thezapping ~ a popculture magazine blog

2008-03-24T00:02:00.000Z

http://myfizzypop.blogspot.com

stand by to be stunned... ;)

2007-02-28T06:48:00.000Z

THE ALL NEW ZAPPING...

the end of the zap as we know it (and one year old!!)

2007-02-26T19:31:00.000Z

Sigh. Doesn't time fly when you are having fun. One year ago, I decided to stop bugging my friends with emails filled with pop culture references and music recommendations and create my own blog. And i did. It was originally called Zappin' It To Ya and my first few months of posts went by with minimal comments and were about the length of where you are up to now :) Haha. And that's me in Feb 06, above. My hair was slightly out of control, but the edges of good fashion sense were still there. And a lot happened in the past year with this blog - it went from Zapping It To Ya to The Zapping to thezapping and 3 template changes. It went from posting an inordinate amount of illegal mp3s (and having lots of readers) to phasing out the downloads and the readership stabilising somewhat into what i like to think is a loyal band of followers. I shared my obsessions and watched them become cultural phenomenons. I made some terrific friends, some terrific music choices and some not so terrific music choices. I gave fashion tips and let you peek into the world of my parties and holidays. And I have to say I've absolutely loved doing it :) It's never seemed like a chore and I amaze myself that i come up with new crap, er, i mean words of sparkling marviosity on a daily basis! Here are some of the highlights...

~ One of the first bands I wrote about was The Feeling. Sewn was getting the airplay but I was still obsessed with their debut single Fill My Little World. Which, by the way, is still my favourite tune of 2006. How exciting that they lived up to their early promise, provided some brilliant Ruthiepoos-Paul evenings out and became a smash hit all round Britain. Huzzah. Plus I got to coin the phrase, Dan Gillespie (Sex)Sells :)

~ Another of my first posts was about my favourite ever book called Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Of course this had become a musical on Broadway several years after I had read and re-read the novel, but I had never seen it and the news that it was coming to England had me all in a tizzy. Til i finally got to see it with dazpanteloons in September and the obsession rating ever since has been higher than ever. In other words, it was marv.

~ Talking of Mr Panteloons, not only did the poor bloke have a serious back operation this year (Slice watch!) but i finally bullied the poor dude into getting hitched. And get hitched we did - for once darren decides to do something he goes for it big style. So decked out in top hat and canes, we did our civil partnership and then had a rip roaring day by partying at the bar where we first met :) Aaah, ain't love grand... As was Barcelona where we pissed off to on our homomoon :)

~ Back to September, I went to see the History Boys touring version with my cultured friend Kirsty. And loved it, came back raved about it and got my first comment from Pinkie ;) Kirsty and I became obsessed with la Boys (particularly Ben Barnes as Daykin), went to see the movie (not quite as good but still excellent) and popped down to London to see our lovely touring cast in the west end. Plus Daykin looked like Manning Butts from my school days. Who now looks like Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy...

~ I raved about Deborah Gibson a lot (too much DazPicky would say) who is clearly my fave female artist. However, I never expected my favourite ever boyband, Take That to return and provide such a stunning album ranging from ballads to ELO/Scissor Sisters inspired Mark Owen genius to the usual array of Gary Barlow statesmanly pop. And Never Forget used at the end of Shameless? Genius... McFly also flew the boyband banner and produced their finest album to date...

~ However, I was convinced that the slightly rubbish Eton Road on the X Factor would pull it together and follow take that into a sort of junior version that would lead a boyband revival in Brtain. I was wrong. Despite being the most pop thing about the x factor, Leona Lewis won (snooze) and my boyband dreams were dashed. Or so it would seem. I was just betting on the wrong horse. Digital popped into my world in late October/early November last year with a cover of Blur's Girls and Boys and have just got better and better with each song I hear. Current song I am loving Get Your Kit Off has renewed my hope for boyband goodness in the charts in the very near future. Plus, 2 of them are a little bit RAR. Plus (again!) Dean has the same pair of trousers on as I wore to work today. I am so cutting edge. And equally as important as the music - they are uber likeable. Baz and Dean have been super supportive of thezapping for which i thank them :)

~ Talking of being supportive, i couldn't have imagined the email interactions I would have with Switch22 when i did a little piece on them back in June. I soon wrote lots more about them and the lads did interviews and little pieces themselves for lazap and kept in touch and seemed to follow my progress as much as i did theirs. As hilarious as they are goodlooking and talented, I like to think the "big boi" and "boyo" exitludes to their messages are because of my obvious prowess ;) hahahaha, kidding! It's the interactions from the popstars of tomorrow like S22 and Digital that have made this such an exciting venture for me :)

~ But none have inspired me more than young Simon (and that's no disrespect to Digital, S22 or any of my 11 in 07 as i love all their music). More than anyone Simon Curtis seemed to be producing music that mirrored the pop music i longed for in my head. Along with Jadion (his producer), i made contact and i soon became a convert to the Alter Boy cause and take every opportunity to promote his music for nigh on 9 months now. I'm convinced that Simon will be a huge star very soon and again, he has been most generous with his time for thezapping and in random correspondence that shoots back and forth when we have free moments!

~ so that's it for thezapping as you know it. Of course not much will change, the layout will be radically different, but the words and passion will be the same. Oh! I'll have some fun new features including "the ten questions thezapping asks everyone" (ranging from new stars Limited Edition to Candy Coated Chaos (formerly Bliss) to Ben Adams!) some celebrity blogs and all my usual stuff. And before that all happens I hope you'll all come with me to the new zapping experience and tell your friends, because more than anything, your comments and kind emails have been so much fun to read and respond to :) See you Wednesday!

pictures are worth a thousand words...

2007-02-25T13:36:00.000Z

Remember when Steps ruled the charts? And Blue were just shooting up the top ten with classics like Fly By and um, some of their other classics? Watching Dancing On Ice last night was just like the year 2000. Duncan from Blue had tamed his hair somewhat and did quite a good little skate. Lisa Scott Hyphen Lee was busy being as competitive as ever and did quite a good little skate. So it makes me worry about my hope and faith in the future of pop that both these former shining stars of pop were in the bottom two last night. The whole reason for my website's existence is to bring pop back to the charts, (well not it's whole raison d'etre - i have fashion and musicals and books and "witty" commentary!) and it was a little disheartening that the popstars of the show were being beaten by a comedy star, a rugby player and a soccer player (though to be honest, they were all uniformly excellent). But then I realised - that era of pop is over and we are entering a new era of pop music. Plus the desperation pouring Lisa Scott Lee makes her fairly unlikeable. Anyway, I still have high hopes for new pop to come roaring back in 2007, particularly with acts like Simon, Digital and Switch 22 all making amazing music that is just ridiculously catchy, pays the right amount of respect to pop gone by and is innovative enough to move us forward. Marv. PS - i may have been a little delirious when I wrote this. I was watching the Christmas episode of season 4 Lois and Clark and eating half a block of Edam Cheese...

THE UNIVERSAL SWITCH:

One act I have written fairly regularly about, despite a lack of output in the past year, is my lovely Maroon 5. And btw, doesn't Adam look good in a suit. Rar, etc. Anyway, news continues to trickle through that Maroon 5's return to the world stage is imminent, and not before time too. In the December issue of Blender, Adam discussed how he was ready to premiere new music as he could "play This Love bound and gagged" (something the kinky side of me would quite like to see ;) ). Then on Billboard this week, it was announced that their record label Octone is moving to Universal and the new album will be one of the first releases. No date set just yet, but surely it can't be far away. First single will be Makes Me Wonder followed by the sophomore set It Won't Be Soon Before Long. Apparently more danceable than Songs About Jane, with harder beats and some mellow moments. Me, i'm just eager to see Adam and the boys back in the charts and back on the stage...I'll keep you updated :)

LINK: Maroon 5 official website

THE FILL THE GAP BIT:

While I was down in London last week with work (and thus ensuring I wasn't able to go to popshow - yes i'm still harping on about that - and missed the Indigo Girls with Ruthiepoos) I decided to cheer myself up with a visit to the Gap which had an amazing sale on. My good friend Cat used to work at the Gap and she and I totally agree that it is one of the best places to go to stock up on the basics that enhance and complete your wardrobe. Not only do they have amazing ad campaigns (2 Christmasses ago, the boys at the gap in Birmingham wore nothing but gap boxers and scarves to advertise their new underwear and accessories range. RAR!), but you can always get something that makes you look incredibly smart for work, and that you can gussy up and make yourself look cutting edge cool by mixing with other brands. I stuck to some good solid basic stuff - new boxers, some stunning PJ bottoms, a surprisingly cool pair of cargos and a jaunty little wool hat. Granted I'm not as RAR as some of the models in biege above, but I certainly fill a little foxy in my new togs :)

LINK: The Gap website

THE POPPOSTERGIRL INSPIRED POP:

Along with a plethora of other quality blogs (XO, Chartrigger, Robopop, Pinkie, Digital Technique, Slippy Disco, both Dans, etc.) I visit Poppostergirl daily to see what words of wisdom she has up her sleeve for me. Being quite enigmatic adds to her mystery and I often call her google girl or veronica mars for her ability to mine quality pop from every conceivable country and in every conceivable language. Apart from keeping an eye on BWO, I've never paid attention to Melodifestivalen or whatever it's called but this year, i've lived it vicariously through PPG and fallen in love with the following three songs...

~ Mans, Cara Mia: PPG likes the boy (eye) candy almost as much as I do - maybe more. So i have to thank her for bringing the visually quite pleasing Mans into my peripheral vision. Not only is he a little bit RAR, but he can turn a song with a title as potentially dodgy as this one into a storming piece of classic europop that is almost as equally delicious as he is. I haven't heard much else from the fella, but hopefully he will continue in such an edible direction...
~ Magnus, Live Forever: Anything that pays such homage to the amazing sound of A-Ha has got to be pretty special. In fact if you put this in a mash up with the A1 version of Take On Me, it would probably be a pretty seamless transition. Now this is the sort of pop that i miss with an aching passion. Plus I am still pretty enamoured with his Christmas swedish album and can't wait to hear some more English Language stuff from the dude :)

~ Andreas, Move: Now i've finally stopped spinning his Lovegun ( :O ) I can move on this inspiring little piece. Less europop than the two above, this is like a male version of Emma Bunton's Free Me album, simmered with some Cathy Dennis Am I The Kinda Girl songs and flambayed with some early Abba tunes. In other words, it's pretty darn marvelous. I could eat it for breakfast. But i just had my marks and spencers croissants, so i'll pass...

LINK: Check out PPG's site for some downloads of these fab tunes...

THE MAGAZINES WE LOVE:

~ Details: It has to be the gayest straight magazine in the entire universe. It always has blokes i mostly would like to add to my "famous five" list (currently populated by this dude above, McDreamy and some others...) and they have ace fashion tips plus the gay or.... feature on the back page is always a hoot!

~ Instinct: I don't get to read this very often as it's quite hard to get in Angleterre, but I always pick it up when I see it. It's like a slightly more refined AXM magazine without the pages and pages of pervy yet hilarious phonelines ("gagging for a shag with a chav") at the back. Plus a homes and fashion issue? RAR!!!! It's like it was written for me:)

~ Radio Times: Now I am over Heat, I can pick up the RT with the rest of middle England and delight in a cover that isn't "skinny celebs put on weight" or "jade jade jade". Plus Simon and I think that in the right light David Tennant is a little more than a "lanky string of piss" as he once described himself. Darren vehemently disagrees and judges me ;)

QUICK PICS/BLOG WATCH:

~ Ooo lucky americans get a full dvd boxset of Robin Hood (also on my "famous five" list) which will probably also come out in England. I have been buying the "bit by bit" sets which I am sure I will regret when this released :(

~ This is some dude from that Skins drama on E4 from the writer of Shameless. I haven't watched it yet, but will find time to do so shortly. Anyway I was talking to Baz from Digital yesterday and recommended he pass this pic onto Ross (their stylist) for their next photoshoot... PS, I'm pretty sure that Dean was wearing the same trousers as I own from Gap at popshow last week!

~ Finally this is one of Kylie's backing dancers. Apparently, shorts made out of binbags are fashionable. I know what I am wearing to work tomorrow.

Coming soon ~ the last zapping post as we know it. Sniffle...

nothing matters and knowing nothing matters...

2007-02-23T07:27:00.000Z

Bon Vendredi to one and all. I am absolutely worn out this week - i'm not tired/sleepy, I am just tired exhausted need to recooperate. I really got into the swing of things with work this week, but at the cost of ever sitting down for a minute. Still, I am so looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation this very weekend. Which is right here right now. Huzzah for the weekender inventor. Darren is doing his yummy hip enhancing (and hips don't lie) beef lasagne this weekend and I look forward to having him inside me. Er, I mean it. It inside me. Then we are going to have a mammoth lounging session catchingup on Shameless and Lost, while I flick through a whole bunch of magazines i've yet to read (including the soon to feature me new look Gay Times!) Plus I changed the bed sheets this morning - i love new bed sheets day. It always seems to crisp and luxurious when you get into it of the night. Which was quite appalling English but what are you going to do. Moving the mouse cursor backwards to delete and change is such an effort. OH! I tell you what else was an effort today... not throwing up on the way to work when some cheap skank walking alongside me answered her phone and after hello, the first words she spaketh were "oh for fucks sake, it was not a fanny fart". And we are talking front bum fanny here not rear end like what it is in America, etc. I mean honestly, who knew such things existed (though she did have a wicked camels toe) and secondly, it's not really what one wants to hear when one is eating a museli bar for breakfast, is it? And it definitely put me off the offer of a Cadbury's Creme Egg at lunchtime. Spew! PS ~ I'm the size of a small house at the moment, so must type faster to work off some excess calories...
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THE A-LIST ACTS WITH B-LIST SINGLES:
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Yes, i'm back to harping on about how rubbish singles choices often are when made by the record company. Though probably sometimes the band as well, no doubt. Not the band No Doubt that is, it was just an expression. But sometimes rubbish singles choices are saved by ooo kiss me and roger me twice level b-sides (ie, very good). Let's look at a couple of acts I have the passions for (did you know that soap is being cancelled?! I am agog, I am aghast) - one musically and visually, and the other, well obviously it's just the music...
~ The Feeling, Rose: I mean, yes there is hardly any filler on their album which means they could have released something much more marvelous for Valentines Day. I Want You Now practically sizzled with lust and harmonised longing, while Strange could have appealed to everyone who didn't have a date (that was mean). Both better songs commercially and after all Rose is currently languishing at 38. Granted it is from a multi platinum selling album, but 38? Luckily I have been utterly seduced by the studio version of Fill My Little Fanfare which opens their live shows and is a cunning stunt of a song, which couldn't sound any more Beach Boys-esque if Brian Wilson were in the house. Dan's original version of Sewn (demo) is still charming in a rough round the edges way (RAR) and an acoustic version of Rose almost made me forget what an amazing album track but rubbish single it is. So The Feeling are forgiven. As long as they don't spend too long recording their second album (Maroon 5, I'm glaring at you!)
~ Magic Numbers, This Is A Song: My initial feeling was that this wasn't a great choice for single, but i have proved myself wrong because it is indeed very good, if nothing new from my fave richard bacon insultees. However, the b-side Might As Well Live In My Head just proves their ability to knock out an amazingly catchy tune quicker than they can snarfle down a plate of low fat donuts. I love the way they can put bitter sweet lyrics to such uptempo tunes that Ruthiepoos and I worship so much in the summer festivals. It just makes me want to falalalala all weekend long!
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LINK: Buy Rose
LINK: Buy This Is A Song
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THE GIRLS I IGNORED THAT I AM NOW FLIRTING WITH:
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All of a sudden there is a spunkage of girls returning to the pop scene with songs that are not too bad actually. For some reason at some point I made a conscious decision that actually having let me down with follow up material, I wasn't going to bother again with any of the three Sheilas below. But hey, here I am declaring them on my radar again - on a trial basis mind you. Lets not get too generous...
~ Natasha Bedingfield, I Wanna Have Your Babies: Her forthcoming album cover looks like something Sophie Ellis Bextor might poo out when she is bored, yet once again la Nat has won me over with her lead off single. First time round it was Single which suggested she was going to be a bit of a funky dance diva, but then she wasn't and god forbid I look for or reward diversity so I buggered off. However, this song, I do quite like. It's a bit twee, but it has a lovely singalong quality to it and the title is nothing if not unique. So she scores a "i'm mildly interested to see what the album will be like" from me and I move onto the next lass...
~ Joss Stone, Tell Me About It: I generally have quite loathed the stone. At first she was all cover versions and annoying. Then she was just annoying with that "you had me you lost me you found me, you sold me you made me messing with my mind" cack, which actually (don't tell Ruthiepoos) I secretly like. Then she did the whole "oh those first two albums aren't really me - this is me" thing for this single which is a bit of a slap in the knickers to all those people who bought her first albums isn't it? And to be honest, I can't tell the difference so I must be getting more tolerant in my old age as I didn't immediately kick this to the curb. I am getting marvelous!
~ Macy Gray, Finally Make Me Happy: Now this i love! It's so Macy doing something new but still reminding us of how good Still and I Try were. It's not that i shut Macy out of my life, more like I lost track of her and her ego and her hair with it's own post/zipcode but I am glad to have her back. For coffee and a bagel at least. I think it's fair to say that this song struts along with attitude, pep mixed with a certain charm that is hard to resist. I'm scared to rave too much about it incase Ella judges me ;) It does go on a bit at the end though!
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LINK: you may find songs from these artists at other sites - particularly here, here and here
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THE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE:
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I thought maybe my obsession with all things Wicked would be over by now. Or at least have calmed down a little bit. It hasn't. And it seems just 5 months after opening, most of Britain has seen it too - from celebs like half of Girls Aloud, Gary Barlow, William Young, the History Boys to regular theatre goers, it's racked up a whopping £12.5 million in box office receipts (though paid out a corking £50,000 a week to Idina Menzel) and continues to have only crap seats available for ages. And Bev from Corrie is now going to play Madam Morrible. Lumme! It's the music that tells the story that still has me coming back for me everytime. I just discovered some piano only versions of the songs that are just so intricate and lovely, it's hard not to fall in love with this outstanding piece of work all over again. Plus it motivates me to keep practising piano so I can sound as amazing as this. As Long As You're Mine sounds so yearning and powerful as a piano solo, and Popular just sounds positively tingly. So, adding to the list of things i'm obsessed with (Lois and Clark; Beauty and The Beast; Love, Actually; Harry Potter) means I have more stuff to rotate revisiting on a regular basis. When will i get time for new stuff?!?!?!
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LINK: Wicked the musical website
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ only one today. The last four minutes of Season four of Shameless were stunningly done and a joy for any take that fan. Sure it was a "shameless" rip off of this, but who cares. I'm going to watch it all over again. Here.
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Coming tomorrow ~ some swedish dudes, some fashion stuff, and news on the last zapping post as we know it. Sob, etc.

i must have gone to bed around a quarter after nine...

2007-02-22T15:35:00.000Z

Hello gang! I can't believe how busy and tired I have been with work this week. But it's been in an enjoyable way and i'm really starting to feel at home there now, so it's all good. The only downside has been missing out on some great opportunities - no pop show for me, hence no interview (yet) with Beyond, no hanging out with Digital and no coffee with Switch22 :( Then tonight I was given the opportunity to go see zapping fave Scott Ashley but couldn't go again due to finishing off work stuff. It's exciting to be given opportunities like this but kinda sad that i am missing out :( Oh well, that's life. I will just need to finish my novel, get it published and retire to do writing and blogging full time ;) Still, it should quieten down a bit at work now I am (as Madonna once said) into the groove of it all. This weekend I will be getting the all new zapping website ready and giving a few of you a sneaky peek at the finished product. Ooo you lucky souls! Anyway, gotta get this up and posted so will stop yacking and let you carry on you lovely people :)
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THE ONE WHERE PAUL LETS RUTHIEPOOS BE ON TOP:
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Mine (Ruthypoos) and Lou's night with the Indigo Girls (and many many other lesbians!) started beatifully with Katherine Feeney who is not only visually pleasing but has a haunting voice and interesting tunes which compliment her style perfectly. A great opening act whom I'm afraid i have to skip over in order to try and demonstrate how awsome the Indigo Girls were! First a quick apology to Paul who was my intended 'date' for this gig I did miss you gig buddy and boo to work for making you unable to go - may it never happen again!! That said it was wonderful to be at a gig in a heterosexual venue and still feel totally able to snuggle with your woman! Add to this the amazing talents of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers and you have a night made in heaven! To say the guitar playing was out of this world would leave me short of an analogy to use to describe the vocal harmonies - suffice to say their CD's sound fabulous - live they defy my vocabulary - (although I'm sure Paul with his eloquence could have found words!) They played a very varied set (off about 26 songs) mixing songs from deep in their past with more recent songs and a lovely mix from their new album. I think the most memorable songs for me were Moment of Forgiveness, Power of Two, Closer to fine, Fill it up again, I believe in Love, Little Perrenials and a lovely lively medley of 2 songs, one of which I think is called Have you ever been Lonely? and the other I didn't know but they gelled together magnificently. Having highlighted but a few i must stress that every single song was spine tinglingly good. The Indigo Girls are very much at home with their performance skills and their audiences which made for interesting and perfectly timed mid song banter, such as one of them saying "it's kinda small in here I feel like we're playing in a bar" and the woman standing next to me shouted out "you are!" causing much hilarity and a good natured "ha that explains it then" response! Another classic moment was Amy forgetting a verse to a song - apologising and missing out the verse with such genteel humour that I think she could have got away with forgetting a verse in every song! I guess a review of any Indigo Girls gig has to mention their politics which still run strongly through their songs, I think however that this was perfectly reflected in the openness of everyone at the gig - when me and Lou went to the bar between acts a woman standing next to us offered to 'save our space for us'! Now that doesn't happen everyday! Amnesty International were there with very worthy petitions the details of which can be seen on their website www.amnesty.org.uk/ Finally for their encore the Indigo Girls finished perfectly with two of my favourites In Love with your Ghost and finally a roofraising performance of Galileo! We had an amazing evening which I cannot wait to repeat and I implore the Indigo Girls to return to the UK soon! Just as an end to this gushing review me and Lou were having a sneaky snog in the car when I dropped her off home and pulled apart just in time to see a nosey man passing by walk right into a lampost!! A comical end to an uplifting evening which won't be forgotten in a hurry!
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LINK: Purchase Despite Our Differences
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THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK:
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Remember Drew Seeley in High School Musical? No? Although he actually co-wrote and lent his voice to songs that Zac mimed like Breaking Free and Getcha Head In The Game, he wasn't actually in the film. But no longer is he destined to be the male equivalent of whoever voiced Audrey Hepburn's part in My Fair Lady as he has replaced Zac on the HSM tour that is currently wowing tweens and D'Luv all over the states. It's like the days of Kids From Fame. I went to that tour. I nearly fainted with over stimulation during Hi-Fidelity. But I digress (as I so often do!). A quick google search tells me that Drew was part of a boyband called No Ground who has a cd out in 1999. Brillo, etc. What with Corbin doing more tv movies with record breaking ratings, Ashley and Vanessa doing their own brand of pop and Lucas Grabeel doing er, not much, this is one sensation that looks set to run and run. Drew has a debut album coming out soon and having had a sneaky listen to it, it's got all the r'n'b appeal of Justin Timberlake mixed with some pop sensibilities to make it more accessible. Super dooper.
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LINK: Drew's myspace site
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THE ALWAYS BOYS:
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Aw, my little Erasure. I have to say I mainly got into them because of sitting next to Michelle Gregory in French class aged 16 (around the time of Crackers International) and being totally amazed by her devotion to them. To me they seemed like they were the cooler edge of pop - maybe how Girls Aloud seem now compared to Atomic Kitten. Anyway, I was soon sneaking to concerts in London with Michelle to see them, being addicted to Wild and a little later on being stunned by the musical capabilities in I Say x 3 and the classic Erasure album. Recently I've not been as wowed by their music, though I always find something to enjoy in their most recent projects and am always happy to see them back. Their latest single I Could Fall In Love With You is vintage Erasure ~ plinking pianos, soaring falsetto and their best chorus since the quite amazing Breathe. It's got me all excited for the new album and playing my fave Always lots all over again. Sigh.
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STREAM: Pop over to arjanwrites to stream the single
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Look! It's Ruthiepoos and Lou! And it's Lou's birthday! And we love Lou! But not as much as she loves Ruthiepoos. We don't even mind the fact that they have lezzed it up at our apartment :) Happy birthday Lou! May you have a clitterific day!!
~ Electroqueer has all the goss from popshow. Colour me wicked green with envy!
~ David Tennant looking RAR on the cover of radio times? 98p. Laminating it at work for later enjoyment? Priceless...
~ I got ridiculously confused with this post! I thought Nick had a competition to win some Dragonette stuff. I was wrong :(
~ aw Samuel Hotstuffguy. Not only has he alerted me to a new HSM photo (though he seems a bit off with it. BOO!) he left a nice comment about me being right about how good Simon Curtis is on my myspace. See, never doubt thezapping!
~ I'm very jealous of XO's lamp. And his ability to give me cds of amazing music by Lucky Soul in NYC. Bless him!
~ What with work, i got a bit behind with Poppostergirl, but I am all caught up now and happy to read anything about Gareth Gates.
~ I so need to catch up on my correspondence with Dan this weekend!
~ Can you believe the lovely Bernice only has four myspace friends - and one of them seems to be a skanky scammer! Add her ass now!
~ and stream the always amazing Digital over at my myspace this very week!
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~ coming tomorrow and saturday - some Roberts, some girls i didn't think i liked but now i do, some fashion, some b-sides that i prefer to current a sides, and possibly some other stuff. See you around!

1-555-Confess

2007-02-20T19:40:00.000Z

Today was destined to be a bad day. First of all, I was due to be in London for two days and I was going to be able to go to the popshow event that is on probably right now. With so many acts that I have big-upped that it seems very unfair that I am not there :( Then this was cut down to one day in London and an early start in Manchester tomorrow. So no overnight stay or opportunity to go to popshow. And I was hoping to have a bit of shopping time in London before I got my train home, but no! My meetings finished around one - and then i got a call from head office asking if I could work on something urgently for them, and I felt too new in the job to say no :( So no shopping/coffee in starbucks either. BOO!! Oh well, i am still loving my new gay class merc and I am excited that I get to give it a good run up to Manchester tomorrow! Hurrah! And i can blast new music in the car and use my sat nav. Darren and I have got all technological this weekend - we finally got our wireless connection set up around the apartment, we both have sat. navs for the cars and we got a laptop so I can blog in any room in the house :) Hurrah. Note to self. Must stop spending money... Anyway, todays post has a slightly religious theme, but not necessarily about religion. Just go with it - it's still packed with pop goodness!!
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THE TIME TO CONFESS:
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In about two hours flat, I completed the amazing book "Confessions of a Mormon Boy" by Stephen Fales. Actually to call it a book is an understatement. It's more of an experience and is also a play that is currently doing a very successful run in LA. In many ways Stephen and my upbringing are mirrored. We were both good little Mormon boys, serving the church as we should, raised by devoted families and struggling to come to terms with being gay and reconciling that with religious teachings. Stephen went a lot further in his devotion than I did by serving a full two year mission, getting married and having children before realising he couldn't live this lie any longer. Moving to NYC and become a high paid escort probably weren't part of his plan, but what makes the book so engrossing is the very human way Stephen deals with wanting to be part of his family's life still and also trying to hold onto the values of his youth and upbringing. Very touching and quite similar to the interview I have done for Gay Times that will be out in a month or so. I am hoping the play will come to London this year so I can revel in new words like oxy-mormon and mormosexual. And I am SO going to try wearing a BYU (Brigham Young University) t shirt next time I am out and see if it has the same effect as it does on an often chatted up Stephen! Truly a book that made me smile and cry at the same time... .
LINK: Mormon Boy website
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THE OTHER CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY:
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Reading Stephen Fales book reminded to dig out that other great mormon story - Latter Days. A story of a sexually confused mormon missionary who meets a party animal out gay bloke and takes a bit of a fancy to him. The story deals with many interpersonal issues that aren't at all limited to gay life and would cross boundaries to mixed religious marriages and differing moral values. However, the exploration of religious issues in same sex relationships is handled incredibly well and the main cast give incredibly nuanced performances that lend the story heart and soul. Jacqueline Bisset as the motherly restaurant owner has the most amazing line of the whole piece when she is discussing with Aaron (the mormon missionary) the rules of his church and says " so your church forbids drinking of alcohol and doesn't like gays? Frankly i can't imagine heaven without either." Ultimately the story is about the amazing transformational power of love and how sometimes, just sometimes, you can create your own family when yours rejects you. I'd be most interested in hearing what Stephen Fales made of this story...
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LINK: Purchase the Latter Days dvd
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THE RETURN OF THE ALTAR BOYZ:
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I know I only wrote about the altar boyz off broadway show a couple of weeks ago, but since then I have really gotten into their soundtrack and am enjoying it immensely. Plus it fits nicely with the theme of todays post. The idea for the show - an out and proud Christian boyband with it's stereotypical characters (honestly throw in a eskimo and you would have a full set) - could easily have been a one trick pony, but is actually a life affirming examination of friendship and a brilliant music satire all wrapped up into one fine package. In fact the cd is presented as an album by the fictitious band, complete with corny in character liner notes - there is little to identify it as a soundtrack to a stage show and could easily be misclassified in shops! The musical style is catchy pop/rock and contains some of the most cheesy yet hilarious lyrics this side of an adroit Simpsons musical number. An utter delight from start to finish, one can only hope that this is another show that makes it over to England...
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LINK: The Altar Boyz website
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THE RETURN OF THE ALTER BOY:
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Ooo. Another piece on Simon Curtis. Well he is my top tip for 2007. And he has a few songs on his forthcoming album that fit nicely with the religious theme of todays post. Simon grew up in what is commonly known as the Bible Belt of America and in his song Religion Reduced tackles some of the issues around organised religion and the actual chaos/hurt/distress it can cause. I particularly like the way the song starts off with some sinister sounding synth strings and a choir-esque voice bringing the song in (I'm a firm believer in the fact that a song is enhanced if the music mirrors the lyrics). It's clear that Simon feels organised religion is far from the idea of how spirituality should be and for me the fact entire groups of people can be excluded for who they chose to love is astonishing. Insightful lyrics like "you're no better than the bible belt/make a mockery of things I have felt" and "history has been proven to repeat itself/ignorance can lead to hate so educate yourself/forcing other eyes to comprehend your vision/i think we'd all be better off without religion" utterly enforce the need to look at the ways people worship and how many things happen in this world that are as far removed from God's will as can be, yet are done so in His name. Jadion said in a recent interview that Simon is a lyrical genius and he certainly is. Pop so needs someone who tackles weighty issues with conviction and not just for shock factor. I get something new from his music every time i listen to it. Stunning.

