TRACK RECORD

MUSIC: Madonna! George Michael! No Doubt! (And Bloc Party, Too)

http://youtu.be/vkYyqxHdwNg
“Turn Up the Radio,” Madonna

Here it is, gays: the MDNA single we’ve been predicting for months, “Turn Up The Radio.” Madonna’s best bid for a genuine Song of the Summer, comes just in time for midsummer getaway season. And speaking of getaways, the video for “Radio” finds a weary  Madge hounded by adoring fans and paparazzi in Italy. She is just not having you right now, people! That is, until her impossibly gorgeous driver, you know, turns up the radio. Then she’s all like, “Yeah, let’s put the top down and pick up a bunch of models and drive around Italy!”

We’ve been hearing this song at pool parties from P-Town to Asbury Park, but with the single’s release, get ready for “Turn Up The Radio” to reach maximum cultural saturation.

NEXT: No Doubt

http://youtu.be/Pb_zZ3xItPI
“Settle Down,” No Doubt

No Doubt’s sound has evolved significantly over the years—from ska to new wave to electro-tinged pop, but it’s always been unmistakable. The band’s first single in nine years, “Settle Down,” hit the Internet this week with the video premiering on E! Monday night. The song, from No Doubt’s highly anticipated sixth album, Push and Shove, finds the band in familiar territory—melding reggae and pop in a way that definitely points to Gwen Stefani and co.’s shared musical bloodline with artists like Santigold.

Their sound was so very particular to the mid-to-late 90s—and Stefani’s solo work so radically different from her band’s—that you have to wonder what No Doubt has to contribute to the pop landscape of 2012. But rather than attempt some kind of full fledged reinvention, No Doubt—like Garbage—seems to have opted to stick with what they do best. It remains to be seen whether that will appeal to anyone other than the loyal fans who’ve had almost a decade to consider other options.

NEXT: George Michael

http://youtu.be/SRAOG-BpNOw
“White Light,” George Michael

Making up for having missed out on George Michael’s “Freedom” video, supermodel deluxe Kate Moss appears front and center in his comeback clip, “White Light.” While the song has the infectious beat and smooth vocals you want from a GM song, it’s also intensely personal—referencing his life-threatening battle with pneumonia last year. The video feels like a promo for a new fall collection, with a fur-clad Kate getting into all kinds of strange tableaux. But then again, any scene Kate Moss is in will inevitably turn into a runway show.

NEXT: Bloc Party

http://youtu.be/TkeUFRK4i7w
“Octopus,” Bloc Party

With Kele Okereke’s elector-heavy solo album behind him, the out singer is back in indie-rock mode on Bloc Party’s new single, “Octopus.” (What is it with octopi right now? What with this and that Fiona Apple video, it’s like they’re becoming for music videos what cats are for Internet memes.) An impressive return for the British band after a three-year hiatus, “Octopus” has that familiar Bloc Party urgency married to a kind of devil-may-care pop sensibility. It’s a tantalizing tease at what we can expect on the band’s upcoming fourth album, Four, due out next month.

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