I refuse to listen to anything that has any trace of this atrocious fucking song in it.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 10:52 (fifteen years ago) link
i don't really rate this but not just because of the voice (which i can tolerate until after the first line of the chorus). more interested in dubbier (i.e. reduced and fx'd fragments of the vocal) 4/4 mixes of the track.
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 10:55 (fifteen years ago) link
i liked "quicksand" although i've heard her other stuff isn't up to scratch.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I liked 'Quicksand' too. I listened to the original of 'In for the Kill' and, although I like some of the slightly unexpected chord progressions (which were a feature of 'Quicksand' too), I find the drum and synth sounds rather abrasive and cheap-sounding. I presume that was deliberate but to me it would have sounded better with richer, less tinny/scrapy sounding synths. Her voice seems to be in an unpleasant register as well. I wonder if the song should have been recorded in a lower key?
As for this remix, it's ok. In a way it exploits the unsettling quality of the vocals.
I'm intrigued by the 'such a loser' and 'totally indefensible' comment above? What is it you dislike so much about La Roux?
― dubmill, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:20 (fifteen years ago) link
- her name. you JUST CAN'T SAY 'LA ROUX' holy shit, you idiot woman- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch- her face. specifically the same blank, unsmiling, unchanging facial expression she wears in every photo and every video, as if it is the same thing as possessing artistic mystique. she looks like a sulky teenage girl, and not in a good way- her voice. as blank, unsmiling and unchanging as her face. shrill, grating, nails on blackboard. one of the most purely awful sounds i've ever heard. obv she makes no concessions to "singing in key" or subtlety or nuance or emotion. completely charmless- her music. just let the 80s gooooooo
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:27 (fifteen years ago) link
read through that post and got to the end - was very surprised it was written by you lex.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:31 (fifteen years ago) link
this record is like sand in my eyes
― caek, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah her voice is so ridiculously autotuned I'm actually grimly anticipating the live performances because I think she may well be able to give Ian Brown a run for his money.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:39 (fifteen years ago) link
i mean, it's not as if it doesn't sound almost identical as annie from norway, which is either a good thing or a getting-to-be outmoded thing depending on how you look at it.
the 80s thing - '80s revivalism has been a musical staple since about '98, but it seems that this is the year the bubble bursts. la roux, little boots, kanye west, flo and the machine, all these are talking about going back to the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of, and in that way the '80s revival could be seen as having finally saturated the hivemind conscience of '09 as opposed to being a trendy point of reference for fashionistas and musos.
it's the impending '90s revival i'm sure you're dreading lex ;-)
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:39 (fifteen years ago) link
btw, haven't heard song above, just "quicksand" which as i say, i like well enough and doesn't seem to have much autotune.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:40 (fifteen years ago) link
She sang with Franz Ferdinand at some awards ceremony and apparently it was a total car crash
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:42 (fifteen years ago) link
She doesn't sound "almost identical" to Annie. This is all just the fifth or sixth reiteration of electroclash we've had this decade and it gets progressively less fun with every Xerox.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:43 (fifteen years ago) link
the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc), which I like the idea of
I like the idea of that too.
Vocally and persona-wise La Roux certainly has to watch it. She does seem to be a little in danger of becoming the new Hazel O'Connor.
― dubmill, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:45 (fifteen years ago) link
she doesn't sound remotely like annie
the eighties ideal of pop stars who make pop music (like MJ, Prince etc)
what does this actually mean? i'm serious, it's an idea i've seen casually referenced here and there, but it really doesn't make sense to me. or at least, it doesn't seem a specifically 80s ideal.
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:46 (fifteen years ago) link
pop doesnt go in italics you tedious prats.
― r|t|c, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:46 (fifteen years ago) link
Annie being about the third.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:46 (fifteen years ago) link
also, there isn't much connecting the aesthetics of the artists you mentioned, apart from their penchant for talking the talk in interviews - ie acting as though they have some sort of higher vision of pop than your britneys and mileys. but we all know this has no bearing on the quality of the music, right?
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:48 (fifteen years ago) link
i genuinely do want to know why she picked "la roux" as her stage name though. that is the one question i would ask her. like, why not "la rousse"? why not go for the actual word? or "le roux" if she wants to be tediously androgynous, even
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:49 (fifteen years ago) link
cos she thickens people.
