Music Blogs

"I ain't freaking, I ain't faking this," screams a British vocalist in the new iPod commercial in heavy rotation. That ad is as colorful as Joseph's Technicolor dream coat, and the catchy song is enough to make anyone get up and dance, even during a long and exhausting American Idol break. It catches the eye, even when you're holding down the fast-forward key on your TiVo remote.

The tune, "Shut Up and Let Me Go," is one of three newly released singles from the British duo the Ting Tings. Their debut album for Columbia Records, "We Started Nothing," will be legally available in the U.S. on May 20, and it drops in CD format on June 3.

Apple actually picked one of the Ting Tings' minor songs, keeping other, more cut-above tunes from being touched by the hands of the corporate gods--for now. Though the disco groove in "Shut Up" is coupled with punk guitar strums and mixed with Katie White's vocals, it's also marginal, moxie-wise, when compared to the band's other hits like "Great DJ" and "That's Not My Name." The latter explodes like firecrackers; it's difficult to ignore.

"That's Not My Name" is also the current hit single in the U.K., and there's a video to go with it. But the label isn't making the tune available for purchase in the U.S.

iTunes made "Shut Up" available last week, but just that one song. It could easily be considered one of the most strapping and sassiest singles released this year.

Don't just take my word for it. Download the tune in its entirety--or find some other way to get it into your ears--for a real treat. There's a slick guitar strum roughly three minutes in. It's the epitome of the right pop mix. Its spunk doesn't disappoint.