My Poproks

“This city is for strangers, like the sky is for the stars,” sings Jaymay on “Gray or Blue” from her Blue Note debut, Autumn Fallin’. Her soft acoustic guitars, jazzy arrangements, and beautiful voice make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you couldn’t tell by that lyric above, Jaymay is a native New Yorker with a major Dylan obsession.

You can catch Jaymay on her first ever US tour this June (she’s currently touring in Europe), and be sure to listen to the stream of “Gray or Blue,” as well as “Ill Willed Person” here on her myspace page. Autumn Fallin’ is out right NOW. Put it on your iPod and go for a walk in Central Park or something… (I’ll put that on my ‘to-do’ list for the weekend).

Listen: “Gray or Blue” by Jaymay

It’s not hard to compare any upcoming young female pop star to the likes of Avril Lavigne or Britney Spears, but the 22 year old Katy Perry may be America’s answer to more corky, likable stars like Lilly Allen or Kate Nash. Already hailed by Hollywood tastemaker Perez Hilton as a talented, pretty, and ‘actually appealing’ version of Avril, the Freddy Mercury obsessed, Santa Barbara native is sure to be everyone’s “Next Big Thing” bid for ’08 (she has already had Blender’s blessing for years).

Perry’s first single “Ur So Gay” (released in November by Capitol as an EP on iTunes) is already moderately buzz worthy, and is sure to draw the Allen/Nash comparisons. “Usually I find it funny to say I’m like a skinnier version of Lily Allen and a fatter version of Amy Winehouse. It always renders a good chuckle.”

On her debut album (due this spring), Perry teamed up with producers Glen Ballard, Dr. Luke, and Butch Walker. She’s actually been under developement with Ballard (who we have to thank for bringing Alanis Morissette out of her shell) since she was 17.

Her debut album is set for a spring release, and the song’s video will debut via Myspace on Wednesday.

Listen: “Ur So Gay” by Katy Perry
Windows Media | Myspace

About 2 minutes ago, I heard the song “New Soul” by Yael Naim in the new Macbook commercial. I loved the 30 seconds that I heard, googled the lyrics…and here I am. So, I’d like to be the first to predict that this French singer-songwriter blows the eff up in the US. OK, so SPIN already made this prediction. I’m late, then.

Born in Paris, raised in Isreal (where she was a classical pianist in the Israel Airforce Orchestra), Yael recorded her self titled album in her apartment in Paris. Though this is actually her second album, it’s the first to be a commercial success (entering the French charts at #11 after it’s October release last year). The record has already peaked at #6 on the US Billboard Digital Albums chart.

Yael Naim will be released in the US on March 18th via Atlantic. She’s currently touring in France and Belgium.

“New Soul,” as heard in the Apple commercial…

The best cover of “Toxic” ever (sorry Mark Ronson):

Across the pond, they are still waiting on the release from the two piece English punks that make up Blood Red Shoes. After releasing two singles last year on V2 Records, “It’s Getting Boring By The Sea” and “I Wish I Was Someone Better.” Following the buy-out of V2 and a label change, the buzz has started poppin’, and their long-awaited full length, Box of Secrets, is finally due April of this year on Mercury Records (the 14th, to be exact).

Their brand of simple, catchy post-punk (do not call them indie, as per their request) has both commercial and underground appeal. “You Bring Me Down” is a blissful 3 and a half minutes of exactly what a great British guitar&drums duo should sound like. Complete with a “you get what you pay for attitude,” the band admits unabashed that they are just “two punk kids from the south of england just trying to be in a decent band.”

Mission accomplished.

Their new video for “You Bring Me Down” is up on the tube. The new single will be released on Mercury next Monday in the UK. The band also has some goodies available on their space, including a free download of a live recording of new track, “Doesn’t Matter Much,” and the “You Bring Me Down” bundle for 5 pounds, which includes a signed 7 inch, the CD single, and another 7″with a different b-side.

You’ll be the hippest mofo ever if you snag one of those badboys.

They are currently playing a bunch of international dates, and they are selling out fast.

