Vertigo Shtick

The Voice: Season 4 Live Playoffs / Top 8 Contestants

2013-05-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

After an overstuffed and underwhelming third season, rushed to air in the fall a mere couple of months after the second season finale so as to compete with The Britney Factor, NBC's singing competition show The Voice has regained its footing in its current fourth season, thanks in part to the fresh blood Shakira and Usher brought to the coaching staff and in part to a solid crop of contestants. The Battle Rounds no longer stretch tediously across the better part of a month, and the matchups in the Battle and Knockout Rounds have grown less arbitrary and more understandably strategic, with the addition of the Save option proving a useful safeguard against the occasional (albeit less frequent) bum call from the judges.

Oh, and Adam Levine, who famously overruled the viewer vote to send Tony Lucca to the Season 2 final over Katrina Parker in one of the more stomach-churning application of the "bros before hos" doctrine, entered this week's first live playoff rounds with arguably the strongest team of the four, made up entirely of X chromosomes. Cast off the shackles of yesterday; shoulder to shoulder into the fray!

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'Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life' Recap: Kiss N Tell

2013-05-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

When last we saw our heroine on MTV's documentary series Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, she was losing her voice the night before the famed Glastonbury Festival, in 2011. Detractors may consider this no great tragedy, but for Ke$ha, who calls the festival a "rock and roll rite of passage," it's as terrifying as will.i.am producing the next Britney record.

As if things couldn't look worse, one of her tour buses breaks down en route. All "non-essentials" are left behind, including her mother, who sits on the side of the road with a wine bottle and confesses she has brought no pants.

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Ke$ha's 'My Crazy Beautiful Life' Premiere Recap: Dancing With Tears in Their Eyes

2013-04-25T01:32:00.000-07:00

Those who bemoan the crisis of Ke$ha's lackluster campaign for the pop-rap-rocker's sophomore album Warrior, take heart: the glitterbombing chart-topper debuted her MTV docu-reality series My Crazy Beautiful Life last night, and it's not bad at all. In fact, it's good.

The premiere episode of the six-part show, lovingly and fairly shot by Ke$ha's brother Lagan Sebert, starts with the singer botching a cartwheel during a New York date on her first headlining tour, in 2011, then barreling into some luggage when she recounts the foible backstage, drenched in sweat.

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Popologist Panel: Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, Prince and more

2013-04-17T17:05:00.001-07:00

It's April, and pop music is finally picking up! This month the Popologist Panel discusses Justin Timberlake's epic opus The 20/20 Experience, EPs from new artists Erin Willett and Neon Hitch, videos from Kelly Rowland and Pitbull/Christina Aguilera, and singles from Disney artists Demi Lovato and Bridgit Mendler, superstars Prince and Ke$ha, and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" scribe The-Dream.

Selena Gomez Channels Britney, Rihanna at MTV Movie Awards with 'Come and Get It'

2013-04-15T02:23:00.004-07:00

Selena Gomez performed her new single "Come & Get It" at the MTV Movie "Awards" last night and it was rather nice to see something musical on MTV for a change. I'm happy that everyone seems to be jumping on the Gomez bandwagon but I wonder where they all were when her surprising, excellent third album, When the Sun Goes Down, arrived, led by its brilliant single "Love You Like a Love Song," which if I'd ever posted my list you'd know was my pick for the best pop song of 2011. Selena Gomez has struck me as purveyor of remarkably adult dance pop since "A Year Without Rain," and it's also interesting to hear people now beginning to comment that she's sounding more "adult."

In short, I got Selena Gomez before it was cool.

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Florrie Drops Brassy New Song & Video "Live A Little," Remains Exceptional

2013-04-03T09:47:00.002-07:00

Three months in and 2013 has been an utter wasteland in American music, but fortunately a relief effort is underway from a hardy band of Brits. The latest care package from across the pond comes from one of the country's best and most exciting developing acts, Florrie. Today the singer released her new song and video, "Live A Little," created for the Sony XBA-C10 In-ear headphones ad campaign (hence the product placement-y headphone shots), a brassy, upbeat, perfectly hip consumer electronics ad campaign-style number that recalls the best of her independent work and is sure to put a swing in your step.

