AoTS
i'm swooping in, rescinding my earlier claim that phoenix was it, brushing off tommy's attempt to crown karmella's game (as lovely and brilliantly catchy as they are, and as well as they wear catholic schoolgirl outfits in concert), and saying that the album of the summer is definitively the pipettes "we are the pipettes." i know i talked about them briefly before, but after going through a bunch of their mp3s over at the hype machine, i am sure. they're it. they're giddy, infectious, happy, sassy, fabulously british, and sound like they're a girl-group right out of the 60s with an updated veneer of slick indie pop. true, their songs might be so upbeat and so catchy and so infectious that they may make some of you want to, um, blow your brains out, but not me! i love 'em. they're coming along to the beach with me this summer for sure.
Comments
Yeah, I am pretty addicted to the Pipettes as well, and, I have also had to re-evaluate The Album of the Summer.
I'm behind you guys on this, 100%. I'm not entirely certain they meet the Barbeque Appropriateness Test, but I'm almost ready to waive that requirement. Though I really, really wish they pronounced it "pipe'ettes" and not "pip'ettes"
But the Pipettes aside, I think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have the strongest AoTS offering these days. At least, that's how things play out in my little uncool musical bubble - I don't know what life is like on the outside.
Damn, I thought we had solidarity on the Phoenix thing. These Pipettes, they do nothing for me. My Ronnettes-loving soul turns cold as stone when I hear them, and that video makes me wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha.
I have yet to abandon Phoenix, I am just having doubts.
I agree that the Ronnettes are better than the Pipettes, and the Shirelles might be better than both. But the music is just so much fun.
i'm with charles - i still love the phoenix album. in fact, i think it's probably better overall than the pipettes. but as far as music that wants to make me dance in a bikini on the beach while also riding in a convertible with the top down while drinking a pina colada, etc, the pipettes are winning.
I'm going to give Phoenix the nod. C, you're the reliable source when it comes to infectious pop, but the Pipettes, I dunno, I think they gave me diabetes. (Meant in a bad sense.)
yeah - as i said, i can definitely understand if they make some people want to blow their brains out. you know what i really wish? i really wish fountains of wayne would come out with a new album before summer is over. that would be perfect.
The only thing that gives me pause is the thought that the AoTS should be able to be the soundtrack to a Frankie and Annette movie and the Pipettes clearly get the nod under those circumstances
I donno. I like the Pipettes album a lot, but there's a definite Pussycat Dolls element to it. That's probably not their fault, though.
The reason I don't think the Pipettes can pull off AoTS duties -- and neither can Phoenix -- is that there's no urgency in the music. I know, summer tunes are mostly about sitting on the beach, relaxing and sipping a drink. But there also needs to be a subtle hint of panic: the realization that time and youth are fleeting, that September's almost here, and we're going to use up every drop of the season rather than go to bed at a reasonable hour, stay out of the sun, or generally leave any sunshine to rot on the vine. It ought to compel you to go have fantastic time.
But perhaps I'm alone in this. It might have more to do with my own neuroses than with the actual criteria that define a summer album.
I really like your assessment Tom, but I worry that pop albums that perfect come along too rarely to expect on a seasonal basis. But you're right about the hint of urgency.
It might not be quite the same, but if you can't wait for your Fountains of Wayne fix you might try these guys, from the late 70's. THE great unheralded powerpop band. Try the crummy lofi samples of "Too Late" or "Your Very Eyes".
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