You know I love surprises

Well...this post throws off my elaborate plan to time my 100th post (the next one) perfectly, but whatever--this news is far too exciting to not report. The funny part is that, several days ago, when news of Anthony Callea's new single and McFly's new album's tracklist came out on the same day, I jokingly said that at this rate this singer would be announcing his comeback in a few hours and I would "spontaneously combust in excitement" (a bit gruesome, I know). Well, it may have taken him a week, not a couple of hours, but finally, that announcement has come.

Many of you probably couldn't care less (I know a lot of people don't like him at all). Others are probably very jaded on this topic (feeling they've heard news like this before). However, I am thrilled--and I think the source and the words used this time means we can expect something very definite.

Enough beating around the bush--one of the comebacks (and I don't just mean a new album, but a true comeback) I have most been hoping for (really, the comeback I have most been hoping for) is about to happen:



Gareth Gates is releasing a new album.

The exact wording of the press release, from his official website:

"Dear Gareth fans:

After much anticipation, patience and constant support from all of you, we are thrilled to be able to report some very exciting news which you all have been waiting for. Gareth will be back on your TV screens in 2006! Not only that, but his new album will be ready to release very soon too!

Until now, we have had to keep these projects under wraps in order that they could be developed and worked on privately but we always promised that as soon as there was any concrete news, you'd be the first to know. Whilst it is a little too early to confirm dates and more details, these projects are almost ready and we thought we should let you be the first to know the great news!

More announcements in the very near future will be made here on Gareth's website so please continue to check here for the latest information. Thanks as always for your support. Gareth is very excited and can't wait to be back!"

I am a little worried by the choice of words, though--"back on your TV screens" could mean he's working as a TV presenter, for goodness sake. More realistically, there's also been rumors of a documentary or "tell-all" sort of show about Gareth's career, so, to the cynical part of me, it seems likely this TV appearance will just be this documentary. I'm trying to stay sort of skeptical--it really is sort of odd wording on their part, which makes me a little suspicious. Hopefully, it actually just means promotion. Either way, though--a new album! Again worryingly, though, it just says his album will be "ready to release very soon"--a worrying phrase because 1.) "ready to release" is not the same as "released," and 2.) "very soon" gives us no specific date, or even general date.

If this album was coming out in 2006 (it's not), I think it would just have jumped up to the top of my "most anticipated" list, past McFly and Anthony Callea and Matt Willis and everything else coming this year. I don't think words can express my excitement over this; Gareth makes brilliant, brilliant, brilliant music. I am so beyond excited at this news that there is no word for it, and I hope hope hope all my concerns about the wording of the news come to nothing.

Here's a song I think is particularly apt, as Gareth embarks on what hopefully will be an incredibly successful comeback:

Skeletons

To buy Gareth Gates's second album Go Your Own Way (it's 2 CDs, and yet there's not a single song on it I don't like; there is an incredible number of potential singles on it...have I ever mentioned how much I adore Gareth's style of music? He makes this pure pop I love--even with guitars, it's still pop--it's always catchy--he can do fun uptempo songs or ballads brilliantly--all right, that's probably enough gushing ;) ), go here (physical) or here (digital).

I know not everyone will agree with me, but I think Gareth is a brilliant popstar--I absolutely adore his music (he even showed improvement from first to second album, something which many singers find difficult) and I hope this comeback happens soon (but at the proper time, so he can be successful), is as brilliant as it should be, and is as incredibly successful as it deserves to be.

Who said Friday the 13th was bad luck?!

(I realize this blog has probably seemed very fan-ish over the past few weeks [which isn't how I normally or really am]. I'm trying to keep my excited raving separate from my "real posts," though, and I do try to minimize that raving when possible--I hope it's not bothering you all too much!)

It's so atomic and you're lookin' like the bomb

I know I said today's topic would be Alistair Griffin, but he's getting pushed off for one more day. Instead, here's a couple of songs whose videos I've seen on MTV Hits lately. Does that mean they're primed for success? Not necessarily, since a lot of videos never break beyond MTV Hits play and into the world of MTV play, let alone chart success, but hopefully they'll do all right.

Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)--this is probably the most "hipster" song I'll ever post here. However, if anything, I think this song proves that a lot more people would like pop if they would come to it without prejudices. At any rate, "Here (In Your Arms)" is incredibly cute. It might not sound like that much at the beginning, but stick it out to the chorus, which is vocodered/synthesized happiness and desperation mixed up in one--very poppy! That first chorus is over all too quickly, but the song picks up a bit after that, and the chorus returns soon enough. It even has a suitably geeky-cute video.

