I Eat Music

Little Boots – New In Town
She may have been tipped as one to watch in 2009, but Little Boots hasn’t been rushing to milk it like some others have. If anything, she’s been irritatingly quiet. With tracks like ‘Stuck On Repeat’ and ‘Meddle’ she’s had our ears pricked for some time now. Meanwhile her cover of ‘Day N Night’ on YouTube convinced fellow tip-for-big-things, and the man responsible for that song, Kid Cudi, to retire from music. So, some nice little gems, but we want MORE. Luckily, she’s ignored our impatience and has instead been investing her time into creating single tracks as good as this one, ‘New In Town’, which got its Xfm premiere on Friday night’s Remix. Everything comes to those who wait as they say. That said, still can’t wait for the debut album in June, when we’ll finally get the MORE we’ve been shouting out for!

Little Boots online: Website, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Last.fm

Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (The Grizzl Remix Edit)
Franz Ferdinand’s new single, ‘No You Girls’, has been stuffed in my head on a loop on and off for a few weeks now. Just one listen and it’s lodged in your head for days at a time. No such trouble with this remix of it by The Grizzl, though. Almost none of the original survives their attack on it, the focal point of which is the sound of Alex Kapranos’ vocals being stretched and squashed. It’s not until towards the end that anything you could describe as recognisable appears. Top stuff.

Franz Ferdinand online: Website, MySpace, Facebook, Last.fm

These track recommendations were taken from the 6 Apr 2009 edition of The Xfm Remix Update. Read the whole thing here.

Now, you know me, I’m not one for being cynical, but Lady GaGa was in the press a lot last week, talking about how she used to be a drug addict, how she loves being naked, how she used to be a stripper, and so on. And now her single, ‘Poker Face’, is at number one, despite it being awful. But I’m not saying those things are connected, after all, that single has been rising up the charts for weeks. It’s like the charts were in the olden days, when you could get to number one just with sheer persistence. And I guess Christina Aguilera not being around much at the moment helps, too.

Anyway, GaGa’s at number one, then Flo Rida holds fast at number two (don’t worry, I’m not about to suggest that Pete Burns suffering kidney failure has helped him, it’s just a very catchy tune), and the two Comic Relief singles, the Bryden/Jones’ cover of ‘Islands In The Stream’ and The Saturdays’ cover of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, drop to three and four respectively. Beyonce, meanwhile, breaks into the top ten, stopping at number nine with her new single ‘Halo’, despite it not being officially released as a single yet.

Outside the top 10, La Roux just misses out, hitting 11 with ‘In For The Kill’, as do the Pet Shop Boys, who make it to 14 with ‘Love Etc’. Another single not officially released for a few weeks yet, AR Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls’ collaboration for the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ soundtrack, ‘Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)’, is at 20. Franz Ferdinand’s new single, ‘No You Girls’, rises from 52 to 27, though with it being featured on the new iPhone ad, I’d expect to see it go higher this Sunday (it’s certainly got itself stuck in my head). And rounding off this week’s new entries, Enrique Iglesias and Ciara stop at 30 with ‘Takin’ Back My Love’.

Over to the album chart now, and U2 have quite embarrassingly been knocked off the number one spot (and right down to number six) by Ronan Keating’s tribute album to his mother. An album coincidentally released the same week as Mothering Sunday. Mums don’t like U2, they like ballads. Everyone knows that. Which will be why Bette Midler has risen from number 21 to number nine this week, and Lionel Richie is another new entry at 10. CMU Weekly’s recent competition prize for the mums of readers, Barry Manilow’s ‘Greatest Songs Of The 80s’ faired less well, only making it to number 22 – though possibly because people were waiting to see if they’d won it before buying it, rather than the fact that Manilow’s 80s covers only serve to remind you that the originals were much better.

