Niki N. Phaser

Sugababes announced the release of their new single Get Sexy on the 31st of August, which is preceding their anticipated new album (out November), recorded in the US, with producers like RedOne (partly responsible for Lady Gaga’s Just Dance and Poker Face), the Stargate team (Beyonce’s Irreplaceable) or Ne-Yo. Get Sexy received its worlwide premiere on July 7 on Scott Mills’ Radio One show. Another thing it received was mixed impressions. The song will surely be a club hit, plenty of booties will shake to it, but it’s a change for Sugababes, an obvious one. A bit of that melodic innocence that was their trademark is missing in this one. They have been Americanized, meaning they sound like Lady Gaga or Ciara or whoever is topping the US dance charts. On the other hand, this is just a single, so let’s keep our shirt on.

Despite losing two of the founding members, Sugababes were always a band that could offer pop perfection, despite their (too) often stops at the R’n'B station. They are also a band very well represented through their singles. Nothing’s As Good As You and Every Heart Broken would have been essential hits if promoted properly. But, after all, their 2008 album, Catfights and Spotlights could be called “an incident”, because it had so much great material, but created a little buzz, except for Girls, which was released so relatively soon after Denial, that most people thought it was from Change.

But all of this is additional information, the fact remains that Nothing’s As Good As You is a good non-single example of the Sugababes sweetness. Sometimes, they co-write the songs, sometimes they are just inspired in choosing producers. This song, co-written among others by V.V. Brown, has the 60′s feel that was in fashion last year, but it also has quality vocal hooks that will never sound outdated. Lyrically, we are dealing with a straightforward “I love you” song, with the girls singing simple lyrics like “I just can’t help the way that I’m feeling, Nothing’s as good as you, What is it that you make me so crazy, I’m so in love with you”. If you are able to leave behind all prejudices regarding sexy pop girlbands, you’ll discover a real feel-good sunshine pill over here.

Hip-hop master RZA, the brain behind Wu-Tang Clan’s beats, is going one step further with his by-now legendary obsession with old martial arts movies. He plans to make his directorial debut with a movie entitled The Man with the Iron Fist, which has been on his mind for years. The screenplay is written by the rapper himself, but not to worry, Sonny Chiba fans, if there is anyone with his homework done in the field of kung-fu movies, it’s RZA. More experienced help will be offered by Eli Roth, author of the Hostel movies, who will be producing and is very siked about the project. RZA is also said to have been studying the art of film directing while working with Quentin Tarantino. The rapper provided some of the score of Kill Bill, but if you are really interested in what this man is able to create, I recommend the Ghost Dog soundtrack. It’s a classic. The film promises to be really bloody, but we musn’t expect something tarantinesque, since the debutant director is a strongly-visioned artist, who, no doubt, has his own ideas about how a neo-kung-fu movie should look like. This might just become the next cult classic (at least, soundtrack-wise), whose poster will hang on every cool kid’s wall. OS !