EDIT (22/02/2007) ~ Jadion emailed me with some slight corrections that i'm sure he won't mind me sharing "You didn't quote the whole line, it is "Kaballah you're no better than the bible belt;make a mockery of deeper things that I have felt". This song deals with all the FAD religions like Kaballah and Scientology as well as the hipocrisy of the hard core bible belt Christians and the utter insanity of the murderous Muslims who are hell bent on taking over the world SOLELY because of their religion, not because of ANYTHING the USA or Britain did. The psycho left wing liberalism in the west and northeast of America is JUST AS BAD AND JUST AS HIPOCRITICAL as the right wing bible thumpers, the left wingers too are a religion. The message of this song is basically, Spirituality is a relationship between man and God... RELIGION is a relationship between man and MAN." Thanks as always for the input :)
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QUICK (PHOTO) BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ I've been loving the homohollyoaks storyline with genius lines like "I'm not homophobian" (better than when some guy on a documentary went "I'm not racist, so i don't mind gays"). And they scrub up well for the photoshoot in the top pic. However, even the sign on the wall seems to be against them in the pic below it...

~ Is this the cover for the Feeling's american album release? Am so disappointed if so. I love the quirkiness of their UK releases...
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~ Is that a phone in his pocket or is Jakeypoos just happy to see me. Please god, let him be happy to see me. Or my good ami Simon!
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Coming Thursday - yes dudes, I am taking tomorrow off as have a very long day at work. I might get something up so check anyway! If not will have some yummy goodness for you on Thurs involving some Roberts...

the gay class merc!

2007-02-19T06:51:00.000Z

Hello dudes! I have returned from a brief break from blogging (very brief!). I don't know what happened to me this weekend - i got home from a really good day at work on Friday and was far too tired to do anything. Then on Saturday I just wasn't in the mood to do anything, and I was kind of in a mood too, though for the life of me I couldn't work out why. And not knowing why I was in a mood made it almost impossible to shake the mood. So DazPatient and I decided to go out with some friends on the evening and despite us both looking dazzling (!) it was just hell. For me. Darren had an amazing time. By midnight I decided I definitely couldn't get into the mood and went home. My lovely little D walked me home before returning for a boogie. And Sunday was just irritating! I was just tired and moody all day, though miraculously I didn't take it out on Darren. And then our vacuum cleaner blew up :O So we had to go and buy a swanky new cleaner and spunked far too much money on it. And how co-inky-dinky! Dan also got a new hoover this weekend. I swear we are kindred spirits! Finally the evening rolled around and Ruthiepoos and I went to see The Feeling in concert (see below) which really snapped me out of my melancholy! And picking my car today was a big cheer up for me as well :) Huzzah. I guess sometimes we just need a "wallow weekend" of self pity... So I already have ideas for todays, tomorrow and Wednesdays post - and don't forget next week, all new thezapping launches. You know you are all love weeing and lady love weeing at the thought...
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THE FOURTH TIME FEELING:
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Ruthiepoos and I have now seen the marvelous Feeling 4 times in 12 months. And each time has been truly magnificent. They were one of the first bands I championed on this blog and it was a real thrill to see lots of other people start to appreciate their music in the blogging world, and the band proved to be a huge success in England and Europe (I'm pretty sure America is beckoning!). The set list was exactly the same as when we saw them late last year, with one exception, yet it was still an exciting and energetic performance. Here are some highlights:
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~ the concert was in Wolverhampton (how alienhits ;) ) so Ruthiepoos drove us there and I navigated. Rather brilliantly as well.
~ I decided to pay homage to Dan Gillespie (Sex)Sells by wearing a cool white shirt, sleeves rolled up and a waistcoat. I looked amazing, natch ;)
~ the line for the booze was amazingly long. We passed the time by judging other people in our minds which is always fun. There was an enormously large woman in a some sort of mumu/cardigan that really made me rub my eyes and doubletake at the horrificness of it all. Trinny and Susannah that woman now!
~ Once we had got our booze (water), we moved into the main hall and some random young ragamuffin asked where i got my waistcoat from, was mostly disinterested in the answer and then said "are you a gay? Is it ok to ask that?" I confirmed that I was indeed "a gay". Sweet Jebus...
~ He then high fived me (presumably for being "a gay" in a waistcoat) which i ashamed to admit i reciprocated. His equally drunk/strung out buddy then lead him away. Probably to experiment with "bumlove"
~ Some posh person in front of us had his v-neck on back to front. We couldn't tell if he was being ironic or not. V necks are not designed to be worn back to front. He looked like he was wearing a fashionable strait jacket.
~ Bring it on haters ~ The Fray were surprisingly good if inoffensive. Highlights of course were How To Save A Life (which they spunked 2 songs too early in my opinion) and Over My Head.
~ Though apart from the guy in the brown shirt, they are ugly as fuck and the lead singer was wearing a baggy illfitting t-shirt. Which just won't cut it when you are touring with people as effortlessly stylish as The Fee.
~ The girls behind us were ridiculously annoyed that the main show didn't start til nine thirty. One of them had to be up early apparently. Yikes. Poor luv.
~ The concert started off with that amazing Fill My Little World intro from the last concert that leads into the very beach boy-esque and perfectly harmonised I Want You Now.
~ Fill My Little World is still the most amazing song I have heard for years.
~ There is no filler on the feeling album. And they did Join With Us again. Ruthiepoos and I were happy.
~ New addition to the set was an utterly rocking Fat Bottomed Girls cover. Insanely amazing.
~ Dan looked as lovely as ever, but I may have transferred some of my affections to Mr Ellis-Bextor. He has a very adorable floppy fringe/bangs and wore red braces that made me feel gooey downstairs
~ Ruthiepoos and I are now going to see them at some concert in a forest in June. Huzzah.
~ Blue Picadilly is still the most perfect song to end their set on. Ironic too seeing as it is about trains and the last one left for Birmingham about 10 minutes before they played it ;)
~ Je t'adore la feeling.
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LINK: Check out my previous feeling concerts here, here, and here. Marv.
LINK: For gods sake buy 12 Stops and Home if you haven't already!
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THEZAPPING LOVE FOR 11 IN 07 (TOP 3 ACTS)
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Usually I do a nice update for my fine 11 to watch in 2007 on a Sunday. But i was in the midst of my weird depression so I couldn't be bothered. However, one of the things i'm proudest of with this blog is this feature. Not only have most of the acts involved been extremely helpful with keeping me up to date with their news and gossip, as well as giving me sneak previews of music, etc., but they have turned out to be super nice people too. You know who you are!! I've done interviews with Switch22 and Simon Curtis (with more interviews and features coming soon!) and been delighted when other blogs have picked up on the fine music provided by three of the artists in particular - which has been more and more often lately. Electroqueer has picked up on Simon Curtis and Switch22 (and is also partial to a bit of Gavin). Fab new site LostinLimbo has a blog from the super lovely Digital and has highlighted the S22 boys as hot new talent. Digital Technique absolutely raves (RAVES) about the Digital single this week in Singles Selection (below). Will at EyePod loves Simon. It's all rather exciting - and even though it's the music and vitality of the acts that has the word spreading, I can't help but feel i may have contributed ever such a little bit. I can't wait for the word on other acts to start spreading. So thanks to everyone who checked out the music and keep doing so at the link tab at the top of the page.
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THEZAPPING RECORD COMPANY PROJECT WEEK SIX:
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The absolutely smashing Digital boys have recently recorded what may be the perfect debut single - entitled Get your Kit Off. I only wrote about it a few weeks ago so I am just going to recap what I wrote there:
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" And if you think that was good prepare for some spine ting-dingly goodness with Get Your Kitt Off with some inventive electroclash sounds, some essential boyband chanting and some slightly arousing filthy pervy lyrics. The chorus is the sort of tune that will appeal to drunk boys down the pub, gay boys down the club and have teen girls across the country screaming in anticipation for the hopefully half naked oil based video. First single material if ever i heard it. PS - the club mix ups the ante to the nth degree and reminds me of the very best of 5ive, Girls Aloud and V all on one single. RAR indeed!!"
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But don't just take my word for it - the marv Dave at Digital Technique has this to say...
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"This is what pop music in 2007 is supposed to sound like! Haven't stopped listening to this all week, it is absolutely 100% pure pop brilliance!! Can you guess I quite liked it! Surely they must be one of the biggest pop acts by the end of this year - if not then there is no justice! Although it is only February, I am quite confident in saying that this will feature highly in my top 10 of 2007 in December!!"
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STREAM: Get Your Kit Off at Digital's myspace site
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THE SINGLES SELECTION COMMITTEE:

~ Girls Aloud v Sugababes: Walk This Way:
Hmmm. When I first heard this, I thought it was an appalling idea. But I thought I had to cut it some slack as its for charidee, etc. Then I saw the video which made me like it somewhat as it was kind of entertaining. Anyway, it's an ok track but fun enough considering it's meant to be for comic relief. Still, I think that it's somewhat behind the genius of Gareth Gates and McFly's offerings, but a little ahead of Westlife.
NICK (ALIEN HITS): What a bizarre cover to choose for this collaboration. This is an absolute mess to me. Too much going on and the song does not fit either group at all. I'm not a real fan of covers of such popular songs anyway. There should have been a smashing new track for these girls to record together that wasn't so karaoke.
DT: Was a little aprehensive about this song, as love the original and couldn't really see how this could work but I was definitely wrong. Both groups are sounding great and the added bonus is that it is a charity single make it even better! Nice to hear all the members of both groups getting a chance to sing, especially Amelle who has almost knocked Siobhan off as my favourite Sugababe ever!
POPPOSTERGIRL: it's easy to be disappointed by this when you think about the number of great songs both of these groups have given us individually. And when you just listen to the song itself. I love the Aerosmith original, and this version isn't likely to replace it on my iPod any time soon, but I don't think it's bad in an "oh my gosh, what is this sound! I can't stand to listen to it" type of way...it's just not good enough that it's calling out to be listened to. (Side note: everyone who's said "At least it's not Gareth's 'Spirit in the Sky'" is totally wrong--that cover was brilliant!)
~ Jamelia, Window Shopping:
I decided to go with this track over whatever the record company has chosen as the third single because for me this is another great electro-pop track. Plus it is right up there with Switch22's Back To The Dancefloor for brilliant sampling opportunities and makes me smile whenever I listen to it. I may be somewhat alone in this opinion however...
NICK: I am completely behind on the Jamelia obsession thing. I guess it's just because in the US we have SO many singers like this that I really try to avoid them at all costs. This song isn't bad. It's not really my thing (it used to be, though), but it's alright.
DT: Surely any song that can sample a 70's sitcom has to be good! Definitely one of the best songs on Jamelia's latest album, can't see it ever being released as a single, as is probably not the most radio friendly song on the album!
PPG: I had a strange reaction to Walk With Me--the last time I listened to it, I thought, "Oh, that's nice!" but I haven't listened to anything but "Something About You" and "Beware Of The Dog" since October. I can't imagine listening to this song again is going to change it's fate--it's a good song, but I have a feeling I won't end up listening to it again for quite some time. There's no logical reason why--it's got breathing and money-clinging sound effects, which should win it lots of bonus points. Actually, skipping through the album again, "Do Me Wrong" is nice, and "Ain't A Love" is a little behind it...maybe I need to go back and listen to the whole album again?
~ Travis, Closer:
At some point I really need to write about how influential The Man Who album was on my life (and to a lesser extent The Invisible Band). Travis soundtracked my life in a very personal way the year that album was released and i have felt an affinity with them ever since. This track doesn't knock me off my feet but is still an accomplished soft rock tune that is music to my ears.
NICK: Completely under whelmed by this. Travis have never been a very exciting band to me anyway. Like their other stuff, this sounds like a lot of moping, really. It'd be okay I guess on a rainy day, but I would be very annoyed if this was the kind of music my bad played.
DT: Scottish rockers return with a new single after a few years away. I think their position of the nations favourite Scottish band has been well and truly taken over by Franz Ferdinand. Haven't really loved a Travis song since they released Sing back in 2001 and this isn't really changing my opinion, it is a nice enough song but it's not enough to make me rush out and buy their new album when it is released.
~ The Ark, Decorum:
I'll let the others take this one as I can only echo their fine words...
NICK: Well, anyone who reads my blog knows your not going to get an real objective review of The Ark from me. At the risk of sounding like an obsessive fan (wait a minute, I am one!), this band's music is my life. Hands down the best single of the year so far, and the only songs that'll likely challenge it are the Ark's others (such as the equally fantastic glam boogie of The Worrying Kind). The Ark is making the best music on the planet right now. It's not too late to join the ride…
DT: One of my favourite Swedish groups alongside the fantastic Melody Club return with another amazing song! Anyone who has even a passing interest in pop music is sure to love this song, another perfect Summer song! If you've never heard of The Ark then give this song a try, but be prepared to fall in love with it!!
PPG: I'm not going to say much here, because I'm sure Nick will cover the praise, but I do need to say that the Stylus reviewers were totally wrong--this is a very good song indeed. I'm still going to put "Clamour For Glamour," "One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young," and "Calleth You Cometh I" ahead of it (there's something more aggressively catchy about the first two that appeals to my natural music preferences, and "Calleth You Cometh I" might be unbeatable on the epic scale), but given the quality of those songs, that's no insult to "Absolutely No Decorum."
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Thanks once again to the bloggers for their time and comments. Want to take part? Email me here...
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ I wanted to share this email I got from blog reader Mary, who clearly loves Take That as much as I do and wants to take advantage of the new chart rules to get Do What U Like into the top 50 for the first time (tragically it stalled outside the top 75 as their first release back in 1992!)...
"We at the Take That forum (http://bb01.sov.uk.vvhp.net/takethattv/phpBB2/index.php) have a little favour to ask!
We've had a brill idea. Due to the new rules governing chart entries, any song that is down-loadable can get into the top 40 if there are enough bought, so we want to do a little experiment.
Seeing as Do What U Like was the only Take That song not to make the top 50 when it was released we want to get it into the charts to celebrate Take That's triumphant return. We are going to do a mass download between the 19th Feb and 24th Feb.
If Chris Moyles can do it then so can we. It would be great if you could mention it on your blog.
We've emailed radio stations and are spreading the word around the internet (myspace, forums etc) It would be great if a blog like yours could help us out with a mention and help to spread the word!"
Hurrah! So pop on over to your favourite download source and pay 79p for a fun pop track from days of "yore"...
~ This is why Samuelhotstufffiles is better than popjustice. He updates on a Monday and mentions gareth gates who is looking good in a scarf. God bless you sir!
~ i SO need to go shopping with Ella...
~ Will has lots of good music at the "mo". What a super chappie...
~ 11 in 07-er Chris Tolley (formerly of Lockdown) is performing at a charity gig on Wednesday in order to raise money for AIDS research. To book tickets you can email info@christolleyofficial.com stating amount and name address and contact number. I highly recommend going and am looking closely at my calendar to see if i can be there!

Coming Tuesday - a mormon-ish themed post yet still totally about music and stuff ;)

time for a quickie??

2007-02-17T06:01:00.000Z

Hello peeps. It's not like me not to blog so I think you will understand when I say I was sooooo tired yesterday. I had a really long (but ultimately good) day at work yesterday (friday) and by the time I got home, all i wanted to do was collapse on the couch with a dazpanini made Panini and flick through magazines. So i did. And very nice it was too. What's even more pathetic is that I was in bed by ten thirty pm reading a book ;) Ooo, as good charlotte once said "lifestyles of the rich and the famous!!" Except I am not rich. Or famous. Boooo! Anyway, just a quick post today to get a few things up and out there i've been meaning to post for a while. And finally got around to! Hurrah for me, etc. (PS back to normal on Sunday!!)

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL:

Huzzah! It's the 67th birthday of Gillian Margaret Winifred Millward Reynolds today and she is as an amazing mother as you could ever wish to have. Quite comfortable with words like "bum love" and "jizz", she also has undying love for Robbie Williams and William Young. So clearly we get along. Plus I've never seen anyone who can eat so many jaffa cakes and still not be 20 stone! Happy Birthday mom!!

THE FREE DOWNLOAD:

Honestly, if you haven't read my continuing raves about Simon Curtis being the most exciting thing to happen to pop in ages then you need to click the tab with his name at the top of this page :) And if you click the picture above you will get a guilt free mp3 of a sampler of 4 top tracks from his forthcoming Alter Boy cd. So if you didn't download it when it was posted a few weeks ago, make sure you do it now!!

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK:

~ Lost in Limbo: Above is the launch promo for new pop website Lost in Limbo that celebrates forgotten pop acts and seeks out the best new ones. It's bound to be good as it has a blog from thezapping faves Digital and a pod from thezapping hottie Robert O'Connor. Rar. Matt who runs the site is a bit of a web genius so I am slightly jealous at how amazing it all looks :) It launches today so make sure you book mark it and continue to check it out!

~ Leon is a long time thezapping reader who has just created a new blog called Slippy Disco and most amazing it is too. I love it when readers feel inspired to write about the music they love and you can be sure i will be checking out this site on a regular basis.

~ Finally there is a rebranded Digital Technique up and about with all the same magnificence as usual. DT contributes to thezapping singles selections committee and is jolly good at it too. It's nice to find someone who is constantly as excited by new pop :)

Check out the spin off blog for some new music from Erasure, Travis, Sophie EB, Natasha Bedingfield and more...

i've got rhythm, music too...

2007-02-15T07:15:00.000Z

So how was Love Day for everybody? Super marv one hopes?! Ours was pretty good, we had quite the lovely evening and it was most pleasant. We were both very tired when we got home and I have been yawning at work all the live long day. As I type this with my 30 minute timer next to me, I am hoping that some inspiration will strike to the very heart of me as at the moment I have no idea what I am going to blog about. Next week won’t be so bad, as it will be the test run for the new website, so I now have set things planned for set days that will still be spontaneous and fun in a non-oxymoron type way. Huzzah! No one was in at work today so i sat in my office all alone like a big loner on their own at loner camp. It was not great, though i did get a lot done. And I ate some malteasers to ease the hurt ;) Yummers! It certainly feels like Friday today, and indeed it may well be when you are reading this, but for me it is actually Thursday when I am typing this so boo ya to you! Which means tomorrow (ie Friday not Saturday if you are reading this on Friday) will be crap at work because it will feel like Saturday. Got that? Ooo yesterday (Wednesday for those keeping track!) the most weird but funny thing happened on the way home. I was at the crossing about to cross the road with a couple of other people, when a car went speeding through the crossing nearly knocking one poor lass down. The driver then got stuck in traffic about 50m away or so, so the nearly knocked down lass picked something up and threw it at the car. She had a good arm too because it cracked the back window. The driver got out and screamed “you stupid bitch” to which the stupid bitch yelled “stopped now haven’t you” and ran away. Aaah the drama...
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THE ROMANTIC MOVIE DATE:
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After a delicious meal last night, and some comedy shopping where Darren was kind enough to model some chavvy yellow hats with matching clutch man bags, we hopped off to the cinema to see Hot Fuzz – a new police comedy with those two dudes from Shaun Of The Dead (which was rather good rom-zom-com). It was in the tiniest cinema screen ever – seriously, even Asda-Walmart sell bigger screens than that – and because it’s a listed building the seats are the most uncomfortable ever. Plus it was packed so i couldn’t even spread out like i usually do. But the film was quite good actually – stylistically it’s very similar to Shaun just in terms of how some of the sequencing of shots is done, etc. Simon Pegg did a great job of his dedicated fish out of water policeman while the murder mystery storyline resolution wasn’t as obvious as it first seemed, though was a little League of Gentlemen-ish! There were some great laugh out loud scenes particularly with the female police officer who turned everything into a smutty innuendo (now that’s my type of girl!) and a scene where Nick Frost runs away all hurt and rejected with a great big stuffed bear under his arm. Hehe. And obviously it was a far superior way to spend the evening than staying in and watching the shambles/farce/ludicrousnessness that apparently was The Brits. Plus I am fairly excited by the forthcoming Hot Fuzz soundtrack which not only has Adam Ants Goody Two Shoes on it (a song that is desperate for a live lounge makeover by either Kaiser Chiefs or McFly), but a brand new chirpy little song by The Fratellis (Baby Fratelli) whom I am loving more and more by the minute. So what’s the Hot Fuzz? Overall quite an enjoyable package. Which is what i rated Darren later. Fnar fnar, etc.
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LINK: Pre-order the Hot Fuzz soundtrack
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THE MATURATION OF THEZAPPING: .
Don’t worry dudes. I still love my pop and always will. I will still practically jizz on the spot when i hear a great new boyband. I will still learn all the dance moves to the latest Kylie number in my aussie bums while standing in the window at home. So it’s all good. But in our fair land we call “indie music” in England (and “college rock” in the USA) there is sometimes a whole lot of pop sensibility to be found in those types of tunes. Since marketed as a “pop group” The Ordinary Boys (with huffy storm off Never Mind The Buzzcocks Preston) have notched up 4 consecutive top ten hits. Kaiser Chiefs have mixed “respect us” rock with pop chorus and scored a massive smash with Ruby. And now there is the View. I was sort of aware of them (indeed I wrote about their Same Jeans earlier in the year) but didn’t really pay too much attention until Mika covered that track, then a lot more attention when they turned in a quite lovely yet equally as poignant reimagining of Paolo Nutini’s Rewind. Lovely. So I thought I would check out their actually quite fine debut album Hats Off To The Busker. Lyrically they are similar to those annoying Arctic Monkeys, but musically they seem more accomplished and that is because they know how to put a bit of pop pizzazz into their tunes. Wasted Little DJ’s, Same Jeans and Skag Trendy are all great sing a long tracks that will be hummed by many come the summer festival season. It’s quite the raw sounding album and a bit more polish would be appreciated by me next time, but overall, i do quite like it :)
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Next up is Britpop “supergroup” The Good The Bad and The Queen comprising of Damon Albarn and some other people... and lets face it, Damon certainly knows how to surround himself with the right people. I decided to check this out when all the reviewers in the Sunday supplements were spunking their love on this and only being luke warm to Mika. I’ll preface by saying I certainly find the Mika album more entertaining, but this is a solid piece of work that is eminently enjoyable. It’s very melancholy and the music matches the lyrics perfectly. It’s bookended by two great tracks that could be rock epics given time – History Song and the closing title track. I did have lots of clever words to describe it, but actually some online reviewer from Sydney did it so much better... “it's the walk along the thames that you love even when you can see the homeless guy freezing almost to death, the taxi cab ride home with the view of the working girls hustling. it's the view out of your window in Elephant and Castle, the pint in the pub where the floor is adhesive and the toilets blocked. it's basically fantastic…” Quite…
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LINK: Purchase The View’s album
LINK: Purchase The Good The Bad and The Queen’s album
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THE BAD MOVIE, GREAT SOUNDTRACK:
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What about Dick Tracy? Dick. That’s an interesting name. My bottom hurts just thinking about it. Nothing like a good spanky. And so on and so forth. Yes, Madonna as Breathless Mahoney was as rubbish as those lyrics seem sitting there all naked and music free. Yet the soundtrack was one of my favourite albums of 1990 and vastly underrated in my opinion. Not only did it provide the groundwork for the magnificent Erotica with its bawdy lyrics tackling sex, love, bondage and remorse, but it provided us with Vogue which at the time was a glittering ball of magnificence. But look beyond that and there are some great tunes to be had also. More was a fantastic little cabaret number about greed; I’m Going Bananas was this crazy little calypso romp; Something To Remember was a torch song of the highest calibre; Sooner or Later was a sinister love song swathed in dark music and the epic Now I’m Following You just defied description. All magnificent. And floating the net now (and maybe for ages, who knows!) is a collection of instrumentals and demos that show these songs in the creation stages and actually just make me love them more. You know what? It was the Rudebox of it’s day! But better :)
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DOWNLOAD: The I’m Breathless demos
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Oooo look, those lovely History Boys (the amazing touring cast) have their own blog now. It’s enough to make you want to kiss the screen ;)
~ Nip over to Chartrigger for J'Ason's usual wry comments about the US top 10 (fave "give taylor a kiss on the way down hon!") and a Milli Vanilli movie :O
~ Electroqueer has a run down of the Brits which i didn't see, it being Valentines night and all, so cheers for the catch up ;) (again it wouldn't let me comment!!)
~ the amazing Nick at Alienhits turned one this week :) Happy birthday dude to one of the best bloggers on the web!

*Bloggers are quite rightly touched by Pinkie's amazing story. It's very sad and very raw and honest. Be sure to check it out and send hugs his way*

oooooo love 2 love u babeeeee....

2007-02-14T04:03:00.000Z

Happy Love Day everyone! Or as one of my friends calls it Singles Discrimination Day. Boooo! Sucking the fun out of love day! The nice picture above comes courtesy of QR Magazine, which is jolly nice of them isn’t it. And scattered around this post are half naked men who got a few quid for posing for some Heat wannabe magazine. Hey it’s all about the love today. I did fairly well myself – some quality snuggling, a humorous yet romantic card, a great new adult book (DazPetula constantly mocks that I read “childrens” books) and OZ Season One on DVD – because nothing says I love you like a male prison drama featuring shivs, man rapes and murder ;) Working today was a bit rubbish though, but again I got lots done and am settling into new job nicely. Rather romantically, I heard the boss on the phone telling his wife “well i saw a dozen red roses in Selfridges yesterday for £150! I love you but i don’t love you that much.” Bless. Although to be fair that is a little bit pricey. Flower sellers must be rolling in pound coins around this time of year. Such an unoriginal gift. Unless you got flowers or gave flowers or are a flower and then I am sure it is probably the thought that counts. Which is a crap way of saying “your gift is worse that a dirty diaper slap around the chops”. Noice. Anyway, I had better “tootle” on as I indeed have lots of zappinglove to spread today. Jammie Dodgers Ahoy! And lots of Valentine’s love and luck to you all...

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THE FIVE NEW MYSPACE ACTS I AM LOVING RIGHT NOW:
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~ Kevin Jon:
Let me tell you, i am all over KJ like a rash this very day. Not only is he rocking the black shirt/white tie look on the background of his myspace, but he has quite good popstar hair too. And! He is from Worcester which is only down the road from me (and where Bernice works!) and cites Deborah Gibson as an influence. Which of course gets you major kudos and respect in the world of thezapping. In fact more people should cite her as an influence. So it’s a good thing the music is also enjoyable – with the highlight being the stomping first single When Fear Gets In The Way. Not only is it pretty inspirational but it mixes a variety of funk, r’n’b and 80s pop influences into the mix without sounding over produced or generic. Kevin has a great voice and a clear love of the people he is influenced by. His sound would go down equally well here and in the States and with some good dance remixes, club domination can’t be far off. His debut album Body Mind and Soul is scheduled for Dec 2007, with the debut single out anytime about now. Hurrah!
. ~ Sean Mac:
Time to add another mac to the mix (following Stewart Mac and Ste Mack). Taking a note out of respected artists like William Young and Brian McKnight, Sean surprised me by having great insightful lyrics wrapped in classic melodies that belie his young years. Doing covers of acts like Indie.Arie certainly help build his image as a credible singer songwriter and a decent photoshoot with Paul Schnaars completes an already impressive package. Tracks like Life is A Game and Unsteady Ground practically sparkle with classic pop potential and it will be certainly interesting to see how young Sean is marketed in the fickle world of throwaway pop, when his sound is anything but.
. ~ Michael Morrison:
What’s not to love about the classic imagery in that picture above? Although people mock Westlife, i completely credit them with bringing ties back into the world of pop. Michael demonstrates how much image is a part of pop – sure it’s the tunes that will keep people coming back for me, but as much as that first song, people want to notice someone – their style, their hair, their individuality. Michael combines these attributes with a fine understanding of the ingredients of a good song and puts this knowledge to good use in songs like Another Day and Wasted Ground. Rather than giving into the “fads” of the moment that will sound dated in six months (Fergie and Gwen, i mean you) Michael produces a selection of songs that transcend genres and make perfect listening whether you need some downtime or you just need an aural hug. Just lovely.
. ~ Daniel Merriweather:
I wrote about young Daniel a while ago when both XO and Poppostergirl were both raving (rightly) about the stunning Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before (an amazing Mark Ronson production). I was contacted by Daniel’s record company who informed me that this song would be Daniel’s debut worldwide single in April and since then, i’ve started taking a lot more notice of this young fella with the amazing voice. He reminds me a little bit of Prince where he fuses funk and pop styles while letting his distinctive voice still stand out. If he continues to work with quality producers, his forthcoming debut album should be an absolute corker...
. ~ Dyyce:
The six boys (Dyyce/dice – get it?) i have also written about before when their myspace site seemed to be in it’s infancy. These new Blue boys in waiting seem to be developing nicely with a nice array of new songs on their myspace that have a great mix of pop, r’n’b, ballads and dance. Plus having six of them gives them something slightly different in the world of boyband pop so I’ll be keeping my eye on them a lot more closely from now on :)
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THE SONGS I DIDN’T KNOW I LOVED:

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I heard two new (to me) songs this week that I hadn’t heard before. Although I had heard of the artists, I’d never taken the time to listen to their music so it didn’t dawn on me who they were at first. I had to sit through the songs waiting for Box television to pop up who these amazing female vocalists were. One was the fine lady you see just above right now – Regina Spektor with her rather gorgeous song, Fidelity. Coming across as a slightly happier and more pop accessible Tori Amos, the song is a beautiful demonstration of how a trilling tune can be soaked in piano edged synth and a unique vocal to produce a happy clapalong tune. I will certainly be checking out her album, Begin To Hope... Next up was Imogen Heap with her album Speak For Yourself and particularly the song Headlock. Again another amazing artist who peppers her music with influences varying from Kate Bush to The Knife style rhythms. Always intruiging and often quite lovely. How I have not come across these ladies before now is just totally ridick...
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LINK: Buy Imogen Heap’s Speak For Yourself
LINK: Buy Regina Spektor’s Begin To Hope
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THE BAND I WANT TO LOVE MORE:
. Sigh. Eton Road. Don’t they look just adorable in a fairly recent photoshoot above? Cheek chuckingly so I would go as far to say on this day of love. Indeed, they were the most interesting thing about the X Factor – yes yes purists will always maintain that Leona had the best voice and she did, but god she is sinfully dull. Yet apart from a few gay club appearances round the country, nothing has happened and Louis Walsh once again shows himself for the twat he really is. So as this is the day of love and love, actually is all around etc., etc. I thought i would put together a debut album of tracks myself for the boys – all of which are cover versions of course but some may be more obscure than others... PS ~ one star means first single in march up to four stars in December for the Christmas release...
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1 – Me, Myself and I (scandal’us cover)*
2 – Shock Your Mama (Debbie Gibson cover)**
3 – One Bad Apple (Osmonds cover)
4 – Fools (V cover)
5 – Room In Your Heart (Living In A Box cover)
6 – ASAP (Bardot cover)
7 – One Night In Bangkok (from Chess)***
8 – Liquid Dreams (O-Town cover)
9 – He Is Your Brother (Abba cover)
10 – Hands to Heaven (Breathe cover)****
11 – (bonus track) Beatles medley
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No quick bitz today! .
Coming tomorrow ~ haven’t decided yet, but you can be sure it will be bloody bonza ripper!

that's no marriage bed, it's a loveless slab of bossiness...

