Pop Trinkets

Me..at a Sade Concert??

2011-12-20T10:45:00.000+11:00

I have a confession to make and I know that I am in a safe space here to admit it (actually online is probably the unsafest place considering all this cyber bullying nonsense I have to read about).

Anyway I digress. I went to a Sade concert. Yes, yes, I know. The most activity I was expecting at a Sade concert was perhaps discussing the tasting notes from the finest Pinot Gris with the person sat very properly beside me. I went with no illusion that I would be crowd surfing at any time. I guess what I am trying to say is that I like Sade but wouldn't say I am a massive fan. I have the greatest hits CD of hers and still think she looks fab considering she is around the same age as Madonna and with none of the visible plastic injected into her skin.

So I may not have crowd surfed or even got up to bust a move but what I did do was drop my jaw a number of times at the extraordinary vocal ability of this woman. I had placed her into the "Marlboro lights" category of vocals - you know what I mean, the husky tones that can only be achieved from a pack a day. So I was amazingly surprised when Sade could belt it like the best of them (if not better) and hit some really HIGH notes. I was very, very impressed.

Just as a side note to all of this. I really dig the way that Sade hasn't followed any fashion trends or tried to keep up with the kids. Sade is her own category and for that I applaud her. I have added my favourite Sade song – No Ordinary Love. It would be remiss of me if I didn’t add the live version of Jezabel for a special someone who loves this song.

We've seen it all before

2011-08-31T17:19:00.000+10:00

Interesting articles from both She Knows and Daily Mail

Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

2011-07-24T02:46:00.001+10:00

This song is a prime example of a track being taken from it's original writers and given a totally different treatment, transforming it to brilliance. Al Green took a Bee Gees song and made it his own. It is also one of my all time favourite songs.

Urgent - Foreigner

2011-06-06T14:00:00.000+10:00

I love those moments when you have the radio on and a gem of a song is played that you have hidden in the recess of your brain.

What really interested me is that the lead singer of Foreigner, Lou Gramm has had a break from the role in the 90's and recently the role has been taken over by singer Kelly Hansen for the live tours. After Lou Gramm had surgery to remove a brain tumour he suffered in his vocal abilites. Even though he is still singing for his solo career, the quality of his voice has changed quite dramatically.

After watching a clip of Kelly Hansen live I am really impressed. Apparently the band chose Kelly due to the fact that his vocal ability was similar to Lou's.

I will let you be the judge as to whether he pulls it off or not.

First clip - Urgent with Lou Gramm live

Clip two - Urgent with Kelly Hansen

All we hear is Lady Gaga Lady Goo Goo

2011-02-22T09:06:00.001+11:00

Lady Gaga appeared at the Grammy awards red carpet in an egg...yawn. What would have been good is if someone cracked open the egg and scrambled the fucker. It was cool when Mork turned up at Mindy's house in an egg but this was just so contrived.

When Bowie was in full flight donning his various personalities I thought "Bowie is an artist. Even though it is Ziggy Stardust it is still an incarnation of Bowie (probably on a shit load of drugs)". When Elton John played Dodger stadium in a Donald Duck outfit I thought "There is an example of a sexually confused man who is an artist trying to express himself in the mad world he is in (probably on a shit load of drugs)." When Grace Jones lit up the stage I thought "There is one whack-a-doodle chick who is a scary mutha."

I feel like Gaga has a little playbook at home of Bowie, Elton and Grace (among others) that she studies consistently to create her image. It just doesn't feel organic to me. It appears very studied and applied. She says in interviews that she was always a freak and dressed this way but I have seen her pictures (and videos) when she was Stephanie and she is just a very ordinary looking girl.

If you are truly weird (which she keeps telling the press) you don't have to say it. People will know it. Did Michael Jackson go around saying he was weird? No. But you know that he was nuttier than a snickers bar.

I often wonder who actually falls for this and realise that she has quite a legion of fans (or her little monsters as she calls them). Perhaps they are so young that they don't know about Bowie and think that it is original.

Below is a piece from this week's Popbitch which makes some very interesting points. I thoroughly concur.

>> Just dance <<

Get off the soapbox, get on the floor

Lady Gaga's over-hyped release of her Madonna rip-off, Born This Way, seems to be backfiring. Acolytes and mainstream media may have lapped it up but many fans are complaining that it feels more like a cynical marketing tool rather than genuine piece of pop. It should never be up to the artist to anoint their own work as a gay anthem - that's for listeners to decide (and if there's one thing that The Gays should inarguably be allowed to adopt, it's their own anthems).

The problem Gaga has created for herself is that by making gay fans feel like they've been used as a promotional weapon, everything she does is coming under scrutiny. Her S&M video stylings, closely linking the concept of "being gay" with being a freak, or an outcast, for example. Even her previously well-received attempt to support the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is being questioned, particularly her use of the line"We are not asking you to agree with or approve the moral implications of homosexuality". What moral implications? No doubt she started out with good intention- she's possibly just a victim of her own hype -but Gaga might be advised to stop focusing on politics and start focusing on pop again.

