OK, let's get a few minor details out the way first shall we? Yes, Solange is Beyonce's little sister. And yes Solange is her actual name. Here she is on the front of her second solo album, the clumsily titled Sol-angel and the Hadley Street Dreams (there's also a 'Presents' at the beginning but it all seems so superfluous). Now, we all know that Beyonce's a pretty huge megastar who probably bathes in champagne and eats gold so we assumed that this wealth had been shared equally between the Knowles family. Yet, here we see poor Solange clearly surrounded by the paraphernalia of a good jumble sale; a few record players, a dusty couch, some old records and a pair of novelty party wings. Things don't look good for our little Sol-angel. To make matters worse, she doesn't seem to have fully grasped the magnitude of her very own 'credit crunch' (very topical I know), what with her expensive looking dress and that whopping great ring on her finger. But these are just the final delusions of a wilted mind, the hangover of a life steeped in riches. Somewhere, atop a hill, sits a tower in which Beyonce is cackling manically while poor little Solange sifts through the dregs at the local bring 'n buy sale. "What price my battered old records" she sings, badly.
To listen to Solange's weary tales of life on the edge, click here
WARNING: THIS WILL BE THE BEST VIDEO YOU'VE EVER SEEN.
As previously reported right here on everyone's third favourite blog, Gnarls Barkley pushed back the release of their brilliant 'Who's Going To Save My Soul', in favour of the more upbeat 'Going On'. The latter subsequently became their lowest selling single to date and so far sophomore album The Odd Couple hasn't sold nearly as well as anticipated. So, the record company have reverted back to plan A and gone for this maudlin masterpiece, a song so perfectly poised that each syllable sounds more heartbreaking then the last. But we live in a visual world my friends, so image is of course more then important. So, they've only gone and made one of the best music videos I've seen in a very long time...
SECOND WARNING: Don't watch this video if you read The Daily Mail as it does involve scenes of a stabbing nature. Actually, don't read this blog if you read The Daily Mail.
Er, slight problem with the video. It stopped working, leaving a giant blank space right here where these words are. So, just click here and fly off to youtube yourselves you lazy buggers
Where to start? Most videos have about three memorable shots and one or two moments that make you feel any emotion other then "ohhh, I quite like this" or "this makes me want to hurt myself", but with this you get sadness, shock, laughter, drama and the unsettling feeling that can only come from watching a heart singing into a piece of broccoli. When the little heart stabs himself and falls back on the plate, I damned near shed a tear for the loss of this relationship, and I don't even know these people! The power of a great music video is a power like no other dear readers. Most importantly, it complements the song perfectly, which is kind of the point.
There was a moment, back in Halcyon days of early January 2008, when Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong were thought to be the future of music. As you can see from this picture things had already gone slightly awry.
Well, I bring you sad news. They've decided to scrap the release of their debut album, about two weeks before its release. Apparently the album 'didn't truly reflect where the band are at musically', which is management speak for 'it's utter dog shit'. A re-recorded version will be released next January to a fanfare of 'weren't they the band that were tipped for big things in January 2008 but didn't get anywhere and now things are moving so fast in music that I'm already really bored of them?'
Mariah Carey loves animals. Back in the early noughties, before all that horrible war stuff and prior to her mini breakdown, Mariah would request a basket full of puppies to snuggle up to in interviews so that she could appear motherly and a friend to all things cute and cuddly. It's rumoured (i.e. made up) that one puppy decided to show his feelings towards Mariah by biting her so she had him made into a clutch purse. Since this fateful (and completely fictional) incident, Mariah has been seeking a new animal group to fall in love with, and thankfully she's found one in the nick of time. Watch the video for her new single, 'I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time', to find out which lucky mammal struck musical gold (the clue's in the blog title).
Lucky old Flipper, eh? It's thought the two of them were able to communicate perfectly through their mutual ability to reach ear-piercing notes that would deafen any other animal. I just hope the dolphin behaved himself, otherwise expect to see Mariah sporting some rather fetching grey boots in the near future.
- Everyone's favourite rapper and all round good egg, Kanye West, will be greeting American soldiers as they return from fighting in Iraq. That's right, Kanye West. It's thought he'll want to ask them why they didn't buy his last album and probably haven't been to any of his groundbreaking gigs (Pitchfork)
- A pasty, dead-eyed Amy Winehouse has been found frozen in time in a cruel form of punishment, probably inflicted by the tabloids to 'help' her overcome her problems (NME)
- The Daily Star have written something potentially libelous about Madonna having sex with a tape (Yahoo Music)
- Imagine being a huge fan of Guns N Roses and Dr Dre. Dre's finally got around to making a new album, nearly NINE years after the last one! I do hope he wasn't being paid for all that time sitting around eating Oreo cookies (Billboard)
Here at Musick we like to think we've got our fingers very firmly on the pulse. We're so near the zeitgeist that we've got zeitgeist splinters in our fingers and little shavings in our eyes. Let's look at the evidence shall we- here are just some of the brand new acts to have appeared on these pages; Haddaway, Mariah Carey, Beck, Elastica, Linkin Park, to name but a few. We're so now that I even had a request from a reader to find out about this hot new singer called Kavana. With that in mind, I thought I'd get in before anyone else with these two hip new bands. They go by the names of Friendly Fires and XX Teens and I can guarantee that neither have been featured in NME, Artrocker, or any tips for 2008/9 and have probably never been on an episode of skins. It's all box fresh.
- Friendly Fires are a trio who specialise in what used to be called 'punk funk' but now just gets called 'dance music made with guitars' and are really quite alright. You can hear what they sound like here. Their self-titled debut album is out at the beginning of September on XL records and fingers crossed I might even have a preview copy of it sometime in October...oh.
- XX Teens are five young scamps from London who are about to release their debut album, entitled Welcome To Goon Island on Mute records. Some people have called them the new Velvet Underground. Seems a little premature. Single 'Only You' is rather fun. Listen here.
Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm like Mystic Meg on acid or something.
Pop stars come and pop stars go. Like pets. Or diarrhea. But sometimes, you stop and think to yourself, whatever happened to...? For the sake of this article, we're asking, whatever happened to Haddaway? Or, as his parents knew him, Alexander Nestor Haddaway. 
Haddaway was born way back in 1965 in Trinidad, before the advent of cheesy Europop, and yet somehow he knew it was his destiny. "I knew it was my destiny" he's been quoted as saying. In 1989, he arrived in Germany where he made money as a choreographer and carpet salesman. The two were thought to be mutually exclusive. In 1992 he was signed by a record label who literally had no idea that he would go on to sell a whopping 28 million (!) records worldwide. His biggest hit came in 1993 and was called 'What Is Love?'. Here's the video:
A nineties pop classic I'm sure you'll agree. The single reached the number 1 spot in most European countries and was followed up by a handful of other singles that all sold a bit less each time. I would give you titles but it would be meaningless. Haddaway then made the foolish decision of moving away from his Europop roots and branched out into soul. Very silly. But in 2004 he made a comeback on the German version of reality show I Used To Be A Success Back In The Late Eighties/Early Nineties But It's All Gone A Bit Wrong Since Then. He subsequently appeared on the UK and US versions of the show too. But, the greatest bit of all is yet to come my friends. This November the greatest concert EVER will be taking place in Riga, Latvia. The line-up is as follows: Haddaway, alongside Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, Dr Alban and Culture Beat. Between them they have about a trillion number 1 singles and are single handedly responsible for Basshunter. Ladies and gentlemen, I have found my musical Nirvana. Are you with me?
