Kylie Minogue, THE BEST OF KYLIE MINOGUE cd/dvd

Back in July 1987, Kylie Minogue hit the pop scene. It's now 25 years later, and EMI Catalogue celebrates her career longevity with The Best of Kylie Minogue, an album containing 21 of her hits from the years (and their accompanying music videos).

The Best of Kylie Minogue covers Kylie's career from her first hit -- her cover of "The Locomotion" -- to her most recent album, Aphrodite. As such, the album shows her evolution from a perky teen pop singer to, er, a perky disco-inspired pop singer. It's not much of an evolution (her voice is decent from her early work to the present), but it's impossible to tell from this collection, which eschews chronology and simply mixes the songs up. Perhaps this is deliberate, demonstrating that her early and later songs are interchangable; it's not exactly a compliment. The music videos show how Kylie used her image as much as her voice, with later music having more glamour and choreography than the basic early videos.

While this collection is missing is anything extra. There are no new songs, no rarities, and no live tracks (as there were on her Greatest Hits collection, covering her more recent music). The lyrics to all her songs are in the cd booklet -- but not which albums they came from, or her thoughts on the songs, or anything the singer has to say about her 25-year music career. Eighteen of the songs made the top 5 in the U.K., and five of them made number one there -- but I learned that through the description on Amazon.com; none of that info is included here.

Kylie Minogue has always enjoyed more success overseas than in America -- despite her brief return to the charts here with "Can't Get You out of My Head" -- so it's both ironic and appropriate that The Best of Kylie Minogue is an import album in the United States. While it's hard to capture 25 years of music with 21 songs, this collection demonstrates Kylie Minogue's ablity to create danceable, fluffy pop -- which, depending on the listener, makes her a producer of enjoyable, simple pop or someone who's done nearly the same thing for 25 years. Either way, The Best of Kylie Minogue should have had something new, to add to what was already out there.


Overall grade: C
Reviewed by James Lynch

Kylie Minogue, APHRODITE LES FOLIES [LIVE IN LONDON]

What is the concert experience? It should provide impressive music, either familiar songs

that go beyond the studio version or new songs you won't hear elsewhere. It should also provide some spectacle, the "show" in "showmanship," often with dancing, costuming, or both. So what happens when Kylie Minogue -- the pop princess who makes the closest we have to disco today -- goes on tour? Aphrodite Les Folies [Live in London] is a dvd-cd set from Kylie's 2011 concert tour.

In the behind-the-scenes feature, Kylie describes the tour as "the synchronicity of music, performance, and visuals, of songs and spectacle." She certainly has the visuals and spectacle down pat: The singer emerges as the goddess Aphrodite in an ancient Greek setting; she rides a golden chariot dragged by several muscular men (her shows provide lots of male skin, as a reward to her female and gay male fans); there's the shiniest dress I've ever seen (shown in the video, below); and there's the inevitable flying angel during "Looking for an Angel" and her cover of the Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)." Aphrodite Les Folies [Live in London] certainly provides an impressive visual experience.

But what about the music? While Kylie's music is something of a guilty pleasure, Aphrodite Les Folies [Live in London] is a remarkably standard-sounding concert. While a few of the sounds are given new life live -- the electric guitar-driven rock version of "Can't Get You out of My Head," the jazzy torch song treatment given to "Slow" -- most of the songs here sound almost identical to the album versions. Also, virtually all the songs here are from Kylie's album Aphrodite or the two prior albums (X and Body Language), so fans of her "classic" hits will find few of them performed here. The music cd becomes almost irrelevant here.

One of the most striking moments on Aphrodite Les Folies [Live in London] comes near the end, as Kylie Minogue performs a slow ballad ("If You Don't Love Me") and a dance number ("Better the Devil You Know") when it's just her -- no giant props, no backup dancers, no light shows or flying performers -- and it sounds terrific. Aphrodite Les Folies [Live in London] is quite a visual treat, but I would think for a musician the music should come first -- and here, the live songs sound too similar to the album versions. Kylie Minogue's music has always been (at its best) fun fluff, but it should still sound better live.

Overall grade: C

Reviewed by James Lynch

BRITNEY SPEARS LIVE: THE FEMME FATALE TOUR DVD

Britney Spears has always thrived on spectacle as much as sound (if not moreso), so it's no surprise that her new album Femme Fatale would be followed by a concert dvd that's many songs from the new album combined with a lot of flash, dancers (but not dancing -- more below), costumes and sets. In that sense, Britney Spears Live: The Femme Fatale Tour dvd supports the idea that she's more style than substance. And yet, it may also let down her fans as well.
This concert dvd has 20 songs, along with a bizarre concert video of a secret agent plotting to take out Spears. (I guess they had to justify the "femme fatale" description of her somehow.) Unfortunately, the songs stay very close to the originals -- except for a swing feel to "If U Seek Amy" and a Middle Eastern take on "Boys" -- so there's little difference between hearing them live and on the albums. A few songs only get partial time, as when "Lace and Leather" is briefly played during a fan's on-stage treat, or when her first song, "...Baby One More Time" is used as in intro to Rihanna's "S&M." Musically, this concert won't win over her haters -- and there's not much new for fans. (I do like her cover of "S&M," though it was better when performed with Rihanna.)

