SMD Official

Her Majesty And The Wolves, consisting of ex-Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt and Spencer Nezey of Jupiter Rising, dream big on their debut record but fail to reach the stars. On an album that they describe as “music people will listen to in the future”, they instead sound like a cross between the Black Eyed Peas and Girls Aloud, but without ever really reaching the dazzling heights of either.
The intro to the album is big and falsely prepares you for what should be an album of epic proportions. Credit must be given to Wyatt who proves my theory that there was always more than 1 talented Pussycat Doll, but her voice gets lost in the overpowering beats which simply try too hard.
Nezey tries his best throughout the record and does a fairly good job, but he is, unfortunatly, no danger to other MC’s out there.
There are a couple of moments though where we get a hint that there may be a bright future ahead for this duo. ‘Goodbye/Goodnight’ is a hidden gem which is sure to get dancefloors jumping and is the perfect choice as their next single.
Singles ‘Glaciers’ and ‘Stars In Your Eyes’ are definatly amongst the better tracks on the album but are let down by songs surrounding them such as the bizarre ‘Walking On The Sun’ and the dull ‘Never Come Down’.
‘Cut Me Down’ and ‘Our Love’ are nothing short of outstanding tracks which give the only real signs of originality on the record. Vocals, lyrics and beats fit perfectly here and Wyatt sounds beautifully sincere. The problem is, at tracks 14 and 15, this all comes a little too late and we just don’t care anymore.
There is no denying that this is a LP full of catchy pop songs but in a music industry which is full of bright, fresh talent at the minute, ‘111’ is simply not good enough and feels like it’s all been done before.
6/10

Ok, so I just wanted to write a quick note on here. As many will have guessed by now, I am a huge fan of all things GaGa and last night I had the pleasure of travelling to Sheffield to watch a DJ set by Lady Starlight.

For those few who don’t know who that is - Starlight is one of GaGa’s very best friends and the two used to perform together pre-Fame days.

As far as the set was concerned, Starlight killed it. Blasting out rock tunes of yester-year, she had me, and all those around me, going crazy for her as she moshed away on stage with a ridiculously large bottle of Jack Daniels! If you want to see an alternative style of DJ’ing that TOTALLY works, check her out.

But more importantly, I had the opportunity to meet her after and I have to say, Lady Starlight is, without a doubt, one of the nicest and most humble people I have ever met. She couldn’t give enough hugs and kisses to us all and she was more than happy to have several photos. (I go 3 because i’m greedy like that).

So I just wanted to take a moment on here to give a public shoutout to Starlight and say, Thank You - you are amazing!

Hope you’re all having a good week!

SMD

25 year old Simon Curtis’ follow up to his debut LP ‘8-Bit Heart’ has, for his fans, been a long time coming. But has Curtis’ desire for perfection been worth the wait? One word - yes.
As soon as the infectious ‘Laser Guns Up’ begins, you know you are in for a real treat. What follows is an album that is honestly right up there with Britney Spears’ ‘Femme Fatale’ and Lady GaGa’s ‘Born This Way’ - it really is that good.
Album highlights include the gloriously uplifting ‘Superhero’ and the break-up anthem, ‘Dead To Me’ - both proof that killer beats don’t always affect the emotion of a song when the quality of the lyrics is really there.
‘Chip In Your Head’ is one particularly excellent number which doesn’t stray too far away from Simon’s debut material but proves that he has indeed improved even more since his near-perfect first album.
Another clear favourite is ‘Flesh’. This downright dirty and scorchingly sexy track is sure to send girls and gays pulse rates soaring . With lyrics such as “sink your teeth into my flesh”, this is Rihanna’s ‘S&M’ on steroids.
‘How To Start A War’, ‘I Hate You’ and my personal favourite, ‘Joshua’, (and yes, it was hard to pick one), sound epic with the volume up high and are just dying to be performed live.
All in all, Curtis has successfully created a wonderfully catchy, top notch collection of music and has shown that he has the best male voice in pop music today. Why this boy has not been snapped up by a major record label is a travesty because, damn, whatever ‘it’ is, Simon Curtis definatly has ‘it’. If Britney is pop’s Princess and GaGa is the Queen - Curtis is definatly the King of that court.

10/10

(P.S. If you ever read this Simon Curtis - come to Manchester, UK please. Thanx :p ).

After months of hype and excitement, one of, if not the most anticipated album releases of the year - Lady GaGa’s ‘Born This Way’ - has finally arrived and it’s good. Very good.

The album opens with a bang thanks to ‘Marry The Night’ - one of GaGa’s favourite tracks and one that was apparantly a strong contestant to be the first single. It’s easy to see why. Personal lyrics and a stomping beat ensures that this will be a fan favourite.

