Something Kinda Oooops

Despite all my prentensions to being (1) a serious music journalist, and (2) a massive Girls Aloud fan, it somehow managed to slip my attention that (1) they did an acoustic set on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge yesterday at the same time as (2) tickets for their new tour went on sale.

Luckily, using the internet I can go back in time and hear the sublime Radio 1 performance for myself. But all the broadband cables in the world can't help me get a decent pair of concert tickets. Let's hope they add more dates soon, otherwise I'll cry into my cornflakes like a big girl.

For those of you who are as dimwitted as I am, here are the Radio One performances in all their close-harmony glory. The cover version of Amy Winhouse's Rehab will send shivers up your spine.


Love Machine - acoustic


Rehab

PS Ticketbastard still has some seats left in the rafters of Wembley.

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MP3 Frenzy: Girls Aloud edition

Those of you who read the website reguarly (hello, mum!) will know that I can't let too many days pass without mentioning Girls Aloud.

As luck would have it, the girls have just scored their first ever number one album with The Sound Of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits, thus providing me with an excuse to congratulate them. Perhaps I could send them a donut. They look like they could do with a bit of fattening up.

If you haven't already bought the CD, why the hell not? It not only collects together nine of the ten best pop songs of the last of the 21st Century (the other one is Britney's Toxic) but it also has a bonus disc of rarities and alternative mixes.

And, yes, that includes the version of No Good Advice where they say a rude word. (Clue: it's not 'bum').

The problem is, there are a couple of songs missing. Two of the band's B-sides, Androgynous Girls and Crazy Fool, are widely regarded amongst obsessive fans as being superlative examples of the Girls Aloud oeuvre (that's french for egg, I think).

But fret not! Discopop Directory is proud to present you with high-quality MP3s of those corking classics - for review purposes only, of course.

Enjoy it, bitches.


Androgynous Girls


Crazy Fool


Shooting the video for forthcoming single I Think We're Alone Now. Yes, it's a cover of the Tiffany song and, yes, it's terrible.


Why would anyone let this photo be taken? What happened to aloof, inaccessible pop stars with a sense of mystique? (Hint: Girls Aloud are sponsored by Sunsilk.)


But don't they scrub up well?

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Something special

My sister and her boyfriend (who have just left for an 18-month round the world trip, the bastards) have been raving about a new singer from Northern Ireland for absolutely ages. But being a musical snob who thinks he knows better than anyone else - hence this blog - I roundly ignored their recommendations and carried on merrily with my life.

Crushingly, it turns out they were right all along and this guy - Duke Special - is really something, er, special.

My initial impression was that he sounded like Sufjan Stevens with an Ulster accent. But, in the interests of accuracy, I listened to a bit of Stevens' last album this morning and discovered that I was, once again, quite wrong. Drat! And double drat!

While Special does share some qualities with Stevens - most notably the bruised, romantic lyrics and lush string arrangements - he carves his own niche with a touch of ragtime piano and orchestral swing that calls to mind Gershwin and, perhaps, Rufus Wainwright.

You might also have noticed that his image is a bit more Lister out of Red Dwarf than the immaculately-coiffeured Michigan musician. The Duke calls it "hobo chic". I'd go with "unkempt" myself.

He's been gigging around Ireland for years, which is where my sister discovered him. He put out a couple of EPs on local label Hag Records, which were a bit rough round the edges, but now he's been signed to V2 (home of Liberty X!) and re-recorded the best bits.

The resulting CD, Songs From The Deep Forest, is beautiful. Stand-out tracks include Last Night I Nearly Died, Freewheel and new song No Cover Up. It'll make a great winter album - perfect for listening to curled up in a smoky room with a glass of port in one hand and a classic Dickens novel in the other, while young urchins press their nose against the frosty window pane, begging for scraps.

It'll still be alright if you listen to it on the bus home to Brixton, but I recommend recreating the above tableau if at all possible.

In the meantime, here's some footage of Mr Special performing Portrait on Jools Holland last week:

Duke Special's website

Buy the album on Amazon

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Outrageous

Lawks-a-lordy, Britney Spears has filed for divorce from her husband / backing dancer, after a record breaking (for her) 777 days.

That's 775 days - or 18,593, hours - longer than her previous marriage. Therefore, Kevin Federline was 339 times more successful at being Britney's husband than Jason Alexander. So, congratulations to him. Perhaps he can go back to his ex-girlfriend and their two children now.

Britney, of course, is a classy lady with fine, upstanding christian morals. That's why she let K-Fed (henceforth to be known as Fed-Ex) know about the divorce proceedings the traditional way - by text message. While he was on TV. Ouch!

See the "footage" - such as it is - below.



Having dealt this cruel blow, Britney retreated into privacy to mull over her two failed marriages and how the divorce would impact on her young children.

Not really! Instead, she went ice skating at the open-air and not-at-all-private Rockefeller Center in New York.

In unrelated news, Britney has started recording a new album.

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Fame at last!

My "hilarious" Westlife ruse has made it onto the front page of the best pop website of them all - Popjustice.com.

This proves that I am skill. It is a cold hard fact.

That is all.

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Frowny faces

Despite my heartfelt plea last week, Alesha's new single, Knockdown, went into the charts at a shockingly poor number 45.

We canvassed some music fans for their opinion. Here's what they said:

Sandra Green, Lab Technician
I was so upset that I stuck my hand to my face with superglue.


Anna Nomaly, Botanist
Was I supposed to go out and buy it? Isn't it enough to add Alesha to my myspace friends? Sheesh.


Alex Smalldog, Thermonuclear Scientist
Woof! Woof woof woof! Woooooof!


Toby Oxford, Metal Wrangler
I worry that this will have a chilling effect on the careers of those other two out of Mis-Teeq.


Jessica Fnaeuil, Kindergarten Student
This cheese tastes a bit funny.

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