"This video is intended for a mature audience"

I think they could have used a better phrase than that, for this is anything but mature. We've written before about novelty songs that forget to be funny, and this is another example. "Comedy hip-hop" duo The Rubberbandits are like a budget version of The Lonely Island (though The Lonely Island do occasionally manage to procure a laugh from somebody with half a brain), and like The Lonely Island they reached mainstream audiences by bagging a regular slot on a popular TV show - in this case, Ireland's Republic of Telly. The track is puerile and juvenile, lacks any subtlety or wit, and leaves no suggestion that its writers intended to achieve any response beyond "OMG he just said fuck LOL".



I'd rather listen to Rene la Taupe.

No No, No No No, No No No No, No No There's No Limit (To Your Love)

A lot has been written about James Blake recently. Hailed as the "saviour of dubstep" (did it need saving?), Blake has managed to receive both underground and mainstream critical acclaim (Pitchfork decided to marry together his 3 excellent 2010 EPs just so they could include him in their annual top 10; he came 2nd in the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll) and has gained an awful lot of exposure (Radio One have been championing him for a while - check this awesome live performance). His album then has been hotly anticipated, and having had the privilege of hearing an advance copy I can say that it has been worth the wait. It is a stunning listen, and whilst being slightly more accessible to the casual listener than his preceding EPs, it is still an unusual, even unique, piece of work. I'm a little surprised then that the lead single, a cover of Feist's Limit to Your Love, has been achieving some chart success. Perhaps being top 40 in the UK is to be expected, given the radio exposure, but it has hit number 3 in Denmark and this week sits at number 5 in Belgium. Impressive stuff.



The album hits UK shelves on 7th Feb.

Wynter Bug

US readers may (i.e. probably won't) recognise this track by New York born Wynter Gordon (real name: the slightly less glamourous Diana), which hit the top of the (deep breath) Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart back in February 2010. With an album in the works and due this year, the campaign is now beginning to ramp up, with the first release proper coming in Australia, where the track has hit number one this week. It's a fun track, with a Guetta-esque vibe (which, incidentally, surely cannot continue to infect 90% of pop songs in 2011, can it?).

This new Britney song then...

It perhaps isn't within the remits of what we usually write about here, but this is going to be such a huge international hit that we just couldn't not mention it. The new Britney single has leaked (woo!), and as you would expect from a Max Martin and Dr. Luke co-production, it is pretty flippin' good (woo woo!). "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?". AMAZING. And it has a dubstep (DUBSTEP!) breakdown at 2.17. I expect the track will be taken down within 10 minutes, but it'll pop up again in 5000 more places between now and then, so NO EXCUSES.

Viewers, welcome to 2011.

I hope you all had a wonderful break. Let's not dwell on the past though. Oh no, let's dive straight into some of the pop songs making a splash across the globe this week.

January is a slow month for new music, so it will be slim pickings for a little while, but there are a few tracks worth bringing to your attention.

First up, Far East Movement. The annoying likers of cheesesticks are set to be huge in 2011, and their next single is the far-less-annoying-than-their-last Rocketeer. The track "feats" Ryan Tedder, he of OneRepublic and co-writer of Bleeding Love (among others), and is an easy going pop R&B song a similar vein to a lot of last year's big hits (B.O.B, for example). It has charted in the US and has hit number 4 this week in New Zealand, and I'm sure it will be coming to a radio/TV channel near you shortly.



This is "fun". Nickelback-alike Swedish Idol winner Jay Smith has covered (murdered) Like a Prayer. Oh, and he wears a kilt. The track is the biggest climber on the Swedish chart this week, moving from 41 to 4. Listen below. Then cleanse your ears here.



Last, but by no means least, Brit-school graduate and Brit-award winning Adele (who incidentally must have boycotted food over Christmas - she appears to have lost about 8 stone). Her next single embraces a blues-influenced sound which completely suits her voice, and is a million miles better than the drab, insipid ballads that launched her career. It's been doing well in Holland, where it has been at number 3 for a few weeks, and is out in the UK on 16th January.



Lovely.