Dropping Citric Acid

Dragonette are one of those acts, like Robyn and Girls Aloud, credited with restoring the good name of pop music in the latter part of the last decade, after the boyband/girlband explosion that coincided with the turn of the millenium led to stigma so severe that pop purveyors were practically driven into hiding.

Even so, I never really 'got' Dragonette myself. Recently, however, a couple of their collaborations have caught my attention. First of all there was a track called 'Hello' with French producer Martin Solvieg and now comes a guest-spot on Don Diablo's latest release, 'Animale', which is 'right up my street'.

The track is accompanied by a brilliantly bizarre video about a young boy's toxic relationship with oranges. Behold:



I also came across this rather potent dubstep remix over on Sheena Beaston, which I suspect I'd rather enjoy after an orange segment or two.

Don Diablo featuring Dragonette - Animale (Datsik Remix)

We'd Look Like Revolutionaries

"We are a lost generation, desperately clinging to anything that feels real, but too afraid to become it ourselves. We are a defeated generation, resigned to the hypocrisy of those before us, who once sang songs of rebellion and now sell them back to us.

We are the last generation, a culmination of all previous things, destroyed by the vapidity that surrounds us. The hipster represents the end of Western civilization – a culture so detached and disconnected that it has stopped giving birth to anything new.

Dawn breaks and the last of the after-after-parties begin to spill into the streets. The hipsters are falling out, rubbing their eyes and scanning the surrounding landscape for the way back from which they came. I take a look at one of the girls wearing a bright pink keffiyah and carrying a Polaroid camera and think, "If only we carried rocks instead of cameras, we’d look like revolutionaries.""

-- Douglas Haddow

Throwing Shadows On Our Eyes

Perfume Genius's beautiful if slightly harrowing album 'Learning' has been a staple on my headsets ever since a friend recommended it a few months back.

Singer Mike Hadreas is currently touring the album and drawing all manner of superlatives wherever he stops off. He hasn't made it quite as far as Ireland yet but, rumour has it, he's due here early next year.

To tide us over, he's been debuting some new material on tour, including this characteristically heart-wrenching number, 'Dreem'.



Also worth a listen is 'Helpless', a beguiling cover of a track made famous by Mammy Kavanagh's favourite, Mr. Neil Young.

Stuck On Repeat: Fatal Footing Edition

Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe

The Knocks - Dancing With The DJ



Phoenix - Listztomania (Shook Remix)



Mumdance featuring Esser - Don't Forget Me Now



Goldenbug featuring Esser - Never Stop Dancing



Marina & The Diamonds - Obsessions (Ocelot Remix)



Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith - Not In Love

My Life Would Suck Without You

Blake Wright speaks the truth.

Like A Shotgun Needs An Outcome

The new Lykke Li EP hit the web less that 48 hours ago but, already, it's totally permeated the blogosphere.

The Swedish singer's stunning debut, 'Youth Novels', had critics fawning over her lovelorn lullabies back in 2008 but radio stations and the record-buying public were less enthused by the material.

No harm though because, based on the initial reaction to these first two cuts from her sophomore album, Lykke seems set to make more of an impact this time around.

While heart-wrenching ballad 'Paris Blue' treads familiar territory, 'Get Some' marks a change of pace with its rhythmic drums and racy lyrics and makes for a more intriguing listen.

Lykke Li - Get Some

Lykke Li - Paris Blue



Both tracks can be downloaded for free here.

Exclamation Just For Emphasis

"I love how she just spent the last year being the bird making loads of shit records worth listening to." - Celina Murphy on Nicki Minaj

Exhibit A:



Will I Am & Nicki Minaj - Check It Out

Although she has yet to release an album, 26-year-old rapper Nicki Minaj is the music industry's worst kept secret, recently breaking a record by being featured on a total of seven different tracks in the U.S. Billboard Top 200.

She hasn't quite permeated the public consciousness in the same way over here yet but I suspect that when her debut record, Pink Friday, is released next month, she'll be pretty inescapable.

In the meantime, I'll happily make do with this:

Birds Of A Feather

I'm slightly in love with these Soviet-style posters for Darren Aronofsky's forthcoming ballet-based feature, 'Black Swan'. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, I'd suggest you get acquainted. Unfortunately the film isn't due for release her 'til February 2011.



(via Darren)

An Old Design That Can't Be Traced

It's been fairly slow progress for Penguin Prison. His debut album, which was shaping up to be one of the best of 2010, is now destined to be among the cream of 2011 instead.

However, on the plus side, the New York-based singer has inked a deal with Wall of Sound to release his album in both Europe and Australia.

He's also premiered another track called 'Golden Train', which is up to his usual standards of brilliance and should tide diehard fans like myself over for the time being.