A former house drummer for UK pop production house Xenomania, Florrie Arnold has been brewing her solo act over the past couple years and released three EPs of her experimentation, a conscious effort to develop herself as an act before signing with a major label, sharing with her fans about the process and her artistic and professional philosophy on her blog and offering much of her music for free. "Live A Little" is her first new material since her final independent release, the EP Late, which came out in May 2012 (and was reviewed on the inaugual Popologist Panel). Its liberal use of horns, lalalalas, huge choruses, and, of course, plenty of drums most noticeably recall her second and greatest EP, Experiments,* but it's infused as well with some of the less bombastic, percussive elements from Late (especially that clappity clap-and-guitar-lick in the middle). Basically it's the best possible outcome, proving that Florrie wasn't just dicking around aimlessly but actually creating what has grown to be a sound and style uniquely her own using the best of her apparently multitudinous talents. Sky Ferreira and Neon Hitch, take note.

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Little Boots - "Broken Record" (Single Review)

2013-04-03T06:53:00.004-07:00

Little Boots has been taking her sweet-ass time revving up for the eventual followup to her 2009 debut album, Hands, one which is now finally just over the horizon. To her credit, the UK-based electronic pop singer (née Victoria Hesketh) has kept her fans appraised of things by releasing samples of what she's been working on over the past year and a half - some in official final form and some at various stages of incompleteness, in a canny balance of transparency and wizardry expected of today's best pop stars. The latest of these is the sleek and mesmerizing "Broken Record," which may or may not be the lead single from the new album depending on how you define the term.*

"Broken Record" is reminiscent of the house-influenced dance pop that Madonna and the Minogues (i.e. Kylie and Dannii, separately, although I may have just found the name for my cover band) were doing at the turn of the century. Synths of diverse array (and, briefly, strings) create a lush electronic landscape speckled with percussive effects of the clicking, clapping, and church bell variety, which add a touch of menace. The gimmick potential of a loop-heavy dance track called "Broken Record" is rich, of course, but certain moments veer toward the obvious: "I hear your voice like a brokenrokenrokenrokenroken record" doesn't so much evoke the skipping of a broken record as it just sounds like Little Boots singing "brokenrokenrokenrokenroken record" - even more so because of all the vocal chopping and splicing going on around it that really does create a broken record sort of vibe. But at least she doesn't try too hard to sell it on this point, and aside from one early instance she has the wisdom to avoid poaching "repe-pe-pe-pe-peat" from Selena Gomez and the deftness to avoid poaching from her own song called "Stuck on Repeat" apart from a quick name-drop that does however poach a bit from David Guetta/Jessie J's song called "Repeat." (This is not a subtle record.)

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Beyoncé: 'Bow Down' - Look Out, It's a Trap!

2013-03-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

As expected, Beyoncé has released the first musical statement of her anticipated fifth studio album, following her well-received Super Bowl halftime performance, and the announcement of her upcoming world tour, which begins in Europe next month. Good old perfect and predictable Beyoncé, predictably being perfect just like always. Ho hum.

Unexpectedly, the single (? buzz track, at least) that debuted on Soundcloud this afternoon, "Bow Down/I Been On," is totally bonkers and is entirely unlike what you would expect Beyoncé's music, much less pop music, to be. That's because it's not really pop music at all - it's trap, which is by all accounts going to be the big new thing this year, so pay attention. Nicki Minaj and Rihanna have spiced some of their recent music with pop-friendly trap the way Britney dusted her single with "dubstep" (oh, and there's a little trap single called "Harlem Shake" at #1 as we speak) but Beyoncé goes all in on "Bow Down," no pop anywhere in sight except for the woman singing (and, later, talking, her voice pitched electronically to sound like a dude). She manages to cram a lot into that minute, too, managing to assert her dominion in the face of encroaching younger women, defend her decision to take time off and have a baby, and assert that, despite the title of her upcoming world tour she is not going to be simply Mrs. Carter, and give a shout-out to her hometown of Houston before undergoing her little digital sex change. See, even on her whack trap-pop buzz track she's like a supermom.
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Popologist Panel: The Best of 2012

