Frank Ocean - Pyramids

Set the cheetahs on the loose...



McLovin

Lately I've been really enjoying Frank Ocean's debut album ' Channel Orange'. Of the recent crop of RnB singers associated with the rap scene (Drake half of the time and, erm, Chris Brown), there seems to be something else about Ocean. Maybe he is more sincere; certainly he is more ambitious and creatively driven than his peers.

Take this album track 'Pyramids' as an example. Close to ten minutes in length, the first half of the song is all about the Egyptian ruler Cleopatra, all crunching synths and abstract imagery. It then brilliantly shifts gear into some sort of 90s club slow jam, with a stripper/prostitute who also happens to be called Cleopatra. It then ends with an extended guitar solo, not a million miles away from someone like Prince. Somehow, it all makes a dreamy kind of sense.

I really admire the imaginative scope of Ocean. He doesn't seem afraid to experiment, and he's willing to push boundaries. Refreshingly, he also isn't heavily reliant on autotune; 'Thinking About You' features some gorgeous falsetto, while the album as a whole is as rich, subtle, and just downright fun as 'Pyramids'.

The Olympic Closing Ceremony London 2012 - Playlist

On Sunday evening I was the very proud owner of a ticket to the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London and it was just fantastic!  What an incredible line up there was and it goes straight in at #1 on my favourite Live Music Event I have ever attended - so I felt it only right to try and put in to words some of that awesomeness I experienced.

1 Take That - Rule The World
The pinnacle of the evening for me; I bought my parents the live DVD of Take That's last tour as the band always put on such a fantastic show. I know many people are fond of 'Rule The World' but seeing it being performed there on Sunday with all the fireworks and all really was something quite special that I'll never forget.

2 Queen [Feat. Jessie J] - We Will Rock You
This had everyone in the stadium chanting along; I can only begin to imagine what the band were like lead by Freddie Mercury himself - for some reason Jessie J managed to get back on stage for the third time of the evening.

3 Beady Eye - Wonderwall
This song struck a chord with me when I heard it at the end of my Inter-railing trip two years ago underneath the Eiffel Tower.  My friend Jacqui says that seeing Oasis live was one of her live music highlights and after seeing just half the band with this one song - I have no doubt she's right.

4 Spice Girls - Wannabe/ Spice Up Your Life
A flashback from 15 years when I first got into pop; what a moment.  It's hard to comprehend the hysteria in the Arena when Ginger Spice's Taxi lit up with the Union Jack.

5 Emeli Sande - Read All About It (Part III)
Love this version of the Professor Green track and following the success of Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind Part II I knew that if this ever got the chance it would be a massive hit.  The Ceremony provided a perfect launch pad for the track which is currently sitting at #3 on UK itunes.

6 One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
I was sat next to two American Girls for the show and needless to say that we were all over this!  In the pre-show they'd told us to sing along and they didn't need to tell us twice.

7 Muse - Survivor
Now this is the third time I've seen Muse and albeit for just the one song they were epic: it's just a bit of a shame that the song isn't quite up to their best.

8 Kaiser Chiefs - Pinball Wizard
It's also the third time I've seent he Kaiser Chiefs and Ricky Wilson is just such a fantastic frontman for the band.

9 Taio Cruz - Dynamite
You can't deny that Max Martin and Dr Luke came up with a corker of a track with this song.  Taio certainly has come a long way since I saw him perform 'Come On Girl' at V Festival 2008.

10 John Lennon (Tribute) - Imagine
Now it's no secret that I think this song is grossly overrated but hearing the tribute performance in the Stadium really struct a chord with me. Its pure simplicity and beauty brought the crowds to a standstill, it was really quite moving.


Now that's not all: there was also performances from the Pet Shop Boys, Madness, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Russell Brand, The Who and Tinie Tempah to name but a few. Such a phenomenal lineup that I'm not sure anything will be able to top it for me. Since the Ceremony it has been interesting to hear other people's thoughts on the show. Some thought there were obvious omissions like Boy George; and although I did get falsely excited after I thought I'd heard the intro to Set Fire To The Rain - I wouldn't change a thing.  Now I've just watched it back on TV and it was interesting to see some of the more intricate parts but the televised version didn't even begin to capture the atmosphere and excitement that all 80,000 of us felt on Sunday night in that Stadium. I'm very happy to say that #IWasThere.

David Guetta Feat. Sia - She Wolf (Falling To Pieces)

This duo prepare to assault the charts for round two

Spyke

A year ago yesterday I downloaded a fantastic new track from David Guetta featuring vocals from Sia.  It managed to chart in the top 40 as one of the pre-album releases.  This early success, based on the quality of the track itself and Guetta's reputation, was only the beginning for the track and when it was released as the umpteenth track from the album it topped the UK charts early this year.  Since then the track has gone on to sell over 850,000 copies here and will no doubt one day become Guetta's first track to top that 1 million mark.

Sia capitalized on the success by providing guest vocals on Flo Rida's Wild Ones and now she's reunited will  David Guetta to score what will inevitably be her 3rd global hit of 2012.  I don't think it quite has the same power as it's two predecessors but Sia's vocals work magically to encapsulate the energy coming from the accompanying production. 

Surely this has UK #1 written all over it . . .