2007-02-13T07:18:00.000Z

Hurrah! The car hunt may be over. I found a really nice one today but it is bloody miles away. Luckily the guy was in Birmingham visiting one of the other branches and bought it round to my office. Most gorgeous it is too, low mileage, sexy soccer mom’s car so all the young husbands will be eyeing me up as I drive around town!! The bloke selling asked if it was for the little woman, and I couldn’t be bothered to explain the laws of bum love so I just told him yes!! He seemed pleased with that answer as he folded the daily mail under his arm. Hehe. Hopefully I will have it fairly soon, and be bombing around town bringing sexy back, etc, etc. Hurrah for Mercedes A Class. RAR! Rest of day has gone fairly well too in terms of work, etc. and dazpants and myself are off out tomorrow night for the day of love. Although we aren’t being particularly romantic as we are off for a meal, a starbucks (hey it must feature in all the major holidays and they do love cookies!) and a film. Hot Fuzz. Which is by the Shaun of the Dead blokes and should be 83% magnificent by my calculations. Which are far too complex to explain in depth here, but i think you get the drift. Oh! And thanks to a change in work plans (grrrr) I will not be able to go to the popshow thingy on the 20th. Anyone who is going and wants to write a report for me, please email me at the usual place. Gutted :O Better get on with the post, je suppose...
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THE CONTINUED GENIUS OF ABC:
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~ Grey’s Anatomy: Creator Shondra Rimes recently claimed she liked people and characters who mess up and then fight for redemption. Something she clearly has experience of in going from the teeth grindingly bad Crossroads to something as intricate and enticing as Grey’s – in fact it’s nothing short of a miracle she pulled it off! And in the post Christmas eps, once again the music is as important as the storyline. It’s fair to say that in 2006, the show propelled the fortunes of How To Save A Life and Chasing Cars. Wrapping the current storylines up in tunes from Peter Bjorn & John (a mix of pop, garage and dance rock) is highly effective – they narrate the unspoken moments yet sound lovely on your Zunes the next day. Not an easy task...
. ~ Ugly Betty: Ugly is indeed and possibly always has been the new beautiful as the madcap zany antics of Betty and the folks at Mode magazine continue to demonstrate. The soap operatics continue and episode 13 where Wilhemena’s cloaked companion was a twist so far left of field it was all deliciously Sunset Beach. Plus in last Thursday’s US episode, there were some gorgeous Christopher Gorham/America Ferrera flirting moments involving a chat about Wicked and another great twist ending. Marv...
. ~ Desperate Housewives: The wedded/divorced/single ladies who lunch of Wisteria Lane continue to shine this season. Marc Cherry has a firm grip this year on the storyline and the Bree-Alma-Orson-Mike-Paul murder mystery storyline is still engrossing and yielding surprises by the second. It’s worth it just to hear Bree say (Big Love style) “I’m not having your first wife live across the road. It’ll be like a mormon slumber party...” Brillo! PS ~ Gabby being stalked/romanced by Zach is comedic genius...
. ~ Brothers and Sisters: Who knew this show had a heart of gold under it’s socio-political exterior? Greg Berlanti of the late lamented Everwood (seriously? One tree Hill renewed instead of that?!) He has upped the relationship quota between the siblings, their partners, the mistress and the mother and even given the gays carte blanche – lingering kisses at makeout point, confused and closeted soap stars and Sally Fields may now be a “faghag”! It doesn’t get any better than this...
. ~ What about Brian? This grown up “Felicity” show doesn’t really have a gimmick but it’s solid storywriting and engaging cast keep me coming back week after week. I’m quite behind as i’ve only watched 3 episodes of season two, but the nuanced performances and cute but not ridiculously so actors are top notch and make this the most loveable gen x-er since Party of Five...
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So all in all a winning line up (mostly) continues on ABC – now lets just hope they don’t fuck up Lost (tho 307 was above average on Weds...)
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THE SONGS THAT SHOULD’VE BEEN AND STILL COULD BE:
. Whenever I have written about songs that are due to become hits again through the magic of cover versions, i’ve always featured a variety of artists. Today, it’s all about the genius of one album that was practically unheard of in England – Sweet Sensation’s Love Child cd. I remember buying it from Esprit Mail Order back in the early 90s after hearing If Wishes Came True on the US Top 40 countdown and deciding that they would no doubt be the next big thing in England. They weren’t. That didn’t matter though as their sophomore album (though only 9 tracks long) was packed with gentle ballads mixed among latino inflected dance numbers. All anonymous enough over here that acts could cover them and not even publicise they are cover versions. I’m going to dole out some key tunes to my 11 in 07 and other acts that are up and coming...
~ If Wishes Came True: A great power ballad all mournful and sad, but with swirling strings and a soaring chorus. Contemporise the production a little bit and you have an aces Christmas tune for a boy band like Billiam or Pacific Avenue. Ah, i can just see the lads running through the pine trees now. And if they are smart they can attach it to some Disney DVD sequel!!
~ Destiny: One of my favourite tracks on the cd and a song so catchy and immense, i’m amazed no one thought to cover it before now. Again, a tiny bit dated but with some fine Jadion production values this could be a stomping Britney-esque club track that would work ideally for a girl group like Bliss. Or even for Britney’s comeback single. Should she ever put her foo away long enough.
~ Each and Every Time: Another uptempo corker that could easily be transformed into a cool slice of electro-millenium pop put in the right hands. If Hilary Duff is serious about her pop career, she should chuck this on her album. Or if they wanted to do something a bit different and daring, with all the resources on hand the X Factor production family could make this into an amazing I’m Your Baby Tonight-esque gem for Leona Lewis.
~ Pleasure And Pain: A darker, more sinister number that could benefit from a sparse production, a pounding beat and a strong voice to carry it off. Throw in a pseudo s&m video and you could have a comeback hit that is dancey enough to appeal to the masses but different enough to cause lots of newspaper controversy – so ideal for Gareth Gates and SO much better than anything on his myspace site currently... (Simon Curtis also could do this, but i think Gareth needs it more ;) )
~ He’ll Never Know: This would be a safe pleasant ballad choice for people like Leona Lewis, Gareth and Shayne Ward. Yawn – girls aloud are always pretty bad at choosing ballads other than Whole Lotta History so they could do something similar sounding to that with this pretty song. Clever production values will keep it a notch above Atomic Kitten status...
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LINK: Purchase Sweet Sensation’s Love Child cd
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THE FUTURE IS NOW:
. Look! On the 21st of this very month, Gay Times becomes GT which is a bit gin and tonic really, but they are probably trying to appeal to a younger audience to help all the escorts advertising at the back of the magazine not get lumbered with old fatties or people who look like Perez Hilton. Ew. I do quite like GT although it’s no attitude, which i of course adore beyond comprehension. So i am looking forward to a make over and lots of new stuff spurting from it’s very jaws. Marv. Be sure to check out the gay times myspace site here. It won’t bite (hard)...
. And look! thezapping (all one word, no capitals) is going all sexy and posh to celebrate it’s one year birthday on the 28th Feb 2007. You will still get all the same marvellous/rubbish ramblings (delete as applicable) but it will be slightly more structured to help me save some time. So there will be a timetable of posts that will be done the same day every week. Probably something like this...
Sunday ~ 11 in 07 updates; chart chat
Monday ~ singles selection committe and thezapping record company project
Tuesday ~ new artists highlight; this week’s fave album
Wednesday ~ pot luck day – anything goes
Thursday ~ those were the days – retrospecticus and songs deserving of another go
Friday ~ something for the weekend recommendations
Saturday ~ round up of my week
Plus lots of other features like celebrity blogs and interviews, theatre watch and something i may never be able to tell you about :) Hopefully you will all stick with me...
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Ruthiepoos and I are off to see The Feeling for the fourth time together in a year on Sunday. And we haven’t even been yet and they are doing some big concerts in forests in June. We are so there...
~ Finally! Dynasty (so much better than Dallas) season two – the season Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter arrived – should be out on dvd in June. Huzzah!
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Coming tomorrow: Love day special!! New artists we love! Music we love! Love we love! And lots of other 14th Feb type things :)

love me, love me say that you love me...

2007-02-12T06:52:00.000Z

Once again i am agog i am aghast (is marius in love at last?) that the weekend has chosen to go by so freaking quickly. And i had no success with my car purchasing - i am far too picky and everything is the wrong colour, or the mileage is too high, or i don't like the sales person, or the showroom smells of pussywillow, etc., etc. So my soccer moms Mercedes A Class car is still not sitting in my possession, but i continue to have a good old look. I was going to have another look yesterday afternoon but i fell asleep instead and didn't even get to finish the B-Flo interview in Q magazine which i have had for over two months now (other magazines i flicked thru ~ nearly typed flicked off to then! :O ~ but not read yet are AXM, Attitude, The Works and Esquire. Good lord). Plus yesterday I realised I have 23 unread books in my cupboard and I keep buying more almost weekly. Life is so busy and fast sometimes, you don't realise how quickly it passes by! Remember when you were young and Christmas took forever to arrive, and birthdays never came? Now it seems to be Christmas every few weeks and I'm getting weeks older by the second (my crows feet are horrific!!). I'm not really sure where i was going with that, other than i think i am still suffering from feeling lack of time, due to having a couple of weeks off work and then starting busy new job! I haven't even looked at Pink! Is The New Blog for days. Oh well, can't complain I suppose. Instead I should just get on with the post and quit whining :)
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THE JADION FACTOR - INTERVIEW:
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I have now done four interviews on this site, with more to come when it relaunches on Feb 28th. First up was the lovely Switch22, then there was Emo Dagger, then a MAMMOTH simon interview and now I have cornered Jadion, his producer, for a natter. It's a very interesting read and a great insight into how the music business works...
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1 ~ it's not often thezapping becomes a fan of a producer, but since discovering Simon, and subsequently Fayden and Bliss, i've really enjoyed your sound. How did you get started in this industry and what are your long term goals?
Well like most producers, I once wanted to be a singer. I ended up having a family and put all that on the back burner so to speak. In 1999, a lot had happened in my life, I lost my first wife to Leukemia. It was then I decided that my dreams had to come true one way or another and after many "blessings in disguise", I decided that perhaps it was best if I went in a producer direction. After many struggles and the help of my best friend (my wife now) I was able to start a studio in Tulsa, OK in 2002 where I lived, and Jadion Music was the name I came up with. Clients started calling me Jadion, so that explains my name. Ever since I started, I have constantly looked to improve my sound being careful not to "bite" off other producers, but use their skills as an influence. My long term goal is to be on a level with Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Babyface, and the newest superproducer Timbaland. I want to rule the charts long term with many artists. There are a lot of engineers out there posing as producers. Their music is technically clean, but it has no distinctive style or art put into it. When you hear the music from the guys above, you KNOW IT. I try to make the same impact. If my song doesn't cause you to have some emotional or physical response, I am not happy and frankly, I have failed to do my job.
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2 ~ can you describe how you work with Simon and how much input you have into the final song for us?
That has really transformed over the last 4 years. At first, Simon was very inexperienced and in retrospect I was too frankly. But it was my studio, so he basically listened to whatever I told him to do haha. As time went on, he got more experienced, more mature. I got better and more knowledgeable about my equipment and songwriting. He began to develop his sound more. 2 or 3 years and many songs later, he and I have it down to a well oiled machine. I almost always come up with the music before anything. 95% of the time the music is almost completely done to the song and Simon will sit down and write to the music in half an hour or so, and we will record it. It takes about 1-2 hours to record the song and about 8 hours in total for me to mix it completely over a period of 2 or 3 days. Recording the song and the general "sound" is my responsibility. It is a producer's role to be the head coach and make the song what it needs to be. Simon knows I do what I do well, so he just puts his input here and there. Much like I do with his lyrics. Occasionally we will disagree. We have both had our diva moments :) Simon is a lyrical genius, no question. Sometimes he forgets the rest of the world isn't and he has to be tamed or else his writing would end up sounding like a Shakespearean masterpiece instead of a pop song lol. But overall it is a very smooth process. It is my vision that Simon and I write as much as we can for his material and other groups and do our best to be what Cheiron was 10 years ago.
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3 ~ How did you meet Fayden and how did you get to work with Bliss? What's next for those guys (especially as TMHT seems to be taking off at radio)
A few years before I met him, in the 2000 time frame, he had a fairly promising situation with his former manager, Maurice Starr of New Kids on the Block fame. He toured Europe for a couple of months in a male pop group, or better known as the very derogatory title, a "boy band". They had some major label deals offered to them, but as so many stories of the past, egos and drama set in and destroyed that situation. Then, about 2-3 years after that fell through, I got an email from Fayden through a worthless musician networking website.. We talked for a very long time and became great friends. He was LITERALLY the only person I ever met off those so called networking sites. We were talking on the phone for a long time all the while he was trying to find like minded people to pursue a new group with only to be disappointed again and again. During that time I moved back to LA where I am from. He is from NYC, the birthplace of techno dance music. Eventually he had an opportunity to release a dance record. The label he signed to was not ideal, to be diplomatic. They released his first single with some other producers and it did pretty well. But he wanted something produced by me, so FINALLY, after 3 years of talking on the phone, he flew to LA and we actually met in person for the first time. Weird huh? We recorded 3 songs, including Hypnotic. His second single is one I helped produced, and mixed, "When I look In Your Eyes". It did well in the dance world, going number one in radio in several countries, albeit obscure ones lol. That gave him enough notoriety to get the attention of Bliss (who's name will VERY likely be modified BTW due to other group releases with that name, stay tuned) The girls emailed us and eventually we signed them to our production company and recorded the first single which has just been offered a single deal through a well established dance indie label for distribution. It should be a big hit at the Winter Music Conference in Miami next month. We will keep you updated.
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4 ~ what are your thoughts on American Idol? Here, the winners seem to be given such bad material it's hard for them to make a long term career out of it...
American Idol has only two true stars.. Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood. Daughtry is a PHENOMENAL singer, but as you said, the material kills him. Katharine McPhee is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and her lead off single is very good, but the rest is terrible. They have tried to make her an R&B act, and that poor girl is about as white as you can be (can I still say that without the PC police on me?). I watched every year, except for the atrocious Fantasia year (which this year is on its way to being so far) and I have accurately picked the top 2 every time. I watch avidly this year, and I have seen no one that strikes me as amazing or the winner. Kelly was smart, she got as far away as possible from the people who make the Idol's decisions. I never cease to be amazed at the poor choices these labels make. That's why they are all broke. In my most humble of opinions :)
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5 ~ you know i would kill for you to revive Debbie Gibson's sound - what do you think of her latest songs Famous and Rich Girl, and who elses career do you think needs the Jadion touch??
Debbie could certainly use a revamp. Not liking her new stuff at all. I would love to work with Britney, that would be interesting. I would really like to work with Chris Daughtry also. Katharine McPhee would be up there on my list. But my dream artist would be Celine Dion. Many of her songs are so unworthy of her perfect voice. I have to sell a few million for her to take notice I am guessing.
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6 ~ time to trash people - who do you like and dislike on the music scene at the moment??
Why do you do this to me Paul? lol. I am VERY VERY picky about what I like. I don't like too much out there to be honest with you. I almost NEVER listen to the radio. I don't like much of anything that plays on mainstream radio right now (except the Katharine McPhee song, and the new Hilary Duff one is cool). Most of it is pure garbage. Rap is so over. Most people are sick of ghetto; guns, bitches, hoes, and the racism in rap music (see Simon's Sugar Sugar White). Let's be honest, how many damn times can you rehash the topic "I want to fuck you and all your friends because I was a drug dealer and now I have a nice car because I bought my way into the music business with drug money".
When I read blogs like yours or read letters from fans, the ACHE that they have for good pop music is very encouraging. It runs in 10 year cycles. Starting in the mid-late 50s with Doo Wop, mid to late 60's, the Beatles, Elvis, mid to late 70's, the Bee Gees (thanks Robert, their manager and Simon's as well) mid to late 80's, New Kids on the Block, mid to late 90's, the greatest music ever made, BSB, NSYNC, BRITNEY and now, mid to late 00's, hopefully it will be US who bring it back.
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7 ~ When you finally get some downtime in your LA mansion, is it chill out time with the mrs, games, movies, reading or tv?? And are you really like Ari Gold?!?
I soooo do not have a mansion, but someday maybe. I play xbox360 with Simon A LOT! Halo 2 in Slayer mode is still the most fun in video games. He wins usually, he's a game nerd. I like to travel and hang with my boys.
For those reading this who have never seen Entourage, you are probably saying, "Who the hell is ARI GOLD?" It is the best show on TV, that and The Shield. I NEVER miss either. They say I am like Ari in the way that I am VERY blunt, very witty and have no problem telling anyone what to do to themselves when they rightfully deserve it. I am very decisive, I know what I want, I usually know the answers, and I'm not afraid to share them with those who do not lol. Simon has sarcastically dubbed me the "King of Tact" as I have the tendency to speak my mind regardless of the situation. Simon thinks I am also a bit like Turtle because I like some flashy things, like diamonds on my watch (my watch has 24 small diamonds around the bezel, they act like I have a Nelly, Jacob the Jeweler watch!). I am also quite flirty with the girls and I really enjoy getting VIP treatment.
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8 ~ I think the British music scene is more primed for you and Simon than America. What can we do to get you over here?? Is that a consideration?
We are trying to get EVERYWHERE. Simon's manager is shopping the major labels as we speak. We feel pretty confident we will get signed, hopefully as a distribution deal of the record as it is. Even so, this business moves at a snail's pace. If we signed today, depending on the label, it could be 6-10 months before a worldwide release. We will just have to see. I have never been over there, so I am anxious to go. Really want to go to Tokyo also.
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9 ~ You let me listen to a great track called London a while back which has grown on me more and more. Any plans for that particular song?
As of now, it's just another song in the repetoire. No real plans just yet. If you meet anyone who wants to record it, we are all ears.
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10 ~ You have worked on some amazing songs on Simon's forthcoming album. Which are you most proud of and why? (my fave - still Broken, though I am currently loving Purgatory and Sugar Sugar White)
Left Right Left is probably my favorite. I just love the beat in it." Broken" I wrote the chorus to, I like that one a lot. That was one of those "SIMON, WE HAVE TO DO A LIGHTER TRACK THAT DOESN'T INSPIRE REVOLUTION OR CECESSION FROM ONES FAMILY!" I love Casual Encounter too. I have heard them all a MILLION times, so it is hard to speak to that really because I DID IT. I am not a good judge of my own work. I ALWAYS hear something I could have done better.
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11 ~ Finally, if you were given the task of saving Britney Spears (from herself as much as anyone else) what would your advice be??
Anna Nicole Smith…….that's all a normal person would need to hear. But the fact is you can't save ANYONE… only they can.. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lindsay Lohan end up like Anna as well. If there is one thing I HATE about this business is the professional liars called the Public Relations department. No one EVER tells these people NO. No one cares enough about these girls to TRY to stop them. Simon would NEVER end up like these girls, but if he ever did, I would be the first to stand up and say STOP NOW OR I TELL EVERYONE WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO YOURSELF. Problem is, if anyone in their entourage ever actually SAID THAT, they would be shunned and no mainstream "reporter" would ever run the story because of the power of the PR firms. Remember this little known fact… the ever hated tabloid the National Enquirer is sued for libel LESS THAN TIME MAGAZINE. Why is that? Because they usually tell the truth. I love Dlisted, because it is the only place that tells what these people are doing in real life, not what the PR firm wants you to know. There is no such thing as being hospitalized for "exhaustion". Funny how guys who work 30 years in a 100 degree steel factory 12 hours a day NEVER seem to go to the hospital for exhaustion. Contrarily, a pampered multi millionaire who sits in an air conditioned Star Wagon trailer for ¾ of her grueling 18 hour a day movie shoot ends up there several times, before her 20th birthday. Doesn't that bother anyone? My advice to Britney is the same advice I give to anyone who is at their lowest point. It is my favorite quote … "All of your problems AND your answers are in the mirror."
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Thanks to Jadion for taking the time out to do this interview. For those who didn't know, the amazing Entourage is on HBO in America and airs on ITV2 in England :) And just to point out, i think the answer to number 11 is incredibly relevant and profound. Celebrity seems to be a dangerous profession :( And finally, i can testify to his King of Tact title - i've corresponded with Jadion for a while now and occasionally I will write about something and he will tell me it's a load of old shit! LOL! Which is probably why I like him as well as his music. I prefer straight up people!! Check out the plethora of links below:
LINK: Jadion's myspace site (with a free download!)
LINK: Jadion's official webpage
LINK: Iced Entertainment's myspace site
LINK: Iced Entertainment's official webpage
LINK: Fayden's myspace site
LINK: Fayden's official webpage
LINK: Simon's myspace site
LINK: Simon's official webpage
LINK: Bliss' myspace site
LINK: Bliss' official webpage
LINK: Purchase Entourage here (USA) and here (UK)
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THEZAPPING RECORD COMPANY PROJECT - WEEK FIVE:
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Well, indeedio, I announced yesterday that Justin Lanning's first single would be the Coldplay meets Snow Patrol ballad Take My Breath Away. Which is a perfectly valid choice. I still prefer the upbeat stylings of Voices that is on Justin's myspace page in demo format. This is a great guitar driven song with a strong chorus and a perky sound. I can't help but feel with some strong production values behind it and given a fresh overhaul, it could be America's answer to The Feeling. As it is the potential is certainly there for this to be a huge radio smash. (edit - a full version was put on Justin's myspace site today and is a corker!)Lets see what other people have to say, including thezapping's very own Simon Cowell ~ Nick-alienhits ;)
NICK: Definitely a catchy pop song, but I'm not sure if it's got that special something that grabs me. It is nice, though, and I can see me getting into this after hearing it on the radio (as if that's gonna happen) a few times. Actually, after two listens I'm already liking it more.
DIGITAL TECHNIQUE: Even though this is a demo, you can totally hear what a great song it is! Another one of those songs that I would have on in my car in the Summer, perfect for those rare sunny days in Scotland!! He has such a great voice, that really fits with the song - another incredible artist you've introduced me to!!
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LINK: You can listen to a non demo stream of this track on thezapping myspace site :)
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THE SINGLES SELECTION COMMITEE:
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~ Hilary Duff, With Love: I have had a bit of a hit and miss affair with Hilary. I think apart from some of her earlier choices, she has released a dire range of singles which is completely unnecessary when there were great tracks on her first two albums (which is apparently all you need to release for a greatest hits now). The Math and Haters were amazing thrashy pop songs that SO deserved a wider audience. So colour/color me as surprised as anyone as little Hil joins the contest being waged by Bliss and Ashley Tisdale to become the new Kylie pop princess of the States. And this tune is just darling. Can't wait for the album...
NICK: Wow, how did Hilary Duff become kind of cool? There's been a strange progression in her career from cheesy teen pop to more of an electro sound, and I for one did not see it coming at all. I have to say that this track surprised me. I didn't expect to like it at all but it's actually quite nice. Excellent song for the Spring.
DT: Have been waiting to hear this song for ages and I wasn't disappointed - it is a really strong pop song. If the album is as good as this song and previous single Play With Fire, then I for one will be pleased!! Definitely sounds like Hilary has found her sound, after attempting pop-rock on her previous albums, this style of pop really suits her voice.
POPPOSTERGIRL: this song confuses me. I definitely like the backing track, but I feel like the song could be so much better. I'm not sure how; maybe the music just overpowers her voice too much for me? Compared to, say, Girls Aloud's "Something Kinda Ooooh" or Rachel Steven's "Some Girls," it just doesn't pop enough for me--there's definitely a great beat in "Something Kinda Ooooh" and "Some Girls," but the vocals are catchier or more prominent or something. "With Love" might be a grower, though.
~ Robbie Williams, She's Madonna: I've noted several times how disappointed I have been in Robbie's career ever since he got done with Escapology and Guy Chambers. Rudebox is kind of like a mix tape your friend made you of varying styles, with this being one of the infinitely better ones. Sadly after years of being public darling, it seems fashionable to dislike Robbie now, so Nick's comment at the end of his mini review below may well be valid...
NICK: This is one of my favorite tracks off of Rudebox. I think Robbie does this kind of synth pop fantastically, and the track's just so damn catchy! Most importantly, the melody and lyrics are spot on. This track's already popular in Scandinavia, but I doubt whether it'll do that well in the UK, even though it should.
DT: I really wasn't a big fan of the any of the tracks on Rudebox when I first got it, but the more I listened to it the more a couple of the tracks started to really stand out, this being one of them!! You can definitely hear the Pet Shop Boys influence in the song but at the same time it still manages to be classic Robbie. Not sure whether it is going to prove a successful single though, as the album has not been the massive seller that you would expect for a Robbie album.
~ Avril Lavigne, Girlfriend: Hurrah! The original Canadian trailer trash is back and I love her. I really adored her first album, and then her second album i liked a lot, but not til after she was done promoting it. So i am eager for a third cd, and this is a great catchy pop tune that doesn't take itself too seriously at all. Huzzah, etc.
NICK: I'm glad that she decided to come back with a poppier sounding song, and the chorus is definitely catchy. What I'm afraid of, though, is the catchiness is going to wear off quickly and become annoying sooner than it should. Still, the track's miles ahead of where I thought it was going to be.
DT: Really not sure what I think of this song! After her last album I thought Avril had grown up and was doing mature sounding songs but then this is right back to style of Sk8r Boi and Complicated. It reminds me of both 80's song Mickey and the movie Bring It On. Think this probably would have been a massive hit if included on her debut album in 2002 but think music has moved on since then and not sure it is going to be as successful in 2007.
PPG: I love this. I don't care if the beat is ripped out of "Hey Mickey" and the "No way, no way" vaguely reminds me of that Vanilla song--this works so well. Let's see: handclaps, repetition, catchiness, upbeat, fun...I feel like a lot of pop artists using guitars just don't get it, but Avril does. For a song that feels like guitar pop, the guitars aren't really that noticeable, which is actually a very good thing, making the song all the more singalongable (which is pretty dangerous for a song that already demands to be jumped around like a crazy person to and clapped along with). Anyone who writes off this song because of the lyrics (I've already seen people criticizing "she's like so whatever/you could do so much better"), clearly, like all the wannabe pop-guitarists out there, doesn't get it.
~ Westlife, Total Eclipse Of The Heart (the mixes): I was eager for this to be their second single and they didn't disappoint. I was eager for it to have some dance remixes that weren't Bop Bop Baby bad and they haven't disappointed there either. So I am all over the Life at the moment. Particularly Nicky. RAR!
NICK: It's not something I would really listen to. I just don't think that Total Eclipse was a good choice to use for this kind of remake. I can see this being big, especially in the clubs, but I just don't really like the sound of it.
DT: One word - amazing!! Not a big fan of either Westlife or the song really (although I did like the Jan Wayne cover from a few years ago!!) but this is really good! If only they would release an uptempo song once in a while rather than a ballad/cover with the key change 3/4 of the way through so that they can get off their stools!! Even if you're not a fan of Westlife, this is definitely worth a listen!
PPG: Total Eclipse (Sunset Strippers Radio Edit)--to begin with, this has nothing on "Falling Stars," but maybe that was starting with such amazing source material that it had automatic higher potential? Regardless, the original version Westlife's cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is good, but I wonder if I would enjoy this if I didn't enjoy that; luckily, I do enjoy the cover, so this is pretty fun, though it's not about to challenge for best dance song of the year. It'd be better if it had more of an ending, as opposed to just sort of stopping randomly.
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Thanks once again to the contributors. You guys rock the very most :)
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Dear Lord! Hollyblokes goes all gay on our asses and totally steals thezapping's style. The pic directly above is almost a direct replica of what DazPenetration and I did in the hotel room a few hours after our pic was taken! Thieves!!
~ Dear Lord part II! What the fuss was Duncan James' hair all about on Saturday's Dancing On Ice? And why are the ex boybanders not storming ahead with their dance routine training? Stephen Gately was shockingly bad!
~ Dear Lord part III! Primeval was scary. In terms of how bad it was. I can't wait to see what DanProject76 has to say about it all...
~ thezapping is doing a photoshoot! Any ideas anyone???
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~ here is some twat who decided walking home in the blizzardy snow in trendy gloves would be a good idea. It was not. His fingers nearly fell off. Cool jacket and scarf tho...
~ The Feeling's Rose debuted at 73 :( Physical release is today and the b-sides are as magnificent as you should expect. Especially the Sewn demo...
~ J'Ason has all the usual amazing british chart round ups, grammy winners and some startlingly similar gwen/fergie lyrics. Despite what he says they are both crap ;)
~ we find Måns Zelmerlöw who is sitting pretty over at poppostergirls ever such a little bit RAR!
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Coming tuesday ~ some new artists for you to peruse; some info about theallnewzapping; some old hits that should really be covered and revived; and something else maybe....
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PLUS! THE NYC FILES ARE STARTING TO APPEAR - click on holiday diaries tab!

