The Top 16 Reissues/Compilations/Remix/Live/Other Albums Of 2011, 10-6

10. STEPS The Ultimate Collection

The most unexpected comeback of the year belonged to Steps, who returned with this – basically a redo of their Gold compilation with a bonus DVD – and topped the UK album charts thanks to an entertaining reality show that chronicled their reunion. While they never ever came close to their idols ABBA, this reminded me of how many great singles they had. ’5, 6, 7, 8′, ‘Last Thing On My Mind’, ‘One For Sorrow’, ‘Tragedy’, ‘Better Best Forgotten’, ‘Deeper Shade Of Blue’, ‘Summer Of Love’ and ‘Chain Reaction’ all sound fantastic, and fantastically dated. Their newly recorded cover of ‘Dancing Queen’ was a nice bonus curiosity, too.

—

9. LADY GAGA Born This Way: The Remix

Gaga’s Born This Way, which will appear time and time again in these end of year lists, was one of the albums of the year and this remix album furthered the campaign by redoing some (but not all) of the songs in the style of Goldfrapp, Hurts, Foster The People, The Horrors, Michael Woods and others. While none of these mixes were a revelation, it was interesting to hear some of the songs I played to absolute death in 2011 chopped and screwed until they were, in some cases, unrecognisable.

—

8. KE$HA I Am The Dance Commander + I Command You To Dance: The Remix Album

Ke$ha released a masterpiece in Animal, and the hits from that classic are mixed into an absolute frenzy on this, her first remix album. The explosive new mix of ‘Blow’, Dave Audé’s brilliant ‘Your Love Is My Drug’, ‘The Sleazy Remix’ and the new track ‘Fuck Him He’s A DJ’ were standouts but the whole collection was strong, exciting and continued Ke$ha’s unbroken run of flawlessness.

—

7. DAFT PUNK Tron Legacy: Reconfigured

The soundtrack for Tron: Legacy was a colossal triumph for Daft Punk, and it was a clear highlight of 2010, so naturally this remix album was one of my most anticipated releases of 2011. The Crystal Method version of ‘The Grid’ was my personal favourite but The Glitch Mob’s ‘Derezzed’ and Boys Noise’s ‘End Of Line’ were also perfection.

—

6. PETER GABRIEL New Blood

Peter Gabriel’s New Blood followed in the footsteps of his musical soulmate Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut, as he re-recorded and re-imagined older songs from his back catalogue, recording them with an orchestra. The result was an atmospheric journey through his catalogue, from hits like ‘Red Rain’ and ‘Solsbury Hill’ to lesser known songs like ‘Darkness’ and ‘Intruder’. At least while we continue the decade-long wait for a new studio album, these side projects are an entertaining and valuable addition to Gabriel’s discography.

There Can Be Miracles, When You Belieb… And Other Assorted Developments

I saw the Justin Bieber film last week in Geelong with my fellow Little Nell enthusiasts Adem and Ben, and I fully expected to be bored shitless. I left that cinema a Belieber. Was I brainwashed? Did I undergo a transformation that is beyond the understanding of science? All we can know for sure is that I fucking love his album now, with ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘U Smile’ becoming personal favourites. The added buzz from liking something I’m supposed to hate is a little extra incentive but Justin is a genuinely great performer. I’m pissed I didn’t figure this out sooner.

I bought this 1999 one-off single by the Main Minogue from eBay last week, which hereby completes my modest Dannii collection, as I now own all her studio releases. Again, I’m pissed I didn’t realise how great she was years ago (although I have owned The Hits & Beyond for a long time), and ‘Everlasting Night’ is a nice counterpart to her masterpiece, Girl.

The new Michael Jackson single, ‘Hollywood Tonight’, is out on iTunes now with the amazing DJ Chuckie Radio Edit, a pretty stunning remix that elevates this excellent track and makes it even better than it was before. There hasn’t been a Michael Jackson remix this good since the Blood On The Dance Floor years.

I’m thoroughly enjoying this new collaboration addiction Britney Spears has developed, and the new remix of ‘Till The World Ends’ (i.e. song of the year) with Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha pushes all the right buttons. The three best moments:

1. “You was hot when? Ricki Lake.” – surely one of the definitive lyrical moments of 2011 so far.

