Idolator: duets

KristeenYoung And Patrick Stump Bring The Drama

Lucas Jensen — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:45:00 EST

KristeenYoung* has teamed up with Fall Out Boy mutton chop master Patrick Stump for the dramatic duet "That's What It Takes, Dear." Under the supervision of the super-awesome Tony Visconti, "Dear" rumbles and thunders its way over spiky pianos and low synths to its going-for-it conclusion. It's rather minimalist in arrangement, but big-sounding, which ain't easy. I hate to pigeonhole, but there's definitely a mid-period Tori Amos vibe here which is undeniable, particularly in its rhythmic construction. I don't consider this a bad thing at all, and I've got nothing against melodrama, particularly in music that might have an outside shot at going mainstream. Young sounds like she feels it, and Stump, with some smooth walkdowns, is a nice foil. In a world of Vivian Girls and Coathangers, I like to hear people that sound like they give two craps. I approve. I'm also rooting for Patrick Stump, who seems an affable fellow and provides a welcome counterbalance to the the garish pretty boys of Alternative Press covers.

~~KristeenYoung feat. Patrick Stump - That's What It Takes, Dear~~ [MP3, link expired]

* The press release annoyingly insists that she is also a band, referring to KristeenYoung as "they" and "them" even though we all know who really wears the pants in the "band."

For Some Reason I Can Think Of No Kinks-Related Pun

Lucas Jensen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Here is some more good news: The Kinks are getting this reunion thing into full swing, starting with a new album. Dave Davies is doing better after his stroke, and the band's taking it nice and slow. Quoth Ray Davies: "It depends if there's good music. We want good new music. I'd like to do it as a more collaborative thing than we used to do." Hmm. Cool, I guess. I admire the pragmatism, but let's stick to your 60s/early 70s definition of "good music" because the rest of the Kinks' oeuvre? Problematic. And, no, I will not seriously entertain any arguments about the 80s output being overlooked or misunderstood. This is the band that wrote "Big Sky" and "Waterloo Sunset" and "I Need You". They could have done so much better.

Regardless, a new Kinks album and a tour? I'll bite.

At the bottom of this BBC article (I'm all kissy-face with them today!), Ray Davies talks about a collaborative album wherein he will pair up, Duets-style, with such luminaries as Snow Patrol (the whole band?), and the guy from Razorlight, which is exciting news to just about nobody who isn't located in the UK. He does say he wants to recruit Chuck Berry:

I've never met the man but he was one of my heroes as a lyricist," he said. We'll see how it works out - a mixture of Snow Patrol and Chuck Berry. It should be an interesting record."

More of that, please! Let's keep the guys from the Razorlights of the world out of it.

The Kinks start work on comeback [BBC]

Jack White Falls Into The World Of James Bond Themes

Maura Johnston — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EDT

File under things that are either going to be pretty OK or trainwrecky on a Converse sneaker-ad level: Jack White and Alicia Keys are going to collaborate on the theme song for the new James Bond movie, Quantum Of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. The song alas, will not possess the same title as the movie; it'll be called "Another Way To Die." Keys has been waiting to get together with the White Stripes for a while, so I guess that working with just Jack will have to do? [Billboard]

Barack Obama To Q-Tip: Can I Kick It?

Christopher R. Weingarten — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:15:06 EDT

According to the New York Post, future popular-vote winner/Supreme Court-mandated loser Barack Obama is going to appear on the next Q-Tip album. Yeah, that's right, Roots. The best you could get was Patrick Stump? Q-Tip hasn't released a record in nine years and he gets the maybe-next-president!

Q-Tip is all:

"I've got Norah Jones on there, but Barack is the big one. You'll see what happens, I can't reveal too much."

Barack is apparantly going to speak through a song, perhaps in the way the Archbishop Don Magic Juan speaks through Snoop Dogg songs. And if Barack is hoping to sway Republican-leaning swing voters, he should know that Wikipedia points out:

The inventor of the cotton swab is supposed to have been one Leo Gerstenzang, in the 1920s. His product, which he named "Baby Gays", went on to become the most widely-sold brand name, "Q-tip".

He's so liberal, he's supporting baby gays now? Someone call Nancy Grace!

HE'S NOW O-TIP Page Six via XXL]