Nemesis - #1 In Heaven--Advice for the Singer at Heart, an amazing blog, gets full credit for introducing me to this song. However, I'm so used to reading about groups online and never getting to hear them in the "real world" that I was really surprised to see their video (which I hadn't yet seen) on MTV Hits. Go check out Daimn's original post on the band...but come back if you can :) It's definitely pop, danceable, and therefore probably won't do well on the charts, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to. Their MySpace has a couple of other songs up--I couldn't make it through "Letter To God," but "Let Me Help You Out" (I think the version on their MySpace is the Dave Aude Radio Edit) is all right, I suppose--it's got nothing on "#1 In Heaven," though, which is a really good fun (catchy) song with a sort of glitzy sound to it.

To buy Hellogoodbye's album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, go here (physical) or, if you live in the US, go to iTunes; to buy Nemesis's single "#1 In Heaven" (or is it "Number One In Heaven"?), visit iTunes.

Next up: Alistair Griffin, I promise. It's going to take two days, though (I realized there are so many non-album songs of his that I can't cover him in a day); however, we'll do one day of Alistair tomorrow, then a more random day, and then finish up with Alistair.

The world is falling down around us

Stop the presses! There were indications that today could be a very frustrating day--Anthony Callea's (yes, this is another post about him...I'm sorry! At least I'm managing to make my real posts about other people) official MySpace had a 40 second clip up of "Live For Love," but, in a repeat of yesterday's MySpace fiasco, I couldn't get it to play (even though every other song on him MySpace player would). However!

Thanks to this site (which I am forever, forever indebted to), I was able to hear the radio rip of the full song! I've uploaded it on ZShare, in case anyone wants to listen to it but not necessarily download it. If anyone wants me to remove the song, just let me know and I'll gladly do so.

Live For Love (Radio Rip)

Actually, this morning has not been without its frustration--though, since its an Anthony song, I'm sure it will grow on me, and I like it more than I thought I was going to (I was trying to keep my expectations low, since I was pretty sure I knew what was coming), I am a little sad that it's more "The Prayer" than it is "Rain" (and it's definitely no "Wanna Be The One"). I do like it more than "The Prayer" (yes, heresy for anyone who likes Anthony) and I'm sure if you talk to me in several hours I will be completely enamored with it--it's a sweet orchestral thing, building, pretty, etc., but it's just not as catchy as I would have liked.

I'm already starting to like it, really. And I hope it hits #1. I'm sure I'll soon regret being negative at all. But if the next single is a remake of "Per Sempre," Anthony, I am coming to Australia and sending you back to the recording studio until you come up with something that has a hook in it!

("Live For Love" wins bonus points for the line "your soul becomes the rain that's falling down," which I'm going to pretend was an intentional sort of meta-reference to his earlier hit "Rain.")

(Not my picture--source)

(Please tell me the lyrics are not talking about what I think they might be talking about at the end...no, I don't think they are...I think.)

I'm a punk rock prom queen

Where have all the girls gone? If you've been reading this blog the past few days (or really, in general), that would be a very valid question...so today, we're focusing on some girls, all of whom can rock or have some real attitude.

Kim-Lian - Teenage Superstar--Kim-Lian is a Dutch singer who is also famous for presenting a children's television show. I could easily see kids liking this song, but it's got far broader appeal than that. "Teenage Superstar" is guitar-based, but it's also very poppy and, despite the "poor little superstar!" lyrics, it sounds very happy. Don't let this short description fool you--it's an excellent song.

Josie and the Pussycats - Three Small Words--from the 2001 movie, not the 1970's TV series. Whether or not you liked the movie, it did give us some pretty fun girl-rock before that genre really hit its peak popularity. It's a little sloppy, but it's also good fun, with power and energy to burn crammed into under three minutes.

Ricki-Lee - Hell No!--this isn't rocky like the previous songs; I'm not really sure what genre or subgenre to classify it at all, actually. Whatever it is, it's packed with attitude. Ricki-Lee was a contestant on the second season of Australian Idol. (Thanks to Fetch Me Some Music for introducing me to the song.)

