...which explains the Paris post below. I'm probably a little over-sensitive at the mo', so to see La Hilton crying all over the shop for being sent to jail like a NORMAL person would, really gets my goat. Let me tells ya!
The only good thing to come out of Paris Hilton is Perez... 
I had some terrible, terrible news about a beautiful friend of mine, Owen. He loved Madonna, so when this shuffled onto my iPod this morning I knew he was there. I had intended to post the video, but seeing the lyrics written out seems more apt.
MADONNA - LUCKY STAR
You must be my Lucky Star
'Cause you shine on me wherever you are
I just think of you and I start to glow
And I need your light
And baby you know
Chorus:
Starlight, starbright first star I see tonight
Starlight, starbright make everything all right
Starlight, starbright first star I see tonight
Starlight, starbright yeah
You must be my Lucky Star
'Cause you make the darkness seem so far
And when I'm lost you'll be my guide
I just turn around and you're by my side
(chorus)
Come on shine your heavenly body tonight
'Cause I know you're gonna make everything all right
You may be my lucky star
But I'm the luckiest by far
I'm just popping off for a few days because I honestly don't have the wherewithall. Anyhoo. Laters.
The sun's out and I'm in a 'giving' kind of mood so I've collated some gorgeous summer tracks. So, kick off yer heels, take yer wig off, grab yer Mojitos and enjoy...
Hotel room? Baseball bat? I'm intrigued...
First Class Riot - The Tough Alliance (mp3 download)
A Swedish duo who I can't get enough of at the mo. This is a brand new track (new album, New Chance out on May 16th in Europe). I love the broken English diction: "Don't you diet, first class riot". At least, that's what I think he sings.
Marsheaux in lad mag repose
Regret - Marsheaux (mp3 download)
In memory of New Order (R.I.P.), here's a sweet version of one of their best songs by the even sweeter Marsheaux, my synth duo de jour.
Mike Monday overjoyed that everyone recognises his Harry Hill impression...
Zum Zum - Mike Monday (mp3 download)
This was a funkmeister summer track for me last year as we drove around gorgeous Majorca, windows wound down, getting a driver/passenger arm tan. The album, Smorgasbord came out in September last year and I still play it within an inch of its life.
I've got CDs older than this lot
The Hill - Bombay Bicycle Club (mp3 download)
They haven't even turned 18 this lot, which makes the mature sound in this song even more remarkable. This is from their ep The Boy I Used to Be available on their MySpace. I love the vocals; unique, sincere and with a lovely wobbly bit at the end of each sentence. And the London Indian restuarant chain they obviously got their name from is divine too.
Just another night down at the bears' club XXL
Yours to Keep (ft. Neneh Cherry) - Teddybears (mp3 download)
I don't know much about this Brooklyn (?) based band who seem vare popular in the blogoshpere. All I do know is that it's got Neneh Cherry on it (yay!!) and the chorus is summery and lovely "We can drive around with the top down, stereo turned up loud with the phat sounds, 'cos I'm yours to keep if you want to". 
Trust me. You don't want to see the two Dave Stewart looky-likeys in this band
Making Music - Chungking
Quite simply a monumental song. Sounding like the backing track for an expensive European car ad, Making Music was another played to death track from last year. The whole album The Hungry Years is the perfect accompaniment to that after-a-club-just-want-to-chill feeling!
Phew! And that's shallot!
I know I'm one. And I know he's one.
I'm proud to admit it. I'm obsessed with the singles charts. Growing up, me and my siblings would huddle in front of the telly on a Thursday evening and during the Top 20 chart run down would cheer or boo depending on who came up. Later in the week, I would sit there with in front of the family 'music centre', hitting the clunky record button, whenever my favourite song appeared on the Radio 1 Top 40 show. Years later, if I'm home, I'll still put the radio on for the Top 40 show (trying to ignore JK & bloody Joel). The cheers and boos have gone, but I'll still wait with baited breath for the announcement of who is NUMBER 1!
Also, these days it's now a regular Sunday night habit to go read Chartrigger for his (vare funny) persective on the UK Top 10. Bengobaz/Chelsea Kelsey in his blog, Shang-a-Lang often uses the charts to, well, chart his life. In this post, his comparison between the 1988 Top 40 and todays as a signifier of his 18 year stint at Virgin Records is, as ever, inspired, funny and as detailed as only a chart geek can be.
Every now and then I check this Wikipedia info for my old school. Not because I have any real affection for it, but because there are some funny minxes out there who vandalise the entry every two months and get told off by the internet authorities for doing so (scroll down to 'Important Staff' and 'Other Facts' hahahaha). It's interesting to note that the school recently celebrated their 125th birthday... when I was there, it was all about the Centenary shenanigans. *holds hearing trumpet to ear - what?* 
Anyhoo, the education establishment in question is St Cuthbert's High School, in Newcastle upon Tyne. The same (public) Catholic Boys' school that the very reverend Neil Tennant went to - can you imagine how excited I was to hear that the year AFTER I left. I always knew Sting went to my old school too, which was never as big a thrill, but still quite an interesting pop fact. Actually, it might also be interesting that Dec (of Ant&Dec) went there, as did loads of Paddy McAloon's cousins (connection with all of them = catholic). Imagine. All of us wearing this MAROON blazer going: "What the fuck?"...
La Tennant penned two songs about his time at my school (BTW, we really did have Benediction every Wednesday afternoon). He didn't have a good time there, obviously, which I can empathise with. At school, all you want is girls around you because they're funny and great to hang out with, but instead all I had was boys, boys, boys. That's fine years later when you're shaking a tail feather in some club looking for action, but aged teen-whatevah most of 'em just stank of BO, stale jizz and were covered in burst zits. Nice.
It's a Sin was famous for being a dig at his Catholic education and This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave, says it all. Funnily enough, the lyrics ring very true for me, for instance, I have the recurrent nightmares of being 'a candidate for examination'. And I remember a teacher saying, at least a year before West End Girls, "Sting is the exception to the rule. He was my friend at this school and has made a career in music like no one else from here ever has, or ever will." That tit is now the Deputy Head (heaven forbid), of a place I waited years to leave.
It's a Sin (Disco Mix) - Pet Shop Boys (mp3 download)
This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave - Pet Shop Boys (mp3 download)
...and he has bumsex! He sometimes pays a rentboy to come around to his flat, you know, one that *advertised* such services on Gaydar.
Like the other George, he'll always get his face in the papers with stuff like this. He courts controversy because he does controversial things. He's famous and gets horny. But what was probably a good idea on a truck full of drugs turns out to be a big old come-down the next day and a right old pain in the arse (he wishes). The press have actually been remarkably lighthearted and, dare I say it, grown up about the story. Amelle from The Sugababes (silly cow) won the column inches and the revulsion today.
Auden Carlsen, the 28 year old (yeah right) prozza has made the most of it. Looking suitably sad he's milked it for all it's worth. Good luck to him, I suppose. He was probably genuinely scared (who wouldn't be - George is HUGE!) but he's also seen an opportunity for dirty cash money and grabbed it.
Next time, George, when it says "Vanilla only" they aren't talking about Häagen-Dazs.
These very good looking boys are called The Tough Alliance (aka TTA) and they have baggage. Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund already have an album, The New School, under their belts and a reputation in their home country of Sweden for being a bit rowdy. But, really, even though their brand of electronic pop has an edge, it's kind of diluted by the mummy's boy classic synth duo looks. 
This new track on vid, above, is First Class Riot (the diction's not quite there, but I can forgive that boy ANYTHING) and sees them move on stylistically. It's still pure modern pop, but there's a distinct 80s Joboxers and Adam Ant influence there. It's a great video too. Clever and sexy.
Here's a couple of tracks from last year:
Holiday - The Tough Alliance (mp3 download)
Koka-kola Veins - The Tough Alliance (mp3 download)
As much as I really liked Rudebox the rest of the world hated it. So much so, the whole debacle has sounded a death knell for his career. The news that he's about to start working with 50 Cent and become his BEE-ATCH is surely the gathering of the nails for the coffin. The mono-thought, mono-tone grunt machine that is 50 Cent is a BAD CHOICE. He also shoots people. We'll never see headlines like this again.
I thought I had my albums of the year in Pleasure's Pleasure II and Robyn's UK re-issue but then this one sneaks up and bites me on the bum - which ain't pretty let me tells ya! I know there's been loads of waffle an' t'ing about this forthcoming album, and because of who it was I clicked right past. But then. Over on SIART (bless 'im) there was a taster of this album in his regular Funky Friday giveaway:
Can you believe it? Drop That Thing got me searching for more of Groove Armada's Soundboy Rocks. Available on pre-order here (released May 7th). Although their track from ages ago My Friend is one of my favourite songs in a top 2,000 of favourite songs, it was still a one hit wonder in my eyes. I can't stand Superstylin' and the car ad one is akin to being continually poked with a shitty stick.
I've always fancied the one on the right, ack-chew-ally.
Try this track below and you'll see what I mean. It's a clever mix of Europop and dub. It follows the dub rules of building layer upon layer of sound (the beat doesn't even kick in until nearly a minute) but it has a killer Europop type chorus with synth washes any Swedish pop star would die for.
Lightsonic - Groove Armada (mp3 download)
And this one is like Human League doing hip hop. Imagine! GEN-IUS!
The Girls Say - Groove Armada (mp3 download)
And over at the Groove Armada website there is a track called Paris that a certain someone will go moist for because of the gorgeous strings.
