Noted scholar Beyoncé Giselle Knowles once famously posed the question: “Who run the world?” The answer according to many–including Doctor Rosen Rosen–remains loud and clear: GIRLS.

The up-and-coming writer, producer and remix extraordinaire (a prominent feature within such official remix packages as Lady Gaga‘s “Telephone” and Natalia Kills‘ “Mirrors”) is now set to prescribe his debut EP to the masses: GIRLS: VOLUME 1.

Containing four songs, the good doctor’s first-ever compilation benefits from a vocal assist from four of pop’s most promising bubbling-under females, including 3 single-monikered songstresses: Meg, Kay and Anjulie.

Kicking off the collection, however, is “Five O’Clock,” a collaboration with mannequin-minded, leotard-loving L.A. songstress, Jessie And The Toy Boys. (She’s certainly been seeing a lot of love ’round these parts lately, eh?)

Regarding the record, Doctor Rosen Rosen had this to say about his time spent recording with Miss Toy Boys:

Around that time, I was listening to a lot of the 80s girls groups that were produced by Prince (Vanity 6, Sheila E, Appolonia), which inspired the punchy Linndrum-sample-heavy beat of the song. A day before our session, I started the track and came up with the pre-chorus “Hello Hello Hello.” I was nervous to show her the idea because she was one of the first artists I worked with in Los Angeles, but she was in to it and we quickly wrote the rest of the song together. One of the things I love about working with Jessie, is that her lyrics always engaging and paint a vivid story… in this case “you’ve got till five o’clock to get your shit out.

Five O’Clock (feat. Jessie & The Toy Boys) by DOCTOR ROSEN ROSEN

The song is a slap-happy bout of tongue-twisting, fire-spitting lyrical jabs and hyper-speed space-pop, crossing together the bouncy ’80′s funk-lust of Vanity 6 and the rowdy grrrl rebellion of Le Tigre. “I don’t want to be a hater, but you ain’t a pro skater / But you’re a bus boy at Denny’s, you’re not even a waiter.” BURN.

Best of all? You can snag the song above entirely for free!

The full tracklisting for GIRLS: VOLUME 1 is as follows:

1. “Five O’ Clock” ft. Jessie & The Toy Boys
2. “Adelaide” ft. Meg”
3. “Hot” – ft. Kay
4. “Wait” ft. Anjulie

And, if you’re impatient/curious/bored, you can view a rather kewl video of the Doctor spinning a hot pink vinyl of the collection, featuring a few seconds from each individual track. Sounds promising!

Liking the idea so far? Well, good: Doctor Rosen Rosen plans to carry on with this kind of release all the way through to sometime next year, with Volume 2 expected to hit in November, Volume 3 in February, and Volume 4 due out around next May.

GIRL POWER!

Girls: Volume 1 will be released on August 15. (Official Website)

My name is Natalia Kills. Tonight, you are all getting killed.

On Wednesday night, Cherrytree Records’ Natalia Kills headlined the PopJustice/High Rise CMJ showcase at The Bell House in Brooklyn.

For faithful Muusers, it’s no secret I’ve always had a soft spot for Miss Kills. She kind of embodies everything I love in film, fashion and music: Dark, macabre style, carnal sexuality, and of course…killer beats.

But taking my own personal taste of the equation (which is sort of silly as this is a review, I digress), it’s clear to see that noise is starting to quickly build around Natalia’s name amongst trendy art magazines and music blogs across the globe, and she proved exactly why tonight.

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So, this is something new and interesting.

The night before my interview with Sky Ferreira, I received a vaguely mysterious e-mail from MuuMuse reader Sam Lansky with an attachment entitled “Fame Fatale.” The e-mail suggested that the attached may assist me in preparing for my interview.

As soon as I began reading, I already knew: This had to be published immediately.

“Fame Fatale” is not only a remarkably in-depth analysis (and personal account) of Ferreira’s curious rise to fame, but a thoughtful contemplation of the manufacturing of the modern pop star and the very conventions of the music industry itself. It’s extremely well-researched, poses tough questions, and deserves your full attention.

With his permission, I’ve asked Sam to feature his article on MuuMuse. It’s an incredible piece, and I do highly recommend that all of my Muusers give it a thorough reading–even if it’s “tl;dr” territory.

I do, after all, hope to keep a literate company.

Click “Read More…” to read Sam Lansky’s “Fame Fatale: The Rise of Sky Ferreira.”

