The POP-Adjacent Pyramid: Tier 4

You’re Electric

Clare Maguire

(listen)

Holler!

The song that tops our POP-Adjacent Pyramid is “You’re Electric” (click here to listen) by the ever-so-talented Clare Maguire. It's from her recent debut, Light After Dark. This British beauty has a massive voice that sounds a bit like Cher’s, but with more polish. It’s the best tune off of her album; the other numbers I’ve heard from it aren't nearly as catchy. Clare worked with Fraser T. Smith, who’s produced amazing tracks on Britney’s Femme Fatale (“Trouble For Me”), Taio Cruz’s Rokstarr (“Break Your Heart” ft. Ludacris), and Adele’s 21 (“Set Fire To The Rain,” my favorite song on the album). Seeing as he’s so capable, it’s a bit upsetting that he didn’t capitalize on his potential for Light After Dark. However, this is only Clare’s first album, and with her singing ability, she'll surely have many more releases in her future.

“You’re Electric” is of a genre created by Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine that I have so eloquently labeled as POP-Hodge Podge. It’s a mix of multiple styles, such as pop, soul, folk, electronica, ballad, etc. It’s epic. It’s over the top. It has grandiose production, yet still allows the singer’s vocals to shine. The difference is that this is more electronic than anything we’ve seen from Florence, which suits me just fine - the more synths and bleeps, the better. (Florence’s album was solid, but I could do without the harp showing up in each track.) When I listen to this song, I have visions of dark hues, including blacks, greens, and purples, all sparkling simultaneously, like a night sky or sequined shirt. The combination of the production with her voice, which takes off like a rocket going to outer space, makes the song quite haunting; it sounds like a glamorous Halloween, which I’d love to be invited to seeing as I don’t have any plans for October 31^st. Here’s hoping you do! May they be as ELECTRIC as you are.

Unapologetically,

Gregory




P.S. Click for Tiers 1, 2, and 3

The POP-Adjacent Pyramid: Tier 3

 POP-Rock

                                          Collect Call                                Pick up the Phone

                                               Metric                                            Dragonette

                                               (listen)                                               (listen)

Holler!

Tier 3 of The POP-Adjacent Pyramid includes two of my favorite bands, both of which feature ravishingly beautiful leading ladies and rock vibes.  Metric’s “Collect Call” (click here to listen) off of their amazing 2009 album, Fantasies, is warm and gooey, like a steamy glass of apple cider fresh off the stove during the fall months. It does, however, possess enough of a rock edge with the standard electric guitars to satisfy the die-hards. Luckily, they don’t overpower the song, instead enhancing its warm glow.  You can feel the insecurity and uncertainty of the love Ms. Emily Haines (the lead singer with a penchant for Balmain) refers to as she sings, “I know it’s a lie, I want it to be true / The rest of the ride is riding on you / Over goodbyes we’ll buy some place / For wishing you could / Keep me closer, I’m a lazy dancer, when you move, I move with you.” Even if you haven’t been in love, or haven’t had a relationship, you can still sense her sadness. We’ve all experienced times when we don’t have the emotional strength to pick up the pieces after we fall. It is then that we become lazy dancers waiting for knights in shining armor (whether those be lovers, parents, siblings, or friends) to move us forward because we lack the courage or fortitude to do so ourselves. Clearly, Emily has been right there with us and can empathize.

You may know our next POP-Rock band from their recent hit “Hello” (click here to listen) with French producer/DJ Martin Solveig (Madonna is rumored to be working with him on her upcoming 12^th album. Can’t wait!). Their song, “Pick Up the Phone” (click here to listen), from their two-year old album, Fixin to Thrill, goes down like a fizzy can of Coke! Its bubbly electro-rock beat will make you jump up and down until you need an inhaler (for all of the asthmatics out there, like me). The members of the group describe their music as basement POP, which is fitting because it doesn’t quite sound like anything coming out of Dr. Luke’s hit factory (Nothing against Dr. Luke. We love his hits for Britney, Katy, Ke$ha, etc!). The song is so youthful and rebellious and bright, with just a hint of sadness to give it some depth. I love when Martina Sorbara (the glamazon who fronts the band) sings, “So we went completely wild / We were married in the Vegas style / And our families were scandalized / Now I am sorry but I’m not supri-i-i-i-ised.” Then she hits the chorus with “Pick up the phone / Pick up the phone / Congratulations, I’m having visions of us / Breaking everything on our way outta town / We’re going places, you’ve never dreamed of.” The song essentially tells the story of lovers who runaway together in a Thelma and Louise-esque fashion. Maybe after listening to it, you and your significant other will be inspired to do the same.