This is how you sing the Star Spangled Banner...

2011-02-08T13:28:00.001+11:00

Update 9/2/11 - I just did some research and Whitney was apparently lip synching this performance that she pre recorded (apparently this was done quite often with many artists so there are no stuff ups on the day). I can normally pick quite easily when people lip synch so they had me here. I still prefer it...live or not.

The Curse of the Oversinger

2011-02-07T16:05:00.000+11:00

I just had the misfortune of watching a clip of Christina Aguilera singing the USA national anthem at the Superbowl. I didn’t watch it because I am a fan, I merely took a look because it is in the news that she sung the wrong words.

First of all yes she should have got the words right. This isn’t the first time she has sung the anthem at a sporting event but this is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. There is really no excuse to get that wrong.

The thing that really annoys me is her singing. I can acknowledge that this girl can wail. She is a belter and prefers to take that approach when singing. She also is a fan of vocal “runs”. For those uninitiated vocal “runs” is where you sing notes outside of the actual melody line. This style has become particularly prevalent in the last decade or so due to singers like Mariah Carey who litter most of their vocals with “runs”.

Well vocal “runs” are giving me the runs quite frankly. It has simply become a measure of a vocalists worth if they can fit in as many notes possible between the actual melody.

Watching the clip of Christina Aguilera singing the anthem made me quite mad. It was purely an exercise in self-indulgence. “Let’s show everyone on the highest rated program of the year that I can sing.” She failed. Big time.

What I would like to know is what has happened to the vocalists who can sing the actual melody line and sing it well? I am talking about a pure voice that doesn’t feel the need for over embellishment.

I have done some searching and I found someone. I really wanted to find someone who was edgy and kooky that you have never heard of just so I could get cool points but really who am I kidding? Edgy and kooky doesn’t naturally lend itself to a pure vocal performance.

So here I am introducing someone I never thought I would admit to liking (her voice anyway) or putting on my blog. Though no longer a contempary artist she is the embodiment of someone who sings pure notes and sings them well.

Yes Barbra Streisand cops a lot of shit and you either love her or hate her. Southpark went to town on her as Mecha Streisand who was a giant Godzilla style robot who could only be defeated by Robert Smith of The Cure.

She has the reputation for being a diva which I don’t know if it is true or not. To me it doesn’t matter. Most artists are divas and have attitudes. That is just the nature of celebrity.

I watched her singing about 5 different live versions of the same song (Evergreen) and can honestly say that she nails it every time. No vocal boosting. No autotune. No over singing the notes. As a person who has studied singing I can honestly say that the notes are pitch perfect. The lyrics are a bit syrupy but I would prefer to hear a syrupy song sung well than some tarted up half assed growler anytime. Sorry Christina, but it is true.

Merry Christmas with LAMB - Angel Gabriel

2010-12-23T13:22:00.002+11:00

The Models - Out of Mind Out of Sight

2010-11-05T12:12:00.000+11:00

It was with great sadness that I heard about the death of former frontman for The Models James Freud.

James had struggled with alcohol addiction for most of his life and wrote 2 books about his journey. Yesterday he took his own life.

What a waste.

I wanted to find a solo track of his called "Hurricane" which came out in about 88/89 but alas I could not find a video. So I have linked to one of the Model's best tracks.."Out of Mind, Out of Sight".

R.I.P James

Soul II Soul, Back to Life

2010-09-15T14:46:00.000+10:00

Today's track is by British R&B band Soul II Soul.

Soul II Soul had a rotating roster of musicians who played in the band. The one I was most impressed with was Nellee Hooper. I am forever impressed by Nellee Hooper as he has produced for many artists but most notibly for Bjork on the Debut album (one of my all time favourite albums). For that alone he deserves props.

This particular track charted in the top 10 in the States. The lead singer on this track Caron Wheeler was a back up singer for both Elvis Costello and Howard Jones. She has toured recently in Australia with Soul II Soul Sound System.

Under the Milky Way - The Church

2010-09-03T16:07:00.000+10:00

Are you old enough to remember mixed tapes? Specifically of the home made variety?
Just like my favourite book "High Fidelity" my mixed tapes were always a well-considered undertaking. One of my favourite mixed tapes was called "Night time" because it included the type of songs that I wanted to hear driving across the Harbour Bridge at night. The songs on it had to have an atmospheric quality about them.

The reason I mention all of this about my mixed tapes is that one of the songs on it was "Under the Milky Way" by The Church which is perfection itself.

