For Britney, the bass keeps getting big-gah. For Ke$ha, the sleaze just keeps getting sleeeeazy-ah.

Though it’s been mostly quiet on the K$ front while the trash-pop princess spends her time laboriously recording her highly anticipated 2012 follow-up to Animal (read: busy making out with bearded truckers in the woods of rural Arkansas), K$ has decided to delight her loyal animals with a semi-brand new treat: A re-remix of “Sleazy”!

From Ke$ha’s official website:

Ke$ha takes “$leazy” to a whole new level with her “Sleazy Remix 2.0 Get Sleazier” featuring Lil’ Wayne, Wiz, T.I. and Andre 3000. This track will be released exclusively through iTunes on Dec 13th, so mark your calendars now and get excited!

The slow-grindin’, potty-mouthed Bangladesh-produced banga off of 2010′s Cannibal EP already got the remix treatment once back in January thanks to Andre 3000. Now, with new verses from Lil’ Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and T.I. thrown into the mix? Girl…it’s gon’ be one filthy gang-bang.

THE BEAT SO PHAT, GONNA MAKE ME COME…OVER TO YA PLACE!

“Sleazy (feat. Andre 3000)” was released on January 17. (iTunes)

Does any other pop star’s album art talk the talk quite like Rihanna‘s?

Two years ago, the black and gray sheen and jagged metal “R” logo perfectly exemplified the grim, post-apocalyptic noir of Rihanna’s 2009 masterpice Rated R, as the singer menacingly peered out from behind her hand while suited in futuristic space gear, looking like Grace Jones beamed in from the year 3000.

Just a year later in 2010, Rihanna smoldered on the cover of LOUD with her fire engine red coif; her eyes closed and lips pouted with pristine 1970′s disco queen poise (where’s Andy Warhol when you need him?). Accordingly, the collection was largely colored by its StarGate-produced dance floor throbbers (“Only Girl (In The World),” “S&M”) and and airy Island-infused mid-tempo jams (“What’s My Name?” “Man Down”).

With Talk That Talk, her sixth studio album released on November 21, Rihanna has once again rih-invented, this time veering closer toward the Rated R menace, albeit not completely: She’s stripped away the metallic sheen of Rated R and given it a decidedly more street vibe.

Buttoned up in a sleeveless camouflage blouse, she appears sweaty and disheveled, her hair mussed as she grips her forehead. With a hungry glare and a dagger-sharp tongue firmly planted in the corner of her lips, she utterly oozes sex. But this isn’t a candle-lit dinner at the Four Seasons followed by a rose pedal-strewn romp in bed. This is a rough, rowdy back-alley FUCK on break during your mid-day work shift.

And that, in a nutshell, is the essence of Talk That Talk.

Read more…

Holly Hafermann is a Grammy-nominated songwriter responsible for some of the biggest hits of the last year, including the Eminem and Rihanna smash “Love the Way You Lie” and T.I.‘s duet with Christina Aguilera, “Castle Walls.”

Holly Brook is a recording artist best known for her contribution to Fort Minor‘s 2006 single “Where’d You Go,” which charted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100; that same year, she released her debut album, Like Blood Like Honey, a perfectly passable collection of MOR alt-rock.

Skylar Grey is an R&B vocalist who performed the hook on Diddy-Dirty Money‘s single “Coming Home,” as well as forthcoming collaborations with Dr. Dre and Lupe Fiasco.

Except all three of these women are the same person.

Can you blame me for being a little confused?

Here’s what I can figure out: Born Holly Brook Hafermann, Holly hooked up with Fort Minor, the side project of Linkin Park band member Mike Shinoda. (It’s hard to conceive of a less inspiring phrase than “the side project of Linkin Park band member Mike Shinoda,” but I can’t take it back now.)

At the time, this was Holly Brook’s highest-profile effort to date, although she was signed to Machine Shop Recordings, a vanity imprint run by Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson, in 2004. (Actually, “a vanity imprint run by Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson” is less inspiring than the “the side project of Linkin Park band member Mike Shinoda” — go figure.)

