Spices--World domination?! a decade ago...
PCD---Doll domination??! really?Pussycat Dolls CD review (get's a comparison with the Spices)
The Pussycat Dolls will never be confused with the Spice Girls.
Compared with the Dolls, who are like real-life Bratz dolls, the Spice Girls were champions of feminism, shouting "Girl Power!" at the top of their lungs, even if their short skirts and cleavage-baring tops sometimes trumped that message.The Pussycat Dolls, on the other hand, don't even pretend to stand for anything outside of a "Girls Gone Wild" fantasy in the flesh. To them, "Girl Power" means flashing a cameraman to get a free T-shirt and then high-fiving your gal pals.
Besides, at least you could name the five Spice Girls, if not by name then at least by their cheeky Spice monikers. But the Pussycat Dolls? Why, there's the one who sings and whose solo album was torpedoed before it was even released, then there's ... well, the other ones. Wait, how many are there again?
Despite the girls' lack of personality or individuality or reason for being outside of record company demographic research, the Pussycat Dolls' club-friendly hip-pop managed to strike a chord with listeners and aspiring Hooters waitresses everywhere, and the group's 2005 debut sold several million copies. Now comes the follow-up, "Doll Domination"; and like its predecessor, it mixes bouncy dance tracks with faux-serious ballads and vapid girls-night-out anthems. Put plainly, it's music to do body shots to.
The Dolls' M.O. is laid bare in lead single "When I Grow Up," a slinky number about the awesomeness of being famous. In a perfectly trite world, Kim Kardashian would grind to it on "Dancing with the Stars" -- keep your fingers crossed.
Slumming-for-a-paycheck producers Timbaland, Polow da Don, Rodney Jerkins and more make the proceedings at least passable, with sturdy beats that don't disrupt the status quo. Timbaland lends the ladies "Magic," which sounds like it came from Justin Timberlake's cast-off pile, while he offers up another variation on his "Cry Me a River"/ "What Goes Around" motif on "Halo." Polow da Don's "Out of this Club," meanwhile -- featuring R. Kelly, who keeps his libido in check -- could pass as a sequel to Usher's "Love in this Club."
The sexual metaphors on "Doll Domination" are stretched thinner than the Dolls' wardrobes, with "Bottle Pop" and "Elevator" offering barely veiled lyrics about various states of hooking up. And the particulars of "Watchamacallit" aren't exactly clear, though it's fairly certain the song isn't about candy bars.
Being the only member with a raison d'être besides looking sultry, lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger is saddled with most of the vocal duties, though the other girls get their crack at vocal duties on a bonus disc. No, they weren't even good enough to make the already overstuffed album.
Note: There were six Pussycat Dolls pictured on the cover of the group's debut album, and only five this time around. But wasn't there that reality show where they found a new member? Sadly, it doesn't even matter.
In a world of "Doll Domination," we're all slaves to marketing in its most slick, soulless form.
Girl power, shmirl power.
Compared with the Dolls, who are like real-life Bratz dolls, the Spice Girls were champions of feminism, shouting "Girl Power!" at the top of their lungs, even if their short skirts and cleavage-baring tops sometimes trumped that message.The Pussycat Dolls, on the other hand, don't even pretend to stand for anything outside of a "Girls Gone Wild" fantasy in the flesh. To them, "Girl Power" means flashing a cameraman to get a free T-shirt and then high-fiving your gal pals.
Besides, at least you could name the five Spice Girls, if not by name then at least by their cheeky Spice monikers. But the Pussycat Dolls? Why, there's the one who sings and whose solo album was torpedoed before it was even released, then there's ... well, the other ones. Wait, how many are there again?
Despite the girls' lack of personality or individuality or reason for being outside of record company demographic research, the Pussycat Dolls' club-friendly hip-pop managed to strike a chord with listeners and aspiring Hooters waitresses everywhere, and the group's 2005 debut sold several million copies. Now comes the follow-up, "Doll Domination"; and like its predecessor, it mixes bouncy dance tracks with faux-serious ballads and vapid girls-night-out anthems. Put plainly, it's music to do body shots to.
The Dolls' M.O. is laid bare in lead single "When I Grow Up," a slinky number about the awesomeness of being famous. In a perfectly trite world, Kim Kardashian would grind to it on "Dancing with the Stars" -- keep your fingers crossed.
Slumming-for-a-paycheck producers Timbaland, Polow da Don, Rodney Jerkins and more make the proceedings at least passable, with sturdy beats that don't disrupt the status quo. Timbaland lends the ladies "Magic," which sounds like it came from Justin Timberlake's cast-off pile, while he offers up another variation on his "Cry Me a River"/ "What Goes Around" motif on "Halo." Polow da Don's "Out of this Club," meanwhile -- featuring R. Kelly, who keeps his libido in check -- could pass as a sequel to Usher's "Love in this Club."
The sexual metaphors on "Doll Domination" are stretched thinner than the Dolls' wardrobes, with "Bottle Pop" and "Elevator" offering barely veiled lyrics about various states of hooking up. And the particulars of "Watchamacallit" aren't exactly clear, though it's fairly certain the song isn't about candy bars.
Being the only member with a raison d'être besides looking sultry, lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger is saddled with most of the vocal duties, though the other girls get their crack at vocal duties on a bonus disc. No, they weren't even good enough to make the already overstuffed album.
Note: There were six Pussycat Dolls pictured on the cover of the group's debut album, and only five this time around. But wasn't there that reality show where they found a new member? Sadly, it doesn't even matter.
In a world of "Doll Domination," we're all slaves to marketing in its most slick, soulless form.
Girl power, shmirl power.
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