Heart Beats: The Summer of Kylie Minogue and “Padam Padam"
Although the official unofficial start to summer begins during the Memorial Day weekend in the latter part of May, Kylie Minogue’s summer to remember began on May 18, 2023, with the release of “Padam Padam,” the first single from her 16th studio album, Tension, out September 22. Snippets of the song teased before its release hinted at a more mysterious sound, with its electro-altered vocal and an ominous guitar riff. No one could have predicted, even Kylie and her production team, that this dark, menacing intro would kick off, what many would later consider to be, the “song of the summer,” a coveted title often associated with a lighter, more upbeat pop sound, reflective of that school’s-out, sun’s-out sense of carefree abandon. It’s the track’s (heart)beat-thumping chorus that would allow it to set itself apart from other pseudo contenders.
Just ten days later, Kylie celebrated her 55th birthday, and took to her social media to thank her followers for the messages, “the ‘Padam’ reaction and the love; it’s been an incredible week,” Kylie said. Incredible indeed, the song went viral on Instagram, and on Tik Tok, #padampadam would eventually garner 10 million hits in early June. This is the first of two significant moments, for it confirmed the speedy reach, and the immense impact, of “Padam Padam” in a relatively short amount of time.
The second moment also occurred in early June, when Kylie surprised the crowd of 80,000, who attended Capital’s Summertime Ball music festival at Wembley Stadium. The radio group posted the two-song set to its YouTube channel, which at the start of the performance featured a pre-filmed compilation of Kylie clips and some career stats. The cameras down on the stadium floor captured the reaction of some of the audience members (many presumably in their twenties) as they began to realize that the Aussie superstar was on the bill. It’s one of the most important moments in Kylie’s career: Here, a pop-music icon, some 36 years into her career, is connecting with many who weren’t even born when “The Loco-Motion” or “I Should Be So Lucky,” or perhaps even “Spinning Around” or Kylie’s signature, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” were released.
The video montage, designed to heighten the hype, met its goal; when Kylie’s name was announced and she ascended on the stage-lift, the audience erupted in excitement, easily heard in the following video:
Kylie then went from stadium to studios, appearing on NBC’s “TODAY” show, and Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen, where Cohen asked her point blank if she had any plans for a U.S. tour or a Vegas residency, to which she coyly replied: “Very possibly.” The “very possibly” turned into “very definitely” in late July when she officially announced a Las Vegas residency at the Venetian’s newly renovated, 1,000-seat venue, Voltaire. She and casino executives were riding a “Vegas High” along with fans worldwide, but fast forward to August 9 when many of those fans went from a high to a letdown, due to a chaotic ticket-purchasing experience, and a crash of Voltaire’s site. Regardless, the first set of shows for November and December 2023 and January 2024 quickly sold out, as well as a second set of shows for the early part of 2024 that were later added.
Kylie also appeared on few radio programs in the U.S., such as the “Zach Sang Show,” and on 102.7 KIISFM, to talk “Padam Padam,” the new album, the residency, and much more. Around this time in August, the single had cracked the top 40 on Billboard’s U.S. Adult Top 40 and U.S. Mainstream Top 40 charts. Also, it climbed to number 1 on the U.S. Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.
For those not entirely familiar with Kylie, easily one of the most successful singers of the last 40 years, “Padam Padam” hopefully serves as the gateway single to discovering her previous, now-legendary, work in pop (the essential-to-own Light Years and Fever albums), dance (the dazzling 2020 album, Disco, which helped sustain many through a dark pandemic), indie-pop (1997’s experimental Impossible Princess), even torch/jazz (“Stay This Way”; “If You Don’t Love Me”; “Try Your Wings”; 2012’s The Abbey Road Sessions album), and that’s just scratching the surface as a recording artist. As a live-concert performer, they don’t call her “the Showgirl” for nothing (two tours entitled, Showgirl [2005, 2006]; XTour2008; Aphrodite Les Folies [2011] are vital viewing). Fittingly, her Vegas residency will solidify her as the consummate showgirl once again.
As summer 2023 comes to a close, it was one full of bright, sunny moments for Kylie Minogue, with “Padam Padam” representing the start to yet another era in her phenomenal career, one that shows no signs of going dim or, to keep with the heart theme, flatlining. The track also signifies a renewed faith in the power of music to bring people together for a very catchy common good. (Note: As this article is being finalized, Kylie has announced the second single, “Tension” will be released on August 31, 2023.)
Impossibly Indie: Three HD Videos from Kylie in the ‘90s
Kylie Minogue’s sixth studio album, 1997’s Impossible Princess, marked another major shift in Minogue's career. Gone was the late-‘80s bubble-gum pop singer; g’day to ‘90s singer/songwriter, ready, willing and able to delve deeper into experimental territory. Surrounding the material, some of which explored topics such as personal happiness, and inner peace in spite of chaos, was a new sound, one significantly different from 1987’s “The Loco-Motion,” even from the dance-pop direction of 1990’s “Better The Devil You Know.”
This late-‘90s shift actually originated in the early part of the decade. In 1992, Minogue parted ways with her record company, PWL, and signed with the independent dance-music label, Deconstruction Records, who afforded Minogue more creative direction and input. The first result: the 1994 self-titled album, Kylie Minogue, with the eerily effective, “Confide In Me” representing the first effort in an era that would be coined, “Indie Kylie.” A year later, a musical collaboration with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on “Where the Wild Roses Grow” was another confirmation that trying new things came with commercial and critical accolades. On the personal front, she was in a relationship with the French photographer, Stéphane Sednaoui, who inspired her to push the professional envelope. However, when Impossible Princess was released, it became her most polarizing album to date, due to its sharp departure from what many were accustomed. Yet over the years, the artistic endeavor has garnered acclaim as one of Minogue’s most respected works, and a fan favorite, for its unexpectedly bold foray into rock, electronica, drum and bass, even Celtic-folk influence on the fourth and final single, “Cowboy Style.”
On October 22, 2022, the enduring album celebrates its 25th anniversary. To help celebrate, Minogue recently released HD versions of the music videos for the first three singles: “Some Kind of Bliss,” “Did It Again” and “Breathe.” Much like how the musical direction for each single served as a departure for Minogue, the visual companions followed suit:
I’m With the Bandits
The David Mould-directed video for “Some Kind of Bliss” features Minogue and the actor, Dexter Fletcher, playing a devilish duo on the run (or more like on a ride, in a classic Pontiac). The Bonnie and Clyde-inspired tale is edited in a non-linear format, so it’s left up to the viewer to determine the actual order of the crime-spree events. Here’s a theory as to what the storyline would be if it was edited in linear sequence:
Minogue’s character, in a black dress, picks up Fletcher’s from jail. He’s wearing a black shirt, tan pants, and carries a black-and-red bag as he leaves the jail. After spending some time at a motel, Fletcher’s character has changed into a white suit; Minogue’s into a blue mini-dress. They’re seen fleeing to the Pontiac, while he carries the same black-and-red bag.
The couple descends upon a gas station in the middle of the desert, still wearing the white suit, still wearing the blue mini-dress. As Minogue flirtatiously distracts the attendant, she heads to the restroom, while Fletcher robs the station. When she leaves the restroom, we see she’s changed into a white tank top and blue hot pants that we can presume were under the mini-dress. (Three years later, Minogue would wear a pair of gold hot pants in the video for “Spinning Around”; the article of clothing would later become synonymous with the singer.)