Holly’s 2006 debut album failed to generate much buzz, and was largely forgotten, and that, it seemed, was the end of Holly Brook’s career as a recording artist. Machine Shop Recordings released her from her contract in 2008. In the interim, she collaborated with the criminally underrated Duncan Sheik, whose variously effervescent and devastating pop-rock has been consistently brilliant over the last two decades; he helmed all of the tracks on her 2010 EP, O’Dark: Thirty. The EP is eminently listenable but it remains decidedly left-of-center; I wouldn’t expect to hear any of its songs on mainstream radio anytime soon.

Somewhere along the way, though, Holly hooked up with Alex da Kid, nee Alexander Grant, the of-the-moment British producer whose mellowed-out hip-hop sound dominated the airwaves in 2010, both with “Love the Way You Lie” as well as the ubiquitous B.o.B & Hayley Williams hit “Airplanes.”

Holly co-wrote “Love the Way You Lie,” “Castle Walls,” and “Coming Home” with Alex da Kid, for which she also performed the vocal track. With this, she introduced a new persona, Skylar Grey, who is the credited artist on “Coming Home”; Skylar Grey is also credited as the artist on her forthcoming collaborations, “I Need a Doctor” with Dr. Dre and Eminem, and “Words I Never Said” with Lupe Fiasco. (Both have leaked; both are quite good.)

Like the best singers, Holly’s haunting, papery vocals betray complex emotions that even more technically accomplished vocalists might not be able to communicate. “Coming Home” evokes a warm, affectionate optimism, while the raw anguish in the chorus for “I Need a Doctor” is difficult to shake.

Most compelling, though, is the demo for “Love the Way You Lie,” which leaked yesterday. Even though Rihanna’s finished piano version approximates the production of Holly’s demo, the two artists’ takes on the song are radically different: Rihanna’s tangy vocals are powerful and potent; she has the bearing of a survivor, someone who’s walked through adversity and emerged triumphant; in Holly’s hands, “Love the Way You Lie” is a hopeless song that belongs to a victim, not a survivor. It’s a deeply affecting vocal performance, and it makes it easy to see why the song ended up in the hands of two of the biggest artists in the industry.

At this point, I’d like for Holly to please resolve her splintered identity and get famous already — she’s simply too good to fade away.

MuuMuse Approved Tracks for the Week of December 5, 2010

5. Enrique Inglesias – Tonight (I’m Fuckin’ You) (feat. Ludacris) (iTunes)
Enrique is a sexy pants. Enrique is explicitly telling me he wants to get sexy in my pants. Nope–still hasn’t grown old for me yet.

4. Frankmusik – The Fear Inside
Frankmusik’s grand return comes in the form of a dance floor haunt, which proves catchier and dancier with each play. A little less frantic and a little more sexy than his previous work, “The Fear Inside” suggests Frankmusik won’t be going anywhere near that sophomore slump.

3. Kanye West – Lost In The World (feat. Bon Iver)
Yeezy’s album has been on solid rotation over the past few weeks. While the whole package is amazing from start to finish, this week’s highlight is the surging “Lost In The World.” Recorded with folk singer Bon Iver, the track meshes a dozen sounds and influences–from an opening that recalls Imogen Heap’s “Hide And Seek” to a sample of Gil Scott-Heron’s 1970 spoken word, “Comment No. 1.” Yes, Kanye West is an arrogant bastard (let’s have a toast for the douchebags!), but he remains one of the most innovative and intriguing voice in mainstream hip-hop. No question.

2. Ellie Goulding – Home
Though all of the bonus tracks on Ellie Goulding’s debut album re-release are brilliant, “Home” is a particularly glowing moment. Co-penned by Fred Falke, the track alternates between tender guitar strums and massive, bright explosions of electronica in its howling choruses, adding even more sophistication and depth to the original sound found on Ellie’s debut.