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The Sugababes have never looked better.

This is my pop pondering of the day, though I’ve already said it many times before:

What if the ‘Babes decided to breathe new life into the Vanity 6 project and return to us as a gaggle of classy sassy, sex-starved nymphs?

Dirty hands, I demand.

Photo courtesy of Suck.com.

Year-end wrap up lists are nice and all, but it’s the “Most Anticipated” lists that are way more fun for me to read. The rumors! The possibilities! The inability to foresee a terrible album in the making! Who can resist the sweet, succulent taste of possibility?

Of course, there are dozens of albums being released, and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface as far as what to expect. Nonetheless, I wanted to run down a few of my own personally anticipated releases for the new year.

So, without further ado, let’s roll out some of the biggest releases hitting shelves sometime in the next year. This will be the year of some ‘Sweet 7′s, it appears!

Sade, Soldier of Love (Sixth studio album)

What it is: The band’s first release in about a decade.
Expected shelf date: February 8, 2010.
Produced by: Mike Pela, Sade.
What we know: The album’s title track is a stunning achievement. Could the album possibly be anything less?
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Smooth, icy vocals and warm jazz sounds.

Ellie Goulding, TBA (Debut Album)

What it is: An exciting, possibly incredible (though potentially dead-in-the-water) debut by 2009′s leading indie electro-pop up-and-comer.
Expected shelf date: According to Play.com, March 3, 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Starry Eyed,” “Under the Sheets,” “Wish I Stayed”
Production by: Starsmith, Frankmusik
What we know: It’s been in the works for a while. She’s quirky, her music is interesting and fresh, and we haven’t heard a dud from her yet. Let’s just hope this is released before the hype catches up with her first.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: “Starry Eyed” and “Under the Sheets” repeated a dozen times over.

Kylie Minogue, TBA (Eleventh studio album)

What it is: Divine intervention. (That should totally be the album title!)
Expected shelf date: Unknown, probably 3Q or 4Q 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Better Than Today”
Production by: Nerina Pallot
What we know: Hardly anything, aside from the fact that Kylie was looking to Barbarella for inspiration while recording in New York a few weeks ago.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: The slick, coquettish electronica of Body Language (“Slow”) mixed the with sophisticated, edgy dancefloor flow of X (“Speakerphone”). And a little less emphasis on the camp factor, s’il vous plait.

Girls Aloud, TBA (Sixth studio album)

What it is: A much-needed comeback album from the greatest girl group since the Spice Girls.
Production by: I mean…it has to be Xenomania, right?
Expected shelf date: Way, way later in 2010.
What we know: Nothing, aside from the fact that their official website confirmed an album slated for 2010.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A shying away from the drum-and-bass sound and a prolonged stay in the territory of “Untouchable” and “Memory of You.”

Jennifer Lopez, Love? (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: Jennifer ‘Lola J-Lo Jenny Rudebooty’ Lopez takes it to the streets once again to prove she still has ‘flava.’
Expected shelf date: April 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Louboutins,” “Fresh Out The Oven,” Everybody’s Girl,” “What Is Love,” Starting Over,” “Beautiful,” “This Cannot Be Love,” “One Love,” “Keeper”
Production by: Mike Caren, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, D’Mile, Danja, Darkchild, The Neptunes
What we know: Rap-Up’s write-up of the album preview includes terms like “electro-pop beat,” “slick uptempo production” and “guitar driven ballad.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A return to the dancefloor a la “Waiting for Tonight” with some guilty pleasure stompers like “Louboutins.” Minimal ballads, please.

Sugababes, Sweet 7 (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: The grand unveiling of a new Sugababes era. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jade, Amelle, and Heidi.
Expected shelf date: February 28, 2010
Confirmed tracks: “Get Sexy,” “About A Girl,” “Thank You For The Heartbreak,” “Miss Everything,” “Wear My Kiss”
Production by: RedOne, Sean Kingston, Ne-Yo, The Smeezingtons, Fernando Garibay
What we know: How half of the album sounds. The Sweet 7 album sampler featuring Keisha leaked onto the net a few months ago. However, there’s been talk of recording new tracks.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: What we’ve been hearing. Slick, modern production and a fierce new confidence never before honed by the original three line-ups: It’s time to let Sweet 7 go Vanity 6.