Probably not a new entry powered by mums is Pete(r) Doherty’s new solo album, ‘Grace/Wastelands’, which goes it at 17. You have to travel right down at the bottom of the chart for this week’s final new entry, ‘My One And Only Thrill’ by Melody Gardot at number 40, but before that there are some re-entries worth noting. Following an actually quite good edition of ‘The South Bank Show’ on Will Young, the singer’s latest album, ‘Let It Go’, is back in the chart at 30, Enrique Iglesias’ ‘Greatest Hits’ is boosted by his new single, making it to 36, and another possibly mum-fuelled purchase, Luther Vandross’ ‘Lovesongs’ compilation (originally released for Valentine’s Day) is back in at 38. In between the last two is Michael Jackson’s ‘King Of Pop’ compilation, proving that he might be able to sell out the O2 Dome 50 times over, but people are more interested in seeing a freakshow than listening to his music. Possibly.

The chart is written on Post-It Notes and stuck on the wall by The Official Charts Company

This article originally appeared in CMU Daily on 23 Mar 2009

Okay, so here we go again with another update of the movements in the UK charts. Are you ready? Well tough, I’m doing it anyway. Lily Allen is still sitting atop the single chart, waving a big stick at Lady GaGa, who stays at number two. There are two new entries in the top ten this week, courtesy of Eminem and Daniel Merriweather.

Over in the album chart, Bruce Springsteen holds firm at number one, but his sparring partners last week, Franz Ferdinand, drop from number two all the way to number 21, which, if you weren’t sure, is a pretty hefty drop. Meanwhile, Kings Of Leon take their place below The Boss and Fleet Foxes rise from 23 to number three, The View go straight in at number four with their new album ‘Which Bitch?’, and Elbow’s ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ rises from 17 to six.

Just outside the top ten, dead people are starting to congregate, with Buddy Holly’s best of entering the chart at 13 (presumably helped by all the coverage of the anniversary of his death) and Luciano Pavarotti’s ‘The Duets’ coming in at 15, while Luther Vandross’s ‘Lovesongs’ is another newie at 27. Not everyone’s dead, though. UB40 and James Taylor also have new entries in the album chart this week, at 19 and 23 respectively. Oh, and Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ is a re-entry at 38, and despite our best efforts, they’re not dead yet.

The charts are compiled and then kept a secret by The Official Charts Company.

This article originally appeared in CMU Daily on 9 Feb 2009

Well, looky looky, Lily Allen has taken on the new pretender to the pop throne and won. Yep, Lady GaGa is old news now, sitting in the pitiful number two position in the singles chart. Lily’s ‘The Fear’, on the other hand, has made a triumphant leap from 168 to number one, following the single’s first full week on release – it was released digitally on Friday 23 Jan, which accounts for its early, if low, chart position last week.

Meanwhile, Alesha Dixon moves into the top ten, up to six from 13, and Jason Mraz just missed out, moving from 22 to 11. On the new entry front, the winner of Channel 4’s Orange Unsigned Act, Tommy Reilly makes a commendable entry into the chart at 14 with his first single, ‘Gimme A Call’, and there are some more notable jumps from outside the top 40 (although none as large as Lily’s), with Shontelle moving from 43 to 25 with ‘T-Shirt’, The Fray moving from 45 to 35 with ‘You Found Me’, The Pussycat Dolls hoisting themselves up to 36 from 110 with ‘Whatcha Think About That’ and The Airborne Toxic Event taking off from 183 and landing at 39 with ‘Sometime Around Midnight’.

And now, the album chart, where we have two new entries right at the very top. Franz Ferdinand go straight in at number two with their third album, ‘Tonight: Franz Ferdinand’, but they are kept off the top spot by old hand Bruce Springsteen, with his 472nd album, ‘Working On A Dream’. Last week’s number one, White Lies, slips to number eight in this week’s chart, as people opt to buy the Donnie Darko soundtrack instead. Possibly.

The rest of the album chart is dullness in extremis, except for a few notable movements. Alesha Dixon’s second solo album (no really, she’s done two), ‘The Alesha Show’ has reached its highest position to date, moving from 44 to 21. Rifles and Naturally 7 also make their debuts on the chart, landing at 27 and 29 respectively. And that is all.

The chart is compiled like a stealthy fox by The Official Chart Company. And even when it’s snowing.

This article originally appeared in CMU Daily on 2 Feb 2009