Single reviews: April '09

LADY GAGA: Poker Face
One of my friends speaks disapprovingly of Lady Gaga as a ripoff of Peaches. I agree - but I see that as a positive thing. Lady Gaga took Peaches' edgy electro-dance style and made it more mainstream. For that she deserves credit. My problem with "Poker Face" is that it sounds like she's singing "My my my booger face." Grade: C

SEETHER: Careless Whisper
On occasion, hard rock bands can remake uncool pop songs and make them better - "Land of Confusion" by Disturbed and "Kiss Me" by New Found Glory come to mind. But this version of "Careless Whisper" is just stupid. It's almost identical to the original recording by Wham! Featuring George Michael!, with a guitar in place of the sax, which means that it's just a lame rock ballad. I personally love sappy ballads, but that's clearly not what Seether were going for. Might as well stick with the superior Wham! Featuring George Michael! version. Grade: D-

PLAIN WHITE Ts: 1,2,3,4
How do you follow up "Hey There Delilah?" With a simple song called "1,2,3,4." No, this is not a Feist remake. It's a breezy little acoustic number that reminds me of Merril Bainbridge's "Mouth" with the way it's so happily lightweight. A nice carefree summer song. Grade: B-


LILY ALLEN: Not Fair
I don't get why anybody pays attention to Lily Allen. She had one minor hit on her last record ("Smile" peaked at a pathetic #49 in the U.S.) Yet she gets to appear on the covers of magazines and people act like she's some kind of star. Why?? The concept of this song (a lover who is great in every way except the bedroom) is interesting, but the chorus is pretty weak lyrically, so the idea never realizes its full potential. Grade: C+