Röyksopp, Senior (Fourth studio album)

What it is: The ambient, down-tempo companion piece to one of 2009′s greatest albums, Junior.
Expected shelf date: Early 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “The Alcoholic,” “The Fear,” “Coming Home”
Production by: Royksopp
What we know: From TLOBF: “Senior is more withdrawn and introspective and create an atmosphere and an ambience, to sit down and if you don’t need constant loud information all the time that’s what Senior is all about.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A more sophisticated, contemplative extension of Melody AM.

Uffie, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Debut album)

What it is: The incredibly overdue debut of an underground trash-pop queen in the making.
Confirmed tracks: “Pop the Glock,” “Hot Chick,” “MC’s Can Kiss”
Expected shelf date: February 14, 2010, according to The Guardian.
Production by: Mr. Oizo, Mirwais, Pharrell
What we know: “MC’s Can Kiss,” the upcoming single off of the album, is an old-school-hip-hop-meets-modern-beats orgy.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Sick beatz from some extremely talented producers…and a whole lot of trash talkin’.

Britney Spears, TBA (7th Studio Album)

What it is: Don’t even get me started…don’t even get me started.
Production by: Track submissions are pouring in from the likes of Darkchild, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, Danja, Fernando Garibay, David Guetta, and many more.
Expected shelf date: Though Digital Spy reports that Jive is looking for a May 2010 release, I can’t help but assume that we’ll see this around the same time we’ve always seen Britney releases for the past three albums–the very end of the year.
What we know: Nothing really.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Icy R&B-infused electronica. Anything by Bloodshy & Avant. Anything in the direction of “And Then We Kiss.” Less Circus, more Blackout, but with soul. By the way, can we finally call this one Original Doll, Team Spears?

Honestly, It doesn’t even matter what it sounds like in the end. Why? Because it’s Britney, bitch. That’s why.

Until this summer, Philadelphia-bred mistress of ceremonies Amanda Blank could be found both everywhere and nowhere; a fixture found in the liner notes and “featuring” sections on collaboration tracks from just about every hip-hop tested, indie cred-approved artist since the mid-’00′s, including Santigold, M.I.A., Spank Rock, Pase Rock, Ghostface Killah, and N.A.S.A.

As a result, Amanda Blank is an artist inexorably linked to her mix-tape origins: Put together the in-your-face, Cristal and cocaine drunk-pop of Ke$ha, the funk and grind sound of album producer Diplo, the super-slick badassery of Peaches, and perhaps even the cool breathiness of Britney Spears on the chillier grooves, and you’ve still only got half of what Blank’s all about.

Within seconds of hearing the garage-rock-gone-hip-hop intro of “Make It, Take It,” it becomes all too clear that we’re in for a sweat-drenched, sex-stenched affair on Blanks’ long-overdue debut, I Love You. Tracks including the throbbing, pistol pumping “Something Bigger, Something Better” and electro-jittery “Might Like You Better” are at the very least danceable–at their best, nearly irresistible. Even the faithfully minimal cover of “Make-Up” off of the 1982 debut of Prince‘s short-lived sexperiment Vanity 6 inspires moments of vogue.

But this collection isn’t all about the mmphing and, shockingly enough, benefits most from the few breathers in between. The bleary-eyed, post-consummation contemplation of “Shame On Me” is the best track Britney’s never recorded, while the neurotic-friendly “DJ” proves a luscious dancefloor treat riddled with all the best reasons to dance the pain away–anger, bitterness, and sorrow.

It’s midway through however, when Blank gets down to business, unleashing her signature unstoppable lyrical flow on the Spank Rock-assisted track, “Gimme What You Got,” and “Lemme Get Some.”

This, after all, is the meat and potatoes of her craft: Amanda Blank is a talented artist. Not only can she spit out verses faster than most male rappers in the industry, but she commands a devastating mastery of rhythm and flow–plus, she’s a seemingly fearless lyricist. The only problem is that there simply isn’t enough of that grit to go around. A few harder numbers would have done wonders here, especially considering the wide range of tracks we’ve heard from her over the years.

The album’s final moment is also its most unexpected: “Don’t act so surprised,” Blank croons along with Swedish delight and MuuMuse favorite, Lykke Li on “Leaving You Behind” as the gentle guitar strums away into nothingness. I just can’t help it, Amanda–I’m considering this album the surprise of the summer.

DL: Amanda Blank – Something Big, Something Better
Choice Tracks: “Something Big, Something Better”; “DJ”; “Shame on Me”; “Might Like You Better”

Purchase I Love You on iTunes | MySpace