One gripe I have with the Church is that they don't like to play this song live. I went to see them live at the Metro and they omitted their best song from their set list. I later found out (from a work colleague who was related by marriage to lead singer Steve Kilby) that they purposefully shun their popular music. This completely pisses me off because they owe the fans the chance to hear the songs they love. I don't care if they have played it until their ears bleed. To me this is a sign of an arrogant band who really need a kick up the arse.

This still doesn't detract from the greatness of this track and one of my all time personal favourites.

7 Days of Prince Songs, Day 7 When You Were Mine, Cyndi Lauper

2010-08-27T14:19:00.000+10:00

I really love the cover version of this Prince song. Mainly because Cyndi decided to keep the lyrics as is rather than change genders. So it appears that her boyfriend has a penchant for other men.

Down the track I am going to do a post dedicated to Cyndi Lauper because I think that she is a talent that is often overlooked due to her "kookiness". She really is quite an amazing singer as illustrated in this track from her first album "She's so Unusual".

7 Days of Prince Songs - Day 6, Glamorous Life, Sheila E

2010-08-26T11:21:00.000+10:00

7 Days of Prince Songs - Day 5, Love Thy Will Be Done, Martika

2010-08-25T14:42:00.000+10:00

7 Days of Prince Songs - Day 4, Nasty Girl - Vanity 6

2010-08-24T10:57:00.000+10:00

Vanity 6 is another group formed by Prince. He specifically wanted the girls in the band to perform in lingerie and sing sexually charged songs. Of course Prince was boning the lead singer at the time. Vanity was supposed to appear in the movie Purple Rain but dropped out of the project and was replaced by Apollonia.

This song is known for being in the movie Beverly Hills Cop where Axel Foley gets tailed to a strip club.

7 Days of Prince Songs - Day 3 I Feel for You, Chaka Khan

2010-08-23T13:10:00.000+10:00

Here is a track that is probably more known for the cover version than the original (which appeared on Prince's self titled first album). Stevie Wonder also makes an appearance on harmonica. This song is so well known for the repetition of "Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan.." but it was in fact a mistake the producer decided to keep.

7 Days of Prince Songs - Day 2 Manic Monday, The Bangles

2010-08-22T11:47:00.000+10:00

7 days of Prince songs - Day 1 Jungle Love the Time

2010-08-21T15:39:00.000+10:00

After I did my piece on Prince I thought it would be good to feature 7 day's worth of songs written by Prince and performed by other artists.

Day One:
The Time - Jungle Love featured in Purple Rain.
Morris Day the lead singer from the Time is a childhood friend of Prince and the best thing in Purple Rain. Two other members of The Time - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis really made their name in producing music most notably for Janet Jackson's "Control" and "Rythmn Nation" albums, amongst other high profiled artists.

The Time - Jungle Love (morris Day)

Prince gave Kevin Smith permission to use Jungle Love in the film "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." I had to link the clip where they mention the Time because it is hilarious.

Prince - Darling Nikki

2010-08-21T15:34:00.001+10:00

I have been trying to get this video online for some time now.

The problem is that Prince is very controlling with his music and who he allows to use it. Mostly Prince videos are uploaded to You Tube only to be removed shortly after. An interesting story relating to this is that Prince performed Radiohead's "Creep" live and the clip was posted on You Tube. Prince quickly got wind of it and had it removed. Radiohead stepped in and said "it's our song, let people hear it".

So while I can, I am putting up my favourite Prince song from "Purple Rain" called "Darling Nikki".Something that I didn't know about this song is that near the end of the song, the music stops. There is singing, but played in reverse. The vocals, unreversed, are Prince singing:

"Hello, how are you?
I'm fine 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon
Coming, coming soon."

Prince is obviously an amazing talent with an astonishing catalogue of music (with vaults full of unreleased material). A lot of interviewers tend to focus on the fact that he is "eccentric" and often overlook his contribution to music. There is no denying that Prince is eccentric but I think I like him even more knowing that he isn't just like Joe Bloggs down the road.

I admire Prince's chutzpah in sticking it to the record companies. Once again people thought he was a nutter because he changed his name to a Love Symbol (or the artist formally known as Prince). The reason he did this was because Warner Bros records trademarked the name Prince, even though it is his actual name (born Prince Rogers Nelson). Prince now owns the trademark to his name along with the Love Symbol.

If you ever want to get a bit of an insight into Prince and his world I suggest you go to You Tube and listen to cult director Kevin Smith talk about his experiences working for Prince. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_cLJ19HMg it is in 4 parts but damn it is funny.

