Amy Studt's Paper Made Men

I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for depressed girls gone singer-songwriter, so I was delighted when former Avril Lavigne impersonator known as Amy Studt decided to become a Kate Bush impersonator with her sophomore album "My Paper Made Men".



1. Sad, Sad World
B-side to "Furniture" - alright album opener, but nothing amazing either. 6/10

2. She Ran
Distinctively average. 5/10

3. Furniture [Watch the video]
Sublime - perhaps a bit too sublime as it took me several listens to fully appreciate it. Doesn't really make sense to make this a single, even if they probably did it in hope that critics would latch onto it. 7/10

4. She Walks Beautiful
At five and a half minutes, this is the longest track on the album. The problem with lenghty tracks is that I usually get bored about half way in - not with this one though. It manages to keep my interest all the way through. I love the drums that kick in at 3:30. 8/10

5. One Last Cigarette
Another one of those "sublime" tracks that litter the album. It's nice enough, but I think it might be a grower. I'm pretty sure I'll regret giving it a low score, but for now it's a 6.5 with "grower potential". 6.5/10

6. Nice Boys
A proper upbeat catchy pop song with a chanting chorus proclaiming that nice boys don't last. A refreshing change of pace, even if the chorus runs a risk of getting annoying on too many listens. 7.5/10

7. Walking Out
My second favourite song on the album. She sounds eerily like Siobhán Donaghy on some parts of this song, which might be why I like it so much. 8.5/10

8. Chasing The Light [Watch the video]
Amy's #277 smash hit (as per Wikipedia) and the second single lifted off the album. Starts off average, but then leads into the shouty sing-a-long chorus. The added middle-8 is also a nice addition to the album version. 8/10

9. Paper Made Men
The only track that they seem to have splashed any cash on by getting Guy Sigsworth to co-write - and it paid off. Slightly weird in a Kate Bush kind of way, but that's how I like it! Best song on the album. 9/10

10. Here Lies More
I'll admit it - I'm pretty hard to impress when it comes to piano ballads, and this isn't a exception. Weak way to end the album, I would've preferred if it ended on a high note with "Paper Made Men". Maybe it's a grower, but for now - average. 5/10

Overall - it's patchy, but there's no major disasters on it. It's at least pleasant enough that it deserves more than a download-only release.

Download from UK iTunes
Download from 7 digital

Thank You Samantha Fox

Ever since Samantha Fox had big hit with "Touch Me (I Want To Feel Your Body)" back in the 80s, it seems customary for Page 3 girls to release a craptastic single. For those in the dark what a Page 3 girl is, it's basically the third page in the popular UK gossip rag The Sun featuring women with little to no clothing on. Well, the latest one to follow Sam's footsteps is Keeley Hazell; a girl who was discovered during Page 3 Idol. Yes, you read right - there's an annual Page 3 Idol contest!


To promote her single, Keeley released a one minute snippet of the video online which can be seen below.

The full video was supposed to be put up on download a few days ago, but for some reason it never happened, which is a shame because I can't wait to see the full video! It's a bit like Britney's "Gimme More", except that it has a bigger budget.

Universal Poplab Is Back

Some people might remember them for having a minor blog hit with I Could Say I'm Sorry (note that you can see my limp wrist flailing around in some shots of the video!) - well, they're back with a new cd out next week called "Seeds". I'm not too impressed with the lead single "Fame & Hate", which essentially is another "fame is bad" type of track. But the current single "On The Run" impress - it's not a million miles away from their previous releases, but why change a winning concept?


Since we're on the subject, I'd like to pimp one of my favourite tracks by them from their first album - unlike most of their stuff, it isn't uptempo, but a sweet little pop ballad with hilarious lyrics about a girl who finds out that Milli Vanilli is fake and aches for big tits like Samantha Fox and Sabrina. An absolute must for any iPod!

Download - Any More Than This (*.m4a)

Universal Poplab's official site
Universal Poplab's MySpace
Buy "Seeds"

Bobby's Latest Flop

Bobby's one of those bands that I always tend to overlook - not because they're bad, but because you never know if they're actually together or not. After their first album Romantic & Bleeding failed to top, well, any charts in 2003, they were dropped from their record label and it looked like it was all over for them. But like the pop troopers that they are, they started their own label and released the catchy singles Come Crashing In and their highest charting hit to date, She's History (SWE #12), in 2005. Bizarrely enough, Bobby seemed to split at this point and pursue other projects as lead singer Julian started a new group called Paper Faces, which essentially is Bobby with guitars instead of a synth. The horror!

The Paper Faces

Luckily, it wasn't the end of Bobby and they once again returned in autumn 2007 with the delightful Ghost Of You Remains, which disappointingly failed to make any impact and are now set to release the lovely pop ballad Autumn Never Leaves (below). Hopefully it'll turn their chart fortunes around a bit, because it really is a nice little pop song that deserves a better fate than charting outside the top 60.

Bobby's official site
Bobby's MySpace page

Welcome

Well, I got bored and started this blog basically. The name comes from one of the most defining moments of the 90s when the entire Beverly Hills school protests so that Donna Martin can graduate. As if anyone would even care (or be friends with Donna Martin) in real life.

As for the content - I guess pop culture in general and crap like that. Stick around and find out.