Rolling Teenpop 2006 Thread

Still haven't heard any Platinum Weird outside Myspace.

I've never heard any of Jewel's last two albums, so yeah, it was a pleasant surprise. Everybody was saying the last one was a "return to form" etc., I didn't know it was produced by Rob Carvello (sp?). It's interesting to hear other people's take on the Max/Matrix sound.

It's all making me think about the confessional element that Frank pegs to teenpop vs. the way other genres do it--in everything from hip-hop to indie to country it seems like the impulse is to "take things down for a second" whereas teenpop has somehow managed to round out punk's angsty sneer into a shout from the belly by crossing it with all that low-key stuff. Pandora's nice for trying to figure things out technically.

(Headline turns out to be fraudulent, however. There's nothing about her hair.)

And I'm now way off-topic, but here's a clip from a recent live show by Debbie Deb, who's darker, fatter, and happier than when I saw her 19 years ago.* Poor recording, not auto-tuned, but wonderful anyway. (*Someone once told me that the Debbie Deb who did "I'm Searchin'" wasn't the same Debbie Deb who'd done "When I Hear Music," in which case the person I saw - who definitely was the "I'm Searchin'" Deb, same timbre - was an impersonator trying to cash in on the name. I doubt this, but it would somehow prove something amazing if it were true, since I rank it as one of the Top 5 live performances of my life.) Here's a continuation of the clip from the Anaheim show, in which she's singing my favorite song EVER. They pipe in a sample at the start that someone on the comment thread identifies as from "Planet Rock," which demonstrates the connection between Bambaataa/Baker/Robie and freestyle (not to mention Miami bass, bounce, crunk, snap...). The deep beat on "When I Hear Music" is a slight variation on the deep beat from "Planet Rock." But you can hear something revving up in "When I Hear Music" - even though it's a very spare arrangement - the riffs and beats heading for delirium and the sweetness of the vocals (and desperation of the vocals in the New York equivalents) having its own potential delirium.

(two thots:
1) i have never had anyone tell me jessica was fuckable
2) she has stopped becoming interesting)

also apparently she fired her pr guy overthe john mayer rumours, and also john mayer is a beatty in the 70s sized pussy hound.

Lil Chris was on a reality show called Rock School where Gene Simmons taught classical music school kids to perform rock music. It was a rip-off of the movie School Of Rock really. Now he's got a deal with RCA to release his first single Checkin' Me Out and it's quite popular on Radio 1 so should at least be a small hit. I really don't think he has a big career ahead of him though.

Each member of the group is an honor roll student, as well as a star in his own mind. Each has an alias, the first of which is the singer, ten year old Austin, aka “Piper”. His vocal abilities are truly rock and roll. The bass player, nine year old Garrett, aka “Soul Man” holds down the bottom like he was born in Motown in the early sixties. Add to this mixture eight year old lead guitarist Kevin, aka “Shredder” who’s manic adventures onstage are truly a joy to watch. And last, but not least nine year old Rodney, aka ”Sticks” beats the skins like he’s mad at his bigger brothers, but with a little more rhythm. Put all this together and you get the smokin’ sounds of a truly remarkable “little man” band.

Here's what I know about Rock School:

Gene Simmons had this reality show on British TV where he takes a bunch of kids and turns them into a rock band and they get to open for someone big like Anthrax. First series he takes some classical musician types and gets them to go rock. Second series he goes to a poorer school and recruits a number of kids and initial lead singer goes on vacation so they choose another one but then first one comes back and they have a quarterback controversy and finally first one gets the nod and second one gets the boot, the concert airs, a week later first singer gets a call from a major label and they get to work on a single; meanwhile second singer forms a band with other members of the rock school crew and they go indie rock. First singer's name is Lil Chris, whom you know about (and he's not a classical musician; they were in the first series). Second singer is Ellie, and they call their band Upraw and here's their MySpace. Chris is better. He can't really keep in tune, so he's found a way to sing where this doesn't matter, basically swallowing his tongue. It works, though listening to it may get tiring over the course of 12 songs. Anyway, his style is his own invention, I'm sure. You can't teach someone to sing like that. His album's due in October sometime.

So, I disagree about no career for Chris.

Oh God! The poor kid!
I dunno, she's got like nine siblings to share insults.

I myself believe that the hoku-haiku dialectic can be transcended.

Friends fear LINDSAY'S ELOPED

(Also, Nicole and Lindsay gloat over Paris's arrest.) (What arrest? How come nobody tells me anything?)

(Got the link to "Don't Cry Your Heart Out" from the Teen Cultural Revolution blog.)

Of course, that's no match for the Coop at his finest.

(Of course on Radio Disney the "confessional" sound has mostly given way to HSM's and Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana's rah-rah.)

*can't tell if it's the same as the one posted on Sept 11th as you have to register to view that one now

The soundtrack LP hits UK record stores today incidentally.

The album is a downer. Musically and lyrically. I was prepared for the excitement and orgiastic sound from the last album ("My God - My Tourniquet," she shouted, matching her ecstasy over Jesus with a personal element of frantic singing). Instead most of the songs seem purposely underwhelming. If Amy Lee was aggressively overt in the first album, she's withdrawn and reserved on this album. Some of that might be due to the absense of the rap-metal singer Shaun Morgan (unsure if rap-metal is the precise musical term, but --), both in content ("Call Me When You're Sober") and musically - the aggression is missing.

HSM is everywhere in the UK at the moment (frequent TV adverts for the film and CD, big posters and people wearing HSM t-shirts in the Disney store) but I can't tell if all this advertising is working. I guess we'll see when the album charts and viewing figures for its UK premiere (this Friday on the now free to view Disney Channel) are revealed. I do hope it takes off and am looking forward to seeing it on a proper TV screen (I first saw it by the miracle of YouTube just after it was on Disney USA).

Has anyone managed to acquire the full Fefe or Lillix album yet? I'm desperate to hear them, so if you have them I will trade whatever you like.

Ashlee's Autobiography

A compilation that came out last month on Hollywood Records called Girl Next
...or rather Smackers® (All the flavour of being a girl™) presents Girl Next

The comp is bookended by Frank's two favourite teenpop songs of the year - albeit in remixed form in one case - and in between it has all the rising girl stars of the Hollywood & Walt Disney Records rosters plus a handful of licensees from the majors. Includes several exclusive tracks, allegedly. Well, they were exclusive to CD a month ago at least. I dare say you can find all the songs on the interweb somewhere, not to mention on Radio Disney. Anyway, it's not a bad overview of what's big in 2006 if, like me, you're starting from scratch and don't have much opportunity to check out myspace or CDBaby. (Plus you get a Smackers lip gloss 'buy one get one free' coupon!)

A quick track-by-track:

1. Aly & AJ - "Rush" (Steve Augello remix) - Augello gives the song a house beat and strips out all the rock guitars. Also a more uniform dynamic; it doesn't have the slow build and sudden explosion of the original. But it's a pretty good version even so.

2. Cheetah Girls - "Cinderella". This song is off the Girls' first soundtrack album. Reminds me of early Christina Milian; I really like it.

3. Kelly Clarkson - "Breakaway (exclusive acoustic version)". Kelly sounds almost geriatric in this company. I've been completely indifferent to her music thus far (that DJ Earworm remix excepted) and this doesn't change things. Interested to see however that Avril co-wrote this - with Matthew Gerrard, who pops up again twice more on this CD...

4. Hilary & Haylie Duff - "Material Girl". From their summer movie. They slow it down a bit (I miss the driving drum beat of Madonna's version here) and they turn the bass line into a "la la" chant. Otherwise very similar to the original.

5. Everlife - "Real Wild Child". Chick-rock trio. No info about Everlife (ugh, what a generic rock band name) on the CD, just a picture of the girls, which suggests Josie & The Pussycats (1990s update). The song is pretty rockin' though, with nice Dave Grohl-like drumming.