Penguin Prison - Golden Train



Penguin Prison - Golden Train (The Royal Palms Remix)

Win Tickets To Mark Ronson @ Heineken Green Spheres

For over a year now, Heineken Green Spheres have been hosting kickass free gigs in various spots around Ireland, with the likes of Foals, Marina and the Diamonds, 2 Many DJs, White Lies and Passion Pit having performed.

They've just announced a free Goldfrapp gig on November 25th in Drogheda (find out how to register for tickets here). Before then though there's the small matter of Mark Ronson and the Business Intl at The Clarence Hotel in Sligo on Wednesday, October 27th.

The lovely folk at Heineken Music have kindly given me two pairs of tickets to give away. To enter, simply e-mail thebubbleboyblog@gmail.com with your name and the name of Mark's younger sister, famed for her rocky relationship with Lindsay Lohan.

If you haven't already seen it, check out the great video for Mark's collaboration with Boy George, Somebody To Love Me.

Bringing All The Boys To The Yard

Come As Soon As You Hear have teamed up with the Forward/Slash boys for a night of mayhem at The Bernard Shaw, this Thursday the 21st as part of the Beatyard Weekender.

From 8 o' clock, we'll have a selection of New Volta Film Club shorts, curated by Bob Gallagher, as well as CASAYH's interactive performance, which features flower crafts, fortune-telling and Facebook photography.

DJs Frankie Grimes, James McLoughlin, Haido, Eimear Fitzmaurice and kDamo will be soundtracking the evening with all manner of blissed-out beats.

Hip-hopper Bob Glynn will be playing some tunes, the enigmatic Lobster Boy will be putting his claws to use by whipping up some visual delights and, to top it all off, we'll be marking International Day of the Nacho.

Bernard Shaw drinks promos? Check. Free admission? Czech. Go getcha some.

If you can't make it along to this, fret not. There's plenty more fun to be had over the weekend. A full listing of what's happening for The Beatyard Weekender can be seen here. I'm hoping to make it down to the all-new Toejam Mini Mall, a compact edition of their renowned Carboot Sale, to see if I can gleam some bargains.

Like A Waterfall In Slow Motion

Press play. There's a handsome white man, walking around an apartment, plagued by gravity-defying fruit. He's crooning Feist's 'Limit To Your Love' against a backdrop of syncopated piano chords. His voice is pleasantly soulful and unmistakably English.

So far, so James Morrison.

But wait. Thirty seconds in, things take a turn for the brilliant.



This is James Blake, a London-based singer and producer. This fusion of indie, neo-soul and elements of dub is one of the best pieces of music I've come across this year, flooring me in the same way that The xx's 'Crystalised' did the first time I heard it.

It's the first track to be released from James's forthcoming album and, based on the unpredictable genre-hopping nature of his previous work, it's going to make for an interesting listen.

A New Kind Of Piece Of Machinery

Spark has debuted the video for her excellent single, 'Revolving', which is being released on Neon Gold on November 15th.



The fact that the video's makers haven't done more with the lyrics about wind-up toys and mechanics strikes me as something of a missed opportunity but, simple as the treatment they've opted for might be, it works reasonably well.

Although it's not quite on par with the stunning Monsieur Adi re-working, I'm also quite enjoying the Warrior One remix of the track:

Spark - Revolving (Warrior One Remix)

You're My Favourite Daydream

Twin Shadow was somebody I meant to post about a while back during the Great Blog Drought Of '10 but never got around to it.

I stumbled across his video for 'Slow' again today, a clever pastiche of these vaguely pervy Calvin Klein advertisements that were banned in the 1990s:



Real name George Lewis Jr, Twin Shadow produces tuneful retro-sounding ballads, with fuzzy synths and sturdy drumbeats serving as a backdrop to his winsome wailing.

His album, 'Forget', is ideal for soundtracking the more peaceful moments in the day and 'Castles In The Snow' is probably my favourite track right now.

Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow

Puppet On A String

As if naming his child after himself wasn't vain enough, Will Smith now seems to be grooming his nine-year-old daughter Willow to follow his career-path. With her brother Jaden (presumably named after their monther Jada) already a successful actor, Willow is now set to embark on a music career with the release of her debut single, 'Whip My Hair'.

The track is a delicious slice of pop/r'n'b with a snazzy futuristic video to boot. If she must be deprived of her childhood, I guess at least it's for a decent cause:



If you still can't shake the feeling that Willow is but a puppet in her parents' grand scheme for global domination, then this mash-up of the song with a Sesame Street video called 'I Love My Hair' might seem more fitting.

A Tale Of Two Singles

I Blame Coco has been garnering some pretty harsh reviews for her debut album 'The Constant', with The Independent offering an especially scathing critique.

Having heard a preview of the album, I disagree with the majority of the criticism. Granted, there's nothing quite as earth-shattering as Caesar but it's an accomplished debut with scarcely a dud track.

One thing I do take issue with though is the choice of the next single. Initially, the excellent 'Quicker' was scheduled for release but, even after an accompanying video surfaced, a decision was made to release 'In Spirit Golden' instead.