2. “Th-th-th-this is the remix.”

3. Ke$ha making a triumphant entrance for the chorus. I love popstar unity – I stan hard for ‘We Are The World’ in all forms – and I live for big collaborations like this, especially when they turn out this good.

Album Review: Ke$ha – I Am The Dance Commander + I Command You To Dance: The Remix Album

Ke$ha’s place, at least at this point in her career, is very much on the dance floor. She’s barely had a misstep so far (all six of her singles as a lead artist, plus two features, have been Billboard top ten hits) and all of her hits are aimed squarely at The Clubs. It makes sense that a remix album would be worthwhile and this is pretty much the most entertaining remix collection I’ve heard since B In The Mix.

It opens with a bang – quite literally – as the Cirkut remix of the incredible ‘Blow’ leaps out of the speakers, twisting and turning its way through the original. ‘Sleazy’ gets a boost from André 3000, ‘We R Who We R’ becomes even more of an anthem thanks to Fred Falke and Ke$ha’s best song, ‘Your Love Is My Drug’, is done justice by the Dave Audé club mix. Also included is a new original song, ‘Fuck Him He’s A DJ’, which has been doing the rounds unofficially for ages, and while it doesn’t hit the heights of her singles it would fit in nicely on either Animal or Cannibal.

I claimed that Animal was the first classic album of the new decade when it was released in January 2010, and I claimed that Cannibal was almost as good when it was released in November. I stand by both of those statements, and now proclaim that I Am The Dance Commander + I Command You To Dance: The Remix Album is a continuation of this unbroken run of brilliance. It can also claim “best album title of 2011 so far”.

6.5/10

Single Review: Ke$ha – ‘Blow’

Even though her debut single ‘Tik Tok’ was really, really good, I didn’t think Ke$ha would be able to even have a successful second hit, let alone one of the best albums of 2010 and a further EP that capitalised on that brilliance. But since that first hit we’ve had ‘Your Love Is My Drug’, ‘Take It Off’, ‘We R Who We R’ and now ‘Blow’, which takes her schtick to a new level without actually doing anything new at all.

In fact, I hardly noticed this song back when the Cannibal EP was released, it got lost in ‘We R Who We R’, ‘Sleazy’ and ‘Cannibal’, three more instantly interesting songs. But once I paid attention to ‘Blow’ I realised it was silly of me to ignore it. More than any other current popstar, except perhaps Pink, Ke$ha knows her audience and is furiously self-aware of her position within the industry. Sometimes, she misjudges – turning up to the Grammy nominations only for it to soon become clear she had no reason to be there, for example – but most of the time she’s spot on. In ‘Blow’, she delivers perhaps her defining lyric: “We’re pretty and sick/We’re young and we’re bored”.

That lyric is great because the first line is the sort of thing that informs songs like ‘Born This Way’ and ‘Raise Your Glass’ – ooh, look at us, we’re so different and sick, ooh, society ruined us but we’re still beautiful, in every single way – but then the next line exposes the audience for what they really are, young and bored and looking for somebody to get angry at. Sometimes that anger is certainly justified, and I love both songs that I just mentioned, but that doesn’t make those two lines any less interesting or revealing.

Aside from that in-depth analysis, ‘Blow’ is also just a lot of fun. The video, Ke$ha’s best yet, features James Van Der Beek and a load of awesome unicorns. And that stuttering effect on the chorus – “blooo-oo-o-o-o-o-ow” – is one of those moments that send a rush through your brain every time you listen.

7.5/10

The 100 Best Songs of 2010: #40-31

ROBYN

‘Dancing On My Own’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

I must admit I had a bit of an eyeroll when I found out what ‘Dancing On My Own’ was about – it really seemed like an unnecessary retread of themes explored brilliantly in previous singles. But the song is executed perfectly, with rapid fire beats, a euphoric chorus and a wonderful vocal performance. When the music drops out then returns machine-gun style – that’s the kind of little moment that gets Robyn such across-the-board acclaim.

