Showing posts with label Robyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robyn. Show all posts

Robyn "Indestructible" Music Video

     The music video for Robyn's "Indestructible" is out. The Body Talk Pt. 3 singer dons a water tube dress as various Scandinavian couples make love and put their clothes back on. Check it out below.

Robyn 'Indestructible' Official Video

Robyn | Myspace Music Videos

Robyn "Indestrubtible" Single Mix

     The single mix of Robyn's "Indestructible" has hit the web, and in true Robyn form, it's phenomenal. "I've never been smart with love. I let the bad ones in and the good ones go, but I'm gonna love you like I've never been hurt before," the Swedish pop star sings. "I'm gonna love you like I'm indestructible." While not as immediate as her two previous singles, the song has a certain urgency that Robyn is known for.

     The third and final installment of Robyn's Body Talk trilogy is set to hit stores and online music retailers in November. Unlike the previous two EPs, Body Talk Pt. 3 will feature five songs from each of the first two mini-albums as well as five new songs. I prefer eight new songs and no old material. Maybe Robyn just ran out of steam after a grueling songwriting, recording, a touring schedule. But seriously, with five new songs and an acoustic version of "Dancing On My Own", you just need two more songs to match the length of the two previous EPs!

     Hear the new dance mix of "Indestructible" below.

Robyn "Hang With Me" Music Video

     Robyn gives the world a taste of what being an indie-pop artist is all about in the video for her new single "Hang With Me".

Robyn - Hang With Me official video from Robyn on Vimeo.

Robyn Reveals Album Art, Tracklist for Body Talk Pt. 2

     Only days after the lead single for Robyn's Body Talk Pt. 2 leaked, the Swedish singer released the album art for her second EP as well as the tracklisting.  In addition to "Hang With Me", the record will included another acoustic track, "Indestructible" (the first single from Body Talk Pt. 3 perhaps?) and a collaboration with Snoop Dogg entitled "U Should Know Better".  Maybe this is Snoop's way of making up for the tragedy that was "California Gurls" [sic].


1. In My Eyes
2. Include Me Out
3. Hang With Me
4. Love Kills
5. We Dance to the Beat
6. Criminal Intent
7. U Should Know Better [ft. Snoop Dogg]
8. Indestructible (acoustic version)

Robyn To Release "Hang With Me"

     Robyn's first set in her Body Talk trilogy hasn't even cooled, but she's already gearing up for Body Talk Pt. 2 EP.  The new EP is slated to be released on September 6 and be preceded by the single "Hang With Me".  An accoustic version of "Hang With Me" appeared on Body Talk Pt. 1.  The track is destined to be another Robyn classic, but I'm upset that she didn't get to release "Cry When You Get Older" as a second single from her first EP.  Oh well.  Check out "Hang With Me" below.

17 Tracks Summer 2010 Mix

     The 17 Tracks Summer Mix is an annual tradition, and this, it's third installment, is the best yet.  You won't find any gag-worthy trash like "California Gurls" [sic] on it, but you'll find some rocking jams to blast with the windows rolled down and the wind in your hair.  Long live summer.  If you want a copy, you know who to ask.  If you like the artists, support them and buy their album.

See the tracklisting after the jump.

Album Review: Robyn "Body Talk Pt. 1"

"I lost all my faith in science, so I put my faith in me." - Robyn, "Cry When You Get Older"

     EPs have grown in popularity the past year.  Lady Gaga's planned re-release of The Fame transformed into The Fame Monster EP, Drake launched his career with the So Far Gone EP before releasing a full-length album, and now Swedish underground pop artist Robyn is marketing her music in a brand new way with EPs.  Rather than release one full-length album, she's popping out three EPs.  If the first installment, Body Talk Pt. 1 is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to from Robyn.

     Robyn is virtually unchallenged in her niche as emo-pop's indie chick.  It's evident from the first track, "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do".  With almost any other artist, this song would sound like an unfinished demo, listing off things that are "killing me", from "these hours" to "my landlord".  Robyn pulls it off.

     Her strong point is her ability to make highly catchy and danceable tunes that at their heart, are tragic.  Songs like "Dancing On My Own" and "Cry When You Get Older" are the epitome of this.  "I'm in the corner watching you kiss her...I'm not the girl you're taking home/I keep dancing on my own," she sings amid drum machines and crisp synth lines in "Dancing".  Although the 8 track EP sags towards the end, this promising first in a trilogy of Body Talks is promising.

Rating: 8/10
Must download: "Dont Fucking Tell Me What To Do", "Dancing On My Own", "Cry When You Get Older"

The Decade: A Retrospective The Best Songs 55-41


"Poker Face"
Lady Gaga
The Fame (2008)

"Who'd have thought the greatest popstar of the noughties would appear in the decade's final 18 months?" wrote Popjustice. It is pretty phenomenal. After ten years of America being fed pop puppets, Lady Gaga emerged as a true pop artist. She wrote her own songs. She sang. She played instruments. She had a vision of her art and her image. She became famous through hard work and playing at dingy clubs in New York, not the Mickey Mouse club. Of the amazing impact she's had in such a short time, "Poker Face" is her supreme single.

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
Death Cab for Cutie
Plans (2005)

Nominated for Best Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2007 Grammys, Death Cab's "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" was beat out by the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps". No, I'm serious. Obviously, the Grammys aren't always the measuring stick for music's cultural value as they would have us believe, because this song's beauty and simplicity beats out the Peas' brash schoolyard ditty any day. In what amounts to a Ben Gibbard solo track, the Death Cab front man ponders love, life, and death.

