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shaggy blog stories · shared items · twitter · village blog · you're not the only one Friday, February 28, 2003
End-of-week quick-fire linkage.
Hysterical.
How to cook a goose egg, the hard way. (via Swish Cottage) Hysterical. Boybands against the war. Lee Ryan from Blue announces he is writing an anti-war song, and Popjustice get hold of his exercise book. However, the reality is arguably even more hysterical. Terrifying. Check out the signatories at the bottom. Who needs conspiracy theories when things are spelt out as clearly as this? I think the word I'm looking for here is "supremacist". (via My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts) Brilliant. Two years in the making (it was serialised on the web, page by page), this is the first "graphic novel" I have ever read all the way through to the end. Give yourself time for this - it's well worth it, I promise. (via little.yellow.different)
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Which decade is Tops for Pops? (Interval Act / Tiebreaker)
Every decent song contest needs an Interval Act, doesn't it? And this song contest is no exception. As the final few votes keep trickling steadily in, allow me to offer something to keep you distracted until Monday's results are announced.
Actually, this is slightly more than an Interval Act. There is a strong possibility that on Monday morning, we will be faced with - gasp! - a dead heat, with both the 1970s and 1980s on equal points. In which case, we need a Tiebreaker. As Amanda suggested in one of the comments boxes a few days ago, it might be worth taking a comparative look at the charts from this week in another part of the decade. Maybe five years on, she said. Well, this is precisely what I'm going to do now - at least for the two decades which are in the lead. Thanks for putting the idea in my head, Amanda. It's going to work like this. Here are the Top Three singles from this week in 1978 and 1988, in alternate reverse order. Take a listen to all six using the MP3 provided, and then score them in the normal way. Once again, you have until Sunday night to vote. On Monday, I will add up the total scores for each song. I will then aggregate them to produce two final scores, one for each decade. If needs be - and only if needs be - I will then use this score to decide the eventual winner. Alles klar? Also, los! HERE COME THE TIEBREAKERS! #3 in 1978: Uptown Top Ranking - Althea & Donna. A bouncy little selection, aren't they? Distinctly chirpier and boppier than their counterparts in the earlier part of the decade.#3 in 1988: When Will I Be Famous? - Bros. #2 in 1978: Take A Chance On Me - Abba. #2 in 1988: I Should Be So Lucky - Kylie Minogue. #1 in 1978: Figaro - Brotherhood Of Man. #1 in 1988: I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany. Listen to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. There's an obvious classic here: Abba. The unanimous critical consensus which has grown up around this group in the past ten years or so is astonishing - especially given the way that they were generally dismissed as cheesy lightweights by the self-appointed tastemakers of their day. In fact, is there anybody out there who doesn't love them? If so, then I'd be interested to hear from you. As an obscure Jamaican import, Althea & Donna's single had been played incessantly on the John Peel show for most of the latter half of 1977, before being eventually licensed to a UK independent label. I had taped it off the radio months before it made the charts, and - despite never having been a huge reggae fan - had played it over and over again. Seeing it crossover to daytime radio and the national charts was quite a thrill at the time - like some sort of rare victory for, I dunno, "real" music or something (bear in mind that even in early 1978, the UK singles charts were still dominated by middle-of-the-road pop, the New Wave having yet to make much of a commercial impact). I loved the freshness and cheeky sassiness of the track, as Althea & Donna unselfconsciously bigged themselves up ("see me in my halter-back, see me give ya heart attack"), bringing the phrase "and ting" into the collective consciousness as they did so ("see me in my pants and ting"). A crying shame about the follow-up single, then. The Puppy Dog Song was a reggae-fied version of the "Frogs and snails and puppy dogs' tails" nursery rhyme, coupled with the one tune that every child can bash out on the piano: the dreaded Chopsticks. Every bit as ghastly as it sounds, it stiffed completely. Althea & Donna presumably got on the next plane back to Jamaica, and were never heard of again. There's little to choose between 1988's two new pop princesses on the block: Tiffany and Kylie Minogue. Like any good music snob, I hated both of these records at the time - and yet now, I find them utterly charming. What is it with music snobs only being able to appreciate good throwaway pop ten years later? And what is it about good throwaway pop that makes it endure in a way that so much other supposedly "quality" music fails to do? After all, who do we celebrate now: Abba or Gerry Rafferty? Kylie and Tiffany, or The Christians and Terence Trent D'Arby? I rest my case. Anyway, Tiffany just edges ahead of Kylie for me, on account of the song. I Think We're Alone Now was already an old favourite of mine - as taped off the John Peel show once again, in its late 1970s version by The Rubinoos (ah, the days of Power Pop!) Tiffany's version does it full justice, in my opinion. Brotherhood Of Man always made me laugh. Having won Eurovision with Save Your Kisses For Me - a song with a cutesy little surprise twist at the end ("even though you're only three - aaah!"), they followed it up with a carbon copy (My Sweet Rosalie) which had, guess what, another cutesy little surprise twist at the end ("the cutest little puppy dog you'll see - aaah!") It didn't do terribly well - thus establishing one of the Golden Rules Of Pop, which Althea & Donna would have done well to heed: never follow up a Number One Smash Hit with a song about a puppy dog. Undaunted, the BOM had a flash of inspiration. Hey - we're two boys and two girls - and we won Eurovision - so let's be Abba! Noticing that Abba had recently gone to Number One with Fernando, the BOM promptly hit back with...Angelo! Ker-ching! O-lay! Never ones to deliberately mess with a winning formula, they then followed it up with...Figaro! Woo-hoo! Port-and-lemons all round! God knows why - and I don't think I want to analyse this too closely - but Figaro sounds appealingly quaint to me now. Perhaps it's because music like this has now slipped off the cultural radar entirely, leaving no trace. Even Radio Two is too hip to play stuff like this now. Not even local radio would touch it. Which makes me feel peculiarly protective towards it all of a sudden. Show a little respect, people - after all, let's not forget that this was voted Single Of The Year by the viewers of the children's TV programme Magpie. (Mind you, just as BOM were a poor imitation of Abba, so Magpie was a poor imitation on Blue Peter. I bet the nice Blue Peter children would have voted for Abba.) Bros, then. Again, like Kajagoogoo, surprisingly bearable in hindsight. But still the worst of the bunch for me. My votes: 1 - Abba. 2 - Althea & Donna. 3 - Tiffany. 4 - Kylie Minogue. 5 - Brotherhood Of Man. 6 - Bros. (I'm giving K the day off, by the way. He has suffered enough.) For one last time, over to you. This could well be the most crucial vote of them all. Choose carefully now... Running totals so far - Interval Act / Tiebreaker. Arrrrgh it all just melded into one horrifying television variety showcase. Had to listen to them twice just to tell most of them apart. (Asta) 1978: Take A Chance On Me - Abba. (96) My first, my last, my everything - Seventies forever! (Steve) how could they ever have been so reviled? now that the students have got bored of liking them "ironically" - see above - the rest of us can swoon in awe at the greatest singles band of all time. (noodle) ...I bought my Dad this for his fiftieth birthday. Also the first (and last!) pop record he ever had! (Gert) Okay, so it's not Dancing Queen. It's still a standout in this group. (Asta) Good, but not their best by a verrry long way. (suebailey) I love them NOW, but this is far from their best. (Junio) Compared to their other work, oddly sterile and lacking any real emotion. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I'm not an Abba lover but then I'm not an Abba hater either, just a bit indifferent. (Amanda) 1978: Uptown Top Ranking - Althea & Donna. (77) Up there with Marshall Hain's Dancin' in the City as one of the best one-hit wonders ever. Still haven't the faintest idea of what they're singing about half the time, but its sheer getting-ready-for-Saturday-night-on-the-town joy is infectious. (Nigel R (the UK one)) listen to the voices!!! bored, sassy, ever-so slightly flat. "we're going out on the pull tonight, and if you don't like it grandad, up yours. and ting." (noodle) It's just top rankin'. (Junio) The Black Box Recorder cover version of Uptown Top Ranking on their first album is well worth a listen – Sarah Nixey's disinterested Home Counties vocals are worth it alone. (Mark) Wonderful track, I feel ashamed I only heard this first on Ch4's "Top one-hit wonders" (Steve) It annoys me, it always has, but at least it has some sort of style. (Stereoboard) 1988: I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany. (69) just a classic, children behaaaaaaaaaave !!! (Pam) I wonder why I used to hate this quite as vehemently as I did... Oh, because I was a miserable Goth. Of course. (suebailey) clearly would have won most of the last 10 days. 4th today because the performance fails to do justice to the song, but still more punk than April Lasagne will ever be in the rest of her shitty 10-minute career. (noodle) Great track, but Tiff'naaay is and always will be a poor man's Cyndi Lauper - nil point from the East London judges. (Steve) Way too tinkly tinkly, but a nice hook. (Junio) Her nothing-special delivery leaves a lot to be desired (the Rubinoos and even Lene Lovitch did it better), but still a great evocative song about two kids trying to get a shag, or, at the very least, a snog and fumble. Oh, to be a teenager again! (Nigel R (the UK one)) Tiffany or Kylie? Kylie or Tiffany? Wait, they're the same decade so it doesn't matter a damn. (Amanda) Better than the recent cover, but Debbie Gibson was so much better. (Gert) I so wanted to like this more, I just can't. (Stereoboard) I hesitated, but when I saw that Gert had voted for a record just because she had bought it for her dad, I knew it would be ok to vote for Tiffany just because she's the only famous person anyone has ever thought I looked like. Obviously this is no longer the case; it was a late-80s hair thing. ('bel) 1988: I Should Be So Lucky - Kylie Minogue. (67) Because it makes me think of the French & Saunders mockumentary when the opera singers were intoning, "I Shed Be Sew Lacky ..." (Junio) pete waterman is phil spector and berry gordy rolled into one. except without the killing women thang, obviously. for me, kylie's best period was the "rhythm of love" album, but this comes close. cloth-eared rock bores who hated this at the time will now tell you they've always loved her, even tho she's almost become a parody of herself. (noodle) How little we knew back then - deep in our hearts you'll always be Charlene - this is like Sunny D in muscial form. (Steve) Though I love and adore her unceasingly, she's trying so hard here not to sound Australian, she sounds almost Home Counties. (suebailey) Sweeps you up into its merry-go-round ride of pure, simple, unpretentious, cheeky Pop, which has absolutely nothing to say and simply won't let you go. Utter nonsense and I love it to death. See you grinning out there on the dancefloor. (Nigel R (the UK one)) 1978: Figaro - Brotherhood Of Man. (45) MAN, this funks - very Boney M (Steve) I have to have to put this top as it was the very first pop record I ever bought with 69p of my 10th birthday money - and this is the first of the entire selection I have had to put the volume up! In fact of the 56, this is definitely the best. (Gert) I have no shame. I like them better than Abba. (suebailey) As this kind of drossy pop goes, this goes decently enough. And I'm sure it was an Abba hommage not a rip-off. (Junio) Surely this is BOM self-parodying themselves imitating Abba. There's a good reason that it has been banished from the airwaves. (Stereoboard) Slime. Slime. Slime. Probably went down a storm with the package tours in the Benny Hill bar in Majorca. Possibly the worst song ever chosen for the Top of the Pops project. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I definitely don't like second-rate Abba especially with an oompa beat. (Amanda) 1988: When Will I Be Famous? - Bros. (45) So this is what Bros sound like. Like girls? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) (Junio) i liked bros "ironically" at the time, which means not liking them at all really, doesn't it? now, after the horror that was one true voice, we can recognise bros for the talented pop monkeys that they were. not as good as brother beyond. (noodle) Wanted to hate this, but it's aged suprisingly well - compared to current boyband efforts, the brothers Goss sound quite refreshing. (Steve) Who would have thought it? They're just marvellous. (suebailey) How I sniggered at them, never realising they actualy made a couple of excellent chart records. And who'd've thought an anthem for the consumer Eighties, would be so uncomfortably relevant to the Reality-TV Noughties? (Nigel R (the UK one)) Is there really a line in there that goes, 'You've read Karl Marx...'? (Amanda) Their best song, in my opinion, but...I remember walking past the Royal Concert Hall one night when they had just finished a gig. It was the scariest experience of my life seeing all those teenage girls (I was a smug twenty-year-old). Me and my friends had to find the nearest pub to get a drink to settle our nerves. (Gert) *hangs head in shame* I used to be a Brosette. I also had a perm at the time. (Tinka) I was once mistaken for Matt y'know (from behind, in the dark). (Stereoboard) Labels: whichdecade03
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Thursday, February 27, 2003
Voting is still open for all 10 days...
...and it will remain open until Sunday night, giving stragglers and less regular visitors a chance to catch up. I'll then be posting the final result on Monday.
However, the project isn't over just yet. Come back tomorrow to find out more!
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Trackbacks.
OK, so I'm beginning to realise that Trackbacks might be a useful function after all. But you don't get 'em with Blogger, so here's a hand-cranked version instead.
On Swish Cottage, David offers an excellent analysis of the music in this project, and of musical trends in general over the past 40 years. In yesterday's comments box, a merry old ding-dong erupted between Peter @ Naked Blog, who adores Whitney Houston's version of I Will Always Love You, and several other people who vastly prefer Dolly Parton's original. Peter has now set up an online poll on his site, asking you to vote for your favourite. There is also an option for people who loathe both version. At the time of writing, Miss Parton and Ms. Houston are still running neck and neck. Meanwhile, Steve @ My Ace Life has conducted a stunning in-depth comparison of both chanteuses. Guess who wins?
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Which decade is Tops for Pops? (10/10)
Here we are at last then, folks. I've got my best bib and tucker on today, to mark the shattering climax of the project. It's been a long and crazy journey, hasn't it? From the sublime (Carly Simon) to the ridiculous (Blazin' Squad) and all points in between. We've sighed, we've swooned, we've squirmed - we've squirmed again - and we've squirmed again. My, but we've had to wade through some shit. 'Twas ever thus.
But now, weary travellers, the end of our journey is finally looming into view. [lights down - dramatic pause - soft drumroll in background] Yes - [adopts Davina-esque shriek] - ITSTHENUMBERONES! 1963: Diamonds - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan. For me, the battle here was between Jet Harris & Tony Meehan (formerly of The Shadows), which I had never heard before and instantly fell in love with (oh, that ger-oovy Tijuana brass break!) and The Sweet, which I have loved since boyhood (oh, that siren - that riff - that "We just haven't got a clue what to do" psuedo-campness!). Objectivity can be hard to muster at times like these. In fact, even as I'm typing this I'm wavering again, as both tunes crash around inside my cranium in an unholy soundclash medley. 1973: Blockbuster - The Sweet. 1983: Down Under - Men At Work. 1993: No Limit - 2 Unlimited. 2003: All The Things She Said - tATu. Listen to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. It's got to be The Sweet, though. For the riff alone. One of the early 70s classic riffs, right up there with The Jean Genie, School's Out, Rebel Rebel, Smoke On The Water, Caroline, Get It On...ooh, it was the era of the riff alright. But if you, like me, hadn't heard it before, then do give Diamonds a fair crack of the whip. Better than The Shadows, I would venture to say. Until last Friday's Top Of The Pops, I had been fairly resistant to tATu's alleged charms. Cynically manufactured pseudo-lesbo-softcore-wankerama, right? All I could hear was a steely harshness. Was this really, with its Trevor Horn production and the attendant media hoo-hah, the Noughties version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax? And did tATu actually have any say at all in what they were doing? Their TV performance changed my mind. Goodness, no pseudo-lesbo-softcore-wankerama at all! Instead, a playful, knowing insouciance which, goshdammit, almost had me convinced that they were a real life couple (but of course, this being Pop, whether they are or not is supremely irrelevant). In turn, the artful dynamics of All The Things She Said finally fell into place for me - in particular, the rushed, slightly strained urgency. Now I get it. And yes, it is a classic pop moment after all. There was a similar tussle between Men At Work and 2 Unlimited for last place - although in all honesty, I can cheerfully live with both. Men At Work strike me as a bunch of amiable beer-swilling Aussies who accidentally struck gold, and who probably enjoyed it while it lasted - and hey, it's a catchy tune, which reminds me of some pleasant times. Meanwhile, No Limits never fails to make me smile these days. I hated it at the time - but having since been right through the invigorating-yet-enervating mangle of hardcore-techno-nu-energy-hard-house-boshin-bangin-hardbagging-boom-boom-thwackery and out again, I am now inclined to view it with rather more fondness than before. Like The Ramones, its the very dumbness that appeals. However - and crucially - unlike The Ramones, this is more by accident than design. By any objective measure, it's really not very good at all, is it? Still, the "techno techno techno techno" bit (sadly not featured on this medley) is another classic pop moment all of its own. My votes: 1 - The Sweet. 2 - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan. 3 - tATu. 4 - Men At Work. 5 - 2 Unlimited. K's votes are in the comments. Over to you. The 1980s have suddenly surged ahead of the 1970s, with the 1960s climbing back into third position. Meanwhile, things aren't looking too good for the most recent two decades. Were the whinging old gits right all along, then? Is pop music really not as good as it used to be? This is your last chance to make that judgement. Running totals so far - Number 1s. 1973: Blockbuster - The Sweet. (108) best! riff!! EVAH!!! (noodle) The image was a bunch of straight-ish blokes, flouncing a ride on the glam-rock bandwagon and mincing it to the max. It shouldn't have - but it did - hide the fact they made some bloody good, high-heel-stomping, 45s. And anyone with the nerve to come up with: "He'll come from behind/ You'll go out of your mind" gets my vote. (Nigel R (the UK one)) From my boyhood too, excellent stuff and wow was that "pseudo-campness" risque to me as a twelve year old boy. Weren't the Sweet the first of many to benefit from the excellent Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman? To be followed by Mud, Suzi Quatro, Smokey, Smokie and even I think (sadly) Racey. Stock Aitken & Waterman of their day weren't they. (Nic) If this track doesn't make you want to rush out and buy a silver jumpsuit, you have no soul. (Steve) Best Song Evah! [Look, if the Readers Wifes can end each Duckie by shouting "the best song ever" and then playing a different song each time, I can do it in your comment box.] (David) I can't believe Blockbuster hasn't used this to push their G-rated video stores. All I really remember about The Sweet is that they were so blond! (Junio) This makes number two mostly for the aa - aaaaah bit over the Jean Genie riff. (Amanda) Manages to be trash and good - quite an achievement. (Gert) I have to admit, I'm not that fond. One of the weaker glam hits. (Stereoboard) 2003: All The Things She Said - tATu. (80) Trevor Horn hasn't sounded so good since Dollar. (I'm serious, I love Dollar!) Completely worthy of five points. (Elisabeth) Totally convinced by the TOTP performance. Trev gets it right again! (Nic) Ah, of course, these are the lesbian nymphettes, aren't they? Oh, they sing too, do they? Gosh, The Sun never told me that. Another case of image getting in the way of the music. Great production, pretty good song, but the titillating little-girl voices ruin it for me. (Nigel R (the UK one)) i'm giving up alcohol, so i'll probably never enjoy this again as it should be heard, i.e. wazzed and lonely in yet another bad niteclub. the vocals are a bit weak tho, aren't they? (noodle) This is the first time I've actually heard this song. Quite good, innit? Is there a club mix? (Junio) I have managed to avoid this so far. I don't get it - are you sure this is the right track? Sounds like a crappy Natalie Imbroglio ripoff...I can imagine the video - I bet they look fashionably sullen in it don't they? (Steve) uppercase/lowercase annoyances aside, I like the song, but I suspect those baby voices will get old on me fast. (Asta) I don't like those shrill girly voices. (Amanda) I haven't actually heard this song before - quite an achievement. (Gert) 1963: Diamonds - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan. (76) This is fantastic. Undiscovered, gorgeous and a worthy number one of number ones. I feel a purchase coming on. (Stereoboard) Pretty damn Secret-agent-toptastic, even though it sounds like Tarantino would r@pe it given half a chance. (Steve) A new one to me. Instantly reminded me of all those "trying hard to be cool" B-Hollywood movies of the time that are only worth watching for the sets, clothing and the music. (Asta) Sorry, I have an aversion to Ver Shads, though I do like the Benny Hill horn bit. (David) Was Jet Harris any relation to Jet Black? (Junio) Classic and totally forgettable - quite an achievement. (Gert) Can they out-Hank-Marvin Hank Marvin? I don't think so. (Amanda) Reminds me of childhood summers at Butlins Holiday Camp in Pwhelli. Mike, you deserve all our sympathy. Being born on the day this was Number One, proves, beyond any doubt, that you are a very Troubled Diva indeed. (Nigel R (the UK one)) (Mike adds: I wasn't! I've just turned 41. On the day that I was born, Cliff Richard was at Number One with "The Young Ones".) 1983: Down Under - Men At Work. (75) Drunken, unpretentious, effective singalong by a bunch of good-natured blokes, taking the piss out of themselves and everyone else. It makes me smile. I love Aussies. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I really want a steak now. (This is the jingle for a chain of Australian-themed restaurants over here.) (Junio) Look as far as I'm concerned it's the least worst. I do live in Australia but I've got no particular attachment to this song (probably because I didn't live in Australia when it was released.) (Amanda) loveably crap geezer-reggae. immortalised vegemite sandwiches. marked down in desperate bid to prevent the worst decade ever from winning the competition. (noodle) Used to like this a lot, but it sounds a bit duff now. (David) An 80s number that fails either to be entirely naff or to evoke any memories - quite an achievement. (Gert) Beer & watered down reggae. Urk. (Stereoboard) 1993: No Limit - 2 Unlimited. (66) come on! it's 2 unlimited! how seminal is this!?! actually i was surprised at how chugging this is. i remember it being about 80bpm faster. although in the early 90s i was also far too partial to the stuff that came in little yellow-wrappered bottles, so that might explain it. (noodle) Hated it then, dance-music aficionado (tosser) that I was. A track with Vocals? And at Number One, my Dears? Oh, how terribly Joe-Public. Still don't like the vocals, but it’s got a great infectious hands-in-the-air bounciness which I now can't help but smile at. (Nigel R (the UK one)) Get very drunk and listen to this at home. FAB! Euro dance, when done properly, can be some of the most exciting pop music around. (Elisabeth) TechnoTechnoTechnoTechnoNotice. Has anyone got the brilliant Q interview [I think it was in their 50th anniversary special - or 25th or something] with 2Unlimited, where they tried to analyse the negative aspects of the song? Please dig it out - it's hilarious. (David) Different from anything else we've had. Good when you're in the mood for a bit of banging, terrible otherwise. (Amanda) Pass the poppers. (Wait, this is from 1993? OK, no poppers then.) (Junio) this one still annoys after all these years (Douglas) However bad this is, it is rightfully immortalised. I've said it before - the nineties backlash started here - the decade where taste didn't give a shit. (Steve) A 90s song I could sing before the MP3 came on. And memorable - quite an achievement. (Gert) Fascinating stuff. Looks like mid-February has always been a lax period for quality singles. Or are all hit singles, by definition, a turgid pile of putrid toss. Nope, I can't allow myself to believe that. There's too much at stake.... (djg) This whole project brought back memories of the last period before lunch on Tuesdays. One memorable year (probably 1973, actually), we had Latin that period, taught by a very old and very deaf old geezer. The class was held in a funny underground classroom called the "Undercroft." I used to listen to the chart show during the class and shout out the news to my music-loving pals. Haven't thought about that for years. Thanks, Mike! (Junio) Decade scores so far (after 7 days). 1 (1) The 1980s (33) -- Prince! Morrissey! Bruce Springsteen! 2 (1) The 1970s (30) -- Elton John! Karen Carpenter! Johnny Rotten! 3 (4) The 1960s (25) -- Jimi Hendrix! Otis Redding! Dusty Springfield! 4 (3) The 1990s (24) -- Kurt Cobain! Bjork! Michael Stipe! 5 (5) The 2000s (23) -- Eminem! Missy Elliott! Britney Spears! Labels: whichdecade03
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Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Which decade is Tops for Pops? (9/10)
It was getting really good for a while back there, wasn't it? Too good to last, though.
Just two more days to go then, and here come the Number Twos. I've been dreading this. 1963: The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield. Let's get Gary Glitter out of the way first, shall we? Ten years ago, I would probably have been chuckling indulgently, and giving him the five points without a second thought. But now that we know what we know about the man, is it still at all possible to derive any enjoyment from his records? Before listening to this track, I told myself to try and view it as a collective effort, and not just as the work of one man. I told myself to leave Glitter's crimes out of the equation, and to make a strictly objective assessment. Maybe with a different record (Rock And Roll Part 2 for example), this might have been possible. But oh deary deary me, out of all the songs that could have come up, did it have to be this one? Listening to Glitter's lewd barking now, I find that what I once viewed as harmless comic bawdyness now comes across as grotesque, disturbing, and difficult to endure. 1973: Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) - Gary Glitter. 1983: Too Shy - Kajagoogoo. 1993: I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston. 2003: I Can't Break Down - Sinead Quinn. Listen (oh, but I insist!) to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. As for Whitney Houston - yes, the vocal gymnastics are technically impressive, but I don't buy her ludicrously overblown, bombastic mis-interpretation of Dolly Parton's tender, vulnerable classic for one moment. It was never supposed to be sung this way. Ghastly stuff. Sinead "runner up in Fame Academy" Quinn's effort is the sound of grim careerism, of please please make me famous, of let's mint some dosh out of this while we still can. Despite a deftly crafted chorus, this remains a bleak, joyless, soulless experience. At times like these, I despair. Which means that Frank Ifield's piece of daft old hokum rises up, as if in a vacuum, to be my second favourite from this woeful selection. Well arranged, with a widescreen cinematic atmosphere that suits the song. I'm imagining him riding out of town on horseback, cheroot clamped between his teeth, never to return, as the camera pans back to reveal his jilted lady love still standing there in the middle of Main Street, clutching their infant to her heaving bosom. Or something like that, anyway. I can't believe that I'm actually giving the five points to Kajagoogoo - but to my surprise, Too Shy has worn rather well. It's sorta jazz-funky, innit? Mmm, syncopated! Like it! My votes: 1 - Kajagoogoo. 2 - Frank Ifield. 3 - Sinead Quinn. 4 - Whitney Houston. 5 - Gary Glitter. K's votes are in the comments. Over to you. The Seventies and Eighties are now starting to pull clear of the rest of the field. Are you all going to reveal yourselves as Whitney fans, dragging the Nineties back into contention? Or will the might of the Googoo send the Eighties shooting into the lead? The endgame approaches... Running totals so far - Number 2s. 1983: Too Shy - Kajagoogoo. (118) Limahl was obsessed with anagrams - Kajagoogoo is an anagram of "Oak a Jog Goo", an old folk song taught to him by his Grandmother. (Steve) i've just realised it rips off "angel eyes" by roxy music. which obviously makes it ace (noodle) Love the song and used to lust after the lead singer. (Matty) Out of all my confessional webloggings, this is the deepest thing i have ever told anyone. Limahl was the first popstar I ever fell in love with. I would therefore like to give all the points to Kajagoogoo, but I know my vote will be disqualified if I do. ('bel) another one for the "I used to fancy Limahl list please." (suebailey) I feel my Maths homework book as I hear this. (Gert) Loved it when it came out, but kept quiet because I would have lost my friends. So twenty years later, close your eyes, forget the sartorially-challenged pretty-boy poster-images, and listen to the music. See? Classic Teenage Pop. (Nigel R (the UK one)) Oh sweet baby J, I just preferred Kajagoogoo to any other song on a list. (Stereoboard) This is the type of record that caused me to stop taking an interest in chart pop in the eighties. Pseudo soul feel and odd melodic transitions. (Amanda) 1963: The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield. (84) Coincidentally, his real name was Alfred Ifink - an anagram of Frank Ifield. (Steve) Sorry. Can't help myself. Always loved cowboy songs. Always will. (Nigel R (the UK one)) although not as great as "i remember you", everything the man's golden tonsils caress is utter genius. one day frank will record an album of will oldham covers and i will die of sheer joy (noodle) sounds about ten years after its time (Gert) Amazing how far into the '60s music that sounds like the '50s goes, though I rather like the country sound here. (suebailey) Frank was big with Ma and Pa Junio. What's the betting this shows up in the next Austin Powers accompanying a fart joke? (Junio) Makes me want to be a cowboy. (Stereoboard) 2003: I Can't Break Down - Sinead Quinn. (77) Sinead is actually the great-great-great grand-daughter of the real Dr. Quinn, Medicine woman. (Steve) pleasant enough (Douglas) too gorgeous (Pam) Hey, it's not bad, at all. Quite possibly the second best solo Irish female singer since Dana Provincial. (Gert) against any other opposition, this written-by-committee pish would be number 5. she looks like a bemused cat (noodle) headed for one-hit-wonderland... I hope and pray. (Asta) "I know I can handle this." Sorry, love, but I can't. Hope you've got a day job to go back to. (Nigel R (the UK one)) words cannot express how bad this is. (suebailey) She sounds like she needs her adenoids out. (Junio) 1973: Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) - Gary Glitter. (64) This song was an integral part of being at junior school, along with footy in the playground and wearing shorts in the cold. (Stereoboard) I liked Gary Glitter when I was a gel; had photos of GG cut from Jackie affixed to my wardrobe, even, but this sounds pretty bloody dreadful now. (Junio) ...his crimes don't make me dislike the music he produced. (David) I'm sorry, but I liked it at the time, and it's not so bad now, despite the evilness of the man. (Gert) he may be a sad twat, but the glitter band rocked like a juggernaut full of depleted uranium tearing through a country village (noodle) I know it's easy now to say 'I never liked him' but the fact is - I never liked him - I wasn't immune to the charms of the Glitter Band stomp but I was totally put off by the meglomaniac stage act. (Amanda) Even without hindsight, dodgy beyond belief, and one of his worst songs. After the exuberance of Rock 'n' Roll (Parts 1 & 2), and even I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am), he morphed into a leering, lascivious, camp joke. Oh, and how we loved him for it, for so many years.. (Nigel R (the UK one)) 1993: I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston. (62) My dislike for her singing turned to aversion after she was on continuous rotation (every 15 minutes) on the only radio station available while we were honeymooning several years ago. (Asta) Look Whitney, it's nice to know you love me but do you have to bellow? (Amanda) ...proving once again that belting out "I... love you" over and over again *does* sell. (Luca) cliche-abounding yuckiness (Gert) currently on continuous rotation in hell (noodle) Shut it. Now. (David) When you're heart-broken, to the point you're actually quite enjoying it, shameless wallowing in this track is understandable. Ten years on, you finally see it for what it is: an insincere, self-promoting, over-indulgent, flaccid, fifth-rate imitation of the Real Thing. Bit like the one who broke your heart in the first place, really. (Nigel R (the UK one)) You made me listen to Whitney Houston. I'll remember this. (Stereoboard) Dolly's version is much better for my money, but even if Whitney's version is overblown--and oh, my dear, it is--it's still a belting single. (Junio) Decade scores so far (after 7 days). 1= (1) The 1970s (28) -- Medallion men! Bra-burning libbers! Shut that door! 1= (2) The 1980s (28) -- Red Wedge! Nouvelle cuisine! There is no such thing as society! 3 (3) The 1990s (23) -- Monica Lewinsky! Black Wednesday! I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts! 4 (5) The 1960s (21) -- Grosvenor Square! Arts labs! I have a dream! 5 (4) The 2000s (20) -- Ring tones! Retro-modern wenge sideboards! I love blinking, I do! Labels: whichdecade03
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Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Which decade is Tops for Pops? (8/10)
Another strong selection today, as we reach Day 8 of the project and the Number Threes.
Enjoy it while it lasts, though. That's all I'm saying for now. You'll see soon enough. 1963: Please Please Me - The Beatles. Listening to the Top 10 for 1963 thus far, you might have formed the reasonable conclusion that, even in the fourth year of the decade, the Sixties hadn't really started happening yet. Kenny Ball keeping it trad, dad. The high-kicking Frankie Vaughan, with his hammy old variety act. Brenda Lee, Mike Berry, Maureen Evans and Cliff Richard, all sweetly crooning away on Tin Pan Alley. Del Shannon, representing the tired fag end of Fifties rock and roll. 1973: Part Of The Union - The Strawbs. 1983: Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant. 1993: Little Bird - Annie Lennox. 2003: Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake. Listen to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. And now - crashing right into the middle of all this staleness, and blowing it right out of the water in one fell swoop - nothing less than the sound of the future. The Beatles, with their first major hit, Please Please Me, sounding so advanced by comparison that they come across as positively alien. Everything feels different here: rhythms, harmonies, arrangements, the unpredictable melodic twists and turns, and the sheer youthful energy and urgency on display. The Sixties had finally started. While admiring her immensely as a vocalist, and especially as a performer, there was still always something about Annie Lennox which kept me at bay. Maybe it was all the stuff which surrounded her. Her marketing. Her ubiquity. Her positioning within the self-congratulatory aristocracy of rock. Those Brit awards every single goddam year. Her essential safeness. Those sometimes dodgy Eurythmics albums. Dave Stewart. However, I couldn't deny that she had her moments. Walking On Broken Glass was one of them - and for me, Little Bird was the other. You could keep all those ponderous, glacial ballads on the Diva album - I liked Annie Lennox best when she was at her most obviously Pop. And this is a right belter of a pop record, containing so many progressions that I found it impossible to limit this excerpt on the accompanying MP3 to just one minute. The accompanying 12" remixes were great as well - especially the Todd Terry mix, which soundtracked plenty of top nights out in our scuzzy local gay club. Justin Timberlake is, of course, pop's current Golden Boy. The former boy band member who - in true Robbie Williams style - has taken control of his career, gaining ever-soaring popularity amongst The Kids, and even the beginnings of critical acceptance from the Grown-Ups. In the latter respect, that recent Top Of The Pops appearance with the Flaming Lips certainly didn't do him any harm. Neither did enlisting the services of the hip-hop guru Timbaland on this track (he's the man who gave us such ground-breaking tracks as Missy Elliott's Get Ur Freak On and Aaliyah's Try Again). There is a crisp, vibrant freshness here. We all love Justin now, don't we? Don't we? The last time that Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue was in the charts - in remixed form, a couple of years ago - we had all just switched offices, to a bleak site in the middle of a semi-industrial wasteland on the edge of the city. No nearby pubs, no nice shops (unless you counted the carpet warehouse and the DIY superstore), nowhere to go at lunchtime (unless you counted the nearby Harry Ramsdens fish and chip emporium). For a committed urbanite such as myself, the culture shock was severe. And what was the name of the windswept, anonymous piece of landscaped tarmac which led up to our new offices? You've guessed it. Electric Sodding Avenue. Every day as I walked past the street sign in those first few weeks, Eddy Grant's voice would start reverberating mockingly in my head. "We're gonna rock down to Electric Avenue, and then we'll take it higher..." I used to have a certain fondness for this track. Now, it is forever tainted with memories of my bleak daily half-hour trudge. Which is a crying shame. I never knew what to make of Part Of The Union, which was a hit back in the days of endless strikes and Three Day Weeks, when the trade unions still wielded real power in this country. Were The Strawbs celebrating, denigrating, or merely commentating? Probably the latter, I suppose. Anyway: this piece of folk-club-singalong whimsy, although an interesting sociological period piece of sorts, has not aged at all well. My votes: 1 - The Beatles. 2 - Annie Lennox. 3 - Justin Timberlake. 4 - Eddy Grant. 5 - The Strawbs. K's votes are in the comments. Over to you. The Seventies have been enjoying a run of success, but I rather suspect that The Strawbs are about to put paid to all that. Will the Beatles lead a rearguard surge for the Sixties, or will Annie Lennox shore up the faltering Nineties? Or are we all Justin fans now? The choice is yours. Running totals so far - Number 3s. 1963: Please Please Me - The Beatles. (119) It has to be...this is flawless pop. (Steve) Not their best, but suitably upbeat ditty (Gert) For me, their best-ever period. Way before the Maharishi and psychedelia and the mega-ballads made them all Serious, Self-Important and Over-Rated. Just a bunch of starting-out Scousers, chucking our way two-and-a-bit minutes of some of the best harmonies Pop never knew it could produce. It makes me want to smile, and to stop thinking, and to fall in love for ever. Isn't that what good Pop Music is all about? (Nigel R (the UK one)) For context. Look what surrounded them at the time. (Asta) the next time somebody tells you they were "the boy band of their day", batter them to death with a crate of unsold one true voice records (noodle) 1993: Little Bird - Annie Lennox. (92) I have great admiration for Annie's talent, but this song is all talent and no heart. (Asta) Stunning track, stunning voice but it's not the Eurythmics. (Steve) I always felt that the Eurythmics got boring after too much exposure on pop radio, but they're always good to come back fresh to. (Gert) She uses her voice really nicely here--you know she can belt it out, but she doesn't feel she has to. (Junio) Personally I think she's bonkers and I prefer the late Eurythmics stuff… but who cares when you've got someone whose voice swoops and soars and seduces you into the music like… like… like, well, like only Annie Lennox's voice can swoop and soar and seduce you into the music? (Nigel R (the UK one)) i hate annie lennox. from the heart (noodle) 1983: Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant. (79) Never really appreciated it as a youngster. Definitely a grown-up's song. (Gert) I don't like reggae as a rule, but this song does it for me. (Asta) Easily his best song. But then, that's not hard. (David) Another rare singalong song that doesn't bring me out in hives. (Junio) Reggae's never been my thing; at least not until about two in the morning after a couple of - well, you get my meaning. But I once lived off Electric Avenue and, yes, I did sing it every day on my way to Brixton tube, just as they’re still doing today. A folk song for London SW9. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I hated it at the time, and the fact that I have to see a sign that reads Electric Avenue every day, prompting this rubbish to go round in my head, has not made it any better. (Stereoboard) gruff tough electropop in no obvious need of a shit noughties remix (noodle) 2003: Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake. (66) rule 1 of making awesome modern soul - employ timbaland (noodle) Nearly my Number Two, because it’s an immediately gorgeous and wonderfully seductive song, best listened to at a candle-lit supper in a restaurant you can't afford (and, anyway, you're not really thinking about food, are you?). But I find the delivery so anodyne and emotionless. Still, anyone who gets his hand on Kylie's bum. . . (Nigel R (the UK one)) God - I had no idea...I like Justin Timberlake...someone stop me. (Steve) I want to dislike him, but I can't. (Junio) Oh just stop whining please (Asta) Is all modern pop music entirely manufactured? (Gert) 1973: Part Of The Union - The Strawbs. (49) This is just fab - singalongatastic. (Steve) a classic,but I would agree it didn't age well (Gert) don't care if it's dated, I still love it. I used to buy Marxism Today, fgs (suebailey) My dad had this on a single, and he is most definitely a union man. (Stereoboard) Dreadful drunken chant which did neither the excellent British folk-music scene, nor the working-class it claimed to support, any favours at all. A product of the strike-torn 70s, with no enduring appeal. As I recall, the band also ran into trouble when it was claimed the song was a blatant rip-off of "Union Maid" by the great Woody Guthrie. (Nigel R (the UK one)) undoubtedly still playing this dross in half-empty folk clubs every night for the rest of their lives. scabs (noodle) Aaarrrggghhh! it's the Norwich Union ad. (David) It's the first time I've found something to like in all of the tracks. (Amanda) Decade scores so far (after 7 days). 1 (1) The 1970s (27) -- Bless This House! Fondue sets! Harmony hairspray! 2 (2) The 1980s (25) -- My Little Pony! Shoulder pads! Prestel! 3 (3) The 1990s (19) -- Leather waistcoats! Freedom rings! Suits you, sir! 4 (3) The 2000s (17) -- Dumbing down! Digital TV! The dotcom bubble! 5 (5) The 1960s (16) -- The permissive society! Cherry B! Cravats! Labels: whichdecade03
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"Your future dream is a shopping scheme."
Meg's terrific photos of London's Barbican development sent me off into something of a reverie this morning.
The Barbican...the Barbican...the Barbican... (cue harp music - and swirly video "dissolve" - and switch to monochrome, with a suitably misty vignetting effect) When I was little, growing up in a fairly nondescript village near Doncaster in the late 1960s, I longed for modernity. On the drive into school each morning, I would monitor the progress of the high-rise construction projects on the edge of town, where the old back-to-back slums used to be. I envied the people who would be moving into them. I wanted to live on the top floor, like Mary, Mungo & Midge on the TV. I had also heard all about the Barbican development in London. It sounded like the most thrillingly futuristic place to live in the whole country. Although never having visited it, I used to fantasise about living there. How achingly modern and space-age it all sounded! My dreams didn't stop there. I envisaged a future age (with no doubt whatsoever that it would come to pass within my lifetime) when all cities would be made of towering concrete, sleek glass and gleaming steel, linked by monorails, with all those gloomy, grubby old Victorian buildings long since demolished. It all sounded so exciting, so progressive. I was impatient for the future to start happening right now. Progress was the ideal. Inexorable progress towards a shiny, ordered Utopian future. To me, even the opening of the Doncaster Arndale centre seemed like a major step in the right direction. Tear down the old, roll out the new. In short, I was a proper little Cultural Revolutionary in the making. Chairman Mao would have been proud. It took The Clash to burst my bubble, less than a decade later, with the angry sarcasm of songs like London's Burning, as the eager optimism of childhood gave way to the withering cynicism of adolescence. Finally, in 1981, I visited the Barbican for the first time. Its moment had clearly long since passed. Streaked, dour, brutalistic concrete. An overriding absence of any human dimension. However, I still felt that slight surge in my stomach. A tug of excitement. An echo of those untainted childhood illusions. I could still see a certain awful beauty here. Nowadays, the Barbican is a listed site, of major architectural interest. A prime example of its genre, to be preserved and studied. A new, post-modern aesthetic has emerged, which pays respectful homage to the sincerity of its ideals and the purity of their execution. Now, I unashamedly love the place. But in quite a different way.
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I would be failing in my duty as a weblogger...
...if I didn't provide a link to that hilarious Bush/Blair lip-synching movie which is currently doing the rounds all over the shop. Because I'd hate to think that any of you might miss it. An absolute must-see, I think you'll find.
For the bandwidth enabled, here's the full quality .mov version. (4.37 mb) For the bandwidth restricted, here's the perfectly adequate Real Player version. Go right down to the bottom of the page, and select the link marked Read my lips - Bush och Blair.
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Monday, February 24, 2003
"So, are you ever going to write about anything else..."
"...or is just going to be that bloody Pop Music thing for the rest of the week?"
Erm. Good question. Well, the Pop Music thing has been taking up a surprisingly large amount of available time. But if you're going to do something, then you might as well do it properly, I guess. However. Tomorrow, I promise I'll write about something else. It won't be Pop Music, and it won't be self-referential meta-blogging-bollocks either. This project has been a handy shield for the past few days, but maybe it's time to let you all back into the scintillating details of My Life As She Is Lived. Or maybe I'll just post facile one-liners all day, for a change. We shall see. Goodnight.
