Lady Gaga releases album cover for Born this Way

Oh Lady Gaga, When will you stop being soooooo low key?

......illuminati rumors?


Hmm.

This has to be the worst album cover of the year. It's awful. Even little monsters cant get behind this as fans have tweeted that she is obviously playing a joke on them.
I don't think it's a joke. Someone in the Lady Gaga camp thought this was brilliant.

This is the remix : Britney releases a surge of remixes

So, in Britland...after the release of her critically praised "Femme Fatale," Britney Spears is riding high on its success and doing things that um, SHE NEVER DOES. Such as teaming up with other female artists and doing features. In the day age of the collabo, Spears has rarely done features and this spring we've got two big releases.

First up the remix of "S&M" with Rihanna. When this came out, RiRi fans and Brit Brit fans well, their heads basically exploded.





Initially Brit Brit received a scathing attack for her "nasally" vocals in which haters basically decried "She sounds like Tommy Pickles!"

Okay she does a bit. But, her voice has always been paper thin with a touch of Southern drawl, does anyone else remember how "Hit me one more time.." sounded like?
Coupled with the fact that the producer of this remix seemed to autotune her vocals so much, it's kinda like what they didn't think she could handle singing her parts? Because Rihanna's vocals in comparison are overtly loud.

I've never been a fan of "S&M" because the jarring "na na na come on" felt too much like a battle cry that someone would use to wake you up. "SOLDIERS NA NA NA COME ON!" It was too much for me. The good thing about this remix is that, I do find Britney's little girl vocals to sort of not add to the craziness of the song. The production of this song is everywhere, I'm suprised they didn't add cowbell. It also needs to say that this song really does showcase that Rihanna has some vocal delivery even I'm not a fan of her music. The lyrics to "S&M" still remain largely too me waaay too simplistic for a subject matter like this, but hey that's pop music for you.

Thus bringing us to the other "WTF IS GOING ON?" moment, Britney teamed up with It-girls of the moment Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha. Like OMG. WTF.



Before I jump into this review, I want to state that both covers of these singles are absolutely terrible. Absolutely. What the hell????
You can autotune but you can't photoshop??


ANYWAYS...

I personally loved the original "Til the World Ends" I thought it sounded very now, very urgent and immediate. Britney's vocal sound good, like she actually didn't phone them in (hurr hurr). So, I had some lukewarm feelings once I heard about the remix specifically because I thought BOTH Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha would be too much in the production mix. You know like that old saying too many chefs in the kitchen? Too many pop darlings in the studio?> ***crickets**

I digress, the remix is VERY good. Nicki Minaj has dropped most of her annoying vocal pyrotechnics and did a straight flow. You have to wonder who she's dissing in her rap as the rap has nothing to do with a. dancing until the world ends. Basically it's an "OMG IM DOING A RAP FOR BRITNEY SPEARS DIE!!!!" ...sort of things.

Interestingly, Ke$ha's vocal involvement is pretty low. YAY. I mean, Oh. She's relegating to singing the hook which to me was a very smart move on the behalf of Dr.Luke (her producer by the way). So minimizing her to singing the hook worked out pretty well as you only get a smidgeon of Ke$ha's stop-rap vocal interaction and it sets it up for Britney to do basically the only singing in the song. The remix is a bit break down, heavier construction of the earlier version. This, was another wise move by Dr.Luke instead of hitting listeners with not only three different vocal acts, he basically slowed it down to give each a chance to live in the song as opposed to you know, a screaming match. You know how divas can get.

Both singles are good for dance clubs, but, Im going to give "Til the World Ends" the stamp of approval. Wise choices, cool handed Dr.Luke.

My Kind of Candy

I just read Rob Sheffield's review of the new The Pains of Being Pure at Heart album, Belong, and he pretty much hit the nail on the head. I felt the same way when I heard the first single back in November. The bigger sound captures everything the band wanted to say but couldn't before. Obviously, Rob and I were listening because the message rings loud and clear. I love that we agree, Sheffield is seriously dreamy.

Anyway, the new 'Pains album:

Honestly, I can't help but think that the more things change the more they say the same. That goes for 'Pains, but on a larger scale rock music as well. Listening to Belong is kinda like falling through time. Images of 120 minutes flow through my head like a lost memory. But the sound is in no way anachronistic. Maybe, we've just gone full circle?

Still, that hasn't stopped the most jaded of our community calling the album "sexless." Some critics have even gone so far as to say that the record is a blatant rip-off of The Smashing Pumpkins. But with Flood behind the scenes, its no wonder the influence shows. Its also fair to mention that Alan Moulder did the mixing. There is something of an allusion to the best of 90s alterna there, but as a mere nod and nothing more.

Seriously, Belong is more Cure than Pumpkins and there is nothing wrong with that really. As far as influences go, they could do worse (far worse). NME can go suck it.

The whole album flows with a sound that is bright and dreamy, with a twinge of heartache. Sometimes caring and collected ("Even in dreams/ I cannot betray you"), and at others ruthless with a smile ("Everyone is gentle and gone/But everyone's just everyone"), the lyrics turn from heartfelt to seeming apathy in the span of a second. But they're almost too sweet to be mean. Or even dark.

And sadly, the lyrics don't always deliver. In The Body, frontman Kip Berman whines that "you look so hot(?)/in fishnets and leather," sounding almost juvenile in the process. Luckily, this last only for a moment. It's still one of my favorite tracks even with that awkward line.

Berman and Peggy Wang's voices blend together so well its like they are one being. The harmonies weave in-and-out of the music creating a landscape of heavenly high peaks and low, surreal fields and valleys of sugarcane. The guitar fuzz tastes like cotton candy. The bass shimmers, overflowing into the warm, familar drumbeat. The keyboard swells are bittersweet. Pure pop perfection.

Tracks to listen to: The Body, My Terrible Friend

The BRITNEY review

Over here at Shennantics, let me prep you: We are on Team Britney.

Back when she was suffering from the basic non-stop harassment of the paparazzi, we believed that Britney would one day, and that one day would come, that she would be on the top of her game.

Fast forward through the dark sexy pop of "Blackout," and the immediate perfection of "Circus" with it's paranoia sheen, we get to Britney's post-comeback album: Femme Fatale.

Femme Fatale, is Spears seventh studio album and it was majorly hyped up by cryptic tweets of who would be producing it, to teaser videos for the flagship single for the insanely catchy "Hold It Against Me."

And now, Spears has finally given fans the manic "Femme Fatale." With producers Max Martin (longtime producer), Dr.Luke (Ke$ha) and Will.I.Am, its kinda obvious that the princess of pop has picked the who's who making club pop for this generation.

Is this a bad thing?
Christina explored a similar tactic on last year's quick fizzle "Bionic" and it was a mess. However, Britney is not Christina and I don't get why the two were EVER compared. Christina is an amazing vocal performer, but if you want sexed up entertainment with purring ...you go to Britney.

The reason why Christina's "Bionic" may have flunked was because Christina's voice is a little too strong to be digitally hacked into pieces without leaving a sour sound on the ears. Britney has never been praised for her vocal prowess, in fact, she's got a thin register, but despite its thinness, Britney's southern "oh bay buh bay buh" is now part of pop culture. On "Femme Fatale" Britney's thin voice is gleefully bleeped, slowed down, sped up to almost incomprehensible effects. But it works.

The album preys on the claustophobic production of today's dance pop. "Hold It Against Me," is almost threatening with it's jackhammer synth. "Til the World Ends," is a better Ke$ha then Ke$sha. The album explores what's hot in the dance world, even as Britney delivers perhaps one of the best songs on Femme Fatale the slow and choppy "Inside Out," or the addictive "Gasoline."

Yet, Britney doesnt stumble on Femme Fatale, its her producers. With a voice that is basically primed for anything some of the production choices are questionable. Will.I.Am's "Big Fat Bass," would have been almost perfect had the Black Eyed Peas frontman and avid supporter of destroying things had not participated in an uninspired dumb rap. It's almost as if he rapped just for the promotional gimmmick.

Then, as the album closes we're treated to the odd Ren Faire inspired "Criminal." It sounds way too contrived to be delicate, and Britney's sex kitten vocals don't really help the song. She can do a ballad, this isn't one of them.

Yet for a couple of mistakes here and there, "Femme Fatale" is almost flawless as a pop album. It's catchy. Upbeat. Uptempo. Full of neutral lyrics, sexed up lyrics, questionable puns. Best of all, it's built on what Britney is pushing nowadays the Britney brand.

Kim Kardashian does not endorse fun. Or good taste.

Sooo while I was away....it turns out that Kim Kardashian....(You know who she is so don't even pretend as if you don't). Released a single, produced by the Dream, (as featured on Keeping Up With the Kardashians). However, if you dont watch the show because you know better, Kim K decided to do a single. For charity.

Ah, someone insert the irony here.

Kim K's song "Jam" is another party song. Another song about going to the club and partying with your friends who are dressed like a million dollars, who probably HAVE a million dollars. There isn't much wrong with a party ...jam...it's one of those things that pop music thrives on. Friday Night, Just Got Paid. It's the Weekend, etc and in the grand ole traditions of things that celebrate partying...Kim K just wants to have fun.

Who are we to stop her?
Well, we should have.

"Jam," is generic at best. Amidst Kardashian's bland vocals (and bland here is the nicest term I could use) we get hammered with all the reasons why people hate music. It's uninspired and just, well, worthless.

Now, before I continue rambling on and on about how terrible this is, you could listen for yourself...or you could just save your ears the trouble and just look at this photo and IMAGINE how bad the song could be. You know how in horror films they let your imagination wander to all the depths of depravity one could possibly explore? Well have at it folks.