The new Alexandra Burke video....

....is shit.

Remember that Alexandra Burke song 'Start Without You' we talked about last month?

Well she's finally decided to release the music video and it's pretty bad.  Burke herself is actually the best thing about it, but even she can't distract from the obvious Beyonce and Olivia Newton-John 'Physical' comparisons.  The video was actually re-shot to co-inside with it's rescheduled September release - the original was apparently too 'Summer' for an Autumn release.

It's a shame because with a few listens the song is actually pretty good, however with a video like this, few will give it a second or third listen.

Yeah sorry about that...

As you may, or may not have noticed there's been somewhat of an unannounced hiatus here at the !point for a week.  Apologies, but there has been a severe lack of inspiration - it was bound to happen seeing as Lady Gaga isn't doing anything exciting and Madonna's off directing her movie.  With them two out of the news, what else were we going to talk about?

I jest.

Normal posting will resume straight away with no plans on taking another break any time soon.  Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Halle Wintour

On the left is Vogue editor Anna Wintour, in a picture that could have been taken any time in the last 20 years.

On the right is actress Halle Berry on the cover of this year's iconic September Issue of Vogue.

One 'do, makes two big don't's.

Song of the Moment: The Pretty Reckless - Miss Nothing

I really want to dislike lead singer of The Pretty Reckless, Taylor Momsen (you may recognise her from 'Gossip Girl', she's the one who wears so much eye make-up that she's starting to resemble a raccoon) - she comes across like a complete idiot in interviews, never having anything interesting to say, she makes up ridiculous things like she "once fucked a priest - I'm kidding".  Eurgh.

However, not only was she chosen by Madonna herself to model her teenage clothing line 'Material Girl', but she also makes pretty decent music.  The Pretty Reckless' sound is heavy rock with pop hooks - something that Avril Lavigne should have done after her second album, instead of releasing complete shit like 'Girlfriend', but I digress - and with Momsen doing a better Courtney Love impression that Courtney Love herself does these days, they've got the potential to go far and launch Taylor as a credible female lead singer.

This 'Song of the Moment' is called 'Miss Nothing' and it's the best of what I've heard of The Pretty Reckless so far; Momsen's charismatic, raspy vocals belting out super-catchy pop melodies set to heavy rock guitars.  It's not normally my cup of tea but it's hard to ignore when done this well - enjoy the track and video for 'Miss Nothing' below.

Agreed.

....and in other Gay news, yesterday the Mexican Supreme court reinforced it's same-sex marriage law and ordered that all 31 states recognise gay marriage, however it is up to the individual state whether they perform gay marriage ceremonies.

Gay people in Mexico have been able to marry since March but the law has been extended and now also includes the right for gay couples to adopt and reap the same benefits as straight couples.

Another victory.

Pretty Death

I'm pretty much hoping/sure this isn't real.

The blue writing translates to "Kill Beautifully".

Looking ahead...

Hillary Clinton 2012.

As the weeks and months go by I'll be having a look as to why this is very likely, and why the Obama administration is failing all of us.

Discuss(t).

I'd like to pre-empt this post by stressing that I am not anti-America or anti anything else - but the picture above really does make you wonder what some American people really think.  Now, I'm sure the current wave of protests against Islam in America - brought on by the proposal to build a mosque near ground zero in New York, which is quite a bizarre decision, to say the least - are only being held by a minority, but what that minority are saying is so close minded and racist it's ridiculous.

Most American citizens identify as Christian or Catholic, so I'm not sure what high horse they're trying to get on about Muslim's being terrorists when, for example, I'm sure there are a few people in the UK and Ireland who can easily associate Catholicism with some of the worst terrorist attacks in this country, in the last 30 years.  Let's not even mention the blowing up of abortion centres and various child abuse crimes that are linked to the church, or that the bible endorses, among other things, domestic violence and the murder of women who aren't virgins before marriage.

My opinion is this: religion isn't evil, it's just old.

Underrated: Rihanna - Rated R

In this edition of ‘Underrated’ we take a look at the album ‘Rated R’ by Rihanna.

By November 2009, Rihanna had become nearly as famous for her personal life as she was for her music career.  Previously that February, Rihanna and then-boyfriend singer Chris Brown had left a pre-Grammy awards party when, whilst Brown was driving, they got in to an argument.  What happened after is well documented and a police photo of Rihanna’s swollen and bruised face was leaked online – something she called “humiliating and embarrassing”. 

The incident left Brown’s career in tatters and many wondered where Rihanna would go next?  Surely she couldn’t make another dance-pop album in a similar vein to her previous mega-hit ‘Good Girl, Gone Bad’?  Rihanna’s public persona (and in all likeliness, her state of mind) had changed to a point where whatever she released next had to correspond with that.  The result is the goth-rock-pop-r’n’b hybrid that is ‘Rated R’.

