I Know My Heart Can Make You Happy

Girls Aloud “Jump” – Alright, I’m convinced by Girls Aloud now. This is a cover of the Pointer Sisters hit, and it’s extremely energetic and addictive. It’s also strangely lacking in nostalgia and irony for a cover of a big 80s hit – it’s so driving and enthusiastic that it seems as though it barely has time at all to nod or wink.

Stereolab “Margerine Rock” – Is this track exciting if you’ve never heard Stereolab before? Over time, I find that the context of previous Stereolab music limits my enjoyment of their every new record, because it all blurs together after a while. Generally, a new Stereolab record does not mean new Stereolab songs so much as slightly new approaches to the old ones. There’s a lot of new textures and some different song structures on their new Margerine Eclipse LP, but aside from a couple of the tracks and some interesting formal touches, but it still feels like the same old thing to me. It’s so frustrating – they are a band which is constantly changing, but has felt the same way since 1998.

Anyway, I’ve found that the best way to enjoy Stereolab is by cherrypicking the best songs from their records, and making greatest-hits cds. “Margerine Rock” is one of my picks from the new album – to my ears, it’s the obvious single (though by no means a hit single), and it benefits greatly from actually rocking a little bit. Most of Margerine Eclipse feels as though it just needs a little push – there are some great rhythmic, melodic, and textural ideas all over the place, but it just doesn’t feel spirited and aggressive enough. You can almost dance to it. I just wish that they would go all the way with some of these songs.