NICKI MINAJ

‘I’m The Best’

from the album Pink Friday

The perfect track to open Pink Friday, ‘I’m The Best’ tells the Nicki Minaj story from the start, with liberal amounts of bragging and clever wordplay to keep it interesting. The crowning moment, however, is the chorus: “I hear they comin’ for me/Because the top is lonely”. Hip-hop is rife with paranoia, from Nas’ classic line “I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death” to the entire career of Kanye West. While Nicki tries to enjoy her success, she’s always looking over her shoulder for the next upstart to proclaim herself the “best bitch doin’ it”, which gives ‘I’m The Best’ an extra element of emotion and vulnerability.

SCISSOR SISTERS

‘Any Which Way’

from the album Night Work

I was sure that ‘Invisible Light’ or ‘Night Work’ would follow ‘Fire With Fire’, but when ‘Any Which Way’ was announced as second single from Night Work it made me revisit the song and listen to it in a different way. As if it needed to be released as a single to ensure the brilliance of it wasn’t lost under more immediately impressive songs, it suddenly becomes clear than ‘Any Which Way’ is a complex and well-written track, complete with a glorious spoken bit from Ana Matronic and the kind of amazing chorus it seems this band could write in their sleep.

TAKE THAT

‘SOS’

from the album Progress

Following ‘The Flood’ was no easy task, and ‘SOS’ doesn’t match up to that incredible first single, but it does a great job of moving new old Take That into more adventurous areas single-wise. Whether that works out for them is yet to be seen (if ‘The Flood’ can stall at number two then literally nothing can be considered a surefire megahit “in times like these”), but we can be happy that they made a good choice artistically. The song sort of reminds me of what might happen if Coldplay went electro – and I love Coldplay, but let’s be honest they’d be even better if they went electro – but Chris Martin doesn’t have four other guys to help him out on the vocals when he needs it, and ‘SOS’ benefits from the back-and-forth between multiple vocalists that helps take “male vocal group” songs onto that other level they can sometimes get to when done really well. And this, my friends, is done really well indeed.

TAIO CRUZ ft. KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Higher’

from the album Rokstarr

Blah blah blah generic blah blah blah why wasn’t some album track a single blah blah blah Kylie should only ever do one style blah blah blah X was a mess blah blah blah. A simple pop song with a big dance floor beat never hurt anyone, especially not Kylie Minogue of all people, and while ‘Higher’ might not be deep or complicated, for me it recalls the joyous hooks of her PWL years and I see no problem with that at all. This is a song you don’t think about too much, you just tap your feet and sing along. Not innovative, not revolutionary, but 100% fun. 100% fun is always better than 1% fun and 99% overthinking it.

RIHANNA

‘Only Girl (In The World)’

from the album Loud

‘Only Girl (In The World)’ is the first Rihanna single since ‘Umbrella’ that I have not bought as soon as it went on sale. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it, but because I knew I would buy Loud the moment it was released, and I didn’t feel like spending $2.19 on a song when I could open my window and hear it any time I felt the urge. ‘Only Girl’, with its infectious beats and screamalong chorus, was everywhere I went, it became the type of inescapable pop single that Rihanna seems to attach herself to once every six months or so. ‘Pon De Replay’, ‘SOS’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, ‘Disturbia’, ‘Rude Boy’, and now ‘Only Girl’. And I bet my life there’ll be at least two more we can add to that list by the time this era is over. And the most amazing thing about all this? ‘Only Girl’ doesn’t sound like an obvious retread of anything Rihanna has done before, and neither do any of those songs I just listed. I’m going into a full-on fan mode now but how amazing is it that such an incredible run of megahits could also claim to be so diverse? I LOVE RIHANNA SO MUCH.

TAYLOR SWIFT

‘Back To December’

from the album Speak Now

Wistful guitar? It’s here. Slight country twang, but not so much that it scares off anyone who “wouldn’t normally like that sort of thing”? Present and accounted for. Sweet voice, personal-but-relatable lyrics? All right there. That’s right, you’ve just encountered the 2010 So-Good-It-Hurts Taylor Swift Ballad, and if it weren’t for the piano version of ‘Forever & Always’ I’d have to say ‘Back To December’ is the best T-Swizz ballad ever. The lead single ‘Mine’ might have been more instant but ‘Back To December’ has the more beautiful melody, better lyrics and a more sincere vocal performance. This song is a prime example of why people have taken Taylovelorn into their hearts and their iTunes libraries all over the world: because she writes amazing songs and she sings then in an amazing manner. And that, as Forrest Gump might say, is all I have to say about that (until the next time I find a reason to talk about her).

