If anyone looked set to be a solo megastar once they had dumped the band who helped them make their name it was Gwen Stefani. And yet, while her profile is higher than ever, her records haven’t exactly been the stuff of legend. However, her previous efforts feel like works of genius compared to this bafflingly bad effort. For no apparent reason it samples ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ from The Sound Of Music and features Gwen yodelling over a complete non-entity of a backing track. Perhaps the worst record of the year.
As Joy Division, and then New Order, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris have been responsible for some of the most spellbinding, groundbreaking and downright brilliant music of the past twenty-five years. With their new album Waiting For The Sirens' Call in the top 10, the legendary trio here sound-off about the legions of bands they’ve influenced, Madchester, Ian Curtis, 24 Hour Party People, Bez, Gwen Stefani, and why they intend to continue their quest for sonic innovation for some time yet.
With Kanye West supplanting him as the hottest hip-hop producer on the scene and N*E*R*D no more, Pharrell Williams needs to do something special to put himself back into the game. ‘Can I Have It Like That’ is an uninspiring, tuneless dirge, in sharp contrast to West’s vibrant wall of sound. And getting Gwen Stefani to repeat four words a few times is hardly going to help matters.
Each track is a distinct little hit-single, destined for the global Saturday night dancefloor. Some are too twee for my taste, pure bubble-gum, but most of these songs are much deeper and smarter than your average poppy dance tune, with lyrics that reward repeated listening, and a plethora of up-front musical references that read like an encylopaedic history of excellent pop.
Robbie Williams missed a trick! The lyrics for Fergie’s first solo single (were The Black Eyed Peas that great their members can go off and have their own solo careers?) are up there with that of ‘Rudebox’. Aside from starting the song by spelling out ‘glamorous’ (well done, Fergie), she proves how real she is by insisting: “I still go to Taco Bell/Drive-thru, raw as hell.” The music, on the other hand, was probably written by a former aide of Gwen Stefani who was fired after producing nothing but flops, and who subsequently turned to the drink and lost all hearing in a bizarre gardening accident. Then came up with this.
It didn’t take long for Fergs to join the likes of Pink, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne in changing from an edgy, innovative femme to a generic credibility vacuum. Assuming her new role correctly, she’s now writing mid-tempo pop songs about heartbreak with cringeworthy lyrics like “I’m not going miss you/Like a child misses their blanket”. But what’s particularly unforgivable amongst all this tripe is that the second song on the single is the album version, which is all of six seconds longer. Six seconds. Honestly, pop stars these days…
Opening with a song called 'Ex-Girlfriend', it's clear No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is taking the opportunity to vent some spleen about the bitter end of a relationship.
Confronted as we are these days by hordes of fame-hunger, toxic, teen princesses – Stefani’s odd-ball, retro-futurist bubblegum pop can be seen as a heartening example of individuality in a field that’s more often creepily exploitative and conformist.
The criterati may not like them but Adrian Young doesn't care. and why should he when No Doubt have crafted a most excellent pop record, with dancehall rhythms, in rock steady
As if Gwen Stefani wasn’t enough of an attraction, CSS will be taking care of support duties when the No Doubt woman visits Odyssey Arena, Belfast (October 1) and RDS, Dublin (2).
There’s an opportunity to get up close and personal with rap royalty on December 17 and 18 when N*E*R*D and Neptunes man Pharrell Williams plays the Dublin Olympia.
Having recovered from the knee operation that forced him to pull out of last month’s Garden Party festival, Toots Hyberd are set to make up for it with another show in Ireland.
What’s this? An anthem for the great unwashed? A jingle for household cleaning products? A song bemoaning bath scum? Far from it, dear reader: it is in fact an analogy for all things lurve.
Belfast/Glasweigan quintent Snow Patrol entertained the crowds at the American Music Awards last night, where Black Eyed Peas and The Red Hot Chili Peppers were the big winners.
Tara Brady takes a look at the enduring appeal of Japanese cultural icon Hello Kitty – the billion-dollar company which has spread into areas as diverse as mobile phones, toasters, leopard-skin legwarmers and – you guessed it – porn.
The credits may read – “produced by PRINCE and arranged, composed and performed by (insert stupid squiggle symbol),” but I think we can treat this album as the real return to the fray by the Purple Poet of Pervdom himself.
He may be trained to kill, but recently James Blunt has been seducing vast swathes of the population with his poignant love songs. Lured to the Hot Press Chat Room, he tells all about his number one album, the Queen, being shot at in Kosovo and lesbian swim parties.
In a year that saw events which will forever change the world in which we live, selected hotpress contributors offer some personal recollections of the past twelve months. We begin by listing the critics’ choice of 2001’s single and album releases
"The manner in which the group weave complex musical tapestries is certainly impressive from a purely technical perspective, but you suspect that they were a lot more fun to assemble than they are to listen to."
It may seem like a curious observation, given that she has already established herself as a bona fide Pop Star, but on tonight’s evidence P!nk remains very much a work in progress.
Although under constant review, the word from the U2 camp is that they are still planning to go ahead with the return visit of the Elevation tour to North America.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
To coincide with the release of the Today FM DJ’s double-CD compilation tracking the history of alternative rock in Ireland, Tom Dunne talks to Jackie Hayden about the state of Irish music, singer-songwriters versus guitar bands and the role of Irish radio.
Damien Dempsey has battled his way centre stage, winning the support of luminaries as diverse as Morrissey, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, Larry Mullen and Brian Eno along the way. Now with the release of his third album Shots, he is poised to make a major breakthrough. Interview by Tanya Sweeney. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
With his first two albums, Streets mastermind Mike Skinner established himself as one of the most eloquent, idiosyncratic and gifted vocalists and worsdsmiths of his generation. But the 27 year old came close to blowing it all on spread-betting and crack, not to mention engaging in an XXX-rated tryst with an unnamed pop starlet. Thankfully, he’s bounced back with the tell-all confessional of The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.
It’s a record that provides more ballast for those who claim that the top end of the pops have dished out a creative pummelling to the murky underground.
