Singles Round-Up

Writing two posts for The Real Real World at the moment, and while I'm catching up on new moosic and cool things since I've been away, I thought I'd compile a round-up of the best/loudest/most promoted singles at the mo.



Nicki Minaj - Your Love

Sassy, foul-mouthed and somewhat prickly, Nicki Minaj has every chance of turning into a ball-shredding ladette who can drink beer faster than you (and we wouldn’t want that). This time, her razor-sharp lyrics are blended with a sample of Annie Lennox’s “No More I Love You’s”, softening the sharp edges from her otherwise gritty and aggressive rap persona.



Mark Ronson - The Bike Song

What’s this? Mark Ronson ditched brass? He’s stopped covering other peoples songs? But he’s still getting guest vocalists in to do most the leg work? And you can’t really get a sense that he’s put any effort in at all? Yet its still his name on the bloody album? And is that Kieran from The View singing on this one? Wait, who are The View?



Everything Everything - MY KZ UR BF

Yes, EE fever has well and truly struck - and after knockout sets at Reading and Leeds, perhaps the Mancunian’s eerie brand of yelp-pop will spread like butter on hot toast. This, one of the standout tracks from debut album ’Man Alive’, demonstrates the four-pieces panache for clever quick-time lyrics and thought-provoking imagery at a high enough pitch that your Labrador will be able to enjoy it, too.



Cee-Lo - Fuck You

Or, if you listen to Radio 1, ’Forget You’ (what a clever clean-up). The obscenity-splattered solo single from Gnarles Barkley’s crooning front man is a blatant middle finger to a cheating ex, with Cee-Lo cheerfully yelling “and while there’s pain in my chest/I still wish you the best/with a ’fuck you’ ooh-ooh-ooh.” Upbeat whilst still having plenty of sting, it. puts a nice sing-a-long spin on being completely done over. It also sounds like that Muller corner song, ’I’ve got my head, got my face, got my fingers got my lungs’ or something. Which is BAD. But everything else is good. So yea.



The XX - Islands
These guys are, in my opinion, the ones who deserve the Mercury Prize the most. This year, the artists nominated are all of a very high calibre (particularly Foals, who have outdone themselves) but I think the XX wholly deserve it. ‘Islands’ is a reverberating statement of smoky ecstasy; husky lyrics sinew around an echoing loop, with each repetition bringing renewed beauty. The motif of “I am yours now/so now I don’t ever have to leave” gets more heartfelt, more wonderful, more meaningful with each breath.