Pop Music according to The Pipettes (or I’m trying to get your number – part deux)

They don’t love you and they don’t want to hold your hand. The Pipettes’ history of pop music doesn’t include any band called The Beatles and stays away from mentioning that king called Elvis. Their “Book of Genesis” begins with Phil Spector, “the first Tycoon of Teen, the first Pop Genius, the first person making this crazy new music who was actually of the age of its audience, the first guy with any power in the music industry who actually liked this stuff.”

Given the Pipettes deification of Spector, it is understandable how this threesome sounds as if they were just teleported from the 60s - a time when the Ronettes and the Crystals were developing their music in a quite cynical and pedestrian fashion. Be warned however, the Pipettes aren’t a knock off group – they do pop right. A perfect mix of retrofication and modernization, which helps you understand what the modern Top 40 is really missing in their songs.

I pray this will help the kids dance.

[mp3] The Pipettes – Pull Shapes
[mp3] The Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me


My love affair with the Pipettes isn’t helped along at all by the gorgeous centerpiece of the band, Gwenno. Her vocals cut through the wall of sound in “Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me,” and left me wanting more from the blonde beauty. Fortunately, she has a side project that is anything but pop-via-Spector. Gwenno sounds a bit like Stars meets Postal Service meets euro-pop. That’s the easy part. The hard part is that Gwenno Saunders used to have her own TV show, was part of the Lord of the Dance ensemble, and has won numerous awards for representing Cornwall in the Welsh Music Awards and the Eurovision Song Contest. I think I may have gone too deep.

[mp3] Gwenno – Lime Chord
[mp3] Gwenno – Dance Alone