Post by Anthony on Feb 28, 2014 12:59:06 GMT -5
This says that unlike Madonna, Kylie is not trying too hard to remain relevant or successful.
Hehe. On the photo captions they call Kylie a "Queen" and Madonna a "Pop Singer."
Kylie Minogue: the accidental princess
Hehe. On the photo captions they call Kylie a "Queen" and Madonna a "Pop Singer."
Pop Queen: Kylie Minogue
U.S. pop singer Madonna
U.S. pop singer Madonna
Kylie Minogue: the accidental princess
Unlike her assumed inspiration, Madonna, Kylie Minogue has never fought tooth and nail to be of-the-minute or to tell a very public personal story. It has been a burden and a benefit for her. For a long while she was seen as a follower, and a lightweight one at that; but she hasn't been tainted with Madonna's edge of desperation in screaming out, "I'm still relevant and cutting edge."
That approach now has to be seen as a defining element of Minogue's career and may even be the reason we can still talk about the pupil while the teacher is being urged into gym-free retirement.
At her peak, Madonna sought out the sharpest minds around - songwriters, producers, designers, stylists and choreographers - and had them mould her message. And it was her message: empowerment, sexuality, individuality and an undercurrent of anger at having been ignored, insulted and belittled along the way. They built her songs, which took from the clubs most of her fans never entered, and presented her in styles that had not yet crossed from the underground to the mainstream.
For nearly two decades Madonna sounded new and predictive. So much so that the success of trends that emerged from the underground could almost be attributed to her, and often were by the more sycophantic end of the media. The legacy of that, though, has been a greater degree of urgency and neediness in her pop dotage this past decade, as she has so clearly been neither ahead of the curve nor particularly potent. In 2012, MDNA pushed so hard it practically begged to be loved but was cold, stale and depressingly ordinary.
Superficially at least, Minogue worked in a similar fashion after breaking with the Stock, Aitken Waterman organisation that created the first decade of her career. Writers, producers, stylists and choreographers came in; new looks and sometimes different sounds emerged with each album.
There were differences, though, which remain right up to this, her 12th album. Minogue has only ever wanted to make pop music so has never sought nor projected a message. Her views on independence, anger, sexuality, politics et al were at most implied, but generally kept well away from songs and interviews. She has never really sought to be the public face of any musical trend.
Sexercize and Kiss Me Once have been written by fellow Australian Sia, the in-demand hired hand bringing pop smarts for heavy hitters such as Beyonce, Katy Perry and Rihanna. But rather than the simmering ballads Sia is noted for, these songs are either mid-tempo and heavily treated, or old school and lightly touched. Ballads have never really suited Minogue and she wisely doesn't try for it.
Sexercize opens with a piano motif that suggests emotion but it is peppered with rapid backing vocals touched by hip-hop and electronica's more cartoonish end. Kiss Me Once is a big nod to '90s Kylie; a thick rhythm sound, a walking tempo and a melody that rises rather than soars. Even If Only, which has more space and Minogue's voice dropped a tad, counteracts the ballad tendencies with bouncing sounds and tricked-up vocals.
Although there is a sense of topicality in the Pharrell Williams' track I Was Gonna Cancel, you wouldn't necessarily pick it as a 2014 offering if you were carbon dating. He has given her a Daft Punk-style funky throwback to '70s disco (the basslines and hints of Chic guitars) as well as '80s synths and processed backing vocals. As good as the Pharrell track is, it is topped by Sexy Love, which has that euphoria in the chorus which marked the best bits of her peak SAW years.
The most "now" sounding songs open and close the album but they are not really indicative of the rest. Which isn't to say they are not good. The bubbling electro pop of Million Miles (where Minogue's voice is distorted to an almost Katy Perry squeak) is a highlight, as are the rolling verses that build into the choruses of Into the Blue. They overshadow Fine, which has a busy sonic palette that never really goes anywhere.
It would have been interesting to hear the results if Minogue had called on the songwriting services of another Australian, Kate Miller-Heidke, rather than Sia. Or maybe, if Miller-Heidke had called on Sia or some of Minogue's other contributors, such as Ariel Rechtshaid, Dan Nigro or Justin Raisen, for her fifth, wildly varied album.
The Brisbane singer-songwriter is a greater natural talent than Minogue; the swooning Bliss is vocally and musically a league or two above anything Minogue has attempted. But she is less focused, or maybe more ambitious. That is why her album O Vertigo! may work best as her calling card as a potential co-writer.
With rapper Drapht on the bright and bouncy Drama, Miller-Heidke channels both Salt-n-Pepa and something more like Sia's solo recordings. It is a straight-out radio pop song that is bettered for accessibility only by the title track which, with more electronic production, would not be out of place on a Minogue or Perry record. Meanwhile, with Megan Washington on Ghost, Miller-Heidke brings an arty sensibility to a spacious moment that is but a windswept film clip away from the '80s ballads Share Your Air (with Passenger as guest vocalist), and What Was I to You?.
O Vertigo! shows that Miller-Heidke could easily help Minogue step further out of the shadow of Madonna, but Kiss Me Once suggests Minogue is beyond caring about that.
That approach now has to be seen as a defining element of Minogue's career and may even be the reason we can still talk about the pupil while the teacher is being urged into gym-free retirement.
At her peak, Madonna sought out the sharpest minds around - songwriters, producers, designers, stylists and choreographers - and had them mould her message. And it was her message: empowerment, sexuality, individuality and an undercurrent of anger at having been ignored, insulted and belittled along the way. They built her songs, which took from the clubs most of her fans never entered, and presented her in styles that had not yet crossed from the underground to the mainstream.
For nearly two decades Madonna sounded new and predictive. So much so that the success of trends that emerged from the underground could almost be attributed to her, and often were by the more sycophantic end of the media. The legacy of that, though, has been a greater degree of urgency and neediness in her pop dotage this past decade, as she has so clearly been neither ahead of the curve nor particularly potent. In 2012, MDNA pushed so hard it practically begged to be loved but was cold, stale and depressingly ordinary.
Superficially at least, Minogue worked in a similar fashion after breaking with the Stock, Aitken Waterman organisation that created the first decade of her career. Writers, producers, stylists and choreographers came in; new looks and sometimes different sounds emerged with each album.
There were differences, though, which remain right up to this, her 12th album. Minogue has only ever wanted to make pop music so has never sought nor projected a message. Her views on independence, anger, sexuality, politics et al were at most implied, but generally kept well away from songs and interviews. She has never really sought to be the public face of any musical trend.
Sexercize and Kiss Me Once have been written by fellow Australian Sia, the in-demand hired hand bringing pop smarts for heavy hitters such as Beyonce, Katy Perry and Rihanna. But rather than the simmering ballads Sia is noted for, these songs are either mid-tempo and heavily treated, or old school and lightly touched. Ballads have never really suited Minogue and she wisely doesn't try for it.
Sexercize opens with a piano motif that suggests emotion but it is peppered with rapid backing vocals touched by hip-hop and electronica's more cartoonish end. Kiss Me Once is a big nod to '90s Kylie; a thick rhythm sound, a walking tempo and a melody that rises rather than soars. Even If Only, which has more space and Minogue's voice dropped a tad, counteracts the ballad tendencies with bouncing sounds and tricked-up vocals.
Although there is a sense of topicality in the Pharrell Williams' track I Was Gonna Cancel, you wouldn't necessarily pick it as a 2014 offering if you were carbon dating. He has given her a Daft Punk-style funky throwback to '70s disco (the basslines and hints of Chic guitars) as well as '80s synths and processed backing vocals. As good as the Pharrell track is, it is topped by Sexy Love, which has that euphoria in the chorus which marked the best bits of her peak SAW years.
The most "now" sounding songs open and close the album but they are not really indicative of the rest. Which isn't to say they are not good. The bubbling electro pop of Million Miles (where Minogue's voice is distorted to an almost Katy Perry squeak) is a highlight, as are the rolling verses that build into the choruses of Into the Blue. They overshadow Fine, which has a busy sonic palette that never really goes anywhere.
It would have been interesting to hear the results if Minogue had called on the songwriting services of another Australian, Kate Miller-Heidke, rather than Sia. Or maybe, if Miller-Heidke had called on Sia or some of Minogue's other contributors, such as Ariel Rechtshaid, Dan Nigro or Justin Raisen, for her fifth, wildly varied album.
The Brisbane singer-songwriter is a greater natural talent than Minogue; the swooning Bliss is vocally and musically a league or two above anything Minogue has attempted. But she is less focused, or maybe more ambitious. That is why her album O Vertigo! may work best as her calling card as a potential co-writer.
With rapper Drapht on the bright and bouncy Drama, Miller-Heidke channels both Salt-n-Pepa and something more like Sia's solo recordings. It is a straight-out radio pop song that is bettered for accessibility only by the title track which, with more electronic production, would not be out of place on a Minogue or Perry record. Meanwhile, with Megan Washington on Ghost, Miller-Heidke brings an arty sensibility to a spacious moment that is but a windswept film clip away from the '80s ballads Share Your Air (with Passenger as guest vocalist), and What Was I to You?.
O Vertigo! shows that Miller-Heidke could easily help Minogue step further out of the shadow of Madonna, but Kiss Me Once suggests Minogue is beyond caring about that.