― r|t|c, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Lex, I think it's something Kanye West was talking about in an interview I read, and he's probably getting a bit lackadaisical about it or how much you'll agree - it's the idea of going back to the idea of pop stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna etc, whose persona and songwriting could be described simply as "pop" as opposed to r'n'b, rock'n'roll, boy/girl band, and appeals almost universally in that capacity. Compared to the popstars of more recent times - Take That, Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Beyoncé, who are arguably marketed towards more specific markets.
Don't know if that's a very good way of explaining it - I guess it's just a want to make great radio music that everyone knows and sings along to without inviting the listener to deconstruct the music too much.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:53 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm not sure Prince fits there
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:56 (fifteen years ago) link
- her opinions. "girls shouldn't play guitars or drums cuz they look butch" - please someone set courtney love on this dumb bitch
― lex pretend, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:27 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark
honest wtf moment here
― warmsherry, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Set Sister Rosetta Tharpe on her
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:58 (fifteen years ago) link
i reckon prince almost certainly does, especially with his aesthetic of introducing many many pop-elements from funk, dance, rock, hiphop into his sound without it diverging from the "pure"-pop element.
― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:58 (fifteen years ago) link
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:42 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
This was at the NME awards and is well worth checking on YouTube (if it's there) coz it was pitiful. I heard that her live performances were being limited coz she's so appalling. And only has like six songs or somthing.
― CosMc (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 12:59 (fifteen years ago) link
He constantly diverged from pop!
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm not a fan of their original tracks but I like the vocal on the remix much better in the context of overblown somewhat off-key female vocals in classic rave tracks.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:01 (fifteen years ago) link
La Roux is much better as a name than La Rousse. It's just more visually striking, ending on the 'x'. It's shorter, more graphic, harder (regardless of it being incorrect French).
― dubmill, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:02 (fifteen years ago) link
grozart, i think in that paragraph you've managed to somehow do a disservice to every single artist you mentioned as well as the entire concept of pop music, well done
(regardless of it being incorrect French)
nnggghhhhhh
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:06 (fifteen years ago) link
oh yeah and a disservice to pop fans who don't want to deconstruct anything, too
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:07 (fifteen years ago) link
lex is boycotting "lil" kim on grammar principles now too
― IRL Consequences by Godley & Creme (sic), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:17 (fifteen years ago) link
bah beat me to the point
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:19 (fifteen years ago) link
Don't get him started on Mötley Crüe.
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:21 (fifteen years ago) link
what does this mean? surely everything he did was considered as and under it as an umbrella term.
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:22 (fifteen years ago) link
when people pine for a new Prince they're talking about an absolute 'does everything - mostly brilliantly' act and it's true there's been a figure like that missing since he set a modern standard. but i suppose people on his level only come thru once in a generation.
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:25 (fifteen years ago) link
Not sure where the idea that Prince was totally pop comes from, he was more like Bowie
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:30 (fifteen years ago) link
What a bad voice.
― u s steel, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:30 (fifteen years ago) link
ah yes Bowie the hugely famous and successful pop star
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Fair enough, I suppose Eric Clapton is a pop star too
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Clapton is primarily a rock guitarist. Bowie is a CHAMELEONIC performer of excellent pop songs such as 'Starman', 'Modern Love' and, of course, 'Little Wonder'.
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:39 (fifteen years ago) link
You Look Wonderful Tonight
... not making a point, just paying you a compliment
― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:42 (fifteen years ago) link
you are all missing the point of how bad this is. I'm still completely at a loss to why this woman is making music, who is her label owner boyfriend? I was hoping this was one of the hardcore sounding tunes skreams been playing out the last couple of months but a dubstep kosheen is completely OTM
― straightola, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 14:23 (fifteen years ago) link
this woman and Kosheen singer's voice are so different tho that despite some conceptual similarities i'm having trouble imagining them singing each other's best known songs
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 14:28 (fifteen years ago) link
http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/1930659/300.png
should have dropped a bet on how long it was before kate moross got involved.
― mark e, Tuesday, 24 March 2009 14:36 (fifteen years ago) link
that horse has an adam's apple
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 24 March 2009 14:44 (fifteen years ago) link
had the misfortune of hearing the original song in a shop the other day. ugh.
i really like the remix. everything is so painfully simple it really highlights that vocal. it sounds like it took about 5 minutes to make.
so i guess its a question of whether or not you can put up with the vocal. yes its overblown, epic and if you know who she is... annoying i guess. but i heard this without knowing anything about her, thinking it was just some unknown vocalist skream got to sing on a track. it'd seem silly to turn around and be all oh rite she's a dick, don't like this anymore.
― Crackle Box, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:31 (fifteen years ago) link
the deal breaker is really the "doin it for a thriiiillllllll..." bit in terms of actual worst singing moment. hard to imagine her looking like she was doing anything for a thrill so far too.
― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:36 (fifteen years ago) link
jesus that was bad.
― Blackout Crew are the Beatles of donk (jim), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Song of the year so far imo.
― DavidM, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:00 (fifteen years ago) link
if by song of the year you mean suggest ban then yes
― straightola, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:35 (fifteen years ago) link
The lyrics are like something Vince Clarke scribbled on the back of an envelope and then threw away in disgust back in 1982.
― a gift from your mind in the form of the perfect beat (snoball), Friday, 18 September 2009 19:39 (fourteen years ago) link
it's weird that you cite lady effing gaga and her innumerable attention-seeking outfits as something less visually memorable than la roux - not into gaga at all either (though christ, am nearing crumbling point on this one) but next to her, elly jackson is an indie boy in t-shirt and jeans.
"the future" = the 80s?
idk how to respond to an argument that her piercing, nails-on-blackboard shrill is "neutral" :/
― lex pretend, Friday, 18 September 2009 19:43 (fourteen years ago) link
i mean gaga wore a massive bow in her hair which was MADE OUT OF HER HAIR - one stupid quiff has nothing on that
― lex pretend, Friday, 18 September 2009 19:44 (fourteen years ago) link
http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2007/08/05/previews/Lady%20GaGa-ADB-013713.jpg
this is one of the more conservative Lady Gaga pics on the internet
― so says i tranny ben franklin (HI DERE), Friday, 18 September 2009 19:49 (fourteen years ago) link
She has brown hair in that pic and looks like Chan Marshall! That is nothing like how she looks at other times! My most reliable visual signifier for Lady Gaga is "no trousers" but she does wear them sometimes; I'd be much less confident picking her out of an identity parade than La Roux who just always looks exactly the comforting same.
― Gravel Puzzleworth, Friday, 18 September 2009 19:59 (fourteen years ago) link
Is it just me or is La Roux the most boring music ever?
― no mate bruce springsteen is the american jimmy barnes (King Boy Pato), Friday, 11 December 2009 13:51 (fourteen years ago) link
The shit voice doesn't help but by golly, is it fucking boring.
I apologise if this is too obvious and/or behind the curve, btw.
― no mate bruce springsteen is the american jimmy barnes (King Boy Pato), Friday, 11 December 2009 13:53 (fourteen years ago) link
kbp have u https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmE6LwowsQ&feature=player_embedded
― conezy (cozwn), Friday, 11 December 2009 14:02 (fourteen years ago) link
i still can't believe Ben Langmaid co-produced (with Rollo) this old track I liked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYcawl29KQ
― mdskltr (blueski), Friday, 11 December 2009 14:08 (fourteen years ago) link
The original "In For The Kill" is surely much, much better.
― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Friday, 11 December 2009 14:18 (fourteen years ago) link
(And no wonder The Lex don't like them, as they sound like something from around 1982, i.e. before time began according to The Lex). :)
― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Friday, 11 December 2009 14:20 (fourteen years ago) link
this is being used in a video game ad here in the US and damn it's pretty massive
― waka shame (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 27 January 2010 07:56 (fourteen years ago) link
Where did they go? At this rate they'll need another smash like "Bulletproof" or "In For The Kill", or the difficult second album will be very difficult indeed.
Waiting three years following your breakthrough album is quite a risk to take. Shame, such a promising act.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 13 March 2012 20:11 (twelve years ago) link
New album is going to be 'Nile Rodgers inspired' apparently. Not sure if he's had anything to do with it himself.
― owenf, Tuesday, 13 March 2012 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
This still rocks the dancefloor in my experience.
― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Tuesday, 13 March 2012 21:01 (twelve years ago) link
Hmmm.. Nile Rodgers = great, but also known for a rather "organic" style, and La Roux is not one act that should become "organic".
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 13 March 2012 22:03 (twelve years ago) link
she's still a vile human, but "bulletproof" is a classic
― 3hunn O))) (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 13 March 2012 22:04 (twelve years ago) link
yeah I don't know how far she's going to go with the Nile thing. I'm ok with her over synthpop revival whatnot but I fear full on Chic freak would show her voice up somewhat.