In October that year, Rihanna, catching fans completely off-guard, posted a message on her official website and social-networking site Twitter that read ‘The Wait Is Ova Nov 23 09’.  The message was in reference to a line from a new track called ‘Wait Your Turn’ and what would be the release date of ‘Rated R’ – this was the first anyone knew that Rihanna would be releasing a new album.  As a frenzy built within fan communities, Rihanna appeared on ‘20/20’ in America to discuss for the first time, her assault by Chris Brown.  In one particularly moving part of the interview, Rihanna describes how she had gone back to Brown afterwards but had quickly realised she “couldn’t live” knowing her actions may be putting other girls in harm, so finally ended the relationship.

When a video for ‘Wait Your Turn’ was posted on Rihanna’s official website, it was met with an unenthusiastic response from fans and critics.  Featuring grainy black and white shots of Rihanna looking like a pirate from out-of-space, many felt that she had compromised the quality of her music for a high-fashion couture style that was not her own.  Lead single, the Ne-yo penned grower ‘Russian Roulette’, which is full of metaphors one can associate with Rihanna’s relationship with Chris Brown, and it’s dark video, also received a lukewarm response in the US but did become a number one hit in the UK and Europe.

Follow up single ‘Hard’ is a prime example of style over substance; the video is the best from the ‘Rated R’ era, but the song itself is pretentious without being fun and is pretty much completely forgettable.  However in third single ‘Rude Boy’, the album found it’s first and only big hit.  The video which is a homage/rip-off of Grace Jones and various other female musicians has a Caribbean vibe that suites the island-style track.  ‘Rude Boy’ became a massive number one hit in the US and UK and helped ‘Rated R’ sell over three million copies to-date, which is by no means a flop but when compared to the nearly eight-million-selling ‘Good Girl, Gone Bad’, it is hardly a runaway success.

It’s a shame that more people have not got to hear ‘Rated R’ as it is certainly Rihanna’s most personal and remarkable album – it is also importantly, full of great songs, including the two best Rihanna songs ever.  The first is the album’s last single ‘Te Amo’ a fantastic Latin-trance track with a subtle story of lesbian love that perfectly suites the sound of Rihanna’s sweet yet gritty vocals.  To it’s detriment, ‘Te Amo’ was paired with a music video that exploited the lesbian side of the song and distracted the public from the track’s greatness. 

The other track is the striking ballad, the Timbaland-produced ‘Cold Case Love’, which is not only the best song on ‘Rated R’, but the best of Rihanna’s entire career.  Starting with a church organ and Rihanna’s voice, the song builds in intensity as more instruments are added before Justin Timberlake comes in with a beat-box that takes the song to a powerful and dramatic level.  ‘Cold Case Love’ is really what ‘Rated R’ is all about; the personal story of a young girl becoming a woman, lamenting love and innocence lost.  It is exquisite.

Other stand-out tracks include the aforementioned ‘Rude Boy’, ‘Russian Roulette’ and ‘Wait Your Turn’ as well as the ‘Unfaithful’-like ‘Stupid in Love’, the road trip style ‘Fire Bomb’ and album closer ‘The Last Song’.  It has been announced that ‘Te Amo’ is the final single from ‘Rated R’ so it’s a shame the public will not get to hear some of the best tracks from the album before Rihanna’s team move on to her next album, which is expected at the beginning of next year.

The direction of ‘Rated R’ has been described as “I’m gonna fuck you, then I’m gonna kill you” which is pretty spot-on with it’s dark, aggressive sexual tones and themes both lyrically, artistically and in style.  Unfortunately this sinister aspect has put many off the project and alienated Rihanna’s young fans who couldn’t possibly relate to it’s content.  And while many have described her latest neo-goth look as unauthentic, in my opinion it seems completely genuine, if a little ridiculous at times.  But for all the various costumes, haircuts and headlines, what really matters is the music -  and on that point Rihanna’s current style is her best yet, and more importantly, it’s all her own.

Music Video: Eminem feat Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie

So, that was pretty brilliant.

Well done to the director Joseph Kahn for putting together such a polished concept and piece of work, in such a small period of time.  He managed to make Megan Fox look human again, which is also quite a feat.  And is it me or should Rihanna stay away from close-ups, no matter how soft the focus? I'm just sayin'.

Oh Dear Lord?!

What on Earth has Emma Watson done to herself?

I hope this new look is for some sort of charity campaign, because she looks like a bad Justin Bieber impersonator with the new 'pixie' haircut.  It's not that she can't pull it off (because she can, she's got one of 'those' faces), it's just that she looks so much better with long hair.  When will the madness of girls cutting all their hair off end?

Don't worry dear, there's always hair extensions.

Aniston channels Streisand

Jennifer Aniston, looking the most glamorous she has EVER looked, emulates the iconic look and characteristics of Barbara Streisand, on the front of the September issue of 'Harper's Bazaar'.

Don't rain on her parade.