More Recommended Forthcoming Pop Choons #736453: Now With Added Reality TV.

Well, well, well... look who has crawled out from underneath the pop woodwork after a quiet period of post reality TV reflection...

Some may remember The Ordinary Boys (no? Ok.)from 2 or 3 years back when lead singer Preston (in a last ditch attempt to save the band from being dropped) somewhat ill-advisedly entered the Celebrity Big Brother of 2006, fell in love with love-able dimbat/Paris Hilton look-a-like Chantelle Houghton whom he soon married, and was suddenly thrown into a world of Heat magazine covers and OK! wedding photo deals before dumping the above mentioned dimbat in order to return to the fiance he left her for in the first place. The Ordinary Boys themselves did experience a brief re-heating of their chart success in the wake of CBB publicity and subsequent tabloid whore-dom of their outspoken and mis-guidedly cocky frontman. However, this success was short lived, particularly in the aftermath of the messy divorce that followed between Chantelle and Preston approxiamately 5 minutes after they married.

Now after a couple of years away from the media spotlight, Preston appears to have ditched the lame and anodyne "ska" band of old and is attempting to launch a solo career. Taking on a new image which seems to resemble what the love child of a young Morrissey and Frankmusik would look like, he is also venturing down the ol' electropop route which can only be a good thing in my opinion! His forthcoming debut single "Dressed To Kill" (which is out this month) takes the best part of Siouxie and the Banshees "Happy House" and weaves it into a dark but playful pop song about a ruthless maneater with plenty of cheesy vampire metaphors and such to boot. I think its damn catchy too! Pity about the unfortunate Lost Boys inspired video... I am still unclear as to whether it is SUPPOSED to look quite eighties and cheap just to add to the hammy-ness of it all. Although Preston's own views on the video would suggest otherwise in this extremely good interview on Popjustice.com. Here is the video...

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Hello Daddy! Hello Mom!

There is to be a new film biopic released in 2010, telling the story of the hugely influential teenage all girl punk band The Runaways entitled... "The Runaways".

Clever title, that.

The band's brief but glitteringly tempestuous time in the spotlight spawned the future careers the likes of Joan Jett (the band's ferocious rhythm guitarist) Cherie Currie (the band's barely legal but awesomely bad ass front woman) and have continued to influence bands to this day such as Hole and The Donnas as well as pave the way for other successful female led rock acts over the last 3 decades... their influence on late seventies feathered hair cuts also must not be overlooked.

The band went through several line up changes during their 4 year career, going through bassists in particular like Spinal Tap go through drummers... However Currie and Jett, alongside lead guitarist Lita Ford and the late but great Sandy West on drums are considered to be the definitive line up overall.

Some may already be aware that Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame (bleh) will portraying Joan Jett (who is herself executive producer of the film)but some may be surprised to find that the vaguely interesting but by no means bad ass Dakota Fanning of Various Other Non-Badass Film Roles fame will be rocking out on screen in a corset and stockings as the 16 year old, drug addled Cherie Currie. Hmmm...

Well, I guess we'll have to wait another few months or so to find out how that casting works out! In the meantime lets have a look see at the original grrrls doing their thang on a Japanese TV special from 1977...

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so this is the new Alexandra Burke single...

Anyone who is aware of my X Factor obsession will know that from very early on I was pushing for the tear stained yet loveable Alexandra Burke to plough on through to victory in the competition last year. This she eventually did to my delight following a battle of the lungs performance with queen bee Beyonce during the final... it was quite the epic moment I must say.

And so I have been waiting with baited breath for the new material which she has been busy working on over in America (obviously as a result of the Leona Effect) and finally the new single has leaked...



eh... hmmm.

Its ok I guess... its not the most mind blowingly original choon of this genre I've heard recently... there's something missing.

There are good qualities I suppose. Its quite early Whitney-ish in parts which is good because there is no point wasting a voice like Alexandra's on shit like some of the stuff Ciara has been churning out these days that she can barely even sing herself. So yes, overall there is substantial use of the voice. I suppose its just that even that substantial voice usage still doesn't quite convey the full range and general amazing-ness of her voice as a whole. I'm not saying we need another god-awful bombastic Mariah/Whitney/etc type ballad of vocal histrionics with no discernable tune of any kind... just something a bit more distinguishable. Its also not the most immediate of hooks either - I've listened to it 3 times so far and it hasn't quite stuck in my head yet. And of course there is the obligatory "middle eight rap by useless and inarticulate rapper" bit, this time provided by Flo "apple bottom jeans song" Rida, which isn't the worst I've heard but certainly doesn't add to the song. It merely serves as a profile booster.

In conclusion, I suppose as a pop/ r nb song in 2009 it fits the mould fine and I don't hate it or anything... but I don't see any repeat listenings in the offing either...

