Single Releases 12/11/07

I don't really think that on the surface I'm going to have any better luck with this week's singles than I did last week. But this week I am at least going to make an effort.

So yes, the new Fergie one is absolutely atrocious. But then I ask you people, what did you expect? The Black Eyed Peas are bad enough at times but rarely do they collectively sink to the level of a Fergie solo track for sheer awfulness.

As for Hard-Fi, well let's just say I find them annoying and leave it at that.

They are probably less annoying, just about, than Nickleback. Their new one, Rockstar, is absolutely lamentable. I can only spend a brief moment each day wishing that they hadn't decided to become "rockstars".

That new Rhianna one is awful as well. But it seems that life goes along the lines of "if Matt likes a Rhianna song it scrapes into the top 10, if Matt doesn't like it it storms to number one and stays there for a year." So what do I know?

Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning) was one of the most abysmal tracks on the latest Kaiser Chiefs album so only releasing it on a 7-inch through their website is probably a good idea. It doesn't let them off the hook though. If I was genetically engineering a set of lyrics to make Ricky Wilson even less likable, I couldn't come up with anything much better than this I'm sure.

I'm not keen on hellogoodbye either if I'm being honest. And I am.

Maximo Park have sneaked up on me though this year and Karaoke Plays is another winner. There are few bands who, lyrically, seem to hit the right spots on a personal level in terms of my life as Maximo Park. I'm not saying they are particularly insightful in global terms, but they seem to sum up a lot of my life. But that's probably telling you more than you want to know about my miserable love life.

Dizzee Rascal's Maths And English album was awesome (and I'll keep saying that until more people agree with me); Flex is another winner. Not that anyone will listen to me.

To end I suppose we must tackle the new Kylie single, 2 Hearts. It's ok, and at least in terms of her own output is something different. She'd have been better off getting the people who worked on Britney's album though if you ask me. Not that any of these comments will stop the juggernaut that is her career.

Single Releases 30/07

Gotta Work by Amerie and Pussy'Ole by Dizzee Rascal are both choice cuts off choice albums. I know I keep getting raised eyebrows when I say Dizzee's album is very good, but honestly, it is.

Green Light by Beyonce is not as good as those two, but is still the kind of song that she does best.

Gym Class Heroes do not sound at all like I expected them to given the people who were attending their concert in Manchester the other week. That isn't a compliment by the way.

Laura Veirs releases Saltbreakers this week. It was one of the highlights of the same titled album and although I realise it isn't going to be a "hit" it is a fantastic song.

Similarly, Carla Bruni isn't going to have a hit with Lady Weeping At The Crossroads, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a great track.

I still can't quite "get" Kate Walsh. Don't Break My Heart is alright, but that's about it.

I don't care that it's quite good, that new Nelly Furtado one is still the 37th single off the Loose album so I want something new.

Finally, in a shocker to end all shockers, I "quite like" the new The Coral single. Ok, so that might seem like damning it with faint praise, but it's an amazing thing for me to even contemplate....

Mercury Music Prize 2007 - My Thoughts...

Well the nominations are out.

I am pleased simply becuase Bat For Lashes got nominated (as I said they should be back in January when I reviewed the album) but that aside it was a pretty uninspiring list in many ways. Still I have seven of the albums, and there's only one artist I hadn't heard of, or had some musical contact with, prior to the list being announced.

I shall proffer some thoughts, in an alphabetical stylee, complete will William Hill odds (as of today's date).

Amy Winehouse (5/2) - The favourite with the bookies now (started off joint favourite with the Monkeys); it's five years since a woman won it (Miss Dynamite) so it may well be the year for Winehouse. No doubt they're taking bets on how drunk she'll be at the finals night too.

Arctic Monkeys (5/1) - It would be unprecedented if they were to win it twice in a row, and it would be undeserved too. Not that I didn't enjoy Favourite Worst Nightmare but surely it lacks the innovation compared to the debut that would heighten it's chances.

Basquiat Strings (12/1) - The token "out there" nomination. It's a stretch, given the lack of variety in the list, that it would win, but stranger things have happened.

Bat for Lashes (10/1) - My personal choice, both from the list of 12 and in general. It's now neck and neck for "most famous musician" I've met given this nomination and Nerina Pallot's Ivor Novello nomination. That aside, it's an album that, at least in my opinion, would be a deserving winner.

Dizzee Rascal (10/1) - This is another fantastic album, and I don't care what you might think of me saying that!

Fionn Regan (12/1) - I don't mean this to offend any of his fans out there, but I think this would be too much of a "middle of the road" choice for the Mercury panel. He's not got the huge success that would make him a winner, neither is his music fantastically different.

Jamie T (6/1) - This guy does nothing for me at all.

Klaxons (8/1) - This album is not very good. It's three or four good songs, surrounded by fairly poor tracks.

Maps (12/1) - Wouldn't be my choice at all, but if the judges want a surprising winner, he may be in with a chance.

New Young Pony Club (12/1) - A very good album indeed. Stands an outside chance but I can't see it winning.

The View (10/1) - Pah. I really hope this one doesn't win. I kind of liked it at the time of release, but I am now of the conclusion that it's all a bit rubbish.

The Young Knives (12/1) - The idea of this getting nominated completely passed me by when I was thinking what might get the call up, but for all that, it is a wonderful album.

So basically I want Bat For Lashes to win, (not only because they are my favourites from the list but that I genuinely think its the best British album of the year), but think that in all probability 2007 will be Amy Winehouse's year for the prize.

Maths + English - Dizzee Rascal

The first salient point about this album is clear as soon as you look down the track listing and see "feat. Lilly Allen" and "feat. Alex Turner"; this is Dizzee going "mainstream", which is just as well given that "grime" is pretty much dead in the water these days.

Of course there are still those old "gang violence" references in full flow but if nothing else it's likely to be the only rap album you'll ever hear with the lyrics "Pull your trousers up!... Read a book!... Find a pretty girl and settle!"

As you might expect at times the juxtaposition of these two ideas does jar, but there are a number of fantastic moments on this album.

Chief one is Pussyole, which is the finest song of the rap genre that I've heard in quite some time, and excitement is also to be found on the likes of Sirens (think Jay Z's 99 Problems set in London) and Where's Da G's (which talks about "fake aggression" on the streets and includes the "find a pretty girl and settle" line quoted earlier).

As for the Allen and Arctic Monkeys tie-in's, they're good, but don't match up to the best moments on the album. And if I'm being really honest, Allen's appearance here grates on me for some reason.

And on the whole this is a remarkable album. The variety of it may surprise some, but it provides the album with the magic that makes it pretty irresistible.