JoJo - Coming For You--this song probably fits in the least with the others here; I almost included a certain Dutch singer instead (she would have fit in much better), but I've decided that singer is so good she (and, at some point, her former band) deserves her own post--expect that in a couple of weeks. Instead, we have this song from JoJo's new album, which, though it's not really heavy on the guitars, bears some resemblence to the Kelly C/Jamelia's "Something About You" school of songs, only with more R&B influence and not quite as rocked out.

To buy Kim Lian's single "Teenage Superstar," go here (physical) or check iTunes (digital); to buy the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack, go here (physical); to buy Ricki-Lee's debut album, Ricki-Lee, go here (physical); to preorder JoJo's second album, The High Road, go here (physical).

Next up: Alistair Griffin.

(I just had to get this off my chest: tonight's episode of CSI was good, but very difficult to watch for two reasons: 1.) Kevin Federline appeared in it--his role isn't about to cause any improvement in the public's opinion of him; but, more importantly, 2.) poor Greg got beaten up! But he's such a good CSI member that...well, I'll say no more, since the episode just aired, but he is really sweet. I don't get the chance to watch much TV anymore, but CSI never fails to be high quality, even if it can be weird and a bit squirm-inducing at times.)

If I could actually hear the song, maybe I could find some lyrics to use

Good morning, everyone!

This is a very quick post, and really sort of pointless on my part, but maybe this information will help you all more than it's been able to help me: apparently, an unofficial MySpace for Anthony Callea has a twenty second clip of his new single, "Live For Love," that you can listen to. Since the MySpace music player has decided not to work for me right now, I can't actually report back on it, but from comments, it seems to be a big ballad. Anyhow, here's the link; once I actually listen to it, I'll give you my thoughts.

Edit: the site has been taken down...hopefully, we'll get to hear the song on radio starting this Monday!

(Source)

Real post coming later today!

There's something about you I wanna get into

I'm not going to even pretend that there's some theme uniting this post--no particular singer, not just MySpace songs, nothing--just random thoughts and pieces of news.

The amazing Ben Adams is going to be giving away one of his songs as a free download, and he's letting fans choose which one. However, we haven't heard either of the songs, "Red Lady" or "I Messed Up," so choosing which to vote for is a little bit of a random guess. Still, definitely head over to his MySpace where you can read a brief description of the songs and vote for which you'd like to be able to download.

Speaking of amazing, Simon Curtis is planning to release his debut album as a digital download. Whenever and however Alter Boy gets released, it will be a must-purchase; I've said somewhere before that "Broken" is one of the best songs I've heard this year, and Alter Boy just might be the most exciting album I've heard this year (that wasn't released earlier). Go to Simon's MySpace or official site to hear some of his songs.

The video for Josh Hoge's debut single "360" premiered today; you can watch it on his official webite. It's nothing surprising--Josh's girlfriend cheats on him, Josh looks forlorn, band plays, Josh sings, Josh meets a new girl, old girl wants Josh back but he's with new girl--but the song holds up just as well as it did when I first heard it months ago; I can definitely picture it getting radioplay, too; I just hope it does.

On the topic of Australian Idol: Dean Geyer is very pretty. He certainly knows his way around a hair straightener (see below video). And he can do backflips (again, see said video). However, Australia, that does not mean he should necessarily win Idol. This message may be a bit late; also, I'm definitely not saying Dean should be the next to go. I can very well envision him releasing some music I would like--his voice is passable and he just needs to be hooked up with some decent songs (like Millsy and "Ms. Vanity")--but I don't know that he deserves to win. I think his career trajectory will be the same whether he wins or not, though.

However, one of his performances has given us what must be one of the greatest quotations to come out of an Idol show (please don't be offended, anyone):

Judge Kyle Sandilands, after Dean's performance of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name": "That is a sexy song. You haven't had sex; we all know you're the God-loving virgin boy."

Genius, surely?

Anyhow, here's Dean's most recent performance on Idol ("Turn The Beat Around" for Disco Night), so you all have some clue what I'm talking about (and no, that handspring thing at the beginning, though impressive, isn't the backflip I'm talking about); you'll have to go back to the previous episode for that classy quotation, though.



If, for some reason, you'd like an mp3 of the performance, here you go (source, thanks!).

