It's a sad sad planet: I wish my cat could talk

Let's start off with some 'urban music' (silly term), a genre that is often going to be overlooked on this blog.

Big Boi - Shutterbug

The new single by the one half of Outkast definitely has an eighties feel. Some part really reminds me of an existing track, but for once, I can't put my finger on it. Big Boi struggled with a writer's block a couple years back, but he's back with a full album now and it's getting rave reviews everywhere.

Janelle Monae - Tightrope

One of the contemporary hypes in the genre, this 25-year old artist tries to cover up her underaverage body length by going for the cartoon-ish look and some silly dance moves. I'm not completely blown away by this track, however, I did see a live performance on of the big late night shows, and she does put on a good show.

N.E.R.D. - Hot and fun

I never really connected with N.E.R.D., and this new single isn't changing my mind. The bassline here is just a rehash from "She wants to move". Weak.

I also checked out the pitchfork site again after months of absence, and found these 2 gems right here.

The Pipettes - Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen

The Pipettes is a girl group formed in Brighton in 2003. They had a hit with "Pull shapes" and emulated the girl group sound from the sixties. They could've been the right band at the right place, they released their album in the same year as the "Back to Black"-album, the catalyst for the whole retro-revival that is still going strong as we speak/type. Unfortunately, they never had the song material to back it up, and it seemed like more thought went into the little on-stage dance moves than the songs.

After the tour in 2008, the two remaining original members left the band. The group now comprises of Gwenno Saunders and her little sister Ani. A new album "Earth vs. The Pipettes" was just released. You probably should forget about it as soon as possible, HOWEVER this little song (Blondie meets Kylie meets Vampire Weekend on a hawaian trip?) here is quite amazing. You might have to sit through it a couple of times for the brilliance to take effect. The whole space theme is a cheap gimmick, I know. But you have to love the corny lyrics, the camp-y video and the supercatchy chorus. Guilty pleasure of the week.

Carissa's Wierd - Die

I guess in the late nineties, Carissa's Wierd had their share of fans, although I don't think a lot of people heard about them in Europe at the time. Now, they're mostly referenced as the previous band the singer from Band of Horses was in. Note that, however, he was not the main vocalist in this band. I like this track a lot, I'm not really sure whether it is really representative for their back catalogue, but this track can be filed under emo.

Putting some songs in the mix I'm hearing frequently on the radiowaves right about now.

Ginger Ninja - Sunshine

A couple of years after Alphabeat, another Danish band (silly band name though, guys) comes around and penetrates the European radiowaves. Catchy and hard-to-resist track with a cool video, musically, it could've been a track by Phoenix.

I Blame Coco - Self machine

Sting's son had a moderate radiohit a couple years back with Fiction Plane, and now Sting's daughter Coco Sumner mounts the stage for her 15 minutes of fame, sounding distinctly more synthpop than her older brother. And yes, that's actually her singing.

MNDR - I go away

Not a song that you'll actually hear on the radio, but I'm a biiig fan of the "Bang Bang Bang"-track by Mark Ronson, so I decided to check out MNDR, whose singer is featured on the Ronson track. They're a pretty unknown elektro duo that has yet to release an album, but they're getting a lot of buzz due to the Ronson collaboration. I recommend this track (intro almost sounds like Joy Division), hard to describe, sound a bit like Robyn in slow motion or something.

Because we just can't get enough of those fuzzy tracks that emote the whole summer feeling, 2 more albums in the genre just got released, so here we go.

Best Coast - Goodbye

The album by Best Coast is getting good reviews. They like to promote the image of being slackers that hang around in their couch getting high. Their sound isn't too far from The Raveonettes spectrum, less noisy, more heavy. Great, supersimple lyrics too: "I can't get myself off the couch", "I lost my job, I miss my mom, I wish my cat could talk" and "And nothing makes me happy, not even tv or a bunch of weed".