grand jury

channeling matt costa and paul simon, berklee college of music freshman max jury brings some delightful piano pop on his highly-addictive tune "change your mind for me." taken from his EP rhythm of the rain, jury shows a maturity well beyond his 18 years. just take a listen. expect big things from this young man.

Max Jury - Change Your Mind For Me - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

the wombats

u.k. hipster rockers are delivering the goods on their new single "tokyo (vampires and wolves)," the title track of their sophomore LP set for release in november. the guys scored a couple of indie hits in 2007/2008 with "let's dance to joy division," "moving to new york," and my personal fave "backfire at the disco." "tokyo," a driving synth-rock tune, is much more accessible and radio-ready, especially with its staccato "ah-ah-ahs" in the chorus. grab your nearest can of PBR and hit the dance floor. and check out the grum remix below, too.

The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves) - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves) [Grum Remix] - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

here we are now, entertain us. dance.

19 years ago this week, nirvana unleashed nevermind. critically lauded and an unexpected monster hit, nevermind brought alternative rock to the mainstream. in january 1992, it ousted michael jackson's dangerous from the number one spot on the billboard charts. much of the album's success was due in part to the unexpected success of the first single, "smells like teen spirit." earlier this year thoko remixed the track into a modern rock dance explosion.

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Thoko Bootleg Remix) - Nirvana by Thoko

diamonds-a-dozen

nintendo power glove? yes, please.

in 1965, gary lewis & the playboys scored a number one record with one of the absolute worst songs of the 1960s called "this diamond ring." in it he sang, "this diamond ring doesn't shine for me anymore/and this diamond ring doesn't mean what it meant before." well, let me introduce you to john o'regan, better known as diamond rings. this particular diamond ring shines bright and is gravid with meaning. from his forthcoming debut album special affections comes the first single "something else," a massively delightful track punctuated with john's borderline nasaly speak-sing delivery. everything about this is heaven.

Diamond Rings - Something Else - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

BAKER - echo (mike rizzo funk generation club mix)

following up on yesterday's interview with BAKER, comes a killer remix by mike rizzo of the track "echo." dig it.

BAKER - Echo [Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Club Mix] - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

cover me, part 2

gaga's "bad romance" has been covered a thousand and one times, by a hundred different artists. it truly is the pop song of the year. just as the beatles' songs were covered by r&b, pop, rock, and country artists when their songs originally came out, la gaga is proving she's got the musical chops for uber mass appeal. here's another take on the tune.

just like lissie and corey tut, the klaxons have stripped away the dance-pop beats and gone acoustic. but where lissie's was gentle and romantic, and tut's was more rock, the klaxons have turned the song into a haunting, almost creepy ballad.

Klaxons - Bad Romance - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

meanwhile, dale earnhardt jr. jr. have turned in a pretty faithful cover of the beach boys' "god only knows." and in case you forgot how stunningly gorgeous the original version is, i've included that, too.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - God Only Knows - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

The Beach Boys - God Only Knows - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

the pop sucker talks to: BAKER

when up-and-coming electropop artist BAKER releases his debut album, he might want to call it serendipity. if he wasn't sneaking into LA clubs with his fake ID, his career might be heading down an entirely different path right now. the Pop Sucker caught up with the recent harvard graduate, 23, via email to talk about his burgeoning career and the perfect recipe for a visual BAKER sandwich.

judging from what i've read on facebook and myspace, you're an active guy, traveling around the world and handling different projects. yet, i read your musical career sort of began by accident! can you tell me a little bit about your background and how all of those experiences led you to finally decide to pursue music seriously?

my whole life i've always wanted to perform, but it's been an unusual ride getting here. i was in LA for the summer going to clubs every night with my fake ID, [and] having fun, and then i was lucky enough to meet a DJ who heard me sing. we figured how best to channel my potential as an artist. i've been performing and singing my whole life but i've only been recording a little over two years now and when i heard the demo of my first track, "heart-shaped box," that's when it all came together for me.

what inspired you to choose "heart-shaped box" as your first track, and turn it into an electro-rocker? were you a big nirvana fan?

funnily enough that wasn't my idea. we wanted to do something unexpected but still electro-alternative and he suggested that song. i was never a big fan of nirvana, and i was really young when kurt cobain died. it seemed like his music was untouchable, so of course we had to do it. i think we did the song proud though.

aside from the covers, i understand you co-wrote and produced all of the tracks on your free EP. most of the tracks are about relationships and love lost. what's the inspiration for those?

i'd consider myself pretty lucky in terms of the relationships i've had, but happiness and contentment have never been sources of inspiration for me. it's always those moments of frustration -- and even heartbreak -- that leads me to write all the lyrics or song ideas i can think of.