Without delay, the New York-born superstar launches herself into the title track, which, whilst still being a wonderfully uplifting record, amazingly seems one of the weaker songs within this impressive collection of work.

‘Government Hooker’ is next. Previewed at the Mugler fashion show, this is downright dirty - and thats just how it should be. The beat and lyrics ooze sex and if this isn’t a single, there is injustice in this world.

This is followed by ‘Judas’ which fits in perfectly with the rest of the album and is definatly one of the more ‘poppy’ songs on the record.

‘Americano’ follows and this is a strange one. GaGa shows her bilingual skills and somehow I just found myself getting a little bit lost! Having said that, if this album has a grower, this is probably it.

“I just wanna be myself and I want you to love me for who I am” GaGa confesses in personal track, ‘Hair’. This is a wonderful pop song which has a little bit of a jazz element to it. I’m sure alot of people are going to be able to relate to this one.

We must be travelling around the world with this album, either that or i’m back at school in a languages lesson because now we are in Germany for ‘Scheiße’! Now, this really is wonderful and is bound to become a huge hit in the clubs.

‘Bloody Mary’ is next on the list and this is my album highlight. Lady GaGa really excels herself on this and has made an edgy track which is so very clever without trying too hard. She sounds sensational here and it’s nice to hear that famous scream of hers on record!

“Black Jesus † Amen Fashion” can only be found on the deluxe version of the album and is one made for the catwalks. This is Justin Timberlake’s favourite on the album and, for me, should have been on the standard edition.

“Bad Kids” has amazing verses but is somewhat let down a little by the chorus. This is still a fantastic track and one of my favourites but I did find myself, all the way through, hoping that it was going to blow up and instead it fizzled out. A shame.

“Fashion Of His Love” is for me, the albums weakest song and is just a little bit silly. To be honest, it reminds me of something the Spice Girls would sing if they were still around. Not a fan of this one.

GaGa then goes all “Don’t Stop Believing” on us with the instrument-driven “Highway Unicorn (Road To Love)”. This one was definatly made for the stadiums and I imagine it will sound incredible live.

‘Heavy Metal Lover’ and ‘Electric Chapel’ follow and these two are so sexy and amazing it is difficult to describe them and really do have to be heard to be believed. Love her or hate her I think I would struggle to find someone who didn’t get something out of these tracks.

‘The Queen’ follows. Now, this has been quite the topic of conversation amongst GaGa fans, with quite a few not liking it at all. I think it’s one of the best tracks on the album. Its camp, colourful and catchy. Very fun.

Fan favourite ‘You And I’ is next and featuring Brian May on guitar, this was always going to be amazing. If you saw the Monster Ball you will be familiar with the lyrics to this track but with its now heavier make-over, this is a real treat.

The album winds up with ‘Edge of Glory’. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again - this, for me, is the track of GaGa’s career to date. A wonderful end to a fantastic album.

For those interested, the deluxe version also includes a remix CD which is also a great listen with each track feeling very different to its original.

Not one to make false promises, Lady GaGa herself claimed that this album was the “album of the decade”. Is it? Well that is for you to decide. This experimental, aggressive album is not going to please everyone, but to most, this latest evolution in the singers career should not come as too much of a shock. The dark songs juxtapose the uplifting messages superbly and one thing is for sure - Lady GaGa has outdone herself again and released her best collection of work to date and I can’t wait to hear these new songs on tour.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Today I popped into town (as I usually do) to have a browse around the shops. Now, normally I have my headphones in my ears, completely oblivious to everyone around me as I escape into my ipod. However, this morning was different. I decided to just have a nice, quiet browse around town and really enjoy it for a change.

Although not my intention, this also allowed me to latch onto what people were doing more so as I grabbed a starbucks and sat in the corner. I observed.

Across from me was a woman. She was an average, middle-aged lady with perfect hair, perfect clothes and perfect make-up. That was until I looked closer.

As I gazed harder, (trying not to make it obvious that I was staring), I noticed that the eyeliner she was wearing was smudged. I looked closer. A trickle of water was falling down her cheek. It rolled down into her face and fell into her mug below that she had huddled as close to her body as she could get it.

Here was a woman, who, from a distance, looked perfect. But she was so sad. I could tell. She sat there for a moment, still, with just more tears weeping from her wet eyes. I looked around. Everyone else was oblivious to this woman’s suffering - too consumed in their own lives.

Suddenly, she was disturbed by her phone ringing. She picked it up with a joyful “Hello!”. “Yes, yes. Everythings fine with me.” She was lying of course. But the lie was convincing enough to make whoever was on the other end not question her further. She spent the next couple of minutes making plans with said person and then with a pleasant “See you later, dear”, she put the phone down.

Immediately, her face changed somber again. She reached into her bag, pulled out a tissue and patted her face. She then reached back in and pulled out some sunglasses - the perfect mask, I thought. She went to get up and looked across. Our eyes met and she gave me a warm smile. I returned the favour and she went on her way.

This really got me thinking. We are all so damn consumed in our own lives that we just don’t take the time to look at those around us and realise that they need help and guidance too. We should all be there for each other and although we say we are, we really aren’t!! This woman, for whatever reason, tried to lie to her friend and declare she was fine when she really wasn’t. Was this shame? Or did she think that the person on the phone wouldn’t help/understand/be bothered anyway?

So I guess what i’m trying to say is, take time out to really find out how your friends/family/loved ones are. Because, at the end of the day, if we can’t turn to eachother, who can we turn to?

So being a huge fan of the ‘Scream’ franchise, I was eager to view the latest offering from Wes Craven and co. Last night, I finally got around to seeing it, but just how does it fair compared to its predecessors?…

“You forgot the first rule of remakes; don’t f**k with the original!” blasts famous heroine Sidney Prescott in one of ‘Scream 4”s most important scenes. And thankfully, they don’t.

The latest addition to the ‘Scream’ franchise sees Sidney return to Woodsboro High after ten years to rap up her book tour. However, her arrival spawns a fresh killing spree from Ghostface leaving her, Dewey and Gail no choice but to team up once again to catch the killer.

Somehow, all involved with this new movie have successfully been able to reboot the series whilst not simply remaking the original. Nostalgia is aplenty though as the latest Ghostface attempts to reenact murders from the first movie and returning stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox make this bloody romp feel like a family reunion. the latter of which provides her best performance in these movies to date.

Fresh faces in this movie help to add to the ‘New Decade…’ theme with actresses Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere doing especially well in their respective roles.

‘Scream 4’ has everything you’ve come to expect from the franchise - jumps, action, plot twists and a whole lot of comedy, (which, impressively, doesn’t take anything away from the genuinely chilling feel of the film).

If a criticism is to be made of the film it would have to be it’s rather silly opening which leaves you worrying what exactly you have paid the price of a ticket for. However, the movie soon picks up and in no time Ghostface’s murderous killing spree is in full swing. This all builds to a tremendous final 30-40 minutes of the film which includes some fantastic one liners and, for me, the best conclusion to any of the ‘Scream’ movies to date.

Should the franchise continue from here? That I am not sure of. But either way, this is a wonderful piece of nostalgia for ‘Scream’ fans which does not spoil the legacy of the original trilogy and, if anything, opens them up to a whole new generation.

8/10

The queen of pop unleashes her third single from upcoming album, ‘Born This Way’, and boy, is it a good one.
What makes this new offering differ from it’s predecessors is its lack of hidden meanings and controversy - and this is a good thing. Here, GaGa has presented her fans with a tragic, heartbreaking tune which at the same time is strangely uplifting.
From the moment this track begins, you know you are in for a treat. GaGa’s vocals have been stripped down and feel refreshingly raw - something that I feel has been missing from her more recent releases. It is easy to imagine this talented artist booming out the touching lyrics in front of her thousands of adoring fans at her live shows.
These vocals are set to a stomping dance beat similar to that of ‘Born This Way’, but careful measures have been taken to ensure this does not take focus away from GaGa’s singing at any stage. Saxophonist, Clarence Clemons, also provides a beautiful moment in the track with a stunning solo.
Essentially, the track is influenced by the death of GaGa’s Grandfather and the personal issues behind this track are easy for all to feel thanks to the powerful nature of her vocals, especially in the spine-tingling chorus and phenomenal lyrics such as “I’m on the edge of something we call life tonight”.
This really is Lady GaGa at her best and since it’s first play on my iTunes, this song has found itself on almost constant repeat. In short, ‘The Edge of Glory’ is most definitely one of the best pop songs in recent memory. 10/10

To whoever is reading this…,

Hello, and welcome to my new tumblr. blog. This is going to be my new space for talking about anything and everything - I would like to think of it as almost a daily column for myself. I shall talk about random things happening in my life, news, showbiz gossip and also often posting reviews for music, film and concerts.

I am mainly using this as a way of practicing my blogging and journalism skills in preparation for me attempting to launch a successful career in the field.

I hope you have as much fun reading this as I will making it & please check back on a daily basis as there should almost always be something new for me to say! (I do like to chat!!)

Thanks again,SMD.