#59 Universal Poplab, "Fame & Hate"

Though you knew that there would be
A price for popularity
Now you're ripping out your heart to please the crowd

Diatribes about fame are hardly original fodder for songs, but for three minutes and fifty seconds, Swedish synth-pop group Universal Poplab managed to make me feel like it was a topic worth revisiting. A little bit Erasure-esque, "Fame & Hate" is effortlessly catchy, with an electronic backing as good as we've come to expect from the group, periodic shouty group-style backing vocals, and a chorus that will have you singing along and having fun even as it includes lines like "And as the fame grows/The hate grows/How long till the fame goes/And hate becomes the state where you belong?". Put simply, it's brilliant pop that, despite its warnings about the dangers of fame, never tries to distance itself as too cool for the listener--it's music that's made to be listened to and enjoyed, as music is supposed to be.

(A note: this is a review of the song, not the video.)

If you're new to Universal Poplab, they're a group with some seriously top-notch songs in their back catalogue--"Heart Apart" is one to check out. Also, they're on the wonderful record label Wonderland Records, who offer "Fame & Hate," among other songs, for free download here. However, if you love the group's work...

Find it on: Seeds (or digitally here)

Speaking up was never quite your style

Heaven help me, but I'd started to forget how amazing a group Universal Poplab are. It's a very good thing that they've released a new single to remind us all of it, then--it came out a month or two ago, but I only found out about it now (that's what I get for not checking It's A Trap daily). They're yet another group I owe my knowledge of to the much-missed Catchy Tunes of Sweden, though #1 Hits has written about them too; I've not yet bought their first album, but if you see their second (Uprising) anywhere, snap it up--not only are singles like "I Could Say I'm Sorry" and "Heart Apart" some of the best electro-pop you'll hear, there's a lot more to enjoy than just those songs. That plus the fact that this new single is great has me now very excited for their next album (skipping over their remix album), Seeds, due out May 7.

In case you missed it earlier, you absolutely have to hear their 2006 single "I Could Say I'm Sorry." "Heart Apart" is really a must-listen too, but there's no video for that (you can listen to it in the music section of their site, though).



Fame & Hate--musically this is more of the upbeat ridiculously catchy electro-pop we've come to know Universal Poplab can deliver, but the lyrics about the price of fame--which I could imagine putting some people off, but they work for me--aren't upbeat at all, as you might guess from the title. Nevertheless, just try listening to it without being hit by the urge to have a big smile plastered all over your face, just because of the fact that someone in the world is making songs this great, or to sing along. That chorus is pop perfection right down to the backing vocals--in fact, the whole song is a complete gem. Thank goodness for this group.

To buy Universal Poplab's single "Fame & Hate," go here (physical; they've made it kind of difficult to buy, but you can easily buy their album Uprising here [physical] or here [digital, as DRM-free mp3s]).

Next up: maybe that Italian/Swiss singer.