2013-03-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

Last year I pulled some of my favorite pop bloggers together to discuss the best (and, sometimes, worst) of the new releases in pop music in a monthly series called the Popologist Panel. It's been a success, inspiring lots of conversation and argument. We fought amongst each other over Taylor Swift, Azealia Banks, Nicki Minaj and the Biebs, and started unexpected ire on Adam Lambert fansites; we reveled in PSY, Carly Rae Jepsen, Katy Perry, Marina and the Diamonds, and Christina Aguilera, and lambasted Mariah Carey, Jessie J, and Madonna. We found fun newcomers like Brittany McDonald, Daley, and Luke Christopher, and hidden gems like Esthero and Anjulie. We talked about Ke$ha a lot, even when she wasn't on the panel.

To close out our debut year and start off 2013 (I know it's March), I asked each panelist to select his or her favorite picks from panels past as well as some favorites we didn't mention. Here's what we came up with. Enjoy!

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New Artist to Watch: Elle Ball - "Inferno"

2013-02-18T20:00:00.005-08:00

It's not the least bit clear whether the increasing democratization of music industry success is a reaction to the simultaneously growing exclusivity of both the major label system and FM radio as each becomes more and more of an oligarchy, or the other way around, or unrelated coincidence. As with so much else, this advancement is primarily a product of the internet, although Simon Fuller shrewdly anticipated its potential when he created Pop Idol, the television singing competition (based on the New Zealand show Popstars) that aired in the UK in 2001, and which revolutionized the television talent show format - and the music industry - by allowing viewers to vote on the outcome by phone or online. Over a decade later, pop stars championed by the major labels (Ke$ha, Rihanna) mingle with reality television alums (Kelly Clarkson, Girls Aloud) and internet discoveries (Justin Bieber, Lily Allen) - not to mention the ease and minimal startup cost of digital music has allowed vastly more musicians to become players in the arena in which consumers directly affect the charts.

Of course, given the newly enormous playing field, this is where music journalists and especially bloggers come in handy. Because most (or at least many) of us spend a great chunk of our time trolling the web for music content, and, ideally, have developed some sort of reliable sense of musical taste from interest and sheer exposure, we can be useful in helping to point the more casual music fan toward certain acts online we feel worthy of notice. In this vein, the Recording Academy (the ones behind those Grammy Awards we love so) and Hyundai have created a new online competition for amateur musicians called Center Stage, with the prize of a recording session with a "leading Grammy producer," a music video shoot with a "noted producer and/or director" with a $25,000 budget, and a slot as an opening act on a major tour or music festival. The competition ends tomorrow night, but I thought I'd recommend checking out one of the contestants, the pop/R&B singer Elle Ball, and her beautiful new song, "Inferno."

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14 Things That Didn't Suck At the 2013 Grammys (Plus, A Tribute to Boobs)

2013-02-14T10:08:00.001-08:00

The Grammy Awards went down last Sunday night, and for the first time ever I managed to endure the entire telecast from Swifty's start to Mumford & Sons' triumphant finish being upstaged by the trainwreck/masterpiece of fashion that was Adele's dress. I will admit that I didn't hang around for LL Cool J's closing number because frankly I'm only human, but coupled with having watched (with at least one eye) the entirety of the pre-telecast ceremony that afternoon I consider this a major accomplishment, like running a marathon or getting through an entire Christina Aguilera album without a bathroom break. Also like those things, I have exactly zero desire to ever do it again, but since this is the life I've chosen I know deep down that I'm stuck with it as a yearly challenge wherein I must reaffirm my commitment to my occupation of choice. (Teachers enduring parent-teacher conferences or couples on Valentine's Day will undoubtedly sympathize.)

