Look At Me, I’m Looking At You

Mu “Paris Hilton” – It’s somewhat unclear to me whether this song is ‘about’ Paris Hilton, the Paris Hilton, or some kind of dance called The Paris Hilton. I’m guessing that it’s the third option, or possibly, that “Paris Hilton!” (or rather, “Parisilto!,” as it sounds with Matsumi’s heavily accented English) is just a fun thing to shout out while you’re dancing to post-apocalyptic house music. Oh wait, it could be that Matsumi is commanding Paris Hilton to “shake her body” for her under duress, sorta like when people shoot at your feet to make you dance. That makes some sense, given that the song itself demands that you move to it with its manic shouts and frantic beats. (Click here to visit the Output Recordings site for more about Mu.)

Portobella “Covered In Punk” – I admire the British so much for their ruthless efficiency in how they write their pop songs. Much like the music by Girls Aloud, Mousse T, and David Wrench that I’ve posted here recently, this song relentlessly jumps from hook to hook with great speed and force like a pop blitzkrieg, pounding the listener into total submission. I can understand why this would aggravate some people, but if you like to just surrender to the music, it’s kinda glorious. This song has three basic sections – a rowdy, shouty dance-punk verse whichs shifts into a guitar-heavy bridge leading up to a sweet, anthemic pop chorus. Build up the tension, release it, repeat. Sure, it’s the same old musical tricks, but the thrill is in the execution and the understanding that this is something that they are doing to you. The audience is always the bottom when it comes to music. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)