Post-robbery, the two once again change outfits: He adds a green shirt to the white suit; she into a white top and pink pants, her ginger-red hair now in a ponytail. Back in town, he robs a business, while she remains outside near the Pontiac, only to observe a police car pulling up to the building, just as he runs out and right into the cops. He yells at her to make a break for it, as he’s put into the back of the squad car. She drives away, crying, her Bonnie separated once again from her Clyde. In summary, based on this theory, this would mean that Fletcher’s character returns to jail mere hours after initially being released, carrying the black-and-red bag. Not watching the video below would be criminal.
Kylie Chameleon
Many of Minogue’s previous videos, particularly the ones from the ‘80s, showed her as a happy-go-lucky (“lucky, lucky, lucky”) late-teen. “Better the Devil You Know” (1990) showed her as a girl all grown up, with “Some Kind of Bliss” showing Kylie as that good girl gone bad. What makes the video for Impossible Princess’ second single, “Did It Again” compelling—and comedic—is that it’s a tongue-in-cheek look at Kylie’s various professional personas in direct opposition with each other. The Pedro Romhanyi-directed video features four characters: Sex Kylie; Cute Kylie; Indie Kylie; Dance Kylie, in a police lineup, battling it out for the camera’s attention.
These monikers doubled as references to, and commentary on, the media coverage Minogue had endured up to this point, often pigeonholed by the press into a confined category, a current incarnation put “in quotes,” a creative pursuit reduced to an easily digestible soundbite. It’s no wonder the four figures are set against a mugshot backdrop; it’s as if Minogue daring to change direction, musically and visually, was a criminal act. Lyrically, Minogue co-wrote the track as self-commentary, reportedly frustrated at not learning valuable lessons when it came it to her personal relationships. (“Clever girl, think you know, but you don’t know much.”) “Did It Again” is all about conflict, both external and internal.
“It Won’t Be Long Now”
If “Some Kind of Bliss” is Impossible Princess’ most cinematic video, and “Did It Again” its most technically creative, the video for the third single, “Breathe,” directed by Kieran Evans, is its most beautiful, thanks, in part, to its artistic simplicity. Most of the video has Minogue, floating in a vast openness, in a nude-colored dress. Blurred, fragmented shots of her hands, fingers and feet are almost embryonic in nature.
At video’s end, the visual concept connects to the central theme of the track, which revolves around living inside one’s own head. (“I’m sorting everything inside/I’m looking in the space.”) “Breathe” was a fitting follow-up single, and antidote, to “Did It Again.” Just as Minogue expressed feelings of frustration towards herself, the introspective, meditative “Breathe” is her seeking inner peace. (“It won’t be long now, breathe, breathe.”) A new Kylie is born.
And it won’t be long now until fans are putting Impossible Princess on repeat, and these three videos on replay, revisiting one of the most intriguing chapters in Minogue’s now legendary career. It’s a chapter that’s impossibly indie, yet still consistently Kylie.
Hi-Fi Sci-Fi: Five Favorite Daft Punk Moments
Formed in 1993, Daft Punk consists of the French duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, who have continued to don dapper futuristic personas, shielding their faces from the public by wearing gleaming robot-inspired helmets. In one sense, this allows a focus toward the sci-fi sound of their music, while, in turn, it works as an inventive marketing strategy that balances professional familiarity with personal anonymity.
“Around the World,” from their 1997 debut album, Homework, celebrates the cyclical, from the song title itself (the track’s only lyrics on a synthesized loop) to its therefore mostly instrumental, intentionally repetitive retro-funk sound. Even its video embraced spherical visuals: dancers, assigned to designated riffs, beats and blips, moving on a concentric circular stage, plus there’s colorful backdrop of porthole lighting. Daft Punk made going around in circles more desirable than dizzying:
Four years later, they released, Discovery, which featured the fitting “One More Time”; “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” which would later be heavily sampled by Kanye West on his 2007 track, “Stronger”; and “Digital Love.” Remember this commercial for the GAP, with the actress and singer, Juliette Lewis? (The jeans—and the video quality itself—are shall we say, vintage.)