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Which decade is Tops for Pops? (7/10)
"For the first time, I'm battling to decide which is the best, rather than the worst." (David)
It's day 7, and it's the Number Fours... 1963: Little Town Flirt - Del Shannon. Your patience has been rewarded. Today's selection is possibly the strongest yet, with four singles that I could easily have awarded 5 points to on other, less worthy days. 1973: You're So Vain - Carly Simon. 1983: Sign Of The Times - The Belle Stars. 1993: The Love I Lost - West End featuring Sybil. 2003: Stole - Kelly Rowland. Listen to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. (If the link doesn't work, then try this instead). Plus one that I couldn't. Del Shannon is one of those names that regularly pop up in lists of early 1960s hitmakers, and yet there is definitely something of the also-ran about him. In fact, beyond a certain familiarity with a couple of his other hits (Runaway, Hats Off To Larry), I know absolutely nothing about him. Was he British or American? Was he cute? What happened to him after the hits dried up? Has anyone ever quoted him as an influence on their work? (Pause, as I discover that the man is even struggling for recognition on his own domain name, the front page of www.delshannon.com being primarily concerned with plugging a tribute act. Now, that's sad.) A routine piece of hack-work, Little Town Flirt already sounds four or five years out of date. Un point to Del. That was easy to sort out. Now things get more difficult. Both Sign Of The Times and The Love I Lost are singles which I bought and loved at the time, for no particularly deep reasons. They were just fun - and "fun" has always been one of my key aesthetics of Pop. Listening to them again now, I therefore find it hard to discount the associated warm glow of nostalgia, and to give them an objective assessment instead. But if I am going to be strict-but-fair, then I suppose that in the final analysis, West End featuring Sybil's cover of the Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes classic is, well, a bit on the cheesy side. Although much classier than most examples of that ilk, it's still just a dancey cover version - albeit one which carries powerful associations with some top nights out. Deux points to Sybil. The Belle Stars are represented here by their finest hour. Bright, fresh, breezy stuff, which is only hampered by a rather synthetic production that hasn't aged too well. Great tune, though. Trois points to the Belles. Time for the next dilemma. The beautiful and talented Kelly Rowland offers further proof that she has far more to offer than merely supplying backing vocals for Beyoncé Knowles in Destiny's Child. Whereas last year's duet with Nelly (Dilemma) limited her to endlessly repeating the same melodically repetitive chorus ("No matter what I do, all I think about is you..."), Stole gives Kelly Rowland a chance to truly shine. It's a gorgeous piece of work, and possibly my current favourite single of the moment. So how do I go about comparing it with Carly Simon's acknowledged classic? It's quite impossible. Will Stole also still be fondly remembered in thirty years time? Or does that even matter? Do I accede to seniority, and mark down the precocious young upstart accordingly? Or do I strike a blow for the New over the Old? You're So Vain is distinctive, unique, and damn nearly faultless. Meanwhile, Stole maybe doesn't do quite enough to transcend its genre. If you don't like R&B, then you might dismiss it as "just another faceless R&B track". You'd be wrong of course, but at least I can appreciate the logic. Kelly gets four points, and Carly gets five. My votes: 1 - Carly Simon. 2 - Kelly Rowland. 3 - Belle Stars. 4 - West End featuring Sybil. 5 - Del Shannon. K's votes are in the comments. Over to you. As with Laura Branigan and Duran Duran on Saturday (and it's still not too late to vote retrospectively on that), I'm predicting a closely fought battle today. Although I can't see poor old Del Shannon picking up many points - can you? Running totals so far - Number 4s. 1973: You're So Vain - Carly Simon. (107) bitter, sardonic california blues. perfect. (noodle) Best! Song! Evah! (David) Drunk girls' karaoke AGAIN! (suebailey) Biting lyrics and the voice to go with them. (Asta) Brilliant lyrics, catchy tune. Mute the strings a bit and it's perfect. (Junio) Can't be faulted, can it? Knowing wit, relentless, addictive tune, dark-brown voice, and some of the sharpest, bitchiest lyrics in pop. (Nigel R (the UK one)) 1983: Sign Of The Times - The Belle Stars. (77) Sigh. Girl groups. They were Fun once, weren't they? A bouncy, refreshing, unpretentious little tune that makes me go all warm and giggly inside. I'll have another alcopop, please. (Nigel R (the UK one)) Pop music at its most cheerful and poppy, good intro. (Gert) I have great memories of this song, but the vocals and the arrangement seem so thin now I listen to it again. (Junio) Shame on me, I thought this was Bananarama (Steve) I thought this was Bananarama too. *blush* (suebailey) almost redeems the clapping song. almost (noodle) 1993: The Love I Lost - West End featuring Sybil. (57) The slow bit does nothing for me, but the uptempo section is good. (Junio) A super-slick and faultless production. So super-slick and faultless, in fact, that I have just thrown up over my keyboard. (Nigel R (the UK one)) below par disco slapped over the most banal stock aitken & waterman beat imaginable (noodle) 2003: Stole - Kelly Rowland. (47) Maybe it is just the newness, but I love this song. (Asta) not unpleasant, but instantly forgettable (noodle) She's got a good voice all right, but the actual tune is a bit bog standard, isn't it? (Junio) I prefer the backing singers to the lead singer. Her vocal is quite unnecessary. It would work quite well without it. (Amanda) I don't like that shouty-in-pain bit on backing vocals. (Gert) Would someone please put her out of her (and my) misery? (Nigel R (the UK one)) What is it with Kelly Rowland? Why do people like her? Why did people buy 'Dilemma' in such large numbers when it was blatantly utter tripe? Is it because it had the words 'I love you' in it a lot? Is the British public that fickle? (Alan) No Nelly, no welly. (David) No rhythm. No blues. (djg) Is she related to Kevin? (Steve) 1963: Little Town Flirt - Del Shannon. (42) the morrissey of the high school hop (noodle) Mucho bio of Del Shannon on www.delshannon.com. I remember him as a big star, of course. Bill-topper. He's now (a) dead and (b) in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Seems to have worked with and written for various artists. A victim of the Beatles' gigastardom, like so many balladeers. Whole armies of them - one and two-hit wonders. Just like today, if you think about it. (I remember Neil Sedaka once remarking that after he heard his first Beatles song, he immediately realised his own career was over.) Thks for that. Nice memories. Little Town Flirt really is quite awful, I agree. (Peter) Oh, harmless enough. I like the jingly-jangly intro, and there's a feckless innocence about it which is quite endearing. (Nigel R (the UK one)) It grew on me after a few listenings. No doubt it will wash off tomorrow. (Amanda) Like the backing vocals, but the lead is bla-bla-bla-bla-bland. (Junio) No amount of hand-jiving will convince me this is good. (Steve) I find it slightly offensive. (Gert) Decade scores so far (after 6 days). 1 (2) The 1970s (22) -- The Ronco Buttoneer! Angela Rippon on Morecambe & Wise! Cresta: it's frothy, man! 2 (1) The 1980s (21) -- Sinclair C5s! Skinny leather ties! This is a journey into sound! 3= (5) The 2000s (16) -- Bob the Builder! Ketamine! Condoleezza Rice! 3= (3) The 1990s (16) -- Handbag House! Usenet! The Criminal Justice Act! 5 (4) The 1960s (15) -- Merseybeat! Pop Art! Martin Luther King! Labels: whichdecade03
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Sunday, February 23, 2003
Which decade is Tops for Pops? (6/10)
Today, it gets better. After yesterday, how could it not?
