Month: March 2010

[41] Aaliyah, ‘Try Again’

Try Again

What a damn shame. The Noughties were made for Aaliyah, weren’t they? The slinky R&B diva bending chromium beats to her will. Instead, Timbaland had to resort to making a just-about-convincing coldhearted Maneater out of Nelly Furtado. Here’s what happened back in March 2007 when we covered ‘Try Again’ for the 2000 countdown on the old blog:

“Robot pop. Not an ounce of humanity in it unless you’re counting Aaliyah’s soulless croon. Timbaland is the techno Dr Frankenstein and ‘Try Again’ is a wired-up, machine-spliced monster. Magnificent. Junior didn’t listen to one icily syncopated note, but can say “Aaliyah”.”

And now?

Junior says: “Aaliyah,” with a little more clarity. She’s sorry to hear about her early demise – we let that one slip, but four-year-olds are pretty sang-froid – mainly because she enjoys the dancing in the video (Jukebox Junior is well multimedia in 2010).

Best bit: It goes nowhere except, well, the outer reaches of the solar system. It’s consistently at its best.

[42] CSS, ‘Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above’

We covered her ears for the first bit

She might be a tiny bit on the minxy side with her endless array of catsuits, but it’s hard to imagine Lovefoxxx saying “Let’s make love” with any great degree of conviction. She’s too button-cute. Still, this wriggles, writhes and never palls with second, third, fourth helpings. Very Tom Tom Club, very sweet, very unconvincing – all the better for Junior to fail to understand the sentiments (except the listening to Death From Above bit; we’re OK with that).

Junior says: “It’s great, really great,” possibly as an act of appeasement. Although she and her sister did push the envelope of silliness with their crazed dance.

Best bit: “Curmback”.

[43] Gnarls Barkley, ‘Crazy’

I think this is meant to be the single of the millennium so far. Oops. Seeing as a James Blunt single was in very vague contention for the rundown, we can safely say we’re not sticking to a tasteful script. For all dodgy heart conditions out there however, here’s a promise that Captain Blunty has not made the cut; instead, a perfectly respectable showing for the Gnarls fellows and their nigh-on uncategorisable chunk of hip hop indie soul (OK, lazily categorisable). While it’s been all downhill from here for the duo together, Danger Mouse has used ‘Crazy’ as a handy springboard for all sorts of lucrative cool-cachet producer gigs, our favourite of which is The Shortwave Set’s Replica Sun Machine. That’s “lucrative” in its broadest sense. Opposite sense.

Junior says: “I’ve heard this before.” I think we can all get with that. She gives it the shoulders, which, again, we’ve all done.

Best bit: 1. The opening thumps; 2. The almost-fact that we’re gearing up to churning out one of these posts a day. We’d better, or it’ll run headlong into the 2010 countdown.

[44] Madonna, ‘Music’

Right back on track after Ray Of Light, Madonna shed the pretend hippie skin once more and sunk her teeth into the dancefloor like never before since Vogue. A squirty disco match-up with Mirwais, Music jacks your body. It still sounds as fresh as Michelle Gayle in Grange Hill. Or was she Fly?

Junior says: “Her skin looks lovely,” on the cover, that is. And, “Play it again.”

Best bit: Space Odyssey synths.