tell me about "echo." it's such a great, strong electro-pop song. one of the best i've heard this year. and the video is great, too. how did you come up with the concept for that? it's a pretty slick, well-produced video. did you have a big budget for it? 

the concept came very organically. i think it's really easy to try and make a mini-movie out of every song and with "echo," i tried to do something different.

the top priority was to get people to know me as an artist, so we made a BAKER sandwich. the two slices of bread are me walking around my hometown of nyc in black and white, and in between is where you'll find the meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato. that's where you can get inside my head and see my evolution (so far) as an artist. but we had very, very little money for it.

my good, good friends blake martin, the director, and kristin konvitz, the producer, are film school students and we pulled out all the stops, getting as many talented friends of ours that were willing to work for free and let us borrow equipment to make the video look as professional as possible.

i'm always curious about the ways in which an artist writes songs. do you think up lyrics first and then put them to beats, or vice versa? do you have any quirks about songwriting -- i.e. you have to hand write everything first, or you only feel creative while driving?

it's different every time, but usually i'll have an idea for a song or a metaphor then my producers and i will work out the beat, starting with the drums and bassline which, for me, are the most important. then we'll figure out melodies, and lyrics are usually last. i write everything on my blackberry notepad and will edit or write new lyrics whenever it comes to me.

what's next for you? can we expect a full-length album anytime soon? are you planning to release another single?

i'm going to be performing this fall and get to know my fans face-to-face here in nyc and continue to record, but i'm going to wait for proper distribution before releasing a full-length album. and, of course, i'll be filming a follow-up to "echo" very, very soon. the next single will be from the new material i'm working on now. it's gonna blow you away.

you give away many of your tracks for free, which is awesome. what's your take on the whole illegal downloading of music? do you think giving away your songs for free has helped in building exposure for your music, especially as an unsigned artist?

as an unsigned artist my #1 concern is getting my music to as many people as possible so yes, it's definitely helped build exposure.

BAKER - Yellow Light - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

BAKER - Turbulence - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

BAKER - Heart-Shaped Box - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

sunrise

what does the "e" stand for in woman e? the u.k. electropop duo doesn't say, but they have a purpose. they're out to make what they call "subversive pop," or pop music with a point of view. "sunrise," one of the five tracks off their debut EP few & far sounds like a cheery little pop number on the outside, but there's more than meets the eye there, according to the band:

it's a love story of 2 people who meet in a club high on whatever, right at at the peak and who, as a result, are convinced during these few short hours that they are meant for each other. It's almost a perfect love if there wasn't that little voice, muffled by medication, which says that it will all be over in the morning. Happened to a friend of mine.. really ...... a lot ....

Woman E - Sunrise - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

flashback: fade into you

didn't have this on cassingle or CD-single, so i can't include it in the cassingle life, but it's worthy of a post.

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

i saw you dancing

you've probably heard that ace of base is releasing a new album. you might also know, if you're a regular reader and know me personally, that ace of base is my favorite group. of course the new ace of base is not the old ace of base. linn, the blonde, and the real voice behind all their hit singles such as "all that she wants" and "the sign," left the band a long time ago. and then there were three: jenny, her sister (the brunette), brother jonas (the big guy), and their friend ulf (the hot one). jenny parted last year and now the guys have replaced her and her sister with two new female singers. this is not ace of base anymore. sorry, but i find it blasphemous and i'm apoplectic that the guys would continue the band under the same name. 

back in '94, when the real ace of base exploded, jonas wrote and produced a swedish female duo called yaki-da, who had a minor top 20 hit with "i saw you dancing." i will not be posting any of the songs by the new ace of base. yaki-da is more ace of base than the new ace of base. this tune, largely forgotten but under-appreciated, is the best AoB song they never recorded.

Yaki-Da - I Saw You Dancing - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

heartbreaker

zac poor is the new jon secada. wait, wait! hear me out. you're probably thinking, "you mean that '90s adult contemporary star my old maid aunt got wet for?" true. but, let me explain. for a brief moment in the early '90s, jon secada was the hottest, smoothest r&b/pop crooner. he was talented, versatile, sexy and suave. his voice was like butta. and secada was the first artist i thought of when i heard "she'll be breaking hearts," poor's massively catchy first single from his debut EP let's just call it heartbreak. poor embodies all of those characteristics that made secada a grammy-winning singer/songrwriter. and hey, the '90s are hot again. so dig it.

Zac Poor - She'll Be Breaking Hearts - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

where did you sleep last night?

i was planning to write a little something about madjo, but the only things i could find online were in french. i don't speak that language. (but i do kiss that way.) so just have a listen to her achingly beautiful "where did you sleep last night."

