Neapolitan

"Unless I'm utterly nuts, I can't see a thread dedicated to the greatest living pop star being inactive for nearly five years."

I hold some of the same sentiments as the OP about Pop music. I do not deliberately set out to listen to it. I don't entirely rule it out, I am not particularly fond of it. In my opinion it falls into the Uncanny Valley of fakeness, both music-wise and with whole Pop image.

Even though I mostly agree with what he said, the one exception would be "This is Pop." Marina and the Diamonds is more than just a run of the mill Pop singer, or at least she should be seen as such. She didn't envision herself as being a Pop singer who sang other people's songs, but to be singer/songwriter in her own rite. Which she said is unusual in Pop for a singer write their own songs.

Whenever I can I defer to the opinion of the artist. I seen where her music is described as "Alternate Pop," and maybe this comes from how she see her music. So why make the distinction between being Pop or not-exactly Pop/Alternate Pop? Maybe to explain that she isn't the singer who sing other peoples' songs but a songwriter who is writing her own songs and exploring themes that are important to her. (I'm not saying she is the only one who does that, or that her music is unique.) So there is substance to her songs, for the most part.

The first song that caught my ear was Primadonna because it has such a phat bass synth. It's the second song off the album, Electra Heart. Basically the album found inspiration from the movie Valley of the Dolls, and each song is a archetype of sorts. Primadonna is the sub-urban debutante(?) archetype.
The video is eerie in that she is the only person in it, and she's singing about being catered to and being spoiled, but in reality is all alone, except for her dog and the hand that hands her a cigarette, but basically all alone - you get the picture.

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