[Video Playlist of the Week] Girl Power
The first quarter of the year is coming to a close and the women of the music industry have been slaying the competition. With new releases from some of your favorite artists and some artists you should know, this week’s playlist is packed full of the latest jams. Girl power!
- Madonna - Living For Love
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The queen of pop has been doing massive PR work for her new album Rebel Heart. Just this week she wrapped up “Madonna Week” on Ellen and just released tickets for her upcoming tour (35 cities in the U.S.). While her album may have dropped this week, it’s worth the listen for fans to hear the queen of pop coming back to the top.
- Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
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Ellie Goulding gained some major publicity for this song, which appeared on the 50 Shades Of Grey soundtrack. While the movie was a total flop amongst critics, the song went straight to #1 in most countries and snagged the #3 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
- Phoebe Ryan - Ignition / Do You… (R.Kelly / Miguel Cover)
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Browsing through Spotify’s “Top Hits” playlist, I discovered Phoebe Ryan’s mashup of R.Kelly’s “Ignition” and Miguel’s “Do You…” which is adorable (if you can call a song adorable) as well as catchy. While she doesn’t have many other songs yet, I’m guessing she’ll be in the “Top Hits” playlist with another song soon.
- Charli XCX - Famous
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Charli XCX just released her music video for “Famous” this week, which is directed by Eric Wareheim of Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! As a Tim & Eric fan myself, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. The video and song are “#LMFAO tite.”
- Marina And The Diamonds - Forget
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Marina And The Diamonds recently released her third album, FROOT, which has many critics fawning over her matured sound. A definite spring tune.
- Matt And Kim - Can You Blame Me
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Matt And Kim are about to drop their fifth studio album, New Glow, on April 7, 2015, but their newest single “Can You Blame Me” is already out for your listening pleasure. Perk: in this version of the song (Kim version), you can put your device (mobile, tablet, iPad) up to your face so it’s like Kim is singing through you.
- Florence + The Machine - St. Jude
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The English songstress has released her first single this week from her upcoming album, How Big How Blue How Beautiful, which will be released June 1, 2015.
- Best Coast - Heaven Sent
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FINALLY, Best Coast are putting together their new album, which is going to be released May 5, 2015. Thus far, if “Heaven Sent” and “California Nights” are indicators of how the album will sound, fans should get pumped (even Bill Murray is a fan). It seems Bethany Cosentino has been hard at work at something other than trying to get Drake to become her BFF.
- Oh Honey - Sugar, You
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The two New York singers came together a couple of years ago to create Oh Honey, an alternative-pop band with acoustic flare. Their newest EP, Wish You Were Here, dropped this week via Fueled By Ramen. The band is still under the radar, but have been featured on Glee, Red Band Society and various commercials.
- Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best
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This Aussie has been getting quite the hype lately with the release of her debut album this week, Sometimes I Think And Sit And Sometimes I Just Sit, which is exceptional.
Marina and the Diamonds: "FROOT"
The saying, “the third times’ the charm” has worked for few artists, and Marina and the Diamonds fits the phrase to a T when it comes to the release of her junior album, FROOT. She’s already established herself as a powerhouse indie-pop woman with many faces, some sweet and some fierce, but always fresh.
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With the release of her first album, The Family Jewels, in 2010, Marina Diamand is was an excited, young woman searching for the road of fame and fortune with an innocent sparkle in her voice. Her sophomore album, Electra Heart, took listeners on a journey through her alter-ego’s Madonna-esque heartbreaker lifestyle, which produced chart-topping hits like “How To Be A Heartbreaker” and “Primadonna” in 2012.
FROOT is different than anything Marina has done in the past; then again, she’s always been this way. Every album she has put out has been a different persona, but FROOT is Marina all grown-up. Taking cues from a place of self-discovery and space-y themes, FROOT is the perfect balance of sweet and powerful.
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Her singles thus far, “Froot” and “Forget,” might be the only two songs off the album that are reminiscent of the old Marina with Bjork style vocals mixed in. Nonetheless, they’re pop chart worthy while maintaining a strong indie sound (which might have to do with the 1980’s arcade 8-bit soundbyte in the background). “Blue,” a personal favorite, has that heartbreaker “girl power” perspective that Marina has been perfect at putting into lyrics: “No, I don’t love you/No, I don’t care/I just want to be held when I’m scared/And all I want is one night with you/Just cause I’m selfish/I know it’s true.”
Once again, Marina has done everything herself. Standing behind her one producer this time, Marina oversaw the mixing, the editing and the finishing all while writing all the lyrics herself. She said she was able to grow up, in a sense, from Electra Heart and become the woman she is today because of FROOT. Taking on influences from 70's disco and early 80's electronica, FROOT holds its own sound with Marina being the ringmaster behind it all.
While FROOT is different than the faces of Marina in the past, some of the songs might get lost for fans of her earlier, more upbeat work. It's not that the songs are good, it's that they are sultry and mature. Even if pop enthusiasts favor her singles off FOOT, the rest of the album is clearly definable as indie. But that's not why she does what she does; Marina wants people to follow her as she discovers herself and that's exactly why FROOT is the perfect fit as her junior album.