all you need is now

I adore the worldwide web. Where else can you opine, spew your blatherings and be recognized for your innermost thoughts being blurted out in a public forum?

Having been a busy bee, I haven't properly announced and reviewed my fave raves of 2011. So, I've decided to place my top ten albums of last year in alphabetical order, on their own, without commentary. Over the next few days, I will expand this entry to include my ramblings on each one. I know you're quivering in anticipation.

It was a year of near drought for pop music elpees. We are back to the Sixties! The single is king. The year fluctuated between anemia and euphoria. There would be a purple patch of longplayers and then an extended dearth of material punctuated by a fun, effervescent, standout track. 2011 was inconsistent at best.

Without further delay, let me introduce you to my ten favorite longplayers of 2011.

CocknBullKid - Adulthood
Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Erasure - Tomorrow's World
Foster The People - Torches
Darren Hayes - Secret Codes And Battleships
Penguin Prison - Penguin Prison
Roxette - Charm School
Sneaky Sound System - From Here To Anywhere
Will Young - Echoes
Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

Honorable mentions include "Panic Of Girls" by Blondie, "50 Words For Snow" by Kate Bush" and "Credo" by The Human League.

Lavish them with praise. Roll your eyes in disgust. Whatever you do, please do it with equal parts passion and dignity! Roll on 2012!

speaking Swedish

Roxette return with "Speak To Me", the second single from "Charm School", their first album in a decade. It has been reswizzled into something more bang up to date on the production tip.

It's also the third single in Germany where they decided to follow up "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)" with "Way Out" before issuing "Speak To Me", a quintessentially Roxette-esque, signature ballad.

radio musicola

Roxette crash back down to earth with their brand new single, "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)". It's all sweet 70s sounding bubblegum with a touch of rubber synth bass.

The verses are sound like a hybrid of "Mony Mony" by Tommy James And The Shondells - or Billy Idol, depending on the number of times you've spun around the sun - and "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello. The chorus, a gigantic slab of sunny pop, is a certified winner!

Per Gessle certainly can write a tune. He deftly taps into the music of his youth with every strum of his guitar. Nicely done! Of course, it's Marie's voice, equal parts rock grit and heavenly tones, that sets the song on fire.

In anticipation of the launch of "Charm School", their first longplayer in a decade, the Swedish duo have lensed a video for their new single. Shiny backlighting, soft focus on Per and Marie, "youths" frugging their stuff at a party, and a hot dose of fun from all participants are the order of the day.

lucky charm

Swedish duo, Roxette, will return to the land of the living on February 11 with "Charm School", their first album in nearly a decade.

The first single plucked from their forthcoming eighth longplayer will be the cheekily titled "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)". It shows Per Gessle has lost none of his clever wordplay.



The single will hit the "shops" on January 10 and a video for the it should surface shortly. It will be followed by Roxette's first world tour since Marie Fredriksson was sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002.

Recently, Per and Marie road tested their live band Roxette when they headlined the "Night Of The Proms” concerts in front of more than 600,000 enthusiastic fans in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Look sharp! Roxette have returned.

Hey baby, it's the 4th of July.

From the obvious to the obscure. Happy 4th Of July, kittens! Feel the heat.

"4th Of July (Fireworks)" by Kelis.



"Fireworks" by Roxette.



"4th Of July" by X.



"Fireworks" by Siouxsie And The Banshees.



"Living In America" by James Brown



"I Love America" by Patrick Juvet