Difficult to believe given her recent brush with death but the former Neighbours star and all round chart nymphet was only recently honoured by the Queen with an OBE for her services to music and for having what is ostensibly one of the cutest butts in British and Australian chart-history (Rihanna having already coveted this particular accolade in the US). Naturally, it’s more likely to have been Prince Philip who recommended her for this honour, rather than old Lizzy herself, his right royal consort being especially impressed by the valour shown by her hotpants in the video for ‘Spinning Around’. The diminutive star also picked up a Brit Award for “Best International Female Solo Artist.” And now we have her new album ‘X’ being nominated for a 2009 Grammy. The only thing missing is popular recognition for making gays even more flamboyant than they were prior to her Olympian cover of ‘Dancing Queen’ and for being successfully corrupted by Michael Hutchence. It’s not been just about music but evolution. If we’re really going to get poncey about all this, Kylie is all about transformation. She’s ephemeral, a willow-the-wisp – which is really why the whole idea behind ‘Boombox’ is so successful. We all feel like we own a little bit of her and what better way of expressing it than by mashing her up and spitting her out – or for want of a better word – remixing her?
So this Kylie reimagined, a pert collection of classics re-hewn and re-drafted by the likes of the Chemical Brothers, Fischerspooner, Knuckleheadz and Mylo plus sought-after rarities, like the much bootlegged Kylie/New Order mash-up ‘Can’t Get Blue Monday Out of My Head’ and previously unreleased tracks like ‘The One’ (Bitrocka Remix) and ‘Boombox’ (LA Riots Remix). They’re not the most adventurous and unpredictable transformations ever – the onus firmly on keeping things moving – but they’re not without their moments.
Not just spinning around, but constantly evolving with it. Meet Kylie PLC.
‘BOOMBOX: THE REMIX ALBUM 2000-2008 (ASTRALWERKS) – US Release 29.01.08 UK 05.01.09