6. Vannessa Anne Hudgens ("Gabriella from High School Musical") - "When There Was Me and You". This is her solo spot from the HSM soundtrack. Typically dreary Disney sludge, especially compared to the company it's keeping on this CD. This isn't on her imminent solo album, thankfully. She's got a great voice, though, and she's really pretty.

7. Joanna - "Ultraviolet". This is the 'other' Joanna mentioned upthread, the one signed to Geffen, and the song's from her album that came out recently. Glossy mid-tempo rock. Perfect for an episode of The OC.

8. JoJo - "Baby It's You". An anti-materialist love song with a reggaeton beat. From her first album. I hate to say this given it's 2 years old now, but this the best thing on the CD.

9. Hannah Montana - "Best Of Both Worlds". One of the songs from the HM Disney Channel TV show and forthcoming on the soundtrack album. Excellent power pop song - another Matthew Gerrard co-write (with Robbie Nevil). The lyrics basically explain the plot of the show. I love Miley's singing on this, it sounds like she's not taking life or the record remotely seriously.

10. Marié Digby - "Fool". No, me either. One of the exclusives, suggesting this is a new name. But don't get excited, this song is very dull.

11. Jeannie Ortega feat. Papoose - "Crowded" Any relation of Kenny perchance? Still, this is a bumpin' R&B tune, with a really good guest rap. According to the profile in the CD booklet (not everyone gets one), "Crowded" is 'a massive hit!' So there! Official website: http://www.jeannieortega.com/

12. Hayden Panettiere - "Your New Girlfriend". Child actress, "the current fresh face of Neutrogena" and having just turned 17 she's moving into pop. This is her debut single, album due in 2007. She's got quite a high, squeaky voice but that sits well on top of this power pop song. Another Matthew Gerrard co-write, with Bridget Benenate and Hayden herself. No myspace yet it seems, but her official site is http://www.haydenpanettiere.com/

13. Jordan Pruitt - "Outside Looking In". The "featured track from Disney Channel's Original Movie 'Read It And Weep'". I like this a lot. Jordan totally sells the "you don't know what it's like to be a teen outcast" lyric, and she has a really mature voice for a 15 year old.

14. Veronicas - "4Ever". Y'all know this obv. To be honest, I'm kinda bored of the Max Martin/Dr Luke sound now, but this is OK. Check out all the angry moms complaining on the Amazon page I linked to above about the lyrics to this!

I've got the Lillix but in copy-protected form. It's out in Canada and maybe Japan, won't be out in the U.S. until next January at the earliest (Maverick's no longer an entity, so they're on mother-label Warners, and this has held things up). You can get it from MapleMusic, presumably with shipping charges tacked on.

Have only listened a few times; a reasonably tuneful rock band, when you come down to it, nothing else remotely as catchy as "Sweet Temptation." There's a very good song called "Get Off Easy" that's got a '60s organ going, though the tunefulness gets a bit buried in the overall sound. That's what I'd say about the album as a whole, actually, though I haven't found a way to analyze what goes wrong in the arrangements. If I could afford to buy albums this one would still be borderline. (But then, "Sweet Temptation" is worth a lot on its own right, and if this were the only way to hear it...)

Haven't heard five of those tracks on the Disney comp. As I've been saying, this hasn't been my favorite year for Radio Disney. Best 2006 songs on the playlist (not counting "Chemicals React," which I'm warming to) are JoJo's "Too Little Too Late," Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," and the Tashbed's "Unwritten." This does not speak well for the state of teenpop. "Too Little Too Late" has stalled in the second tier, spins in the mid-thirties (as opposed to Vanessa Hudgens' boring "Come Back to Me" at 79 spins). Most of the rest is OK, but...

Rising tracks: Belinda "Why Wait" (I have no idea who, what this is), Hannah Montana "If We Were a Movie," Ashley Tisdale "Kiss the Girl."

xpost

When I was in England I don't remember extra shipping charges aside from the overseas rates, but I could be wrong. You could also contact the above PR people if you think you might be able to cover the album somewhere.