In the midst of all the boyband goodness over at The Zapping lately, there was one group that really surprised me: 365. Proving that I do not automatically like anything that comes wrapped in a boyband package, I had heard their song "That Thing" before and not been impressed. I still can't decide whether or not the original version of "One Touch" (their debut single, out November 6 as a download and November 13 in the physical version) is worthy of excitement (I think it might just barely come down on the right side of "good or not"). However, the Bimbo Jones remix (low audio quality) pushes it into definitely great territory. I'm not expert on remixes, but I always associate Bimbo Jones ones with that sort of steel drum sound. This mix, though, doesn't have that--it's faster and dancey, has electronic beats, but still keeps the original's horns. Go check out their MySpace if you have time.

A band I keep meaning to post about, the Vacancy (who some of you might remember from Popjustice's Singles Club), have taken down all the quirky fun songs from their MySpace and gotten rid of the PureVolume page which had all their older quirky songs. Is this a good sign (they are going to release them?) or a bad sign (they stopped caring? they're going in an entirely new direction?)? I'm not sure, though I really hope it's the former. Visit their MySpace page if you like--the one remaining song, "Catch Your Tear," is quite good, but it doesn't have the fun of their other songs and doesn't really reflect what their usual style is. Instead, you might want to try "Handheld," which you can still get as a free download from Popjustice. Expect a whole post about them at some point. If you like Busted or McFly (or just good music), check them out; they're definitely quite good.

And, finally, it's rather pointless, but I have to mention Anthony Callea again: his new single, "Live For Love," may hit radios this coming Monday. Of course, without listening to Australian radio 24/7, I probably won't end up hearing it until it ends up coming out November 4. Tomorrow (really, today for Australians) he's doing a photoshoot, which means the first official pictures of the new haircut will be appearing...the world (or just me) waits with breathless anticipation.

Next up: probably not Alistair Griffin, but he'll be in the next few days (I'm trying to decide whether or not it would be better to do two days about him; I guess I have more songs by him than I thought). Maybe the Vacancy, then?

(At this point, I haven't seen all of the Australian Idol contestants perform...out of the ones left, it is possible Dean is the best option--anyone have any vote one way or the other?)

You're much too young to be settling down

I've written about Kalan Porter, winner of the second season of Canadian Idol, once before, and, though I wasn't hugely favorable about the songs of his I'd heard, I said that I thought he had some music that was much better than what I had heard. Recently, amazing site #1 Hits From Another Planet wrote about him--you should really go read Nick's post--and included a song I liked, which spurred me to finally find out whether my earlier guess about Kalan was right. As it turns out, his first album, 219 Days, is pretty good, and has some songs on it far better than the ones I posted a few months ago. The album is a nice mix of ballads and "harder" tracks, showing that Kalan can do both well and providing a varied listening experience. For the first album of an Idol winner (and, really, for any mainstream debut album), there's a surprising amount of different styles (including even some classical influences at times).

Lucky Day--this might be my favorite song on the album. In contrast to songs like "Single," it's very bright, sweet, and happy, though ballad-influenced. Everything about it, from the verses to the bridge to the chorus, works really well. The female backing vocals add to that sweetness, but it's really the song as a whole that is so great.

She's So Dangerous--a rockier track. Though I probably won't end up posting a lot of these today, there are a good deal of such songs on 219 Days; I don't want to leave you with a false impression of the album or Kalan's style. I like it (probably still more than "Single"), but it also makes me appreciate "Single," which I originally wrote off, even more (even if I still think the best version of "Single" must be the Original 3 remix, which I'd post if I had, but I can't find anywhere to buy it unless you live in Canada).

I Don't Wanna Miss You--another sweet song, this one more definitely a ballad. It's a little on the understated side, though that doesn't mean it's minimal. The fact that there are songs on the album that so sharply contrast with these ballads is welcome but also makes songs like "Lucky Day" and "I Don't Wanna Miss You" all the more precious.

How Many Roads--choosing one more song to post was difficult, as there's a decent consistency on 219 Days. I wanted something with at least a little more rock influence, but ultimately I ended up choosing this song, which does have some rock influence but is also another mid-tempo or ballad-influenced song (there really are other good types of songs on the album!). It's not necessarily a stand-out track or shockingly innovating, but there's something reassuring about it.

To buy Kalan Porter's debut album, 219 Days, go here (physical) or here (digital; you'll have to search for "Kalan Porter"). If you like some of these songs, it's definitely worth it.

Next up: maybe a MySpace check-in.

I know you wanna be my salvation

Amazing music alert! My random updates are pretty rare--I think in the past they've only occurred for McFly and Anthony Callea (and maybe one other artist?). However, I was so excited about this group that I had to post.

To begin with, The Zapping is brilliant; go read this post if you haven't already, packed with more good MySpace music than should probably be allowed. In fact, if you're short for time, just go read that, and forget about this.

Though there are lots of brilliant songs and bands in that post, I have to pull out and highlight one which I am particularly excited about: Pacific Avenue. Their music is complete and total boyband, a throwback to the older days. Tentative debut single "Autograph" might sound too much like Westlife to some of you. To others, it might not sound Westlife enough. That song, though, as well as many of their others (including "I Can't Hold Back," on their official site), is brilliant. I suppose their style might draw some Westlife comparisons, but it would be more accurate to say it's like Westlife and Backstreet Boys were thrown in a blender, with a pinch of a little V tossed in.

I am completely (platonically) in love with this band and their music now. They also have a great sense of humor, as shown by their Internet-only TV show (viewable here). Go check out their MySpace. And their official site. And this cached version of their official site, at which you can listen to minute-long clips of all their songs. The fact that they have an album coming out is incredibly exciting--when, I wonder? They've only posted clips of all their songs, which is rather smart on their part but a bit frustrating. However, you can download one of their songs for free by visiting either the aforementioned Zapping post or Pacific Avenue's MySpace.

While we're on the topic of boybands, I couldn't not point you all in the direction of this song, just released this morning on the radio. I didn't grow up with this band, so I'll be interested to hear long-time fans' thoughts on it. (I realize this picture is horribly out of date, but I didn't have time to go find a more recent one...maybe I'll update it later.)

(Audio source; thanks!--not downloadable there)

Real post coming later today!

A nameless and a shameless superstar

I've mentioned Phixx several times in the past, but mainly only in passing and often as a reference point, a group whose sound I have compared others' to. However, if you're not familiar with Phixx, those comparisons won't do you much good...so, today, the focus is on Phixx! Popstars: The Rivals, the show that resulted in Girls Aloud, also formed boyband One True Voice. The boys who didn't make it into One True Voice got together and formed Phixx, whose music was, at the time, unique for boybands: more electropop, and often darker. Their image was distinctly different, too: much of Phixx's marketing centered around them shirtless, wrapped up in chains, beaten up, or, as in their "Love Revolution" video, as vampires. Though the band did fairly well in South Africa (performing at least once with another popstar I really like, Heinz Winckler) and released 4 singles in the UK, their UK singles all charted in the 10 to 20 range and, after losing two members, the band has presumably broken up. They've left behind an album with some pretty good songs, though.



Hold On Me--Phixx's debut single. Though I tend to refer to their music as "dark," there are also some very bright aspects of some of their songs; the "electropop" part of my description still holds though, with little electronic runs in the background. I thought about trying to keep this place a little classy and not embedding the video, but really, to understand Phixx, you probably need to see them--not that very many people will be complaining about that, though! Phixx are, sadly, living proof that, no matter how shameless (desperate?) one is in using one's body to promote music, there's no guarantee of success.



Love Revolution--another Phixx single, and another video. I'm not sure how I feel about them turning into vampires (it's sort of creepy, actually), but the song is still good. Don't let Phixx's videos and image overwhelm the fact that, behind that posing, they definitely have some catchy songs.

Superstar--still electropop, but a little more on the poppy and less dark side than some of Phixx's other songs. It's really catchy, too, and the faint voice in the background is a really nice touch.

Voyeur--I am convinced that this should have been a single at some point (even if, musically, "Superstar" might have been a better choice), because it could have given us another top-class video. It is a very good song, though; a bit darker than some of the earlier songs.

If Tomorrow--I think, if I remember correctly, that this song was from when they began thinking about bonus tracks for a UK release of their album and was recorded for future use but (I think) never actually released (I think it might have been put on their website?). It's more traditional than much of their debut album, less electro-based and it includes guitars. It's all right, but I don't think it can match some of their earlier songs for catchiness. (I have this labeled as "If Tomorrow," but it seems to be generally referred to as "If Tomorrow Never Comes").

To buy Phixx's debut album, Electrophonic Revolution, go here (physical) or here (digital; only valid for U.S. residents) or check iTunes.

Next up: Phixx have even more good albums tracks and even some good B-sides, so they'll probably reappear here at some point. As for tomorrow, it might be time for a MySpace check-in; Alistair Griffin might have to wait for a week.