After leering at Beyoncé on stage during the show, Ellen Degeneres undresses another chesty star with her eyes.

In case you're just joining us and didn't gather it from the previous paragraph, I loathe the Grammy Awards, far more than any other aspect related to the music industry except possibly Chris Brown, Clear Channel, and the term "real music." There's very little I tend to unequivocally abhor, so when I encounter an apparent exception I spend a good deal of thought and consideration in order to make certain I haven't missed some fundamental point (e.g. M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes") or been misguided by some hidden internal prejudice I've yet to snuff out (e.g. Lance Bass' coming out), and in the rare event no such redemption can be found I get to enjoy the dubious pleasure of pure, solid, and fully defensible enmity, which I think is quite healthy in very small doses. (Hence traffic, in-laws and Kim Kardashian.) My general disrelish for Taylor Swift or Rihanna (which I have explored in depth on several occasions) is, critically speaking at least, on an entirely different plane from my thoroughly researched and justified scorn for Ticketmaster fees or Glee. I gave up trying to come up with an excuse to casually slip in a couple more examples, like Diane Warren's songs on Beyoncé's 4 and the Silver Linings Playbook soundtrack (to name but two) or TMZ, but I hope you'll forgive me.

I explored some of the reasons for and ultimate futility of my objections to the Grammy Awards, and looking back a year later I find I don't really have anything to add nor subtract to my arguments, which just underlines the "futility" aspect I resigned to a year ago. This year I've called to mind the old trope about certain things so objectionable that it's easier just to tally the short list of elements that didn't suck, and perhaps reach some broad analytical conclusion tying them together and therefore indicating that there remains yet some hope for the institution after all. Then again, we're talking about the Grammy Awards here... so I promise nothing.

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Five Spoken Interludes in Pop That Are Better Than Taylor Swift's

2013-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

I gave my begrudging (and qualified) approval to Taylor Swift's 2012 hit single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" on this blog when it was released last summer. I had decided the end result was effective enough to ultimately outweigh my critical objections, which I kept to myself at the time. I figured someone out there in the wide world of music journalism would surely address them at some point anyway, right? Not so much. I don't want to hail on the Taylor parade just for the fun of it, but the Swift-worship is really beginning to get out of control and someone needs to provide a little sanity and perspective. The way some folks are carrying on you'd think Taylor Swift was the first person who ever made a witty pop song about a breakup with Max Martin.

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is simply a musical Frankenstein's monster built from pieces of other successful singles from the producers' catalogue: echoes of the acoustic bits on Katy Perry's One of the Boys here, big Kelly Clarkson chorus there, some Ke$ha-inspired attitude, and, for the pièce de résistance, the staged "un-staged" spoken interlude of Pink's "Raise Your Glass." Voila! Instant hit. It's not hard to get the same result when you use the same building material, even if you take one piece from the purple tower, one from the green, one from the blue, and so forth. You can always repaint it Red.
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Popologist Panel: Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Daley, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J, and more

2012-12-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

December was a month of movement. No, literally, I moved back to Los Angeles. It's been a heck of a month, and only three of my fellow panelists were able to join me, and I have to say their work has been done for weeks and it was I who needed to catch up. But as Meryl Streep-as-Julia Child says, "never apologize" when you're creating, so I'll just head right into this, the final list of selections from the year 2012. We have two retrospectives of different kinds of the careers of two of the biggest stars of our time, Kylie Minogue and Kelly Clarkson, as well as variously successful collaborations between controversial artists from will.i.am and Britney Spears to Diane Warren and Jessie J. There are the latest works from two R&B/pop vets, Ciara and Ne-Yo, picks from the sophomore outings of Ellie Goulding and Shoshana Bean, and pieces from two stunning newcomers: pop singer Brittany McDonald and soul vocalist Daley.

As always, there's a good crop of new stuff here you may or may not have heard, so we hope you'll check out anything here you think might interest you. For an extra bit of fun, each panelist has selected one of this month's selections as his or her "Top Pick." What's yours? Enjoy, share and please send your thoughts, whether you think we're right on or full of shit. We're very likely both.
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You Can (And Should) Stream Ke$ha's New Album 'Warrior' Right Now for Free

2012-11-27T20:15:00.001-08:00

Sure, 2012 has been pretty much a bust for pop music. However - and I can't be alone in this - I've been holding onto one last strand of hope, namely that the artist to whom I have (mostly) un-ironically referred on this blog as the Messiah of pop music (I know, it's embarrassingly hyperbolic and, in this blogging climate, almost cliche) might pull off a last-second save and take this dismal year from a gut-wrenching shutout to...well, a moderately close loss. Initial reports from the Ke$ha front haven't been disastrous, but I'd be lying like Ashlee Simpson alleging a case of acid reflux if I said I've been whole-heartedly impressed and encouraged thus far with the impending sophomore LP Warrior. Still, every time I doubt Ke$ha, she bitch-slaps me with a plastic cup of Jack Daniel's while urinating on me and making wild animal calls with her other hand until I regret my lapse in faith and vow never to underestimate her again, and I dislike being covered in piss - even famous, mostly alcoholic piss.

Irony Explained in Eight Easy Music Videos

2012-11-18T12:40:00.002-08:00

Another day, another rage-baiting anti-postmodernist culture think piece featured in some major publication (in this case, the New York Times) written by an author who clearly doesn't understand the concept to begin with; it's definitely nice to know who is getting paid for his writing while I continue to search for employment. Today's contestant involves the tricky concept of "irony," in this case used interchangeably with anything "hipster," which itself, to quote music critic Maura Johnston, ultimately seems to denote any "person whose cultural choices make [the author] feel like I'm not the target demo." Basically it's a big hifalutin piece by a professor of French at Princeton University saying "Irony is bad because I don't understand it and this is yet another reason you should continue to not hire these unemployed Millennials" and so forth... ugh, it's gross, whatever.

There are plenty of stellar intellectuals out there in the writing corps who I'm confident will provide thorough rebuttal to this editorial flashpoint-du-jour, and I'm happy to let them work their magic. What I will provide is a crash course cheat sheet on irony demonstrated in music video form. If you're all going to be arguing about irony all day, you ought to make sure you know what the word actually means.

Don'tcha think?

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Popologist Panel: Brandy, Icona Pop, Lana Del Rey, Solange, Taylor Swift and More

2012-11-17T20:17:00.004-08:00

Maybe it was the election we just lived through here in the States (for which reason the panel was bumped this month by one week), or maybe it's the approaching finales of The Voice and The X Factor (UK and US!), or perhaps I'm not the only one who's sick to death of this godforsaken year and counting impatiently down to the next. Or maybe it's just that winter is approaching and the sun acting like it wants to start seeing other people but it wants us to bring it up. But whatever the reason, it's gotten pretty damn shady around here at the Popologist Panel this month, and after a particularly friendly outing last month our panelists all seem to have the snark turned up a bit higher than usual. That might be trouble (trouble, trouble, trouble) for some of the releases and artists featured this month, including buzzed-about newcomers Icona Pop and Meg Myers; European BMOCs MIKA, Labrinth, and Madeon; veteran R&B hitmakers Brandy and Blu Cantrell and up-and-coming indie-R&B explorer Solange; and two of the most polarizing young players in the game: chronically surprised sales behemoth Taylor Swift, and the controversial-by-design chanteuse known as Lana Del Rey.