― owenf, Tuesday, 13 March 2012 23:33 (twelve years ago) link
not to say it couldn't be great
― owenf, Tuesday, 13 March 2012 23:34 (twelve years ago) link
Chic is OK, but I don't want the synthpop revival to stop ever. It was a mistake when synthpop became untrendy in the late 80s and it will be again if it becomes untrendy once more.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 14:15 (twelve years ago) link
Couldn't some inferior act, such as Beyonce, do the Chic thing instead?
kanye's verse from his rather dumb remix of this track contains my favorite rap lyric:
"i'm goin in, and i'ma go hardi said what's the point if there ain't no scarsa little teeth marks? blood on the collar?that's real love nnnnnnnngghghgnnnaannnaannnnngghhhhh [pronounced so that it rhymes with 'collar']"
― caulk the wagon and float it, Wednesday, 14 March 2012 14:37 (twelve years ago) link
welcome back, Geir!
― thuggish ruggish Brahms (DJP), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 15:23 (twelve years ago) link
I know some people hate La Roux with passion, but these tracks are sounding rather promising to my ears. And yeah, apparently Nile Rodgers is actually involved in some of the tracks, if not the whole thing. Now if only she got rid of that horrendous outfit...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLP38UkwpBwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGGdw6Na3Schttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8r0b2yK9g
― daavid, Thursday, 1 August 2013 18:57 (ten years ago) link
New single. Finally!
It's OK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM
― daavid, Wednesday, 14 May 2014 04:03 (nine years ago) link
http://youtu.be/kOTEx7p-IkM
― daavid, Wednesday, 14 May 2014 04:04 (nine years ago) link
ugh, never remember how to embed.
― daavid, Wednesday, 14 May 2014 04:07 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTEx7p-IkM
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 06:09 (nine years ago) link
thx
― daavid, Wednesday, 14 May 2014 17:30 (nine years ago) link
Proper comeback single. Apparently "Lay me down gently" was just a buzz track. It's got Nile Rodgers' fingerprints all over it. Except I think he wasn't involved. I'm not sure about the vocals, but otherwise I love it.
― daavid, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 00:26 (nine years ago) link
i like "let me down gently" better for some reason but maybe it'll grow on me
― dyl, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 02:59 (nine years ago) link
Though I love "Sexoteque", and there's a couple of other decent tracks, the new album's definitely a step down from the first one
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 16:46 (nine years ago) link
a friend recently recommended me their debut album and i was sceptical as i couldn't remember what they sounded like at all except remembering disliking the singles at the time but i was kinda shocked to find it some of the most viscerally unpleasant pop music i've ever heard. i have no idea how this album had multiple hits with its incredibly flimsy-feeling synthpop, mediocre hooks, and the way her voice sounds
― ufo, Wednesday, 16 January 2019 11:18 (five years ago) link
the two big singles were legit great and the rest was serviceable enough
― dyl, Thursday, 17 January 2019 04:59 (five years ago) link
I suspect that, even though her second album was a massive improvement with some actually great singles, it being ignored by the media was a way to atone for her sins commited on that terrible debut.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 17 January 2019 07:06 (five years ago) link
"in for the kill" is a 10/10 classic to me
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 17 January 2019 07:56 (five years ago) link
original obv not the remix
the true 2009 classic (the skream remix) that the nostalgia thread needs
― ||||||||, Thursday, 17 January 2019 08:14 (five years ago) link
Confession: I love love love Trouble in Paradise and I can’t believe there’s barely any discussion of it here
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Wednesday, 17 July 2019 05:20 (four years ago) link
It’s super fun and it was an album I played a lot that summer. “Uptight Downtown” and “Sexoteque” were in heavy rotation at one of my bars and several people asked what it was, particularly with the former.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, 17 July 2019 17:37 (four years ago) link
New single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS6egctCzqY
As much as I like Trouble In Paradise, I was expecting more of a departure, especially considering how long it's been. I'm not too impressed.
― daavid, Thursday, 31 October 2019 19:47 (four years ago) link
― nathom, Thursday, 31 October 2019 19:52 (four years ago) link
Interview in the indie today is an interesting read
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/la-roux-interview-new-album-supervision-gay-lgbtq-elly-jackson-a9319376.html
― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 6 February 2020 10:33 (four years ago) link
I think I'm eternally fated to like La Roux more than almost anyone else does. New album's a bit of a step down from Trouble in Paradise but it still bangs. is there no room in this world for a (slightly) poor man's Christine and the Queens?
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Friday, 14 February 2020 15:17 (four years ago) link
Her cover of "Mr. Natural" on the new Whyte Horses LP is pretty nice.
― afriendlypioneer, Friday, 14 February 2020 15:39 (four years ago) link