the whirling dervish

2007-02-11T23:52:00.000Z

Greetings pop pickers and welcome to this fine if somewhat rainy sunday. Where on earth did saturday go? It whizzed by in a whirling dervish of starbucks, preordering Playstation 3 (darren), a few episodes catching up with those zany gilmore girls (me), some chicken and asparagus risotto and a retro evening watching Big Business with Bette Midler. My car shopping didn't get very far other than i told Darren just to drive out of one place in a direction he shouldn't have driven and may have seriously damaged the underside of his car, though it seems ok :O I could tell from his eyes that he wanted to blame me, but he has freedom of choice so he could have driven another way ;) Choosing a car is incredibly hard - they are either not the right colour or the wrong make or too many miles or they don't make me want to love them. I need the Kirsty and Phil of the car world to help me out :) Still, am sure i will find the car of my dreams soon!! Anyway, sunday is update 11 in 07 day so I had better get on with it hadn't i???
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THE 11 TO WATCH IN 2007 UPDATE #5
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Hurrah! Some of my lovely 11 have been most industrious this week so I should just get on with talking about them instead of me...
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Ah, let us count the ways we love Simon. He is never too busy to email you about stuff. He has a cool producer and manager. And obviously he already has more than an album's worth of amazing pop tunes, and still keeps churning them out. About a month ago, he was kind enough to send me a track to listen to called Resist, which originally was written for Jadion produced girl group (and fellow 11 in 07s) Bliss. At this point it was a demo version, but the production values were still top notch and I had to stop myself physically from listening to it in case I got addicted to it. Possibly his most "pop" (along with Broken and Put Your Makeup On) song to date, this amazing tune starts off amidst a whirl of swirling electro beats and stacatto synths that are complemented by a smooth vocal "ooos" from Simon before leaping into a breakneck verse that is reminiscent of Janet Jackson's If that holds back on the beats thru the first few lines before building them up into the chorus. Talking of which, the chorus puts to shame some of the insanely catchy hooks of Max Martin (and that's a high compliment coming from me!) all about the forbidden allure of someone and the difficulty in not succumbing to that! Interesting point - the demo version (Written for girls) has the lyrics "I must resist you boy" while the new official Simon version has "i must resist you now". Both work well of course, but i like the fact that actually you could market two versions, one to the gay clubs and one to radio and please everyone :) Hurrah! Anyway, rumour has it that this song will soon be available as a free download on the internet, so wanted to make sure you all knew about it - i would describe it as Overprotected having a down and dirty sordid affair with If, yet with enough style and individuality to make it something new and exciting for today. Is there no end to this man's talents?! (PS ~ no one at my school looked like that in the pic above, as the tie is remarkably similar to my school uniform! Well Manning Butts did but that's another story...)
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And my my those Digital boys are working very hard at the moment aren't they. Beefing up their numbers with new members, getting their official website all up and launched (be sure to sign up for newsletters and for their forum), making me flirt inappropriately with bar managers to get them contact details to book gigs (hehe) and most importantly churning out more stomping pieces of pop for us all to enjoy. This week, two new songs hit the myspace - let's address TKO first. This song signifies to me that Digital will have no problem proving they are the new male Girls Aloud in the world of boyband pop (as opposed to say, the new One True Voice or Upper Street). TKO has a pulsating beat, great use of the voices in the verses (these guys know how to complement each other rather than focusing on one singer or drowning the others out) and a chorus that refuses to give up. And if you think that was good prepare for some spine ting-dingly goodness with Get Your Kitt Off with some inventive electroclash sounds, some essential boyband chanting and some slightly arousing filthy pervy lyrics. The chorus is the sort of tune that will appeal to drunk boys down the pub, gay boys down the club and have teen girls across the country screaming in anticipation for the hopefully half naked oil based video. First single material if ever i heard it. PS - the club mix ups the ante to the nth degree and reminds me of the very best of 5ive, Girls Aloud and V all on one single. RAR indeed!!
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Blimey! Conor had a new song up over Christmas, a new one called Fool For Loving You last week and this week wants to hypnotise all his fans with a song called Hypnotise. (You didn't see that coming did you!) I think young Conor is doing everything that Shayne Ward didn't on his debut album - let's face it Shayne's album was a showcase for a very strong voice but had little variation in it and churned out ballad after ballad. Conor has already shown us his club chops (Club 55) his pop sensibilities (Play With U) his dreaminess (Heart of Stone) and now his ability to seemingly effortlessly churn out Since U've Been Gone/Because of You type numbers in these two latest tracks. Hypnotise is somehow grittier and more guitar based than previous efforts but no less effective for it. Conor's voice seems to be able to adapt to different styles and one can't help but feel a live show would be rather entertaining because of his flexibility. Check it out at his myspace...
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Justin Lanning has finally put his first single proper online for us all to listen to. Entitled Take My Breath Away, it's a rather pensive affair featuring a strong vocal from JL and some minimal instrumentation. In these days of high production values, it's nice to see someone not going too over the top on an elegant and simple ballad - just let the voice power the emotion and connect to the listener. I can see this appealing to people who like Snow Patrol, The Fray, James Blunt etc, all of whom have sold copious amounts of records to date. It's on his myspace player now along with the more poppy upbeat Voices which i still vote for as a potential single... PS Justin's World 7 is also online! Hurrah!
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And the new songs keep on coming - let me tell you, along with Baz from Digital, Simon Curtis, Stefan from Switch22, Ste from Billiam is one of the nicest people you could come across. And likeability factor for me is a big plus in pop - hence my dislike of Amy Winehouse for example. Plus Danny from Upper St seems a total cock. Anyway, Billiam are all jacked up to a four piece, looking very jizzworthy (!) and have a poppy new song out called Funk With me - very Wham-esque, it appears only as a short clip at the moment so it's hard to get a full impression of it, but it showcases the range of the boys voices and absolutely screams out for a stomping club mix... more tracks coming from the lads soon. Can't wait to hear 'em!
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And on my mother's birthday (67!) - Feb 17th - the superheroes of pop are saving the retail world with an appearance at Harrods. So switch22 your asses down there and support them if you can - i'm not allowed. I'm banned from Harrods for eternity for reasons i can't go into right now. Darren should be banned - he was once in there and said "ew, their sandwiches are no better than Marks and Sparks". *Shakes head*!!
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THE NEW ADDITION:

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am quite sad that Lockdown have split up - luckily one of the main vocalists in the group is continuing solo and working on his debut album. Chris Tolley has been in the industry for a while and been tantalisingly close to success on several occasions. Now solo, i'm hopeful that he will fill the void currently left by Shayne Ward and Gareth Gates. Indeed, he can belt out a ballad that would stand up alongside the best those guys had to offer (That's My Goal; Say It Isn't So) as demonstrated on the dreamily swooning When You Look At Me that has a soaring chorus, a solid vocal performance and a nice arrangement of piano and strings to charge the song to it's emotional climax. Similarly How Do I Say Goodbye would be a shoo-in to soundtrack teen dramas with it's slight shuffling beat and slightly sinister yet elegant chorus. The tempo shifts upwards on Stay Another Night with some industrial sounding drums and sparse percussion leading into a urgent powerful refrain (yet the vocal is always the centre of the song and carries it well). And then there is the frankly genius cover of Poison, which i've already written about when it was part of Lockdown's act - part electrothrash classic in waiting, yet has the appeal of classic pop covers like Tragedy, Xanadu and One Night In Bangkok with a more contemporary edge to it. Be sure to check out Chris' website and myspace. Perhaps he could hook up with producer Jadion if he is still looking for talent to work with??
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THE OTHER ACTS I LIKE THIS WEEKEND:
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If British Airways hadn't decided to strike (and then not to strike) I so would have been at Stewart Mac's showcase at the hard rock cafe. Luckily he has some more gigs coming up (check his myspace) and has put a couple of videos and some pics on his site so I can live vicariously through those. Pop needs a good looking boy who knows his way round a guitar and looks good in brown ;) Hurrah!
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Robert O'Connor whose Spend The Night/Ten Years Time single release just keeps growing on me has popped a clip of his new song on his myspace site and most pleasing it is too. Robert is one of those people whose talent just shines through and I really hope his following continues to grow and grow. I look forward to his podcast which launches with new website LostinLimbo this very week...
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Finally, I wrote about Shane Butler repeatedly a while ago and it's quite exciting to see that his website has been updated and his debut album is now forthcoming. I look forward to reviewing his classic brand of catchy guitar pop at the earliest opportunity :)
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Coming tomorrow: the singles selection committee and whatever else i can think of, including something about dancing on ice!

the chills are alive... (UPDATED! 10th Feb 07)

2007-02-09T22:11:00.000Z

It’s snowing again! Lord luv a duck. In a rather startling turn of events, I managed to negotiate walking along the snowy/icy streets on the way to and from work today with nary a slip or slide in sight. Got all the way back to the apartment block when the concierge said he had a parcel waiting for me in his office, so I said i would go and get it later. I turned back round to walk thru the door I had been about to walk thru and walked right into the glass as it had shut. I was not happy. Still, it’s the weekend now and I should be all happy – i get to go car shopping, i’m off out tonight with Darren and my folks for my mom’s birthday (we are off to see sing-a-long-a-sound of music. My mom can’t help singing along at musicals which is highly inappropriate, so this will be ideal ;) ) and the usual weekend stuff of devouring the papers, shopping and getting my high intake of starbucks. DazProzzy and I are both quite tired mentally from our super new jobs, so we are going to take it easy this weekend. Just a bit of lovin and cinema and tidying the apartment (that £7.80 an hour cleaning service leaflet posted through the door is looking so enticing right now). Cos we are regular party animals let me tell you!! Sigh ~ New York seems so long ago now!! Am going to be motivated this weekend and get some stuff done, as well as catch up on all my magazines and book reading/writing!! I need some me time too you leeches ;) Hehe just kidding – you are all part of my extended world. Hugs, etc. Right, am waffling so on with la blogge...
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THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD:
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Remember 1997? It was fine wasn’t it? I was busy “summering” in the Hamptons (ie, working at camp in Rochester), discovering music didn’t always have to be chart music and love love loving Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. And bugger me with a banana, if it isn’t ten years old this year! R&J was one of those films that seemed to have everything going for it – a classic story, buzzworthy cast, an amazing director (in Baz ‘Moulin Rouge’ Luhrman) and an utterly amazing soundtrack. It’s the soundtrack I want to talk about today – it completely ruled my world that summer and finally got me to stop playing Tragic Kingdom and er, Pieces of Me. I Would Die 4 U by Garbage led nicely into an obsession with their second album out in 1998. I just loved the melancholy feel of the song, with it’s thrashing guitars and still melodic chorus. And it was possibly my first knowledge that great music other than Abba, Roxette or Ace of Base was coming out of Sweden when the Cardigans unleashed Lovefool – which is possibly one of the most perfect pop tunes on a soundtrack ever. And it still isn’t tiresome, unlike the equally loved but ultimately overused Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer. Even tracks by bands i wasn’t so fond of, like Radiohead, seemed to fit perfectly and float gently round my ears. The tenth anniversary soundtrack collects all these songs again and adds little gems like Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen (sounds horrible i know but is actually quite a poignant 2007 version) and Quindon Tarvers version of the hard to get right When Doves Cry (which he does an outstanding job on!) So dig out the film, then pop on the soundtrack and immerse yourself in a little bit of Hollywood done right...
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LINK: Romeo and Juliet myspace site
LINK: Romeo and Juliet slideshow
STREAM: the entire album thanks to Nicole @ sideways media!!
STREAM: Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen 2007
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THE RETURN TO OZ...:
. Or even the Live Lounge – that bastion of acoustic jams with bands doing songs by other bands. It’s suffered a bit of a backlash recently, though god knows why as I love it just the same as ever. This week has been a little bit marv for Live Lounge fans as Jo Wiley has been whoring her wares to all Brit nominees resulting in some rather pleasant cover versions for us all to enjoy. Before I get into that howev., lets look at current media darling Mika (he tried to be like Grace Kelly) who recently covered Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie (i feel dirty writing that it was Shakira’s song when it was really a quick knock off) and showing a modicum of taste also covered newbies The View and their catchy/dirty hit Same Jeans. Mika injects both with his already trademark showmanship and makes them sound like they were indeed written for him. No point in doing a carbon copy (yes Matt Willis and All These Things I’ve Done, I’m talking to you...) is there? Marv...
. Now onto the Brit nominees performing ~ Corinne Bailey Rae who charmed me last year with the delightful Put Your Records On and then bored me with everything else, has enchanted me once again with her cover of the overcovered Sexy/Back. Now it may be the element of surprise that had me, because of all people i wasn’t expecting CBR to bring sexy back. Shudder. We also had the ignored by me for possibly too long now James Morrison looking surprisingly foxy above doing a stunning acoustic Blur cover of Out of Time – which just shows a) how good the Blur song is – i sort of forgot and b) perhaps there is room in my life for James and Paolo.
. Another band i’ve rather criminally ignored is the always-catchy-when-i-randomly-hear-them Fratellis who did the almost impossible task of making the White Stripes accessible to me by covering their tune Hotel Yorba. As I’ve never heard this song before, I can’t say whether its brillo or not, but it’s certainly a perky little ditty as performed by the telli-tubbies here... And god bless indie-boyband The Kooks for not only providing a brilliant album of music but coming on Live Lounge again and topping their amazing cover of Crazy with an amazing cover of Roxanne by the Police. Just click, enjoy and let the goodness wash over you like foamburst shower gel. Incandescent!
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BONUS MP3: Amy Winehouse - Valerie (Zutons cover)
BONUS MP3: Klaxons - My Love (JT Cover)
BONUS MP3: The View - Rewind (Paolo Nutini Cover)
LINK: Jo Wiley’s live lounge site
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THE MUSICALS REVUE – EXITLUDE:
. I’ve been dying to use the word Exitlude in a blog since about October 2006 and this seemed the most appropriate time to do it! Huzzah (soon to be stolen as a word by Pinkie! I’m watching you!!) It seemed appropriate because today I am writing about a musical that hasn’t even come out yet, and when it does seems to be somewhat of a trial run for something bigger. Yes indeed possums, we’ve had Kylie musicals, Abba, Queen, talk of take That, Boney m are in on the act, Billy Joel has done it, Rod Stewart has had a pop and now in all her 80s pop princess (hold my hand) glory, it’s Deb(bie)orah Gibson’s turn to be “immortalised”. Be delighted or afraid (delete as applicable) as Electric Youth the Musical is coming to Florida. Now of course the timing of it is that it opens just 2 days after i return from Florida, which happens to me all the fricking time. Not to worry though, because although the show has Deborah’s blessing she is not actually performing in it (that would be weird methinks) and it is only for a one week “workshop”... Still, it would be cool to see and i would love to hear the new show tune versions of Deborah’s early tunes (mainly from Out Of The Blue with a smattering of hits from Electric Youth too...) You can read more about it at the official musical website or at a blog that the writer has done at Orlando Sentinel. Go see it – it’s bound to be Electric! Groan...
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THEZAPPING TOP FIVE MALE AND FEMALE SINGERS:
. #1 ~ William of Young: I’m sure none of you guessed this young chappy as my number one stud. What a shock. You are probably on the floor now hyperventilating and gasping for air. I would come and give you the (French) kiss of life, but clearly we are separated by IP addresses and oceans and stuff. Anyway, Mr Young’s brand of jazzed up chilled out elegant pop has had me enchanted and delighted ever since he won Pop Idol in it’s very first year. Who knew that he would go on to be such a huge star and even successfully break into acting? (Booo get back to your day job mister) While his first album was split into two types of song (those he was forced to do including the excreable Long & Winding Road by Mr Cowell and those where he clearly asserted his ass out a little more), he really grew lyrically and musically on the second album providing simple yet devastatingly effective ballads like Leave Right Now and brilliantly funky jams like my fave Your Game (the gospel version is outstanding). His third album kicked off with his catchiest single to date – Switch it On – and while having some great slower grooves, it was the faster stuff that got me loving it the most, especially the glorious Ain’t Such A Bad Place To Be. So hopefully William will get his acting bug out the way and return at Christmas with a new album... unless he gets the part of Fiyero in Wicked. THAT i would be happy with!
Best track: Your Game
. #1 ~ Deborah Gibson: I’m sure none of you guessed this young lassie as my number one ho. What a shock. You are probably doubled over breathing into a brown paper bag, gasping for sweet life into your lungs. I would come and give the kiss of life (francais styl-ee) but clearly we are separated by mammoth expanses of water, plus there is bird flu so it would probably be unhygienic. N’est pas. I’m not really going to write much about La Gibz because i did a whole retrospective on her recently and i’m running out of stuff to say. Suffice to say, i like her music – quite a lot. And if you fancy celebrating her twenty years in the industry (since Only In My Dreams was first released) get your ass to new York the weekend of 9th March to see her in a plethora of performances. It’s Electric!
Best track: Until You’re All Mine
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SATURDAY UPDATE:

~ hello dudes, took the parents to see the singalongasoundofmusic last night - well they saw most of it and I froze my ass off. It took them 2 hours and 20 minutes to battle thru the traffic to get there and I kept running outside to see if they were coming... Luckily they arrived for my mom's fave song (My Favourite Things) and absolutely adored the opportunity to sing a long at the top of their voices :) Hurrah! At the intermission, while my pa and I were at the bar, I pointed out some male nuns to my dad, who then a few minutes later went "ooo there's one on your right" I quietly had to point out that the nun in question was indeed all woman - if a little bit manly! And cue years more therapy when mother dearest shouted at "I wanted to be a nun until i discovered cock" I nearly choked on my minstrels.....

Be back tomorrow for 11 in 07 update - lots of new tracks from the guys for you :) Also head over to the spinoff blog for 48 hours of mp3s i think you'll like! Be fast, they won't be there long! AND!! Finalement ~ 5 days of NYC starts on holiday diaries tomorrow!!

oh the weather outside is frightful

2007-02-08T07:28:00.000Z

Fuck me, it’s snowing something terrific outside. As usual one flake of snow on the floor and England grinds to a halt. The weather men warn about it for days and no one is ever prepared. So I walked to work today and felt all festive and jolly while everyone else looked miserable and cold. It took me twenty minutes to walk there and by the time I had got there my festive jolliness had gone out the window. My fingers were freezing and I couldn’t feel my toes. I think I still had a nose, but i couldn’t be sure. One thing i could be sure of was that i looked amazing in my favourite Springfield scarf and kneelength wool overcoat. I am sure I cut quite the dashing figure. Of course, the office is as barren as barren can be today with everyone calling in with “car problems”! When did this become an excuse??! Sheesh kebab. Ooh good it’s stopped snowing. I have to go out and get some milk and I was a little scared that the 2 inches on the ground might now be a bit overwhelming. I have seen day after tomorrow you know. Which was a documentary, and if ever that happens I am calling Jakeypoos up and getting him to share my sleeping bag to raise my body temperature. I mean what’s the alternative? Al Gore?? Now that would be an inconvenient truth... Anyway dudes and lady dudes (i’m all about the equal opps) and dudes about to become lady dudes, I really should be sticking to my “whip up a blog in 30 minutes” rule so I can spend my evenings canoodling with Darren. You know you all want to also! Unless you are a non-bender, then you probably wouldn’t want to snuggle a man. Unless you are a non-bender woman in which case you would! Hurrah! The balance of the world is restored once more. PS ~ relocation relocation was crap last night, so we watched the brillo Dragon’s Den. Marv...
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THE DISNEY ACCOLYTES:
. Sometimes you just need a Disney day don’t you? Where you feel the need to be all warm and fluffy on the inside in order to beat off the harsh reality of the outside! Today definitely is a Disney day :) Remember when Disney cartoons were massive events and the theme songs would even go top ten (Beauty And The Beast, A Whole New World and Circle of Life) when recorded by the cutting edge of pop at the time (Celine Dion, Peabo Bryson and Elton John)?? Well, they may not be events anymore and they may not trouble the charts too much, but Disney still wheel out a much younger singing contingency now to add a bit of oomph to their straight to video sequels. For example, hayden pantierre (of Heroes fame, and looking chest bustingly marv above) has recorded a quite lovely power pop ballad for the Cinderella 3 dvd-movie. And it fits perfectly with the type of film – all gushing vocals, soaring choruses and something so sweetly delicious about it, you have to look around to see if anyone else is watching you enjoy it. And of course High School Musical-er Ashley Tisdale contributed a popped up Kiss The Girl to the rerelease of The Little Mermaid, before she decided to be a saucy vixen of the charts.
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Elsewhere fellow HSM alum Lucas Grabeel (not Gabreel as i erroneously called him yester) has recorded quite a nice little guitar blended with pop ditty for the Fox And The Hound 2 soundtrack, which is jolly nice of him. And nice to see something a little upbeat. It must have been tempting to go down the ballad route, as Antony Callea did in the sequel to Bambi. Still, that loveable antipodean knows how to knock out a slowie.
. And finally, turning back the hands of time, those adorable American mcfly ragamuffins, Click Five did a track called Man’s Best Friend for the Shaggy Dog story. Obviously it’s quite advisable to avoid any movie with Tim Allen in it, but if you can just hear the song somewhere so much the better. And William of Young went all funky with Try Again on the 102 Dalmatians OST, mixing his jazzed up influences with pop sensibility. I love it when team Disney beds in together :)
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LINK: Buy Disney dvds
DOWNLOAD: thezapping Disney mania zipfile
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THE MUSICALS REVUE PART FIVE ~ TARZAN:
. Sticking with la Diz, it’s time to revue one of their increasing brands of musicals – we already have Beauty and the Beast (though it’s widely reported that Little Mermaid will take over on Broadway in November), Lion King, Aladdin is on at Disneyland in abbreviated format and Mary Poppins is wowing audiences around the world. So what about Tarzan? Here was a cartoon movie that had great animation, an endearing and touching story, but was let down on the songs somewhat. Obviously hoping to replicate the work done with Elton on Lion King, Disney drafted in drummer and “singer” Phil Collins to produce five songs for the soundtrack. Where he succeeded was making the drumming rhythms part of the film where the music draws you in, and there is at least one decent pop tune with You’ll be In My Heart (and a rather amusing turn by N*Sync doing Tearing up The Camp). Transferring this to a large broadway setting is not quite as easy as it seems and something about the musical soundtrack isn’t quite there. The lyrics aren’t as sophisticated as the other shows, though they do detail nicely the emotions and feelings of the characters. And it is a lot more “pop” than other Disney shows. However, there is something that i can’t put my finger on that is missing that takes it from a decent broadway soundtrack to a great one. Still, if you like Disney and Phil Collins then you can’t go far wrong with this...
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LINK: Purchase tickets for the musical
LINK: Purchase the soundtrack
LINK: Purchase the dvd of the cartoon movie
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THE TIME TO DECIDE WHAT TO WEAR IN SEPTEMBER:
. If you have been keeping up with the American broadcasts of Ugly Betty then you will know that recently it was New York Fashion Week. But it’s not all about NYC you know, there was also Paris fashion week and Milan fashion week, where the industry tells us what we should be wearing in 9 months time. Which is a little bit bizarre as I have enough trouble trying to work out what to wear to the popshow in 2 weeks time. Anyway, as you can see from the rather delightful image sent to me by the gays at ASOS, Paris fashion is looking quite grand for the autumnal season. I am quite loving the fact that tailored leathers paired with cravats are looking quite delish, as are chunky knits from the Hermes collection. Pop on over to the ASOS website now and you will probably be able to pick up a few similar items already and wow your friends with your indepth knowledge of couture.
. And everybody, it’s never too soon to start planning what to wear on Wednesday for the day that will forever be known as St Valentines. You can’t just throw on any old “clobber” so why not go all out and do the casual gorgeous look that I am sure I pull off so well (hey i’m shy in person, i have to be brazen in my writing!). Put together a slick ensemble by pairing a nice roll up sleeve Peter Werth Shirt with some Diesel Slylow Skinny Dark Denim jeans and you will be wowing all the men or women you desire with your ultimate cupid-y hotness. Now don’t say i don’t do anything for you ;)
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LINK: ASOS website (marv)
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THEZAPPING TOP FIVE SINGERS (MALE AND FEMALE):
#2 ~ Robert Williams: I tussled with myself yesterday and this morning to see whether Robert would be number one or whether his more recent endeavours had let him down somewhat. Let’s just say it’s an incredibly close call... Robbie caught my eye from the very early days of Take That when Smash Hits convinced me they were going to be huge so I ran out to be a 7” of Do What You Like. I didn’t know that Robbie was going to be the star, but I knew that he was doing something to my burgeoning gay loins that i kinda liked ;) Anyway as Take That wound down and Robbie revved up, I started to see real talent and value in his music. His ability to be self deprecating and lyrically witty while knocking out a solid tune that covered various genres was uncanny. From album to album he continued doing winning material that sold by the bucket load. His swing album and Escapology cd now seem to cap a near perfect run of singles and albums for me. Both had me enchanted and delighted for the longest time. It’s been all downhill since there – which isn’t to say i don’t find enjoyment and gems in Robbies tunes post 2002, just that it doesn’t have the same impact as before. I live in hopes and fears...
Best Track: Feel
. #2 ~ Kylie Minogue: Again, by choosing such well known stars as my top five, it shows my lack of imagination and makes it difficult to write anything new or insightful about them. I mean who doesn’t know all about Kylie. From girl next door to pop star to sex kitten to dance kylie to indie kylie to comeback kylie to queen kylie, it’s been one hell of a journey. And she is one of the five that i have never been disappointed with. As she progressed in the 90s thru a variety of styles, i was always intrigued to see how she made the genre her own and created accessible tunes whoever she collaborated with. Her stomping PWL songs such as Better The Devil You Know and Shocked remain favourites to this day. Her brilliant album Light Years engineered a global comeback of epic proportions and her Scissters collaborations remain effortless classy pop. Kylie shines her music on us from on high, and I’m just lucky enough to be dancing in the sparkles.
Best track: Better The Devil You Know
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:

~ ooo it's only 20 days til thezappings first birthday... look how sexy we're getting!

~ yay, we love random rants day over at electroqueer :) even if it won't let me comment. BOO!

~ the loveable Jag have some new pics up on their myspace and quite spiffing they look too...

~ we haven't mentioned Samuel lately but that doesn't mean we're not loving his hotstuff...
~ gareth gates has new music on his myspace player. How thrilling (i say this without listening to it yet...)
~ Dan(UK) went to see avenue q and has posted some amazing pics. I quite like his hat ;)
~ ooo do this over at Lucas' blogs - i am so common. 1113!!!!

~ he's baaaaccck - and if i'm not very much mistaken with a kandinski in the background!

Coming Friday ~ the number one male and female zapping singers (ooo the suspense etc); maybe something about the greatest love story ever told; possibly some more musical stuff you will NOT believe! and maybe some live lounge covers...

stupid sexy flanders

2007-02-07T06:18:00.000Z

Hello boys and girls. How are we all today? My first week at work is turning out crazy busy - yesterday was in Chester (land of Hollyoaks with it's gay snogs) and today i'm in Northampton. Luckily thursday and friday won't be so busy. And hey, I get to ride the train again today which is always one of my very favourite things to do in the entire world ;) After Darren "made" me watch SawIII last night, I had nightmares about my skull being chopped open and people reaching into my brain and stealing my blogging ideas. Which is ridick because a) people don't just go around sawing people's brains open and b) my ideas aren't that amazing to begin with. I just wrap them up in a ball of fancy to dazzle you all with ;) Anyway, I so haven't forgotten about my lovely NYC trip and putting pics up for you all, I just haven't gotten round to it yet. But i will. At some point. Anyway, perhaps if i didn't waffle on so much in what i call the "pre-amble", I would be done quicker with the good stuff you see below right now. Now! This very second. Well scroll down then...
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THE CRIMES AGAINST MUSIC?

In his latest "shocking" (according to that dozy moo from the Sun) video - Amazed - Duncan James is grabbed, beaten up, hung upside down and tied to a chair. Charming. Maybe he likes that sort of thing? Or maybe it was his just reward for crimes against music since leaving Blue? I did originally think this, but now have changed my mind somewhat. Blue were a real breath of fresh air to the pop scene - a boyband who were a little bit credible who still were able to turn out top notch pop tunes infused with r'n'b influences. When they split, all eyes were on Duncan first and then Lee to be the huge solo star. If take that has taught us anything, it's not to expect the obvious and Simon Webb is the one reaping in the album sales. Duncan's career did start off pretty badly - the treacly duet with Keadie was pretty dire, but that was for some Andrew Lloyd Webber (boo hiiss) thingy. So hopes were high when his debut single proper Sooner or Later popped onto the scene. At the time, i just ignored it thinking it was a bit of sub-One True Voice fluff, but over the past year it's really grown on me and i've come to think it didn't deserve it's 35 chart placing. Now, thanks to Dancing On Ice (in which Duncan is currently starring), he gets another shot at the charts with a cover of the Lonestar track Amazed. It's a pretty safe release and I would have perhaps liked to see something new, but it showcases Duncan's voice and he does look pretty RAR in the video (pre beating). So for crimes against music, i will just have to give Duncan six months probation...
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LINK: Buy Duncan James' debut album
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THE MUSICALS REVUE PART FIVE ~ AVENUE Q:
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Now, i have had two opportunities to see Avenue Q and both times I have blown it. Once was when it was just opening at the Wynn hotel in Vegas and more recently on Broadway in NYC (did i mention i'd been to NYC?) Still, it is on in London and rather strangely, I have recently become utterly addicted to the hilarious and strangely enchanting soundtrack that accompanies the show, If you know nothing about this musical then it's billed as "Sesame St meets South Park" and even the soundtrack isn't for the easily offended. The songs tackle decidedly adult issues such as sexuality, racism, drug use and pornography. What makes them all the more beguiling is the fact that they are presented in a children's song manner - very upbeat and poppy, while presenting lyrics that are raunchy, vulgar, wickedly clever and have an uncanny ability to satire it's subject matter while making you laugh and think at the same time. Not an easy task to do. It may get compared to south park but it really couldn't be more separate ~ Monsters who masturbate? Two male roommates who bring the supposed gay subtext of Bert and Ernie into the forefront? Songs that teach us such valuable lessons as "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "The Internet is for Porn," and "You Can Be Loud As Hell You Want When You're Making Love"? Sesame Street this ain't. Absolutely hilarious it is. Plus the guy above shagging the puppet has great nipples and popstar hair.
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LINK: Purchase Avenue Q Soundtrack
MP3: If You Were Gay
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THE TOP FIVE SINGERS THEZAPPING LOVES (MALE AND FEMALE):
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#3 ~ Garth Brooks: I'm not really sure how I ever got into Garth Brooks. He wasn't particularly big over here and certainly Louis Walsh's artists have had more chart success covering his songs than Garth ever did here. Obviously he was ridiculously huge in the USA, and maybe i picked up on him that way? However I did, he kept me entertained with a brand of music I never particularly liked and still don't (Garth and Shania notwithstanding!). Country music has never really taken off in Britain and never really appealed to me, but some of Garth's songs really touched me - Unanswered Prayers, If Tomorrow Never Comes, his sterling cover of Shameless, Burning Bridges, etc. all had a profound impact on a young romantic struggling to find a place in life like myself. But he also knew how to honkytonk down with the best of them and darker tracks like Rodeo and The Thunder Rolls were offset by the fiddle playing tunes of American Honky Tonk Bar Association and Fever. Yet, it was the inspirational lyrics of Standing Outside The Fire that got me through some tough times and instilled in me a love for Garth's music that won't seem to die, despite his retirement from the industry...
Best Track: Standing Outside The Fire

#3 ~ Madonna: It's hard to think of what to write about Madonna. Not because there is not much to say, but because there is so much I could say in a limited amount of space. Madonna is a unique chameleon in terms of being able to successfully reinvent her career for nigh on 25 years now and each album has given me at least one (if not many more) highlight - the Like A Prayer album remains my absolute favourite to this day, and I also think Erotica and American Life are vastly underrated and both filled with some great pop-dance tunes. Much like Abba, I am now enjoying going back and listening to some of the album tracks I haven't heard for a while that don't get as much airtime commercially - Til Death Do Us Part being a current favourite. What can I say ~ She's Madonna...
Best track: Like A Prayer
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Coming tomorrow: God knows yet - maybe some disney tracks by current artists; maybe the number two male and female singers; maybe some myspace artists; and maybe a little bit of fashion; plus possibly more hints on an all new zapping...

I'm ready for my duck spoo now Dr Wong

2007-02-06T06:39:00.000Z

I seem to be nothing but busy lately. I have no time for anything. I even had to stop watching a pivotal episode of the Gilmore Girls the other day at 16 minutes and I haven't gotten round to finishing it off yet. I owe about 100 people emails and myspace messages. I need to text lots of my friends. The Spooks Curse isn't getting read anytime soon. My novel is lying unloved in a notebook. (Darren is lying very loved in our bed snoozing however). Luckily, I am now a whizz at knocking this blog up in 30 minutes or less and it's the one thing I enjoy that i am making time for. However, my resolution this week is to catch up on all my lapsed correspondence and text all my friends. And do some work on my novel. And buy a car. And learn how to bend time so that i can do all these things ;) However, as you will see, I certainly did have time to watch the first kiss of JohnPaul (not the pope) and Craig, smooching it up big styl-ee in Hollyoaks yesterday. Rar! And Darren and I settled down tonight to watch the rather lovely Saw III, which although I saw at the cinema last year, for some reason i thought i would put myslef through it again. I swear I nearly threw up during the brain operation. How vile. On with the post...

