Further to lack of inspiration, I was doing the mail-out for the Italian edition of the Chart Challenge Remix and I was most dismayed to see how rubbish their top 10 is. Seriously, after two interesting, idiosyncratic ones, this is dull as dishwater.

One thing I did notice was this amusing, catchy little rap number outside the top 20. Hopefully it'll climb a bit. It's not as good as Caparezza, obviously, but its stumbling, tripping rhythm is doing nice things to my ears nonetheless. Almost makes me want to clap. Also note that the artist is called Fish. FISH!

Fish - Resta Ancora 
# 6:48 AM []

KYLIE MINOGUE - Giving You Up

So she finally worked with Xenomania, then. It's an interesting prospect, because Kylie's personality is pretty much static enough for it to be consistent even when she diverges wildly from expectation (not that she does it that often), whereas the Xenomania template is so forceful that it tends to bring out different parts of lesser personalities; witness the way that Girls Aloud's trademark is equal parts retro and future, or the way Sugababes' insouciance was basically swept aside by the sheer force of a song like Round Round.

The difference, then, between this and a Girls Aloud single is that this lacks the futuristic sparkle, but it has the same impeccable 80s crunch and in fact, the closest comparison would be Saint Etienne's recent forays into retro-electro - especially New Thing. Actually, to be honest, it doesn't sound completely finished, the verses are superior to the choruses but basically, if you're a regular reader, the idea of that incredibly familiar synth rumbling and beat under Kylie's newfound breathy range is a good idea no matter what the details are.

As far as new tracks on unnecessary greatest hits packages go, it's worth hearing. Cleverer people than I have speculated her days of making incredible pop singles are long behind her, but this is someone for whom good is merely a glitch. [MP3] 
# 9:57 PM []