Cyrax

Listened to the whole album on Pitchfork. Definitely not a mindblowing record but still a nice listen nonetheless. I guess not as good as her debut but I'll still be giving it several spins. Crescendo is really cool, by the way! Wonder if the album is going to chart at all...

An interesting interview: http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/fe...at-be-confused/ Little Boots: ‘f***ing Great, Be Confused’ Four years since her debut, Little Boots is back - and this time she’s doing things her way. What is success? Trying to measure the difference between a loss and a win is easy if someone is keeping score, but often it’s more complicated than that. A top five debut album for a solo artist, for example. That has to be a good thing, right? Of course it is. But everything is relative. At the start of 2009, Victoria Hesketh had the world at her diminutive feet. Under the Little Boots pseudonym she’d just topped the influential BBC Sound Of poll, and was nominated for the BRITs Critics’ Choice award. In the former she’d bested Florence + The Machine, La Roux and Lady Gaga. Expectations were stratospheric. Anything but a chart topper and world domination was going to feel like a missed opportunity. So, when ‘Hands’ didn’t hit the top spot, and dropped quickly out of the top forty altogether, many feared the worst. The fact that it spawned two top twenty singles and, since then, has been certified gold in the UK barely makes a footnote when the world of pop passes judgement. Those same acts critics had backed Little Boots above at the start of the year were quickly becoming major superstars. In a world where everything is distilled to a list, the comparisons were inevitable. So far, so downbeat. There’s no need for long faces, dear reader. For a start, ‘Hands’ was actually a brilliant record - immediate, clever and harder to box than many would like. But more than that, the events around it can only have led to what we’re presented with now; Little Boots is back, and she’s brought along a second album that’s even better. With a title like ‘Nocturnes’, it’s no surprise that Hesketh’s new full-length is a more mature affair. Not only does it suit her well, but it firmly casts aside the baggage that surrounded her debut. On her own terms, Little Boots is simply a talented artist with a great record and control of her own destiny. The difference is there for all to see. “There were times in the last few years where, if I’m honest, I was completely depressed. I’m a creative person; to keep creating things, and then having to keep them vacuum packed in a bubble, and no one to hear them, you start going crazy. Questioning what you do, questioning if you’re any good. It was really difficult. I was so frustrated to not be getting the album out, and I felt the pressure from all the fans who’ve been waiting for ages. I was as frustrated as the people waiting for it.” When we meet Hesketh, she’s in a confessional mood. It’s obvious she’s been through a lot to get to where she is today, though it’s firmly behind her now. At the heart of the issue seems to be a need for control; something that isn’t always easy to find when you’re another cog in the hype machine. “It was like banging my head up against a brick wall with the label situation,” she admits. “They were really good, but they never really shared a vision. I think they just got excited when I started getting hyped. Ultimately, it was holding me back, although I didn’t see it at the time. It wasn’t until I parted ways that I thought, shit, well, I’ve got to have faith in myself now. It made me get the guts to follow my own instincts, to realise that actually, I could do it.” An artist isn’t supposed to see their label as a millstone, but not many are as obviously creative as Hesketh. As we talk through the four years between her debut and its follow up, it’s her decision to work by her own rules, releasing ‘Nocturnes’ via her own label, that provided the platform for what followed. “It has been a complete new lease of life, it’s made me realise that there are other ways to do it. It’s harder work, because I’m doing it all my own way. There’s a lot more nuts and bolts work, which does take up a lot of your time where you could be being creative. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to be successful or have a good career, or create good things, but ultimately you get a lot more control. It’s definitely a lot better. The whole move was really scary, but I feel a lot more empowered now.” Rightly so. If there’s one thing Little Boots is definitely not lacking, it’s self-awareness; you get the impression that there’s little need for industry analysts to tell her what’s going on. As bright as the future looks, it would be impossible not to cast an eye back on the past. Few artists experience the whirlwind she encountered and come out the other side to tell the tale. Certainly, most would be a lot more jaded. Despite it all, there’s little bitterness to be found. “The BBC thing helped me hugely. Not just that; the whole hype thing. It’s enabled me, especially internationally. You don’t realise the impact that it has. We haven’t stopped touring, all over the world, ever since. Even in years when I released no music, I was doing huge South American tours. It’s really positive, but the pressure on home ground, in the UK, before the record was even finished in my case; it’s good and bad, obviously.” So far, so balanced, and it isn’t long before she’s nailed both the reason we love her, and quite probably why ‘Hands’ never hit the heights it should have. “A lot of people’s problem with me as an artist is, ‘you’re not Kylie Minogue, but you’re not Hot Chip. We’re confused, can you tell us what you are please, because otherwise we can’t figure it out.’ They’re probably my two favourite artists, but if you can’t decide which one I am, f***ing great, be confused. I realised that I don’t have to answer to anyone like that anymore. I don’t have to decide. “I’m not being like, ‘oh, you can’t put me in a box!’ I really hate that. But it’s just about not worrying if you don’t live up to other people’s expectations. Because the first record was all about everyone’s expectations, and a lot of people’s problems stemmed from that I didn’t necessarily live up or fit, in terms of the record, or what the project was about.” “One time I was playing at Trump Towers for the launch of his daughter’s diamond range,” she continues, “and getting paid in diamonds. It’s like, what the f*** is going on here? Even though that’s amazing, how the f*** does that relate to what I’m doing? “It spun out of control. Not in a bad way. It’s just it didn’t feel like it was about music, and I hadn’t written a song for eight or ten months because I’d been living on planes and in airports. It’s just unsustainable; I should’ve kept going, but it was so intense. And when I got back, everything just stopped. “People like Florence, she’d kept writing on tour and when she came back she had another album to put out, but I find it really difficult to be touring and writing at the same time. I really kick myself now for not keeping up writing when I was touring. But you’re so busy. I ended up a bit detached from my art. “I’m a lot more comfortable in my own skin now. Where I fit or where I don’t fit. I don’t have to live up to someone else’s ideals.” The road back to our ears has been a drawn out one. Over the past year or so, we’ve all known Hesketh has been at work. The odd 12” here, a track appearing there. Each showed an artist that was going back to her roots; more concerned with the art than simply the charts. “I did a few things last year. Part of me thinks, would I have been better not doing anything, and sitting on it all until now, when it’s totally ready? That’s what a lot of people do. But I was finding it really hard, like I say, being in this vacuum, having all these songs and no one hearing them. But now people are saying, what’ve you been doing for four years, like I’ve just been on holiday. Having a pina colada in Tenerife or something. And it’s like; no, I’ve been working my arse off. “I did become a bit of a night owl. Seeing the night as escapist. Because the first album, a lot of it was escapist, but it was very safe, bouncy, dreamy. And this album, I really wanted to make it more of a reality. More relatable, more realistic. Your own time, you go crazy, get away from your obligations and really see what it is that sets you free. And music is part of that. There are songs that feel like going out clubbing, and songs that feel like 3am, coming home, or crying your eyes out. Or just getting ready to go out. All these different characters that inhabit night time.” ‘Nocturnes’ certainly achieves all of that. It’s born of the club but is, crucially, wonderfully tempered. The infectious hooks of her previous works are obvious for all to hear, but they’re matched alongside the kind of light and shade that removes any suggestion that this is simply throw away, disposable fare. This isn’t day glo, hands in the air abandon, but a rounded, considered work that captures everything that’s brilliant about electronic music. And yes, it’s pop, but like all great pop records that’s no dirty word - it’s simply intelligent enough to relate. Part of the plaudits have to go to the album’s producer. Not that Hesketh ever really believed DFA co-founder Tim Goldsworthy would be interested. “I think my manager put me in touch with him originally. The Hercules And Love Affair album he produced, I’m a huge fan. But I didn’t really think the guy who started DFA; he’s never going to take me seriously, he’s never going to produce my silly pop songs. When I met him, he totally got it, and I was like, wow. Because he got all the influences, and he knew that I was taking it seriously, that I was musical, that I wasn’t just trying to jump on some bandwagon. He just got me, and I never really expected that. It was a really amazing surprise. “I actually worked with him a year and a half ago, and I curse myself for not saying at that point, this sounds great, let’s do the whole record together. I got distracted by my A&R, I listened to my record label, saying this is too weird, it’s not commercial enough, keep trying. And it wasn’t until I broke with the label that I was like, these songs are great, and they sound immense, I’m going to give Tim a call and grovel. ‘Are you still up for this? I know I should’ve made this call a year ago... I’m in charge now though, will you still do it?’ “It was wicked because he’s got an amazing studio in Bristol, with literally the most analogue synths you’ve ever seen. I went down there every week for six weeks, and we just went through every track and stripped it back down, before building it back up again. Every track was done in the same room, with the same instruments, the same time period, and I think you can really feel the cohesiveness. I’m so pleased we did that. “It doesn’t sound overproduced. I’ve written with a lot of pop writers, but it’s not been chasing radio play. I’ve just tried to shut that out and follow what I think it should be, and what I think would work musically. It’s quite hard not to buy into that pressure, and it’s that pressure that was, I think, blocking me musically. Trying to please other people.” Like a phoenix from the flames, it’s that that’s made the return of Little Boots so perfect. In not trying to please others, she’s made the record we always knew she could. She isn’t Kylie, nor is she Hot Chip - she’s not even Alexis Taylor in gold hot pants - but by simply being herself she’s recorded one of the standout albums of the year. If that isn’t a success, we don’t know what is. Little Boots’ new album ‘Nocturnes’ will be released on 6th May via On Repeat Records.

Is it really coming in 2 weeks? It took so long, can't believe we're finally getting it!

So I thought it's really not happening anymore but I found a quite recent interview (posted Dec. 12th) where she talks about the album being almost ready! http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/fe...-more-at-peace/ Three years is a long time to leave it between albums. Last time we had a new Little Boots record, Victoria Hesketh was undoubtedly under a huge amount of pressure, having (somewhat controversially) beaten the likes of Florence and Lady Gaga to the title of Sound Of 2009, and had won the Critics Choice at that year’s Brit Awards. So when it came to following up her debut, ‘Hands’, no one can blame her for taking her time. But the wait is soon to be over, as she readies the release of her second long player, for which she won’t even tell us the name. “We are very close now, just putting the finishing touches in the studio,” she says, “I wrote it all over the world.” As she tells us about the new album, it’s clear that whilst she’s nervous about the period of absence, it’s allowed her to make the record that she’s always wanted to make. “I feel a lot more at peace about where I’m at creatively as an artist now than a year or so ago,” she concurs, “I think everyone is always nervous releasing anything they’ve created into the world, but I’ve realised what I want to do and how I can achieve it, rather than trying to please other people.” “I have spent a lot more time and care on the songs and production,” she continues, “it definitely feels more representative of me of an artist, at least now in 2012. It’s less 80s synth pop influenced, it’s quite an upbeat album, which I think has stemmed from the fact I have been DJing a lot, and listening to a lot of dance music.” And were we to be afforded a quick glance in Little Boots’ 2013 diary, we’d hope to see some tour dates penned in, and maybe a few UK festivals, and we’re not alone; Victoria, it seems, is definitely excited about the prospect of getting back out on the road. “I don’t know the extent yet but I really hope to do proper European and American tours and get to go back to Japan and maybe even Australia…” she confirms, “I really miss touring a lot, which is something I didn’t think I’d say for a long time. But now we have so much new material I can’t wait to get out there and share it.” But yes, the thread title has to be amended. ;)

Lana Del Rey

Looks like she fell off the face of the Earth! :P

The tracklisting is better than The Ultimate Collection since it's chronological and this is her first worldwide single disc compilation so it's probably going to do decently. There's a deluxe edition that has some more hits (kinda like Madonna's Celebration or Celine Dion's My Love), but for some reason they snubbed "Miracle" in favor of "I Belong To You" and once again the Mariah duet "When You Believe" is ignored. It seems the deluxe edition is released outside the US (or is digital only, I'm not sure). 19 Love Will Save The Day 20 One Moment in Time (Remastered) 21 It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be 22 My Name Is Not Susan 23 I Belong to You 24 Run to You 25 Queen of the Night (Radio Edit) 26 Count On Me 27 Step By Step 28 It’s Not Right But It’s Okay 29 I Learned from the Best 30 If I Told You That 31 Heartbreak Hotel 32 Million Dollar Bill

It's been 5 years since The Ultimate Collection and that wasn't a worldwide release and her death put attention on her classics again so I don't see how this wouldn't do well during Xmas. Surely it'll be one of those albums people will be giving as gifts.

It is coming, Billboard announced it last month. No details yet. The first authoritative greatest hits album from the late singer Whitney Houston is due out this fall in the U.S. on RCA Records. While a tracklist, title and release date has not been announced, sources have suggested it will be the first compilation to span her entire career and include the familiar hit versions of her Billboard chart-topping singles. That would stand in contrast with Houston's first, and only other American hits set, "Whitney: The Greatest Hits," which was released in 2000. While that 36-track Arista Records album offers most of her best-known ballads, it substituted remixes of her uptempo singles instead of the well-known original versions. For example, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is represented by a Junior Vasquez club mix, while "So Emotional" was reworked by Dave Morales. To date, the album has sold 2.6 million copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. This year, it has moved 836,000 -- most in the wake of Houston's death on Feb. 11. It is currently the fourth biggest-selling album of 2012. In her lifetime, Houston notched 39 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with 23 of those reaching the top 10. Of those, a whopping 11 went to No. 1, including "How Will I Know," "I Will Always Love You" and "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)." Her most recent Hot 100 hit was 2009's "Million Dollar Bill," which peaked at No. 100. (Though it climbed to No. 1 on the Dance Club/Play Songs chart, in part thanks to the popularity of a remix by the Freemasons.) Unlike Houston's superstar peers of the '80s and '90s (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion and so on), Houston is one of the few to only have one greatest hits album in their U.S. catalog. Previous to his death, Jackson had five sets dedicated to his Epic Records material. Meanwhile, Madonna's Warner Bros. catalog is represented by three best-ofs (not including a ballads compilation). Outside of America, Houston issued "The Ultimate Collection" in 2007, which is a more traditional hits album and features 18 songs (the bulk of which were not remixed). On the Official U.K. Albums chart, it peaked at No. 3. http://www.billboard.com/news/new-whitney-...007791762.story Since there has not been a proper worldwide single disc compilation, wonder if they will go that way, that would ensure huge sales during Xmas etc. But it would be missing many songs, I'd prefer a double disc but thematically different from the 2000 compilation (the George Michael slow/fast distinction). And of course unfortunately it'll contain some usual suspects that I'm not a big fan of, like "So Emotional", I hope they include some lesser known singles like "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" or "My Heart Is Calling".

