Note to my readers: This is an essay, not a regular update. A little bit personal (raw), as Lindsay Lohan would say.
“Maybe a reason a lot of people like or connect with my stuff is because, on a basic level, as human beings, everyone feels that loneliness as an outsider. May it be at school, at home or the society, you feel lonely sometimes, or you are not the same as everyone else, or you don’t belong. That sort of feeling comes out strongly in my music, no matter what language. Maybe that’s one way people can connect with my music.”
- Utada Hikaru, February 2009
Music, like anything else that arouses the senses, is inextricably tied to memory.
At the time that Utada Hikaru’s Exodus was first released back in October of ’04, I was just coming into my own as a sophomore in high school. And by ‘coming into my own,’ I mean slowly embracing the fact that I was hungrily gawking at the boys in gym class far, far more often than I was at the girls, which was approximately never.
Granted, the fact that I was gay didn’t come as much of a surprise. My mother once had to be called into my preschool because I kept kissing the boys in class, and it was “becoming a problem.” Yet coming to terms with one’s own different-ness at exactly the worst time in anyone’s life to be different is no easy feat. Just ask Lady Gaga.
Exodus–along with Britney’s In The Zone a year prior (more on that for another time)–was my refuge.
In the world of pop, “Amnesia” never fails: There’s Britney‘s 2008 Circus bonus track “Amnesia” (perhaps better retitled as “Oops!…I Cheated Again”), Cheryl Cole‘s electro-tastic 2010 Messy Little Raindrops smash “Amnesia,” and exactly who could possibly forget Cherish‘s final slow jam, “Amnesia”? No one, that’s who.
Luckily, American House DJ Ian Carey is not about to muddy the good name.
After the release of international hits like 2008′s “Get Shaky” with Kate Miller-Heidke and last year’s “Last Night” with Snoop Dogg and Bobby Anthony, the DJ/producer teamed up with Timbaland, rapper Brasco and vocalist Rosette for his brand new 2012 club cut–you guessed it, “Amnesia.”
The cutting club track finds Miss Rosette getting all sassy atop Carey’s stinging House beats, calling out a cheatin’, lyin’ loser who, apparently, is Timbaland. “You’re a liar, a cheat, unfaithful dog!” Rosette croons on top of the explosive chorus. Yet even if the words sound pretty scathing, the beats are utterly euphoric, making it kind of impossible not to want to throw your hands up and giddily prance around like a loon.
“I think you got me all wrong,” Timba pleads throughout in the background. “I think that I don’t!” Rosette responds. Oh, GIRL. Tell him, tell him!
I don’t know, Timba…I think I’m with Rosette on this one. Now pack up your drum pads and get out of my house!
Ian Carey & Rosette feat. Timbaland and Brasco – “Amnesia” Radio Edit by IanCarey
“Amnesia” was released on January 23. (Beatport)
Earlier this afternoon, I received a press release announcing the upcoming return of Timbaland: “Timbaland Debuts Single In Provacative Video for Raphael Mazzucco!”
Tempted by both the question of what Timbaland would be working on in these post-RedOne dark days of radio, as well as what could possibly be contained in the (amusingly misspelled) ‘provacative video,’ I inquired within. And oh, how glad I am that I did.
At the risk of being accused of laziness, I’ve–err, lazily bullet-pointed the most crucial items at hand:
• The single features David Guetta. And Pitbull.
• The single is being used in “the provocative (NSFW) video trailer” for Culo, a photobook shot by Canadian fashion photographer Raphael Mazzucco (a frequent hire for Sports Illustrated‘s Swimsuit Issues, as well as a Victoria’s Secret coffee table book), in which “the bottom (or culo in Italian) is the new epicenter of female sexuality, desire, and empowerment.” In short, it’s a picture book of pretty lady butts.
• To top it all off, the book was “inspired by a film will.i.am made in Brazil and conceived and shepherded to publication by acclaimed Interscope music executive Jimmy Iovine.”
What. What. WHAT?!
FINALLY, a song that does proper justice to the female form–because nothing quite says female empowerment like a new club cut from Timbaland (of “Ayo Technology” fame), Pitbull (of “Hotel Room Service” fame) and David Guetta (of “Sexy Bitch” fame) in which the boys take turns merrily speak-singing about degrading women above a trashy “Calabria” rip-off beat slapped atop an ‘artsy’ trailer for a book of scantily clad models shot by a Sports Illustrated photographer inspired by Professional Annoyance/Purveyor of Shit-Pop Will.I.Am–all set into motion by Interscope bigwig, Jimmy Iovine.
Choice lyric from Timba’s new cut? Hard to make this one out entirely, but it comes at the 0:38 mark, as Pitbull happily raps:
“She does what I say, she does what I please…she lives on her knees. Ha!”
As Eleanor Roosevelt would likely proclaim: “FUCK YES! EQUALITY!”
So, congratulations boys: You’ve literally created the most offensive ensemble production of the year, worthy of making the good ol’ boys of Jersey Shore look like a set of straitlaced suitors from the British royal family.
At the end of the day, this screenshot says it best…
An ass is just [an] ass–especially a whole recording studio full of ‘em.
Another day, another drama…
In helping to celebrate Blackout Purchase Week (have you entered the MuuMuse giveaway yet?), MuuMuse is proud to present “Blackout Once Again: A Look Back at Britney Spears’ Greatest Album,” an incredibly comprehensive, in-depth examination of Britney‘s fifth studio album, written by Vertigo Shtick‘s David Salter.
If there’s anything to be said about Blackout, it’s featured here in this extraordinary piece. A must read, Muusers!
Please click “Read More…” to see the full article. (MOAH!)
Sounds like: Justin Timberlake, Timbaland
Genre: Urban pop, R&B, electro-pop
Ten-HUT!
Meet Talay Riley, a 20-year-old UK artist signed to Jive Records.
Back in the summer of 2010, Riley released his debut single, “Humanoid.” Like the bulk of 2010 (or really, the latter half of the decade), Riley’s debut is a sexy, electro-pop stomp affair. “Humanoid” is riddled with robot talk and future speak, complimented further by Auto-Tune robo-vocals and slinky, urban pop beats.
Now, the singer is about to unleash his second single: “Sergeant Smash,” a mid-tempo groove that plays like the 2011 upgrade to the Timbaland sound that dominated the mid ’00′s. “I’ll break you off a little somethin’, have you going crazy,” Riley announces above the song’s horn-heavy, militant beat. Add in a drum line and a few rallying cries, and you’ve got yourself a proper pop battle. HOOAH!
Check below to hear a mix of “Sergeant Smash,” featuring London-based rapper Wretch 32, now streaming in full!
Talay Riley is currently in the midst of recording his debut album, due out later in 2011. The album will feature production by the likes of Inflo1st (a member of Ryan Tedder‘s writing circle), Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Harmony (a member of Darkchild’s writing circle).
Armed with a heavyweight production team and some truly killer beats, Talay Riley might just have the artillery to go hard this year. Forward…MARCH!
“Sergeant Smash” will be released on February 13. (Official Website)
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