Robyn

!!!

She was on a remix of Sexual Seduction back in ’07 or whenever, and the new song is on the announced BT pt2 tracklist

part 2 is floating about...

"In My Eyes" is very good at being a Robyn track but "Hang With Me" is my fave on first listen. Not sure whether if "We Dance to the Beat" is a joke -- "We dance to the beat of the continents shifting under our feet". I laughed out loud at least.

I wasn't expecting the track with Snoop to be a full stomp uptempo banger, but he shines in that setting.

Include Me Out, Criminal Intent and U Should Know Better are the stand-outs beside Hang With Me. Good EP tho.

"Include Me Out" is holy moly. BAM

has anyone been to any of the All Hearts shows? she killed it at webster hall the other day (kelis was great too)..my neck hurts from dancing so much. and i caught the drumstick she threw into the crowd!

she's a beast live and such a pro about it.

I saw her at OSHEAGA last weekend, but Kelis cancelled last minute.

so what is ILM's opinion about Body Talk PT2? i'm just getting this now.

now i see two comments up thread, i thought this just leaked but it has been out for a few days.

not out until 24th Sept here. also costing 33% more than vol 1! BOOOO.

I think part two works better as a whole than the first one. At this stage if I made my own compilation of the two I would leave off Dancehall Queen, Hang with me (acoustic) and Jag ven et dejlig rosa off part one and maybe just We Dance to the beat off this latest one.

The full version of Hang with me is really great and a very good single choice, she's going to have an amazing Singles collection one day.

Criminal Intent sounds like an update of Curriculum Vitae from Robyn.

Indestructible is pretty special, if they do a full version of it for volume three it could be in the same league as The Girl & the Robot and With Every heartbeat.

U Should Know Better is my favourite at the moment, the chorus keeps getting stuck in my head. As Johhny Fever said earlier Snoop sounds great on this kind of song.

the phrase "include me out" bothers me more than like even 'come and take a ride on my discostick'

I thought I was the only one. Nice tune though.

Oh man, just hearing "We Dance to the Beat" for the first time and loving it.

Really *beautiful* video for the single version of "Hang With Me". Might be my fave vid this year in fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3a2qoyONVA&feature=av2n

What a great video. I have stopped bothering (or more accurately never bothered) trying to feel a personal connection to musicians but that makes me want to, well, hang with Robyn.

I love Robyn. I love Hang With Me. I like the video. What is it you guys love about it so much? Isn't a standard (though well shot) artist on tour video?

On a purely technical level it's a very well made video; beautifully shot, edited and composed in general. Also, the director owes a clear debt to Andrea Arnold's style (her film Fish Tank for example), which is no bad thing imo.

But I also think it gives a real glimpse into the touring life of Robyn and her band, in a very honest and direct manner - from the coach trips, to the instore shows, to fanclub stuff, interviews and then a festival gig. I guess I just find this interesting as her videos are usually much more stylised, this has a very beguiling openness to it.

The things that make it my fave this year though: the rollercoaster clip and the pure joy on her face (and the way this is cut with the drop of the chorus), the intercutting in the finale between the bedroom practice and the big show (and Robyn giving it heaps in both), and the tiny detail around 1:35 of the young girl who is clearly a *huge* fan - that look on her face is how I want great pop music to make me feel: completely stoked with excitement, a bit embarassed at being spotted and then just giving in to it.

I guess I just find this interesting as her videos are usually much more stylised, this has a very beguiling openness to it.

agreed. this is a really lovely video. one of my favorites from her for sure, and it's not as if she's totally slacking in the video department.

its loveliness was very subtle; it really snuck up on me. i watched this video for the first time thinking, "kinda boring huh" but there was something entrancing about some of these shots that drew me back repeatedly over the next few days. i don't think i ever watched the "dancing on my own" video more than once or twice.

I just heard the new version of "hang with me". WOW. Robyn is BACK.

Her voice annoys me on this EP: that quaver underscores her "vulnerability" in too grating a manner.

there's something a little patronising about 'hang with me' but I've known girls like that

I'm starting to think that I like Chord Changes Robyn and am lukewarm on Ride a Vamp Robyn.

Body Talk Pt. 2 streaming at guardian.co.uk

What's the verdict?

Guilty.

Of?

...blowing my mind, again. I've only had one proper listen through, and whilst nothing has leapt out in "Dancing On My Own" style, Pt. 2 is another delight. It certainly made my walk home from work fly by, and seemed oddly apt for the blustery sunshine. I gotta get tickets for her show next month.

I'm sure we'll poll these eventually; in the meantime Pt. 1 >>> Pt. 2

Where is the love for "Love Kills"? It's the best song on Pt. 2.
BTW: Pt. 2 > Pt. 1

Part 2 is way better than Part 1 just for lacking 1's multiple cringeworthy moments. There will be an album of the year-quality EP when all three parts are said and done but she's sure drawing it out.

i think they're comparable. was pleasantly surprised - for some reason i had lowered my expectations for this one, but it's good all the way through. again, nothing super tremendous, but the combined 3-part thing is shaping up to very impressive.

"Love Kills" is weird - it made me cringe the first few times but now I look forward to it

It's impossible for me to grasp how anyone could like Part 2 more than Part 1. Part 1 is gripping, progressive, and perfectly produced. Take "Hang With Me" of Part 2 and it's barely worth your time.

Reasons why Part 2 is better than Part 1:

1. No 'Fembot'
2. Only one ballad, which is much better than any slow song on Part 1
3. Has some floorfiller disco tracks like "Love Kills" and "U Should Know Better".
4. Overall better songs, more coherent.

Part1 has one big advantage: "Dancing On My Own", but still.

Fembot chorus is A+ so shut up

"Fembot" is probably my favorite Robyn song ever, after "Dream On." The whole pop-diva/robot theme is becoming played out, what with similar work from Christina, Rhianna, Kelis, and Janelle Monae (not to mention Robyn's previous work).

"Fembot" has been the only track that's really stood out of the lot. The chorus is infallible, the way she makes the phrasing and rhyming work despite the odds. She rhymes "system," "condition," "transistor," "switches," "position," "ignition," and "demolition" by focusing on the "ih" sound instead of the final syllable. It's the catchiest thing she's done in her career. Then there's all the joyous little bells and whistles, like her moans throughout much of the song (which only become apparent in the outro) and the second layer of vocals she does in the final chorus ("heeee" / "Baby" / "AHH haaa"), which scream Michael Jackson.

More than anything else, "Fembot" serves as the perfect bridge between "Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do" and "Dancing on My Own." Which for me is why Part 1 destroys Part 2: it's pacing is perfect. The only track that doesn't quite stand up is the final Swedish ballad. I know why it's there, and I guess it's a nice nod to tradition, but it seems superfluous after the acoustic "Hang With Me".

I will agree that Part 2 seems more "coherent", but only in the sense that Part 1's array of producers didn't seem to do much to work towards one sound. But the notion that there are "overall better songs" on Part 2 is pretty much laughable.

i think this review is largely otm: http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-09-01/music/give-robyn-her-knock-back/

I don't think Fembot is her best song, but yeah, what he said. xpost

I adore "Dancing on My Own," didn't much care for "Fembot" and haven't heard the rest of the Body Talk stuff. Though, both are arriving in the mail this afternoon(!) from Amazon, so I'll be more informed in short order.

Indexed: I hope "Fembot" works as an effective bridge, I didn't really like it in isolation.

soooo

i have to admit. Dancing On My Own has really come together as a whole song for me, and it pretty much destroys everytime.

Rich is absolutely OTM:

If you love her voice, great; if you don't, it will cloy you to death. Robyn's interpretive skills are minimal at best: She opens her mouth and smiley faces come out. Her perpetual upward lilt and limited range give her delivery a detrimental sameness

Really excited about Pt. 2 now. Does anyone know if their distribution in the US is to larger chains, or will I have to seek out a record store?

Indexed, I don't know how you can get that deep into internal rhymes and then ignore all the more important and obvious horrible stuff going on around it. Fembots have feelings too? What the hell is she talking about? "I'm sipping propane topped with a cherry"? "Once you've gone tech you ain't never going back"? Does she get a pass for this stuff because she isn't a native English speaker? The "I've got some news for you" tag is sing-song awful and her voice is extra cloying in the verses. She doesn't even sound especially robotic--the backing vocals do that for her. And not to turn this into Common People chapter 2 but the word "fembot" has a Rush Limbaugh meaning over here in the States that I can't ignore.

"Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do" is also a stupid song for anyone over the age of 13 despite the shoutouts to adult problems. Again the production is interesting but to enjoy it you have to hear a grown woman say "don't fucking tell me what to do" over and over again.

most lyrics sound pretty stupid to me so i don't pay attention to them. it's all fine by me.

skip, when was the last time a pop star was hailed for their meaningful lyrics? In the context of pop, I primarily care about two things: production + melody. The song isn't "about" anything. She probably just wrote down a bunch of words that somewhat relate to technology and computers and worked them into a song. My question isn't, 'What does she mean?,' it's 'Who cares?'

The production + melody equation stands up on the whole of Body Talk Pt. 1, but fails throughout much of Pt. 2. Here's where I take issue with the crux of Rich's argument: for the most part, I just don't care. I very rarely listen to this type of music for the quality of the voice. In fact, it is regularly the pop singers with the best chops (i.e. Christina and Mariah Carey) who put out the most bland albums. Say what you will about Britney's talent as a singer, she's had an incredible musical career due to her production and melodies (let's not start down the 'superstar'/image road).

The songs I dislike most on Part 2 are "Love Kills" (which has great production) and "We Dance to the Beat." They fall flat because the melodies aren't there. Let Beyoncé sing "Love Kills" and it'd still fall flat, because the melody is boring.

I'd like to say a couple more words on Robyn and what she's trying to do as a whole this year, which is really something that should be admired. Pop music is typically exciting because it comes in 3 minute snip-its. Try listening to a pop album released in the last decade, however, and by its 73rd minute, you'll be clawing your ears out. Then wait three years for the artist to tour and run out of singles to finally put out a new record. What Robyn's doing should be the model for pop. Release 30 minute albums, because who wants to listen to more than 45 minutes of this stuff? And release them often because it boosts your profile each and every time, and keeps the consumer/fan excited for what's next. I sure hope she doesn't quit at the end of 2010 and wait another 5 years to put out her next batch...

Try listening to a pop album released in the last decade, however, and by its 73rd minute, you'll be clawing your ears out.

rong