PET SHOP BOYS

‘Together’

from the album Ultimate

It takes several listens to click but when it does, ‘Together’ will stay in your brain for quite a while. Even my sister was going around the house singing it at one point, perhaps breaking the Guiness World Record for the youngest person to actually hear this song. ‘Together’ was the new single for the hits album Ultimate, and while it doesn’t stack up to previous PSB hits-collection-new-tracks like ‘Was It Worth It?’ or ‘Flamboyant’, it has its own special little identity while staying very much in line with the singles from the recent album Yes. Like so many Pet Shop Boys classics, the beat of ‘Together’ is up while the lyrics are ambiguously down, which, on one hand, ensures a platform for epic remixes, and on the other hand it makes sure you continue thinking about what the song means long after it has finished.

ROBYN

‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

KICKDRUM. I said most of what I have to say about ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’ in my Body Talk Pt. 1 roundup, but I will just say again that it was one of my most played and most loved listening experiences of the year.

KE$HA

‘Your Love Is My Drug’

from the album Animal

In January I labelled ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ the first truly classic pop single of 2010. And while over the next twelve months thirty songs emerged which I thought were ultimately better, I still pretty much stand by what I said. One thing is certain: it still boasts one of the best hooks of the year, especially because Ke$ha sounds absolutely ridiculous while singing it. “YA LAV, YA LAV, YA LAV” she yells, completely free and unconcerned with staying within any limits or boundaries. And seriously, “I like your beard”? My heart explodes with joy every time. I can’t even.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #60-51

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘Not Myself Tonight’

from the album Bionic

I feel pretty bad for everyone involved with ‘Not Myself Tonight’, because I assume they lived with the song for so long that they came to understand how good it really was, but it is very much a “grower”. In an age where many people will listen to a song once on YouTube before making a decision on how good or bad it is, ‘Not Myself Tonight’ was destined to sound underwhelming. But there are so many little bits here that take time to make themselves known: “I don’t give a OWWW”, the rapid fire bridge, that middle eight where Christina gets to have a proper wail – only for it to be broken up by an electro stutter, not to mention the chorus, which followed me around in my head for weeks before I gave in and admitted that it was, like the rest of this song, actually amazing.

ROBYN

‘Hang With Me’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 2

This might have the best chorus of all the Body Talk singles, coasting along on Robyn’s trademark bleeps with just the right amount of weariness and excitement. While she plays the victim on ‘Be Mine!’ and ‘Dancing On My Own’, on ‘Hang With Me’ Robyn takes charge of the relationship. This time she’ll be one breaking hearts. “I know what’s on your mind/There will be time for that too/If you hang with me” – perhaps in the past, rampant sexual desire led to an unstable relationship, and that won’t be happening again. But does she really want to “hang” with this guy for ages just to protect her own heart? There’s a hint in the uncertainty of that vocal.

EMINEM ft. LIL’ WAYNE

‘No Love’

from the album Recovery

One of the most chilling moments on Recovery, ‘No Love’ bases itself around a Haddaway sample and strikes a perfect balance between the trademark styles of both Eminem and Lil’ Wayne. The first half sees Wayne laidback but disappointed, betrayed and yet confident, ready to cut out anyone who crosses him. His icy demeanour is threatening enough, but Eminem goes even harder, trading Wayne’s cool for intense anger, in true Slim Shady style. The slight failure of Relapse seemed to spurn Eminem into some of his most vicious raps in 2010, at least in delivery if not lyrics, and ‘No Love’ is one of the best songs he lent his voice to this year.

PROFESSOR GREEN ft. LILY ALLEN

‘Just Be Good To Green’

from the album Alive Till I’m Dead

Like a good pair of leads in a film, Professor Green and Lily Allen exploit their characters so well in ‘Just Be Good To Green’, playing off each other and disappearing so far into their chosen personas that it almost becomes parody. Apart from their vocal duel, one of the most underrated aspects of ‘Just Be Good To Green’ is the instrumental, which takes tiny little elements from the retro revival from a few years back, mixes them with a hip-hop beat and then lifts it all up into the chorus perfectly. That we get lines delivered as wonderfully as the “I ain’t never gonna change, are you ever gonna realise?” bit is just a bonus.

KE$HA

‘Take It Off’

from the album Animal

In an explosion of Auto-Tuned bliss, ‘Take It Off’ explodes out of the speakers, grabs you by the neck and slams you face first into the dance floor. Watch out there aren’t any stray bottles down there though, because that could hurt. With one of the classic screamalong choruses of the year, you forget all the questions that come with this song (why isn’t anybody slipping over in all that glitter on the floor? does she ever brush her teeth with a toothbr-oh wait that was ‘Tik Tok’) and just lose yourself like Eminem in 8 Mile.

BENNY BENASSI ft. KELIS, APL.DE.AP & JEAN-BAPTISTE

‘Spaceship’

In just over three minutes, we get the only Benny Benassi single to catch my attention since ‘Able To Love’, featuring Apl.De.Ap in the best thing he’s been involved in since ‘Boom Boom Pow’, and Kelis in her best song since… well, the last amazing one. This is a club song, for sure, with those endless repetitions of “get high”, but Kelis gives it a bit of a “mystical” twist with her floaty vocals, which suit the track perfectly and elevate it above your average dance floor anthem.

HURTS

‘Better Than Love’

from the album Happiness

The deep, dramatic vocals, the soaring chorus, the frantic ‘I Feel Love’-style bits: it’s all been said before I need to say it again, this is totally eighties. Like the atmosphere of Tears For Fears had a baby with the pop sensibilities of Culture Club, which then grew up to marry early Eurythmics, ‘Better Than Love’ manages to be an affectionate nod to the sounds of yesteryear while never sounding like a mere tribute. Buried underneath all the “is this from 1983 or 2010?” is a really, really fantastic song.

MICHAEL JACKSON

‘Much Too Soon’

from the album Michael

As I said in my review of Michael, ‘Much Too Soon’ lives up to that simple title. We all know Michael and his producers had a tendency to overproduce – for better and for worse, usually better – but on ‘Much Too Soon’, there is not too much to speak of other than a quiet few instruments and Michael’s voice. Like one of his classic Motown ballads, except with his adult voice, ‘Much Too Soon’ is lyrically slight and vocally very fragile and subtle. “And would you like to go with me?/And she answered no to me” is an awkwardly structured pair of lines but it works so well with the other elements of the song – it is perhaps the most “classic Michael” moment on the new album.

JANELLE MONÁE

‘Cold War’

from the album The ArchAndroid: Suites II & III

‘Cold War’ and ‘Tightrope’ are like part one and part two, and while ‘Tightrope’ is cooler and more relaxed, ‘Cold War’ screeches along on huge, amazing drums, while Janelle rampages over the top. “This is a cooooold waaar, you better know what you’re fighting for” she tells us, and while guitars appear for a quick solo here and there, instruments and beats drop in and out all over the place. A complicated hot mess, ‘Cold War’ was one of the most exhilirating singles of the year.

MASSIVE ATTACK & TUNDE ADEBIMPE

‘Pray For Rain’

from the album Heligoland

The standout track on Heligoland was the album opener, which manages to translate that feeling of an impending storm into music. Featuring vocals from TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, the song unfolds slowly and quietly, with lyrics full of beautiful imagery and an insistent drum pattern which guides everything forward. Reminiscent of the best tracks from 100th Window, like ‘Butterfly Caught’, ‘Future Proof’ and ‘A Prayer For England’, ‘Pray For Rain’ uses haunting vocals to build an otherworldly atmosphere like only Massive Attack can.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #80-71

RIHANNA ft. EMINEM

‘Love The Way You Lie Part II’

from the album Loud

Who would have thought that eighteen months or so after the Chris Brown incident, Rihanna would be singing “I guess I’m just a masochist”, on the part II of her song about domestic violence… that she made with Eminem? The second installment of ‘Love The Way You Lie’ focuses more on Rihanna’s chorus melody, and expands it into a brilliant full song, featuring one of her best vocal performances. When Eminem appears, like a ghost from the ashes of the first part, it is perhaps more affecting and powerful than any of the original.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’

from the album Aphrodite

I think it was widely expected that this would be the third single from Aphrodite, but it was passed over in favour of ‘Better Than Today’. If they get to four singles (and let’s face it, if X can get five worldwide, we can have four from this one), ‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’ is an obvious choice. This album was a bit more reflective and melancholy than past Kylie albums, despite at first sounding very “up” (we’ll explore that a bit later), but ‘Put Your Hands Up’ is truly happy, and as Kylie tells us that we’re gonna have fun “no matter what”, you really believe her.

CHERYL COLE

‘Promise This’

from the album Messy Little Raindrops

I really quite liked both of Cheryl’s solo albums, and have loved all of her singles so far – none of them were groundbreaking stuff but ’3 Words’ especially was a risk, and more adventurous than anybody wants to give her credit for. ‘Promise This’ is more straightforward, but it ticks all the boxes: nice enough vocals, big chorus, FRENCH BIT, excellent video. It’s almost a little lesson in how to make a hit single in 2010, even including a little nod to dramas in the real life of the popstar (‘Promise This’ was initially claimed to be about Cheryl’s malaria scare, but all it ended up being was some bits about dying before she wakes). This deserves a place on this list just for that chicken wing dance move from the video.

DAFT PUNK

‘Derezzed’

from the album TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack

In which Daft Punk from 1997 invade Daft Punk of 2010. The TRON Legacy score is a black-tie event with all orchestras and stuff up until ‘Derezzed’, which is full of the swizzling, swirling beats and rhythms that made this duo famous. It is, of course, the best stand-alone part of the score, but also manages to work really well in context and pushes the album into exciting new directions halfway through, making sure that it never gets tedious or repetitive.

MARIAH CAREY

‘Oh Santa!’

from the album Merry Christmas II You

This song makes me happier than that pervy snowman. Bells, chanting, memories of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’! What more could you possibly want or need from a Mariah Carey Christmas song? The Jump Smokers Edit is amazing too, and makes me pine for a third holiday album from Mariah: Christmas On A Dance Floor.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Better Than Today’

from the album Aphrodite

Back on ‘Some Kind Of Bliss’ from 1997, Kylie Minogue sang that “every day is all there is”. But here in 2010, she sings “we just want tomorrow to be better than today” – there’s a tiny bit of sadness in ‘Better Than Today’, even if the music is upbeat and the chorus is catchy. On ‘Some Kind Of Bliss’ she was young and free but on ‘Better Than Today’ she is resigned to hoping for some freedom in the future. There’s a hint of that desperation that made ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘What Do I Have To Do?’ such amazing pop singles, and while this doesn’t quite scale those heights, it adds a different, slightly darker tone to Aphrodite.

ARTISTS FOR HAITI

‘We Are The World 25′

Opinion you saw coming a mile off alert: I think ‘We Are The World’ is one of the best songs ever. And I don’t think any cover will beat the original. But ‘We Are The World 25′, despite getting very bad reviews, just has too many amazing things happening with too many amazing people involved that I can’t be offended. Plus, it helps that it is very good. I don’t even mind that Justin Bieber sings the opening lines. I mean, look at what we have here: Janet Jackson singing with her recently passed brother, Barbra Streisand blowing everybody else out of the water and then immediately being followed in the lineup by Miley Cyrus, T-Pain and his autotuned contribution, Pink being generally amazing, Celine Dion (who is one of the greatest people to ever walk the planet, my banner above is a tribute to this fact) finally getting the chance to sing with her idol Fergie, the whole rap section in the middle that will either bring a smile to your face or give you a seizure depending on how you feel about hip-hop. There are so many questions: did they anticipate how people would react? Did they expect it to turn out this good even though all the signs pointed to it being terrible? Where was Cyndi Lauper to “YAH YAH YAH” over everything like she did in the original? Most importantly, what would Michael think? Well, as Michael’s representative on earth, my verdict is in: we approve of this hot mess.