Is the album not coming after all?

So "Headphones" didn't even chart? It's an OK song I guess, but nothing new for her, don't know how the label still expects her to be successful.

What's with her obsession with buzz singles anyway? Hope we get info on producers soon!

Great choice, love the song!

The Greg Kurstin tracks keep reminding me of Little Boots. And when did Rick Nowels became an electro-pop producer? Last time I heard about him in the mainstream, he was co-writing heartfelt ballads with Madonna. :blink: It's obvious they are hoping this would be one of the biggest female albums of 2012, but weren't they afraid of alienating her fanbase? I'm not a big fan of the debut so I'm enjoying this, but...

Any news on this? It's coming in the Summer I guess, but anything on producers, collaborators?

TIC is really a dead album, 16 out of its 17 tracks are on Celebration, most of them in the same versions. It reappeared on iTunes for a while but it is no longer pushed in any markets, it's probably on the verge of going out of print. It is unlikely that it could add to its total at this point but of course it will remain the best selling solo female greatest hits album no matter what.

No they won't. Madonna is certainly not going to rush to the studio after she finishes her 8 months long tour. In 2 or so years when the new album can come out, album sales will be even lower and less relevant and she will once again focus on the tour. It's funny how all the stress about Madonna flopping is in fact about Madonna earning slightly less $$$ than she actually is. Why can't it be accepted at the age of 54 and after 30 years in the biz she's no longer "chart queen" and enjoy that she's still going on and give new songs and live performances for the fans? Those tweeters harassing Guy Oseary about promo is simply scary, I'd love to know what he really thinks of that.

Due to its chart peak it's included on Number Ones which was quite a success so I wouldn't think a song like that is "forgotten".

And by Michael Jackson. Black or White must be one of the most famous "rap interludes"!

Can't believe I've been voting for Telephone since like round 1 and it's gonna win. :(

She doesn't need to promote since she doesn't get that much more money out of that compared to XF, it's the label who should be more upset about the CD not reaching 500k yet.

I'm surprised Best Of Bowie sold that much, considering his semi-retirement...

Good is subjective and those albums sold because of the hype, Taylor Swift was predicted to sell a million long before anyone heard a song from the album, people buy (or used to) buy albums based on the songs they are exposed to, of course good word of mouth always helps but in the 90s there were plenty of albums bashed by critics that became hits, also a lot of albums that everyone only bought for one big hit and the rest of the tracks nobody cared about. Cheryl Cole is a good example, her albums (well at least the second, can't recall reviews of the first) were trashed by critics but they still sold very well, do you think if there was no "check before buy" then people would have bought LESS Cheryl because of critics? I seriously doubt that. On one hand you have iTunes now that allows people to buy the *one* popular song and just ignore the album, they are not forced to pay for 10 more tracks they don't have the time/patience/interest to check out, this is the general trend but the few albums that defy this cannot be called "better" because it's subjective and I'm pretty sure many people who buy the hits on iTunes have no clue whether the parent album is good or bad. Then there's illegal downloading, you have too much faith in people that download first and then supposedly buy it, I don't think that's the case, it might be true for a select few people who still enjoy collecting CDs, or fans of an artist that want to support them, but chances are, if they download good quality files then they probably won't need the actual CD. So it is bigger than just "have a choice" but I still can't feel sorry for the labels and the shops because they got the most out of pop music before the digital era, they sold millions of CDs in the past that people probably never listen to anymore since music became so disposable with the media always hyping the new and moving on from the old acts.

There are fans of any artist who worship the latest stuff like it was the best thing ever, it's hardly an indicator, lot of Christina fans were happy about Bionic as well. 'Underperforming' has nothing to do with fan response because that doesn't pay the bills, the general public does. And yes Aphrodite spent 6 months on the chart but most of the time its sales were very low, just 5k/week and not even the subsequent singles could give it a bigger rise for a long time.

Fan response is always the same, some hating, some loving it. I don't see how it can called be a "good" era for her when all the promo she did was for nothing, she proved that an X-Factor slot is not invincible, not something to be proud of.