Pop Parfait :: The X Factor Edition

Pop Parfait :: The X Factor Edition - bryanb

Posted by bryanb

Ok, so not exactly a full on X Factor edition, but two of the highlighted performers did cut their teeth on that “talent” show whether as a judge or performer. Below are some recent highlights from the global world of pop music, and all it’s beautiful/ugly permutations.

Alexandra Burke (of X-Factor fame) calls upon the oh-so-now talents of a certain GaGa producing RedOne, and his key tapping fingers are in prime form here on Broken Heels, bouncing along with a strangely honky-tonk rhythm and just for juxtaposition sake, that damn “ayyy!” sound effect of a million thugs nodding in agreement. (Which, as a side note, was also used to odd effect on the Little Boots’ Remedy…for more, what…urban street appeal?) Anyway, it’s a stomper and a shoulder shaker which better have a video featuring some drag queens performing in towering Jimmy Choos.

Alexandra Burke – Broken Heels (300 kbps)

Also produced by RedOne, Dumb has all the elements of a perfect modern pop song—electro kazoos, happy hardcore synths burping in the chorus, and is that a bassoon I hear heralding the breakdowns? Brilliant!

Alexandra Burke – Dumb (171 kbps)

There’s not much to say about the Cheryl Cole cut, Make Me Cry—slinky bass line, obligatory curse word thrown in for “drama’s sake”. Cheryl does her best Sophie Ellis Bextor meets Sugababes moment here with soft, but robotic vocals that do their best to not draw attention nor distract from their syncopated surroundings. It’s breathless and shimmering with an almost timeless quality. Classic pop.

Cheryl Cole – Make Me Cry (180 kbps)

I really wonder if Wil.i.am wakes up in the morning saying, “Today I am gonna put a Miami bass beat over a Fleetwood Mac tune, just because. It’s so weird, it just might work.” And, on this second Cheryl Cole track, Boy Like You, it actually kinda does, in a sleazy way. I never thought Little Lies would be refracted and utilized as a backing track for a hip-pop duet, but yet, here it is, and I like it, a lot. It’s jerky and rough, and like Wil.i.am’s previous solo work and tracks for Fergie, the vocals are simply another instrument to tweak and finesse into laser precise fragments that act as ornamentation to his futuristic compositions.

Cheryl Cole – Boy Like You (ft. Wil.i.am) (190 kbps)

Polow Da Don perplexes me. His bag of tricks is even smaller than Pharell’s, or Sean Garrett’s, or even Bangladesh’s. He has one beat—a thundering, rolling, Thor hammer that smashes every song he produces into tiny bits, barely coherent, but instantly attractive. He’s used this effect time and time again but damn if it doesn’t still sound fresh. It’s a time signature and minimalism so rarely used in modern R&B that it practically propels the songs into “important” territory. Sex Therapy, the first single off of Robin Thicke’s new album, is no exception to this rule. In fact, it perfects it. Robin’s coos and Maxwellian falsetto flit and glide around the enormous percussion, creating a wonderful tension that’s dangerous and sexy all at once.

Robin Thicke – Sex Therapy (175 kbps)

:: BONUS POP TREAT ::

I know I am so late to the game on this cut, but Mishon is so darn cute on this bubbly electro tune, that I just had to throw it in. I am hoping the rest of his soon-to-be-released album follows in the steps of this track, which reminds me a lot Lloyd’s Get It Shawty—innocent and yet sexy at the same time.

Mishon – Just A Kiss (190 kbps)