Word: albums
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...sound on his MySpace page as "Beck via Queen and Elton John and a touch of Rufus W.[ainwright]." He appears to be having fun. Did I mention the full head of hair? I'd been given an advance copy of Life in Cartoon Motion, Mika's debut album due Feb. 5, but I'd been reluctant to play it. It's pop, therefore manufactured and disposable, right? What if I like...
...When finally I succumb, I discover that Mika's opening line of the first song and single, Grace Kelly, echoes my dilemma. "Do I attract you?/ Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?" he intones. That remained to be seen, but what follows is an album brimming with grandiose, infectious, hook-laden pop. A sweep through the spectrum from '70s melodies and disco brought up to date with full orchestration, kids' choirs and gymnastic vocals. On Grace Kelly he nods to his Freddie Mercury singing style: "So I try a little Freddie/ I've gone identity mad." He also...
...That's the point that I really decided that musically as well as in my personality I wasn't ever going to dilute anything," he says. Eventually, he struck a deal with Casablanca, which - although backed by giant Universal - gave him complete control, even of the album artwork. "I was going in with sketches and cartoon characters and showing them to my record company and they were freaking out because I hadn't even chosen my producer," he says. Through his music and those accompanying drawings, Mika has created a 3-D cartoon world populated by surprising characters like Billy...
...When the stockings are hung, the kids are in bed and two grownups sit before the fireplace, nursing glasses of eggnog and pondering the emotional vectors of the past year, this is the album to put on. McLachlan works in a whisper, like Peggy Lee, but with an audible poignancy rather than sexiness. She renders "Silent Night" as a lullaby to the baby Jesus, and mines all the yearning in "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Addressing not just Christmas but all the chilly months, Wintersong is truly a seasonal CD. My favorite pieces are by two of the singer...
...Which sets me to thinking about another virtuosa vocalist. Isn't it odd, and sad, that k.d. lang - the supreme lyric reader of our time, the modern singer without rival at making sentiment sound like world-weary wisdom - hasn't done a Christmas album? That would be a lovely present under next year's tree...