THE TINGS TINGS

Much the same way that Oprah has gained godlike influence over the bestseller lists with her book-club selections, Apple/iTunes/iPod has become something of a finger-in-the-wind arbiter of what's hot & what's not in the pop-music milieu. Indeed, it's all-but-impossible to escape those digital silhouettes of teens & twentysomethings (one can only assume they're teens & twentysomethings) dancing the mess around and getting jiggy with the likes of GORILLAZ ("Feel Good Inc."), THE CAESARS ("Jerk It Out"), U2 ("Vertigo"), and, now, THE TING TINGS ("Shut Up and Let Me Go").

I must admit, these do tend to make for addictive snippets: the commercial as catnip. But... the "artistic" context and delivery system here almost can't help but cheapen the material, nevermind the fact that 30 seconds of music that's good to groove to does not in any way guarantee a three-and-a-half to four-minute song with an extended shelf-life.

That said, Twinkies are known to have excessively extended shelf-lives, and those sweet 'n' spongy treats are probably a pretty fitting metaphor for the Ting Tings' sassy brand of party pop. Highly-appealing in small doses; a wee-bit nauseating when over-indulged.

So, eschewing the obvious, Apple-endorsed ditty here, we present to you, instead, the following creme-filled confections for your responsible consumption....

THE TING TINGS on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Be the One"

[MP3] "We Walk"