THE OLD NEW FEELING:

Keane are the old new feeling. Which is a bit of a confusing concept really so let me clarify somewhat. Keane started off as an amazing band with amazingly brilliant anthemic catchy piano-pop such as Somewhere Only We Know, Bend and Break and my fave track of theirs, Everybody's Changing (that still sounds fresh and wonderful today). Then they broke my heart by releasing their somewhat poo second album. However, it was lucky that The Feeling had debuted by then. The Feeling started off as a quite good covers band in a swiss ski resort. Everyone and his mom know claims to have seen them there, but frankly unless it was bloody woodstock, I seriously doubt it. From time to time The Feeling let us know how good they were as a covers band by throwing in things like Video Killed The Radio Star into their sets. Then Dan and the boys broke skiiers everywheres hearts and went pro and turned out a glorious album of pop tunes that just let their magnificence wash over you. So I didn't need Keane anymore. And suddenly Keane became good - as a covers band. They had already proved their worth by doing simply sublime versions of With or Without You and The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore. Since the release of the second poo album, they have managed to entertain me with their versions of Enjoy The Silence, Dirrtylicious and more recently Sanctuary. All reminding me of the glory of Hopes and Fears. So maybe Keane should pack up to Switzerland, where there is probably a vacancy at some ski lodge for a decent band to do some covers... they should start off with Fill My Little World and stay away from the booze...

DOWNLOAD: the keane covers zip

THE BEST BOYBAND ALBUM THIS YEAR:

I don't think a boyband album has been released yet this year has it? We were most lucky last year in getting glorious sets from Take That and McFly. HurRAR! And i am sure we will be looking forward to stomping albums this summer from Pacific Avenue, Avenue, Eton Road, Billiam and Digital :) But in the meantime, I finally came across the Nylon album - the icelandic girlband that everyone was convinced was Irish for a while. They're not. And they haven't really damaged our charts unfortunately - which is a shame because Losing A Friend was quite lovely, and they rocked Birmingham Pride last year with Sweet Dreams despite the fact that it was quite heavily raining. Listening to the entire album got me thinking that although they do it very well, they have chosen tracks that would work better for boys. Which is quite a rare thing - it's hard to imagine Westlife covering Sound Of The Underground or McFly doing Freak Like Me. V could have possibly pulled off Coffee if given the chance. Even back in the late 80s, most of Jason Donovan's albums sound like they could be Kylie tracks but not the other way round. The Nylon album is jam packed with tracks that would be ideal for the boyband in my forthcoming novel... Losing A Friend is a westlife esque ballad that would be very swoony sung in sexy suits sitting on stools; Summer's Gonna Come Again was originally a Supersister track but again would work as a nice dreamy midtempo ballad with the boys all looking forlorn on a beach at sunset; You're Not Alone ups the tempo somewhat and for balls to the wall funk, I can forsee some funky dance routines in tank tops to tracks like Sweet Dreams (which Switch22 have proved works well for boys!) and Only You (given a decent remix). It's not that Nylon do it badly - not at all, i really like the album. It just fits better for the boys. Like me ;)

LINK: Purchase Nylon Music

THE TOP FIVE SINGERS THEZAPPING LOVES (MALE AND FEMALE):

#4 ~ Darren Hayes: I couldn't possibly write more eloquently than Electroqueer and Dan already have about the magnificent Darren. Let's just say it's a known fact that I'm partial to a bit of Darren whether it be Hayes or Pants. But from his time in Savage Garden (where - correct me if i'm wrong - he seemed to be the George Michael of this wham set up) to his two solo albums, I've found immense depth in Darren's work. Even in what seem throwaway pop ditties like I Want You and the magnificent Affirmation, there are thought provoking lyrics and creative musical arrangements. He also knew how to write some amazing ballads such as Truly Madly Deeply and the gorgeous I Knew I Loved You. Solo, Darren wasn't afraid to take risks with his music (or sadly his hair - that long hair look in Insatiable was replaced by shorter foxier hair in Strange Relationship) and his last album - The Tension and The Spark featured some great electropop mixed with the stunning career highlight, Unloveable. I can't wait to see what delights this talented fella brings next.

Best track: Unloveable

#4 ~ Whitney: I already wrote a lot about Whitney Houston when i talked about her glorious I'm Your Baby Tonight album. I think that album and The Bodyguard represented Whitney at her pinnacle for me, and I can't remember loving two albums in succession more. And as she diverted into films, I even really appreciated the pure pop tracks she kept churning out alongside classic ballads, that put her neck and neck with Mariah in my middle america preferred singer lovefest. Indeed, her "comeback" album My Love is Your Love showed you could embrace new sounds and styles without diverting too much from what made you a huge success. Sadly in recent years, Whitney's personal life has overshadowed her professional career but songs like Same Script Different Cast and On My Own prove that she can still knock out a classic with the best of them.

Best track: Miracle

QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:

~ This is adorable

~ the fabulosity that is modern previews the pilots for next season. all a bit meh to be honest. I'm all about Primeval on Saturday on Itv..

~ ooo Jessica Poptastic has Lucas Gabreel from HSM singing on the fox and the hound 2 soundtrack. Sigh. I just got the dvd - i hope it doesn't ruin my love for the original :)

~ get in now as Will does an a-z of obscure and rare pop! Brillo!

~ Popjustice are raving about Lucky Twice. Any ref to A*Teens has my vote :)

~ I'm pretty sure it's a blogger's birthday tomorrow. I won't say who in case they don't want you to know but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Coming tomorrow ~ number 3 on my boy and girl singers list (if anyone guesses number three male you get a prize!! I don't think I've EVER mentioned him on this blog - it's my VERY secret shame!); Duncan James and the crimes against music punishment; maybe some fashion stuff or maybe something else, i haven't decided yet :)

If flies were cats you'd be a litter...

2007-02-05T07:44:00.000Z

So, it was first day at work today and I had to wear a suit to work for the first time in about a million years ;) First day in a new company is always weird – everyone sizing you up, people wondering why they didn’t get your job, everyone asking you a million and one questions without trying to seem to nosey... you know, the usual! But it all went ok – fancy new laptop, sexy new blackberry, i would say great new office, but it’s being painted so I had to share (oh the indignity of it all). And talk about being thrown in at the deep end – I have a hundred and one things to go through, which is all good as I like to keep busy. Still, it’s a bit of a culture shock after having two weeks off and being able to jet off to NYC at a moments notice!! DazPitabread also started work today at the place I used to work at until about 18 months ago... I knew everyone was lovely there, so i had no worries about my little muffin of stud fitting in. We were both exhausted and ravenous by the time we got home, so marks and spencers ready cooked meals it was (Cat will be so annoyed – she is always trying to get me to cook more in our kitchen!!) before quickly typing up this blog and now i am off for some serious spooning in bed. And it’s only nine pm! I am getting old before my time, i tells ya! Anyway, lots to write about today so I should let you get on with it!! PS, very disappointed that funky new laptop was ordered in advance for me so doesn’t have new Windows Vista on it. Does have adobe on though so expect some darling new attachments from me to this blog soon...
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THEZAPPING RECORD COMPANY PROJECT - WEEK FOUR:
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After taking a break from “releases” last week (due to the fact that I was in NYC – did i mention that??), there are two – count ‘em, two! – releases from the fictitious (at the moment, but one day – who knows?) thezapping record label this week. First up is the rather delicious Take Me Home Tonight by Bliss. This US girl group could quite easily fill the hole that will soon be left no doubt by Girls Aloud and Sugababes with their funky grooving pop tunes. I have written much about them in the past couple of weeks so I will let some of the other guest panel take a blog at them...
NICK: I like this… don't love it, but it was a good choice for a dancey cover version. It feels a bit like a demo, though… like there's something missing. I can't put my finger on it, but with a little noodling, I think this could be absolutely fantastic.
DIGITAL TECHNIQUE: A great pop/dance song - the kind of song that the UK charts are crying out for in 2007. Hopefully Bliss, can change the fate of girlgroups in the UK, where only Girls Aloud and the Sugababes have had any real success, while other groups such as Clea and Nylon have had very limited success. Another great artist that you've introduced me to Paul - thanks!!
POPPOSTERGIRL: I absolutely loved this from the moment I first heard it, but now I'm worried that I've gone off it somewhat. It's still good, especially the chorus and the way the voices overlap in the middle 8, and has that distinctively Jadion style. Why doesn't it get me excited as it once did? I don't know, but I want that feeling back...maybe it's just a phase I'm going through...I hope so.
DAN: I was in high school when the original version of this song was released. And it was one that I really loved. Eddie Money and Ronnie Spector recording a good pop/rock song that was very difficult to resist. And also impossible to avoid, they played the video non-stop on MTV back in the day. And while I'm not usually a big fan of covers, when they're done right, they can be exceptional. I don't think that this one is exceptional, but it is very good. For me, it's not different enough from the original version - it doesn't put it's own stamp on it. But perhaps I'm biased because I am so familiar with the original. Back when Kim Wilde redid "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and my parents said the Supremes did it better, I thought "Dear Lord, how backward!" I guess I have officially turned into my parents! :)
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And next up is Conor – an Irish lad with a love of all things 80s sounding and pop. My choice for his first single is the wham-tinged Club 55 which should easily shake off those early winter blues with it’s summery soulful vibe, relaxed beat and laid back yet catchy chorus. I can see a plethora of remixes doing this track the world of good in the clubs and a top notch video concept could help it straight into the charts. But enough from me – back to the guest panel for their input...
NICK: I'm not crazy about this. There's just nothing really spectacular that hooks me in. It sounds a lot like something that would have come out in the late 90's/early 00's when the teen pop movement was in full swing.
DAN: Conor channels George Michael a la "Fast Love" in the beginning. This is not a bad thing. It is a bit of a slow groove that I think would benefit from a good remix, but it's a very capable little pop tune and it makes me interested to hear a little more of what he does.
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LINK: Vote for Conor’s single here and Bliss’ single here...
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THE OTHER SONGS THEZAPPING REALLY LIKES THIS WEEK:
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Scissor Sisters ~ I Can’t Decide (thanks xo for pic)
While the band have gone for She’s My Man as their next single, I’m ignoring that choice and plumping for this honky tonk inspired ditty as the third single from Ta-Dah. A highlight of mine ever since I heard it at V Festival in August 2005, I knew it would become a favourite as soon as I saw it on the album tracklisting and have had to physically restrain myself (usually DazPosse’s job) from listening to it too often.
NICK: Oh, brilliance here! One of the better tracks off of one of 2006's best albums. Only the Scissor Sisters could record a song this odd and lace it with such a great pop edge. I doubt whether this will ever be released as a single, but it is definitely one of the catchier efforts from Ta- Dah.
DAN: This is a song I did not fully appreciate until just recently. It seemed a bit out of place on the CD - and the honky tonk piano! I just couldn't get into it. But then suddenly, it all fell together and it worked for me. I think what I love most about this song are the lyrics. And the part about burying the person alive, only to have them crawl out and kill Jake when he's sleeping - well, it almost qualifies as a zombie song! And as most know - I can't resist anything zombie.
Stefy ~ Chelsea
Thanks to popjustice this group are increasing in stature here in the UK and are bringing their No Doubt brand of ska-pop circa 1996 to rock our worlds this very month. Awash in synths, strong vocals and catch chorus, everything about this track makes it a winner
NICK: Though I was a bit let down by the actual album, Chelsea remains one of my favorite tracks from this summer (American release was in the summer, not sure about elsewhere). Somehow the obviously cribbed Eurythmics synth riff doesn't end up sounding lame. The song's just that good.
DT: One of my favourite songs of 2006, finally gets a UK release in 2007. It is a brilliant pop song with an 80's sound and a bassline that reminds me of the Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics at times. Hopefully, this song will be a huge success in the UK, so that they can release the album and the beautiful song, Orange County as a single, so that more people can hear it!!
PPG: synth-based pop-rock that, great as that backing is, owes a lot to the attitude and glamour conveyed by its singer. If Chelsea's "the kind of girl that's cold as ice/beautiful with nails filed sharp as knives," this song is perfect for her, cool and able to convey a sense of danger despite the glitter of those synths.
DAN: This song if fabulous with a capital F! It starts out with a very "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" riff, and it is VERY No Doubt as Paul pointed out earlier this week. I wish that Gwen Stefani would record stuff like this - rather than what tried to pass as good music on The Sweet Escape. OK, I'm probably being overly harsh on that CD - there are a few good songs, but this track is everything Gwen should be doing. With a chorus that refuses to be dislodged from your brain, it's headed toward a place on my best of 2007 list already.
G4 ~ Somebody To Love
If anyone should be covering Queen songs (apart from McFly) then it should be G4. They have more than enough poppera in their act to give it the right amount of pomp and circumstance that such a heady song deserves. I am crushing on this tune big time this week and it’s clear that these four lads are the real winners of the inaugural X Factor back in 2005.
NICK: I am not a fan of this "popera" stuff, and I thought I'd hate this, as this song has been covered to death. It does lend itself well to this genre, though, and I find myself enjoying it. Not even close to the original, mind you, but a good cover nonetheless.
DT: Have always been more of a fan of G4, than their 'popera' rivals Il Divo. They don't seam to take themselves as seriously as Il Divo, shown by their recent interpretation of the Big Brother theme tune on CBBLB. They always choose brilliantly unexpected songs to reinterpret such as this Queen classic, many of which I love anyway!! Probably the most successful act to come out of a UK reality TV series since Will Young and Lemar back in 2002, with 3 hit albums - it is shocking to think they were actually beaten in the final bt Steve Brookstein!! Who???
DAN: For me, nothing will top George Michael's version of this at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert. And at first, I balked at this version, especially the opening. But I do like it - quite a bit in fact. It's very "show-tuney" and I say that with love and esteem. A lot of Queen songs really were over-the-top and I think the treatment that G4 give it is appropriate. Plus, they do really sound good together!
BWO ~ Obsession
I think BWO are what steps and s club would be doing if they were still together and they had some sense. I love this type of pop music at the moment and i think it is utterly amazing. This tune could be played all day and i wouldn't get bored of it. Well not all day...
NICK: This is definitely one of the highlights of BWO's sophomore release for me. It sounds a lot like the stuff they did on their debut, and it's got a killer chorus. Is this to be released as a single? It would be a perfect capper for the album.
PPG: I don't care if this is a cover--it's still brilliant! It's not exactly a warm song--in fact, you could make a case for it sounding slightly soulless at points--but it's not supposed to be some affectionate ode to true love, and isn't obsession--real obession--at least the slightest bit scary? And draining? This song captures that perfectly, while also being catchy and almost dangerously addictive itself.
DAN: There's something oddly retro about this song. It reminds me of something that I might hear out at a bar 15 years ago, but from what I've been able to gather - that's simply not possible, right? I love the synths, the minor key, the killer chorus. What's not to love about this song? I realized that I had one other of their songs on my computer ("Open Door") so I checked out their stuff on Amazon (import only) and on iTunes (nada in the U.S. store) but I'll definitely be looking into them further.
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McFly ~ Translyvania
Another group that cover Queen exceeding well are my cheeky little McFly scamperoonies. But instead of doing another Don’t Stop Me Now, they have just created their own Queen sound and are releasing one of the best songs on their album. Just try telling me that the video won’t be one of their most spectacular yet. I am doubtful but really hoping that this will boost their lacklustre album sales... NICK: Probably my favorite McFly song, and one of the handful that converted me into a fan. Experimentation is a must when it comes to pop music, and this strange little rock opera certainly has that quality. Dougie wrote this, right? If so, they should let him write a lot more of the group's songs.
DT: When I bought the album, this was definitely my least favourite song on the album and I would skip the song when listening to the CD. It was only after it was announced as the 4th single, that I decided to give the song another chance and thank god I did!! What a great pop song and finally you get to hear Dougie sing a bit!! It is just as catchy as all of McFly's previous singles but like the Kaiser Chief's song, probably won't win over any non-McFly fans.
PPG: it's only the beginning, but I already know that this is going to be one of the singles of the year (let's just hope the British public recognize that!). Showy and dramatic, I've heard people compare this to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and, you know, I don't know if I'd disagree with that. At times, "Transylvania" sounds like three separate songs ripped straight out of a haunted house, though admittedly a very fun one, but by the time you get to the end--where Tom and Danny's overlapping question-and-answer session is joined with Dougie's singing (he's the writer of the song, and this is also the first time his singing has been featured on a McFly single), adorable in a slightly odd way but a perfect fit for the song--it all comes together and you're in complete music paradise. I don't know if I can fully convey how brilliant this song is without breaking into an extended essay, but for goodness sake, people, buy it when it comes out in April!
DAN: Wait a minute, isn't that the opening from Blondie's "No Exit" (a coupling with Coolio that is a total guilty pleasure mostly because I love it when Debbie Harry raps!) Ah, no matter, I have really no more to say about this other than it sounds like something out of the late 70s AM rock meets 21st century pop sensibility.
The Killers ~ Read My Mind
The Killers album Sam’s Town has been a real grower for me and each single off it improves on the last one. NME wrote last year that this would be one of the stadium anthems of 2007 and I can’t disagree with that statement. Everything about it just screams arms in the air massive tune and I can’t wait to see them at V Festival as headliners later this year...
NICK: A fantastic choice for a third single from these guys. If this song isn't a worldwide hit, I'll be very surprised. It just has that soaring, anthematic quality to it. Plus, from the pics I've seen from the video shoot for this track, the music video should be a lot better than the lame (sorry, but it was lame) clip for Bones.
DAN: I'm not a huge fan of The Killers - the only thing that really did it for me on their last album was "Mr. Brightside", and that I discovered via the Jacques Lu Cont remix. Consequently, I didn't get too worked up when they released a new CD last year - it just didn't really interest me all that much. This song, however, is pretty good. I think what I don't like about the Killers is how disinterested Brandon Flowers seems - but for whatever reason, it works every now and again. And it works here. Plus I really enjoy the melody of this song - musically, it's very solid. It probably won't make me change my overall opinion on The Killers, but this will probably take a place alongside "Mr. Brightside."
Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
Everyone was blathering on about how the Kaisers were going to lose the whooooahs and nananas from their choruses and that bothered me. Luckily this perfect little pop rock gem proves that pop doesn’t need to be dancey to succeed and actually has a great sing a long chorus without the so called gimmicks. Just waiting for McFly to do it on the live lounge then...
NICK: An excellent taster of what's to come from this exciting band. From the sound of it, they haven't lost any of the verve that has made them so much fun and such a success. This sounds like it could have been lifted right off their first album, though it does have that undeniable quality that screams "single!".
DT: A brilliant comeback from the Kaiser's, it's almost like they have never been away. It sounds like classic Kaiser Chief's with catchy sing-a-long lyrics, that will get stuck in your head whether you like the song or not! Really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album, as Employment is still an album that I listen to regularly. If you weren't a fan of the band, the first time around, then this song probably won't win you over, but if you were one of the millions who were, then you will love it just as much as Oh My God, I Predict A Riot or any of the songs on Employment.
PPG: though I've got the Kaiser Chiefs album (or, more accurately, I checked it out from a library and ripped the songs off of it), I've never listened to more than "I Predict A Riot," which is admittedly quite good. Maybe that's why all the complaints that this sounds like their old stuff don't hold true for me; I don't know what most of their "old stuff" sounds like. It's the chorus that seals the deal here, with that repetition and those backing vocals adding up to something pretty catchy.
DAN: Another song with a killer chorus (something that seems to be a common thread in the songs this week.) And a great lyric "Due to lack of interest/Tomorrow has been cancelled." This is the first I'd heard of Kaiser Chiefs. It won't be the last.
Take That ~ Shine
I will just rave incessantly about this amazing amazing track if given the option so I'll let the bloggers do it for me :)
NICK: I've avoided this comeback album for some time now, but if there's more like this song on it I've made a terrible mistake. I love this track! It's like the perfect mix between Scissor Sisters and The Feeling (I'd say Laura meets Fill My Little World).
DT: Possibly one of my favourite TT songs ever, tho perhaps not quite as good as Back For Good!! It is nice to hear Mark Owen performing lead vocals on the track and has made my dig out both his most recent solo albums again!! To me it sounds like, they might have been inspired by the Scissor Sisters when writing this song, as I could easily imagine Jake singing it!
DAN: Opening with a beat reminiscent of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" or Scissor Sisters' "Laura", this song is so relentlessly upbeat that it's pretty much impossible to hate it. Here in the U.S., we really never got on board with Take That apart from "Back For Good." This single wouldn't fly in the States, that's for sure. But I'm glad that it's out there - proving yet again that all the best pop is coming from overseas these days.
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Thank you so much to the guys above who all make this feature amazimg. Anyone else want to contribute just email me at the usual address :)
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THE 11 TO WATCH IN 2007 NEW ADDITION:
I was very choosy about my beloved 11 to watch in 2007 line-up. And i am still pleased with every single choice I made. Sadly, in this fickle and tough world of pop, things happen and people with zest and talent and great fun songs don’t necessarily make it. Boo! So it is with some sadness that I announce that the lovely Lockdown call it a day :( As PPG pointed out in her comments yesterday, they were one of the few mixed-sex groups to allow the males to take lead vocals on the majority of the tracks. Luckily one of the main songwriting talents behind the group Chris Tolley has gone solo and is promising some funky pop-grooves to get us on the dancefloor later this year. You can check out his myspace page here, and i’ll be writing more about this fine young lad on Sunday’s 11 in 07 update...
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THE TOP FIVE SINGERS THEZAPPING LOVES (MALE AND FEMALE):
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And finally onto a feature I have wanted to do since I started this blog! So it’s only taken me nearly a year then! Eep! My top five male and female singers of all time. And both were really hard to do. Men because I don’t actually listen to that many solo male vocalists; female because i listen to a lot and both because it was hard to judge whether current acts were clouding my judgement over older ones i loved for many years. So here they are in descending order:
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#5 ~ Jason Mraz: I was surprised by how much i liked Jason Mraz. His two studio albums and a smattering of live releases, contributions to soundtracks and enjoyable live shows have meant that since about 2003/4 I have been enjoying one or more of his songs on a fairly consistent basis. And often it wasn’t his “big” lead off singles that had me enchanted – I was more wooed by Curbside Prophet and his cover of Melt With You than I was by his still excellent debut single The Remedy. And his second album had the glorious life-affirming Life Is Wonderful as well as studio outtake, the dreamy I’m Yours. From his clever faux-rapping, to creep up and grab ya choruses and his distinctive vocal stylings, this is one young dude who seems to be far too unappreciated in my book.
Best Song: Life Is Wonderful
#5 ~ Mariah Carey: There will be no huge surprises in my top five ladeez other than to say they are all singers who were just huge for me in the 90s and while I have fallen in love with many a female singer in the new millenium, none have come close enough to unseat my power 5. Mariah basically was the new Whitney when she emerged in 1990 with the extremely gorgeous Vision of Love. Everything she did for about 7 years seemed to be gold for me. Can’t Let Go, hero, always be my baby, all i want for christmas is you, fantasy, etc. Her list of ballads and r’n’b tinged pop songs in the first half of the 90s remains unbeaten for quality music. It all went a bit slutty and hiphop after the Butterfly album, and though i still follow her career, the music doesn’t grab me like it used to. Still, for the many hours of enjoyment she has provided, Mariah places at number 5.
Best Song: Always Be My Baby
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COMING SOON:
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A sneak peek at the all new zapping (see part logo above); why keane are the old feeling; should we give duncan james a chance; and possibly on the best boyband album ever - by a girl group :) Plus number four on the men women singers countdown. NYC coming soon too, i promise :)

last day of freedom

2007-02-04T13:11:00.000Z

Well well well, what a night out. It was a lot of fun and sadly all the pictures are far too hideous to post here! Eep! Unless there is a huge public outcry for them of course... Darren was slightly tipsy once again and was knocking back the beers like they were mothers milk (ew). I was rather mortified when during a rather strenuous dance move his belt buckle broke and went flying off! Cut to about 10 people (friends AND strangers) all fiddling around his crotch trying to repair it while he obliviously carried on dancing! Sweet georgia brown. And that wasn't the only drama of the night. Whilst (peeing) I noticed the urinal leaked so stepped back a bit which impaired my judgement a little bit and I ended up (peeing) a little on the man next to me's shoe. Ew. So i apologised and said oh I'm really sorry and mortified, etc. And HE said "that's ok next to you pee on me you should be in the shower with me!!!! I could use a new (c**t) boy!" I have never been so shocked in all my live long days! I couldn't get out of there fast enough. How repugnant!! Shocking! What is wrong with the world?! Anyway, on with todays slightly long 11 to watch in 2007 post...
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THE 11 TO WATCH IN 2007 UPDATE # 4:
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Simon Curtis:
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Regular readers of thezapping will know I've adored Simon's music for a while now (google simon curtis and my blog comes up a ridiculous amount of times!), and what a bonus that he turned out to be a super nice guy too. I couldn't be happier that other blogging sites are starting to promote him now (though popjustice was tuned into him far before me!) - and today the lovely Raj at Electroqueer has published his interview with Simon that makes for a great read. If you click on the Simon Curtis tab at the top of this page, you can check out our interview with Simon from just after Christmas. I know Simon will be pleased that Raj loves Answer - if i recall correctly it is the song he wanted as his lead off single :) Simon has also put together a sampler of four tracks from his forthcoming album Alter Boy which he has made available to blogs as a guilt free download. And I absolutely promise that a review of Resist and a track called London are coming soon. Maybe :)
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DOWNLOAD: Simon Curtis Alter Boy sampler
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Bliss:
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Aw, the lovely Bliss girls are starting to pick up steam. Not only does their fine single Take Me Home Tonight debut on my chart this week (see right), but they have a rather groovy remix of the track by Klubjumpers which amps up the track's funkability factor to the nth degree and makes an already great song a hot dancefloor stomper. And not only this, other people are starting to realise the utter appeal of this group - you can request this song on Jammin radio and you can also check out the weekly single reviews on this very website tomorrow. PS Jadion who produced this song and is quite clearly a genius has a rather artistic looking new photo of himself up on his page. Very Ari from Entourage!
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LINK: Request Take Me Home Tonight at Jammin 101
LINK: Jadion's myspace page
STREAM: Take Me Home Tonight ~ Klubjumpers remix
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Conor:
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Young Conor has always had a penchant for creating deliriously catchy pop ditties that evoke memories of the 80s george michael and early savage garden, designed to tickle the tastebuds of pop with all their non-pretentious goodness. However, new track Fool For Loving You (posted this week on his myspace) sees him upping the guitar ante and rocking out a little. Coming across as a self assured rock god suits Mr Conor as do his new photos and gives him a very rounded portfolio. Our pick for first single now balances between the laid back Club 55 and this catchy little ditty...
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Billiam:
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There is nothing I love better than a boyband who knows they are a boyband, worship pop and other boybands and produce poppy delights in their tracks. So hurrah for the return of Billiam! And they have grown. In fact now there are four of them and they are ready for their time on the red carpet. Hopefully very soon, you will get to hear previews of some great new tracks they have been working on and I have it directly from Stephen that they are working on some killer dance routines to go with them. If you are at Butlins in Skegness on Feb 11th you will probably get a glimpse of the routines. Plus welcome Gez and Jordan to the group ~ I particularly like the fact that Gez on his myspace page has a top that i own on!! (well not my top obviously, just one from the same store ;) )
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Justin Lanning:

Justin has been a busy boy of late. Not only has he got a whole plethora of the quite amusing actually Justin's World vidclips coming out way, but he has posted a quite mournful sorrowful demo called Once In My Life. It's a very acoustic piano vocal ballad that evokes memories of Uninvited by Alanis Morrisette and I can't wait to hear a fully produced version. I really like the restrained version but can imagine that cranking up the drama in the song will make it a stunning performance. Catch it while you can - Justin has sold his car to help finance some new tracks which will be up soon...
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Digital:
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Just a brief tease of what's to come from Digital - their official website launches on Wednesday and I have it from the highest authority that their two best tracks to date will be revealed at the very same time. Cut to me being over analogue and all about the Digital :)
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Other brief news ~ don't forget Digital, Beyond, Switch22 and Jean are at popshow in London on Feb 20th; one of my 11 in 07 has called it a day ~ come back tomorrow to see who and who will be replacing them...
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:

~ My good pal Bernice has got her own myspace page! Hurrah! It's a bit sparse but go and add her any way and enjoy her buxom charms! Plus!! Ruthiepoos said if i can get ten people to sign up to her having a myspace page, she will do one! Leave a comment folks!
~ My new charts are up to your right ~ new entries for Bliss and Lily Allen! Plus after four weeks on top, Simon Curtis ends his second run at number one and is replaced by Take That with Shine :)
~ Final vegas days up at holiday diaries. The NYC adventures start this week!
~ Darren and I start our new jobs tomorrow. EEK! Wish us luck :)
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Coming Monday ~ a rather large singles review and zapping record company post; my 5th fave male singer; my 5th fave female singer; the newest replacement in our 11 in 07 feature and maybe another musicals revue depending on how my first day goes :)

all hail the blogmaster...

2007-02-03T13:09:00.000Z

As a child we would all sit around on a saturday singing "saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for sunday", which was a load of old bollocks really, cos saturday is much better than Sunday. The shops don't even open til later on a sunday which is a right jip. Anyway, what a busy saturday morning I have already had. DazPotato and I scrubbed the apartment from top to bottom (him being top me being bottom, ba dom tssk!) and had a good tidy up and then were exhausted so I had four croissants and darren had a lovely bowl of scotch broth. We then went out to test his new GPRS tom tom thingy which he got far too overstimulated over and I wanted to kill the voice telling me to turn round because I had gone the wrong way. Marv. We are off for a bop tonight so expect lots of pictures and some drunken ramblings tomorrow. It's all good! And of course there is still today's post for me to write! Huzzah - all hail the blogmaster...
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THEZAPPING GUEST REVIEW BY ANDI:
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Andi is one of my myspace friends and was kind enough to let me use his review of my lovely Eton Road at the Nightingale Club which is just round the corner from my house. I so would have been there, but was freezing my tookus off in NYC...
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"Eton Rd & Ben Mills at The Nightingale Club Birmingham.

Fantastic X-Factor night doubled up as a New Year Eve Re-run party! What should have been a fun evening turned into a bit of a brawl! The club seemed to be focussed on making as much money as possible and let a stupid ammount of people into the club which meant the place was in a right mess! The toilets were discusting, took ages to get served at the bar (however they were still polite and friendly and were doing their best!) and lastly crowd troubles! I know it sounds stupid to say crowd troubles at a night club but us all at the front were getting so squashed because stupid queens felt it absolutly hilarious to push others in the crowd! Security were about as usefull as a condom in a nunnery! Thinking bitchy stares at people would solve the problem, why they just request the DJ to make an announcement or chuck out the people who they could clearly see where causing it I have no idea!

