STOP THE CHATTER.
One of my favorite artists of all time, Utada Hikaru, is now tweeting.
Yes, Muusers: Just a few minutes ago, Hikki Hikki Hikaru began her journey into the Twitterverse.
What’s she tweeting about? Oh, just some bullshit about how cute her Twitter background is. What’s on her background? Why–what else would Hikaru care about? It’s drawings of Kuma-chan! (For those who don’t know what a Kuma-chan is, watch this absurd fan tribute video. It’s a sickening obsession that must be stopped.)
Oh, and now she’s freaking out about which Twitter App to choose.
You just know she’s got that stupid stuffed animal propped up with the cell phone in its paw right now while she’s off doing the dishes, secretly hoping that he will, at long last, come to life to type out a quick tweet to the fans.
Perhaps more titillating than Twitter is the fact that Utada’s about to premiere a new song! Well, not exactly a new one–it’s a cover of an old one! By Edith Piaf, no less! It’s called “Hymne a l’amour ~Ai no Anthem~,” and it’s a gorgeous, jazzy affair to be used by Pepsi in promoting their latest delightfully bubbly death serum, Pepsi NEX.
Oh–you want to hear it? Good! Just click here to watch the 15 and 30-second clips that will soon be airing across Japan. And yes, in case you were confused, those are Pepsi bottles playing drums and keyboards behind her. I don’t know either, but I’m generally in favor of what’s happening there.
Musically, this is a pretty strong turn in direction for Utada, but it’s a refreshing one, no doubt (like Pepsi, y’all!). It’s all very free-flowing and disjointed, and her voice sounds absolutely lovely on top of all those instruments. I adore it! I really think she’s found her happy place at the moment. Plus, doesn’t she look gorgeous?
Thanks to U-Blog for being the premiere source for all things Utada, as usual!
It’s recently come to my attention that far too little attention is paid to my R&B songstresses as of late–it’s time to change that.
“Rhythm & Muuse” is a 15-track collection of just a taste of the finest R&B-laced cuts I’ve come to love over the past few years, from Cassie to Amerie to Ciara and K. Rowland, with loads of amazing artists fit snugly in between.
This was an impossible MuuCast to create–mostly because I started out with 45 potential tracks. As a result, it’s clear that there will be many more installments of “Rhythm & Muuse” to come. Consider this an introductory piece.
The goal was to include one song per artist, but–let’s face it. Ciara delivers too much fire to handle.
This mix is ready for both the dance floor and the bedroom floor, so prepare yourselves accordingly.
Now please: Turn your swag on like X Factor‘s Cher, won’t you?
DL: MuuCast Episode Six: Rhythm & Muuse
Cassie – Me & You (iTunes)
Amerie – Heard ‘Em All (iTunes)
Kelly Rowland – Can’t Nobody (iTunes)
Ciara – Get Up (feat. Chamillionaire) (iTunes)
Nicole Scherzinger – Whatever U Like (iTunes)
Danity Kane – Touching My Body (iTunes)
Michelle Williams – Till The End Of The World (iTunes)
Kelis – Blindfold Me (iTunes)
Cassie – Call U Out (iTunes)
Keri Hilson – Alienated (iTunes)
Pussycat Dolls – Elevator (iTunes)
Utada – This One (Crying Like A Child) (iTunes)
Ciara – I Proceed (iTunes)
JoJo – (He Only Knows Me) In The Dark (Free Mixtape)
Electrik Red – 9 To 5 (iTunes)
It’s no small secret that Utada Hikaru’s always dreamt of dwelling with the common people.
During her concert in Boston for instance, she lamented to the crowd that she’s always wanted to go off and study in school again or try a whole new career path.