But what about the spectacle, the concert experience? Well, there are lots of costume changes and elaborate sets, from an Egyptian barge to a medieval Japanese-themed finale. What's disapppointing, though, is the star herself. For some reason, Spears rarely uses her legs when dancing, resulting in an odd reverse Riverdance: Her armsare flowing and swaying, while her lower body is pretty stationary. This would be fine if she were relying on her singing to carry the day; since she's not, it's another letdown.

Overall, Britney Spears Live: The Femme Fatale Tour dvd is very disappointing. The songs from her disappointing new album don't improve live, there's little interesting happening musically, and even the "wow" factor of an elaborate live concert is missing. Also, there are literally no bonus features on the dvd, so folks who want a look behind the scenes of this tour are in for a disappointment.

Overall grade: D-

Reviewed by James Lynch

MTV:30 YEARS

A few days ago was a non-event that might have been a big deal once: the 30th anniversary of the start of MTV. Once upon a time, MTV changed the face of music, for good or ill (or both). But now...

Back on August 1, 1981, the cable channel MTV launched with a simple goal: play short videos made by musicians, for 24 hours a day (minus commercials). There were VJs --"video DJs" -- Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson, and Martha Quinn to introduce and discuss the videos.

And the videos came in a flood, creating trends, stars, and controversy. Madonna wore her underwear on the outside (not in the superhero sense) and began a career of generating more and more controversy with each video. Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith smashed through a wall to "Walk This Way," bringing rap to mainstream America and Aerosmith to a post-1970s fanbase. Boy bands N*SYNC and New Kids on the Block strutted their well-synchronized dance moves in each video. Debbie Gibson didn't have an album, but she did have a video for her song "Only in My Dreams." And Michael Jackson's videos made the one-gloved look and the moonwalk known in every home whose cable owners proclaimed "I want my MTV!"

The music video format became more and more popular (I remember Tower Records having a wall filled with vhs tapes featuring the music videos of the most popular musicians), and the network offered shows for different genres: alternative (120 Minutes), rap (Yo! MTV Raps), metal (Headbanger's Ball). MTV Unplugged had some of the biggest bands going acoustic for an evening. Total Request Live gave a rundown of the top videos each week, along with interruptions by screaming fans. "Weird Al" Yankovic took control of the network a few times, turning MTV into Al TV. And the Video Music Awards offered performances along with the awards for videos, with the former often more significant than the latter.

MTV also delved into what would become its future: non-music shows. Animation hit the network with Liquid Television, which in turn led to cartoons Beavis and Butt-Head (mocking the same videos the network played), Aeon Fluxx, Celebrity Deathmatch and The Maxx. The game show Remote Control introduced America to Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn. And then came the genre that would define the network: reality television. The Real World offered the fantasy of young teens living, fighting, and romancing together in front of the cameras. Punk'd had celebrities playing cruel pranks on each other, Jackass had a bunch of, well jackasses hurting themselves and each other, and The Osbournes offered a comically unflattering look at the family life of a heavy-metal legend.

The network drifter away from music, playing fewer music videos and more original shows. Today the network that once promised "24-hour music videos" has 3 hours slated for music -- with lots of commercials and well out of primetime, of course. MTV is defined not by new artists or hot songs, but shows like Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. If you want music videos, you'll do a lot better on YouTube or iTunes, as even stars like Beyonce, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga don't have a place on MTV to showcase their latest videos.

But what impact did MTV have on music? Quite a lot. For a time, having a great/popular video was as important, possibly more important, than having a great song. Some critics claimed that MTV became a network of borderline softcore porn (not a complaint in my book) and shortened the attention span of viewers by offering not albums from an artist, but single songs with lots of quick cuts. My complaint (apart from keeping the "M" in the name when they all but skip any music) is that they offered no sense of history, playing nothing that hadn't come out in the past year or two. And while some musicians used the videos to make up for a lack of talent (I'm looking at you, Spice Girls), some did manage to make very creative mini-movies to go along with their songs: Johnny Cash's moving video of his life for "Hurt," the Beastie Boys' mock-'70s cop show for "Sabotage," Pearl Jam's haunting visuals for "Jeremy," etc.

I'm not surprised that the network didn't have a celebration for their 30th anniversary, given how far they've drifted from the original goal of playing music videos all day. But whether you love or hate music videos (and we all have those we love to watch, and those that make us cringe), there was a time when MTV both defined and redefined popular music.

Written by James Lynch

Kylie Minogue, KYLIE HITS (DVD Edition)

Kylie Minogue is a singer far more popular internationally than in the U.S. Overseas, her albums do incredibly well and she puts on elaborate concerts. Here, she's best known for two songs from 1988 (a cover of "The Loco-motion" and her "I Should Be So Lucky"), plus the brief success of "Can't Get You Out of My Head" in 2001. So it's no surprise that Kylie Hits: DVD Edition, which collects songs and videos from her four most recent albums, was made in Taiwan (and found by me on eBay).

Kylie Hits: DVD Edition is both a 14-song album and 13-music-video dvd, both establishing Kylie Minogue as a pop princess. Heavily influenced by disco, Kylie is focused on making feel-good, bouncy music about love and dancing. To that end, she's content with very simple lyrics, from the repetitive ("la la la/la-la la la la"; "You're wow wow wow wow!") to basic self-empowerment ("And did I forget to mention/that I found a new direction/and it leads back to me"). I doubt there'll be a book published of Kylie's lyrics anytime soon -- or in my lifetime -- but her songs are about fun, not thought. And whether falling in love ("Love at First Sight," 2 Hearts"), dumping a boyfriend ("Get Outta My Way"), or just dancing ("Spinning Around"), she's perky and supported by lots of synthesizers. Most of the songs are both catchy and forgettable, enjoyable when playing but lacking any great distinctiveness. And bonus tracks include live versions of the two aforementioned songs from 1988, as well as a remix of "Get Outta My Way" that is both more acoustic and more techno than the original.

As for the music videos, they all feature Kylie showing off both her dancing and her body (along with enough buff males to make her gay fanbase very happy). What's odd is that only about half the music videos here are of the songs on the album. In fairness, many of the different videos are weaker musically (though I would have liked to have the song "Chocolate" on the music portion as well), and given that you'll find amazingly few music videos on the so-called music television networks (damn you, reality tv shows!) Kylie Hits: DVD Edition is probably the only place you'll get to see these videos (except for YouTube).

Kylie Hits: DVD Edition is a good representation of the disco-style pop Kylie Minogue has been releasing over the past decade. While it shows a contentment with simple music about love, sex, and dancing, it's enjoyable enough. As for the music videos, there are far worse ways to spend time that seeing Kylie dance!

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

HERE COMES SCIENCE by They Might Be Giants

John Linnell and John Flansburgh have been making quirky music for almost thirty years as They Might Be Gaints -- and during that time they also started making children's music. Having tackled numbers and the alphabet, the two Johns now sing about all things scientific in Here Comes Science.

This album is a basic primer on some of the most popular areas of the world of science. Some songs are very straightforward in what they cover ("Cells," "Photosynthesis," "Electric Car"), while others take a less straightforward path to their subject ("Bloodmobile" is about the circulatory system, "Put It to the Test" explains the scientific method, and evolution is part of a family gathering in "My Brother the Ape").

As someone who studied liberal arts in college, I can appreciate the challenge in making science fun -- but They Might Be Giants manage to do it here. There's a nice variety in the songs, from the goofy "Roy G. Biv" to rockin' numbers like "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "I Am a Paleontologist." The songs are pretty informative -- I now the difference between speed and velocity -- and they should get little kids more interested in science ideas. (I like how they follow the old song "Why Does the Sun Shine?" with the more scientifically accurate "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?") And there's also a dvd with music videos for all the songs, using simple and effective animation.

Here Comes Science is aimed at kids, so adults will find it cute more than great music. I also wonder about including "The Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space)": It's a fun song, but very scientifically inaccurate on an album about teaching science. Overall, They Might Be Giants have created an informative and fun album with Here Comes Science.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

Beyonce: B'DAY ANTHOLOGY VIDEO ALBUM

When MTV introduced the music video to the world, there was a time when every artist had a video for their songs and Tower Records (now gone) had a whole wall of videocassettes (a format now gone) of music video collections. With the so-called "music" channels focusing more and more on reality tv shows, music videos don't get much attention and either get a dvd release on an artist's greatest hits collection or never get released. So it was a nice surprise that when Beyonce released her album B'Day she also released B'Day Anthology Video Album, a dvd with videos for all the songs on the album, plus bonus songs.

B'Day is largely a celebratory party album, and this video collection reflects that spirit. Beyonce has no problems showing off either her dance moves or her body, whether she's singing and dancing next to Shakira ("Beautiful Liar"), strutting her stuff at a party ("Get Me Bodied"), living the high life ("Upgrade U") or wearing numerous rubber outfits ("Green Light"). Even slower songs like the new-man anthem "Irreplacable" find Beyonce getting her groove on.

B'Day Anthology Video Album is a nice little return to when the music video could be a fun part of music. Beyonce has a lot of talents, and she uses the video format to make the most of them all.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch