Drinks With CC Martini

After almost a year of being "internet friends" (that sounded a lot less sad in my head), I finally met CC Martini in person last week. Australia's queen of pip pop - hip hop tinged pop - had just flown in from the States, where she has been hatching her plans for future world domination, and was in the mood to unwind with a few cocktails. A great idea under normal circumstances but I had been partying since midday and was in a complete state by the time we caught up. Thankfully CC is a really cool chick and pretended not to notice my general lack of motor skills. Bless. Despite the not so classy start, it turned out to be an awesome night. We knocked back some delicious passionfruit Caprioskas and wandered around King's Cross chatting about everything from CC's American trip to the merits of Katy Perry. I managed to do a bit of digging about the new demos (CC sang the chorus of "Dress Me Up" on the street - sounds amazing!) but mostly we just talked about normal stuff. I did, however, take some hot photos. I'm loving the pic of CC posing on the back of some dude's truck in the middle of the Cross. That shit should be her next album cover! There's also a happy snap of us together below. I had a great time and can't wait to do it again. CC, move to Sydney and be my new BFF!

Essential CC Martini Links:

"Double Dutch" Video Clip
"Champagne Taste" Video Clip
Her Myspace
Her Facebook
Interview 1
Interview 2

X2008 And Remix Heaven

Kylie's X2008 tour kicked off in Paris last night and if these pictures are anything to go by, this could be her most spectacular stage extravaganza yet! The costumes look magnificent, the setlist is positively breathtaking and from the accounts I've read thus far, the staging is nothing less than extraordinary. I'll be seeing the show on the 26th of July in London (I rather conveniently timed my holiday to coincide with Kylie's tour - yes, I am that tragic!) but I just couldn't resist taking a sneak peak. How fabulous does cheerleader Kylie look? What about Minogue Sr lounging on a giant metallic skull? Or the rather frightening but oh so fabulous Frankenkylie (below)? The prospect of seeing this camp spectacle with my own eyes is almost more than I can take! X2008 appears to be a two hour trip to Kylie heaven.

I'm just as excited about the setlist. Kylie is performing every song on "X" apart from "Stars" (boo!) as well as three new songs, a cover of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" (!) and a selection of her greatest hits. I really couldn't hope for more. I'll just have to remember to go for a piss when she drags out "SenSHITized"! Here's the setlist from Paris:

Speakerphone
Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Greg Kurstin Remix)/Boombox
Ruffle My Feathers
In Your Eyes
Heart Beat Rock
Wow
Shocked
Like A Drug
Slow/Free
The One
2 Hearts
On A Night Like This
Kids
Step Back In Time
In My Arms
Love at First Sight
Sometime Samurai (Video Projection)
Come Into My World (Fischerspooner Mix)
Nu-di-ty
Sensitized
Flowers
I Believe in You (Ballad Version)
Cosmic
Loveboat
Copacabana
That's Why They Write Love Songs
Spinning Around
No More Rain
All I See (Acoustic Version)

If that isn't enough Kylie goodness for one day, a recently leaked remix of "Heart Beat Rock" is doing the rounds and it's absolutely brilliant. The Benny Blanco mix takes a decent album track and transforms it into something utterly fabulous. I love everything about it - even MC Spank Rock's craptastic rap! That might sound a bit out of character given my hatred of "All I See" featuring Mims but this time around the track has been entirely deconstructed to the point where the rap becomes an integral part of the song instead of an embarrassing afterthought. I also think MC Spank Rock is my kind of rapper. Not only does he amusingly mispronounce Kylie's name throughout the entire song (Cali!) but he also busts a rhyme about getting hard and I'm sure this is the first and only time you'll hear lyrics about 'tha hood' in a Kylie tune! The remix itself is blissful. I particularly love the sirens! Perez Hilton is streaming the remix and likens it to Fergie, which is surely the single greatest compliment Kylie has ever received. Check it out, this is my second favourite "X" remix after the sublime extended version of "All I See".