I Blame Coco - Quicker:



I Blame Coco - In Spirit Golden:



One consolation for the last-minute single change is that we get some nice souped-up remixes of both tracks, with remix artist RackNRuin being made work overtime:

I Blame Coco - In Spirit Golden RackNRuin Rmx (96kbps) by RackNRuin

Quicker - I Blame Coco RackNRuin Album Version by RackNRuin

Don't Go Around Blaming Me For The Floor's Problems

Very Mary Kate is back with an episode fittingly entitled 'Back'.



That'll do nicely.

Everyone Is Good At Something...

For some it's eyebrow-grooming, for others it's producing deliciously sardonic cartoon strips. Natalie Dee falls into the latter category. I'm currently trawling through her extensive back-catalogue. Jackpot.

That Western Feeling

It's approaching two years now since 'tastemakers' started harping on about two flame-haired ladies named Florence Welch and Elly Jackson.

It's been a long hard slog for both singers but, sure enough, both have enjoyed international success, most recently in the United States.

Florence's recent performance at the VMAs came close to breaking the internet Jacko-style, catapulting her album 'Lungs' into the Billboard Top 20, while Elly Jackson of La Roux has attracted the attention of none other than Kanye West.

Elly and her mysterious music-making partner Ben Langmaid will be featured on his forthcoming album and he has re-swizzed their forthcoming U.S. single 'In For The Kill'.

La Roux - "In For The Kill" (Remix f/ Kanye West)

Poor, poor Little Boots.

Cold As Ice Cream But Still As Sweet

Sunday Girl is showing little sign of surrendering her claim to this year's Most Remixable Lady In Pop award. It's a highly coveted title, with previous winners including the likes of Ellie Goulding and Lykke Li.

Her latest endeavour is a track called 'Stop Hey'. Based on the snippets I can hear here, the track itself sounds is passable if not a little dull. The Rusko remix, however, is swoon-inducingly brilliant and, tellingly, is the subject of its own music video.



As much as I have the souped-up remixes of her singles to the originals, I do, however, quite like this pared-down version of Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok' that Sheena Beaston recently posted:

Sunday Girl - Tik Tok (Ke$ha cover)



Sunday Girl - Stop Hey (Rusko Remix)

Plastic Fantastic

For whatever reason, it's all been very slow progress for The Aspririns For My Children but, promisingly, his SoundCloud has been a hive of activity for the past few months and now we're being treated to a video for his track Cutter. A good one it is too.

That Boy's Got My Heart In A Silver Cage

Flight Facilities' gorgeous 'Crave You' has been doing the rounds for the best part of six months but a video for the track only surfaced a couple of weeks ago.

A fine slice of hipster porn, the video features Whitney Brown in the role of singer Giselle, who was presumably deemed too ugly in a Black Box 'Ride On Time' fashion.



DJ duo turned one-man-show Aeroplane has set Giselle's vocals to his popular remix of Friendly Fires' 'Paris' to great effect and Flight Facilities themselves have offered up a slightly more dancefloor-friendly version of the song, which works pretty nicely too.

Flight Facilities featuring Giselle - Crave You (Version 2)



Aeroplane vs Friendly Fires vs Flight Facilities - I Crave Paris

Stuck On Repeat - Goin' Gangsta Edition

Far East Movement - Like A G6 (Disco Fries Remix)



Rihanna - Only Girl (Paul David & Barletta Remix)



Party Ben - Beat Sauce (Michael Jackson vs Duck Sauce)



Willow Smith - Whip My Hair



Nicki Minaj - Check It Out (feat Will I Am)



Azealia Banks - L8R



Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude (Labrinth Remix)

Wind-Up Doll With No Place To Be

Musical bible Illegal Tender first introduced me to eighteen-year-old London singer Spark earlier this year. At the time, there were scant details about her and just a few demos up on her Myspace.

The track that grabbed my attention most was one called 'Revolving', with its lyrics about wind-up toys and layered vocals. Boutique label Neon Gold seemed to take a shine to this track too and, now that it's been given a lick of production paint, they're set to release it as a limited edition single.

I had the pleasure of meeting SPARK (aka Jess Morgan) when she supported Marina and the Diamonds in Dublin back in May and she seemed slightly overwhelmed by the level of interest she had been receiving all of a sudden. Let's hope she's come to terms with the attention in the meantime because this track looks likely to send the hype machine into overdrive.



The track has also been given a gorgeous string-laden 'reworking' by the ever-dependable Monsieur Adi, which I think I might even prefer to the original arrangement.

Spark - Revolving (Monsieur Adi Rework, Allegro in C Minor)



I know for a fact that there are a clutch of pop gems in her arsenal yet to surface online but, until they do, I'll gladly make do with grimy b-side Wrap and this charming rendition of 'Damage Done' for The Mahogany Sessions that I stumbled upon over on Breaking More Waves: