Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me

...and the tunes Kickstart again...



Spyke

It took me so long to get on the bandwagon with Example's first album, in particular with Kickstarts but eventually I got on board and absolutely love it. This is the first single from the rapper's new album Playing In The Shadows. The track sounds a bit darker than some of the lighthearted tracks on Won't Go Quietly and I imagine this will go down an absolute treat in the clubs.

At the bottom I have also included the Mensah remix of the track which just builds it to a whole new level. It was initially when a friend posted the Freestylers' Cracks (Flux Pavilion Remix) on my facebook this morning that I discovered the UKFDubstep youtube page. I've been meaning to try and get into dubstep for some time now but I never knew where to begin. So upon a friend's recommendation this seemed like as good a place as any to start.

The thing putting me off dubstep was what has always put me off dance music - the seven minute tracks which don't offer you anything more than random synths and thumping bass. Give me a familiar chorus in the mix then I feel back in my commercial music comfort zone and content (see some of the Rude Boy remixes). However some of the dubstep versions I've heard of tracks have revitalized my love of remixes.

I think the first ten seconds of this remix are just so much better than the intro in the original. It then cuts straight into the opening verse and builds up to the dubstep drop at just under a minute in. This is exactly the sort of track I can see them playing on an episode of Skins at an underground house party; though I don't think Warwick University offers quite that sort of scene to be honest.

If they time the release of this right in May, I could see the song making a big impact on the chart, with an almost guaranteed top 3 placing.

Chart Predictions:
Spyke 2
McLovin 1
Actual 1


The Mensah Remix:

The Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

The Black Eyed Peas release half-decent song shocker?

McLovin

I don't really like the Black Eyed Peas. At all. If we're going on the 'you're only as good as your last single' rule, then my mind has to stretch all the way back to 2005's Don't Lie, a very sweet and pretty summer ditty. At some point in the past few years however, Will.i.am discovered ELECTRO and AUTOTUNE and BLEEPS and FUNNY VOICE EFFECTS: the band's sound changed beyond recognition. Perversely, their popularity seems to escalate as each of their singles rapidly decrease in quality. The Time (Dirty Bit) was probably my least favourite hit of last year; a horrible, soulless reworking of the wedding disco classic (I've Had) the Time of My Life. Surely they can't sink any lower?

Despite Fergie sounding like she's been inhaling balloons and Will.i.am positively sweating autotune-ness (you be so 2000 and late, mate), Just Can't Get Enough is clearly an improvement. There's actually a memorable chorus, tinged with melancholy and longing. Even Taboo name-checking the deceased athlete Flo-Jo can't stop things ticking along nicely. So why do I only think this is a half-decent effort? With about a minute to go (so close to the finish line guys!), they mess up a perfectly acceptable (and in the context of their last few songs, excellent) single by going all weird. Will.i.am starts chanting 'switch up!' as we travel back in time to the late nineties for a rave-lite finale. From a promising mid-tempo ballad, the song descends into a cheesy happy hardcore mess, ruining any momentum previously built up.

What makes it all so frustrating is the hints that Just Can't Get Enough had the potential of being a really good song. I've long given up hope of the group recording anything close to the wonderful Where Is The Love (which looks more and more like an aberration in their back catalogue), but they know how to create a memorable hook. Why must it always feel like they're trying just that little bit too hard, slapping a vocal pitch effect here or a rubbish breakdown there? Still, the way it's currently climbing the charts I wouldn't be surprised if this became their sixth (!) UK number one.

Spyke

I must say I was quite surprised to see that Oli had published a post on the Black Eyed Peas . . . and I couldn't disagree with him much more! Upon first downloading The Beginning this was one of the tracks I chose the delete off my itunes. I think it was Fergie's high pitched voice which really put me off; it's worse than it is in Rock That Body. However I think this track is very much like Imma Be in the sense that all throughout you think you're listening to a sub-par BEP single then when you almost get to the end you get a brilliant Switch up (especially when you see the monorail train speed up in the video). I honestly can't decide if the last moment is just pure genius or whether it shines so well because you've been bored to tears for the past 3 minutes.

As I've said before, some of the album tracks on the E.N.D. are miles better than anything on the newest album (Missing You, Party All Night, Simple Little Melody), so I'm not sure why they felt the need to move on so quickly. Anyway, here we are and actually in preparing to write this entry I've had the track on repeat all day and it has grown on me.

Chart Predictions:

Spyke: 3

McLovin: 1

Actual: 3

Nicole Scherzinger - Don't Hold Your Breath

...and heading to #1 this Sunday?



Spyke

This song shows Nicole post breakup saying 'I don't need a man'; well one in particular and it really does push all the right buttons for me. After Poison just seemed a bit *beep* to me I really had to wait a minute when I heard this little gem. It really is fantastic - with this on repeat and the odd bottle pop has really helped me get through my project over the past fortnight. When I grow up I'd love to be able to write a song of this caliber which you can sway to as you hush those critics.

Don't cha think that launching her first solo attempt might have gone better with a track like this. Whatcha think about that? To be honest I'm surprised that Baby Love made it as high as #14 in the UK.

Sometimes I hate this part having the predict whether a song like this will soar to the top of the charts or struggle to make the top 75. Fortunately with the current lead the track has over The Wanted and Adele on itunes this looks like it has a good shot at #1. However with Comic Relief on Friday you can expect a nice boost for Gold Forever and possibly the appearance of a certain Susan Boyle and Peter Kay duet. With Oli rooting for the boys - Nicole I think I'll stickwitu.

Jai Ho!

Chart Predictions:
Spyke 1
McLovin 1
Actual 1

Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow

blackandyellowblackandyellowblackandyellowblackandyellow...

McLovin

Black and Yellow is not a flawless song. But it possesses the catchiest chorus I've heard this year, and should result in a massive UK chart run after hitting number one in the US last month.

I'm not quite convinced with Wiz's performance - in the first verse, he indulges in some ill-advised rap-singing, awkwardly filling time before the main 'Black and Yellow' event. While in the second verse, there is casual misogyny ('Not a lesbian, but she a freak though') and dull bragging ('So many rocks up in my watch I can't tell what the time is'). It's all pretty banal and forgettable stuff.

Luckily, the verses do not scupper the song's wonderful chorus. I love the playful synths darting all over the place in line with the chord progression. Who knew the words black and yellow sound so good together? Apparently, these are the colours of Wiz's hometown American football team the Pittsburgh Stealers. This means very little to me and to be honest, the first time I heard it I thought he was singing about a wasp or a bumblebee! But maybe my misreading isn't so inappropriate -after one listen this song was 'buzzing' (ahem) in my head all day, with a hook as sweet as honey (oh dear! I'll stop now).

P.S. The music-box instrumental ending is a subtlety unexpected treat!

Chart Predictions

Spyke: 6

McLovin: 2

Actual: 5

Dr Dre Feat. Eminem and Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor

Welcome to Skylar Grey



Spyke

Despite hitting #4 on the Hot 100, this track seems to have peaked at a lowly #15 here in the UK. I feel it's a shame as it is yet another testament to how brilliant Eminem really is. Having always been a fan of his more serious and yet commercial records (Stan, Mocking Bird, Lose Yourself, Toy Soldiers) I almost gave up on him after his apparent 'Recovery' - but little did I realise we'd have a certain Rihanna feature just around the corner. His aggressive, anger filled lyrics roll out of his tongue quite elegantly - something Nicki Minaj hasn't quite mastered yet (Roman's Revenge is enough to make me even flinch).

Then we have Skylar Grey (formerly Holly Brook), who has very much been waiting in the wings to make her grand entrance into the pop world over the past year. Having provided backing vocal on Diddy-Dirty Money's Coming Home and co-writing the biggest selling single of last year with Eminem (none other than Love The Way You Lie) I'm looking forward to what we see from her next. Ke$ha went from providing the sample for Flo Rida's Right Round to being where she is today (new post coming soon), so hopefully her career will only improve.

Also, I am still awestruck at how good the quality is with HD music videos at the moment! The shots of the sea at the start of this video are just breathtaking.

Jodie Connor Feat. Tinchy Stryder - Bring It

Jodie's second single!

McLovin

One of the songs keeping me awake on the bus into Uni at the moment is this optimistically synth-tastic single. (I was meaning to download it last week, until some EVIL BASTARD got into my iTunes account and stole some of my Christmas voucher monies, thus leading to a disabled account...it was a bleak week, pop fans). Although it's not particularly original in sentiment, Bring It is nevertheless an enjoyable burst of energy as we finally escape the winter doldrums. I particularly like the line 'You're not no newbie!' as well as Tinchy's breezy contribution (when Craig and I saw Tinchy perform just after the release of Catch 22, I was struck by just how positive his songs are, and his featured performance here continues a welcome trend).

Coming quickly after her equally enjoyable debut single Now Or Never (peaking at 14), I'm disappointed that this doesn't seem to be going anywhere (reaching the dizzying heights of 87). With Adele dominating both singles and album charts, a high entry for this would have spruced up a pretty stagnant top ten. I really think Jodie has great potential - I can't think of any popstar who rocks a pair of glasses as well as she does right now, and her singles should be making the top 20 with relative ease.

Sam Tsui - Hold It Against Me (Britney Spears Cover)

Amazing



Spyke

It was just after we'd been to see Usher that Oli first played me Hold It Against Me acoustically on the guitar. After going straight home and hitting up youtube I was disappointed to find that none of the cover versions showed an ounce of the emotion, mood and passion that I'd seen from Oli's version. Then a few weeks later this surfaced!

Having loved the Max Martin/Dr Luke effort instantly, I had it stuck on repeat solidly for about a week until I may have killed it. Even the release of the video didn't reignite my excitement for the track. Despite hitting #1 in the US it has been rapidly falling down the charts all around the world since. I think for the first time ever, the song is better than Britney and she doesn't quite do the masterpiece justice. Don't get me wrong - I love her version, but had this been One Republic's follow up to Apologize then it'd easily be challenging for biggest single of the year.

With Sam Tsui's acoustic version, the beauty of the song writing really comes out. In the contrasting context the song feels more like a haunting love song packed with emotion and feeling, rather than just a cheesy chat up line you might have yelled in your ear whilst listening to some dub-step. Adding a touch of Gimme More and the melody from Stronger in the middle really shows off this guy's impressive musical talents. Whilst having an impressive array of recent covers on youtube this is one of Tsui's best along with his original Don't Want An Ending.