Annie (From Norway)

Extensive touring is also a way to crack the US market, but I guess that is more sufficient for "rock" acts :)

Why are they making "I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me" the big single instead of "Songs Remind Me of You" which is 10000x better?

There's a chance this album could be a hit because I can see it getting some crazy Pitchfork love and turning it into the Arcade Fire of 2008. Didn't they name "Heartbeat" their single of the year for 2004?

The problem with that is that Annie's completely changed her sound for this album. A lot of the album is Xenomania- but not amazing experimental Xenomania like "If You Go" (SEB) and "Biology" (GA), like standard melting-pot Xenomania (the less memorable tracks on Tangled Up). It's still good-to-great but it isn't going to appeal to the same crowd because it doesn't have that wispy/frail keening quality to it anymore. Think "My Love is Better" and not "Songs Remind Me of You" (which apparently dates way back and is therefore more related to Anniemal than to Don't Stop).

Am I the only person who's hearing the "amazing experimental" Xenomania side in "Loco"?

But yeah, I agree with you Keaney, Annie's definitely going for a more straightforward pop sound on Don't Stop. I don't see it as a problem though. I'm quite happy with it.

I was in the middle writing of a long detailed post on why I though Annie was never gonna "make it" commercially when my stupid computer crashed. Damn!

There's a chance this album could be a hit because I can see it getting some crazy Pitchfork love

Yeah but Anniemal also got some crazy Pitchfork love. Right? And it still flopped (kind of).

Does Pitchfork ever give anyone crazy love for two albums in a row?

I have a feeling Pitchfork aren't like this one as much anyway, precisely for the reasons Keaney is stating.

^aren't going to like

I can see the 6.3. I'd love to be proved wrong but I have a slightly sinking feeling. I don't know why, exactly, but I seriously think that the Annie album is going to be the first blood in what will lead to a Xenomania backlash (no I don't know what to make of Gabby Kill Me either so I'll just leave her out of it). Perhaps I am just the biggest pessimist of all time.

That said, haters to the LEFT because I like every song off the sampler and will be paying import prices to have this album sent to me in its week of release because I am a good little UK chart sheep, just like I did with all the other flop pop albums I've ever loved.

Xenomania backlash already in full-swing. "Tangled Up" is awful compared to the other GA records, the Gabby Kill Me record is pretty terrible (except "Don't Wanna Go To Bed Now" which is properly amazing) and while "My Love Is Better" sounds terrific it STILL is doing that fucking "write half a verse and sing it twice" thing that marred so much of Tangled Up.

"Bad Times" is the song I'm most keen to hear.

"Bad Times" has the most amazing chorus. I like it even more than "Songs Remind Me Of You"

edwardo, what do you mean by "write half a verse and sing it twice"
Can you give an example?

Think "Can't Speak French". There's "half a melody" since the same melody is used twice to cover the single verse.

Hmmm. for some strange reason I can't remember the verse part of Can't Speak French. Anyway, I guess to me the melody of the verse is like the lyrics: unless they're really good or really bad I don't pay much attention to them.

The second verse of "My Love Is Better" goes liek this

Once upon a time, you said you'd challenge me
I said alright I'll see you in my dreams
And for the last time, shake you up shake you up
Bet you'll have a fun time, waking up waking up
Once upon a time, you said you'd challenge me
I said alright I'll see you in my dreams
And for the last time, shake you up shake you up
Bet you'll have a fun time, waking up waking up

The second verse of "Close To Love" goes like this:

I've been wrestling in a real big mess
With the guy I love but I can't say yes
Now my only bet is take the pain my best
'cause I can't regret what I ain't done yet
I've been wrestling in a real big mess
With the guy I love but I can't say yes
Now my only bet is take the pain my best
'cause I can't regret what I ain't done yet

DO YOU NOTICE SOMETHING HERE. yes! Miranda Cooper has got lazy.

LOL, I hadn't notice. But see, now you've just kind of ruined it for me!
(talking about my MLIB, I already didn't like "Close to Love" at all).
I know, I had to ask.

Poor Moonbaby, she can't catch a break.
(Poor Moonbaby, she can't catch a break.)

I would like to mention right now that of all the songs outselling "IKUGHM" on UK iTunes the one that makes me really despair for the future of humanity is "Iris."

…"Iris" and two versions of Kid Rock's "All Summer Long"…

Going with a Richard X production as the first single was really the wrong tack. For better or worse, the Xenomania sound hits bigger with radio. X's fortunes waver with the popularity of who he's working with - he has absolutely no X factor chart-wise.

In defense of Xenomania though, I challenge you all to carefully listen to "Loco" (this is the last time, I promise) once more and tell me it's not full of wonderful little tricks like bassline changes and dissonant background synths. The song's only fault is of course the ridiculous "loco/no-go" line. Again, Miranda's fault.

I like "Loco", mind you. I'm just saying that if you compare X's output, say, post-Chemistry to pre-Chemistry, there's a real dearth of top-draw material. Only "If You Go" really is the "No Good Advice" league.

top-drawers ffs

"I'm Falling" and "Control of The Knife" are even more crucial examples of that laziness. But I've got to admit that I never really pay much attention to lyrics anyway, so I don't mind.

But I do mind those compressed, flat-sounding guitars that Xenomania have been so fond of lately. More synthesizers, less guitars, please. I blame Franz Ferdinand. Bring on the Pet Shop Boys.

I've got love for "Loco", though. It's grown on me like crazy (err).

Going with a Richard X production as the first single was really the wrong tack. For better or worse, the Xenomania sound hits bigger with radio. X's fortunes waver with the popularity of who he's working with - he has absolutely no X factor chart-wise.

