It's Britney, Bitch

That is how Britney Spears' comeback single, Gimme More, starts.

Clearly, it is a stroke of genius on par with shaving off all your hair and going slowly mental in full view of the public.

But does the song continue to achieve this stratospheric level of pop brilliance? Or does it freefall straight into the dumper?

And are the lyrics (about being "centre of attention when you're up against the wall") a toe-curling swipe at the paparazzi, or a brave admission that Britney has ballsed up the last six months of her life? Or just some words someone wrote on a bit of paper and told Britters to sing during the six lucid minutes she enjoyed back in July.

There is only one way to be sure: Listen, stream, or download an MP3 of the song using all of the buttons below. Then tell me what you think.


Britney Spears - Gimme More (Sorry, but I've had to take the MP3 down - some random website was hotlinking to it and eating up all of my bandwidth. If you want a copy, email me or do a google search. It is all over the web.)

There is plenty of boring technical information about the song here
Meanwhile, Popjustice has its say over here

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How to make Friday afternoon disappear

1) Click on this link
2) Play the game by clicking on the little confetti dots and trying to string together a chain-reaction of colourful explosions
3) Play it again
4) Oh go on, just one more time
5) Say goodbye to the rest of your day
6) Don't say I didn't warn you

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Frickin' Unicorns!

(Before we get to the frickin' unicorns, here is something about a rap group)

About four years ago, when I got my first iPod (it was made of cement, had buttons the size of your dad's hands and stored a massive eleven songs) one of the first albums I uploaded was Northern State's Dying In Stereo.

I listened to that record so many times, it would probably still feature in my all-time most-played list, if only my PC hadn't gone all melty in 2004.

Often likened to a female Beastie Boys, the band had a snarky, playful delivery over some home-produced lo-fi beats. One of favourite lyrics was on the title track:
Edmund Hillary couldn't climb this
Parsley sage rosemary and thyme this
Step off, your flow is weak
Save that talk for Dawson's Creek

But, since their debut I've heard precious little about the New York-based, all-female rap trio. I remember readng they'd signed a deal with a major label and then... nothing.

Well, it turns out they had a big old row with Colombia Records and stormed off in a big-booted girly huff to make a record on an independent label. According to their website: "We teamed up with producer Chuck Brody of Shitake Monkey (Wu Tang Clan, Yoko Ono etc.) and Adrock from the Beastie Boys and began making our new album.

"We wrote some rock songs and some hip hop songs and some other kinds of songs. We pushed the limits more than ever in terms of what a hip-hop song might sound like."

And, listening to the results, it turns out that this genre-defining hip-hop sounds a bit like a rap version of the theme to Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

Worse things could have happened, I suppose.

The album is called Can I Keep This Pen? and it came out in the US this week. The first single is Better Already and the video features a frickin' unicorn.

We love frickin' unicorns.

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Awesome new Michael Jackson video

No, not that Michael Jackson. What kind of idiot do you take me for?

Mitchell Brothers - Michael Jackson (Calvin Harris remix)

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Hurricane blues

One of my colleagues has just come back from New Orleans, where she was investigating how the town's music scene has struggled to recover two years after Hurricane Katrina tore out its soul.

She's written a series of (excellent) features, which are running on the BBC website this week.

My personal favourite is a heart-breaking interview with blues musician Chris Thomas King, who has just released a new album of music inspired by the disaster. As he rightly points out, Katrina is the perfect subject for the blues.

Since 1984's Blue Beat, King has sold more than 10 million albums. From the 1990s, he started combining his traditional blues skills with turntables, samples and hip-hop, directly inspiring "Dirty South" rappers like Bubba Sparxx and Nas. You might also know him from his roles in Hollywood films O Brother Where Art Thou and Ray.

But, despite his success, the multi-instrumentalist is still living on a building site in downtown New Orleans a full 24 months after the levees broke.

You can, and should, watch Caroline's report here. And below, I have added a video of King performing with his father in Los Angeles. Because I am nice like that.

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Gig Review: Girls Aloud

So, off we went to sunny Sussex for the now annual trip to see Girls Aloud in concert. Having missed the greatest hits tour earlier this year (they dropped from the ceiling in military uniforms, apparently) we had to settle for what was basically a glorified PA in the historic grounds of Arundel Castle.

Before the band's 45-minute, ten-song set, we had the pleasure of being seranaded by Jamelia - who was criminally at the bottom of the bill - and Shayne "fucking" Ward.

This man and his dead-eyed ambition frighten me almost as much as his sizeable fan-base (sizeable in terms of numbers and body mass, by the way). He mugged his way through six flaccid songs with all the passion and excitement of an Aldi Peter Andre.

In every respect, Ward is a throwback to the way pop used to be before Girls Aloud came along to shake things up. I am not joking when I tell you that the the chorus to his next single goes "We've got a you hang up, no you hang up - kind of love". It beggars belief.

Anyway, on to the main event...


These days, Girls Aloud exude a stage-savvy confidence that befits their ample expereience and hit-laden back catalogue.

Nadine belts the tunes out with the power of an elephant on steroids - only with much better legs and hair. Nicola has improved massively, too, easily ranking as the second-best singer of the night. "We love the ginger one," one punter shouted repeatedly - although I'm not sure that was a tribute to her vocal prowess.

Sarah is the spritely cheerleader, getting the crowd to throw their hands in the air (they just didn’t care, apparently) and bounding around like a demented labrador during, appropriately enough, Jump. Her recent dalliances with Primal Scream and the Camden set were last night represented by a buzz-cut hairdo, reminiscent of a bottle blonde indie Kylie.

The chart-orientated set was lapped up by the crowd, with Love Machine and Sound of the Underground the best-received numbers. But the response to the group's new single Sexy! No, No, No… was strangely muted.

"Have you heard our new single?" asked Kimberley.

"..." said the crowd.

The performance didn't do much to sway them, either, with the backing track distinctly quieter than previous numbers. It was the one time when the magic vanished - which could prove interesting when the record's first chart placing comes in this weekend.

That aside, it was a stunningly assured concert by a band who were clearly enjoying being out of the recording studio and back on stage. And its pretty impressive that, in the current pop climate, a band like Girls Aloud can headline their own outdoor gig. Next stop: Wembley Stadium?

Setlist:
Biology
Wake Me Up
Walk This Way
Whole Lotta History
Sound Of The Underground
Jump
Something Kinda Ooooh
Stand By You
Sexy! No, No, No
Love Machine

PS As you might be able to tell, I haven't been able to find any photos of the girls' appearance in Arundel - but here's a montage of images from their concert in Wales last week, pilfered from www.girlsaloud.net

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