30 August 2007 Content warning: self-harm. Regular readers will recall me mentioning how I spent a good part of the '00s and '10s living in Paris. One of the novelties of French music radio and TV was that they'd air the sweary version of English-language hits uncensored. For instance, I'd be hunting-gathering in my local … Continue reading Sean Kingston – ‘Beautiful Girls’ →

26 July 2007 Helping the grammar police with their enquiries here: superstar US electro-R&B producer Timbaland and singer-writer Keri Hilson, plus in the video (below) additional verses by rapper D.O.E. and Timbaland's brother Sebastian. That's a whole lot of people not to catch a typo. In fairness, though, that title is smart: it jolts this … Continue reading Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson – ‘The Way I Are’ →

19 July 2007 Did the world really need solo Black Eyed Peas singles? Did the world really need Black Eyed Peas singles to begin with, says you. Anyway, here we are. This Fergie offering takes her from hip hop, or at least the Black Eyed Peas' dumbed-down concept of hip hop, into country-pop, crossover hits … Continue reading Fergie – ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ →

24 May 2007 One of the red herrings of pop culture is the alternate history: a singer turns down a song, or an actor misses out on a role, or a musician quits a band, only for it to be a smash hit for someone else. What poor judgement, what bad luck, is the thinking. … Continue reading Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – ‘Umbrella’ →

17 May 2007 Akon's bland, sugary voice and bland, sugary R&B hit a seam of success in the mid-'00s: after 'Lonely' and 'Smack That', here's his third Irish number one in two years. As you can tell, I'm not a fan. 'Don't Matter' is a sort of reggae-R&B fusion. It uses Bob Marley's 'No Woman … Continue reading Akon – ‘Don’t Matter’ →

26 April 2007 There's a dedicated ulcer in the wall of my stomach for songs written by men about what they think Women are, can, like or do. And here comes Brian McFadden's latest Irish number one to get my gastric juices flowing like only a song called 'Like Only A Woman Can' can. The … Continue reading Brian McFadden – ‘Like Only A Woman Can’ →

19 April 2007 'Beautiful Liar' feels less a duet than a strategic alliance between the most powerful chart-topping conglomerates of North and South America - a sort of pan-continental pop NAFTA. The video (below) posits them as equals, even down to the similar styling of hair and clothes. There's also parity of namedrop, with Shakira … Continue reading Beyoncé and Shakira – ‘Beautiful Liar’ →

5 April 2007 With its cheerleader-chanting vocals and clapping rhythms, topped with a prominent "you're so fine", 'Girlfriend' certainly owes a tip of the metaphorical hat to Toni Basil's 1981 smash hit 'Mickey'. However, it was a late-'70s US power pop band called The Rubinoos who went lawyer-side at its similarities to the chorus of … Continue reading Avril Lavigne – ‘Girlfriend’ →

29 March 2007 There's a whole sub-genre of '00s landfill indie and alt-rock that soundtracked deathbed scenes in Grey's Anatomy. If you, a Grey's Anatomy character, caught the swelling strains of Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars', for instance, you weren't much longer for this world. 'How To Save A Life', title irony and all, is another … Continue reading The Fray – ‘How To Save A Life’ →

22 March 2007 A lot has changed since 2007 - for instance, you now know 21 Demands by a different name. However, in 2007 a lot had already changed too. 21 Demands came to prominence that year as the runner-up in the latest series of You're A Star, which by now had recused itself from … Continue reading 21 Demands – ‘Give Me A Minute’ →