Saturdays can be quite lovely really, can't they? I woke up fairly early, and my little DazPanini and I decided to have a walk around town. It even held off raining while we did so, so I was able to enjoy my venti White Cafe Mocha and Rocky Road in relative dryness... Then we picked up a few essentials like holiday brochures, toiletries and the two sister act movies on dvd and came back to the apartment for a nice relaxing afternoon of snuggling and napping. I don't often nap in the afternoon but today i did, and it has completely thrown me - i woke up convinced it was Sunday morning and that i had no memory of the night before! I was in a bit of a panic until DazPanicControl talked me in from the ledge ;) How weird... anyway, as it happens we ARE off out tonight in some fancy new togs so I will try and get some pics for you all tomorrow. OOoo you are on the edge of your seats now, ain't ya! Well. Once again, I have blathered on long enough, but i'll leave you with the post and a cryptic message. Easter Sunday - keep an eye on that date. More info soon...
.
THE BOYBAND RETROSPECTICUS EPISODE TWO – MERCURY4
.
Ah remember the global success of Australian boyband Mercury4? No? That's because tragically it didn't really happen despite having an album full of perky pop tunes and a quartet of semi-decent looking lads. Still we'll always have the debut album and our memories, eh? Mercury4 were a clear attempt to ride the coattails of success attained by Human Nature who had been on a bit of a sabbatical at the time and were rapidly turning into the antipodean Westlife. Australia needed a boyband with dance routines and punchy choruses, and Mercury4 aimed to deliver that. Singles like Get Me Some and a cover of Bobby Brown's Every Little Step (also covered that year by Play w/ Aaron Carter) were jaunty little nuggets of pop that, while sounding a bit dated, were delightfully accessible and unpretentious moments of music. Their highlight was easily the classic tune 5 Years From Now – a song so epic in it's chorus and so memorably poppy that it could easily be covered now by pretty much anyone and still sound fresh and marvellous. Some of the spoken interludes on the debut album were a little embarrassing but the range of tunes from funky Miss Sophisticated and In The Club to swoony Sorry and All Out Of Love (with guest vocals from Air Supply) showed that there were plenty of tracks to be mined as singles and indeed a second album was much deserved. Alas, with revolving door of bandmembers and poor album sales, there was no second bite at the cherry and Mercury4 disbanded after 3 singles and an album. Bummer…
.
LINK: Purchase Mercury4's debut album
MP3: All Out Of Love
MP3: Every Little Step
MP3: 5 Years From Now
.
THE ONCE AND FUTURE SLAYER:
. It's very exciting n'est pas, that Buffy is returning in comic book form for a much delayed eighth season. It reminds me of the episode of the Simpsons where Milhouse trades Bart's soul for Alf pogs ~ "remember Alf. He's back – in pog form!" As the storyline is being over seen by Buffy mastermind Joss Whedon, I thought I would revisit his previous comic book entry into the Buffy canon – Fray. This was an 8 issue limited series that looked at the slayer of the future (26th century) and was a more than worth addition to the Buffy timeline. Karl Moline provided the art and while I'm no comic critique, it seemed to me that he did a wonderful job on creating lush city landscapes and the brilliantly depraved sewers. Joss surrounded Fray with the requisite cast of unique characters, the best being Urkonn, the demon goat watcher. The characterisation that takes place and sparkling dialogue is of the same high quality you would expect from the creator of Buffy and Angel, and the story zips through to it's devastating and brilliantly clever finale. It screams for the big screen treatment (may I suggest Natalie Portman for the role of Fray) and also a sequel s'il vous plait…
. Re-reading Fray made me want to check out Joss' take on the X-Men so I bought the collection of the first six issues of Astonishing X-Men. Other than the films I'm not hugely knowledgeable in terms of X-Men history, so this was a fresh start for me. The concept basically focuses on Scott Summers and Emma Frost running the school for mutants and trying to make the X-Men "astonishing" again… Before they've had much chance to start making their mark, news of a mutant cure sweeps through the campus causing widespread panic and chaos. As the story continues in future volumes, it's not a complete story like Fray but it is a riveting and exciting read and I certainly will be checking out volumes two and three, which I believe Joss also wrote.
.
LINK: Purchase Fray
LINK: Purchase Astonishing X-Men Volume One
.
THE NEW LILLIES FOR SPRING – PART ONE (THE FELLAS)
.
Well of course, you know you have made it in the world of pop when anyone who comes out with a new song that vaguely resembles anything you've previously done is referred to as the new you! Cut to me writing about some guys (today) and gals (tomorrow) who by some rag or other (usually that vile whore from the Sun, showing shocking lack of originality) have been described as the new Lily Allen, probably because they are a bit cheeky, have wordy lyrics and sound surprisingly fresh in todays crowded pop market. So let's check out these cheeky chappies and see what we've got!
.
Just Jack ~ well, until yesterday when I mentioned Just Jack to XO and Chartrigger, I was convinced that the ultra-catchy and lyrically witty Starz In Your Eyes was this fine fellas debut single. How wrong I was. It is in fact the second single from his sophomore album and he's been spouting out musical poetry for a while now. The single is out on Monday and is a topical swipe at the cult of celebrity done over a garage-lite tune and with more melody than The Streets would know what to do with... and apparently Jack Allsopp (no relation to Kirsty sadly) was discovered by someone in Madness. Ooo, etc. Can't wait to check out his album...
.
Jamie T ~ another guy who has been around for a while, so isn't really "new" at all. I'm just late to the party, as it where. And much like Just Jack (impossible to say without thinking of the hand flip as well a la Will and Grace), there is a ramshackle brand of poetry running throughout his songs. His latest tune Calm Down Dearest has hints of Mike Skinner (of course), Pete Doherty and even Ian Dury running through it, and his upcoming album Panic Prevention promises to be a veritable mixtape of influences and sounds. Which now I come to think of it is probably much like Robbie William's Rudebox which i've been disappointed with for ages, so maybe I should give that another bash... And check out Jamie T hosting radio one on Monday!
.
Jonah Maddox ~ what can i say about little dude Jonah other than he is indeed good honest fun. More melodic (thanks to his acoustic stylings) than the other two guys above and his music spits out lyrics at breakneck speed while never losing site of the tunes that make them so adorable. There's a hint of Roddy Frame in his music and there's sheer pleasure to be had just from listening to the wry lyrics as you try and keep up. Cheers Jack and Chin Up are great songs for the everyman ("I ask myself what am i doing here"), while At A Time sees him rocking out - possibly from the days when he was in a band... which just goes to show as a solo star he utterly shines...
.
QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
.

~ the new Dolce & Gabbana ads are out in print and just as homo-erotic as ever. I feel all naughty just looking at them...
~ Happy Birthday to DontStopThePop. Long may you reign supreme...
~ the anatomy of an electroqueer is actually pretty darn brilliant. I can't wait for the stuff he has coming up!

~ Yay! Not only am I off to see the play again next saturday, but The History Boys movie is out on dvd just in time for DazPropertyTycoon to buy it me for easter...
~ Ooo! Xo has the new Sophie Ellis Bextor video up at his always magnif site. And if you're very quick, you'll probably be able to download the second single from her forthcoming album here... (Sssh don't tell!)
~ Don't forget to subscribe to this blog via thezapping's myspace page. You'll want to, trust me. There's a change in the air and you may want to get in on the ground floor...
.
Coming Sunday – a 11 in 07 update; the new lilies for spring part two (the gals); Sugababes acoustic stylee; maybe some stuff on our night out...
Coming Monday – thezapping record company project single of the week; singles selected committee; part one of a five part maroon 5 retrospecticus...