Anyway enough of the complaints but it sadly did over shadow the show put on by Ben and Eton Rd!

Ben Mills was on first sporting his new hair style by Nicky Clarke! He came on to stage and was greeted by some 'boos' which I didnt think wasvery nice, he started off with 'Still haven't found what I'm looking for' followed by 'Maggie' and 'Brown Eyed Girl' I have to admit I did start to get a bit bored at this point and the songs went on a bit Boring Ben styley! But he finished with The Aerosmith Classis 'Don't wanna miss a thing' which was good!! You can't deny the fact the guy has a great voice, but the songs he performs are a bit obvious and boring, I do hope he works with some great song writers and does something good! Not the sort of act that should have been booked for the Nightingale in my opinion!

Well FINALLY at 2am, after being pushed, squashed,and leaned on by a guy so drugged up Pete Doherty would be envious it was time for Eton Rd!!!!

They ran on stage to perform 'I Dont Feel Like Dancing', 'Me To You', followed by 'My Girl' however Anthony and David were quite clearly singing 'My Boy', They continued with the fab ABBA track 'Does Your Mother Know' which was great! Then thrusting the middles to 'Everybody needs Somebody' before finishing with 'I Dont Feel Like Dancing'. I thought Eton Rd were great entertainers but feel they really do need to work on their act slightly. Some people have said they are a new Take That which I think with time they could potentially, but they need to work more together and Anthony definatly needs to get more involved! They have a great look, great voices, they now need to work on the stage performance! Gorgeous guys considering the youngest is17! I hope they get a record deal! Looking forward to the X-Factor tour!!!"
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Thanks to Andi for letting me use his sterling review. You can check out his myspace page by clicking here and listen to an interview with Eton Road from some Liverpool radio station by clicking here...
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THE WHAT THE FUCK AWARDS:
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I'm not allowed to say fuck anymore. Well of course i am as it's my blog and i'll fuck if i want to, but i really should give my poor dad some warning. I think it caused him some consternation when he read the other day that DazPersuasive had bumsexed me into wanting a skyplus box (which still isn't bloody working properly). It was all "does bumsex mean what i think it does? I tried that with your mother once but she wasn't having any of it so i pretended that i had got the wrong hole!" Oh my god. Who says blogging won't lead to years of therapy. Anyway my fuck was directed at the outrage raised in me when i read the nominees for the NME awards. The feeling as worst band and album? Russell Brand as best dressed? Pete Doherty as hero of the year?!?!? Oh sweet lord. And i'm too bored to even comment on the Brit Awards. It's all cool for the sake of looking cool. Next AA will be honouring Amy Wino for something or the other. Filthy lush. So instead why not vote for your top ten pop albums of all time by emailing your selections and comments to I'm Always Right. Or you could even go to the gay times awards and vote for the feeling as best band, Simon Curtis as best solo artist and thezapping as best website. Make me proud dudes!
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THE MUSICALS REVUE PART FOUR - FORBIDDEN BROADWAY
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Forbidden Broadway has been running several years and is a whipsmart parody of some of the biggest shows close to 42nd Street. Turning the most popular songs into conversational set pieces, this proper revue act turns the flaws of the shows and juciest gossip flying around times square into hummable ditties. The latest show ~ Special Victims Unit ~ parodies Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage Aux Folles and my fave, the beloved Wicked (see Pinkie's more detailed synopsis on the song Wickeder here!) Linked together the story is as wafer thin as Britney's voice but is stil an enjoyable romp. As is Musical of Musicals which is currently running at the Kings Head Theatre in Islington. It too has patiches of musicals, fun performances and lots of in jokes about How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. By utilising the musical styles of composers like Kander and Ebb, Lloyd Webber and Rogers and Hammerstein, the show feels more cohesive than Forbidden, but there is no denying that both are an awful lot of fun...
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LINK: Purchase Forbidden Broadway
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ it's almost a banterview but it's not titled as such as Moogaboo and J'Ason take apart the broad who didn't win the last American Idol and put to rights her only ok album...
~ Ooo Dirrrtypop go all wholesome and interview minx in making Ashley Tisdale!
~ There is no point in highlighting one song on Nick's site - they are all so good, so get on over there and have a gander. giddy up!
~ Will has a very exciting track by Mint Royale that samples wham just in time for my weekend going out mix cd. More acts should sample wham...
~ Samuel hotstuffguy has the video for my FAVE lily allen song Alfie. Marv.
~ OOO! New mcfly single covers over at I'm Always Right. How spunkerific.
~ Have i mentioned recently that modern fabulosity continues to document all things modern and fabulous. I could take up half a page telling you what, but honestly it's much better for you to just go there and revel in the silky goodness...
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Coming soon ~ the new york adventure in full glorious technicolour; my night out; an 11 in 07 update and something else i was going to do but can't remember right now!!!

cos friday i'm in love

2007-02-02T05:14:00.000Z

Good friday to you all. Well not Good Friday in the Jesus easter sense of the term, just hope you all having a good friday. I am, although it is my last weekday off work as I start my new job on Monday - the same day Darren starts his! Still, i'm eager to start work and get stuck in and have two sexy new suits bought in NYC to dazzle people with. There's something sexy about a bloke in a suit, n'est pas? I will probably fancy myself come Monday :) Or something less self absorbed... Anyway, DazPokeypokey (you know what I mean Bernice!) and I went shopping today (again!) and rather frivolously bought a rather brilliant kettle/toaster/panini maker set that looks uber modern and fab. Will post pics tomorrow as I know you all can't wait to see them! Also expect some exciting zapping news coming next week... Anyway, have a fair bit to blog about today. Thanks for all the comments and messages welcoming me back. Lord knows what you will all do when I am in Florida for two weeks!! On with the post...
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THE REMNANTS OF 2006 RETURN (HOPEFULLY)
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There were a plethora of acts I hoped would make it in 2006. And some did - The Feeling, Mohair, Lily Allen and some had a good bash - the upper room, lorraine, modern room who still all may continue in one form or another. But some acts I championed last year didn't make it or really didn't get the success I felt they deserved in the UK. Let's take a look at 5 acts (some of whom had varying success elsewhere around the globe) that i'm hoping will hit the UK charts this year, with my ideas for their first four singles if starting again and where you can find their music...
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Panic! At The Disco ~ they're a bit of a freak of nature really aren't they? All goth make up, mormon upbringings, circus like showmanship and videos that seem inspired by Moulin Rouge meets Nightmare Before Christmas. Their debut album is jam packed with gloriously OTT singalong anthems that have a healthy dollop of cabaret mixed in with their love of synth. Why Fall Out Boy got all the attention is an unfair mystery waiting to be solved.
First Four Singles: I Write Sins; Lying Is The Most Fun; The Only Difference; But It's Better
Where to hear them: Their official site...
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Stefy ~ remember when Gwen Stefani used to crank out power pop anthems with No Doubt that were totally fun and poppy? You know - Just A Girl, Spiderwebs, etc? Well she still does only not as Gwen Stefani - as Stefy who couldn't have cloned No Doubt more if they tried. And they probably did, yet their style and songs are utterly addictive and fun and popjustice love them so they will probably do bugger all over here tragically, but one can hope.
First Four Singles: Chelsea; Hey Schoolboy; Orange County (so Vitamin C!); You And Me...
Where to hear them: Their myspace site...
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The Click Five ~ What can i really say about these boys that hasn't already been said before? They so could rival McFly here yet don't thanks to bad promotion... knock out some of their power pop tracks as singles here, get them on the music stations and make them pal up with Sam and Mark on BBC1 on a saturday morning and they've got it made! Plus, loving the fact that Time Machine is being used by Disney to advertise Orlando!
First Four Singles: Pop Princess; Just The Girl; Catch Your Wave; Time Machine
Where to hear them: their official homepage...
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Alexis Strum ~ will the Lex ever make it big in England or has her time passed? Maybe she should get her ass down to the next X Factor auditions, that way she could have at least one single before fading into unfair obscurity. She's the next Nerina Pallot waiting to happen - may never be huge, but certainly deserves some success for her darling tunes. I do judge her a bit for liking Perez Hilton though...
First Four Singles: Bad Haircut; The Long Way Home; Nothing Good About This Goodbye; I'll See You This Christmas
Where to hear them: her myspace site...
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The Bishops ~ the college boys McFly (though why college boys wouldn't adore those rogues is quite simply unthinkable!) with their beatles for the new millenium schtick, these boys are making waves around the world but more importantly making insanely catchy guitar pop tunes that deserve a much wider platform. Launch them properly with a single and a video that didn't cost £10 to make and they may be onto a winner... First Four Singles: Menace About Town; Only Place To Look; Higher Now; Breakaway
Where to hear them: their myspace site...
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THE TRACKS I LIKE AND WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:
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D:Vided ~ a take that/westlife/boyband tribute act who for some reason I find rather brillo - if I had the cash I would so book them for my birthday party in may. Are you listening to this, dazpresent? Plus at least two of them are quite good looking. And at least they are not pretending to emulate a boyband - they just go right ahead and copy. Check out their myspace...
Mika ~ Ring Ring is a bonus track on his debut album Life in Cartoon Motion and is a bit rockier than most of his other songs. Download it here thanks to My Dirty Lies oh and check out Hips Don't Lie from BBC Live Lounge... i love that he cracks up halfway thru!
Hayden Pantierre ~ I Still Believe is taken from Cinderella 3 and is your usual Disney type swaying ballad. Which i love so its all good - plus she is from Heroes so she gets bonus points. Download it via Jessica's poptastic site :)
Hilary Duff ~ With Love is a rather funky pop track proving that she and Ashley Tisdale are bring forth some great pop from the US. Check out this download at Jessica again!
Lily Allen - mark ronson has done an amazing remix of smile, all muted 60s horns which up the already high charm factor of the song by about a million. Just lovely. Check it out on Mark Ronson's myspace page.
The Ark ~ I belatedly got into these swedish boys last year, and have been excited to hear their new single - and it doesn't disappoint! Hurrah, etc. You can check it out here thanks to the fine folks at HomoEclectic
Girls Aloud vs Sugababes ~ hmmm, its for charity so it's all good but this may have to grow on me much like the initially disappointing Easy and Something Kinda Ooh did. You can sample it in all it's not yet very impressive glory here thanks to Denmarkknight at the music wave forums.
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Remember folks to support the artists by buying their music too :)
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THE MUSICALS REVUE PART THREE - HAIRSPRAY
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While the 2002 cast recording features Deborah Gibson's pal Janet Marissa Winokur, it's slightly more exciting that the current broadway cast of this totally fun show features my American Idol fave Diana DeGarmo (in a role she was born to play!) and desperado Ashley Parker Angel from O-Town fame! Hurrah! Who says reality tv kills your career (oh. Jade!). It's certainly a peppy, upbeat show with totally catchy soundtrack about a young girl who longs to dance on American Bandstand but doesn't fit that "typical teenager mould" - and is further stunned that white people can't dance with african americans :O An issues based musical can sometimes be a drag but never here. From the very peppy opening number Good Morning Baltimore to the stunning finale You Can't Stop The Beat, this is a winner all the way through and utterly delicious. Can't wait for the movie remake later this year :)
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LINK: Purchase Hairspray the soundtrack
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THE TIME OF THE MONTH (PART TWO):
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Ahhh, more magazines coming my way :) Marv. Above is some random italian fashion magazine I picked up and was rather pleased to find some piccies of Wentworth Miller snuggled away inside. Bellissimo. Talking of italy - when is Pinkie back? PS note to stylist - the faux tuck is so over!
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AXM tends to skew a little young for me, but you can always rely on the gay mag to be stuffed with pop fashion and hunky men, and really what else do you need from a magazine. Oh don't give me that "i buy it for the articles" nonsense... ;)
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And having been my favourite magazine for many years now, my $99 a year subscription to Entertainment Weekly continues to be utterly marv, especially when it has JT on the cover (though their Grey's Anatomy entertainers of the year cover was much more RAR). Sigh, that is it til next month then :(
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Coming this weekend ~ a MAMMOTH 11 to watch in 2007 update; more musical revues; some alternative bands to watch; and some nonsense about rubbish awards... plus some other stuff too :) Be there dudes!

it started with a kiss...

2007-02-01T14:22:00.000Z

Hello dudes! What a day it's been! I waited in all day for our new sky plus box (tivo) to arrive and of course they never turn up when they promise. Then the chain smoking installation guy absolutely refuses to come up as he can't find anywhere to park, so makes me meet him on the corner (i thought that part of my career was over!) of the street behind the building and just shoves the box into my hand, like some dodgy dealer. I then, with excessively limited technical skills had to install it myself, which of course led to me being on hold to the premium rate customer service number, who were then most unhelpful and blamed me for setting it up incorrectly. I was not a happy bunny. Still i can now pause live tv and record whole series at the click of a button. Darren has wanted it for ages but had to bum-sex me into submission before i acquiesced. We then spent the evening shopping for new trousers for work (darren) and the new julia golding book (me). We also both spent far too long running up our mobile phone bills catching up with friends (hello Cat! Bernice! Ruthless!!) and then i was on the phone being interviewed by a major gay publication (can't say what yet!!). So all in all a very phone-centric day, but lots of fun in the end :) Suppose I should get on with today's picture heavy post!!

THE THINGS I DON'T GET:

Some things I will never understand - the appeal of Fergie, Gwen Stefani's second album (outstanding interview in Instinct not withstanding of course!), how Epic movie took $20 million in it's first weekend and how Charmed lasted 8 seasons (I'm guessing lots of breasts). Somethings I think I will get because I am on board before it even enters existence - Robbie Williams' Rudebox and Keane's Under The Iron Sea I was all excited for then they arrived and after months of seriously trying I am still only marginally impressed (and if it takes that much effort is it really worth it? Music is meant to be a pleasure not a chore!) And then there are acts who appear to be globlogally loved that I just truly don't understand. So I have to get this out the way - I've done extensive research on this singer. Rob(o)pop sent me a comprehensive study of this singers career. XO alerted me to key tracks and I even purchased their latest EP (but ultimately flogged it on Ebay). But (never start a sentence with But - and hands off my bad copy D'Luv ;) ) I still don't understand the universal jizzfest that takes place everytime Robyn's name is mentioned. And I'm not even exactly sure why that is - something about the whole package just doesn't do it for me. I'm not saying it isn't good or great - it's just not good or great for me. And that should be ok - i'm sure i like plenty of people that other people don't get. Darren still raises an eyebrow at my undying loyalty to Deborah Gibson! But in the interest of fairness I just listened to Rakamonie EP again as I typed this. Nothing! Still, you can't say I didn't try...

THE BOOKS THAT BECAME FILMS:

I have to admit that I'm partial to my children's serialised books. For tweens and teens. Or continuing stories for independent readers as Borders in NYC called them (did I mention I've been to NYC recently??)... Anyway, when they are translated into films, they seem to have mixed results. it's a risky business isn't it? Some fan will probably moan that a line of dialogue on page 328 has been cut which will completely alter the theme of book 17 should it ever get made. So Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Series of Events (despite GREAT casting) was a bit hit and miss because 3 books worth of plot were squeezed into one film (when clearly it should have been a mini series of 13 one hour animated shows on Nickelodeon). Eragon (of the Inheritance trilogy) was much like the book - trying to be too harry potter meets Lord of the Rings. And some of the coming of age charm of the novel is lost on celluloid. For me, I've always been quite pleased with the Harry Potter films. Order of the Phoenix is out in July and thanks to director David Yates promises to up the ante on the political thriller aspects. Cue months of "ooo it is so much darker" before the release date! And of course Philip Pulman's The Golden Compass (from His Dark Materials) - the books are amazing so hopefully the film won't fuck it up! PS ~ Narnia and Lord of the Rings are about as perfect adaptations as you can get :)

THE MUSICALS REVUE PART TWO - THE ALTAR BOYZ:

The Altar Boyz may well be the greatest fake boyband ever. So much better than the australian parody everyone is raving about. And wasn't there something similar on MTV a while back? I mean, I was the mormon equivalent of an altar boy growing up. I don't really recall there being that much choreography involved, and the emphasis was on not rocking out. So not much like this stage show and its aces soundtrack then! But it may have been a lot more fun - the boyz (Matthew Mark, Luke and Juan) are called by God to go forth and spread the word with catchy songs, anoint their hair with product and gird their loins with pleather! I mean, it's boyband heaven - the songs perfectly parody the type of music BSB and N*Sync were doing in the late 90s and songs with lyrics such as "Jesus called me on my cell/no roaming charges were incurred/ he told me to go forth and spread the word" and raps about the miracles of the new testament can't fail to raise a smile and get you singing them for days afterwards! And if you can stop laughing and wishing all boyband "albums" were this much fun, then you'll actually find a quite universal message - stick up for your friends, be true to yourself and make the world a better place. Quite.

LINK: The altar boyz homepage

LINK: The altar boyz myspace page

LINK: Purchase the altar boyz soundtrack

THE TIME OF THE MONTH:

At thezapping central, we love the beginning of the month because we love getting all the new magazines. And by thezapping central, I mean our lovely little apartment with stunning hardwood floors. And by we, I fo shizzle mean DazPleaseSubscribeIt'sCheaper and myself. And by love getting all the magazines, I mean I buy loads and Darren raises his eyebrow at how I can spend so much on disposable products while still getting a daily starbucks. But I think you get my drift. This month, being in NYC (did i mention i had just got back?!) I got to pick up two magazines I can't get in England - Instinct (because it's a saucy read - great article on ex gay camp this month - and i think the managing editor does a sterling job) and Player (above - mainly for the foxy milo ventimiglia pics in it). Rar, etc.

But hurrah - attitude hasn't folded and mcfly are still as naked as ever! Bonza! Bless those adorable little rogues! And thank god the 'Tude is still on the stands. It makes the world such a brighter place :)

And of course, Inside Soap has got the whole skinny on HollyBlokes going all gay on us again. Not before time I say either. It must be a haven of homoeroticism back stage at their studios. I would probably get the vapours from all the testosterone. Which is a-ok. Oh and come back tomorrow for 3 more magazines I am loving this week!

QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:

~ ooo, ooo and something kinda ooo! While Dannyboy Radcliffe gets his kit off inappropriately if you ask me for some play about being obsessed with horses, JK Rowling does the decent things and announces July 21st as the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. How exciting and kind of sad. Cut to me texting my friend Simon and us both being thrilled to sticky white love piss as the countdown begins...

~ the artists formerly known as The Modern are back with a new video for Discotheque Francais and you can see it foxy arjanwrites...

~ somehow the world will carry on, but the beautiful south and rooster have both split and I for one am quite sad and somewhat sad respectively...

~ check out the quite good new song from No Angels posted by the brilliantly named Mary Cherry at the always sexy Don'tStopThePop...

~ lets look at the many ways we adore Electroqueer - he hangs out with tommy page, he has brilliant rants on his page and he loves longtime zapping fave Switch22 - and quite rightly so. The boys are lovely and have promised to buy me a drink at their next show ;) Mine's a tia maria and orange juice please!

~ XO has the new modern slash matinee club video too, and he's proper bonza in a michael hutchence-pre-autoeroticasphyxiation sort of way :)

~ Digital Technique has gone all new and chic. And loves Nylon ergo we love DT!

~ Congrats to Dan's daughter Anna on her first written words :) When's the blog?! PS - i so need to check out casey stratton. but what excited me the most that Dan's 3rd most played tune recently was a Big Fun track :)

Coming Friday ~ some more magazine stuff; something on the spin off blog; where some of my picks for 06 are now; some ace new tracks i'm loving...

PS ~ check out my updated charts to your right and head over to the holiday diaries for some vintage vegas!

i have returned...spread the word :)

2007-01-31T19:30:00.000Z

Hello my pretties! I have returned from the freezing coldness that is New York City and I must say my lovely little Darren and I had an amazing amazing time :) Of course full details to come soon in the holidaydiaries blog and I will of course let you know when that is up. In the meantime head on over to myspace to check out a sample of the pics we took :) I have to say that for the past year or so I have done nothing but write. I write any thoughts i have about what i want to put on my blog, i write down things that have happened to me, i write down ideas for my books, i write down anything that comes into my mind. My life is documented in a folder of scraps of paper, magazine cuttings, notebook scribblings, etc. and of course some of it ends up on here, some of it is just for me and some of it is for my first novel - which one way or another you will be able to read this year. I'm excited that people actually enjoy this blog because originally it was just a way to get some of those thoughts down for family and friends and it grew to be something much bigger than that! Anyway, spread the word I'm back and you guys are going to be thrilled with the one year anniversary makeover...
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COMING SOON TO THEZAPPING:
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There is so much good stuff coming up you will have more creme in your pants than on top of a delish Starbucks Vanilla Bean. Yum. Anyway check out some of the stuff coming your way in the next couple of weeks...

the return of quick bitz and blog watch...
an all new and funky posh new look for thezapping's one year anniversary on 25th February 2007 (with new web address...)
reviews of new songs, new albums and new acts...
a look at some of the musicals from NYC and how they are sometimes more pop than pop...
a mammoth 11 to watch in 2007 update...
books that became films...
thezapping and friends singles reviews (and record company project...)
the continued greatness of ABC...
the new york city diaries...
my top five male singers...
my top five female singers...
things i just don't get...
where are my picks for 2006 in 2007???

and so much more it's not even funny! Stay tuned and spread the word!!
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THE DAY DISNEY BOUGHT SEXY BACK:
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I admit it - i'm a HUGE fan of Disney. From the tear jerkers like Bambi and Fox and the Hound to the revival musicals period of Little Mermaid thru to Tarzan, and then onto the new pixar years, I embrace my inner child and let the slightly guilty pleasures wash over me like a dazpants facial. But, let's face it - disney, try as they might, have never been cutting edge cool. Until they hired fab photographer Annie Leibovitz to put a little star power into their new "Year Of A Million Dreams" campaign. Starting in March and running throughout the year in mags like GQ, Vogue and W, celebs will be photographed as Disney characters in recreations of iconic scenes from their rich back catalogue of classic movies. First up is Bouncy as Alice in Wonderland and Scarlett Johannson (who was a right little minx in The Prestige) looking breathtaking as Cinderella. My fave has to be still jizzworthy David Beckham as Prince Phillip slaying the dragon in Sleeping Beauty. Not only does he look a bit RAR but his quote - "i'm the prince and i'm sort of slaying a dragon which i've never done before" - only further endears me to his Tim-nice-but-dim persona. Coming next? Peter Pan, tinkerbell and Ariel! oooo...
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THE NEW PAOLO VS. JAMES DEBATE:

While James Morrison stormed ahead with chart positions at the beginning, Paolo Nutini is currently wowing America and returning to the british album charts top ten and was totally able to win my heart with his gorgeous album These Streets. Now I have two more slightly similar but not really singers vying for my attention. On the one hand, there's Jamie T who pilfers a variety of styles from skiffle to hip hop yet always manages to make them sound like his own. He creates vivid characters to move his songs along and wraps them up in lyrically astute observations on modern living. Just Jack who is currently storming the charts with the fantastic Starz In Their Eyes sounds more like the type of bloke I'd take to the pub and try and sort out all his troubles. His sound veers towards jazz tinged beats, gorgeous horns and strings and a smattering of house music. He still has wry observations and conversational singing style that detail modern life, but it's his tunes about crap relationships and shallow living that make me want to hug him and put him everso much ahead of the still ace Jamie Treays...
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LINK: Purchase Jamie T's music
LINK: Purchase Just Jack's music
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THE MUSICALS REVUE PART ONE ~ SPRING AWAKENING:
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Lots of musicians have tried to create a rock and/or roll musical and failed. Billy Joel gave it a bash but bashed his car instead. Paul Simon tried. Even Bob Dylan jumped on the bandwagon but no times were changing or tills chinging for him. So how is it that Duncan Sheik succeeded where these stars failed? It may be that even though it's set in a 19th century boarding school, it's themes are completely relevant today. Or it may be that it is beloved by people like David Bowie, Amy Lee and David Byrne. Or perhaps it is that the show focuses on interior monologue that the audience can relate to - no singing to each other for this stage spectack. Most likely, however, it is because this rock musical comes across as more pop with catchy choruses, power pop chords and gorgeous if despairing ballads. Highlights include the revenge anthem Totally Fucked and a battle cry for anyone who has felt they don't fit into the world in The Bitch In Living. So unlike other rock operas, this show has legs that could run and run....
(More musical madness coming all this week!)
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LINK: Buy Spring Awakening
LINK: Buy tickets for Spring Awakening
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See y'all tomorrow folks!

GONE BYE BYE

2007-01-24T14:09:00.000Z

THEZAPPING RETURNS AT 11.00pm British Standard Time today!!!

(check the comments for brief update!)

Happy (insert fake age here) Birthday DazPants!

2007-01-23T18:54:00.000Z

Hurrah! Today is the lovely, sexy, funny and all round good egg DazPlacenta's birthday. He is... as old as you think he is and maybe a little younger than you think he is if you want to put him in a bad mood. After a night of lubricated snuggling, we both were wide awake at 2.30am so my little DazPenisPlanter caught up on Coronation St while I watched Ugly Betty in bed. Then went back to snooze for some serious spooning! Then I got up well early to call British Airways to see what i can do about my ticket to NYC (translation: nothing until Thursday - so I can get to NYC but can't get back! Hurrah!). No point yelling at the bloke on the phone (it's the fat cats at the top I'm mad at!) so just accepted it and decided to carry on as normal with holiday plans. Then had a nice day with la Pants - i got him tickets to the Sound of Music in London, a foxy new coat, some audio books, a tom tom GPRS thingy for the car and some other guff I can't really remember right now :) Anyway a super day was had by all. Happy Birthday Dave (don't ask) you are well in for some tender expression of love later...

THE POP SONG REVIVAL THREAD CAMPAIGN (PART TWO):

Indeed, if you click right here you will see last week's debut effort of this mildly diverting past time. So raiding through my substantial panty drawer once more has bought out this weeks array of pop goodies from days gone by that totally deserve a dusting off!

~ Prince: Get Off

Along with Janet Jackson's If, this was one of the most filthy songs I owned in my early 20s, a time when a person is quite in the mood for filthy sex. A driving downright dirty thrusting r'n'b scorcher of a track, i can't help but feel if this was remade today it would be melting down the airways in no time flat. So although it's probably considered bad form to release a cover version as a first single, it would certainly be memorable (and with a suitably bordering on homoerotic porn video) and no doubt create a few tabloid inches if an act like Avenue came racing out the gate with something so bold and unexpected...

~ Kim Appleby: Don't Worry
Surely one of the most exuberant, joyous and uplifting pure pop songs ever recorded. Bouncy backing track, gloriously mixed to a frenzy of a chorus that recalls a time when we were all a little less cynical about pop and just knew what made us feel good. Or at least that is how it seems to me...So how about Geri Halliwell giving up on trying to cover what she considers "cool" songs like 100% Pure Love and giving us some kick-in-the-balls pop that we all deserve?

~ Bananarama: Every Shade of Blue

For some reason I always call this the lost Bananarama track, although I'm pretty sure it was a single in the late-ish 90s. A frenetic urgent track with plinking piano that is almost a pastiche to italian house music craze of the early 90s it then merges into a slick electro-pop ditty years before Girls Aloud reminded everyone of how good that could be. Great breathy vocals and a magnificently dreamy pop-dance chorus, this song is crying for Jadion and Fayden to get their hands on it and work some magic with the Bliss girls...

~ Sybill: When I'm Good and Ready
Remember when SAW could do no wrong? (That's if this was one of their tracks - once again i'm too lazy to do a quick google search. It's called the Victoria Newton school of journalism). Much like Don't Worry, this was a rousing pop anthem that was just a giddy experience to listen to. And it didn't sound lousy on the dancefloor either. If not quite the new I Will Survive, it is certainly a disco thumper that deserves rescuing from the annals of history!! Now who to cover it??

~ Abba: The Soldiers

As beloved and popular as Abba are, many of their "non-single" release songs are equally as magnificent as the singles and are probably infinitely more cover-able as casual abba fans won't know them as well. This is an amazing pop song with a little bit of rock thrown in and following Veronica Mars' news that Gareth is returning, this would be a great little cover for our Mr Gates... (watergate, shilpagate, garethgates?) and really show off what a nifty little pop voice the emerging RAR man has :) More pop history covers coming soon!

THE ARIGATOU SONG:

I do love it when new songs from my 11 to watch in 2007 pop up - recently there has been some great music from Simon, a new song yesterday from Digital and today I turn my attention to the gorgeous piano stylings of Gavin Mikhail. As a bonus track on the Japanese release of his album Like Normal People Do, Not Enough (acoustic) is a more than welcome addition. Basically, i'm a sucker for a song that showcases piano skills and there is some beautiful melody and chord work going on in this song as well as some powerful use of crescendo. Gavin has an amazing voice and this emotive song suits it well. The intimate arrangement works well and frames the heartache the song is dealing well. I'm eager to see how powerful a "fully produced" version would turn out. Plus the new mix of Catch Your Fall is pretty amazing too - it's very orchestral and brings a certain majesty to a song that has already captured my heart. Sigh. I love Gavin more and more with each listen!

LINK: Gavin Mikhail's myspace site (stream Not Enough)

LINK: Purchase Like Normal People Do Japanese edition

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THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A CASSEROLE:

Ask my friend Cat. I never cook. Which is probably why I spend a fortune on shopping in Marks and Spencers - it's like buying a home cooked meal that someone else has prepared for you. Or we eat out. We are surrounded by restaurants. It's a temptation. When ruthiepoos house sits she despairs as she is a cooker (is that what the kids are calling the lesbians nowadays!!) and we just don't have anything to inspire her. Although i think there is a little oregano in the cupboard love. However, I do know what makes a good (though probably only tolerable for one album) cheesy cheesy pop band. If you take a smidgeon of Steps, some SClub sass, mix in a dollop of All*stars and A*Teens, stir with a generous helping of Aqua and Lazytown, bake under a dim bulb (also known as Atomic Kitten), season with suitably gay looking dudes and you would take out 25 minutes later Ch!pz. Now i don't know much about this band, other than their music is insanely cheesy but utterly addictive in a guilty pleasure way. Some of their songs are utter cack, but the ones that aren't are basically good solid fun without a hint of pretention or cool. And as i've mentioned before, sometimes that is all you can want out of a pop tune. Something that bobs through your head for three minutes and leaves you with a smile of your face. Although they may want to sophisticate things up for a second album... and lord help us all they are coming to england! So a few songs of fun, but choose wisely. The christmas one is, naturally, lovely...

