John's Music World Rewind - Robyn's "Body Talk"

Since I've posted Robyn songs for the past two days, I figured I'd delve back into my days at Associated Content/Yahoo Voices to share something I'd written on the Body Talk series I spoke of in the two posts.  Since it no longer appears anywhere else on the net, at least now it back out there and it just may spark some interest in someone looking for great new music to get a hold of...

“Body Talk Trilogy a Pop Landmark” – Chicago Tribune

 “Infectious” – Palm Beach Post

“A perfect pop specimen” – Slant Magazine

November 15, 2010

Critics everywhere are praising the triumphant return of Swedish pop singer Robyn to the American musical landscape.  She’s been named one of the “most under-appreciated musicians of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly’s Simon Vozick-Levinson, and I couldn’t agree more.  Last August, I previewed the upcoming release of the singer’s “Body Talk, Part 2” (see New Music Releases for September), the second in a trilogy of EP’s to be released this year.  The two “Body Talk” albums released to date have produced several wonderful tracks and the upcoming release of “Body Talk, Part 3” is sure to continue the trend.

After writing that piece back in August, I decided to give “Body Talk, Part 1” a try.  I downloaded the album from iTunes and took a listen.  I had remembered the singer from her hits back in the nineties (“Show Me Love” and “Do You Know (What it Takes)”) and so I figured the album might be a good addition to my catalog.  I quickly learned the songs, all of which were easily remembered for their clever lyrics and wonderfully pop/dance sound. 

“From the beginning, I always thought pop and substance were not mutually exclusive,” the singer recently said in an interview before embarking on her current tour of the States.  “I grew up with parents who were doing experimental theater, so I gravitated toward artistic expression, pop music on a weird, arty tip, but mixed with club culture, lounge music, dance beats.”  That’s exactly what you get when you listen to Robyn.

The songs from the “Body Talk” series thus far are well written and pleasing to the ears.  The series starts off with the electronic and hypnotic “Don’t F*****g Tell Me What to Do” and the quirky, yet catchy “Fembot.”  My personal favorite from “Body Talk, Part 1” is the vulnerable and infectious “Dancing on My Own.”  Other standouts include “Love Kills”, “Cry When You Get Older”, and the fearless, string-accompanied “Indestructible.”  “Hang With Me” works much better with its synth-pop makeover on “Part 2” (the song appears on “Body Talk, Part 1” as an acoustic, melancholy tune) and “U Should Know Better” is a fun and frenzied collaboration with rapper and friend Snoop Dog.

The third and final issue in the “Body Talk” series is set to be released on November 22^nd and word is out that there will be five brand new tracks on this set, including “Call Your Girlfriend”, “Stars 4-Ever” and the Max Martin produced “Time Machine.”   The lead single from “Body Talk, Part 3” is an electronic reworking of the ballad “Indestructible.”

Will you tell me once again

How we're gonna be just friends

If you're for real and not pretend

Then I guess you can just hang with me

...And if you do me right

I'm gonna do right by you

And if you treat me right

I'm gonna confide in you

I know what's on your mind

There will be time for that too

If you hang with me...

The singer has been performing her collection of “Body Talk” gems to wildly appreciative audiences around the US and Canada this fall and will continue on through the winter and early spring with various tour dates in Europe and a just announced show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on February 5th. The singer explains the popularity of her shows: "It's very simple," she says. "There's no pyro or big explosions. It's just about the energy on stage and the energy that happens between us and the audience. "It's about the music really," she says. "We're just trying to make people dance." And that’s exactly what Robyn does…

Somebody said you got a new friend
Guess she loves you better than I can
There's a big black sky over my town
I know where you're at, I bet she's around

Yeah I know it's stupid
But I just gotta see it for myself

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, ohh
I'm right over here, why can't you see me, ohh
I'm giving it all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home
Ooh ooh, I'm just dancing on my own

Pick up Robyn's Body Talk right here...