sure if Gucca will have something, I almost always check Urban Payload first just to see if it's worth trying to find it on Gucca), I am so thankful to have even minor access to Nordic music. I also like faithful Magix...but now I've got another German music store to use too, one with some other songs (including Espen Lind's first two albums, which is strange, considering Gucca, which is Danish but has some Nordic stuff, doesn't even sell those) and that seems to generally be cheaper: Medion Music. Conveniently, they also have the new Barbados song, but, to be honest, the reason I was originally searching for another German music store was to buy the new US5 single. As I've mentioned several times, US5 carry loads of baggage musically, stylistically, personally, and management-wise and their new single may be a completely shameless attempt to simultaneously rip off Timbaland and the Backstreet Boys, but I like it.

Rhythm Of Life (Shake It Down) (Single Edit)--thankfully, this version cuts out the dance break. I'm the first person to call for choreographed group dancing in music, but sometimes, if you're just listening to a song and not watching it performed, a musical dance break can slow down the song. The rap sadly still stays, but without the dance break, it's less damaging to the song--two things back-to-back that slowed down the song really hurt it. The first bridge and chorus are where it starts to truly get good. Really, it's just a great boy band song, worth checking out even if you've not liked their previous work (though having a fondness for boy band music certainly helps).

To buy US5's new single "Rhythm Of Life (Shake It Down)," go here (physical) or here (digital).

In somewhat related news, Lou Pearlman is being held in Guam after being expelled from Indonesia as an "undesirable visitor." That's putting it mildly (for more, see one of Chart Rigger's old posts). Apparently he disappeared after going on tour with US5 and was found by law enforcement officials after sending a letter with an Indonesian return address to an attorney. In the meantime, a liquidation sales of his possessions was held. I'm actually really curious about what this means for his current "projects" like US5 and not because I like their new single--what happens to a music group, especially one so engineered and so young, when your manager is arrested? As my parents would say, "another dollar in the therapy fund..."

Next up: maybe something Swedish. Or Spanish. Or Russian.

(By the way, I think this is a somewhat old picture of them--it's almost worth watching the first few seconds of their new video just to see them trying to bring back Flock Of Seagulls-style haircuts.)

(More unrelated, I'm thinking about buying Barbados's album Stolt--or, more accurately, putting it on my long term "to get" list--since a good number of the songs on it sound pretty good, but I'm not sure; on the off chance anyone owns it, is it worth buying? I'd have to get the whole thing, since sadly I don't know any digital music stores selling it.)

Don't let the music die

US5 have a tendency to make me uncomfortable for just about countless reasons (though anyone who wants to write them off entirely should take a listen to "Just Because Of You" first--it's a good boy band ballad). And now, with their new single "Rhythm Of Life," they're clearly hoping to take advantage of Timbaland's success--I've got to imagine those spoken background bits are modelled after him. And there's a pointless rap that really hurts the song.

So why do I find myself listening to it repeatedly?



(Stick it out to the bridge and chorus.)

The single's out June 15 in Germany (with a "video edit" and a "single edit," I think, among other things, so the "real" version probably won't have the music for the dance break which, when you're dealing with just audio, is a good thing). Granted, I haven't heard the high quality version yet, but I think I like it a lot. Not that I'm going to start spreading the message anywhere and everywhere, but enough that I think even by the end of the year I'll still rate it as at least "pretty good."

(P.S. Yes, I know there's some Backstreet Boys' ripping off [or similarities] going on as well, but at least the similarity is less obvious than the one between "In The Club" and Darin's "Step Up" and this song is a lot better than "In The Club.")