Day 6, and we're into the Top Five for this week in the past five decades. Here come the Number Fives... 1963: Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard. For the first time since this project began, I find that I can cheerfully live with all five of today's selections. Elton John is the obvious classic here, complete with its staring-you-in-the-face, ooh-but-we-didn't-realise-at-the-time depiction of unabashed homosexual longing. The line "Daniel my brother" threw us all off the scent, you see. Such innocent times.1973: Daniel - Elton John. 1983: Change - Tears For Fears. 1993: Deep - East 17. 2003: Don't Worry - Appleton. Listen to a brief medley (about a minute each) of all five songs. (If the link doesn't work, then try this instead). Speaking of...well, you know...Cliff Richard has to come next. Eerily prophetic, as you hardly need me to point out. Although obviously, Cliff's declared lifestyle choice is entirely due to classic "fear of commitment" issues. (Good grief - I've just remembered that I was dreaming about Cliff's friend Mary Whitehouse last night. And Zsa Zsa Gabor. What's going on in that subconscious of mine?) Great tune, and indelibly linked to Summer Holiday, which will always be one of the best films ever ever ever, so there. This is where the decisions get tough. After careful consideration, I'm giving my three points to those Appleton sisters - formerly half of All Saints, one of whom is married to Liam Gallagher. This is despite their rather annoying "the world owes us a living" public personas, and their "haven't we finished yet, the Met Bar's open and we've got much better things to do than stand around here for much longer" performance style. Simply put, Don't Worry is a perfectly well crafted and pleasant pop record - admittedly not up to the standard of All Saints, but respectable enough all the same. I was never particularly fond of Tears For Fears - too wet, too limp, too thin, too drippy, like a piece of soggy green lettuce in the colourful salad bowl that was Eighties Pop. (Hey, it's not yet noon on a Sunday, and I'm waxing metaphorical already. This is going to be a good day!) However, they could pen a decent tune at times, and this is one of their better efforts. As for East 17 - they really were the Blazin' Squad of their day, weren't they? It's those Home Counties Homeboy accents again. Compare and contrast with Reminisce, if you will. East 17 are heaps better, aren't they? It's the leeriness that puts them ahead, I think. Unlike their perpetual rivals Take That, who tempered their exposed nipples with sweet smiles and general all-round wholesomeness, East 17's appeal was unmistakeably skanky, dirty, love-bites-in-the-bus-shelter, are-ya-shaggin-me-or-wot? And we need a bit of that in the charts, don't we? Having said all that - I suppose that Deep is a bit of low-rent botch job at the end of the day, even if it does make me smile fondly and indulgently. Oh, you boys! My votes: 1 - Elton John. 2 - Cliff Richard. 3 - Appleton. 4 - Tears For Fears. 5 - East 17. K's votes are in the comments. Over to you. The 1980s have now taken over from the 1970s at the top. Will Elton John help to push the 1970s back up there, I wonder? Running totals so far - Number 5s. 1973: Daniel - Elton John. (96) No contest. A corker from the very first bar. And, when you realise what Reg is really singing about, a great tear-jerker as well. (Nigel R (the UK one)) Nout else comes close. I thought it was about his brother (but I was young). (Nic) Thank God there's no connection between this song and Diana or I'd hate this too by now. (Junio) The best song of the bunch, but so overplayed that I never want to hear it again. (David) I had a boss called Daniel, consequently I hate this song. (Su(zi)e) It makes me want to scream and hurt things. (Stereoboard) 2003: Don't Worry - Appleton. (70) Don't know anything about the girls,so I could just enjoy the song. (Asta) Sounds like it'd be more effective with another couple of voices in the mix, but quoit cetchee. (Junio) perfect example of good pop being nothing to do with the talents of the artiste (noodle) Hmmm...? Did you say something? Sorry. Don't remember this at all even though I've just listened to it. (David) Deeply inoffensive. (Nigel R (the UK one)) The song would be okay by someone else, but I can't stand the miserable cows. (Chig) Don't they make teas? Oh, sorry. That's Lipton. (Vaughan) 1983: Change - Tears For Fears. (65) Remember the video? Those white-faced mimes with their silly little gestures? No? Just me, then? (David) I like the intro but it fails once the verse starts. (Amanda) Not their best and even their best was lukewarm. (Asta) Loved them, loved them, loved them, but this isn't one of their top tunes. (Chig) it was plonking away quite nicely till we reached the worst chorus i have ever heard in my life (noodle) A band of hardly any originality with vocals so woefully monotonous they make even Morrisey come across as a chirpy-chappie. What were we thinking of in the 80s? (Nigel R (the UK one)) Can someone hum it to me? Is it one of their very early ones, from the days when they looked like earnest young sociology students and had ringlets in their hair? 'Mad World'/'Pale Shelter' era? Anyone? Hello? (Vaughan) 1963: Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard. (63) Fantastic film, great little song. (David) pleasant enough whimsy. may have scuppered cliff's claim to be the "british elvis" (noodle) I pride myself on being able to put this as high as this despite the crimes against humanity that Cliff later perpetrated (e.g. Mistletoe & Wine - imho the worst, most objectionable song ever released). (Stereoboard) Was nearly bottom except that its horrible tweeness is just about rescued by its comedy singalong value. (Chig) Tragic twaddle. Only made half-way acceptable by all our knowing sniggers. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I have little to say about Cliff. He sang Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? To which the world replied: Because we're going to be going to hell just to avoid you, Cliff. (Vaughan) Why is everyone so anti Cliff Richard? It may not be a smash hit, like his Christmas #1 'The Lord's Prayer' but Bachelor Boy does promote good Christian values by discouraging sex before marriage- quite noble, I’m sure you'll agree! (Saved Grace) 1993: Deep - East 17. (51) It may not be deep, but I loved it at the time. (diamond geezer) fab production, cheeky cockernee shag-monkeys (noodle) Not a bad effort, bless 'em. Best listened to at 3.30 a.m on the over-priced cab-ride home, with the one you want to shag snuggled up drunk and incapable beside you. (Nigel R (the UK one)) I watched a video yesterday of them on TOTP a few months after this - Jan 1994 - doing It's Alright. God, they looked stupid. However, I did (aaaaaaagh, alright, do still) have a secret longing for Brian Harvey, and this song succeeded in getting a very rude lyric on the radio, so four points for sheer cheek. (Chig) East 17 kind of always scared me. Not because they looked tough, but because they tried to look tough and so obviously weren't. I did like 'Stay Another Day', though. I found that curiously homoerotic. And it had snow. And bells. Bells are good. Particularly at Christmas. (Vaughan) Strained and lame (Asta) Junio's rule of rap: It should either be absolutely filthy and offensive or rib-rocked right-on. This is neither. (Junio) Decade scores so far (after 5 days). 1 (2) The 1980s (18) -- Rubik's Cubes! The Big Bang! Body popping! 2 (1) The 1970s (17) -- Ponchos! Chicken bricks! Watergate! 3 (4) The 1990s (15) -- Britpop! Ecru linen layers! Anthea Turner! 4 (3) The 1960s (13) -- Mini skirts! The Cultural Revolution! Woodstock! 5 (5) The 2000s (12) -- Globalisation! The death of ideology! Geri Halliwell's solo career! Labels: whichdecade03
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