Retro is the new black

Retro chic is in amongst the pop diva world. To go forward, one must look to the past I guess.

This sentiment is embodied in two of my favorite pop divas (well, ones that have stuff coming out now, I guess), Madonna and Christina Aguilera. Both have new releases that I am currently addicted to listening to on my iPod.

In Madonna's corner, her single for her excellent song "Get Together" was released on the 6th of June. I like the remixes on these better than the remixes on the "Sorry" single (there were only two good remixes on there, the "PSB Maxi-Mix", and the fantastic Paper Faces Vocal Edit version of "Let It Will Be" that she performs on tour). But if the song wasn't laid back 70's disco retro enough, the video is like a strawberry swirlie shake of retro goodness. Directed by the same guy that bestowed upon us those catchy iPod commercials, this video uses video footage from Madonna's promotional shows for her Confessions on a Dance Floor album, and mixes it up with animation of trees coming down, asteroids colliding, and cityscapes all in a pink and white melange. It's very different than what we usually expect from Madonna, but I guess we are to expect the unexpected from her.

Christina, on the other hand, goes so far retro, that he harkens back to an age when her grandparents were kids (or maybe even her grandparent's parents). Her song "Ain't No Other Man" continues what she did with Nelly on "Tilt Ya Head Back", by going big and brassy, with a touch of 20's flapper girl. There are horns, a percussive drum beat, and of course, that voice that can outblast poor Britney's 'till next month. And the video is off the wall also. No longer is Christina the grungy, "Dirrty" pop starlet, she is this little Marlene meets Marilyn vixen with a voice that can belt for days. She could easily have beaten poor Renee Zelwiger's Roxy Hart to a bloody pulp (I know Christina is scrappy!)

Anyways, click on the pictures above to get a sample of Madonna's 70's grooves, and Christina's 20's funk.