"Rehab"
Amy Winehouse
Back To Black (2006)

In the decade's best neo-soul song, Amy Winehouse managed to reference Motown without ripping it off. Winehouse's brassy rebellious "Rehab" is also the decade's best example of art imitating life, as the singer soon became more famous for her addictions and wild behavior than her music. Her frank lyrics and Etta James style crooning won Winehouse a slew of awards and kickstarted the modern retro revival.

"The Middle"
Jimmy Eat World
Bleed American (2001)

Jimmy Eat World has always had a knack for taking lyrics that others would sound corny singing, and pulling it off. "The Middle" is filled with motivational lines like, "don't write yourself off yet," and "everything will be alright," that Jim Adkins flat out sells. It's little wonder J.E.W. can make music like this though, after all, they were dropped by their record label and recorded their airtight power-pop smash of an album, Bleed American, on their own dime and had labels begging to sign them. Don't write yourself off yet is right.

"Somewhere Only We Know"
Keane
Hopes and Fears (2004)

There's something about Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" that reminds me of a Disney movie. It's an epic power ballad that would fit perfectly in the scene right before the climax where the prince and princess declare their love for each other, and reprised as the credits begin rolling. The insistent fluttering piano and Tom Chaplin's promise that there is a paradise somewhere out there is pure magic.

"Like I Love You"
Justin Timberlake
Justified (2002)

"Sometimes people just destined, destined to do what they do," Justin Timberlake muses at the end of his debut solo single, "Like I Love You". Becoming the next Michael Jackson wasn't exactly a sure thing though. Timberlake had a massive task in front of him, having to shed his boy band image and rebrand himself as the new king of pop. With the help of Pharrell, this funky R&B song was crafted, and the rest is history.

"A Thousand Miles"
Vanessa Carlton
Be Not Nobody (2002)

"This must be the white song that all black people like, you know every year there's a song that black people like and this is that," said Kanye West about Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" on his iTunes celebrity playlist. Kanye, don't kid yourself, this is a song everyone likes. The track managed to retain its beauty even with made-for-radio percussion and guitar slapped on, making it perfect for both pop and adult contemporary radio.

"Chicago"
Sufjan Stevens
Illinois (2005)

Sufjan Steven's "Chicago" is a life affirming celebration of a song. It begins soft and understated before blossoming into a kaleidoscope of sound. Rich strings, sleigh bells, xylophones, trumpets, and a choir weave in and out to set the backdrop the Steven's tale of driving to Chicago and New York in a van. He repeats the phrase "I've made a lot of mistakes," but its drowned out by the choir triumphantly singing the spiritual line, "You came to take us, all things go to recreate us."

"B.O.B."
OutKast
Stankonia (2001)

When OutKast released "B.O.B." in 2000, there were no bombs over Baghdad. By decade's end, Iraq's capital has seen more than enough bombs. "B.O.B." was like a crystal ball, foreshadowing not only a global war on terror (and a "White House painted black" according to Pitchfork , in reference to the cover of Stankonia featuring a black and white American flag), but the disorienting collision popular music would face in the coming ten years.

"Last Nite"
The Strokes
Is This It (2001)

By the end of the 1990s, the term "alternative" had been hijacked, appropriated, and warped beyond all recognition. A decade later, the term "indie" found itself in a similar position. Still, there are a few songs that stand for what those words mean. For alternative, its "Wonderwall" or "Save Tonight". For indie, "Last Nite" by the Strokes takes the crown. Bursting into the scene in 2001 with incredible amounts of goodwill from the rock press, the Strokes deserved every bit of it.


"Say It Right"
Nelly Furtado
Loose (2006)

Nelly Furtado emerged as an innovative earthy folk pop singer in 2000, but after interest faded with her second album, she turned to Timbaland to re energize her career. Her album Loose was a smash hit, but its 80s inspired electro-pop veered away from her organic sound. "Say It Right" was the one exception. Emerging from a jungle soundscape, the song employed Timbaland's trademark yelps and percussion as Furtado tried to convince herself that, "you don't mean nothing at all to me".

"Be Mine"
Robyn
Robyn (2005)

Dance-pop doesn't get more emotional than "Be Mine" by Swedish singer Robyn. Her anguished lyrics are suffocated by frantic orchestral arrangements and racing beats, creating a desperate soundscape. If her declaration that, "you never were and you never will be mine," doesn't get you, the bridge detailing her man having his arm around, and get this, tying the laces of "whatshername", will. Robyn's stripped down performance of the track at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize show will bring a grown man to tears.

"Everything Is Everything"
Phoenix
Alphabetical (2004)

Using rapidly chiming triangle better than anyone else has all decade, Phoenix crafted a catchy ditty that harkens to the soft-pop of the late 1980s with "Everything Is Everything". "Things are gonna change, and not for better," sings Thomas Mars. The lyrics are all that ambiguous, which only adds to the track's carefree atmosphere. The guitar, reveling in staccato neo-disco, is ever present, but at times understated.

"When You Were Young"
The Killers
Sam's Town (2006)

Brandon Flowers boldly declared that his band's sophomore album Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years". Whether the Killers did it, or even if they managed to top the ridiculously good Hot Fuss is questionable, but "When You Were Young" is without a doubt one of the best songs in the past twenty years. Channeling Bruce Springsteen, the band wrote the great American rock song complete with Jesus, highways, and riding on the backs of hurricanes.

"Sex On Fire"
Kings of Leon
Only By The Night (2008)

"Fire" is a word bands love to throw around. It evoke edginess, unpredictability, and a general feeling of hardcore-ness, but if everyone else is doing it, how do you use it and stand out? Kings of Leon threw in "Sex". Can you get any edgier than that? "Sex on Fire" isn't actually about sex though, don't worry, it was just a filler word the Followills used until they decided it would make a good song title. The track is a stirring rock anthem made for the arenas.
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