Madjo - Where Did You Sleep Last Night - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

who's that chick

aww, ri-ri, how do i love thee? never in a million years did i think the girl who sang "pon de replay" would blow up into a pop/r&b superstar. but she did, and i have to say, i'm mighty glad. she's turned out some of the most solid pop hits of the last few years ("umbrella," "disturbia"), and at the very least is one of the most prolific pop stars of her generation.

taking a page from the 1960s pop star's manual, rihanna has released no less than 4 full-length albums in just over four years. her fifth, loud, will be released in november, one year after her last album, rated r. modern-day pop stars just don't do that. for comparison, it took britney spears almost 8 years to release 5 albums, and christina aguilera almost 10.

the first single from rihanna's loud is "only girl (in the world)," but that pales in comparison to a track called "who's that chick" which was leaked last week. actually, it was a video that leaked, which rihanna explained on her twitter was for a doritos (!) commercial and is not connected with her soon-to-be-released album loud. damn shame, 'cause this is her strongest song since "disturbia." hopefully wiser heads will prevail and this will be her next single.

Rihanna - Who's That Chick - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

dragonette @ folsom

if the san francisco music venues were a computer file path for musicians, it would look something like this:

SF:\popscene\rickshaw stop\the independent\great american music hall\the fillmore\the warfield.success

plug in 'folsom street fair' to that file path, and you'd likely get a syntax error.

i have been waiting to see dragonette in concert in SF, and when i heard they were coming back, i was thrilled. then i read the fine print. they're playing the main stage at the folsom street fair. the folsom street fair?! really? they have live musical performances at folsom? where -- behind the human urinal?

i don't think i need to explain folsom to bay area readers, but for those who don't know about it, it's one of the city's long-running street fairs that caters to the gay leather, S&M, and bear communities, among others. it's absolute sensory overload, and although it has tamed in the last few years, there are still some jaw-dropping exhibitions by patrons. it has to be seen to believed, but google some pics and you'll get the idea. (make sure to turn the safesearch off to fully experience the effects.)

no doubt the crowd will love dragonette. and i'll be there front and center. and perhaps i'm cutting them a bit short, but i do hope they know what they're getting themselves into...

Dragonette - Volcano - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

don't back down

meet restless people. one of the buzzingest buzz-worthy bands this side of brooklyn. i stumbled upon them a couple weeks ago, and all of sudden, they're everywhere! and for good reason. take a listen to "don't back down," featured below. it's a synthy-rock, sing-a-long toe-tapper that blasts through in a mere 2 minutes and 44 seconds. it's from their self-titled debut album, which is out on iamsound records, and the band counts florence and the machine and little boots, among others, as label mates. however, unlike those artists, restless people seem to be keeping a pretty low profile. their facebook page isn't even an official one, there's not much about them on the iamsound web site, and their biography is as follows:

Restless People are a pop group from Brooklyn, NY. They’re four friends who have been working together on different projects (Tanlines, Professor Murder, Family Edition) for years. When they get together they talk about the internet, jeans, shoes, car repair, jobs, barber shops, positivity, sports, seltzer, appropriation, beer, relationships, style, pretzels and reality. They talk about music using adjectives like punk, pop, adult contemporary, global, dance and emotional. They argue with each other and tell lots of jokes.

it's all very strange. but keeping a low profile means one has to focus on the music. and the bloggers and music critics have taken notice. now they're doing the work by spreading the good word and feel-good beats of restless people.

Restless People - Don't Back Down - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

meet a bear

swedish indie pop star britta persson released her third album current affair medium rare this month. i must admit i had not heard of her before i stumbled upon this song, but she's been recording since 2006 and has carved out a name for herself in the swedish indie music scene, even touring with fellow swedesters, loney, dear and those dancing days.

britta says of her new album: 

i don’t want to describe the music in words or using references since i’d like the songs to get the chance to talk for themselves, but i can say as much as this: i’ve tried to sum up the album with the title. however, what i really hope for is, that the album will work as a friend, a consolation and a way out. personally, that’s what i like to get out of listening to music. i’ve been trying all along to make an album that sounds big, lively and welcoming.

check out the first single, "meet a bear," below.

Britta Persson - Meet a Bear - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

more unreleased madonna

i have no idea how madonna songs get leaked. it seems like the vault with her recordings would be kept tightly shut. but, a slew of tunes were leaked a couple of weeks ago, including these two. and now, here are two more.

there isn't too much information on these songs. "little girl" is from the music sessions. "to the left, to the right," which has been mistakenly labeled as "set the right" by some bloggers, was produced by mirwais and recorded during the american life sessions.

plus, i've added an older mash-up of marvin gaye's "what's goin' on" and madonna's "la isla bonita." 

Madonna - Litte Girl - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

Madonna - To the Left, To the Right - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

Madonna vs. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On on La Isla Bonita? - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

the cassingle life: virginity

there's "so bad, it's good." and then there's "so unbelievably godawful, it's undeniably amazing." you know, the kind of song or movie or TV show that's so jaw-dropping in its horror that it must be seen or heard by every individual on the planet, and then some. 

TG4, which stands for tom gurls four (seriously!), were an r&b quartet. they released one single in 2002. it was called "virginity." and i'm not ashamed to admit that i owned the CD single. be jealous. be very, very jealous. this bouncy r&b song is completely addictive but it hardly made a dent in the charts. to be fair, the message of the song is actually a positive one for its target audience: hold off on sex until you're sure you like a guy. this is likely why the song did not succeed. 

the high-water mark of the song comes a mere 17 seconds into it when the lead, um, "virgin," which is an accurate assumption given their dress, coos with all seriousness: maybe a kiss on these lips... um, yeah. enjoy!

TG4 - Virginity - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

check out other adventures of the cassingle life

it's a good thing

choo choo's "it's a good thing" has been running through my head for days. it's one of those great indie pop songs that's instantly memorable, with a strong hook, and portends a strong album, which is set for release in january. but i didn't appreciate its profound statement until i saw its clever stop-animation video. finally someone has the sense to write a song about the anger and frustrations of trying to assemble furniture from IKEA. thank you, choo choo! and they say the swiss are neutral. by the way, you can grab this tune for free at the band's web site.

Choo Choo - It's A Good Thing - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

friction

finally! a straight-up dance pop song about gay sex. i mean, i'm not just hearing things, right? this song is about gay sex, correct? any song with the line "a deadly game of pitch and catch" ain't about baseball. and if it's not about a little man-on-man butt fun, then i'm sorry to say it's just boring and uninteresting. either way adam tyler's cute. i'd do him.

Adam Tyler - Friction - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

fast enough

if you look up the word infernal in the mirriam-webster dictionary, you'll find two entries. one is for the adjective infernal, and one is for the noun infernal machine.

in∙fer∙nal ma∙chine noun \in-ˈfər-n^əl mə-ˈshēn\ : a machine or apparatus maliciously designed to explode and destroy life or property; especially : a concealed or disguised bomb

it's possible that brooklyn electropop duo chose the name infernal devices after reading such an entry. their machine, or device, is music, and their sound is about to explode. 

andy miccolis and mark allen met online and bonded over electronica, dance music, and '80s sci-fi. before long, the two were writing and producing music and issued remixes for the likes of passion pit, flashmen, and peter, bjorn and john. now infernal devices are unleashing their debut EP lost in sound on october 1. the first single, "fast enough," will have you dancing a long in no time. it's retro-disco-hipster-fabulousness. 

Infernal Devices - Fast Enough - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

Infernal Devices - Fast Enough (Proper Villains Future Footwork Remix) - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

lonely people need remixing, too

remixing the beatles can be dangerous. they're sacred to many. it would be like if pixar decided to make a 3-D retelling of the book of genesis. some might find that offensive. (for the record, i would not, and i'd be first in line opening day because that shit would be amazing.) i think i like thoko's remix of "eleanor rigby," but i'm not sure. what do you think?

Eleanor Rigby (Thoko Bootleg Remix) - The Beatles by Thoko

ghost town

we've all got ghosts in our past and many a musician have tried their hand at writing and singing of the people and places that haunt us. however, nary a composition has been as heartbreakingly beautiful and effective as johanna & klara söderberg's "ghost town," featured on their debut album the big black and the blue. the swedish sisters, who call themselves first aid kit, write lyrics that seem beyond their years as they're only 19 and 17, respectively. with simple, mesmerizing harmonies over their indie-folk sound, FAK are about to carve a permanent place for themselves as indie darlings. plus they're pretty prolific and their music is a family affair. from their facebook page:

recorded by the band and their father at “cellar door” (their house in stockholm), with small yet purposeful flashes of drumming from friend charlie smoliansky, the sisters wrote all the songs, and also designed all the complementary, sepia-toned artwork.

First Aid Kit - Ghost Town - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

night & day

i'm a sucker for killer harmonies. and socal indie rock band chief delivers some on "night and day," one of the tracks from their debut album modern rituals. i listened to this tune quite a bit this past weekend when i drove from san francisco down to LA. it was a fitting companion and something to take my mind off the smells wafting into my car as i passed through coalinga. 

Chief - Night & Day - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker