'N THE WORKS Remember when electronica was about to be the next big thing...then wasn't? It may still take over if teen girls have any say. ''Pop,'' the probable first single from 'N Sync's July album, ''Celebrity,'' finds producer BT adopting England's trendy ''two step'' sound. ''We took it to where we think music is going,'' says cowriter Justin Timberlake. ''It's more futuristic. It's like R&B twice as fast. It's like house - dance meets R&B...'' ''It's like the Artful Dodger making out with Aretha Franklin,'' kids Chris Kirkpatrick.
''Pop'' could almost be mistaken for the next Michael Jackson single, if he goes electronica. And Jacko is paying attention to 'N Sync: He heard ''Gone'' (cowritten by Timberlake) and asked if they'd donate it to his long delayed disc instead of ''Celebrity,'' but was turned down. ''It's probably my favorite ballad I've ever heard,'' boasts Lance Bass. Other completed tunes include the Rodney Jerkins helmed title track; ''Selfish,'' produced by Brian McKnight; and ''Game Over,'' which may be the first single if the group thinks radio is too pooped to keep up with ''Pop.'' --Chris Willman
HOT SPOTS As any music fan knows, one of the best places to hear cool, obscure tracks is on MTV's ''TRL.'' Well, not on ''TRL,'' exactly, but between it -- on commercials. Recent ads have featured little heard gems from artists like Nick Drake (Volkswagen), Badly Drawn Boy (Gap), and Handsome Boy Modeling School (NFL). Now comes word of two ad themed compilations. ''As Seen on TV: Songs From Commercials'' will include the three aforementioned acts, plus cuts from the Buzzcocks (Toyota), Cat Stevens (Timberland), Iggy Pop (Mitsubishi), and more.
And Volkswagen's just out ''Street Mix -- Music From Volkswagen Commercials (Volume 1)'' compiles Drake and 10 others like Charles Mingus and Spiritualized (the CD is available at VW.com). ''I would see SoundScan reports, and it'd be like, 'Wow, they're using ''Mr. Roboto'' in this VW commercial, and look how many people went out and bought Styx albums!''' says UTV Records product manager Adam Starr, who conceived ''As Seen.'' ''It seemed like a gold mine.'' In stores June 5, ''As Seen'' will be promoted via -- what else? -- a TV commercial. --Rob Brunner
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.