LINK: Chipz official webpage

MP3: Chipz ~ Christmas Time Is Here

MP3: Chipz ~ 1001 Arabian Nights

COMING SOON:

So thezapping is taking a break while we jet off over to NYC for about a week. It will of course return in full force next Wednesday (31st) with lots of goodies and gossip from NYC. Some of the stuff floating in my head right now that i want to write about includes more pop songs from history worth covering, some boyband retrospecticus, some greatest hits done right, revisitng people I was excited about last year but seem to have disappeared for a while so I'm starting over again with them (Stefy, Dangerous Muse, Young Love, Alexis Strum, The Bishops, etc), some new myspace acts, a review of the Stewart Mac showcase, more singles reviews, some album stuff and the singles that should be picked off them, some tv stuff, something about books, some exciting news about zapping developments and lots more. If i'm not dead. Darren may well kill me when he sees that pic of him dancing to Filthy Gorgeous...Don't forget me :)

when your dreams turn to dust

2007-01-22T13:46:00.000Z

Hello all! The joy of little Darren returning all tanned and gorgeous from Gran Canaria and the excitement we both had for our little new york city sojourn has been slightly tempered by the fact that British Airways are choosing our holiday dates to go on strike. Guess who we are flying with? If you guessed stupid hateful evil British Airways then DING DING DING! You get a pocketful of broken dreams... BOO! Am slightly miffed and upset obviously especially as we can't find out until tomorrow whether we can change our flights or not - which is all well and good but we are very limited on when we can go as we both have new jobs to start soon. Sigh. Still at least that hot muffin of stud called Darren has returned and we have a night of hot and swinging loving planned so I will hurry up and get on with todays post. And remember, if the blog is a rocking don't come a knocking....
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THEZAPPING RECORD COMPANY PROJECT – WEEK THREE:
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Well after Simon scored 93 points and last week Gavin "charted" somewhat lower with Brave scoring a still respectable 60 points, it is time to see what my favourite superheroes can do with their rather excellent track Back To The Dancefloor. I chose this song as the next release from my fictitious record company as after the cool pop of Simon and the classic pop of Gavin, I felt that this windy and enough to freeze your nipples off chilly January needed some out and out balls to the wall, pedal to the metal fun pop. And i chose this song as the "first release" from the boys because it has everything a decent pop tune needs. A little bit of novelty, some faux rapping, some kicking beats and a chorus that makes your love gusset quiver. Can't take my word for it? Then check out what these lovely people had to say...
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Veronica Mars/Google Girl ~ "Back To The Dancefloor" is a slick dancefloor-oriented (of course) pop track with some rapidfire verses. I still think sampling the movie opening theme is hilarious.
NickAlienHitster ~ I love this track. In fact, I might even go so far to say that this is my favorite Switch 22 song I've heard so far. I don't particularly think it's single-worthy, but it is a fantastic electro-dance workout. There's a real freewheeling sense to it, yet it still manages to be delicious pop. If these guys can find their breakout track I think they could be big. While Back To The Dancefloor isn't quite what they need, it does show that they are definitely on the right track.
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You can stream Back To The Dancefloor at Switch22's myspace page or by clicking onto myspace page where it will remain my chosen song this very week. And of course as usual you can vote for the song by clicking on the link below (take my poll) and mark it out of five.
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LINK: Switch22's myspace site
LINK: Switch22's official home page
LINK: Purchase Switch22's debut EP
LINK: Take my poll!
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THE FIVE OTHER SONGS THEZAPPING REALLY LIKES THIS WEEK:
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Robert O'Connor ~ Ten Years Time
From the elegant splendor of the opening piano chords that lead into Robert's soothing and beautiful vocal that build into a chorus that makes gorgeous use of violin (?), this uplifting and somewhat forgotten Gabrielle number works extremely well and if there is any justice, this song will start to reach a wider audience as soon as possible. Plus, i mean look at the guy (above) ~ He's hardly been attacked with the ugly stick has he?!
DaveDigiTech: Was always a fan of the original Gabrielle version of this song, but this takes it to a different level. For some unknown reason, when I was listening to Robert sing this song, I just 'got' the lyrics much better than I ever did before! Definitely deserves to be a massive hit and I could imagine it being played in American TV shows such as The O.C or One Tree Hill. Brilliant song, beautiful lyrics and an amazing voice!! The perfect combination.
Nick: Didn't particularly like it. To me, his voice sounds a bit nasal and the song sounds far too much like it could be transcribed into a Hallmark card. Can't please everyone, I guess.
DanMan'sWorld: I really really like!! I'm a sucker for male singer/songwriters that can be all sensitive (and I'm not talking those fake ones - I can spot those a mile away!!) ;) which explains a huge part of my Casey Stratton love.
Darin ~ Insanity
I still maintain that this is the sort of quality track that Shayne Ward and slash or Gareth Gates should be producing - a little bit edgy, a little bit sinister and a lot catchy. Why this elfin features guy isn't huge in England is very much beyond my reckoning!
Googlegirl: though not every track on Break The News is worth listening to, the majority are, and they include some excellent songs; this is one of them. It's dark and slightly creepy, especially with those backing vocals that sound like something out of a haunted house, but electro or synthy at the same time, making for a really delicious combination. How Darin can release such amazing albums at a rate of one a year boggles my mind.
Dave: Definitely one of the best songs to date from Darin! It is a pop masterpiece, that sadly looks unlikely ever to receive a UK release (unless Shayne Ward records it for his second album rather than the boring ballads!!) It ticks all the boxes for what makes a great pop song, some chanting in the chorus, simple lyrics that get stuck in your head after just one listen and a catchy beat!! Should reach #1 across the world and stay there for months, but would probably settle for just a UK release, so I could actually go into my local HMV and buy Darin's album!!
Nick: This is the kind of jaunty teen pop that only a few countries are still doing well nowadays. This song by Darin makes me wish that Mr. Timberlake hadn't burrowed so far up his own butt and removed the lethal dose of pop that's so sorely missed in his current sound. Back to Darin, though, this is most definitely one of his better tracks.
Kaden ~ Live Fearless
I like Kaden a lot - he's not quite Simon Curtis level (or particularly close) but he does a sort of male electro pop Sugababes sound very well. And I'm a sucker for songs about taking chances so this funky little number had me from hello!
Nick: I'm a bit torn on this one. On the surface, it sounds like something I would hate. Blippy hip-hop beat… somewhat aimless melody. Yet, there's something about this that I like. Maybe it's the simplicity, maybe it's the repetition. Not sure. I wouldn't buy this, but I wouldn't mind hearing it on the radio.
Vanessa Carlton ~ Heroes and Thieves
I'm a sucker for a girl and her piano and i think Vanessa Carlton does great lead off singles and then I tend to lose interest. So up there with White Houses and A Thousand Miles this is another track that tickled my fancy but got a bit of a pasting from my esteemed colleagues!
Googlegirl: hmmm. Well, on first listen, this doesn't feel as compelling to me as her previous singles. However, it also sounds...unfinished? If so, maybe I'll like the final version more.
Nick: To me, here's a prime example of an artist that should have retired after her first album. Sure, White Houses was great, but who remembers anything besides that? This may just be the worst I've heard from Vanessa so far. What is up with her voice in the chorus? She sounds a bit like a goat. I doubt whether that was intentional. Plus, the song is a complete bore.
Dave: Was a little aprehensive before listening to this song, knowing that Vanessa is now signed to Irv Gotti's The Inc label, home to Ja Rule and Ashanti, among others. Was half expecting her to have gone 'urban' but I need not have worried this is classic Vanessa. If you have liked any of her songs since A Thousand Miles, then you will love this. Although part of me is slightly curious as to whether she may have a couple of urban sounding songs on her new album or perhaps a guest rap from Ja Rule????
The Magic Numbers ~ This Is A Song
The Numbs always represent musically perky lyrically depressing songs that sound amazing played loud in the car on a summers day or at V festival and any song of theirs always conjurs up memories of times with my little ruthiepoos! Bless. So another slice of their particular brand of millenium Wilson Phillips is alright with me...
Dave: Another great track from The Magic Numbers, have loved both their albums. They just keep releasing brilliant uplifting songs, that can even put a smile on your face on a wet and windy Wednesday morning when you're driving to work!!
GoogleGirl: I've not really listened to that much by the Magic Numbers, but this is adorable! It's the sort of song you want to cuddle with. It's very pretty and, though not really "poppy," I'd say it has a pop sensibility to it. I really like it.
Nick: I kind of hate to say it, but I've never really understood the Magic Numbers mystique. It seems that whenever I listen to them, I'm constantly being reminded of better bands. While this track isn't enough to turn me around completely, it is pleasant enough. I just wish there was a little more attitude… some oomph, maybe. Kudos for the (unintentionally?) funny title, though.
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Thanks to the gang for their words! Love that Nick has in one week become the Simon Cowell of thezapping :) Will be mailing out new songs for review soon, so if you want to be in on it just let me know!
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THE DIGITAL INVASION:
. Remember when there were just four tv channels and all were analogue? Well one day pop pundits in the know will debate the days when there were just 3 of Digital before they suddenly became huge and started doing sexy cat-walk esque photo shoots as a five piece above! Two of the songs I have already reviewed (here) have been beefed up and had the new lads vocals added (how annoying that must be - i promise not to call them the new lads again!) and still sound mighty fine. I'm particularly loving San Frandisco at the moment and the pic of them that Baz sent out in the Digital newsletter (above) looks like they are sitting on top of Selfridges in Birmingham. Uber marv. However, it's Dancefloor Officer that I want to discuss today. This song was originally offered to the Sugababes but i think it is more suited to a male vocal style and i really like the treatment it has been given. It's all a bit chaotic - and that may not sound terribly complimentary, but actually it is. Chaotic is the perfect word for the song and what it is trying to explain - dancefloors are often crazy crowded places and the music in this song conveys that perfectly. It's all exciting electro beats and an insistent crescendo-ing organ effect running throughout the verses before leading into a slick chorus that positively bounces and hops along, screaming out for a slick sexy dance routine and culminating in a frenzied melee of harmonised vocals and the addictiveness of popping bubble wrap. I like my pop instant, loveable and sassy - and this covers all those bases. At this early point in their career, I'm still proud they are in my 11 in 07 feature :) PS ~ the second one from right is a little bit rar, n'est pas!
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STREAM: Dancefloor Officer at the boys myspace site
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Bloody hell! It's all goodies at arjan's place today! Tracy Thorn! Dangerous Muse! A Kiss Could Be Deadly! Ah, the glamorous life of magazine editors...
~ Lord have mercy - i honestly thought there were 23 girlbands in the world. I was so very wrong. Robopop sets the record straight in MAMMOTH style :)
~ I hope he takes this as the huge compliment it's meant to be as we love that little Electroqueer, and his boyfriend is definitely homina love-wee worthy ;)
~ No update from popjustice today? Lazy bastards ;)
~ Veronica Mars sets about investigating Antony Callea's latest single...
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And finally a very happy second birthday to the Chartrigger blog - not only is it my first port of call every Sunday to see what's in the British charts before I even check the official page, but there are plenty of other wittily, snarkily written features that tickle my fancy. And J'Ason is a charming fellow who i feel privileged to have got to know! Hurrah! Join me tomorrow on the next episode of a very special zapping....(it's Darren's birthday!)

it's like pass the parcel

2007-01-21T13:58:00.000Z

Good day to you all! You may well be wondering who the fine looking young dude is above... well, it's the rather lovely Ben Barnes who stars in the History Boys that the magnificent Kirsty and I went to see in London yesterday. And proper bonza it was too. We had a delicious ham and cheese croissant prior to the show and it was the same cast that I saw with K back in October (and that I reviewed here... remember Pinkie's "contentious" review in comments? It was his first ever comment on my site at first and i was like, 'how rude! It's like a complete stranger coming into your house and rubbishing your dvd collection!' Still, i am very magnaminous so I let it pass ;) You can also read my movie review here). We were both completely knackered on the train home though! Although we spiced up the journey by me introducing Kirsty to her first flick through a gay mag - she pretended to read the articles, but I suspect she was eyeing up the half naked fashion models. As you do. Still as Darren and Nick (Kirsty's husband) are away, we were content to drool over pics of Ben Barnes in the History Boys programme to while away the hours - it was a love wee and lady love wee dribble fest ;) But enough about all that - i had a good old clean of the house today and sorted out our dvd cupboard, as well as a visit to the folks and a bit of shopping. Lovely... Right, on with the post...

THE 11 TO WATCH IN 2007 UPDATE 3:

Well goodness, haven't my gang been excessively busy! And rather brilliantly Popshow is as clued up as me or I am as clued up as them for several of my guys are performing at the next evening on Feb 20th 2007 at Soho Review Bar. So if you can pop along you'll be supporting Switch22, Digital, Beyond as well as zapping faves Jean and Electric Dolls. Bound to be a well bonza night out. Marv (just for Bernice!). Right on with them act by act!

The super heroes of pop are busy working on some exciting new tracks (with Electric Dolls) that I am very excited to hear...and of course, they'll be at the popshow on 20th Feb. Plus yay! I am one of their top myspace friends. Marv.

Gavin Mikhail has released his fab album Like Normal People Do in Japan and you can purchase from trolley bus records here (works out at about $19 with p&p). You can also check out one of the bonus tracks - Not Enough (acoustic) at his myspace site right now! A review of that track is coming tomorrow...

Well, my my my! You turn your back for a week and Jordan has left the group and now Digital is a five piece with a completely new look. Still totally worthy of being in my 11 in 07, welcome Charlie, Jon and Josh to thezapping and head on over to their site to check out reworked versions of Boys and Girls and San Frandisco. Plus I have it on good authority from the lovely Baz that a new track is heading to myspace... If it's up for tomorrow, i'll review it then!
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And bugger me with a banana, my lovely Bliss girls have gone and had a saucy new make over too! And most glam they look too. I'm loving the logo and the simplicity of the shot and oh boy they all have great legs! Not to sound too gay but Brittany's hair looks aces ;) They are still working on their new track Resist, which I hear sounds fantastic. Can't wait to hear it. Check out their myspace for more great pics...

Beyond have also had a sexy new makeover in what looks to be their most successful photoshoot to date. The girls look suitably sultry and sexy with major popstar pouting going on while the boys don't half scrub up well - Kevin has a great t shirt on and clearly hasn't over done his subtle wrist accessory, while Andy's hair looks v. pop idol and i'm envious of his green jacket - i tried on one similar today and i looked very mutton. So all in all a great shot! Thanks to Wayne for forwarding me a HQ image...
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Best of the rest ~ I'm still dying to do a review of a couple of Simon Curtis tracks but haven't heard back yet! I heard from Stephan from Billiam this week and they have a great cover version coming out soon and an 80s inspired track that i know I am going to die for - that's all i can say about that now!

THEZAPPING MUSIC MONTHLY 2007 VOLUME 2

If you didn't get the first (slightly belated as it will usually be out the same day as Observer Music Monthly!) volume of this then all you need to do is click here. Here are my bonza pics of the best new music for February...

Simon Curtis - Put Your Make Up On

Take That - Shine

Westlife - Total Eclipse Of The Heart

G4 - Somebody To Love

Gavin Mikhail - Catch Your Fall

Emma Bunton - Life In Mono

Delta Goodrem - Flawed

Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around (radio edit)

Christina Aguilera - Candyman

Jessica Simpson - Fired Up

Conor - Club 55 (radio edit)

Ashley Tisdale - He Said She Said

Nelly Furtado - Say It Right

Nerina Pallot - Learning To Breathe

Jewel - Quest For Love (from Arthur and The Invisibles)

Sandi Thom - Superman

Indigo Girls - Pendelum Swinger

Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes

BNL - Bull In A China Shop

Good Charlotte - The River

THE RETURN OF ROSE!

Hurrah! Rose is alive. Well we knew that anyway, she is just living in alterna-earth where she can't get to the doctor. But she is also alive on this audio adventure read by the very lovely David Tennant - it was free in the radio times so I only feel marginally guilty about posting it here! It's a spine tingling story of a ghost ship, a doomed crew and a terrible secret...ooooo! And i'll upload The Stone Rose next week :)

DOWNLOAD: The Feast Of The Drowned Part One

DOWNLOAD: The Feast Of The Drowned Part Two

QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ check out my latest holiday diary archives at the link at the top of the page or here...

~ and check out an visual appreciation of The History Boys along with a clip from the original radio play over at the spinoff blog (thanks Dan for the logo on the revamped site!)

~ AND! as i was busy shopping today, check out my fashion show of what i bought now that i have finally worked out self timer on the camera!

~ Plus as Darren is away for another day yet, I'm a bit bored and lonely. Sniff. So leave me lots of comments on all my sites and myspace! I'm needy and desperate for love ;)

~ as usual D'luv has all the goss on the British charts. Yay for Mika and Just Jack. But for the only chart that counts look to your right - i've just updated it ;)

~ When NickAlienHit says that Erik Faber has delivered what should have been Keane's comeback single, you gotta trust him. And trust him I did - when this boy is right, he is very right.

~ Will is out of time, but thezapping loves what he is juicing at the mangina over this week :)

~ Google girl vernocia marses out the next McFly single then shocks the blogging nation by writing about a girl! Shut Up! (said Ugly Betty Style)

~ This may well be the funniest thing i have seen this weekend!

~ American Dan continues to be the man and finally gets round to his post about my brother Antony's favourite Eurythmics album...

Coming this week ~ the singles review on Monday (still time to get your opinions in guys!!), some more new myspace artists; forgotten songs from pop dusted off for today's acts; back to boyband retrospecticus; a look at new songs from Digital and Gavin Mikhail; i'm off to new york but have some stuff planned for you any"hoo" BE good!

time to close my eyes and leap...

2007-01-19T18:47:00.000Z

Sigh. It was my last day at work today. I can't say it's been the most fun place i've ever worked and sometimes I've been frustrated with not being able to do all i can, but often it's people that make the job and i made some amazing friends there who i will miss lots and be bombarding with texts and emails regularly until they give in and meet me for a drink. So Cat, Nick, Anne, Kathy, Sudesh, Inderjit and everyone else, i was surprised how sad I was today when i actually left. Still, it's time to try new things so as a slightly screechy Idina once said "it's time to close my eyes and leap"! And i have a great two weeks coming - the history boys tomorrow, Sky+ (UK Tivo) on Monday, Darren's birthday on tuesday, the hard rock showcase on weds and NYC on thurs! Bloody Marv. I feel so melancholy and reflective in times of change, yet these things always work out for the best... so i will end this slightly morose "preamble" and get on with the post...
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THE CHRISTMAS PARTY IN JANUARY:
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Usually, it's a bit rubbish in January isn't it? The wind means that all the trains are cancelled, no one has electricity in Birmingham and the nation gets in an uproar about Celebrity Big Brother which i can't even begin to start watching as I feel it's now beneath me. And of course I get my post Christmas blues which are always a bit of a nightmare. So rather delightfully and thanks to the slowness of the european mail and Deborah Gibson's myspace being cutting edge I got some Christmas gems on my computer today. First up is Magnus Carlsson who Poppostergirl alerted me to with her infinite knowledge of world pop. She's like google girl on Heroes as well as Veronica Mars. Anyway his mainly swedish language Christmas album Spar i Snon is an absolute delight and joy. I'm just going to mention the English language tracks here - Wrap Myself In Paper could well be the male equivalent to Emma Bunton's Free Me. Swirling strings, jaunty organ keyboard and a very gorgeous sixties vibe. And despite the seasonal lyrics, it's the sort of tune that you could listen to at anytime of year. It may be the greatest non-Christmas Christmas song since Jason's When You Come Back To Me... Wonderful Dreams (holidays are coming) may remind everyone of the festive coca cola advertisements but is actually a lovely seasonal uptempo pop song with a great vocal performance for Magnus. And any Christmas medley that utilises Cliff Richard is both brave and amazing in one fell swoop. Bonus of one of my favourite Disney songs (When You Wish Upon A Star) is just the icing on the (Christmas) cake... And my lovely Deborah (see retrospecticus below) has put up a simply stunning version of White Christmas on her myspace and a 50s Rosemary Clooney inspired medley. Lord luv er. Getting some seasonal sparkle in the most depressing month of the year is never a bad thing! .
LINK: Purchase Spar i snon
LINK: Watch Deb's myspace christmas video
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THE NEW MEN IN MY LIFE:
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Don't get alarmed everyone. I couldn't be happier or my lucky to have my stunningly foxy and lovely and amazing in bed DazPerformer. But sometimes you come across a new singer on myspace who stands out from every other bugger who is trawling their coffee house standard demos. First up, I came across the visually stunning and audibly creative Matthew G. On his main site page he describes himself as piano, voice, image, perfection. Mighty claims for one so young, but when you hear his stunning ballad Dear John - a masterpiece of subtlety yet brimming with powerful emotion - you can't help but be impressed. Seriously, when I heard this song last night I sat in silence until it had completely finished and then had to listen to it again instantly. The piano is flawless and beautifully melodic and Matthew delivers a soothing emotive vocal that made the hairs stand up on my arm. Another original composition is The Man Who changes the tempo slightly and indulges with an electro-ambient beat, horns and a haunting female (i think) backing vocal. I can see this ending up on the sort of album that sells by the bucketload because it's critically acclaimed, loved by the press and taken to the bosom of the nation because it's different enough not to be "pop" but accessible enough to be thoroughly enjoyable. Oh and a cover of Howard Jones' What Is Love is another corker... I may seem a little enthusiastic in my writing of this, but usually I am so "pop" orientated (which i am happy being) that when something as beautiful as this comes along and touches me, i'm geniunely stunned and eager for more...
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And seeing as I am off to Hard Rock Cafe to see Stewart Mac on Weds, I thought I would check out one of the other acts there called Warren Bacci, who used to be in boyband 3rd Element but is now working solo. And working well he is too. Mixing a nice blend of rock influences, pop sensibilities and a dash of electro mixed in for good measure, his smooth vocal highlights the melody in the song and the instrumentation is merely his forum for sharing a bigger story. The title track of his debut album shows an amazing understanding of how to write and perform a classic ballad - it doesn't have to have gimmicks, it just needs to have a clear hook and a pretty melody. And The Calm Before The Storm has that - plus a beautiful female backing vocal enhancing the track in the middle eight. Need something more uptemo - try Infactuated, a song about losing all control in your levis is certainly ok by me. And a song that would be ideal for Gareth Gates or Shayne Ward or even a boyband like Eton Road... and i mean that as a compliment as i love those guys. Plus Warren is one of those annoyingly beautiful people who manages to look good in every photo and seems a rather lovely person as well. Which just makes the showcase on Wednesday that much more exciting when there is music as smashing as this on offer....

LINK: Matthew G's myspace site

LINK: Warren Bacci's myspace site

LINK: Purchase Warren Bacci's debut album

THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTICUS PART FIVE OF FIVE!

Well after leaving Atlantic records following the lack of success of the Body Mind Soul pop album, Deborah signed with SBK records and released the most mature sounding and melodic album of her career. Think With Your Heart was a collection of mainly ballad tracks - all sung with deep emotion and high on quality vocal, lush production values and restraint when and wherever necessary. Title track For Better or Worse deserved to be sung at wedding and anniversaries around the globe as it detailed how love conquers all and how your loved one can indeed be your world. Didn't Have The Heart was equally as beautiful and detailed how sometimes trying in a relationship can just be trying too hard while the title track was as close to a Disney ballad as anything Deborah has sung. Over the years, Deb has sung a number of songs that have inadvertantly become gay anthems for her fans, but none more so than You Don't Have to See - a plainative plea for people to accept the lover for who and what they are, with an effective yet understated use of gospel singers, everything about this song is just sublime. There weren't many outtakes circulating from this time, though another Disney-esque Christmas song Take Me Home For Christmas was demo'd and doing the rounds. Sadly America was in the mood for Alanis and her angry girl rock (which i also loved) so Deb's comeback was put on indefinite hold :(

LINK: Purchase Think With Your Heart

THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICUS PART FIVE OF FIVE:

Or really what Adam did next... done with touring, for the moment a handful of Maroon 5 tracks popped up on soundtracks and compilations. A slightly menacing version of Pure Imagination appeared on kiddie album Mary Had A Little Amp while the boys got their r'n'b funk on a duet with Sly and The Family Stone on Everyday People which was just marv and a half. But it was Adam who was exploring his more soulful side during this maroon 5 downtime. He teamed up with Alicia Keys on a gorgeous piano driven cover of Wild Horses, provided the hook for the Ying Yang Twins rap hit Live Again (which was ok, but i did enjoy Adam#s part immensely) and got busy appearing in Kanye West videos. All the while the fans were awaiting the new Maroon 5 album, first promised for autumn of 2006, now promised some time in Spring 2007... it's meant to be a bit funkier and darker than the last record though still packed with hooks by the plenty and should win a whole new legion of maroon 5 fans. To say i'm eagerly anticipating this would be a huge understatement...

QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:

~ Apparently we should all go out and download Honey To The Bee by Billie Piper so it can be number one. On the one hand, its the only song i could tolerate from her debut album and my new buddy Matt from LostinLimbo asked me to promote it, so I don't feel too bad about it. On the other hand its a Chris Moyles campaign and i fear he might at some point consider it a "bit gay" and i loathe that useless tosser so I'm in a quandary as to what to do! Quandry?!

~ I like it when people produce far classier blogs than mine yet inexplicably still like what they see here. Check out Andrew's cultured taste in music and life and tell him i said hello good sir!

~ There is nothing I enjoy more than people's adorably dated prom pictures so head on over to the fine gentleman Dan's site and take a trip down his memory lane. Marv.

~ Talking of photo's I am starting a campaign to get some visual accompaniment to this new series of blogs from poppostergirl/veronica mars/google girl. Power to the people!

~ Hurrah! Power to the boybands! Tinkler may get chart success yet, bless him. Avenue signed an album deal this very week, but i think it's on the hush hush so keep it under your hat....

~ I think king of meme DanProject76 has done this one already (?) but i am still enjoying the modern fabulosity life soundtrack. Try it yourself. Mine was ridick. I may post it this weekend...

~ XO has news of the much awaited return of the lovely Travis. The new song is quite lovely but hardly a return that blows your socks off.

~ ooo great minds think alike! Spot the difference here and here! I mean no disrespect in pointing this out!

~ Oooo, look gang its my new popstar haircut by the magnificent PaulHair. I look all scandanavian popstar without the looks. And with that bloody george grill in the background again. Grrr.

Coming tomorrow - probably nothing as I am at the history boys! Again! But check back on sunday for a bumper post :)

don't tell me not to live, i'm harry potter

2007-01-18T17:24:00.000Z

Oh my word it is so so very windy in england this very day. My hair is not of pop star quality any more. It is all over the "shop" as they allegedly say. Which I do not like. I do not like my windy hair. I do like my new underwear. I do not like the noise wind makes. I eat too many carrot cake. I do not like my torn umbrella. I like to smooch with my fine fella. Well, I think you get my drift. It's quite windy and the wind brings out the crazy in me. And the moody. While yodelling along to Take That's Shine (on repeat) on the way to work today, I reflected on the things that bug me. Like those annoying little sticker things over the top of cd cases in America that means it takes you even longer to get to the music you want. Or the feeling of anything sticky on my fingers like tape drives me nuts. And I'm not overly chuffed when TV shows get cancelled or worse – put on hiatus only 3 episodes into a promising season. And I was not happy this morning when my alarm clock went off and I rolled over for some morning loving and then remembered Darren is in Gran Canaria so had to do without. The rudeness. Still, things like planning NYC are fun and I'm actually looking forward to my new job which starts on Feb 5th. And the Easter Sunday thing is coming along nicely. And I got an email from a boyband member last night about a new song they recorded and can I just say it sounds freaking amazing. As unreleased songs go it is right up there with one called Resist on my anticipatormometer!! But I have droned on long enough (wait til my podcasts start!!) – on with the post ;)
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THE MISSED IDOL:

Poor Diana DeGarmo. I loved her the most ergo she was never going to win season 3 of American Idol (see I told you I would be cutting edge today!) It was all about Fantasia who was as critically revered and hyped as Leona is today. There is definitely a lesson to be had in there somewhere…Anyway I kind of lost interest in Idol after that, and I had X-Factor to keep me annoyed/entertained. So somehow my fixation on Diana (and PenBoy – both were adorable) meant that I missed Jennifer Hudson completely. And I get the impression that I definitely would have liked her. Facing national rejection at age 22 can't be easy, but would prove to be the ideal preparation for a role in the smash DreamGirls (take that failed auditionee Fantasia!). I haven't seen the movie but heard a song from it last night and was utterly blown away. Jennifer takes all the hurt and humiliation one most feel when being voted off the nation's biggest talent search and channels it all into a genuinely breathtaking, showstopping performance of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going". Not an easy song to sing (I tried in the shower this morning – it was either the pipes banging or the neighbours on the wall), Jennifer gives a primal and powerful vocal that is already generating best song Oscar buzz (according to my adored Entertainment Weekly). And, thanks to my friend P#1, a storming remix has hit my ears that takes the song to a whole new level with creative beats and tribal infusion that will whip up a frenzy of pulsating bodies on the dancefloor. Suddenly winning Idol doesn't seem so important…
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LINK: Purchase DreamGirls the album
MP3: And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going
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THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTIVE DAY FOUR:
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If Deborah was Kylie, then MYOB would have been her Light Years – the most out and out glorious pop record of her career. Prior to that however, was one of the most accomplished releases of her career. Finding herself without a record contract, Ms Gibson went all Ms Independent and released her album Deborah (called Moonchild in some territories) which, while not as "pop" as her next project, was certainly an accomplished set of adult contemporary tunes that was the perfect stepping stone between the ballad heavy Think With Your Heart project and the more up to date pop sensibilities of MYOB. Lead off single Only Words was one of several perky pop tunes that reminded us all of the 80s before it was trendy to be reminded of the 80s. Mid tempo grooves like Moonchild and Nobody's You actually dripped with pop quality goodness and again ballads were her strong point with gorgeous tracks like the understated Naturally and the "same script different cast" of the pop world Cry Tonight - which if duetted with a man would make a great gay anthem! The album had different bonus tracks depending on where in the world you bought it. In the US it was storming dance remakes of Only Words and a remix for the 10th anniversary (!) of Only In My Dreams that got a little bit of club chart action. However, Japan got the real goodies - two tracks from Funny Girl. People and a totally popped up Rain On My Parade which I am still convinced says "Don't tell me not to live, I'm Harry Potter..." And naturally there are a couple of b-sides and demos floating around from this era including the fun and sassy My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and the utterly stunning Until You're All Mine which was one of our singles recommendations of the week. All in all a great body of work showcasing a clear knowledge of what makes pop work and a songwriting triumph. Tomorrow - Debs first post Atlantic work...

LINK: Purchase Deborah

THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICUS PART FOUR:

It's fair to say that Maroon 5 toured the shit out Songs About Jane. In fact they were pretty much on the road from 2002 - 2006 and by the end of that time, the cracks were showing. I saw them several times live and each time they were AMAZING, but the final time at V Festival 05, Adam was ill and the band seemed exhausted. However, as the bands success grew, and fans were eager for anything from their new fave boys, 2 live releases were unleashed on the public. First up was a 7 track EP from before fame cracked them in the goolies and was a pleasant if brief idea of what the band sounded like live. And in late 2005, fans were rewarded with a live cd/dvd set of their work entitled Friday the 13th. Much more representative of the boys live, it shows just how much energy they actually put into their live shows and how thrilling the tunes sound in a larger arena. Meanwhile, unreleased tracks were being leaked on the net like crazy - from the electric guitar funkiness of Take What You Want, through to the piano loveliness of Ragdoll, which is a tale of love and regret ("my heart won't be your rag doll anymore...") that became one of my fave M5 tunes. As did If You Only Knew - what a feisty little number this is :) Miss You Love You could have easily been one of their jaunty popfunkrock singles if lifted out of the demo stage and they performed live at Live 8 covering Free World and giving it their own inimitable spin. Live covers are a fave of the boys at shows and you were never quite sure what they would do next (thank god as far as I know they haven't done Crazy...). Check out some of the best below (all brief snippets interspersed between other songs in the show)! Tomorrow - compilations and what Adam did next...