You should be more than familiar with Australian born vocalist Daniel Merriweather, who brought to life Mark Ronson’s “Stop Me” off of the critically acclaimed cover album Version (and I know, not theoretically a “new artist” - How Grammy of me). If not, then here you go.

To date, Merriweather only has two singles; “City Rules” with rapper Saigon (yup, the dude from Entourage), and “She’s Got Me” from Mark Ronson’s 2004 album Here Comes The Fuzz. Merriweather’s debut album, Love and War, due May in the UK and June in the US on Ronson’s Allido label, is already majorly Ronsofied (he is also producing it).

The lead single “Chainsaw” (now up on his Myspace page) is an infectious 60’s style Pop-R&B track in the vein of Ronson’s other prodigy, Amy Winehouse. Still riding the wave of the success of “Stop Me’ (Version is nominated for a ton of big awards on both sides of the pond), the funky instrumentation and smooth vocals should push him into the spotlight with no trouble. Let’s just hope he doesn’t end up on Youtube with bleach blonde hair smoking on a crack pipe. Daniel, crack is whack!

You can check out other new tracks, “For Winter” and “I Think I’m In Love,” on his Space, as well as a slew of live performances of “Stop Me.”

*Since you’re here, you can also check out the new Mark Ronson video for his reinvention of Radiohead’s “Just” (Featuring Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet), the 4^th single off of Version.

The Cool Kids are so effing cool, you might not even be cool enough to effing listen to them. Chuck Inglish, 23, and Mikey Rocks, 19, are so ‘buzzed’ that you’ve probably already heard them and didn’t even know it. They’re in a new commercial for Rhapsody.com with Sara Bareilles, and their song “88″ was played in the last season premier of Entourage. They also performed at Barack Obama’s “Change Rocks” benefit in Chicago this past Friday, and just finished up a two month tour with M.I.A.

Did I mention they don’t even have a record out?

Their debut EP The Bake Sale comes out on C.A.K.E. Recordings in January, and Chocolate Industries (Lady Sovereign’s former label) will release their debut full-length album later next year. You best cop ‘em both. Their single “Black Mags” (up on their myspace, which is actually their official website as of now) is about to make bikes as cool as skateboards (if not way damn cooler). They were the most talked about artist at this year’s CMJ Festival, and are one of Rolling Stone’s Artists to Watch in ‘08. Their old school 80’s style has drawn comparisons to Eric B and EPMD, and they often refer to themselves as “The black Beastie Boys.”

However, The Cool Kids are also fresh as hell.

“Black Mags” official video:

21 year old Jamie T’s debut Panic Prevention was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize, (of course, he’s already got an NME award). Most importantly, it is another one of My Poproks Top 10 Albums of the Year. The US release came out in September, and has 3 bonus tracks including “Rawhide” featuring Lilly Allen. There’s electronic drums, looped keyboards, acoustic ballads, and a couple of tracks that literally cannot be categorized.

Jamie T’s vocals are like a British train wreck. They are messy & trashy, yet absolutely perfect. “Bar stool banshee/howled out at me/The kings and queens at the clubs evolved from pubs.” He lets his voice crack, he lets himself mess up lyrics, even proclaims after the first track that it’s the “scrappiest” version he’s ever done in his life. Obviously, he cares not. He pulls all of this off and then some. “One man Arctic Monkey” is barely a compliment for Jamie T. Since we’re comparing the two, he blows them out of the water.

Check out the video for the single “Calm Down Dearest” below.

I first heard the Alice Smith track “Dream” in an episode of Entourage this summer (you know, the Furries episode). For Lovers, Dreamers & Me was released independently on BBE in 2006. It was completely sold out on Amazon, except for a few used copies for over $30. Well, Alice was signed to Epic, and the album was re-released on Oct. 31st. Very similar to Alicia Keys in singing and songwriting style, the Brooklyn based singer was listed as one of the Top 10 Artists to Watch in 2006 by Rolling Stone.

Go to Alice Smith’s official site to receive an autographed booklet with your copy of the new album. Play the Youtube video below to hear “Dream.”