With the knives out and our full panel together for the first time since summer, it's a hell of a fun read for you this month, and we hope you enjoy and encourage you to add your thoughts in the comments, where we will continue the arguments as needed. Oh, as you'll see, several panelists had trouble shutting up about one selection in particular, so forgive the passionate lengthiness where it occurs. As always, there's a good crop of new stuff here you may or may not have heard, so we hope you'll check out anything here you think might interest you. For an extra bit of fun, each panelist has selected one of this month's selections as his or her "Top Pick." What's yours? Enjoy, share and please send your thoughts, whether you think we're right on or full of shit. We're very likely both.
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Ten Britney-Related Reasons to Vote for Barack Obama

2012-11-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

Today is Election Day here in the United States. Wait, had you heard there was an election coming up? A few people might have mentioned it, or there were a couple ads on television, maybe you missed them. In any event, by 8pm tonight most American citizens have the right to drop by a local polling place and cast a ballot in the latest race for President of the United States, among other federal, state and local races and initiatives. If you live in California you can help decide the fate of the death penalty, while if you live in Los Angeles County, you can vote on whether pornographic performers should be legally required to wear condoms from here on out! (Priorities.) Isn't democracy exciting?

Well, four years ago democracy was exciting. In 2012, democracy is, frankly, a little terrifying. In 2008 we were choosing between this awesome black guy and this not as awesome but still pretty harmless old war vet with a phenomenally entertaining ~~psychopath~~ Alaskan hockey mom for a running mate who looked a lot like Tina Fey and whose teenage daughter was knocked up and would eventually almost win Dancing With the Stars while Kathy Griffin faux-manced her baby daddy-turned-dreadful Playgirl model and we all laughed and laughed. In 2012 our choices are that same awesome black guy, whose awesomeness has, for some, waned in light of his decent-but-not-phenomenal four years so far in office, and on the other side, a not-exactly-universally beloved former governor of Massacusetts whose political views, as displayed over the past year and a half, are about as clear as Anne Heche's sexual preference. Oh, and he has a conservative psycopath for a running mate who really really doesn't like poor people (or women, immigrants, gays, etc.). And he fronts a party that has increasingly gone off the rails over the past decade and would probably be hilarious in its ludicrousness if it weren't so powerful and taken so seriously by so alarmingly many people.

Britney Spears has said some silly things in her time about politics, although (wisely) she hasn't said a whole lot on the subject, but I think we can agree that Britney 2012 is a proven beacon of wisdom far beyond the reach of any comprehension. Therefore, on a day and regarding a subject that has been written on and discussed as nauseum from nearly every angle imaginable, I thought I'd offer my take on this very important if drastically talked to death topic in what I hope is a new and unique way worth a small spot in the digital literature of the 2012 presidential election.

Because at the end of the day, it all really just comes back to Britney, doesn't it?
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Popjustice £20 Music Prize: A Guide to the 2012 Shortlist

2012-11-01T00:41:00.001-07:00

Every year since 2003, a panel of judges bestow the Popjustice £20 Music Prize to the artist behind the best British pop single of the year. The debate takes place in a pub in London on the same night as the Mercury Prize, which pompously purports to honor the best album of the year from the UK and Ireland. It’s not unlike the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, except that the UK already has one of those in the BRIT Awards; the Mercury Prize is really more like the Golden Globes of the UK music awards circuit: just another group of music snobs whose opinion matters because it comes with £20,000 and a heck of a jump in album sales. Popjustice’s £20 Music Prize is the Razzie Award, except instead of honoring the worst (see, we do that enough ourselves on the charts) the award goes to the best of an overlooked genre. The last time a pop album won the Mercury Prize was… ha, fooled you! A pop album has never won the Mercury Prize, come on.

