Did you happen to catch the fleeting clip of Madonna’s new video Give Me All Your Luvin embedded into American Idol’s commercial break last night? If not, the video is widely available online now. It is rumored she’ll debut the track at the Super Bowl. Thoughts? The song was a bit of a throwback to her earlier work with a touch of Hollaback-girl era Stefani (a comparison Madge will loathe).
Nicki left her attitude behind and brought her enthusiasm and tatas instead. 
M.I.A. on the other hand looked a little ashamed to be there in a cheerleading uniform. Some of us haven’t forgotten Toni Basil, okay.
Good wall walk sequence though. 
Which of you persistent whores scored Coachella tickets? If you succeeded, congratulations. Both weekends sold out in 3 hours, with most of weekend one tickets snatched up during last year’s presale. If you didn’t, no worries. Demeter Clarc’s coverage will make you feel like you experienced the giant human stank that is Coachella first hand.
With over 130 different musical acts scheduled to perform, only the most musically well-versed have familiarity with the entire roster. For the rest of us who need a remedial, over the next few months we’ll explore the best of what the Coachella line-up has to offer. Here’s the start of a cheat sheet to help you cram for your Coachella final in April. Consider listening to the whole album out of respect for the effort as a complete work and (hopefully) a complete thought.
Hey music muffins. Last night was all about Lykke Li and the Swedish Star didn’t disappoint. She made us wait, but when she arrived on a sparse stage with white lights and super long black curtains, she served up the best of her 2 album catalog.
What she wore? Proving once again bodycon is dead, she appeared in a very interesting get-up indeed. Mizz Li werked some kind of black pants (possibly a bodysuit?) with some flowy, scarvy type action. There might have been a robe involved. See below. Very Stockholm. This totally modern choice kept the focus on the music. The hair? Ombre bitches.
The music was fantastic. We had some serious bass moments, a dance break, some Kanye, and even a little Righteous Brothers. She kept the energy up through the relatively short set and took off like a whirling dervish prior to breaking for the encore. 
Lykke Li proved again her vocal nuance is no studio magic. This girl can sing and she does so in an original, creative, and self-restrained way. Her cover of Unchained Melody was enchanting perfection, and that song usually kind of annoys me.
Beyoncé’s new record 4 came out this week and it isn’t very impressive or interesting. The mainstream media blows rose petals up B’s ass all day long, but is she really all that? The highly overrated Beyoncé has got issues, and here’s just 4.
Some might argue that despite the success of Dangerously in Love and B’Day, Beyoncé has yet to release a seminal work. In this download-the-single world, some may not see the importance of a well-constructed, complete album, but releasing an album with 2 hit singles and 10-12 tracks of filler illustrates the difference between a greedy paper chaser (Forbes top-earner 2009) and artistic integrity. When Beyoncé is on, she’s really, really, sublime, see – Ring the Alarm, Me, Myself & I, but her filler is so offensive it makes you question her overall standards.
Beyoncé’s fucking boring. Next to Gaga’s theatrics and Rihanna’s edgier sexuality, Beyoncé’s show looks like a cotillion. Respectful, well-behaved, and lady-like, Beyoncé’s biggest rebellion is wearing a heavily-enforced diaper on stage and setting her wind-machine to high. Hanging out with Gwyneth fucking Paltrow isn’t doing much for her swagger either. These days, stepping out with Beyoncé is more akin to visiting with your proper aunt than raging with a rockstar.
Beyoncé’s stuck in a rut. The lyrically uninspired 4 sounds like it could have come out three years ago. Tired and unoriginal, Beyoncé vacillates between deferential obedience and put-him-in-his place neck-rolls, all very well-tread ground for the artist. What’s new here? Nada.
Lead single Night Air caught my attention a few months ago and had me looking forward to the release of Mirrorwriting, Jamie Woon’s new album. This has been on heavy rotation, but I needed to soak in it before offering you my thoughts. 
Without rushing to any conclusions, I adore Mirrorwriting. Woon’s memorable and enchanting voice layered over head-nod worthy beats sounds as sweet as frosted cake tastes. The danger with this genre is that it can easily curdle into fromage, but Woon keeps it in the pocket and maintains a credible swagger throughout the collection of a dozen songs.
Pursue the entire album; it’s a complete thought and worthy of your attention. Some personal favorites include Shoulda, Lady Luck, Street, and Night Air. 
Truthfully, Rihanna’s new record really kinda sucks. She musta caught the Christina Aguilera Bionic virus. Symptoms include: repetitious, unoriginal, over-sexed lyrics, forgettable beats, and rushing out an uninventive, stylistically scattershot record. Drinking, S&M references, and cunnilingus, this tired parade of pseudo-sex-shock is all well-tread territory.
She’s at her best on this record (which in this case is minimally competent) when she puts on her shiny dancehall pants and works her patois, but don’t be thinking there is an Umbrella or even Pon de Replay buried in this mediocre mess. You’ve surely heard the Eminem track Love the Way You Lie (Blair and Chuck wore that shit out a few weeks ago). I have no use for Eminem, and I’m telling you their duet is one of the highlights of Loud.
Songs that won’t make your ears resent you: Man Down and Raining Men, featuring the highly anticipated Nicki Minaj.
At first, I didn’t love Shakira’s new album Sale El Sol, but after five or six listens, it really started to grow on me. Typically, I prefer my Shakira obsessed and tormented rather than optimistically cheerleading for Africa (Waka,Waka, yo).
Personally, I think the title track, Sale El Sol, a mid-tempo snooze-fest, is the weakest of the album. Devoción is the album highlight among a few other strong selections (Antes De Las Seis, Rabiosa).
Now let’s talk about Shakira’s cover of the XX’s Islands. Loyal readers (gracias!) know that we majorly heart the XX here at Demeter Clarc, and frankly Shakira’s version is no where near as good as the original. Since the xx came out less than a year and a half ago, I don’t see the point of this unnecessary and not particularly inspired cover.
One other small complaint: of fifteen songs, the last four are remixes of songs that appear earlier on the record. So between the cover and the one-song-two-ways gimmick, Sale El Sol definitely contains some empty calories.
The reality of most double albums is usually there is only enough great material for one excellent record, but artists (or record companies) often add unnecessary filler, basically to take up space and time. Most would agree one great album is superior to two mediocre ones. 
Since Robyn’s Body Talk 1 & 2 were released months apart, some might argue that it isn’t a double album. If you want to debate semantics, fine, (it may even be one of three). The criticism still applies; both these albums contain lackluster tracks compared to Robyn’s brilliant eponymous record from 2005. The Body Talks contain some good music, but lyrically, this second one especially, feels like a trip down 90′s hip-hop nostalgia lane – and not in a good way.
Body Talk Pt. 2 doesn’t suck, but Robyn may want to reconsider her new strategy of rushing to release tracks and return to a practice of exercising selectivity.