I was having sort of a bad moment and then down from the sky came a miraculous ray of light in the form of some Pipettes news with a brand new track to cheer me right up. I knew subscribing to Pitchfork News will pay off someday. The track's called 'The Shoe That Fits', and they're generous enough to offer you a free download at their new remix Myspace page. So what's the catch? Well, it's acappella only since this is for a remix contest, but if your submitted version is the best, it will get to appear on an upcoming tour CD. Here's the version with Gwenno, Anna & Ani, and you can get the versions with seperate vocals of each Pipette here.
The smart move is now you get to hear and judge for yourself how good are the two new Pipettes' pipes. It seems that Gwenno stepped down a notch here to give the new member more singing time. Vocally, Anna & Ani are doing a goob job, but personality-wise, guess we'll have to wait and see. It's a nice little track to tide us over for now. There's still a whole floppy forest ("tee-hee") before them, The Pipettes V2.0 V3.0, but I'm quite sure their sweet harmonies will continue to thrive. And best of luck to the former Pipettes, Rosay & Riotbecki and their solo projects.
A little confession: I still can't tell Ani and Anna apart. :-(
Welsh singer Gwenno had a music career before she joined the Pipettes, that I always knew. But what I didn't know was she still keeps on making music on her own. Last October, I found out she uploaded a mini album consisting of new demos on my MySpace, but it was too late as the YouSendIt link already expired. Fortunately, thanks to the devoted fans at The Pipettes message board, I was able to attain not only the new tracks but also the earlier previously-posted demos. On her own, while not straying too far from The Pipettes melodic trademark, Gwenno's songs seem to lose the '60s pastiche and veer towards a more modern sounding, electronica-tinged indie pop sound. 'U & I', which is by far the best of the bunch, starts with one of the coolest opening lines I've heard lately: 'U & I have been running around like headless chickens...'. The chorus is catchy enough to sneak in my head for quite a few days. Another good song is 'She's Got Me On Her Mind', which totally fits in with the 'Sounds like' description on her MySpace, as in ' Ace Of Base produced by The Postal Service'. As for the batch of older demos, bittersweet ditty 'Picture Of You' is the highlight. Overall, I do enjoy these demos and more than ever do I want an offical album, or at least EP, from her. You know, like a side project. Try these choice cuts, and since it's holiday season, I throw in her cover of Wham's 'Last Christmas' with some dude named Swipe!.
There's a cover for it too. While we're at it, here's the new Americanized music video for 'Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling)'. New remixed track! New hairdos! New dresses! New expensive-looking CGI! Their US label must really have faith in them etc. (love Gwenno's new look, by the way)
And here's another video of The Pipettes singing 'Pull Shapes' live in the NPR studio. It's nice, though a bit weird, to see them in more casual everyday clothes. And there are giggles.
More than a year after the release of their debut album (my second favorite album of 2006!), The Pipettes will finally invade the US with an official stateside release in October 2 (thanks XOLondon for the tips!).
I'm supposed to say something lengthy about how awesome they are, but upon realizing that I raved about them constantly almost every month last year, you might be better off clicking on the label and read the old posts, in case they're not familiar to you.
Riotbecki, Gwenno & Rosay are now signed to a major label, Cherrytree (division of Interscope), which makes them label mates with Feist, Rooney, and The Feeling. It's good to see their people get it right this time with that spanking new cover above (considering their disastrous US cover for The Feeling last time). However, as quoted on their MySpace blog, there seems to be a little remixing going on by producer Greg Wells, probably to 'help' them fit in with the American taste. Stopping by Greg's Wikipedia worried me, though, as his discography included Timbaland, Pussycat Dolls, Jesse McCartney and Paris Hilton. On the other hand, he has also worked with Rufus Wainwright, Pink, Mika so here's hoping he knows what he's doing and not turning their sweet '60s-girl-group harmonies into a pile of urban shit.
On the bright side, I've already listened to the two new tracks! It was taken off their MySpace now, but I've got a hold of them to share with you all. 'Dance And Boogie' is a typical poppy Pipettes track that gets along nicely with the old version of the album, and 'Just Be Yourself, Baby' is a slightly different sound for the girls, a bluesy ballad.
Apparently, this video was out about 2 weeks ago but I was just aware of its existence a few days ago. How embarassing. This time, The Pipettes go animated! Judging from the looks, I guess it was Flash-made, and the style is kinda Hanna-Barbera-ish. Somehow, their animated versions keep reminding me of, um, The Powerpuff Girls. Weird. Anyway, the girls just signed a deal with major label Interscope in US via their division Cherrytree Records (which is also home of The Feeling and Feist). Their album will get a stateside release in summer followed by a tour. So congrats! Let's hope their label figured out the marketing strategies right and spend some proper cash on promoting. If you're still not familiar with them, check out a tune right now! A, B, C, D, 1, 2, 3, X, Y, Z...
Video for his second single. He's still very flamboyant. Somehow this vid shares a lot of similarities with the following Arctic Monkeys one.
Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm
Yes, they're back. First, I'm never a fan. They're good at doing what they do, but their melodies/lyrics/riffs just don't stay. But this song, it was produced by James Ford, producer of Simian Mobile Disco and Klaxons. And on first listen, it doesn't sound that bad. Probably their danciest song to date. And their flashiest video too. The funny thing is, it's the monkeys that look out of place in this vid.
The after effects of OK Go's success. Now Ben's going for the homemade, viral video look, with help from his 82-year-old granny, hip-swivelling in a gym. This is the kind of thing that makes you either feel creepily entertained or makes you wanna gouge your eyes out. Somehow I can't help but think that this is Shakira and Beyoncé at their 80s getting together and remember the olden days! I heard this song last year and totally overlooked it. How wrong was I! Now it's stuck in my head all day. Great feel-good song. Must-hear! If The OC was still on, this would secure a spot on an episode, sigh...
Setting: in a supermarket in LA. A little cheesy, but fun and cute nonetheless. Fran's getting chubby. And there's a cameo from Ben Stiller. Lovely song, by the way. I'll find the Quicktime mov link and put it up tomorrow for download.You can download the vid now in good quality.
Manic Street Preachers feat. Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Simple performance piece. James has shaved his beard. And Nina still looks stunning after all these years, she doesn't seem to age at all. And the song's already one of the best of 2007 period.
Dolores O'Riordan - Ordinary Day
Dolores looks in shape for her age. The vid's nothing exciting to write about, I don't get the concept. But the park scene at the end's quite cool, anyway. I plan to listen to her solo debut this weekend, so more on that later.
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These I forgot about yesterday...
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Gloomy, and shot in black and white, but overall a little bit dull. The video treatment didn't work as it would sound on paper, so it's another case of could-have-been-better. Ace song, though. Love love her. She's been getting buzz in the blogosphere like crazy.
Mark Ronson - Stop Me
The story of a man and a crazy pair of white sneakers (not sure if they belong to lily Allen, though). A novelty idea for his version of The Smiths' song. Interesting enough, but I've got a feeling I've seen it all before. Deja vu, indeed.
Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow
New version shot for the re-release of the single. A different approach. Art direction's quite neat.
So here's the story: at the Ice Gala 2006 ice skating competition, Italian skater Valentina Marchei chose The Pipettes' totally awesome 'Pull Shapes' to soundtrack her performance. Everything from her choreography to her costume was all connected to the song and the whole '60s girl-group reference. What's even more amazing is how she managed to get the audience to clap along towards the end (clearly because they 'want some more'!).
I don't know how much she scored overall (though it looked like a good performance to me), whatsoever I would give her a perfect 10 for the flawless music pick. Just awesome.
I was having sort of a bad moment and then down from the sky came a miraculous ray of light in the form of some Pipettes news with a brand new track to cheer me right up. I knew subscribing to Pitchfork News will pay off someday. The track's called 'The Shoe That Fits', and they're generous enough to offer you a free download at their new remix Myspace page. So what's the catch? Well, it's acappella only since this is for a remix contest, but if your submitted version is the best, it will get to appear on an upcoming tour CD. Here's the version with Gwenno, Anna & Ani, and you can get the versions with seperate vocals of each Pipette here.
