9th March, 1998


Talk about pop music...

Single of the Week

"Stop" by Spice Girls



"Stop" was exactly what their critics thought that the Spice Girls would have done several months ago by now, but to confound them all, here are the girls with their surefire 7th number one. A Motown pastiche, but stamped all over with ver Spices big heeled boots and cheap n cheerful style, "Stop" is a top tune, a great big party floor-filler that snubs its nose at seriousness and criticism and gets down on the living room carpet and boogies. As ever, Sporty shines through, her voice soaring above her compatriots' like a big pink frisbee.

As if to further hack off the hacks, the b-sides are all live recordings from the band's first gig in Istanbul, and are all perfectly competent renditions of "Something Kinda Funny", "Mama" and "Love Thing". I've heard some bands that have claimed to be the "real" thing make a worse job of live shows.

God bless Aqua. God bless Robbie Williams. God bless Pop. And God bless the Spice Girls.

Rating: 9/10

The Rest

"Breathe" by Kylie Minogue

Similarly reviled in some circles, the Impossible Princess should pay scant attention, especially as her new material is her strongest ever. Forget those that tell you Madonna's cool now just cos she hangs around with William Orbit and owns a Bjork record: Kylie's the one that's really reinvented herself and turned herself from grating antipodean playtpus to husky pop sex koala. On "Breathe" she gives a nod and a wink to bands like St Etienne and One Dove with a slinky and well-crafted bit of dance pop, breathing the chorus so seductively that it feels like a warm and sensual breeze over the smooth curves of Ayres Rock. Time for my shower now.

A couple of remixes on the b-side, one by Sash! (sic) which unsurprisingly takes a Euro-house tack and the other by Todd Terry, also a house groove.

God bless Kylie too.

Rating: 8/10

"It's Like That" by Run-DMC vs Jason Nevins

A massive big phat beat runs through this pulsing rap monster like your heart pounding in your ribcage after you've run up and down the stairs sixteen times. Its old-style rap is completely swamped by the moist and tasty backing which elevates this into something very special indeed. In a time when in rap if you're not Wu Tang you're nobody (Will who?), "It's Like That" can stand proud in its Calvins, the Jason Nevins remix bringing it right up to date like a rush of blood to the head.

Surprise...remixes on the b-side, both of which have little more to offer apart from extended length.

Rating: 7/10

HeadCleaner Back to HeadCleaner...