The Greatest Myspace Post of All Time

Seriously, so many good ones today. A few are obvious/major (and really just an excuse to plug their new single, but whatever) and a few are new to me but probably no one else in the universe (who lives in Sweden or reads Popjustice). Also, if I didn't mention it before (pretty sure I have but oh well), you can find and friend everyone in the semi-weekly Myspace series at the Cure for Bedbugs Myspace page.




Alexandra Slate

Excellent confessional-rock with fuller, richer vocals than a lot of comparable teen pop. Bec Hollcraft should take some notes...singing lessons are what, $60-70 a week? (You're almost there, and you don't even have to wail it out to get your point across!) Right next door to Skye in Toronto, though after some searching it seems that the two have never met. They'd be a nice double bill, maybe triple it up with Fefe for the Music Is My Boyfriend 2007 tour. We're gonna need a bigger bus!

Nice profile, too:

Poised.Brainy.beautiful.and.unguarded, self-aware but not self-absorbed. Her parents are happily married
Her upbringing has been largely idyllic and her life continues to be characterized by focus and achievement. With her talent Looks and intellect It’s apparent that she is one of the anointed ones. Indeed, in a medium dominated by self-admitted neurotics who hammer their anguish into art Slate seems remarkably…well…normal.

So which one is the real Alexandra Slate?The girl next door or the receptacle of inner turmoil?

Simon Curtis

Hot hot hot. There's been a paucity of BOYS on this here site, leading some close acquaintances to suggest ULTERIOR MOTIVES in my enjoyment of this music. To which I reply, the girls just do it better, period. But Simon does it pretty well, too, in part because he kind of sounds like a girl -- or at least boy c. 2000, when it was OK to categorize yourself as a BOYBAND artist. (In a recent interview, the Jonas Bros. rerecorded their intro because it sounded "too boyband." These kids are going to crash and burn with that kind of attitude -- and acoustic "Mandy" SUCKS. Sorry.) My frame of musical reference is limited here, early Daniel Bedingfield might be sorta appropriate. If I'm hearing it correctly, Simon also gets Myspace-referentiality bonus points. From "Bones": "Get out of my face/ It's my Myspace (Simon Curtis)."




Anna Sahlene

Swedish. Good. Found this one via Marie Serneholt (below). Anna worked with Lasse Hallstrom as a kid and has worked her way up to relative Swedish fame and fortune (fifth place 2006 Eurovision...). Nice gospel/blues force behind the voice. Ranges from decent soul ("Missionary Man," available for download) to dance! dance! dance! piano-twinkle glammish pop ("Creeps").




Marie Serneholt

She's in my top 10 (read: 6) albums of the year with an album that's like 30-40% crap. Which is saying a lot for the other 60-70%. I'm just linking to the Myspace here for an excuse to post another track off of her album and then link to this TOTALLY AMAZING HOLY CRAP video...discussions about playing with multiple identities all within fairly rigidly defined gender roles/types could be directed to "I Need a House," which could have been co-written by David Byrne. I really hope it's supposed to be as smart as it is. My favorite on Enjoy the Ride is probably "Calling All Detectives," though...just don't play it in the car, those siren sounds are not mixed for driving enjoyment. (A note on previously posted "That's the Way My Heart Goes" -- it was written by Jorgen Elofsson, no wonder it's got that Cheiron sheen...)

"I Need a House":






Lillix

Been holding onto this one for a while, and I'm glad I did. Their new single just wandered over to the internet and it's ridiculously good. The best thing I've ever heard by them anyway...picking up the disco-rock thrum without getting rid of the 21st century girl group charm.

Abby from Poptext had this to say:

So new Lillix 'Sweet Temptation'...

From the blurb:
Recorded by producer Jeff Saltzman (The Killers) and James Michael (Alanis Morrissette, Motley Crue), the band wanted to evolve their sound and get back in touch with their rock 'n' roll roots. Completely enamored by '80s music and classic rock, Lillix were crossing their fingers and toes that the producer of the Killers' multi-platinum smash Hot Fuss would take a chance on them. "We sort of thought [Saltzman] would brush us off as not being 'hip' enough, but he really liked what he heard and said yes to the gig," says Burns. As for the girls hand with this, in addition to writing the material on the record, they are also credited for their production services.

To me, it's not doing much. The chorus doesn't soar the way I need from this kind of song - the yelled lines keep the range lower, it doesn't ever take flight, you know?

I respectfully disagree, I guess...but then I'm not a stickler for soaruses. I don't know that this really needs to "take flight," I like the solo vocal build in the verses leading to a nice rug-pull in the shouted chorus (not really a climax/catharsis, though...it seems more part of the song's circular energy). "This is Lillix? Where's the rest of 'em?" ONE TWO THREE FOUR! Oh. And the fact that I'm on my way to listening about twenty times today alone suggests the "trick" in the chorus works as well as a chorus as it does as a trick. One of my favorites of the year so far.

Lillix - Sweet Temptation

Marie Serneholt - Calling All Detectives

NOTE: If you've seen "Fairy Use" already and are wondering where it went, the, er, "collective" had to tweak it a bit. It will be re-uploaded to YouTube soon.