Boombox Finally Drops

While Japan received the first release of Kylie Minogue's Boombox, a remix compilation spanning from 2000-2008, way back in early December, North America, as per usual, had to wait. I must admit I was surprised to learn that there even was a release date, considering the embarrassing performance of X, her latest studio album, in the US (but she managed to nab a Grammy nomination for best dance record!).

I was anxious to get my copy so I rushed to the Virgin Megastore in Union Square after class. Inside, I quickly found it under the new releases with a good number already gone! Plus it was marked with a big $10 sticker to draw people in. The artwork is pretty experimental with chopped up images of Kylie's various body parts spelling out the title.

The remixes are, for the most part, cohesive which creates an amiable flow to the album. Throughtout the course of eight years presented on the album, Kylie has released a multitude of remixes. Are these the best? No (seriously, a Bini & Martini mix over Freemasons?). Do they suffice? I suppose. While they may not be the rarest mixes of the songs, there are gems such as the Chemical Brothers interpretation of Slow, as well as the unreleased title track, Boombox, reworked by LA Riots. Overall, it's a well put together compilation to appease the desire for new Kylie material between studio albums. Check out one of the tracks below:

Download/Come Into My World (Fischerspooner Mix)

Kylie's New Tous Campaign

Kylie Minogue's new campaign was unveiled earlier this week for jewelry and accessory brand Tous via their website. All I can say is gorgeous! Finally Kylie is looking less matronly and more fresh. The image is evocative of her Brigitte Bardot-inspired Body Language era, circa 2003. I hope this photo session is used in their print ads! I always love seeing Kylie flipping through Vogue.

$ucce$$ for Kelly

Well, America has bought into Kelly's effort to revitalize her faltering pop career. Perhaps intrigued by the censoring of the song's title, listeners were eager to purchase My Life Would Suck Without You, Clarkson's follow-up to the commercially and critically disastrous My December. The song shot up the chart to the top position shortly after its release on January 16 (my birthday!).

More importantly, my girl BritBrit holds strong in the top 10 with Circus at #9 and Womanizer holding its own at #19. If U Seek Amy, the upcoming third single, has been plagued with censorship difficulties. Radio stations are demanding that the song be renamed to If U See Amy to appease the outcries of anger from soccer moms across the country. In my opinion, if you have to go through the trouble of editing and renaming a song it isn't worth the release; simply select another single (I know, there was that whole 'Vote for the next single' thing on her site but the public doesn't always know what they want).

It is pop courtesy for the third single be a slower-tempo song: Pussycat Dolls' PCD, 1. Don't Cha 2. Beep 3. Stickwitu. Brit's own In the Zone, 1. Me Against the Music 2. Toxic 3. Everytime. It's just common practice. Thus, rather than fussing with If U Seek Amy, Brit's crew should focus on creating an editted radio mix of Unusual You.

Gossip Girl Spin-Off Gets Stamp of Approval

The CW has agreed to finally shoot a pilot for the much talked about offshoot of the wildly popular drama, Gossip Girl. Rather than centering around the overly dramatic life of little Jenny Humphrey (thank god), it will feature a teenage Lily van der Woodsen as she leaves her family nest and sets her sights on Hollywood glamour. Surely there will be a young Rufus Humphrey attempting to get his break into rock stardom to join Lily in the big city. Oh, and did I mention it will be set in the 80s? Can't wait to see what the stylists conjure up for the wardrobe.

The pilot has yet to be cast, but it set to air May 11 in place of Gossip Girl. Furthermore, it has yet to receive the green light to became a full-fledged series.

Kelly Clarkson Seeks Redemption

Kelly Clarkson debuted her new single, My Life Would Suck Without You, earlier this week. The track comes from her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted which was influenced, as she has stated, by Garbage and Mozart. She recruited OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder to produce the album and help make it a hit (he has worked with Leona Lewis, Hilary Duff, Pussycat Dolls, Natasha Bedingfield, etc.). Also, Clarkson has been working with Britney-mastermind, Max Martin who is responisble for songs such as ...Baby One More Times\, Oops!, and If U Seek Amy from Britney's latest album. Martin also produced Clarkson's biggest hit Since U Been Gone as well as Behind These Hazel Eyes.

Max Martin produced My Life Would Suck Without You which tries, and fails, to be a Since U Been Gone Part II. It's a mediocre, generic pop song that reeks of desperation. It's kind of sad to see Clarkson this way; she has had quite the roller coaster ride when it comes to success. Hopefully her personality will shine through a bit more in the rest of the album which is set to release on March 17. 'Til then, check out the first single below (mind the uber-Photoshopped cover):

Download/My Life Would Suck Without You.mp3

Pre-Fall 2009

While many collections have been rather lackluster, a trend has begun to surface throughout several collections. Designers seem to be inspired by 1960s art and fashion, regressing back to the days of Twiggy and bold mod prints. Michael Kors and Diane von Furstenberg, as well as Nicole Miller and Missoni among others, presented their 60s-inspired collections for Pre-Fall 2009 over the past month pairing their print-heavy designs with black tights, a trend that continues into the new year.

Michael Kors

Nicole Miller
Missoni

New Girls Aloud

A rip of the new Girls Aloud song, Memory of You, leaked onto the internet this week. It is set to be the B-side to The Loving Kind, which will be release tomorrow, January 12. Memory of You is one of the best songs I've heard from the group in a while. The majority of the song is sung by Kimberly Walsh, who seldom receives solo parts, let alone carries a song. Nicola Roberts also is featured on the song.

The song is dreamlike with a persistent, pulsing beat accompanied by synths. It is reminiscent of Untouchable from their latest album, Out of Control. I don't understand why it was left off the album, or why they don't feature Kimberly more often; she has an amazing, melodic voice. Check it out the song below:

Download/Memory Of You

Kylie & Pierre

While watching Kylie Minogue's magnificent X2008 Tour (via Youtube) I noticed a little gem: her shoes. I discovered, by searching through the tour book, that they were designed by master shoe designer, Pierre Hardy. The pair Kylie dons during her Cheer section of the concert is an adaptation of his sneaker-stiletto, pictured on the right, circa Spring '08. It's a perfect twist on the classic trainer!


The X2008 tour is such a beautiful show, filled with gorgeous costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier; I just wish I could have seen it live!