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OR EMAILMusic Notes: Pussycat Dolls, PCD
Tanja received a box of promo CDs from a record label, so I think it will be fun for me to post my aging, Gen X thoughts about this “new music.”
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Meh, PCD from the Pussycat Dolls is a typical sugary pop convention, a bevy of beauties singing over whatever passes for R&B these days. It’s like the Spice Girls after singing lessons.
These girls’ voices are pretty much indistinguishable from one another, so this could be the next Christina Aguilera album and I wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference. It’s kind of like Coke vs. Pepsi, it’s just cola, and too much sugar is bad for you.
The production here is top notch; everything glisteningly airbrushed, no note too loud or soft, all embellishments perfectly placed and timed. Even the Antares Auto-Tune, applied to everything like a varnish, is kept just out of reach. In almost every song, some faceless chanteuse lets fly a mellisma or ornamentation, careully crafted to impress, but since there are so many it’s just plain boring.
There are a few songs that stand out from the rest: I Don’t Need a Man is Michael Jackson as a woman. How Many Times, How Many Lies makes mean spirited lines like “sad ass right out of here” sound gorgeous, and Right Now is some kind of Broadway music reject sounding like a cross between Duran Duran’s Reflex, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the theme from the Flintstones (no, it’s not worth hearing).
A true sign of trouble are two pitiful covers: Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go, and Hot Stuff, both sounding like experimental tracks that got added on when the producers ran out of original material. Or maybe the songwriters’ budget was blown on the glamour photo shoots.
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Interesting insights on the PCDs. you hit it right on the nose, all the singing on the CD is supposedly done by the lead vocalist Nicole on multiple tracks. I guess the rest of the dolls are all dance and no song. She used to be part of a all-girl group called Eden’s Crush that fizzled out in the mid 90s. All or at least most of the harmonizing they do in live performance is lipsynched except for her. She’s gotten some unofficial endorsements by the commerical hip-hop establishment as well - i think Puff daddy is predicting her to make it as big as Beyonce or something. another intersting side note is that hapa - I think her mom is from Hawaiian-Pinay or something. I think it would be interesting if you did reviews on some other “up and coming” groups from the Gen Y era.
Heh, interested to hear some of the background. I just try to make sense of the music. I guess it’s no surprise that the “Dolls” are just eye candy. The lead singer should just make a solo album, then…
I’ve been listening to several more recent releases. If you want to check ‘em out just click “Music Notes” under categories to the right, and I think that will cover most of them (have to look at Previous entries, too).