I am of course hoping she will score a top 10 with it however! She definitely deserves it with a voice and work ethic like hers. Lets just hope she gets a chance to grow into and improve upon her sound once she finds it...

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Woo! 100 Hundred Posts!!!

Technically this is post 101 but I thought I'd celebrate none the less.

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Best Radio 1 Live Lounge Cover In AGES.

...and no I am not biased because it involves HER.

In other news, the original version of this song (by X Factor rejects/phenomenally popular new boyband JLS) is, along with 11 other songs, going to be part of something really, exceptionally cool that I will be taking part in on the 8th of September... I'm still not entirely sure whether I'm allowed to reveal what it is just yet but when I do Happiness Machine readers will be the first to know!!

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Remember Their Names; Fame 2009...

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The Next Inevitable Worldwide Pop Smash.

This is Eva Simons.

She is Dutch.

She has epic hair.

She has just released a single entited Silly Boy which for some time was erroneously claimed on the net to be Rhianna's big comback single featuring Lady Gaga...

...this was recently proved not to be the case.

Here is the choon.
(embedding has been disabled cos youtube is being a gimp)

Basically this is an advance warning to prepare yourself for the choon that will inevitably invade your ears for the next couple of months at least when the rest of the world (and daytime radio) finally gets wind of it...

This of course does not make the choon any less epic and generally amazing though so enjoy it now people while you still have the chance!!!

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More Recommended Forthcoming Pop Choons #37465

Have a look see at this here band from Denmark known as "Private"...

As you can see, nice Adam's Family/The Horrors style goth look going on, moody expressions, hailing from Scandinavia, home of various goth / metal bands and the like...

Now lets a have a listen to their forthcoming single, "My Secret Lover" which is out next month...



Weren't expecting that were you?

This song is quite clearly the best song Prince never wrote featuring a young Michael Jackson and N Sync on vocals... plus extra points for the synchonized side to side dance moves and effective use of keytars. Epic win.

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Review: Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew

Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew

This is the first album I've reviewed here on The Happiness Machine so it may take a while to settle on a consistent format but for the moment I'm going to work from the outside in and look at cover art then go through the tracklist.

For many, having physical copies of a CD is becoming increasingly less important, however I find there is still no greater joy than opening a brand new CD and analysing the artwork and inlay. Depending on how much effort the artist has put into their inlay this can sometimes be a let down, however 'Sea Sew' feels like it has had hours of thought and care poured into it. The sleeve and many of the images within are all sewn and knitted by Lisa and Frances Hannigan giving a DIY/homemade feel to the whole thing. Although it may be said a picture is worth a thousand words, the inclusion of all the lyrics (Also sewed) is a welcome bonus.

Having been in the public eye (or at least ear) providing vocals on several Damien Rice tracks, Hannigan struck out on her own after an unfortunate incident while on tour forcing her to part ways with the singer. 'Sea Sew' is a clear indication that this was a great career move whether intentional or not. 'Ocean and a Rock' is a strong opener that sets the tone of the album with its tender vocals, lush instrumentation and off kilter time signature. The second track 'Venn Diagram' is a mid-paced folksy number which is once again invigorated by the quality of the instrumentation. However on track three things really kick up a gear, 'Sea Song' is a highlight of this album, using a flamenco twist to great effect and providing welcome change to a slightly darker tone. Jump on two tracks and its hard not to smile at jaunty soon-to-be-single-if-not-already 'I Don't Know'. Another quick change brings the album into to its second half with the slightly sinister sounding 'Keep it all'. A haunting version of Bert Jansch's 'Courting Blues' follows, turning the originals upbeat guitar into melancholy strings and ethereal vocals that wash over the listener. 'Pistachio' and 'Teeth' are both nice, well-crafted songs but seem to lack some of the spark that comes through on the rest of the album. The gentle tinkling of the xylophone (or glockenspiel, I'm not quite sure which) combined with the dreamy lullabye-esque rhythm of lead single 'Lillie' brings the album to close.

Overall:

This album is one of the best buys I've made in quite a while. Coming in at an average 40 mins its easy to listen to it through then flick back to track 1 and start again. Hannigan avoids the usual trap of the singer-songwriter genre by making nearly every song sound unique and different from the rest of the album while still maintaining a signature sound. Well placed tonal changes ensure the listener doesn't get bored. Although a nod must be given to the many accompanying musicians such as Vivienne Long for her excellent cello work, the songs still feel like they could work in a solo capacity. An excellent debut from a soon-to-be-huge musician.

4.5 Handsewn Dice out 5

Also if you want to catch her live she's playing at Electric Picnic (4th-6th September) and there's another string of dates here

Lisa Hannigan - Sea Song

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