LINK: Purchase Friday the 13th Live

MP3: Man In The Mirror (bootleg)

MP3: Bad Boys For Life (Higher Quality bootleg)

MP3: Frontin'

QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH

~ my jakeypoos on the front of the new GQ? Cut to me buying it immediately!

~ I'm quite fond of Electroqueer and all his rants and raves. Check them out now. NOW!

~ My new chart is up at the side on the right for you, but i forgot to mention it! And check out some all new holiday diaries from the archives!

~ And apart from any excuse to post a pic of Stewart Mac, if you click on that very picture you will be taken to a site where you can buy tickets for a mini show he is doing at Hard Rock Cafe on Weds 24th Jan. Its only a fiver so if you are in London go and check it out!! I may well be there!

~ I haven't mentioned Michel or his glamorous world for a while, but todays post is a doozy. Not only does he have some pics of David and Victoria that I am ashamed to say I find amazing, he has some great shots of the DSquared fashion show, hot new model Chad White and something that I am totally downloading as a surprise for Dazpants!

~ check out my latest underpants. Umm, yes that is someone else's head on my body!

THEZAPPING COMPETITION: I have a whole bunch of boyband cds to give away that i bought at work on ebay while i was bored (and didn't sell on ebay!) Japanese releases of D-Side, some C21, a bit of Take That, some Mercury4 and maybe some more if i have a bit of a scrounge round. You can win all these cds, posted anywhere in the world, if you email me either here or via myspace and show me proof of some creative way that you have promoted thezapping blog :) Oooo what fun! Closing date Jan 31st 2007!!

Coming friday - the last part of retrospecticki, some new acts (finally or possibly), some new songs i quite like, Christmas revisited and the usual guff! Plus!! It's my last day at work!!!!!!

all depends on what you want...

2007-01-17T17:22:00.001Z

Yo zappy dudes. What a miserable day it is. Though I drove to work today again, and had Simon Curtis on quite loud in the car. Purgatory sounds AMAZING with the volume up – his multi layered vocals are quite lovely. So that cheered me up through the rain a little bit, though when I parked I had a bit of an obsessive compulsive moment. First I had to run back to check I had locked it (I had) then I had to go back to see if I had put the handbrake on (I had), then I had to go back to see if I had locked it again after checking the handbrake. And I had. At this point I came to the conclusion that I clearly need to be medicated before being allowed out and left it as it was. God knows if I turned the headlights off or not, though to be fair it does beep at me if that's the case ;) I only have two days left of work now and mine isn't the sort of job where you have a daily routine to get through, so I have to confess it's a little dull at the moment! Maybe that's why my mind is so active on other things. At least it's given me time to work on my novel and some other stuff that you will see soon :) And! Oh my gosh – aren't the Brit Awards as shockingly dull as ever? I snoozed off halfway through reading them! Still the new Take That video looks bloody brilliant…
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THE SURPRISINGLY GOOD GRANDPA ROCK:

Thezapping hasn't been particularly cutting edge this week has it? We've been retrospecticating all over your asses and hardly highlighted any of the brilliant new pop music that is springing up all around us. I'll get to it tomorrow and Friday I promise, but for today I am going to highlight something I didn't really expect to like but quite do actually. It's certainly strange when that happens as Dan can testify with Taylor Hicks clogging up his last.fm recently ;) Still, when on a whim I picked up a new album by 70s folky pop superstars, America (formed in England!) I was instantly drawn into their familiar sounding tunes that bear all the hallmarks of classic America while being given a contemporary boost by collaborators as varied as Ryan Adams, Nada Surf, Smashing Pumpkins and Fountains of Wayne (who of course did wonders with The Click Five). America are actually the Outkast of the 70s – there are two singers and songwriters, each with their own distinctive flavouring and the two produce beautiful harmonies together. Tracks like Chasing The Rainbow is pure and sweet pop that has wisely been chosen as the lead off single. The band bounce between uptempo gems such as Look At Me Now and Always Love, shine on a purely melodic remake of My Morning Jacket's Golden and show a sensitive side on incandescent ballads like Love and Leaving. They may not be cool, and they may not set the pop charts alight, but much like your favourite comfort food, it's utterly delightful when you are craving it…
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LINK: Purchase Here and Now
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THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTICUS DAY THREE:
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And so we rewind to what may possibly be Deborah's finest pop album since ditching Debbie…but it took a while to come together and there were a plethora of other tracks hanging around in the mean time. With the new millennium, came a new attitude for Deborah and she stopped trying to figure out what the pop world wanted and just get on and do her thing. First out the box was a piano only with vocal accompaniment track written especially for those new year feelings called With All My Heart. Certainly one of Deborah's most stunning vocals to date, it was a fan club only release that would do just fine chart wise if farmed out to Leona Lewis or someone of her "ilk"… Also floating around at this point was a charity track called Right on Time, another tender ballad that showcased Deborah's vocal capabilities and pure pop voice. Around April 2000, the album (at this point untitled) was tentatively mooted as on the way and You Belong To Me, a perky if somewhat tinny pop song circulated as first single. After two strong ballads, this was a little bit of a let down, so it's no surprise that it was quickly forgotten and the much sturdier poptastic What You Want released as the first single proper. (B)rimming with a chunky chorus, pop beats and a little bit of sassy attitude it was the ideal song for Debs to crack the British pop charts with (particularly as pop was at a peak with Kylie, S Club and Steps all dominating the charts). Even the b-side (Comes Right Back) was a stand out gently strumming acoustic mid tempo romp. However, the real joy was to come when MYOB was released as the title track from the album. Written and produced by the Alessi Brothers, how this song wasn't topping the charts for weeks continues success in later years, the song took a playground chant and took it into a gloriously dark disco influenced journey of a tale of love spurned, jealousy, gossip and mistrust. And the to keep me awake at night. Utilising gimmicks that would give Gwen her dance remixes were pretty spectacular too – particularly as vocals were re-recorded to match the mood of the remix, rather than just cutting them in after. Then in March 2001, the album dropped and was an instant pop classic for me, along side Light Years, Like A Prayer and Music Box. 3rd single – Your Secret – was another dark dance stomper (being tired of being the other woman has never sounded so frug-worthy), but overshadowed by other tunes on the album. Down That Road was another great ballad, while The One was co-written with Chynna Phillips and featured a soaring vocal on an almost midtempo number. In Blue and Jaded saw Deborah embrace a more jazz influenced sound, while a remake of Knock Three Times with Tony Orlando was a lot of fun, but completely unnecessary considering the quality of the rest of the disc. Around November 2001, Deborah re-recorded a track from a musical about Zorro she had been in entitled What Makes A Hero and sang it live at a benefit for those affected by the twin towers disaster. Even in it's original form, it's a beautiful tale of the ordinary among us doing extraordinary things. 2002 dawned and saw an unofficial remix of album track Wishing You Were Here turned from a soothing AC type tune into a pulsating dance anthem to great effect. And when two futher demos from this period appeared on Memory Line (Any Other Man and the gorgeous ballad Run To Her echoing the more sombre themes of Your Secret), it was clear that this overlooked cd saw Deborah at the top of her pop game. Below is how I would repackage the album for today's audience…Tomorrow ~ Deborah gets independent…

MYOB / Your Secret / What You Want / You Belong To Me / Right On Time / Down That Road / Comes Right Back / The One / Wishing You Were Here / With All My Heart / Run To Her / What Part Of No / In Blue / Jaded / Any Other Man / Knock Three Times / Portrait In Loneliness / Light The World
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LINK: Purchase MYOB
LINK: Purchase Memory Lane Volume One
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THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICUS DAY THREE:
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So after the unexpected failure of Kara's Flowers and the Stagg Street recordings leading to nothing, 4 became 5 when joined the band and they were reborn as Maroon 5. Adam had clearly been improving his vocals and the band were influenced heavily by the more funky r'nb stylings of the late 60s and early 70s. Much has been written about their "debut" album Songs About Jane being Adam's breakup process, but whatever the underlying factors it resulted in one of the most accessible and melodic albums of the new millennium. Percolating since 2002, it didn't start to break big until late 2003 when the band's music was featured in my favourite movie, Love, Actually and lead off single Harder To Breathe started to saturate the airwaves. The song possessed an urgency and catchiness along side a gritty looking video and frankly, I couldn't get it out of my head for weeks. When I finally purchased the album it was played non stop for most of 2004. Everybody knows about This Love which became one of the biggest radio smashes of the year and saw Adam looking very RAR in the video. Almost anyone of the other tracks on the album could've been a hit – She Will Be Loved wisely was chosen and gave the band the cigarette lighter waving ballad for the stadiums. Other tracks like Sunday Morning and Sweetest Goodbye saw the sweeter side of M5 while Not Coming Home and Shiver saw their fusion of funk, pop and rock mix together so well that it didn't matter that it wasn't original – it was just done so darn well. A more soulful jam appeared in the form of Woman – a Kanye West collaboration for the Spiderman 2 movie. Incessant touring kept the band in the charts and on the road for most of 04/05 and they were rewarded with multi platinum sales in each country and four grammy awards. And in return I got an album that I'm still not tired of 3 years after first hearing it. Tomorrow ~ maroon 5 go live and unreleased…
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LINK: Maroon 5's myspace page
LINK: Purchase Songs About Jane
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Prison Break is back next week and Wentworth has kindly got all stylish for Italian magazine D: la Repubblica delle Donne (pick us up a copy would ya Pinks!)

~ Robpop likes me he really likes me. Well my blog :) It's really just some random rantings! And he's now a fan of Sean Conlon! Who we got all excited over here and then nada! Though we did say to look out in feb...

~ clearly reading thezapping and taking our advice, Westlife have a dance remix of Total Eclipse of the Heart coming out. Hurrah (goodbye credibility!!)

~ New boyband? Sadly not but the ever brilliant kids show MI:High featured the gregory triplets as boyband crush in the funky episode aired on Monday :)

~ Apply to be Andi's boyfriend! I can't remember how he got to be a myspace friend, but he has Baz from Digital in his top eight so it's all good!

Coming tomorrow! Some new pop bands! More retrospecticus! Maybe some fashion tips! Who knows!

i may be high on life and love...

2007-01-16T17:35:00.000Z

Don't forget to tell me what you think of Gavin's Brave...vote here!
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Good morrow fine people. My mood is classed as jovial and I am filled with the brightness of being. Or something. Anyway, I only have 3 more days at work left (hurrah!), Darren is in gainful employment once more (though to be fair he was only out of it a week!) and we are currently making plans to jet off to New York City a week on Thursday. How very jolly exciting. I haven't been to NYC for years and can't wait to be back strutting my funky stuff around times square and being embarrassingly tourist-y! Which means the blog will be taking a little bit of a breather from next week, though I will try and get some stuff pre-prepared to publish while I am away, for as usual I have a whole lot of hot air in me that just needs to be gotten out! If anyone has any great places to visit in the city that never sleeps, then leave a comment below or feel free to email me avec your suggestions ;) It does mean though that I will miss my beloved Feeling at G-A-Y, so hopefully somebody will be able to give me a full update on how it went. And I am seeing them on Feb 18th with Ruthiepoos!! Plus will be back from NYC to see Nerina Pallot and Tom Baxter with the lovely aforementioned ruthiepoos too! Hurrah to the power of Yay! Anyway, as usual, I am waffling on for far too long, so I will progress with the post…
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THE POP SONG REVIVAL THREAD CAMPAIGN (PART ONE):
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Sometimes there are pop songs just hiding in the vaults of history that require dusting off the shelves and being bought bang up to date by today's chart whippersnappers. Here are just a few that have popped into my head over the past few weeks…
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~ Fuzzbox: Calling International Rescue
Remember these dames? They had a fuzzbox and they were going to use it – a line that has titillated ruthiepoos into many a sack back in the day. This crunky little pop ditty is so overdue for an update by hussies de jour Girls Aloud, that I can't believe no one else has thought of it. Their swirling electro guitars and knack for creating a fresh sound out of anything (bar See The Day) make them ideal candidates to push this song firmly back into the public eye. And they could have some hot male models on their spaceship of love as their abductees – flesh baring men all helpless and captive? What more could you want in a video?!
~ The Carpenters: Superstar
Never has an ode to being a groupie sounded so melancholy and hauntingly beautiful as when the always perfect vocal of Karen Carpenter sings this gorgeous tune. Covering something as classic as this is not an easy task, but I think a good reinterpretation by vocal harmony group G4 (released in time for Mothers Day) would be an absolute sensation. Though I may be biased as I love those cute little moppets. Keeping the slower instrumentation and ethereal quality helps it to become a yearning tale of unrequited love…
~ The Osmonds: One Bad Apple
This was a staple on the stereo and a classic of Mormon discos when I was growing up, so why this US number one smash was never released in this country remains a complete mystery. As joyfully perky and uplifting as anything the Jackson 5 were doing at the time, this glorious nugget of pop can't fail to raise a smile. Billiam or Eton Road could do far worse than shoving this on the AA side of their first original song release…
~ Abba: Kisses Of Fire
It always pained me that Steps or S Club never realised the true genius of this Abba album track. A mid-tempo intro acts as foreplay to a magnificent disco stomper full of thudding beats, beautifully harmonised vocals and a chorus so tight and memorable that current pop producers would kill for it. Deliciously cheesy, I think it would totally suit 11 in 07 act Beyond who could turn it into a class slice of millennium glee. And some xenomania remixes wouldn't go amiss either. This could be their Tragedy (so to speak)…
~ Wham: Ray of Sunshine
Their debut album wasn't always "Fantastic" but this groovy little slice of 80s power pop funk certainly was. With George singing joyously about waking up with the bassline (insert own joke here), over an insistent beat yet with pop sensibilities shining through, how about Conor or even Westlife injecting a bit of millennium magic into this overlooked chestnut??
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Part two coming soon! Email me your suggestions!
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THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTICUS DAY TWO:

After looking at the plethora of tunes released by one newly naked Ms. Gibson in 2005 and 2006, it's time to move back in time a little further and look at what turned out to be a dream project for me. As Deborah's pop career faded in the 90s (though check out a smashing little single over at robposterdust's blog!), she moved back onto the stage covering roles as varied as Sandy in grease, Eponine in Les Miserables, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Belle in Beauty and The Beast and Velma Kelly in Chicago. And as I love musicals, I loved her for it. So when Coloured Lights was released late in 2003 – an album of broadway tunes done with a pop sensibility, I was in near nirvana! Mixing well known tunes with more obscure songs was a wise move and contributed to a well rounded set of ballads, jaunty pop and dramatic showstoppers. Had tracks been released as singles from this set, I would have gone for On My Own (Les Mis) as the haunting Christmas single, followed quickly by I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love (The Boy From Oz) just in time for valentines day. And then check out the sex and the city-esque intro to pop gem Raise The Roof (The Wild Party) – a track that could have been huge with a few scissor sisters remixes. And she was then perfectly placed to host BBC's Sound Of Musicals experiment. But we got some pregnant woman instead. Oh well. Still, this is a great album to check out – Deb even has her own song "sex" on it from her long in production musical Skirts. Coming tomorrow – the myriad of tunes that were and weren't on the marv album MYOB…
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LINK: Purchase Coloured Lights
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THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICS DAY TWO:

Despite a solid promotional schedule, opening slots with acts like Reel Big Fish and gigging for every high school prom and graduation that would let them, the punky pop of Kara's Flowers Fourth World passed the public by and the record company decided not to go with a second album. Allegedly tensions in the band were high and Adam (RAR) and Jesse drove cross country to a music school in New York while Ryan and Micky resumed their studies at UCLA (sidebar your honour: I love the fact that all American Universities have acronyms, you don't get that in England!) Time apart did the foursome the world of good and when they reunited in 1999, they had a renewed sense of purpose and vowed to make it all about the music. As you do. Ahem. Anyway, the guys got together and recorded a nine song demo cd known as The Stagg Street Recordings. Still very much Kara's Flowers, it's an interesting stage in the evolutionary process to Maroon 5 as Adam's songwriting skills have clearly developed and they started experimenting with different genres. One highlight from this era is Angel in Blue Jeans is a definite step into M5 territory - the bass is a little more funky and r'n'b influenced and a little less punky... Also check out the demo of the kid, which sees them returning to their favoured homage of beatles and beachboys sounds, to great effect. Tomorrow ~ the caterpillar becomes the butterfly...
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Daniel Kirkley, lord luv im, has just put the excellent My New Dawn on iTunes. High quality mp3 popness rules!
~ Jess at Dirrrtypop is all in a tizzy over the man-scrap for the number one position this week. I'm routing for Mika, but loving Just Jack all the same. PS, i am totally subscribing to Jess' pop vision for the year!!
~ J'Ason is also reporting man scraps - can't these boys just strip to their undies, douse themselves in mud/lube and wrestle it out? It's what me and dazpants do :)
~ I may have a non sexual crush on I'm Always Right thanks to their love of MYOB, their brilliant tuesday update and the fact that they just added me to myspace so now i have a face to put to the blog :)
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~ Birthday coming up? How about getting an exclusive (i suspect a la Jessica Simpsons pubic affair - yes the spelling is intentional) birthday song made by singer for hire ben adams?
~ Electroqueer has elegantly laid out all Sophie Ellis Bextor's video in a way that is classy as the lady herself. I'm impressed :)
~ Nick shows off his superior ability to find the best in new pop as he gives us Emmon, who he quite rightly points out deserves a place next to Sophie and Kylie on our cd racks...
~ pop over to the lovely Will to tell him what your cheesy getting ready to go out playlist is :)
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Coming tomorrow - some more maroon 5 and Deborah, and a look at other blogs and mags picks for 2007 that i've missed somehow! Plus maybe something else i'm not sure yet!- i may have a simon curtis song to write about, just waiting to hear back!!

New job for dazpants!

2007-01-15T20:43:00.000Z

Good Lord, I am tired this very morning as I type this. I had to get up at 4.30am to get ready to take DazPlushtush to the airport, so I am fairly zonked. Which oddly enough doesn't come up as a word I need to spell check on Microsoft Word. How bizarre (OMC). Anyway, the airport was strangely bustling at 5.30am and mercifully my beloved Starbucks was open so I got a nice white café mocha venti with an extra shot of expresso to wake me up. Of course, now I am totally wired and way too hyper to be enjoying my final five days at work… It seems strange to be leaving behind the world of Direct Payments which I have been immersed in for five years (four as part of a charity then the last 18 months with the local government), but I really need a change and am excited about the challenges ahead. And I have two weeks off before starting my new job, so hopefully Darren and I will get to jet off somewhere together. PS ~ after the disaster that is Celebrity Big Brother and Soapstar Superstar, I remain very thrilled about the prospect of Dancing On Ice returning with Torville and Dean. I utterly adored the last series and the elder statesmen of pop revival continues with Stephen Gately, Duncan James and the always desperate Leisl Scott hyphen Lee. Should be brilliant television :) Got lots of bloggy stuff planned for this week, not sure how I am going to fit it all in, but I better get on with the post to see if I can…
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THEZAPPING RECORD COMPANY PROJECT – WEEK TWO:
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This week I have chosen to spotlight the amazing song Brave by the super talented Gavin Mikhail. Once again, this is a song I have written about many times before but I never grow tired of it and it's beauty and splendour shine through with each listen. I would call this power pop at the very peak of it's game – gavin certainly knows his way around the piano and has great instinct for creating a gorgeous melody surrounded by crashing (but not overwhelming) chords and a soaring vocal. I really can't say enough good things about this beautiful emotive number, so I'll let some other people weigh in with their opinions…
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Veronica Mars (poppostergirl) ~ isn't this beautiful? Love the piano, love the melody, and Gavin's voice is a perfect fit with the lyrics he's singing.
Dan (this man's world) ~ This song is gorgeous – it's a sweeping inspirational love song the kinds of which just doesn't get made all that much any longer, and if it does, it certainly doesn't get airplay. I think what appeals to me most about this song is the confession we're getting from Gavin – his not being able to be brave, That is not something that is particularly easy for men in our culture to admit – but with the help of whoever he's singing about, he can be that brave. It takes a strong strong man (Rick Astley?) to admit to that in today's society. Will definitely be checking out the rest of his CD.
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You can stream Brave on Gavin's official home page. You can also choose to download it legally at the links below. And don't forget to vote out of five for what you think of the song at the link below (too messy to include in the post this time – but please take the time to vote! Simon got 93 points last week, so have to see if Gavin beats him or not!)
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LINK: Gavin's myspace site
LINK: Gavin's official site (go to songs and choose Brave)
LINK: Purchase Brave (US iTunes)
LINK: Purchase Brave (UK iTunes)
LINK: Take my poll!
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THE FIVE OTHER SONGS THEZAPPING REALLY LIKES THIS WEEK:
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Sophie Ellis Bextor ~ Catch You
A sparkling glittering diamond of a track that marks the return of Ms Bextor and hopefully a return of classy effortless pop to the chart. The other songs I've heard from her upcoming album also have a definite shine to them. And it was certainly the pick of the other bloggers who listened to the tracks this week…
(Veronica Mars): catchy but classy dancey pop. Excellent--what more is there to say?
(Dan): I have to say I've fallen for this song – hook, line and sinker. It's a great little piece of pop and it's inspiring me to listen to a little bit more Sophie Ellis Bextor. (I haven't really heard anything of hers aside from "Murder on the Dancefloor.") I guess I just mostly find myself echoing what others have said about this song. It's the best Blondie song they never recorded – and that's meant as a compliment!
(Digital Technique): Already a contender for my song of 2007 and it's only the middle of January!! This song manages to sound both fresh and new but also reassuringely retro at the same time. It reminds me a bit of Blondie (or maybe thats just me!) - could Sophie EB be the next Debbie Harry?? An interesting thought!! A definite return to form, after the slightly dissapointing Shoot From The Hip, bring on the album and the return of pop in 2007!!
Mark Ronson ~ Toxic
Last week we looked at how Mark put together a riveting remake of Stop If You've Heard This One Before by Daniel Merriweather. His version of Britney's Toxic (a song I adore) isn't quite as magnificent but is still an interesting enough interpretation that I am looking forward to his album out in March…
(Veronica Mars): I loved "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before," but I'm not feeling this one as much. It does what it wants to do well; I think it's just my general preference for uptempo pop that means, while listening to this, I just wanted to go listen to Britney's version
(Dan): I was never a huge fan of this song in its original incarnation, but it was used brilliantly in the first series of the new Doctor Who. When I first heard this song, I thought "ugh, I don't really want to hear this song again and especially with rapping and other such stuff." But surprisingly, I warmed to it a bit over the last week. However, the best cover version of "Toxic" will always be now defunct bluegrass group Nickel Creek's live cover. Something about hearing a Britney Spears song played on fiddles tickles me in just the right way!!
Evan ~ Under your Spell
I didn't even know about Evan until recently when I rather randomly happened upon what turns out to be his second album. This track reminds of erasure in the late 80s when they were at the peak of their game, yet bought bang up to date. Utterly addictive and entrancing!
(Veronica Mars): I love this--it's all big and sweeping and orchestral and beautiful. His Melodifestivalen performance might not have been amazing (though he wins bonus points for his outfit), but as a studio version, this is gorgeous and, though I'm not sure I would necessarily call it "fun," it's not the sort of song that demands a serious listening experience.
The Click Five ~ Pop Princess
Not a particularly new song, but I don't feel that The Clicks ever got the launch they deserved in the UK and this could be just the track to launch them. So I am taking control of their career and kicking off their chart domination with this jaunty little ditty beloved by all ;)
(Digital Technique): So much more than just the 'American McFly' that they are often described as, they manage to mix the guitar pop sound of McFly with a slight electropop twist. They remind me a bit of Swedish popsters Melody Club, never a bad thing!! Such an addictive song, listened to it in the car driving into work this morning and was singing the chorus all day - which I am sure my friends loved!! Definitely time they tried to break the UK - give McFly a bit of competition!!
(Dan): Wow, I'd never heard this song before. It sounds like if Green Day were a boy band in the traditional sense of a boy band, this is what they would produce. And that's not a bad thing. While I'm not a huge Green Day fan, they have put out some good songs. Perhaps this is the direction they should go?? :)
(Veronica Mars): now, you could say I'm biased towards the Click Five, but the reason I'm so biased towards them is because they make absolutely amazing songs like this. This is exactly the sort of song that deserves to rule the radio--catchier than should be allowed, more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and with all the elements good guitar pop should have (handclaps, synths, nonsense syllables [here, "ah"'s], and guitars that never overpower the vocals or the melody). Given the current environment, this would probably flop, but it shouldn't, and, if it was released, "Pop Princess" would easily be one of my favorite singles of the year. And you know what's scary? They have a whole album full of songs this good or better.
Deborah Gibson ~ MYOB / Until You're All Mine
I'll let the other bloggers comment on MYOB other than to say this six year old track is still as fresh and perfectly pop today as it was in 2001. It's tragic that it wasn't the huge hit it deserved to be. I'd remix and re-release in a flash and pop UYAM on the flip – one of the most gorgeous ballads I've EVER heard. Simply perfect (and only a demo!!)
(Dan): Leave it to Deborah to work kids on a playground into a pop song. If this song had been released in the late 80s when Deborah was Debbie and at her peak here in the U.S., it would have been a huge hit. It's very fashionable to mock Deborah here in the States, but really, I do think that she's very talented and really has written some top notch pop songs. This is one of them, although I think I probably prefer the dance mix over the original album version – it cranks the tempo up a bit and makes it seem a bit more urgent.
(Veronica Mars): this would work great as a double A-side, as they're two great songs. I really love "MYOB," though. The schoolyard chants work well and don't come off as gimmicky, and I love how the jump rope-esque beat continues through the whole song. Also great: the various voices Deborah uses.
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Thanks to Digital Technique, Dan and Poppostergirl for their comments on this weeks selected tracks! Much appreciated. Email me if you want to be included in future weeks!
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THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTICUS PART ONE (OF FIVE):
. The first of two week long retrospecticuses (or however you spell the plural of a made up one) begins with a reverse look at the most recent career choices made by my favourite singer Deborah Gibson. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but was spurred on when a new song (though kinda old – more on that in a minute) Rich Girl was put onto Deb's myspace site. It's been 3 years since her last studio album was released, but in that time Deborah has been as productive as ever, and produced some great pop songs that deserve to be collected up and acknowledged for the talent they show. The new music started flowing in December 2004, when Deborah released the sublime festive ballad Christmas Without You as part of a compilation cd. Quite rightly, as with all Deb's ballads it is heavy on melody and intrinsically beautiful in it's use of piano and sweet vocal. It was a perfect lead in to 2005, which was a busy year for fans. Not only were there two cds rounding up unreleased demos (Memory Lane 1&2 featuring some classic tunes such as Cinderella theme 'Some People' and a number of songs deemed not good enough by Atlantic for the Body Mind Soul album in 1993 that far outshine much of the material eventually put on it…), there was a fan club day in Florida which I attended and was rather brillo, the naked but tasteful Playboy spread and of course the accompanying single Naked. This track was a great slice of guitar spangled pop that would have easily held it's own upside songs that Daniel Powter and Kelly Clarkson were releasing at the time. It was at this time that Rich Girl (a cover of the Hall & Oates song way before Nelly Furtado got the idea) was touted as a second single and prelude to an album, but sadly that has yet to materialise. 2006 saw Deborah back on tv lasting a few episodes into Skating On Ice and touring with the O'Neill Brothers, with whom she released a single Someone You Love – another piano and strings ballad that had some elegant and uplifting lyrics and a timeless chorus. Just beautiful. Sadly, her second collaboration of the year – with Jordan Knight on Say Goodbye – wasn't her best moment, though did give her a minor AC smash, for which we should be grateful. And the start of 2007 sees rumours of an album once more as 3 new songs have been released to fans – Sounds Like Love is a mid tempo ballad a la Irreplaceable or We Belong Together and is the most contemporary thing Deb has done in a while. Famous tries hard to be cutting edge and contemporary but sadly isn't – though it's hard to dislike a song that evokes so many memories of fab songs from the early 90s. And Rich Girl leaked yesterday – I seem to remember the version played at the fan day being slightly rockier and dancier, though I am completely enjoying the pure pop interpretation of this version. Just lovely. Coming tomorrow ~ Coloured Lights…
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LINK: The official Deborah Gibson myspace site
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THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICUS PART ONE (OF FIVE)
. Our second retrospecticus that will run all week is one of my favourite discoveries of the past few years, and whose sophomore album I have been highly anticipating for a while now. So in preparation for that, let's go back to a time when the Kaiser Chiefs were Parva, Posh had no Becks, Backstreet Boys ruled the world and Maroon 5 were just a twinkle in the eye of Kara's Flowers. Indeed the four members of Kara's Flowers – Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Micky Madden and Ryan Dusick – were the nucleus that would create one of the most successful pop rock acts of the new millennium. Friends since high school the boys put together a sound that was heavy on the beatles influence yet was missing the soul infusion that dictated their later success. A debut album Fourth World was preceeded by a single called Soap Disco which was slightly punk pop yet still showcased the early stages of Adam's ability to create something radio friendly and perky. His voice is completely different here to how it sounds on Maroon 5 records, but fits well with the type of music the Flowers were putting out. Oliver is extremely Beatles-esque, while My Ocean Blue may well be our first introduction to Jane with the line "me and my darling Jane". Again it gives hints of what is to come with Maroon 5 and is a well produced and beautifully crafted pop song. Still for people tuning into this disc expecting Songs About Jane the early years, you may well be disappointed. If you're looking for well crafted jerky pop, then come on in! Tomorrow we'll see how they developed with the Stagg Street recordings…
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LINK: Buy Kara's Flower's Fourth World CD
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH
. ~ We can't help but like the band Page 44. I wrote about them before here and their blogs and online interactions with fans continue to be hilarious (my latest discussion involved how the signing woman on hollyoaks took up the whole bloody screen!) Well quite rightly, the boys are getting lots of attention - and have a host of great stuff coming up! Check out their myspace site for further details and click on the pic above. They deserve your support :)
~ Hurrah for DazPants - he went for an interview on Friday and we found out today that he got the job :) So we both will be starting new jobs on Feb 5th! Everything's coming up Milhouse!
~ I love the fact that yesterday the pic of the guy in his undies was the most clicked thing on my site! You shallow pervy lot, LOL! Go to this website for further pics!!!
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Coming Tuesday: More maroon 5 and Deb retrospecticus; classic moments in pop ripe for remake; maybe something else…