As you’ve likely heard by now, Donna Summer passed away this morning in Florida at age 63.

It’s an incredibly sad day in music, especially for dance lovers: Donna Summer truly was (and forever will be) the Queen of Disco. The iconic songstress has dozens of songs to her name–nearly a hundred singles alone, in fact–that, to this day, are still lodged in the public’s consciousness: “Love To Love You Baby,” “Hot Stuff,” “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “On The Radio.” Once sweated out to on the dance floor of Studio 54 and Danceteria, now being covered terribly on American Idol and tacked onto film trailers for slapstick comedies. Still, they’re with us.

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Mya‘s back!

Much like every other act this side of the ’10′s, Mya’s gone and shed her R&B roots in favor of a good ol’ synth machine to assist in her dance-inspired return to the music scene–perhaps inspired by her recent stint on the ninth season of Dancing With The Stars. Well…that, or she’s gone and listened to Pop radio for, like, fifteen minutes to see what the kids are listening to these days.

To my giddy delight, the singer will attempt to break two major territories at the same time: America and…Japan! Eee! DID SOMEONE SAY J-POP? ^.^ (Oh God. I’m sorry for that.)

After the release of her first Japanese album in 2008 (Sugar & Spice), Mya is now continuing to pursue a Japanese recording career with “Fabulous Life,” released on January 19 on iTunes Japan.

As The Prophet Blog reported, the song was co-produced by Jeff Miyahara, producer of such gems as AI‘s “Fake (feat. Namie Amuro)” and Crystal Kay‘s “One.” It was also co-produced by Fredro, the Swedish producer responsible for one of my favorite tracks from Jessica Mauboy‘s latest album.

“Fabulous Life” is genuinely adorable–a clearly J-Pop inspired, glittery little electro-pop ditty. It’s like Britney‘s “Anticipating”! Except more Japanese and stuff. I LOVE to bits and pieces!

If it were warmer ’round these parts, you know I’d be blasting this jam with the windows down while I was driving around town. For now, I guess I’ll just listen to it while I’m shoveling.

The second single in question–the Cedric Gervais-produced “Love Is The Answer”–is Mya’s offering for the North American territories.

A bit RuPaul, a dash of Donna Summer circa 2008 (Crayons, y’all!), Mya’s other offering blares into the speakers with an onslaught of ravey, hi-octane synthesizers a la Madonna‘s “Celebration.” “Love is the answer to all your problems,” the singer sweetly croons atop the hectic chorus. It’s no “My Love Is Like…Wo,” and certainly no “Case of the Ex,” but it’ll do for now.

Click here to listen to an extended preview of “Love Is The Answer,” courtesy of E! Online.

According to the E! article, Mya is currently working on both her seventh and eighth studio albums. We here at MuuMuse can’t wait to hear ‘em–especially that J-Pop record. Sock it to me!

“Fabulous Life” was released on January 19. (iTunes Japan)

Ever since their bouncy 2004 debut Bright Like Neon Love, Melbourne-bred electro-pop rockers Cut Copy have always remained faithful to the original, ’80′s-inspired synth-pop sound developed on such songs as “Saturdays” and “Future.”

2008′s follow-up, In Ghost Colours, found the band working to with complex new instrumentation, incorporating angelic choirs, distorted guitar riffs and heaven-sent soundscapes. Crunchier cuts like “Lights & Music” and “Hearts on Fire” demonstrated Cut Copy’s increasing New Wave influence, yet ultimately remained true to their underlying pop penchant.

Zonoscope–the band’s third studio album, to be released on February 8–finds Cut Copy taking their sound to still newer heights. Namely, outer space.

“I know we’re going crazy, but I need you now,” lead singer Dan Whitford sadly croons above a series of signature Cut Copy echoed coos and hazy, ambient electronica on the chorus of the album’s first single and opening track, “Need You Now.”

The song is a solid representation of what lies ahead: Intergalactic bleeps and blips, tribal disco rhythms, bleak lyricism and atmospheric sounds recalling that of French electro-master M83 all come together to texture the space-pop opus that is Zonoscope, Cut Copy’s most seamless and cohesive collection yet.

“Pharoahs & Pyramids,” another highlight on the album, finds the band working on top of a dazzling disco synth pattern, an abundance of hand-claps and bright, light electronica, somewhat reminiscent of Hercules & Love Affair‘s ’90′s House revivalism, while songs like “Take Me Over,” “Corner of the Sky” and the Beach Boys-esque “Where I’m Going” all recall the bouncy pop revelry of the band’s origins.

Aside from the album’s catchier cuts, it’s clear that Cut Copy have also decided to take a few chances and push their musical limits beyond the confines of a typical track on Zonoscope: “Strange Nostalgia for the Future,” for instance, works against a strangely looped string of organic electronica reminiscent of something one might hear on Sigur Rós‘ Takk…, while “Sun God,” the album’s epic 16-minute tribal closer, plays like a 2011 update to Donna Summer‘s iconic disco number, “I Feel Love.”

“Please, please, please, won’t you give your love to me?” Whitford repeats again and again as the track slowly builds on top of grooving synthesizers and a driving percussion (plus cowbell!), ultimately giving way to spine-tingling waves of ambient rhythms and danceable synth grooves. It’s gorgeous, to say the least.

With dreamy electronica production and sublime, hook-filled pop songcraft, it seems the sky is not the limit for Cut Copy–they’re too busy exploring the stars.

“Take Me Over”

“Take Me Over (Thee Loving Hand Remix by Tim Goldsworthy)”

Zonoscope will be released on February 8. (iTunes)

YAY! Time for new Keri Hilson!

The video for “Pretty Girl Rock” has just debuted, Miss Keri Baby’s second single from her upcoming sophomore album, No Boys Allowed. (WATCH)

With a concept similar to the iconic Pepsi Generation commercial by Godney, the underrated songstress cycles through the decades to pay tribute to some of the finest leading ladies in the industry: Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, TLC–they’re all here. (And fabulously spot-on, no less!)

I absolutely adore this clip.

On a side note, that opening lyric (“My name is Keri, I’m so very / Fly, oh my, it’s a little bit scary”) has been stuck firmly on repeat in my brain for several hours now. Make it stop. MAKE IT STOP!!!

“Pretty Girl Rock” was released on October 12. (iTunes)

MuuMuse Approved Tracks for the Week of April 25, 2010

5. The Runaways – Cherry Bomb
Saw the biopic on Wednesday. It wasn’t very good (aside from Dakota Fanning’s spot-on performance), but I’ll be damned if I haven’t been blasting this ever since.
4. Robyn – Cry When You Get Older
Layered electronica and complex rhythms. The dancehall queen takes it to another level yet again.
3. Lolene – Rich (Fake It ‘Til You Make It)
My life’s mantra at the moment.
2. Robyn – Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do
This song is killing me. Is it all about the song title? Yes…yes it is.
1. Diana Vickers – Once
The song is not a new addition to my playlists by any means. I am just too proud of this chick for officially hitting #1 on the UK Single Charts today. Congrats, Diana! Totally deserved. Album review coming this week.

Oh, 2009. What music to my ears! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…and one of the greatest years in Pop music since–well, since 2007.

Sorting out this list was truly difficult. All I want to do is reach out my arms and squeeze all of these little albums together for one, snugly show of musical appreciation. Honestly, fabulous year in music. It’s totally not fair to list you all in descending order based on quality, but hey…people love that shit. Just remember: You’re all winners in my book!

Well, except for you in the back there. You’re ugly.

Without further ado…

—-

40. Leona Lewis – Echo
39. Electrik Red – How To Be A Lady Vol. 1
38. Rupaul – Champion
37. Esser – Braveface
36. David Guetta – One Love

35. The XX – XX
34. Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted
33. Amerie – In Love & War
32. Mariah Carey – Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
31. Blake Lewis – Heartbreak on Vinyl

30. Ciara – Fantasy Ride
29. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
28. Imogen Heap – Ellipse
27. The Gossip – Music For Men
26. Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care

25 .Cheryl Cole – 3 Words
24. Y.A.S. – Arabology
23. Amanda Blank – I Love You
22. Frankmusik – Complete Me
21. Annie – Don’t Stop

20. The Saturdays – Wordshaker
19. Little Boots – Hands
18. Pet Shop Boys – Yes
17. Shakira – She Wolf
16. La Roux – S/T

15. Nadia Ali – Embers
14. Utada – This Is The One
13. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
12. Sally Shapiro – My Guilty Pleasure
11. Fever Ray – S/T

10. Polly Scattergood – S/T

Painfully under-reported here at MuuMuse, Polly Scattergood’s debut is a weird, warbling pop triumph, complete with broken vocals and quivering falsetto. The album, which brings to mind a cross between Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Kate Bush, takes a neurotic, autobiographical dive into the perils of pills and psychosis.

Just please…don’t touch her.

9. Miike Snow:  Miike Snow

MuuMuse Review

Looking back, the surprise wasn’t that the Swedish hit-making duo Bloodshy & Avant would come up with some brilliant tunes on their own venture into the music scene, but that the sound they would produce would be like nothing we’d ever heard before. Rock, folk, glittering electronica…throw it all in a blender, and there you have it: The debut album from Miike Snow.

8. Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts

MuuMuse Review

Trading in the screaming, carnal stomps of their debut LP, What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf?, the Noisettes have returned–and this time, they’re feeling nostalgic.

Keeping the best hooks from the doo-wop era in mind, Shingai Shoniwa and the rest of her UK troupe have produced some of the best feeling, best sounding tunes of the new century with their second LP. Combining classic melodies (“Wild Young Hearts”) with contemporary production (“Don’t Upset the Rhythm”), the band has once again proven themselves as one of the most innovative, musically intriguing acts of the new century.

7. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

Bat For Lashes’ second LP Two Suns, is a mysterious, ethereal creature.

Inspired by landscapes and created in isolation, the album is as mysterious as it is compelling, providing enough distant howls (“Glass”) and spooky echoes (“The Last Sound”) to make the casual listener want to flick the lights on while listening at night. At the same time, warm, enveloping numbers, including one of the year’s best songs, “Daniel,” keep the album burning bright long after the final embers flicker down.

6. Peaches – I Feel Cream

MuuMuse Review

What else is in the teaches of Peaches? Apparently, a whole lot more than you’d ever expect.

Hitting harder than ever, Peaches’ went for the jugular on her raucous fifth LP, I Feel Cream. While songs like the Donna Summer-esque “I Feel Cream” and “Lose You” hinted toward a next-level variety of disco inspired music-making, the remainder of the album’s punchier numbers, including “Serpentine” and “Trick or Treat,” have since become instant Peaches classics, reminding us that the real Miss Nisker still knows how to hit it hard.

5. Tiësto: Kaleidoscope

In five words…Indie Takes to the Dancefloor.
MuuMuse Review

It’s one of the few albums that ended up sounding as good on the speakers as it does on paper: The King of Trance meets the voices of the independent music scene, from Tegan & Sara, to Metric‘s Emily Haines, to Tilly and the Wall‘s Kianna Alarid, as well as a few familiar faces (Calvin Harris, Sneaky Sound System).

A stunning, slamming body of work (and a whole fuck-load of fun), Kaleidoscope may not have appealed to Tiësto’s trance purist fans, but it sure made music sound better in 2009.

4. Röyksopp: Junior

In four words…Swedish and Nordic Delight.
MuuMuse Review

Röyksopp is probably one of my favorite electronic acts of all time, and with the release of their March effort Junior, it’s becoming easier and easier to explain why.

Perhaps the greatest definition of “smart pop” of the year, the Nordic duo have combined just the right amount of trickling, fluid electronica, heavenly strings, and pounding bass to create some of most savory pop confections of the year. Couple the beats with vocal contributions from some of pop music’s most accomplished Swedish songstresses, including Robyn, Lykke Li, and The Knife‘s Karin Dreijer, and you’ve got a nearly unstoppable collection of intelligent, dancefloor-ready musique.

3. Florence + The Machine: Lungs

In three words…The Beast Within.
MuuMuse Review

Certainly the most impressive artist debut in recent history, Florence + The Machine’s Lungs is an immense collection of macabre, magical music that transcends the limited confines of genre. Not pop, not rock….just a body of music surging with carnal energy and an insatiable rhythm, all thanks to fiery lead singer Florence Welch.

From the stampeding chaos of “Dog Days are Over” to the roar of “Howl,” all the way into the last, glittering notes of “You’ve Got the Love,” Lungs is as close to flawless as a debut could ever sound. Though the word is often overused in modern society (which is a shame), there’s nothing else that can quite describe what comes out from this album aside from “Epic.”

As time goes on, the music grows even sweeter. Just remember to play it louder, louder each time…

2. Rihanna – Rated R

In two words…Radio Killer.
MuuMuse Review

It’s tanking on the charts, it’s only bubbling under on the radio, and it’s her least hit-heavy album ever. But I’ll be damned if, two months after it’s initial leak, it’s not my most played album of the year.

This is 2009′s greatest “album” album; a cohesive product of media frenzy and pent-up emotion. The odds that this album would even be created are shocking as it is. I mean, here’s one of pop’s most commercially viable, radio-friendly artists, who’s decided to turn full circle and send a big middle finger to the label that created her by making a daring, haunted album full of anger and anguish without a trace of that Good Girl Gone Bad formula. Want to hear another “Umbrella”? Well, fuck off. You’re not finding it here.

Killer, damning cuts such as “Hard,” “Wait Your Turn,” and “G4L,” all take Riri to a darker, confident place than ever before, leading to one of the greatest surprises of the year.

It’s Rihanna’s first artistic statement, and for that, she’s earned my full attention.

One more time for the year: VIVA LA RIHANNOIR!

1. Lady Gaga: The Fame Monster

In one word…Monster.
MuuMuse Review

With the release of a certain single back in October, Gaga managed to turn my hatred on its head, cause me to issue a public apology, and quickly morph me into a full-fledged, unapologetic fan.

While I’ve already gone through it in my review of the album, it bears repeating: The Fame Monster is indeed a monster. Eight perfect slices of hook-laden pop, all wrapped in a delicious ’50′s-horror inspired visual campaign. Murderous live performances, a stellar accompanying national Monster Ball tour…it’s a beast with such bite that Alejandro’s still weeping himself to sleep at night. The Fame Monster is a stunning addition to the growing back catalog of the 21st century’s most important and influential entertainer.

In a sea of gangsters, liars and thieves, of false prophets and seedy politicians, Lady Gaga is the only public figure I can truly hold accountable for having followed through on her campaign promise: She is saving the world, one sequin at a time.

As if there were any question, 2009 shall heretofore be known as the Year of the Gaga.

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches…check out your Chrissy behind now.

On her fifth studio album, I Feel Cream, the Queen of Electrocrap has decided to let her hair down (wayyy down if you’ve seen the video for “Talk To Me”) and invited some super cool collaborators into the creamery. Among them? A slew of the most exciting movers and shakers of alt-electronica, including Soulwax, Digitalism, Drums of Death, and most extensively, Simian Mobile Disco‘s James Ford. As a result, most of the album offers a wealth of complex electro-encrusted gems never before encountered by the likes of Peaches. Don’t worry, though–she’s got this.

As with all of Peaches back catalog, the album is mostly lined with skittish, electro-stung up-tempos, including the sugary-sweet bounce of “Trick Or Treat,” the noisy build-up of “More,” and the faithfully minimal opener “Serpentine” (2009′s contemplative response piece to 2003′s “I Don’t Give A…”). Then there’s the self-described “electro-soul” first single, “Talk To Me,” which features a strut-fest of swagger that simply begs to be delivered live on her upcoming tour.

“Never mind my age, it’s like I’m breaking out of a cage,” she moans in the middle of the foot-stomping chaos of “Show Stopper.” While the album is rife with allusions to Ms. Nisker’s age (having just turned forty in November), Peaches keeps her Teaches as sexified as ever, urging her listeners to suck that fat and lick her crow’s feet. “Almost as old school as me…I’m gonna send you back to school,” she taunts atop the series of grinding, industrial synths in “Mommy Complex.” Did I forget to mention Peaches was an elementary teacher once? Too real.

But perhaps the greatest surprise hidden within Cream are the numerous mid-tempos including “Lose You,” the best song Annie never recorded. “I Feel Cream” is another stunning highlight, a gritty, winding re-interpretation of Donna Summer‘s signature “I Feel Love” suited with one of the slickest bridges (about two and a half minutes in) that I’ve heard in a long time: “Let’s get suspect, let’s get ripped, every little defect gets respect” she coos across a high-wire of jagged synths.

It’s only with the plodding “Billionaire” that the artist seems to get a bit too mired in the super-slick production from her buddies, sounding more like a Peaches song slowly deflating atop uneven electro slaps.

Though the album’s production value is at an all time maximum, the Queen of Nazzty holds her own against the torrent of hard synths and buckets of drippy electronica. While I’ll always know Peaches best for her most minimal of work, it’s nice to see that she’s expanded her repertoire with Cream. It’s not the greatest album she’s ever done, but unlike some of the other reigning Queens of the music industry (including, I dare say, Pop), the songstress keeps it legitimate with this undeniably Peaches affair.

Click below to hear more from Peaches and pre-order her new album, I Feel Cream!

On Saturday, I was sewing my own cheeseburger. Why? Because that’s the sort of thing you’d actually find me doing on a Saturday night. It was, as they say in Britain, great fun.

But aside from that, I also found myself perusing this week’s Billboard Magazine with the intention of reading the Lily Allen interview. Leafing through the back pages, I happened across the Billboard Dance Charts to come across a shocking find: “Fame (The Game),” an album track from Donna Summer‘s latest album Crayons, positioned at #4 on the charts!

When did that happen?!

Don’t get me wrong–”Fame” is one of the few tracks that I can truly label as “enjoyable” from Crayons. There’s something ever-so-slightly epic about the track. I can still envision Lady Summer strutting down a red carpet along with the hectic spoken-word verses on the track, getting primped and prodded along the way, until a final camera flash sequence in the chorus. Too far?

Err…Well, that appears to be the exact performance of the track on Summer’s latest tour. I knew I should have been a tour director.

Anyway, #4 is no accidental feat. As a result, I decided to dig deeper into the professional mixes…And voila! Puzzled no more…The mixes are F-A-B!

The radio edit of Dave Aude‘s rendition is a driving, testosterone-fueled pumper, while Ralphi Rosario‘s edit serves up a throbbing synth sensation.

Then, add a little more funk, a dab of glam, and a whole lot of piano chord in order to concoct the fantastic Dan Chase edit, a mix which almost entirely re-invents the sound of the original.

DL: Donna Summer – Fame (The Game) (Mediafire)
DL: Donna Summer – Fame (The Game) (Dan Chase Radio Edit) (Mediafire)
DL: Donna Summer – Fame (The Game) (Dave Aude Radio Edit)(Mediafire)
DL: Donna Summer – Fame (The Game) (Ralphi Rosario Radio Edit) (Mediafire)

Could this be her fifteenth #1 dance track? According to the ever-reliable Wiki, “Fame (The Game)” is now due as an international single on February 28th.

On a side note, being the professional blogger I am, I thought it appropriate to subscribe to Billboard. That way, I could always be up on the charts and their ever-surprising entries. I found it odd that there were no subscription inserts in the magazine, and it wasn’t until I logged on to Billboard.com that I found out why: It’s $300 for a full year’s subscription! What kind of fuckery is that? We’re in a depression, music industry…Get with it.