1. T.I. – Castle Walls (feat. Christina Aguilera)
Stripped, humbled and taking the vocal acrobatics down ten notches, Christina’s assist on T.I.’s upcoming record is one of the saddest, prettiest melodies she’s ever sung. While a Christina only version of the song would be preferable, “Castle Walls” is the perfect winter continuation of the summer’s devastation rap piece, Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna)”. Bionic may have gone down in flames, but “Castle Walls” is nothing less than a triumph.

Let’s talk about a song that is good–no, fantastic: “Castle Walls,” a song off of T.I.‘s upcoming studio album No Mercy, produced by Alex Da Kid and featuring Christina Aguilera. (LISTEN)

Just like Eminem‘s “Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna)” (also produced by Alex Da Kid), the only reason we’re listening to this cut is for that emotionally overwrought chorus, which means you’ve got to wait patiently through the plodding, brooding rapped verses from T.I. to get to the actual goods.

But trust me–this one’s completely and utterly worth it.

“Everyone thinks that I have it all, but it’s so empty living behind these castle walls,” Xtina sadly croons as the song opens, “If I should tumble, if I should fall / Would anyone hear me screaming behind those castle walls?”

Then, something amazing happens: A weird, warbling electronic noise fills the silence. T.I. comes in and does what it is that he does above a hip-hop beat, and THEN Xtina comes in again with that chorus–now made even more amazing thanks to some sad string production, a triumphantly striding beat, and that distorted electronica sound in the background. AND IT’S SO GOOD.

But perhaps the greatest thing about this song is the fact that someone’s clearly told Xtina to cut it out with the noodling already–no extended scale runs, no growling, no shouting. It’s understated and GORGEOUS! If only she would do this kind of singing more often. Less is more Aggie…LESS is MORE!

Xtina’s already offered up a summer bomb and a Thanksgiving turkey, but this?

This is truly a winter gem.

No Mercy will be released on December 7. (iTunes)

Here we have Rihanna on the cover of December’s Interview Magazine, which will include an interview with professional douchebag/musical mastermind Kanye West.

Isn’t this gorgeous?

But hold onto your rose-colored glasses: If you liked this shot, the rest of the hi-contrast photo shoot will leave you utterly gagging (in a good way).

Additionally, MAJOR congratulations are in order:

RiRi just scored her largest ever first week album sales with LOUD and her seventh #1 solo single with “Only Girl (In The World)”!

(Ninth overall counting “Live Your Life” with T.I. and “Love The Way You Lie” with Eminem).

From her Twitter:

Only Girl is no. 1!!! HOLY FUCK!!! And thx to u guys, I’ve had the biggest first week of all my albums so far! #whosloud ???? We are bitches

As a result, Rihanna is now only TWO solo #1′s away from joining the Top 10 artists with most #1 singles of all time.

Oh, na na na!

Rusko, the producer responsible for M.I.A.‘s current new single, “XXXO,” has been asked to pen for Britney.

From an interview with Rusko in L.A. Weekly:

With stage one of his mainstream-takeover master plan complete, Mercer is now focusing on stage two: major labels. He has produced songs for Rihanna and rapper T.I., and has begun work on a Britney Spears record with megaproducer and South Rakkas Crew label head Alex Greggs. The upcoming tracks may put dubstep, and Rusko, on the map. But he’s not worried about going too pop, he says, as he unveils his M.I.A. tracks from his beat-up laptop.

This is a very, very good thing.

I don’t even like the original song in the slightest, but there’s something about the Dallas Austin remix that breathes life into the song’s otherwise robotic nature. Leave it to Austin to make a dolldrum track turn into a reg’lar corker! Blame it the booming synth or the brilliant bass, but RiRi and T.I. just got a whole lot more glamorous. Don’t get put off by the extensive intro…This mix is worth the time.

DL: T.I. & Rihanna – Live Your Life (Dallas Austin Remix)