I'm gonna take you out tonight

The video for Little Boots' first-single-proper - New In Town - is here. Not just on the tellybox but also on the internets. Can Little Boots transform all the buzz into unit shifting?
Let's take a look at the video and find out.
We open with Little Boots herself, staring dolefully at the rain-splattered LA streets that pass by her car window. It's a lonely life being a touring artist. But at least she's wearing a spectacular necklace and dress (made by Ashish, if you must know).

Meanwhile, a group of ne'er-do-wells are scrabbling around to survive. They're probably under a railway bridge. In a dubious area called 'downtown'. This chap has a sign that reads 'Need food - spent all my money on judo lessons'.
Being new in town, Little Boots accidentally wanders in and finds herself surrounded by shopping trolleys.

Wait a second - they're not ne'er-do-wells. They're trained dancers!

For the second verse and chorus, she accidentally wanders into a backstreet dance battle. Like I told you, she's new in town. But it's all rather jolly.

For the middle eight, she accidentally wanders into a local dogging spot. Because she is, after all, new in town.

We end with Little Boots staring dolefully out of the car window, as at the start. Meaning that she dreamed the entire thing.

And there you have it. A quite good video. The song itself doesn't really do it for me yet, but I'll give it some more time. It sounds like the Human League, and I love the Human League. So some more time. I don't want to be one of those people who huffs and puffs that "the earlier stuff is better".
But at least I'm not this YouTube commentor:

"i really liked her better with dark brown hair and when she was with dead disco"

Just let it go. Dead Disco were not bad, but the rest of us have moved on.

BBC Sound of 2009

Last week, the BBC music website announced their top 10 acts for the UK in 2009. It's a good barometer of which new bands/artists will be big in the coming year, and who has good PR agents. Or the most friends on MySpace. If you're the sort of person who scours the internet for new bands, it all feels a bit redundant. But there are primitive people who only use the internet for Facebook, Bebo and the Radio 1 homepage.
I know that last week is about a million years ago in blogging terms, but why don't we all slow down? I needed some time to think it over. And now I have done, you can read what I think. Oh, lucky you!

1) Little Boots
Who on earth?
Leeds University graduate and Blackpool lass Victoria Hesketh, plus producer Joe Goddard (him from Hot Chip. No, not the singer, the other one).
The buzzwords
Cyber disco diva; pop sensibility; Tenori-on.
The buzzwords decoded
Similar production to Giorgio Moroder and a fearsome vocal; knows how to write a pop song; expensive Yamaha drum synths.
Likelihood of making it
Duh, she's already made it. She's finishing the album in LA which sell, sell, sell. And she is quite clearly an amazing pop star for our times.
Take It To The Chorus sez... yes please. I love Little Boots, and in doing so feel less guilty for describing Dead Disco as 'try-hard Long Blonde wannabes' who were 'forcing the sexy'.

2) White Lies
Who on earth?
Three young men from West London. They're probably wearing leather jackets right now. Or black shirts with skinny red ties.
The buzzwords
Brooding introspection; epic proportions; big indie hope.
The buzzwords decoded
Ian Curtis obsession; liberal use of reverb; suitable for early in the night at indie discos.
Likelihood of making it
Very high. If we understand 'making it' to mean a UK tour of medium-sized venues and one album.
Take It To The Chorus sez... too easily confused with Editors/the Bravery/Interpol.

3) Florence & the Machine
Who on earth?
Big voiced kooky lady from London. The Machine is metaphysical.
The buzzwords
A passionate force of nature; a kooky creative; beautiful.
The buzzwords decoded
She dances on stage, probably while barefoot; writes own songs, some of which are quite good; phwoar, wonder if she has a boyfriend?
Likelihood of making it Good, but I can't help feeling that Florence's fortunes are linked to fashion. So we'll wait and see what Topshop are stocking in the summer.
Take It To The Chorus sez... I don't want to be rude, but... this just doesn't do it for me. And it's at least 18 months since I first peeked at her MySpace, so I feel she's had her chance.

4) Empire of the Sun
Who on earth?
That fella from The Sleepy Jackson, and that other fella from Pnau. So the most hipster band in Australia.
The buzzwords
Search for inner enlightenment; softcore spaced-out beats; uplifting and colourful performances.
The buzzwords decoded
Had an idea in the pub but didn't think it through properly; not as good as Pnau or The Sleepy Jackson; once attended a Flaming Lips gig.
Likelihood of making it
Limited. They're just too wacky for the mainstream. And the album cover for 'Walking On A Dream' is really bad. Really, really bad. It looks like a Star Wars tribute album recorded on Moogs. Except George Lucas refused permission so they've changed all the melodies a little.
Take It To The Chorus sez... thanks, but I'm quite happy with MGMT.

5) La Roux
Who on earth?
Flame-haired singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid. He's friends with Rollo from Faithless, don't you know.
The buzzwords
Crazy hair; eighties revival; 21st Century synth pop auteur.
The buzzwords decoded
Normal hair with some mousse; listened to all the Heaven 17 albums; owns a Micro Korg.
Likelihood of making it
Reasonably assured. In the video for Quicksand, La Roux is looking tres chic in a Henry Holland floral suit. Keep up - fashion designer Henry Holland. He's friends with supermodel Agyness Deyn, don't you know. Something tells me such stylings are a guarantee of some success. But it's also my problem... it all looks a bit too London-centric. Once you're north of the Watford Gap it starts to look a bit style-over-substance. Here in Liverpool, La Roux would make sense in Korova on a Friday night. But there are a lot of other nights (and days) in the week.
Take It To The Chorus sez... opinion to be confirmed.

Elsewhere, Passion Pit were in at number nine. Which sounds about right. They're definitely my favourite new discovery of 2008 and band I can't wait to hear more of/see live in 2009, but they're not for everyone. They're cerebral, see. You just don't get it.

Top 10 songs of the past week

Should have posted this up yesterday, but I didn't. My bad. Here is my top 10 for the week ending 16 November 2008.

10) Womanizer by Britney Spears

Woma-woma-woma-nizer, y'all!

9) Hot N Cold by Katy Perry

I haven't decided that I suddenly like Katy Perry. But this song is undoubtedly good, and I kept telling myself that 45% was written by Dr Luke, 45% by Max Martin and 10% by Katy Perry. That makes me feel better.

8) Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf

Move over, Timbaland.

7) Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders

Something made me think about Lost In Translation, which made me think about Scarlett Johansson singing. Which made me shuffle through my record collection for some private time with Chrissie Hynde.

6) Cuffs by Zeigeist

Lovely electro stuff.

5) Pass This On by The Knife

Listening to Ziegeist reminded me how much I love The Knife. Which is A LOT.

4) Zombie by The Cranberries

There's something about the vocal quirks of Diana Vickers on X Factor remind me of Dolores O'Riordan. Except Diana makes more whistles and clicks. Hopefully, Simon Cowell will organise a Star Wars themed week in which she can perform as R2D2. I'm not going to pretend I'm too cool to have seen the X Factor, because any time you catch a glimpse of ITV2 it's being repeated. That, or Katie and Peter: The Next Chapter.

3) Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

I [heart] Passion Pit.

2) Dream On by Christian Falk featuring Robyn

This has been floating around for ages, but it's still wonderful. I just hope Robyn gets into the studio and starts working on a new album pronto.

1) Love Kills (demo) by Little Boots

Him out of Hot Chip + the former singer of Dead Disco + a Micro Korg= wonderful things. Love Kills is a cover of a Giorgio Moroder/Freddie Mercury song, FYI.