Get repentant

1. Now that I've worked through my own issues with Aly and AJ and have allowed them into my acoustic heart, I've decided that my initial resistance was the work of Satan. To repent, I've begun a rigorous program of scourging, purging, and cleansing, followed by twenty minutes of cardio and some moderate weight-lifting (and then herbal tea, or some earl grey with milk if I'm particularly exhausted).

2. Post 1 of 2 over at Mincetapes on Paris and the "pop canon." I get the feeling that I've missed out on countless good pop albums from Europe, mostly because there doesn't seem to be a community for long-playing pop in the states. Robyn and Annie crossed the Atlantic, but Marie Serneholt and Bertine Zetlitz didn't (the former two are better than the latter two, but I'm referring simply to acknowledgement of their existence). I think the "rise" of the pop/dance-pop album post-teenboom, or maybe post-Fever to mark a semi-arbitrary starting point (call it 00's), has a lot to do with a larger niche audience for Europop surfacing in the US (the type of pop described has entered indie rock and other hipster-type networks), at least partially through conversing with British/European fans thru the internets.

But there are certainly precedents for fully satisfying album-and-single-oriented pop acts, like ABBA, who have several great albums from all periods of their career. I don't think they have a single bad album, though some are certainly better than others. I think it's kind of a shame that ABBA Gold was the chosen ABBA representative in the 33 1/3 series (I haven't read it so I won't comment on the book itself), since it reinforces this idea that they're a "singles group," when in fact they're simply a GOOD group (a great group) that also happened to have lots of great singles (on their great albums). Hard for me to choose among songs on ABBA and Voulez-Vous, too, not unlike Ross's Robyn predicament.

Anyway. I think that there is a unique category of Euro-originating pop/dance-pop that (1) has crossover appeal to channels of US discussion (if not always distribution) and (2) is "album-oriented." But I couldn't say that it's any more rare than a well-constructed indie rock or hip-hop or whatever else album, because the artists making so-called AOP albums don't tend to be discussed at all in the sort of groups I usually hang around, though lately there have been exceptions (all British or European). So maybe this phenomenon/category of the "complete pop album" needs to be seen (to some extent) as a social construction that results from an American music press (print and online) that simply doesn't recognize pop/dance-pop most of the time, at least in the vein of Kylie/Annie/Rachel Stevens. (And one American to look out for is Hilary Duff, who may or may not put out her first dance-pop album when she's finished in the studio...and if the first single is any indication, she won't find much US support).

3. Interesting new incubatee this week, Nuttin' but Stringz. According to their website, their new album is called STRUGLE FROM THE SUBWAY TO THE CHARTS. (Clearly a typo, that should be Strudel from the Subway to the Charts.) Myspace here, where you can listen to, uh, chamber-rap(?) single "Dance with My Father"...wait, are these guys sure they aren't a Canadian indie rock collective?

4. Nominees at the 2006 Nickelodeon Australian Kids Choice Awards:

Fave Aussie
Guy Sebastian
Ian Thorpe
Nicole Kidman
Anthony Callea

Fave Australian Artist
Shannon Noll
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Lee Harding
Guy Sebastian

Fave Australian
Young Divas
The Living End
The Veronicas
Rogue Traders

Group Fave Book
Harry Potter Series
The Chronicles of Narnia
Lemony Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events
Anthony Callea: The Official Story

Fave Celeb Duo
Kath & Kim
James & Dave
Bec & Lleyton
The Veronicas

Fave Console Game
Console: PSP - Roco Loco
Console: PS2 – Buzz: The Big Quizz
Console: PS2 – Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
Nintendo DS: Nintendogs

Funniest Person
James Kerley
Dave Lawson
James Mathison
Rove McManus

Fave Hottie – Female
Stephanie McIntosh
Lara Bingle
Isabel Lucas
Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Fave Hottie – Male
Lee Harding
Adam Saunders
Dan O’Connor
Chris Hemsworth

Fave International Artist
Chris Brown
Nick Lachey
Hilary Duff
Rihanna

Fave International Group
Green Day
Black Eyed Peas
Simple Plan
Good Charlotte

Fave Movie
Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire
She’s the Man
High School Musical
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

Fave Movie Star Male
Daniel Radcliffe
Hugh Jackman
Jack Black
Rupert Grint

Fave Movie Star Female
Hilary Duff
Emma Watson
Lindsay Lohan
Amanda Bynes

Fave Old Fart
Dicko (Ian Dickson)
Daryl Somers
Kochie (David Koch, "the guy from Sunset on 7")
Bert Newton

Fave Podcast
Camp Orange Maudecast
Bus Stop Sarvo
MuggleCast
Hamish and Andy

So Hot Right Now
Australian Idol
The Socceroos
Young Divas
WWE This Time I Know

Fave Song
When it all Falls Apart – The Veronicas
Forever Young – Youth Group
Voodoo Child - Rogue Traders
It’s For Real – Young Divas


Fave Sports Star – Female
Libby Lenton
Alicia Molik
Leisel Jones
Liz Ellis

Fave Sports Star – Male
Grant Hackett
Lucas Neill
Brett Lee
Lleyton Hewitt

Fave Toon
SpongeBob SquarePants
The Simpsons
Fairly OddParents
Kim Possible

Fave TV Show
Blue Water
Home and Away
Drake & Josh
Neighbours

Fave TV Star
High Kate Ritchie
Stephanie McIntosh
Chris Hemsworth
Grant Denyer

(WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? The only Australian nominees I know are the Veronicas and Nicole Kidman...more on some of these nonexistent people later, maybe.)