DUCK SAUCE

‘Barbra Streisand’

It seems so simple, yet so genius. “Oooo-oooooo-oooooooo-ooooo-oooh. Oooo-oooooo-oooooooo-ooooo-oooh. BARBRA STREISAND”. I’m a sucker for repetitive dance tracks – I’ve played ‘Robot Rock’, ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘Destroy Rock And Roll’ to death over the years – and ‘Barbra Streisand’ is no exception. From the oooo-ing to the Babs-in-a-boat from the video, everything about this was fun and exciting and a little bit ridiculous.

KE$HA

‘We R Who We R’

from the album Cannibal

A worthy sequel to ‘Tik Tok’, ‘We R Who We R’ is a euphoric, dirty, beat driven single from a singer who specialises in them. Once again describing everything about her look and her night out, Ke$ha tells us that we’re “going hard”, and then she proceeds to go hard in that amazing chorus. When she says “we’ll be forever young”, it pretty much sums up everything great about Ke$ha and her schtick.

M.I.A.

‘Born Free’

from the album Maya

I’m not a huge fan of Maya but ‘Born Free’ probably sent my expectation up so far that no album could meet them. That video aside, ‘Born Free’ is like Yoko Ono meets Marilyn Manson meets that time Melanie C went rock. Sounds like the worst thing ever, is actually really great. You get the feeling M.I.A. is quite uncomfortable with wealth and celebrity, and she puts all the everywoman she has in her into ‘Born Free’, drowning herself in beats and drums and processed vocals. “I was booooooooooooorn FREE! B-B-BORN FREE” is one of my favourite little moments of 2010.

The 26 Best Albums Of 2010: #4. Ke$ha – Animal/Cannibal

Animal released January 1, 2010

Cannibal released November 19, 2010

Animal
1. Your Love Is My Drug
2. Tik Tok
3. Take It Off
4. Kiss N Tell5. Stephen
6. Blah Blah Blah ft. 3OH!3
7. Hungover
8. Party At A Rich Dude’s House
9.  Backstabber
10. Blind
11. Dinosaur
12. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
13. Boots & Boys
14. Animal
International bonus track
15. VIP
UK bonus track
16. Dirty Picture Pt. 2 ft. Taio Cruz

Cannibal
1. Cannibal
2. We R Who We R
3. Sleazy
4. Blow
5. The Harold Song
6. Crazy Beautiful Life
7. Grow A Pear
8. C U Next Tuesday
9. Animal (Billboard Remix)

Isn’t it funny when people get all angry about Ke$ha? I don’t mean people that just don’t like her, but those who go all out and proclaim her the antichrist and the end of all music. Those people are buying into the Ke$ha image just as much as people like me who buy everything she puts out. She’s supposed to be a big drunk ho who pisses people off – like, duh, that’s her selling point. People getting angry at her is what she wants. And by all means, continue being annoyed, because that will guarantee she stays in the limelight and I’ll get to listen to more of her music.

Animal is probably my favourite pure pop album since Britney Spears’ collossal 2007 masterpiece Blackout. It’s not quite as good, but like Blackout, you put on this album and you are assaulted with potential hit singles, all screeching out of the speakers one after the other. The instant classic ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ is followed by one of the best pop choruses ever (‘Tik Tok’) which is followed by the dirty anthem ‘Take It Off’, which is followed by the album’s biggest hit that never was in ‘Kiss N Tell’. The rest of Animal doesn’t quite live up to that quartet at the start but there is still a lot to enjoy, from the obnoxious ‘Blah Blah Blah’ and ‘Party At A Rich Dude’s House’ to the sort-of-ballads like ‘Hungover’, ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and the wonderful title track.

In a slightly transparent move to follow the success of Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster, Animal was repackaged in November with the nine-song EP Cannibal, which is simultaneously more of the same and a progression into new areas. It feels harder, even trashier than Animal, and Ke$ha sounds absolutely vicious on tracks like ‘Cannibal’, ‘Sleazy’ and ‘Grow A Pear’, in which she proclaims she cannot date a man with a vagina, which is fair enough. The lead single ‘We R Who We R’ is yet another big-beats-bigger-chorus track in line with her earlier hits, and it continues her quest to carve out a very specific but wide-reaching place for herself in today’s pop scene. Animal/Cannibal is her manifesto, an album that puts fun first but still leaves room for this singer/rapper/antagonist/villian to move into new places as her career goes forward.