INSTEP Magzine

'4 Minutes'
Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
Madge is back! And what a comeback it is. After 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor, 'Material Girl' is back with three of today's finest singer/producers.

'4 Minutes' off her upcoming record, Hard Candy - which marks the first collaboration between Madge with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland who also produced the single along with Dinja - is a seriously wicked song. There is a lot happening on this fine numbers. Chants of 'tick-tock' from Madonna, studio props, chants of "Madonna, Madonna" from Justin, bell sounds, spacing sounds that are characteristic of Timbaland and Dinja. There is marching band aesthetic one can hear as well as a recurring clanging beat as well a bhangra beat. It's all very hip-hop but still has dance feel that is so the Madonna present.

Lyrically, it is also Madonna making a point about the distraught state of the world. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, yeah/Time is waiting/We only got 4 minutes to save the world/No hesitating/Grab a boy/Grab a girl" – but it isn't preachy or pretentious. It is just Madonna so go download it now!

'Hello'
David Cook
He is one of the hottest singers of American Idol right now. He can play crunching guitar, his understanding of making a musical arrangement is bang on target. We're talking about American Idol hopeful David Cook.

A couple of weeks ago, he covered Lionel Richie's 'Hello' and we have to tell you, he has made that song sexy and rocking in ways one couldn't have imagined.
There is no piano, but lots of wicked drumming, crazy guitar and a vocal dexterity that not only does justice to the song but also manages to retain the same message that Lionel went for years ago.

The song is currently one of the most-downloaded tunes on I-Tunes and it is not surprising why. You don't have to be a blues-Motown fan to fall in love with this ditty. It kicks up a serious storm.


'Wasted' Angus and Julia Stone The brother sister duo from Australia are very unique. Their music is not about effects but about harmonies and a concentration on rhythm and minimal usage of instruments, making each note stand out. 'Wasted' off their 2007 album, was recorded in their home and the living room. There is something about recording music at home that just gives it such a warmth that a massive studio can't match. They are folk musicians, simply put. There is a lot of reminder of very early Bob Dylan minus the harmonica and Julia sounds often like Bjork with that same drawl factor. 'Wasted' is their subtle and beautiful and initially might even remind one of John Mayer's hit single, 'Your Body Is A Wonderful'. Lyrically the song is about being buzzed but not necessarily due to intoxication but because of a certain person. It's just a really beautiful song.

'Kindly Unspoken' Kate Voegele Kate's history as a musician is so interesting. An Internet sensation who first came on the music map through her MySpace page and was picked up by MySpace Records shot to fame after her stint on American hit show One Tree Hill. The show featured some of her tunes and led her to become one of the top ten most downloaded artists on I-Tunes as of March 2008. At just 21, this young singer-songwriter is promising. She writes music with conviction and can create astute pop while having the energy that comes with rock 'n' roll. 'Kindly Unspoken' with its melancholic piano notes and that incredibly talented voice is lovely. And lyrically it is a personal reflection of Kate as she sings, "As high as the moon/So high were my spirits/When you sang out my name/And coming from you/It was enough just to hear it/Oh, it rang like the bells did today/But even the sturdiest ground/Can shift and can tremble and let us fall down/Kindly unspoken/You show your emotion/And silence speaks louder than words/It's lucky I'm clever/Cause if I didn't know better/I'd believe only that which I'd heard" – it is about the absence of words and how beautifully it has been framed.

'Catch My Disease' Ben Lee Off his 2005 album, Awake Is The New Sleep, 'Catch My Disease' is a light-happy song that'll up any blues in a jiff. It is playful ditty and is not overcooked. Less instruments, a happy-sing-along chorus, a thumping beat and Ben Lee's bounch voice – what a fun poppy tune it is. The song's biggest claim to fame is that it has been featured on the season 1 soundtrack of Grey's Anatomy and turned Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee into a little shining star. In this part of the world, people are never heard of unless they make it in the US of A or at least Britain. Even with two other singles on Grey's Anatomy OST, Ben Lee still has a long way to go before he makes it big. But it has to be said that even if you have never heard of this man, you must give this single a shot. It really is something else.