Simply put: Fame has simply never been her forte. (Her overbearing father/manager on the other hand…)
It should come as no surprise to anyone then that Hikki has announced that she will be taking a break from the music industry for a bit. Courtesy of Hikki Texts, a blog that translates Utada’s Japanese messages into English:
I am going to stop flashy ‘artist activities’ for a while and focus on ‘human activities,’ starting from next year. This is not a ‘retirement announcement’! Nor is this ‘rest’ or ‘recreation.’ This period is going to be the period for me to face the real me as a person, by studying something new eagerly and humbly, seeing and learning things in this while world I don’t know yet…I have no idea how long it gonna be – 2 years or 5 years, but I shall return, more matured. Give me some time.
That being said, I don’t think anyone should panic. If I know Utada, she’s going to keep erratically blogging about ointments, weird food, and that godforsaken teddy bear, Kuma-Chan.
Even if her duties as an artist will be on temporary hold, I’ve no doubt she’ll get the bug to keep recording. And perhaps that’s even better–no pressure for a release, no requirements to fit a certain sound.
In the meantime, the singer plans to quell her fans’ panic by announcing a second greatest hits compilation, Singles Collection Vol. 2, which is to be released later this fall. According to Hikki, the new album will also contain some new material:
Maybe 4 songs or so, 5 hopefully…! I’m right in the middle of recording, trying to make them something that can tell you my recent feelings, change of my heart. Please wait for a while, I’ll let you know as soon as the release date is fixed.
Personally, I’m happy about it! This is what she wants, and I believe she deserves that. She has been doing this since she was 15, after all.
Not to worry…she’ll be back.
I think a MuuCast is long overdue. Don’t you?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been going out to assorted bars and clubs in NYC for a variety of reasons (including Kylie Minogue‘s surprise performance at Splash!) For the most part however, the music selection being played hasn’t really inspired much excitement on my end.
This is MuuCast Episode 4: Your Disco Needs You, a collection of some of my favorite mixes of the moment. Basically, this is just a taste of what I’d want to be spinning were I to walk into a club tonight.
While it’s still missing tons and tons of mixes (as well as those sad disco melodies, trance tunes, and darker haunts I simply couldn’t live without), I thought this was a fair representation of some of the songs that make me want to cut loose and/or strut and vogue. (FYI: If this were a ball, I believe I’d take the title for executive realness and be a part of the House of Xtravangza. Just so you know.)
Anyhow, enjoy…this is one of my favorite collections thus far. Just dance!
The full tracklisting:
Miley Cyrus – Can’t Be Tamed (Wideboys Stadium Club Mix)
Christina Aguilera – Not Myself Tonight (JMBW & Joel Dickinson Club Mix)
Sugababes – Wear My Kiss (Wawa Remix)
Britney Spears – Gimme More (Paul Oakenfold Remix)
Uffie – ADD SUV (Armand Van Helden Club Mix)
Kylie Minogue – All The Lovers (Michael Woods Remix)
Lady Gaga- LoveGame (Dave Audé Club Mix)
Rihanna – Rude Boy (Wideboys Stadium Mix)
Utada – Dirty Desire (Mike Rizzo Club Mix)
Britney Spears – 3 (Groove Police Club Mix)
Madonna – Give It 2 Me (Paul Oakenfold Edit)
Kelis – 4th of July (Richard X Mix)
Photo courtesy of AzyxA.
HIKKIIIIIIIIIIIII!
On Utada Hikaru‘s last tour, the Utada United 2006 tour in Japan, the average audience size per venue varied from 20,000 to 50,000 attendees nightly. Tonight, the singer responsible for the highest selling album in Japanese history was about to play to a tiny club of about 300 people in Boston, a few of whom only vaguely familiar with the music she was to perform.
When I got to the venue around 5 p.m., there were already about fifty people waiting outside the door. As I later learned, the first people in line had been waiting there since 9:30 that morning. In a split decision for the sake of sustenance, I ducked into (or rather walked into, really…I never have to duck) the Qdoba next door for a chicken burrito, which I feverishly devoured while waiting at the very end of the line. It was perhaps not my most glamorous moment (and also, I suspect, the reason I vaguely smelled of cilantro throughout the night).
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