March Madness

 

Unexcited by the upcoming sports season? Never fear- POP is here!

Here are all the goodies we have to look forward to this month on Unapologetically POP:

Anticipated Albums:

Ladyhawke: Anxiety

Tanlines: Mixed Emotions

The Shins: Port of Morrow

Katy Perry: Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection

Miike Snow: Happy To You

Madonna: MDNA

Events & Live Reviews:

Fun., March 9

Neon Gold Tour, March 11
Young the Giant, March 15

The Naked and Famous, March 31

So buckle your seat-belts POP-lovers: it's March Madness time - POP-style!

Unapologetically,

Gregory & Minna

JFF - New Ladyhawke, "Black White & Blue"

                                   

Woohoo! It's here! Mixed & produced by Pascal Gabriel, Ladyhawke is finally back with Black White & Blue, the debut single off of her upcoming sophomore album, Anxiety.

So what's it like?  It good.  Black White & Blue has the same loopy, mystical quality as Magic, My Delirium, & Dusk Till Dawn.  Pip's voice is still rock 'n roll meets synthPOP, one is the things I love about her.  Some listeners may find the song's production a bit too complex, but for those who like their music multi-layered & dimensional, you'll be quite pleased.  But I will let you judge for yourself; click the above photo to hear Ladyhawke's exciting release.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Ladyhawke, it's been too long.  We're twiddling our thumbs for the new album AND, hopefully, a big ol' world tour.

Unapologetically,

Minna

All Eyes on 2012 - Part 2

2012 POP albums that have us quivering with
Antici-p-p-Pation

16. Janelle Monáe -Untitled
According to Janelle, her 2012 work (which may be 2 whole albums) will be marked by songs that "empower, encourage & make you dance" - so cheers to that! Janelle is a creative. We never really knew what to make of her first record, The Archandroid. On some days, it suits us perfectly, while on others, it comes off as a tad holier-than-thou. Regardless, girl's got some chutzpah trying something different. One thing is for sure, though - if Janelle hopes to be the icon she dreams of becoming, she needs a hit, so here's hoping she can streamline her imagination for at least a few the tracks. If her music is more palatable, her talent will be more appreciated! We're not asking you to water anything down, Miss Monáe; just give us some POP beats! Social empowerment/encouragement is most potent when dowsed in sugar. Just as Ms. Jackson If You're Nasty! ("SING IT! We are a part of a Rhythm Nation." BOOM BOOM!)

15. Rye Rye - Go! Pop! Bang!

From Bangladesh and Pharrell to Akon and Robyn, it seems like Rye Rye has been working with everyone these past few years. Hopefully her first full album will give us some up-tempo tracks for the gym & the club.

14. Rufus Wainright - Out of the Game
For his seventh studio album Rufus is apparently working with Mark Ronson (*swoon*). According to this Rolling Stone article, Out of the Game is going to be Rufus's "poppiest" album yet, with songs for "driving around in your car... or losing your mind to on a dance floor." Ooo boy, this should be a good one.

13. Scissor Sisters - Untitled
After releasing their high-quality comeback single Shady Love (featuring vocals from Azealia Banks), tenured POP performers Scissor Sisters have us pretty darn interested in their fourth album. We're also excited to see how it fares in the USA and on the UK charts. Will Scissor Sisters ever score some time on the American airwaves? Only time will tell...
Shady Love (Clean) by Scissor Sisters

12. La Roux - Untitled
Little information has been released concerning synthPOP act La Roux's second album; we do know that listeners can expect to hear the influences of Italo-disco, Donna Summer, & Grace Jones. Elly Jackson told Out Magazine that she wants a "classy, sexy" sound for the new album, "the way sexy was before it got made dirty." Oh, La Roux, we've missed you!

11. Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Barbies rejoice: Nicki & the ferocious Roman Zolanski are baaaaack! According to Nicki we can expect the release of Roman Reloaded's album artwork and track-listing this month. It's safe to say that the album's release day will be a semi-official holiday in ATL (Minna will report).

10. Fun. - Some Nights
Minna cannot get enough of this band! There's a lot to be excited about here; Some Nights, fun.'s second studio album, is produced by Jeff Bhasker, who has worked with Beyonce, Kanye West, Alicia Keys & Natalia Kills. By teaming up with Bhasker the guys from fun. will surely deliver an amazing indie POP album, reminding us all that you don't have to be an electronic, female solo act to make massive POP tunes.

fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe by Fueled By Ramen

9. Adam Lambert - Trespassing
We've said it before & we'll say it again: Adam deserves far more time on the radio than he receives. Happily, Better Than I Know Myself received high praise as a super-emotional, yet danceable lead single. On top of working with big names like Claude Kelly, Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco, Adam has also collaborated with under-appreciated POP artists like Sam Sparro and Nikka Costa. Glam rock will never die, & Trespassing is shaping up to be a spectacular POP album.

8. Diana Vickers - Untitled
We didn't listen to Diana's first album, but that's not important. All that matters is the following 6 words: Music To Make The Boys Cry. We want the rest of the album NOW! (But take your time Diana, we support you!)

7. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
You've probably never heard of her, but we put Lana on our list because, hey, wouldn't we be impeached by the Music Bloggers' Association if we didn't? (In all seriousness, Born To Die will make a major splash in 2012 - we're hoping it produces some more beautiful baroque POP anthems. We've always defended Lana)

6. Ladyhawke - Anxiety

Minna is a huuuuge fan of Ladyhawke & is more or less counting down the days until the release of her second album, Anxiety, in March. Pip Brown recorded the album with the amazing Pascal Gabriel last year & is apparently very excited to "get back in the game." We can't wait to hear Black, White, and Blue on the radio. Get it, girl!

5. Little Boots - Untitled
This chick is so underrated. She's taken her time with her second album and experienced a great deal of anxiety, as evidenced by her blog, but we're happy she took a well-deserved break in between records. It gave her the energy to come up with one of her most positively received singles, Shake. We have no doubt that this classically trained diva will keep us dancing all night with the rest of her album!

4. Regina Spektor - What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
This album title is so cute. It's kind of reminiscent of Lily's second album title, It's Not Me, It's You, but without the F.U. factor. Regina's said that she worked with Mike Elizondo, who also produced some tracks on her last record, Far, as well as having worked with Maroon 5, Snoop Dogg, and Fiona Apple. Ayayayayay! We can always count on Regina for some solid piano POP.

3. Ellie Goulding - Untitled
Interestingly, while her POP-contemporary Marina is going for "sonic=electronic" on Electra Heart, Ellie plans to strip down the production process for her next record. In the past, she stated that she wanted to find an unknown Swedish producer to work with - & we guess she has if the album is due out this year! Clearly, Ellie wants a creative partner who is eager and ego-less. Seeing as her debut, Lights, was POP and electronic, yet completely unlike any electro-POP out there, we're excited to see where her creativity will take her this time!

2. Madonna - M.D.N.A.
M.D.N.A. could equal - 1) Madonna 2) Madonna D.N.A. - Is Madonna's D.N.A. the best? She certainly thinks so. Clearly, she's a Darwinist. or 3) M.D.M.A. (the purest form of ecstasy), but replace the third "M" with "N" - how clever...Honestly? The album title sounds like Madonna is trying to be edgy and youthful, and we wish she would stop, because being younger isn't necessarily cooler. Just be yourself, Madonna! With that said, we're super excited for M.D.N.A. She's worked with William Orbit from her Ray of Light and Music days (those albums were fantastic!) and Martin Solveig, who produced Hello featuring Dragonette. We love that Madonna is still working with producers like Solveig who are on the cusp. She always does her best when she's setting the trends, rather than making them (although we did love the Hard Candy album.)

and our #1 most anticipated album is:

1. Marina & the Diamonds - Electra Heart

By now hopefully y'all know that Marina Diamandis is our muse. And yes, we feel a disconnect between Marina & her Diamonds, but both of us here at Unapologetically POP support Marina & her artwork wholeheartedly. Sonically electronic, lyrically innovative, & inspired by Greek mythology & Hollywood fantasy, Electra Heart is easily our most anticipated album of 2012. (Look Marina: WE RATED YOU HIGHER THAN MADONNA! )

Bring it on, 2012!


Unapologetically,


Gregory & Minna


PS - Did we miss anyone? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 5

BOO!  ROAR!  HOWL!  We're baaack!

I wanted to end my portion of the Spooky POP playlist with some truly rockable, uptempo tunes.  I love Halloween & I hope, more than anything, that our readers enjoy this playlist as much as we have enjoyed making it for you!  So here we go:

23. The Kills - Future Starts Slow - Straight off their latest album Blood Pressures, ghostly pop-rockers The Kills absolve themselves of evil, singing "no longing for the moonlight / no longing for the sun / no longer will I curse the bad I've done."  The holler, they wail, they'll blow your mind.  Future Starts Slow will leave you suspended in time.

24. Lady GaGa - Monster - You knew we couldn't leave this song out! No Spooky Pop playlist is complete without Mother Monster's Anthem.  In Monster, Lady GaGa tells a morbid love story about a girl & a wolf in disguise, all amongst the backdrop of the New York City skyline.  From the very beginning, Gaga's a goner.  "He licked his lips / said to me / girl you look good, enough to eat," she tells us.  GaGa is a gifted storyteller, & in Monster no detail of the fairytale-gone-wrong is left out.  She tells of their dirty dancing, their make-out session on the Metro home, & her final realization that she brought a Monster into her bed.  GaGa creates a freakin' fantastic pop song about the true Monster among us.  And hey, isn't that what Halloween is all about?

25. Cut Copy - So Haunted - This song sounds like an alien invasion, pure & simple.  The lyrics evoke the image of jilted lovers standing in a desert, peering up into the midnight sky: "What's that you see? / there's all these satellites, satellites, satellites / orbiting you & me / One glimpse could change a life, change a life, change a life."  Eek.  Are they being abducted?  Were the boys of Cut Copy inspired by UFOs?  Who knows, but the song is flippin' freaky.

26. Fenech-Soler - Demons - We all know about my thing for electro-pop boyband Fenech-Soler, so can it come as a surprise that Demons made it on here? Besides the allusions to running from your demons / running into ex-girlfriends, I don't exactly know what is going on in this song.  However, like anything Ben Duffy sings, its full of sexy moaning & groaning.  So it's ace.

27. Ladyhawke - Magic - Magic, the opening track to Ladyhawke's eponymous first album, is a whimsical journey across the ocean in pursuit of love & adventure. It's kind of like a theme song for everyone's favorite uber-creepy 1980s kids' movie, The Neverending Story (remember the evil wolf monster Gmork?  That sh*t gave me nightmares). "One journey for you but it's worth it / one life here with me & it's magic," sings Ladyhawke wistfully.  You truly don't expect the journey to ever end.  Magic conjures up nostalgia for the dreamworld of childhood, where imagination is reality...

We're almost to the end.  Keep coming back this week for our final installation.  We guarantee you'll be spooked!

Unapologetically,

Minna

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 1

Halloween is almost upon us, so Gregory & I decided to compile the ultimate Spooky Pop Playlist to get y'all in the mood.  We chose the very best pop songs to get you dancing and give you creeps.  Here are the first 5 tracks:

1) Sneaker Pimps- Bloodsport: This song is simply a classic.  It’s a super creepy 90s throwback that deals with the dark and sinister forces of sex & death.  "My mother never told me that love is just a bloodsport..." totally contagious.  The perfect opening track.  Listen to its breathy creepiness here.

2)SBTRKT – Wildfire: In “Wildfire,” the mysterious masked SBTRKT one of my favorite new London DJs, warns us not to play with the paranormal.  Check it out here.

3) Florence + the Machine – Howl: The transformative power of love turns Florence Welch into a flesh-hungry beast.  “I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hollow ground” Florence yowls.  She’s on the prowl, baying at the moon!  Listen here.

4) Ladyhawke - Dusk Til Dawn: – Things that go bump in the night - footsteps in the hall, banging on the wall - keep Ladyhawke up all night!  This song is pop-perfection, and explores about the eerie forces of ghostly love. Rock out to it here.

5) Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers: The songstress Lykke Li composes a dark and ominous stalker song like only a Swede can.  (Listen here)  Watch out, someone’s coming for you…

Stay tuned, we have many more spooky songs on the way... what will be next on the playlist?

Unapologetically,

Minna