Going out of your mind, acoustically

Out Of Mind, by Swedish pop singer and professional tree-hugger Tove Lo, is potentially my favourite out-and-out pop song of the year. And the secret of every ridiculously amazing pop song is that, if you strip away all the zings and pows and wallops to leave just the songy bits (technical terms) it still sounds ridiculously amazing.

So here is a ridiculously amazing acoustic performance of Out Of Mind.

Tove Lo - Out Of Mind (acoustic for NRJ)

Here, for the sake of comparison, is the version with all the zings and pows and wallops. Criminally, it has only been watched 60,000 times on YouTube. Stop looking at cat videos, for God's sake.

Tove Lo - Out Of Mind

Now, what are you waiting for? Go and buy this on iTunes at once.

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A few good remixes

Apropos of nothing, here's a quintet of songs from the world of popular music in brand new remix fashion.

They may prove useful for your next work out / soul-crushing commute.

1) Britney Spears - Work Bitch (Monsieur Adi Remix)
Falling just on the right side of ludicrous, this reimagines Work Bitch as the score to a Michael Bay film. Must have cost a fortune.




2) Haim - Forever (Patrick Hagenaar Remix)
One of Haim's best singles, Forever is getting a re-release to give their album a Christmas push. That means a new set of emixes, of which this is the most suitable for a "crazy party" montage in Hollyoaks.




3) Destiny's Chils - Bills Bills Bills (James Blake / Harmonix mix)
This isn't so much a remix as an act of vandalism - but "the internet" seems to like it, so what do I know?




4) Kanye West - Bound 2 (Solidisco Remix)
With shades of Daft Punk, New York's Solidisco turn Bound 2 into a sparkling house track. Bravely, they completely erase Kanye from the mix, leaving only Charlie Wilson's amazing hook and the "uh-huh honey" sample from Brenda Lee's country classic Sweet Nothings.




5) Chvrches - Lies (Tourist Remix)
This is fascinating, if only to hear what Chvrches sound like when you lock up their synthesizers. The answer? Still magnificent.

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The five worst lyrics in will.i.am's new single

Let's face it, Will.i.am is not known for his lyrical prowess. His most triumphant moments include clangers like "Let's get retarded" and the inexplicable "I go hard statues".

Still, he's outdone himself on his latest single, Feelin' Myself, which is about how impressed will.i.am is with will.i.am. He brings Miley Cyrus and Wiz Khalifa along for the ride, and they more than match him in the quest to write the most banal couplet of the year.

Here are the five standout moments.

5) "Feeling fucking lucky like the fucking Irish."

To be fair, Will has accurately captured the uniquely romantic cadence of Dubliners' interpretation of the English language here. But he loses points because it should be "the feckin' Irish".


4) "I get on the floor just to make that booty twerk
Shake, shake that ass like an expert."

Yes Miley, we are keenly aware of your ability to to move your buttocks in a rapid, to-and-fro motion. I'm not sure "expert" is the word, though. People are experts in things like neuroscience and astrophysics. The word you are looking for is "attention-seeker".


3) "Honey on my wrist, a couple of carrots on my neck".

Frankly, this is just a waste of good food.


2) "I tour the whole word like a dirty pirate
To give the whole world some Miley Cyrus."

Are dirty pirates known for disseminating the works of Miley Cyrus to the ports and harbours of the world? Because I'm pretty sure that's not a real thing. I'd wager the lyric originally said: "to give the whole world some mighty syphilis".


1) "Look up in the mirror
The mirror look at me
The mirror be like 'baby, you the shit.
'God dammit, you the shit!
You the shit, you the shit, you the shit'"

This is the song's actual chorus and... Well, I mean... I can't... Just, wow. Really? Really? How do you even? Wow.

Will.i.am - Feelin' Myself

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Pitbull's latest music video stars a pig, swimming in the ocean

And that is all I have to say about that.

Pitbull ft Ke$ha - Timber

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Sam Smith breaks out the ballad

Is any phrase more devastating than "I'm sorry, I love you but not in that way"?

It certainly made Sam Smith go a bit weepy, if his new single is anything to go by (Maybe she'd have thought differently if he'd sorted out that ridiculous haircut).

Sam, as you may recall, is the man on Naughty Boy's La La La and Disclosure's Latch, with a gorgeously soulful voice and a tendency to go falsetto, as if he's constantly being pranged in the nuts with a fork.

Not In That Way follows hot on the heels of his debut single Nirvana, which came out a couple of weeks ago. Sam calls it a demo, but any further embellishment could destroy its fragile beauty. Check it out below.

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Gaga and R Kelly conquer AMAs

Last night, Lady Gaga and R Kelly pulled off a brilliant, White House-themed performance of Do What You Want at the American Music Awards. A million miles away from the cringeworthy dry humping of their SNL show a week ago, it was spectacular, funny, and filled with pathos.

Note to pop stars: This is everything you want from an Awards Show performance. And, I'd argue, the first decent bit of promo Gaga's done for ARTPOP.


The rest of the American Music Awards were a bit dull, to be honest. Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake got most of the awards, and the performances were almost exclusively "the slow ones".

Katy Perry did a pretty but unspectacular Geisha version of Unconditionally; One Direction sang their ballad and TLC reminded us how bad choreography was in the 90s by revisiting Waterfalls.

Shy and retiring pop singer Rihanna did an admittedly impressive rock-orchestra version of Diamonds (with a neat nod to Diamonds Are Forever at the climax).


Oh, and Miley Cyrus performed Wrecking Ball alongside a lip-syncing kitten.

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