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'Stronger'
Kanye West
West echoes Friedrich Nietzsche in 'Stronger', from his 2007 album,
Graduation. "What does not kill me makes me stronger,"
becomes N-n-now th-that that don't kill me/Can only make me stronger,"
in this melting pot of references, both aural and visual.
'Stronger' is the usual angst-filled sounding rap number but like
Kanye West songs, this too has a sampling of another song adding
to the overall depth of the tune. 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger',
by Daft Punk has cleverly been interjected into 'Stronger' by West,
who has earlier produced songs with samples from Ray Charles and
Shirley Bassey classics.
There are references to Prince and O.J Simpson in the song, as a
sort of timeline marking West' presence in the music business. The
art for the single was done by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami
and the video also pays tribute in bits to 1988 anime film, Akira.
Two actors appear in the video dressed as Daft Punk, which is a
nod to West using their song within his own.
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'Gimme More'
Britney Spears
Britney's
comeback single somehow did not win her the kind of attention that
her earlier efforts had despite the fact that the single went to
number three in the Billboard Hot 100.
'Gimme More' is a clubby number with a catchy tune, assumingly designed
to shoot Spears back to the top.
The song has been co-written by writers who have collaborated with
Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Spears on a previous album as well.
It was produced by Timbaland protégé Danja, who says
the song is about enjoying and celebrating womanhood.
'Gimme More' has been remixed by Lil' Kim into 'Kimme More'. Paul
Oakenfold has been quoted as saying that 'Gimme More' is a great
record and he has rearranged it into a heavier club number which
works better and will hopefully work for Britney, too.
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'Diamonds
Are Forever'
Shirley Bassey
"I don't need love, /For what good will love do me?/
Diamonds never lie to me/ For when love's gone, /They'll luster
on."
The title track of the 1971 Bond film by the same name, 'Diamonds
Are Forever' almost didn't make it to the soundtrack of the
film. The song is heavy in innuendo and was the second James
Bond soundtrack sung by Shirley Bassy, who had earlier recorded
for Goldfinger.
'Diamonds Are Forever' is dark and brooding, strong and sultry
all at once. It has recently been covered by the Arctic Monkeys.
Interestingly, Shirley Bassey recently was part of a James
Bond themed campaign for Marks & Spencers, in which she
covers Pink's 'Get The Party Started.' |
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'Keep
Breathing'
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson is a new kind of screen star. The Staten Island-based
singer is a queen of the computer screen - her MySpace page
claims more than 6.2 million views. Additionally, four of her
gentle songs have graced episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which helped
make her one of last year's biggest indie success stories.
'Keep Breathing' was the song she wrote for the closing scenes
of last year's season finale of Grey's Anatomy, and her songs
are such that they match the mood of the show precisely. Her
music is gentle, quirky and immensely wistful, making it hard
to miss on TV. Some of her songs may sound a little precious
at times, but they are still totally engaging, tugging on all
the right chords and making repetitive listening a necessity.
Michaelson's personal music story starts with the adolescent
piano lessons and acting troupes her parents encouraged her
to enjoy. She insists her music isn't contrived to appeal to
any one audience, and while that may well be true, her songs
and her theatrical abilities onstage set her up to be a hero
to masses of teenage girls looking for a performer of style
and substance who isn't oversexed, overproduced or overwrought. |
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