Unapologetically,

Gregory


P.S. Click for Tiers 1, 2, and 4

POP-Adjacent Pyramid: Tier 2

POP-Country

     Record Collector                          Eager For Your Love                           Velvet Elvis

                Lissie                                                 Tristen                                           Alex Winston

               (listen)                                               (listen)                                                  (listen)

Holler!

I’m back with the second tier of our pop pyramid, which includes songs that fuse pop and country elements. Lissie is this gorgeous chick (she totally works the grunge look EFFORTLESSLY, which is the whole point. She’s not a hipster who takes ten hours to carefully wrinkle her shirts) who makes bluesy, country, rocky, poppy music. She’s from the Midwest, but after spending a few years in California, she was signed to Columbia Records in the UK, where she’s more popular (weird, considering her music is totally American. The Brits know someone special when they spot him/her.) It’s taken me a while to really like her songs, but once you like them, you LOVE them. She’s a fantastic songwriter. Her verses are actually catchy (a rarity), and you could totally Rihannify her songs into club bangers and they would be just as good. That’s how you separate great music from mediocre music; if it can be played in multiple formats/genres (i.e. acoustic, dance, ballad, etc.) and sounds good in all of them, then it’s a winner. (The same doesn’t apply to people. Just because you look good in ten different outfits, does NOT make you a good person. In fact, it will probably annoy me and make me like you less. I’m bitter and jealous.) The song I’ve chosen from her album, Catching a Tiger, is “Record Collector” (click here to listen). It’s totally haunting, and actually possesses the same sense of space as James Blake’s “ Limit to Your Love.” (We mentioned James in the first tier of The POP-Adjacent Pyramid. Check it out here.) I can’t describe it in a way that will do it justice so just listen to it, and while you’re at it, check out some of her other album cuts. My faves include “In Sleep” (click here to listen), “Cuckoo” (click here to listen), and “When I’m Alone” (click here to listen).

The next song included in this tier is Tristen’s “Eager For Your Love” (click here to listen). The first time I heard it, I was immediately addicted and proceeded to listen to it twenty more times within the next two hours. (I treat good songs like cupcakes; I consume them all at once, on repeat, until I’m nauseous.) I could just sing the chorus all day, “Tame that nasty shrew / ‘Cause she knows what you’re up to / You’ve gotta keep her thin and hungry / So she’s eager for your love,” which indicates just how good this track is because I absolutely loathe rodents. (I would never tame any shrew; instead, upon first sight, I would shriek at the top of my lungs while running in the opposite direction until Animal Control comes and actually takes care of the situation.) Anyhow, Tristen spent years studying the perfect pop hook and it obviously paid off with this song off of her first album, Charlatans at the Garden Gate. I haven’t listened to the rest of the record, but if I decide to and end up liking it, I will most certainly let the three of you who are reading this know. :)

The last song in this tier is Alex Winston’s “Velvet Elvis” (click here to listen). I’ll preface any description by saying that Ms. Winston’s voice is very much an acquired taste, like sushi, wine, cum, etc., etc., etc. However, once you adapt to its mousey quality, you’ll realize she really works it to the bone. “Velvet Elvis” is such a hodgepodge of sounds. It starts off with this old school TV show like intro until a banjo comes in. Then Alex gets to the chorus which soars as she sings, “When I feel your Velvet/I can’t help it/hold your frame/whisper your name.” It definitely sounds more naughty than the innocent production would suggest. I thought I knew what Elvis’ Velvet is (Hint: not a peanut butter and sliced banana sandwich. More like pigs in a blanket), but Ms. Winston informed us that a Velvet Elvis is actually a painting. Sometimes, my brain is a tad too raunchy for my own good! While this song was wonderfully produced by Charlie Hugall (Alex told us so on Twitter, as well. Thanks girl!), many of her songs are produced by The Knocks, an electronic music duo that have worked with Big Boi of Outkast, B.O.B., and Calvin Harris, who produced Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” a song we talked about at length in one of our first entries (click here to read)! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s so cool that this singer-songwriter who writes acoustic music allows these boys to give her songs a little electronic flair. They do it without forcing her to compromise. The sound is not clubby. It’s not trance. It’s definitely instrumental pop with a few synthesized bells. Check out her song, “Locomotive” (click here to listen), which I actually like better. I didn’t put it in this tier because it doesn’t have as much country flair as “Velvet Elvis.” Alex’s full-length debut is due in January 2012, so keep your eyes open!

Unapologetically,

Gregory


P.S. Click for Tiers 1, 3, and 4

The POP-Adjacent Pyramid: Tier 1

POP–Retro/Soul/Funk

   Stone Cold Sober              Pumpkin Soup           Limit To Your Love          Cold War

     Paloma Faith                     Kate Nash                  James Blake          Janelle Monáe                        (listen)                              (listen)                        (listen)                        (listen)

Holler!

So, I’m constructing a POP-Adjacent Pyramid, courtesy of writer’s block. Each tier will be composed of various pop genres. None of them will be pure pop, nor will any of them be any other single genre (hence the hyphen), yet each will have songs with pop elements that glue all the tiers together. I’ll think of it as a wedding cake with POP frosting in between each because I love sugary, frosty confections and there’s no dessert in my parents’ house right now. We have a mouse (at least one, could be more – ick!) that’s gotten in from outside, so having sweets around isn’t the best idea. Also just as an FYI, I’m watching Rachel Zoe as I type this entry, so I apologize if I unintentionally assume her lingo.

Anyhow, I will reveal each of the four tiers every day, and on day four, you’ll have the complete pyramid (This idea was cuter in my head. I apologize for any kindergarten flashbacks it may give you.)

The bottommost tier is filled with POP-Retro/Soul/Funk songs. Obvi, Ms. Amy Winehouse (may she R.I.P.) ruled this mini-genre and every one of the artists I’m about to mention owes a debt to her, but I want to introduce y’all to some new singers because we already know how great Amy was.  You may recognize Paloma Faith’s “Stone Cold Sober” (click here to listen) from the Rimmel London makeup commercial. The verses are a bit simple, but the funky big band sound absolutely EXPLODES during the chorus.  She sings, “I can be wilder than the wind, 119 miles an hour / I’m in a whole other dimension, dancing doubles on the floor / You think I’m crazy, a little bit hazy / But I’m stone, cold, sober.” It’s so freaking fierce, you’ll just want to wag your finger up and down until you have arthritis. It’s that good. Seriously. Also, the video is gorg. I love the mirror dress she wears at the beginning – reminds me of Gaga's wardrobe, but this chick makes it all her own. She’s just as well versed in art and pop-culture as the Lady. Basically, she’s SUPER GLAM. Other standouts on her album, Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful, include “Play On” (click here to listen), and “Smoke & Mirrors” (click here to listen), which also has a cute/funny video.

Kate Nash’s “Pumpkin Soup” (click here to listen) is a semi-oldie but goodie. It’s from her first album, Made of Bricks. It has a funky, heavy, hand-clap beat. These adjectives don’t usually go together, but give it click, and you’ll get it. This chick’s pretty fierce as well, singing “I’m not in love / I just wanna be touched / I just want your kiss boy.” What a modern woman she is! Loves it. Kate’s first record is great, and her second, My Best Friend is You, while not as good, is definitely worth a listen. Her honesty is so on point. Girlfriend tells it like it is. For realz.

James Blake’s (one of the new kids in London’s dubstep scene) “Limit to Your Love” (click here to listen), off of his fairly new self-titled debut, is oh so soulful. He mixes emotional piano riffs with a three-dimensional electronic atmosphere that gives the song this sense of space that he fills with sadness, crooning, “There’s a limit to your love/ Like a waterfall in slow motion / Like a map with no ocean.” It’s heartbreaking. This is totes a red-wine drinking song. (I don’t actually know my wines, but let’s pretend I do because I have this chic image in my mind of listening to this song while toasting myself to lost loves – very Elizabeth Taylor with lots of eyeliner.)

Last song of the POP-Retro/Soul/Funk tier is Janelle Monáe’s “Cold War” (click here to listen). Janelle is the kind of pop star I’ve always wanted to love. I love her look, I love her French sounding name, and I love that designers like Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld love her style and music, but I’ve never loved her songs until I heard and saw the video for “Cold War” off her critically acclaimed but mediocre (in my opinion) album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). (It’s definitely a bold album and not what you’d expect in the age of Katy Perry, but it’s just not my cup of tea. I’ll take Katy. Thanks!) “Cold War” is spectacular. It’s pop. It’s soul. It’s funk. It’s dance, and it may make you cry (as Janelle does in the video) while she wails, “I’m trying to find my peace / I was made to believe there’s something wrong with me / And it hurts my heart / Lord have mercy, ain’t it plain to see / That this is a cold war / Do you know what you’re fighting for? / This is a cold war / You better know what you’re fighting for.” These lyrics speak to my experience as a gay man who is dorky, who is sometimes super shy and at other times obnoxiously loud. Anyone who has ever felt like a freak can relate to her words, which are at once so progressive yet sung in a way that’s so old school. She almost sounds like a singer from the Judy Garland era. (Gaga’s recently begun singing this way on her Born This Way album.)

There you have it! Your bottom of four tiers. Stay tuned for the second one.

Unapologetically,

Gregory


P.S. Click for Tiers 2, 3, and 4