08/14/2007
Music News: Darren Hayes Disses John Howard, Plus Duran Duran, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Phil Spector, Robyn
Please welcome Robbie Daw, who will be penning occasional music posts for us here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own pop music site called Chart Rigger.
For the past two weeks, Brisbane-born Darren Hayes and his British husband, Richard Cullen, have been zipping around Australia as Hayes promotes his album, This Delicate Thing We've Made (out next week), and current single, "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful."
While Down Under, Hayes has been met with the realities of being a legally-married gay man outside of England, as Cullen has to travel with him on a tourist visa, rather than as his partner, under the current laws.
In turn, the pop star has worked some criticism of Prime Minister John Howard's anti-gay policies into his interviews: "It makes me angry and frustrated. I'm Australian and the way the law sits I can't bring my partner home as my partner. I would never have voted for John Howard and I encourage people not to. I don't think he speaks for this country in the same way I don't think George Bush speaks for the U.S."
Meanwhile, Darren scored the seventh Top 20 hit of his solo career on Sunday's official U.K. singles chart when "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful" debuted at #20. He posted on his MySpace blog that today he begins shooting the video for its follow-up, "Me, Myself And I."
While everyone's eager to speculate on the Madonna/Justin Timberlake/Timbaland collaboration, let us not forget that first comes the new Duran Duran album that J.T. 'n' T. had their Midas-dipped hands in.
Entertainment Weekly is currently streaming "Night Runner," a track produced by Timbaland and Danja, which features Timberlake on vocals along with Simon Le Bon. Actually, "Night Runner" isn't so much shocking as it is confusing...why don't you try figuring out which vocals are Le Bon's and which are Justin's.
Duran Duran's twelfth studio album is titled Red Carpet Massacre, and will be released October 30. But despite the early promotion of "Night Runner," the confirmed first single is the Timberlake-produced "Falling Down."
Prior to the recording sessions, longtime band member Andy Taylor split from the group last fall.
Murder trail, shmurder trial! Phil Spector continues working with an artist he says "reminds me of a young John Lennon."
Courtney Love is a stripper...again.
On the official Pet Shop Boys site, Neil Tennant denies The Sun's claim that Damon Albarn gave the Boys the smackdown.
After the jump: the return of Robyn, and today's new releases.
IMPORTED: Ten years ago, in that hazy period pre-Britney, Swedish teenager Robyn scored two major American hits with "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love."
After several record label growing pains, Robyn makes a gallant return this week as her self-released electro single, "With Every Heartbeat," has topped the U.K. chart.
Though only available on import, "With Every Heartbeat" is downloadable from 7 Digital.
TODAY'S NEW RELEASES: Country singer Lori McKenna's Unglamorous, produced by Tim McGraw and Byron Gallimore.
Alt rock act Eisley's Combinations.
Disco legend Thelma Houston's covers album, A Woman's Touch.
DJ Paul Van Dyk's In Between, featuring guests David Byrne, Wayne Jackson and Jessica Sutta of Pussycat Dolls.
The High School Musical 2 soundtrack. You now have three days to cram the lyrics into your memory before the Disney Channel movie airs Friday night.
Junior Senior's Hey Hey My Yo Yo. The half-gay (Senior) and half-straight (Junior) duo from Denmark sees a U.S. release of their sophomore album, which has been available internationally for two years.
Inching closer to adding The Beatles repertoire to iTunes, the online store adds John Lennon's back catalog today.
Posted 2:45 PM EST by Robbie in Courtney Love, Darren Hayes, Justin Timberlake, Music, Music Recommendations, Music Video, Pet Shop Boys | Permalink
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From the way that headline is written, it sounds like Darren Hayes is a person with a lot of anger.
Posted by: Gregoire | Aug 14, 2007 2:54:37 PM
It seems to me that the musical taste of most of my gay brethren is roughly equivalent to that of a fourteen year old girl. I will never understand it.
Posted by: peterparker | Aug 14, 2007 3:12:51 PM
...a 14 yr old girl with no guts.
i miss Andy's seasonal music tips, even tho some visitors judged the selections as kinda circuity.
Posted by: A.J. | Aug 14, 2007 3:34:03 PM
The Robyn single is truly fantastic--everyone should check it out! And thanks for the Duran Duran link. It's the first song of theirs I can really get excited about since "Electric Barbarella"…although do we really need another song with Timbaland tweeting in the background?
Posted by: Johnny | Aug 14, 2007 3:34:41 PM
Loves me some Duran Duran. And it's easy to tell the voices apart. Simon Le Bon can actually sing, unlike Justin Timbertwat, who sounds like a child crying. And it's too bad that Duran Duran feels that they need Timberland on their new CD to make it a hit. They are more talented than either of these posers they're working with!
Posted by: notorious | Aug 14, 2007 3:54:32 PM
The Robyn single is repetitive shite and is hardly the quality of work she gave us ten years ago. Just like the haircut, the song sounds like bad retro...only missing the "Oh!" entirely.
Shame on Great Britain after all the amazing acts that came from Sheffield.
Posted by: FizziekruntNT | Aug 14, 2007 4:08:05 PM
LOVE the Robyn single. For those that don't get it, give it a couple of tries... it's not a one-listen song. It's a grower, not a show-er.
Posted by: Chesnut | Aug 14, 2007 4:25:25 PM
Not wanting to diss Darren, but he can bring his partner into Australia under an Interdependency visa.
http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/interdependency/110-310/index.htm
Of course one the partner is in the country, they don't have the full range of partner rights, BUT they can work, study etc. His husband will only be recognised as his husband when they're on British soil, for example at the UK High Commission.
Posted by: Mike | Aug 14, 2007 4:30:47 PM
LOL @ Notorious re: Timberlake.
Timberlake and Rhianna (and Adam Levine, for that matter) have voices that I can only take in small doses for small periods of time. So nasal and whiny...
I just don't understand why Timbaland is trying so hard to over-expose himself. Didn't he get the P.Diddy/Rodney Jerkins/Jermaine Dupri memo about putting your brand all over every video, CD and song in one year? I'm tired of his sound already. I hope Madge puts more of HER onto her album than "JT & T."
Posted by: Derrick | Aug 14, 2007 4:35:00 PM
Robyn is sublime; she's pop done right. Her 2005 release has been revisited and prepped for the UK this summer; With Every Heartbeat has been around a bit, but is totally breathtaking. Give it a shot; you just may fall in love.
Posted by: midnight lounge | Aug 14, 2007 4:39:41 PM
I never thought Simon LeBon had the best voice and after all this time it's not going to have gotten better. Their fans are in their 30's and 40's--what are they thinking? Hardly the screaming teenage girls they used to sell to.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Aug 14, 2007 6:13:07 PM
Robyn is a third-rate disco diva.
Posted by: peterparker | Aug 14, 2007 6:16:47 PM
All hail Duran2!
Posted by: petey | Aug 14, 2007 7:02:02 PM
I hate it when disco divas find Gawd. It seems they can never sing anything again without putting God in it. "I will survive, with God by my side, I won't be petrified, hey, hey" (rolling eyes) Sing the Goddam song and shut up about your religion.
Posted by: Bobby | Aug 14, 2007 7:32:14 PM
You need to check out the whole Robyn album. See Who's That Girl and Be Mine for better examples of some excellent pop by her.
Posted by: wdcwoof | Aug 14, 2007 7:55:22 PM
LOVE the ROBYN track, i've had it on my ipod since last summer! Hopefully it will get a fair shake in the US.....
Posted by: jones33 | Aug 14, 2007 8:54:34 PM
I have to agree with Peter on this one. No longer can I step into gay clubs. No longer can I read gay music blogs.
Step into the future and see what there is to hear...
Sad.
Posted by: Br!ON | Aug 14, 2007 9:16:38 PM
Ha! Just noticed the Barbra Streisand/Barry Gibb "Guilty" record sitting on the keyboard in the last 18 seconds of the Robyn video -- never caught that before!
Posted by: Alex Krycek | Aug 14, 2007 10:23:13 PM
Love this column, man. Great recommendations... looking forward to more.
Posted by: AppleGator | Aug 14, 2007 11:43:43 PM
This is a fascinating post!
Posted by: KIm | Aug 15, 2007 10:36:00 AM
DURAN DURAN OWN ALL
Posted by: anonymous | Aug 15, 2007 5:21:27 PM
liking the duran track more and more. for another spectacular track from the new album, youtube search duran valley. seriously great.
Posted by: bingesafe | Aug 17, 2007 1:12:46 PM