"(You Drive Them) Crazy"...

Britney Spears hits are being used by the UK's Royal Navy to scare off Somali pirates.

The hit singles"Oops! I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" have proved the most effective deterrent on supertankers off the east coast of Africa. "Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most," merchant navy officer Rachel Owens told Metro. "These guys can't stand Western culture or music, making Britney's hits perfect."

The Royal Navy has 1,500 sailors on 14 warships in operation in the area, after there were 176 attacks on ships by pirates in 2011. Owens revealed that speakers playing the music can be specifically aimed at the pirates, so it doesn't disturb the crew and their rest or work. "It's so effective the ship's security rarely needs to resort to firing guns," she said. "As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can."

Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, added: "Pirates will go to any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music. "I'd imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention."

Ah, Britney the war hero! Just imagine, we could have world peace of people would think of using the "music" of Mariah Carey!

Tracks...

Part two of tracks I am currently listening to (or have been over the last few months). As always, some are here because I just like them, some because I enjoy the tackiness and a few because they finally got a music video! Hope you find something in here that you like too!

This lot includes, amongst other things,  the "long awaited" return of Miss Paris Hilton, a hilarious OMD video, the much appreciated return of Toni Braxton and what I think is probably one of the most degrading to women music videos ever made; courtesy of (who else) Britney Spears.

Bits...

Britney Spears has thanked Kylie Minogue for comments she made about her new material.

The Australian singer tweeted Spears to reveal her excitement at hearing her forthcoming seventh allbum, Femme Fatale.

"I am READY for the @britneyspears album," Minogue wrote on her Twitter page. "Love what I have heard!!! WhooOoOoOPP!!!! (sic)"

After retweeting the message Britney replied: "Awww! Thanks @kylieminogue. Means the world to me. What's your favourite song?"

Minogue answered, revealing that her current favourites are Spears's latest single "Till The World Ends" and one of the LP's bonus tracks "He About To Lose Me".



Duran Duran have finally made some comments their 2007 album Red Carpet Massacre, which bombed on release. It was their 12th studio album, produced by the group with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Danja.

Speaking to The Quietus, drummer Roger Taylor admitted that the decision to bring in the R'n'B stars might look like the band were trying too hard to chase modern trends.

Bassist John Taylor said: "That whole project was a f**king nightmare. We delivered an album to Sony that was a natural-sounding, almost rock album, and they were like 'We need something a bit pop, do you fancy doing a couple of tracks with Timbaland?'"

Keyboard player Nick Rhodes laughed that the experience of making album was "embarrassing" and "awful".

"The thing was, we got an opportunity to work with Timbaland, so we thought 'Great, let's go for it'," he explained. "When Timbaland saw the guitar and the bass and the drums come in to the studio, I think he was mortified, because everything's in a box for those guys. But I'm really glad we made that album, because in time I think it will stand up."

Singer Simon Le Bon said: "When you compare it to where we're at now, I do think Red Carpet Massacre was a bit of a personality issue. We thought we could make an urban album and our fans would like it… but our fans left us in noooo doubt about their response to that album."



Dannii Minogue is said to be plotting her return to music later this year.

The X Factor judge has been eyeing up possible collaborations for the record and is currently in discussions to work with DJ Roger Sanchez.

"Dannii is very professional in the studio, she's very sweet and always open to new ideas," Sanchez told the News of the World.

"I was very impressed at how dedicated she is - she's a great pop writer and we're talking about new projects."

Tracklist...

Britney Spears has unveiled the tracklisting for her seventh studio album Femme Fatale. The album, which is due to be released March 28 in the UK and March 29 in the US, will come in standard and deluxe editions.

It is the follow-up to 2008's Circus, which has been certified platinum in both the UK and US.

The reported tracklisting:

1. 'Till the World Ends'
2. 'Hold It Against Me'
3. 'Inside Out'
4. 'I Wanna Go'
5. 'How I Roll'
6. 'Drop Dead Beautiful'
7. 'Seal it with A Kiss'
8. 'Big Fat Bass (with Will.I Am)'
9. 'Trouble For Me'
10. 'Trip to Your Heart'
11. 'Gasoline'
12. 'Criminal 13 Up N Down'

The four extra deluxe edition tracks are:

13. 'Up N' Down'
14. 'He's About To Lose Me'
15. 'Selfish'
16. 'Don't Keep Me Waiting'

 'Til The World Ends will be the next single from the album.

Tracks...

Some tracks I love right now: