Send "Annie " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Annie's second album, Don't Stop, was supposed to come out last year, and for the Norwegian singer's net-savvy audience, it basically did. The version of the record that is being commercially released now is a bit different from what leaked in 2008-- a few tracks have been cut, a few more have been added-- but since it is being released with a bonus disc that includes every notable excluded track save for her cover of Stacey Q's "Two of Hearts", the final product is less glass-half-empty and more cup-runneth-over. Her final running order for the album proper is certainly an artistic statement worth taking seriously, but we all know that our experience with this music has been and will continue to be a flexible thing, so why should the boundaries of plastic discs matter so much for an artist so closely associated with mp3s?Even if CD releases and official track listings are formal considerations that are not entirely significant to Annie's context as a star in a largely theoretical Internet pop universe, it's almost impossible to engage with any version of Don't Stop without thinking about what is "missing." The most notable omissions from Don't Stop are its top-notch lead single "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" and its Italo-disco follow-up "Anthonio", each co-written and produced by Hannah Robinson and Richard X, the duo who previously collaborated with Annie on the excellent Anniemal tracks "Chewing Gum" and "Me Plus One". Though these songs were cut, ostensibly in the interest of keeping the album fresh, it's perplexing to remove such strong material. To make matters worse, the only track from Robinson and X to make it to the official Don't Stop is the clear highlight "Songs Remind Me of You". This is a strange thing: If Annie has so much proven chemistry with these two writers, why isn't she doing more with them?...full text |
| Wikipedia |
| In May 2008, Popjustice called the album "a complete modern masterpiece", revealed the title (Don't Stop) and gave the first tracklisting. [8] Pitchfork Media posted a different tracklisting two months later. It excluded a track entitled "Perfectly Honest", while "Misery" was renamed "I Can't Let Go".[9] Girls Aloud initially provided backing vocals for "My Love is Better".[8] Annie received tabloid attention when various publications wrote that Girls Aloud requested "My Love is Better" be removed from the album. Producer Brian Higgins was reported to have included vocal tracks from a Girls Aloud demo in the song without their permission.[10] Annie told Digital Spy in an interview that "it's not as dramatic as they said in the papers", citing problems with the record company. "Brian asked them if they'd like to help out. They were really up for it and came into my studio and it was really fun."[11] The issue was resolved and the song will remain on Annie's album.[12] Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand plays guitar on "My Love is Better" and "Loco".[13] "I Can't Let Go" is a duet with Fredrik Saroea of Datarock.[8] [edit] Promotion and release The first single was initially going to be a cover of Stacey Q's 1986 single "Two of Hearts", backed with "Songs Remind Me of You".[7] The release is listed as "still forthcoming" on producer Richard X's official website.[14] It was suggested that the album could see an April 2008 release.[7] An album sampler was released in April for promotional purposes.[15] The sampler featured the songs "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me", "My Love is Better", "When The Night", "Marie Cherie", and "Songs Remind Me Of You". A megamix containing samples of the album's songs was subsequently released.[16] Prior to the release of "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me", "Loco" was released as a digital only single. The album's actual first single "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" was released on 14 July 2008.[17] The song was described as "sweet, scrumptious electropop" by Digital Spy.[18] Pitchfork Media said the song had "the slinky electro-pop strut" of Saint Etienne and Annie's previous single "Chewing Gum".[19] The music video, directed by Sarah Chatfield,[20] appeared online in late April 2008.[21] On 25 September 2008 it was reported that the album's release had been pushed back to April 2009 so Island Records have more time to promote the album.[22] Annie reported in a MySpace blog post in October 2008 that "Two of Hearts" would be released as the next single from 'Don't Stop' on 27 October 2008 but was cancelled last minute due to legal issues with Island Records.[23] In November 2008, with an official release date still unannounced, Annie left Island Records taking the masters of the album with her. She subsequently announced that 'Don't Stop' would be released in 2009 with a different track listing from the one leaked onto the Internet.[24] The album finally saw a release on 19 October 2009 with a revised track listing and new artwork.[25] New songs "Hey Annie", title track "Don't Stop" and "I Don't Like Your Band" were added to the album's final track listing. Meanwhile, "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" and "Anthonio" were released on a bonus disc, entitled the All Night EP, among "Sweet", "I Can't Let Go" and new song "All Night"....full text |
| Nme |
| This is the story of the record that waited. In limbo since Annie’s split with Island Records last November, ‘Don’t Stop’ has been hanging around in various forms for almost a year. The lead single has been switched more times than a Sugababes member (it currently rests at ‘Songs Remind Me Of You’) and the tracklisting has been mercurial (a version of ‘Two Of Hearts’ has been lost – moment of silence please). But, oh boy, was it worth the wait. Though production is split three ways between Xenomania, Paul Epworth and Timo Kaukolampi, the record is all Annie’s own. On ‘I Don’t Like Your Band’, her (ahem) m-annie-festo is laid out – “You gotta ditch your instruments/And start it up again/Buy yourself a sequencer/And then let the games begin” – before she begins to prove her point. ‘My Love Is Better’ is a room-crossing lipgloss swagger. Initially it had Girls Aloud doing backing vocals, but the world ultimately decided that such a combination of amazingness would cause the galaxy to explode. Elsewhere, ‘Marie Cherie’ is a Sofia Coppola-atmospheric tale of a little-girl-lost, with a lazy samba beat, and the final two tracks – ‘When The Night’ and ‘Heaven And Hell’ – find our protagonist in lovelorn form. A heart of glass is smashed. Or not. With a record this good, how could a boy bring her down? True to form, on ‘Heaven And Hell’, Annie sings “Tell me, tell me what did I do wrong?/Oh baby, I am perfect”. Attagirl....full text |
Annie lyrics
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