From Madison Avenue to the movies: In 2010, they created the 24-track score for the film, Tron: Legacy, creating a mood to match the gloom-and-doom world that exists inside a cutthroat video game, with “Recognizer” starting out as intensely ominous, then suddenly becoming one of the most hauntingly beautiful tracks:
On 2013’s electro-disco, Random Access Memories, it was filled with inspired collaborations, most notably with Pharrell Williams and Chic’s Nile Rodgers on “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself to Dance.” In 2014, the album won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year:
And finally, their work on the 2016 album, Starboy by The Weeknd, in particular on the synth-R&B title track, and on the sexy, soulful bop of a ballad, “I Feel It Coming.” The bass riff that rolls in before the second verse is something for which to wait:
Will there be more good things from Daft Punk in the future, that sound like the future? I feel that coming too.
Holy Synth: Listen to Chvrches Cover “Cry Me a River”
The electro-pop trio, Chvrches visited the BBC 1 Radio Live Lounge, where they performed their re-imagining of Justin Timberlake pop/hip-hop hit, “Cry Me a River.” To say it’s a cover seems inaccurate, as Iain Cook and Martin Doherty (enthusiastically) add their signature preprogrammed blips, bits and synth-infused accompaniment to Lauren Mayberry’s vocals.
Kudos to Timberlake and his production team for creating such an enduring story about infidelity and the karmic consequences about to experienced by a cheater in a relationship (Your bridges were burned/And now it’s your turn/to cry…”). Yet an equal amount of recognition goes to Chvrches: They remain authentic to their haunting electro sound, while staying true to the spirit of the lyrics (note that Mayberry, thankfully, doesn’t change the point of view: “Girl, I refuse/You must have me confused/with some other guy.” And don’t it make you “glad” about it?
Chvrches Had a Heavenly Year
In late 2013, the Scottish synth-pop group, Chvrches released the standout, ultra-moody track, “Lies” from their album, The Bones of What You Believe. The haunting video can’t help but evoke the impassive quality of the early new-wave ‘80s. (Think part Berlin’s “Metro,” part The Human League’s “Mirror Man,” but with a sleek modernity.) The imagery in “Lies” is full of international intrigue; secrecy and eavesdropping; deceit and danger, as well as pensive brooding in the shadows, none better conveyed than by the lead singer, Lauren Mayberry—the Natalie Portman of pixie-cool electronica.
Last year also saw the release of “Gun,” a pulsating, up-tempo track with a trippy kaleidoscopic video treatment that allowed Mayberry’s black eyeliner to become one of the prominent elements; “Recover,” which once again showcased Mayberry’s sweetly soft, yet determined enunciation. There was an intergalactic-inspired video, along with a second version that was more of a travelogue, documenting the band’s relentless touring and press schedules, pinpointing to just some of the reasons for their recent popularity.
Chvrches is approaching the end of 2014 busier than ever. The Coldplay-sounding “Under the Tide,” released in September, doesn’t include the ethereal styling of Mayberry at the helm, yet she returns to lead vocals on “Dead Air” from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I soundtrack. And speaking of soundtracks, the exceptional “Get Away” was part of the BBC’s “Radio 1 Rescores: Drive.” Curated by the radio DJ and producer, Zane Low, the project was created as a re-imagining of the new-wave, ‘80s-inspired score and soundtrack to the superb 2011 Nicolas Winding Refn film. “Get Away,” as is “Lies,” is signature Chvrches (steady verses; quieter moments in the bridge; the buildup back to the explosive chorus).
And finally, just a few weeks ago, the group performed at the VH1 “You Oughta Know Live in Concert,” which highlights some of the artists and bands that achieved breakout success in the current year, and naturally, ones to watch in the year to come. Although originally released in 2012 and later re-released in Fall 2013, they performed their debut single, “The Mother We Share,” taking novices a.k.a. future fans back to the beginning, giving them the chance to discover just how heavenly Chvrches is.