The 2012 Mercury Prize will be handed out this evening in London, which means that, at the same time, 55 pop lovers will be meeting in a pub elsewhere in London to decide the winner of the 2012 Popjustice £20 Music Prize from the twelve meritorious singles below. Last year I offered readers a user-friendly guide to the 2011 shortlist, and it went so well I decided to do it again. Be sure to tune in tonight on Twitter (@vertigo_shtick) because I will hopefully be live-tweeting my second-hand coverage of the event, which is always irreverent, maddening, and exciting as hell.
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Popologist Panel: Pink, No Doubt, Anjulie, Missy Elliott, and More

2012-10-18T15:23:00.001-07:00

The operating philosophy of this month's Popologist Panel is "better late than never." Although it arrives two weeks behind schedule, this month our panel tackles some of its most fascinating and thought-provoking releases to date, despite somewhat depleted ranks as three of our panelists had the month off. Luckily we were able to bring in a new panelist to fill some of the gaps, and we like him so much we're going to keep him. Our subjects for October again include comeback works by several seasoned veterans, namely P!nk, No Doubt, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott herself; while we also discuss new music from returning artists that often diverts from his or her previous work or style, among them Anjulie, deadmau5, and Natalia Kills; finally, we look at the introductory EP from buzzed-about British artist Charli xcx and toss in our two cents on the current phenomenon of the zeitgeist - a Korean rap-pop video that's taken the world, well, by the reins.

There's a good crop of new stuff here you may or may not have heard, so we hope you'll check out anything here you think might interest you. For an extra bit of fun, each panelist has selected one of this month's selections as his or her "Top Pick." What's yours? Enjoy, share and please send your thoughts, whether you think we're right on or full of shit. We're very likely both.
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The Ten Best Moments of "Gangnam Style" - A Photoessay

2012-10-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

Wait, I know what you're thinking: "Oh hey, a post about PSY's viral hit 'Gangnam Style!' How new and exciting! I've been looking all over for something about that video on the web but just can't seem to find anything!" and so forth (you sarcastic bastard). Like the now globally recognized Korean rapper behind the current song/video of the zeitgeist (sorry, Carly Rae...we'll call you, maybe), I am entirely self-aware of the relative seriousness and import of the pieces I put up here at Vertigo Shtick, and like, um, let's say Lady Gaga because you know she'll appreciate the conversation being brought around to her circuitously, I am not above serving up the occasional fun and inconsequential fluff piece now and then when I get drunk in my tour bus or I've been away for a few seconds and some other bitch is about to release a single/album/major announcement. *Vomits*

In any event, I gathered these stills from PSY's fabulous video while prepping for an upcoming piece and I couldn't pick just the one I needed and let the rest languish in the digital trash can - and *poof* a post is born, commemorating the ten best moments and images from a video jam-packed with good stuff (in order of appearance). Heyyyyyyyyyy sexy laday!

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Songwriting Case Study: Perfecting P!nk's "Walk of Shame"

2012-09-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever misheard a song lyric only to discover that the actual lyric isn't as good as the one you thought you heard?

I can think of a couple small examples: Britney Spears, "Trouble For Me" - "Sweet talk, here we go/Tell me something credible" (it's "tell me. Sounds incredible."); Rihanna, "Only Girl (In the World)" - "Hold me like a pillar" (it's "pillow"). Plus of course there's always "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy" or those awesome yet imagined "Renegades of Fuck" (was that just me?). You get the idea.

Usually this happens with a song that's already good - at least good enough to sing along to - and the accidental potential improvement merely a minor adjustment. Since part of the purpose of artistic criticism is the notion of the form's future improvement (since, obviously, the specific objects of criticism tend to be in their final form before we blowhards weigh in), it seems a worthy endeavor to put thoughts of this nature into print now and then, using a recent work as a case study wherein, the argument holds, a few certain tweaks might have made a good thing closer to great. Praise and constructive criticism all in one! Winners all! *The crowd roars*

Today's contestant is an album track from P!nk's recent album The Truth About Love, entitled "Walk of Shame," written by P!nk and Greg Kurstin, who also produced. First, let's have a listen, shall we (plus lyrics...those will be helpful)?

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How "Lights"-Obsessed Top 40 Radio is Marketing "Anything Could Happen"

2012-09-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering how mainstream radio might deal with Ellie Goulding's seeming U-turn from the synthy pop of US hit single "Lights" to the alt-rock plodding of new single "Anything Could Happen," I have one answer for you. You may remember "Lights," the very 2010-sounding electropop song from UK singer's 2010 debut album that hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August and is currently #1 on the Radio Songs chart. You also may have heard that "Anything Could Happen" is of a bit different a breed (I believe I referred to "Pat Benatar '80s rock wailing"). And radio doesn't like things that are different. But they do like Ellie Goulding.

So...torn, right?
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New Music That Doesn't Suck - September 2012

2012-09-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Once again I've acquired some new music over the last month or two that's not terribly objectionable, and my mother taught me to share. Here's a sampling, and there's a Spotify playlist at the bottom.

Kat Deluna gets high.

Popologist Panel: Elle Varner, Alanis Morissette, Neon Hitch, Mariah Carey (...we think)

2012-09-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

August is traditionally a slow news month. It's no exception in pop music, which had a rough month: Carly Rae Jepsen, after a Ke$ha-esque reign atop the Hot 100, was deposed by Flo Rida's "Whistle," but the following week he was replaced by Taylor Swift after she broke Ke$ha's digital sales week record with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," a song on which Swift pretends that she is Ke$ha. Then after two weeks, Swift was overthrown by the all time digital sales week record holder, none other than Flo Rida again (whose record-setting single features a hook sung by Ke$ha). It what Techno School says true: is everyone really trying to be Ke$ha? Or is it like the way one mistakenly thinks he sees an absent lover nearly everywhere he goes? Ke$ha came up eight separate times in last month's panel; let's see how the new crop does. We've got new albums by rock legend Alanis Morissette, R&B newcomer Elle Varner, and Britney Spears songwriter Coco Morier; two bombastic music videos by Nicki Minaj and Jessie and the Toy Boys; and new singles from artists new(ish) (Neon Hitch, Carly Rae Jepsen, Example) to not-so-new (Mariah Carey...we think).

Deconstructing "1991" - Azealia Banks' Autobiographical Homage to the 90s

2012-09-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Azealia Banks has been the buzz of the hip hop world following the release of her thrilling single "212" last December and a star-making US debut performance at this year's Coachella music festival, and now she has millions watching to see what she'll do when she makes her official full-length debut. This debut keeps getting pushed further and further, though fortunately we did get an official EP, 1991, in May (read Popologist Panel reviews), and a mixtape, Fantasea, in July, to tide us over as she hammers it out at Interscope. Included on 1991 alongside "212" were the previously released "Liquorice;" "Van Vogue," with its lengthy, stinging diatribe outro; and the sleek, elegant "1991," whose classic house beat and old-school R&B flavorings evoked some of the great music from the 90s you don't hear much these days. Videos for "Liquorice" and "Van Vogue," both directed by fashion photographer Rankin, were released over summer, but it was a bit of a surprise when Banks debuted the music video for "1991" over Labor Day weekend, since the track doesn't receive as much attention as its more bombastic siblings.

"1991," appropriately, is a compendium of references to 1990s-era pop, R&B and dance videos; Banks tweeted to fans that she was "channeling Madonna, Crystal Waters, and Aaliyah" in the clip. The references aren't just playing off a trendy aesthetic, though: there's a great deal of meaning packed into this seemingly breezy affair. Not an expert on early 90s hip-house, R&B music videos, and pop aesthetics? Never fear; I'll lay it down for you. Read on for a closer look at the references Azealia Banks and director Justin Mitchell have drawn on for their sleek, glamorous, and very clever homage to some of the artists and visual and musical styles that have had an influence on the young Harlem rapper whose potential, at this point, is as fascinating as her already impressive early work thus far.
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