The real mistake was going with "Chewing Gum" part 2, considering the fact that "Chewing Gum" was a flop!

True dat!

"Control of the Knife" is probably the laziest thing in that they didn't even bother with a second verse! I just listed "Close To Love" as an example of how they repeat everything into the ground (that verse is, of course, followed by pre-chorus that's basically four lines sung twice!). Also, the preponderence of Xenomania songs that are basically verse-chorus-verse-chorus (i.e. "Sweet About Me") is a huge step back from something like "The Show" (chorus 1-verse-chorus 2-short bit with oohs-chorus 2-amazing middle eight bit-chorus 1). They're just not trying!

Yeah, it's like they've just run out of songs to glue into one monster of a Frankenstein song like "Biology". So instead of using a few brilliant segments, they turn each of those brilliant segments into a not so brilliant song (by Xenomania's standards, obviously).

Can you imagine what would happen if they intentionally tried to write odd structures, though? It would be diminishing returns off "Biology"- that is, variations on Sexy! No No No- to which the response should be, in fact, "NO NO NO".

With Annie, too, there is a real problem with the voice, or lack thereof- strong vocals can be coaxed out of at least two of the Girls, Sophie's one of my favorite voices ever, Kill Me's knockoff Winehouse… what's Annie? She sounds pinched AT BEST. All the excitement has to be pushed into the instrumental to keep the voice from being overworked.

With Annie, too, there is a real problem with the voice, or lack thereof- strong vocals can be coaxed out of at least two of the Girls, Sophie's one of my favorite voices ever, Kill Me's knockoff Winehouse… what's Annie? She sounds pinched AT BEST. All the excitement has to be pushed into the instrumental to keep the voice from being overworked.

Incidentally, I just put on "Long Hot Summer", whihc LOTS of people said was crap and the beginning of the end, and fuck, it sounds fifty times better than every song off "Tangled Up" that isn't "Call The Shots".

I dunno, I can't comment on the Gabby stuff cause I haven't listened to it carefully. I think she's probably the artist that has worked with Xeno whose style I like the least. But I think you guys are maybe being a bit too harsh. IMO Tangled Up was a solid album, just not an improvement upon Chemistry. The thing I'm worried about though is not liking the Pet Shop Boys stuff.

Most of the songs isolated from Tangled Up just sound weak and unfinished but I still think that that repetitiveness works quite well in the long form of the album.

"Long Hot Summer" is amazing and has always been amazing! I was so surprised to read in an interview that Brian Higgins thought it was crap!

I can't imagine liking the PSB stuff. "Fundamental" sounds well flimsy two years down the track - only four songs worth keeping.

x-post obv "Long Hot Summer" is amazing,it sounds like Betty Boo.

should we have a Xenomania backlash thread and leave this for Annie?

"Long Hot Summer" is a wonderful record, yes.

Yeah, a Xenomania-only thread would be a great idea. There's a lot more to Annie than Xenomania. And I mean A LOT MORE.

I wish she had worked with Röyksopp again.

So wait is this album Xenomania all the way through then?

She should have gone either for the real big budget and got Stuart Price in or have embraced the 'never going to sell any records so why bother?' and worked with Lindstrom & Prins Thomas or Alan Braxe or something. The live version of Heartbeat she played at Glasto was like its own Jacques Lu Cont mix and was transcendent.

So wait is this album Xenomania all the way through then?

Half Timo, half Xeno, split in the middle by "I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me".

...and "Songs Remind Me Of You", also a Richard X track.

should we have a Xenomania backlash thread and leave this for Annie?

...or we could revive this thread or this one.

considering the fact that "Chewing Gum" was a flop!

#25 really not that bad all things considered (esp. when looking at how the later Anniemal singles did)

Does Pitchfork ever give anyone crazy love for two albums in a row?

Sure. Lots of acts have consecutive discs rated 8.0 or higher by Pitchfork, e.g., The New Pornographers (3 straight discs); The Hold Steady (3 straight discs); Arcade Fire (2 straight discs); Deerhoof (8k straight discs); Destroyer (2 straight discs); Dizzee Rascal (2 straight discs); M.I.A. (2 straight discs); Radiohead (maybe 3 -- 4 straight discs); Spoon (2 straight discs); Sun Kil Moon (2 straight discs); others. I'm being pretty conservative here, too: Lots of the albums I refer to above got much more than an 8.0 rating (8.0 is just an easy baseline).

From http://xenomanianews.blogspot.com/:

There have been a few rumours floating around these past weeks regarding Annie's upcoming album and single. Supposedly, a source from her label claims that Don't Stop will suffer some changes, with Annie being sent back to a studio to record new songs. Because of this, her new album and single may be delayed until early 2009.

Last week Annie wrote a post on her blog which confirmed that she is indeed going to work on new songs: "This week I'm going to a studio in London, will be working some new songs....I'm really excited. Been writing some lyrics, and have lots of ideas bout the production..... yehaaaa...... will tell more later". Nothing else has yet been confirmed.

Annie's first single from Don't Stop, "I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me", spent one week in the UK singles chart, reaching #54. The expected second single, "My Love Is Better", was originally a collaboration with Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and Girls Aloud. However, Girls Aloud's label demanded their vocals to be removed, as they were "due to do promotion at the same time". Annie has since recorded all the backing vocals herself.

It doesn't sound good.

i think THE GUARDIAN curse was put on her via that big piece they ran in june; that whole '...and now ANNIE is becoming a proper pop star...' thing.
then the single went to number 54.

Maybe she was set up for failure by that very early review that called the album a modern pop classic, or something like that. Sometimes that kind of high-praise is the worst thing that can happen to a disc.

^OTM