Will I Buy M.I.A.'s New Disc? Hellz Yeah! Will I Like It, Is The Question...

I love M.I.A. I just do. She rocks my socks off, from "Bucky Done Gone" to "10 Dollars" to "Paper Planes" to "20 Dollars" I love her shit like a fat kid loves Slim Shots.

But her first release from her upcoming summer album /\/\/\Y/\, "Born Free" was a little ska-tastic for my tastes. And the video scared the piss out of me. It's really graphic and violent, and makes quite a statement on ethnic genocide. But I still didn't like the song. So when I heard about a new single (via JuiceWithJunior's tweets) called "XXXO" I wasn't sure if I was gonna enjoy it.

I should be slapped for even doubting my girl Maya! This is the most mainstream I've ever heard the world traveler sound. It's not like a Gwen Stefani jam or anything, but the beat rocks while also being dancable and it's got a catchy chorus. I'm ready for the new album!
Listen:

Trashy Thursdays: Selena Gomez And The Scene - "Naturally"

Trashy Thursdays will be happening every Thursday and will feature the trashy pop songs I kinda love. Don't get it twisted, I think pop music is an art form. But like all art, there are brilliant artistic works that are fresh and dynamic and new as well as less inspired pieces of art. Sometimes those less inspired bits are as much fun as the "good" stuff, that's why we're getting trashy!

This song is totally my jam right now. But just because I love it, doesn't mean that it's good. It could be... trashy.

It's by a Disney Channel star. Point one for trashy. It's got a slamming beat. Point for pop goodness. But the beat is jacked from a Miley Cyrus single. Trashy x2. It's got a good message. Pop Goodness. But the lyrics are little silly. Trashy. The video features a cute fifteen year old in a series of borderline age inappropriate designer duds while dancing against green-screened black and white zigzags and quick cuts. Yeah, it's deliciously trashy. Here you are, world: Selena Gomez & The Scene singing "Naturally"

Katy Perry Is A "California Gurl"

I'm kinda loving the newly released single from everyone second favorite faux-lesbo (after Anne Heche, naturally.) Katy Perry found a new kind of gurl to sing about, "California Gurls" to be precise. It's a sunny summertime jam, perfect for jamming on the way to the beach or spinning at the roller rink. I'm really love the crazy cover art for the single, too! Snoop Dogg drops by to lend his support of every beach boys' favorite kind of lady. Katy is definitely looking to take Ke$ha down!

Anybody Else Excited For The New Scissor Sisters Disc?

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the upcoming Scissor Sisters' album Night Work. I was deeply in love with New York band's self titled debut, but the follow up left me less excited. I was willing to give the band another chance, not just because the cover was pretty sweet:Sex-ay! The band leaked a sneak peak of the album closer "Invisible Light" about a month ago, and it keeps randomly popping into my head. That's a good thing. The beat is funky, yet understated and Ana Matronic's vocals are the most perfect I've ever heard them. The added bonus of Ian McKellen's voice over (ala Vincent Price in "Thriller") makes it a hot new jam.



I'm not as crazy about the lead single, "Fire With Fire." It's a more mid-tempo track, sort of a Fray-meets-Killers style inspo-pop affair. I like it, but it's not nearly as awesome as "Invisible Light" I'm really hoping it leads to a hotter, hookier follow-up single.

All-in-all I can't wait for Night Work to drop on June 28, 2010. Hottness!

In Search Of The Perfect Pop Record: Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance"

Each week, Picture & Conversations is going on a search. A quest, if you will, for the holy grail for pop fans like myself. The perfect pop record is out there; but can I find it? Join me as I go In Search Of The Perfect Pop Record. To understand my definition of perfection, check this post.

Perfection in pop music requires a certian blend of things. Strong hooks, strong musicality, great beats and instrumentation, a unique sound and look must be combined with heart and soul.

Lady Gaga burst onto the scene with a somewhat silly pop song called "Just Dance" that blended many of those things. It doesn't look like much on the surface, but when you dig deeper into that song and rest of Gaga's output you find some of the strongest pop songwriting of the decade. No better place to start than her single "Bad Romance" from her most recent disc, The Fame Monster.

"Bad Romance" has more hooks than I hardly know what to do with. A rebel cry opens the track, and then a nonsense phrase beats it's way into your brain. You try to resist, but she wants your "love, love, love/I want your love" and then it's onto a pre-chorus, a chorus, the "ra ra ah ah ah gaga oh lalas" another verse stuffed with Hithcock references and then sweeping into the chorus again. The first half of the bridge sneaks into the full bridge/chorus that sinks it's teeth into your tender ear with a well place swoop (and French!)

Who cares what the lyrics are, who cares what anybody is saying. Your brain is under the control of "rah rah ah ah ah roma ro mama gaga oh la la" and you like it. WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE!


The amazing part is that this is a story behind this song. It's about being in love with your best friend, and it's brings a level of heartache to this brilliant composition. It's a blend of heart and machine, and that's what makes it possibly perfect.

Miley Cyrus Knows Why The Caged Whore Sings

Miley Cyrus has ditched the Madonna/Whore thing she's been rocking of late for the straight up teen-stripper act. Her new album is called Can't Be Tamed and while the album cover has her posing as a baby-faced rock skank the title track's video is craziness on a whore 'nother level.

The song is kinda boring, electro-stamped pop/rock in the vein of Ke$ha, Glambert or Britney's "If You Seek Amy." But the video is trashy greatness. She plays a newly discovered winged creature, Avis Cyrus, and she escapes her confines with a posse of co-ed dancers. She grinds on the boys and the girls, as all winged creatures do, and basically acts like Lady Gaga without the vocal talent. (OH SNAP!)
Watch:

Beyonce Is A '60s Pin Up, So "Why Don't You Love Me?"

Beyonce keeps trucking out videos from her 2008 double disc I Am... Sasha Fierce. Her latest, a send up of 1960s pin ups with her character B. B. Homemaker fixing a car in Daisy Dukes, swigging a martini in her bed and rocking a sexy librarian look while dusting her Grammys. It's campy fun, which matches the retro funk vibe of "Why Don't You Love Me?" The whole thing is worth checking out: