On the single "All the Lovers," Kylie Minogue confesses, "Dance. It's all I wanna do. So won't you dance?" Then on the Dolly Parton-gone-disco like "Better Than Today," she ponders, "What's the point in living if you don't wanna dance?" These sum up the spirit of the breast-cancer survivor's dynamic eleventh studio album, Aphrodite.
The title track has the pop princess being sexually aggressive, unlike the usual coy tease we have come to love. "Get out of My Way" and "Put your Hands Up ( If You Feel Love ) " have big choruses, recalling her top 40 crossover "Love at First Sight."
As heard on her previous outings, it has been established that Minogue can "ooh" and "aah" in all the right places. She reinforces this with "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Looking for an Angel." Aphrodite is full of summer jams. This is a fun dance-pop album that others like Paula Abdul or Britney Spears just cannot seem to deliver.
Madonna has a stronger role in writing her material than Minogue. The 51-year-old mom found inspiration while working on the chart-topping opus Like a Prayer, as Madge was nearing the age her mother was when she died. Then motherhood and Eastern spirituality were the drive behind the Grammy Award-winning album Ray of Light.
The Ladies of the Canyon will have a tribute concert to Madonna Thursday, July 29, at Fitzgerald's, 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn. This outfit of Chicago-based female singer-songwriters always guarantees a fantastic show, tipping their hats to the great women of music. When I saw the group pay homage to Melissa Etheridge, the band warmed up to "Vogue." It was flawless, echoes and all.
Expect to see The Ladies of the Canyon "get into the groove" by covering Madonna's staples like "Holiday" and "Express Yourself." For more information, you can find The Ladies of the Canyon on Facebook or visit myspace.com/lotcchicago.
With We Are Born, Sia proves she can branch away from the epic moody music that helped her enter into the public conscience. The majority of the material here is upbeat compared to her breakout, Colour the Small One. Don't worry; she walks on the dark side on a cover of Madonna's "Oh Father" and a reprise of "I'm in Here."
Having seen the bisexual Sia many times in concert, she is extremely vivacious and quirky. Her personality shines throughout We Are Born, especially on "Clap your Hands" and "Bring the Night." In prior tours, Sia has performed "The Co Dependent." This is based on a fictionalized superhero who continually offers support to a needy friend who gets stumbling drunk. Sia makes great artistic strides with We Are Born.
Before "Breathe Me" was used for the series finale of Six Feet Under, Sia was a guest vocalist on Zero 7's full-length debut, Simple Things. She has since contributed to the 2004 follow-up When It Falls and 2006's The Garden, having sung on titles like "Distractions," "You're My Flame" and "Throw It All Away."
Zero 7 has just released the retrospective Record. It baffles me that this band has not received more airplay or more Grammy nominations. On "I Have Seen," Mozez's smooth vocals and the song's groove offer plenty of soul. The electronic-meets-folk "In the Waiting Line" has been licensed to House and Sex and the City. Tackling electronic, neosoul, chill-out and alternative, Zero 7 makes impressive music with its many guest collaborators, like a mellow version of Groove Armada.
The song "What What in the Butt" became a huge Internet sensation. It even appeared on an episode of South Park. Samwell, the artist behind the humorous hit, will be performing at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark, Saturday July 31, as part of his birthday-week celebration. Expect new material and lots of laughs from this hilarious gay Chicagoan.
Electronic artist Allison Goldfrapp openly discussed having a girlfriend on a recent episode of NewNowNext: Pop Lab on Logo. She deftly dodged using a label to define her sexuality. Rumors were amuck online earlier this year when Goldfrapp was photographed with her girlfriend, film editor Lisa Gunning. Goldfrapp's latest, Head First, is out now and features synthesizer-driven goodies like "Rocket," "Alive" and "Believer." Goldfrapp's catalog is loaded with suggestive double meanings—just check out "Strict Machine" and "Clowns" for starters.
I recently saw the "That's Gay" clip on current.tv about the tag line "No Homo." Here, Bryan Safi details how some will make a comment and add the tag line "no homo" to ensure that the comment was just a compliment or statement and clearly was not intended to be a pick up line. This can be heard in music by Kanye West, Cam'Ron and Lil Wayne. Safi hysterically then finds hip-hop songs with overly queer content by the Notorious B.I.G., DJ Quick and the previously mentioned culprit Lil Wayne.
Although it is easy to laugh off the liberal and unnecessary use of "no homo," it still stings. This would not be acceptable if the same situation was used toward any other minority group or subculture. But then again, there are people within the LGBT community who readily discount and put down the bi and transgender communities, so are we any better?