Here are some random bits of trivia you may not have known about Prince:

He dated Madonna early on in her career. He asked her to be his "girl" but she wasn't interested.
He was asked to participate in "We are the World" and never showed up. He later provided a song for the album release.
He is now a devout Jehovah's Witness and does not swear.
His entire Paisley Park estate is "wired for sound" meaning that there are recording devices everywhere so Prince can record music anywhere he wants.
He was in talks with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson to appear on the album "Bad" in a duet with Michael Jackson. He declined. During this time he sent Michael Jackson a wooden box with feathers inside. Michael Jackson thought he was putting a voodoo spell on him.
Prince has been married twice. His son Boy Gregory died a week after birth from Pfeiffer Syndrome.
He is a vegan
He has been quoted as saying "All computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and they are not good for you"

The Four Tops and the Mighty Temptations

2010-08-13T17:08:00.000+10:00

I have just been watching this clip from the Motown 25 Celebration - Yesterday, Today & Forever.

It is a awesome piece of showmanship which battles the Four Tops and the Temptations on the same stage with a medley/mash up of their greatest hits. If anyone watches this clip and doesn't know a track I will be mightily disappointed and sentence them to hard time with both of their back catalogues.

This is pure brilliance. They killed it.

Popsluts

2010-07-25T14:35:00.000+10:00

I want you to try an experiment the next time you have a music video channel on. Press the mute button and just watch what is on the centre of the screen. What you will usually see for the majority of the time are half naked girls. Whether it is the latest rapper surrounded with them or the star herself parading around in next to nothing.

This isn’t a new thing. Madonna who pioneered the pop slut look has been doing it for quite a while now. Of course when Madonna started doing this she was pretty much the only one and copped a lot of flak for it. What the industry learnt from Madonna is that sex and controversy sells. Madonna however actually had catchy songs and talent to go along with her sexual image. It seems that today all that is required is a sexual image -don’t worry about talent.

A good example is Mariah Carey. Whether you like her or not, the gods definitely blessed her with golden vocal chords. She starts off her career fresh faced with a lot of talent. She is marketed in a sexy but not overtly sexual way as shown on her first album cover.

Fast forward a number of years and she has abandoned singing for some pop track that barely requires any singing (“Like that y’all”). Her new image is ultra-sexy with next to nothing clothing. It had me wondering why someone with that amount of vocal ability needed to resort to the tactics employed by girls like the Pussycat Dolls (who let’s face it are pretty and can dance but that’s about it).

Mariah after her reinvention

Take Christina Aguilera as another example. She irritates that crap out of me, but I can acknowledge that she has a phenomenal voice (when she stops all that vocal acrobatics crap that she carries on with). I just watched an interview where Christina talks about her latest video clip for “Not Myself Tonight” as “empowering to women”. For those who haven’t seen the clip here is a summary:

Christina is in PVC black bikini and rubs up against men and kisses women
Christina is tied up on a chair with a diamond ball gag in her mouth
Christina advertises a mobile phone
Christina rips off Madonna’s Express Yourself video

I don’t how the writhing around, scantily clad, sexually explicit video is “empowering to women”. It seems to me that this is just an excuse to get your kit off in a clip and get away with it.

Rhianna has a song called “Rude Boy” here is a sample of the lyrics:

“Come here rude boy boy can you get it up
Come here rude boy boy is you big enough
I like the way you touch me there
I like the way you pull my hair
Babe, if I don't feel it I ain't faking, no, no
I like when you tell me 'kiss you there'
I like when you tell me 'move it there'
So giddy-up; time to get it up: you say you a rude boy: show me what you got now
Come here right now
Take it, take it, baby, baby, take it, take it, love me, love me"

I have a feeling that when Rhianna sings "Get it up" that she isn't talking about his drooping spirit.
Rhianna has also joined the ranks of all the other celebrity faux lesbians with her latest track “Ti amo” and her simulated masturbation onstage.

Let’s not forget in all of this Lady Gaga and her perpetual lack of clothing. Beyonce who appears in the track “Video Phone” in a black and white bikini while the track has groans of orgasmic delight in the background.

The reason I mention this is not to make a list of sexually explicit female pop stars but rather to examine what has happened to exhibiting pure talent without the need to make it sexual.

I can’t imagine watching Fleetwood Mac on stage and then during the song “Rhiannon”, Stevie Nicks rips off her flowing dress to reveal a tiny bikini while she rubs herself up against a male dancer. The point is that Stevie Nicks didn’t have to make herself overtly sexual because she could write great songs and sing her lungs out.

So what has happened to the female pop star that is NOT sexual? I think that she is a rarity. The only one that I can think of currently is Taylor Swift. It’s interesting to note that Taylor Swift had the highest selling album for the last year. This is a very good example that the sexual component is not required, or maybe the public is just getting sick of female popstars using their sexuality to sell more albums.

I actually long for the day when female popstars do not need to resort to the Popsluts route for their career and just rely on song writing, star presence and innate talent. I imagine that I shall be waiting for a very long time.

Whattya want from me?

2010-07-08T16:43:00.001+10:00

I have to be honest and say that I don't like American Idol..nor Australian Idol or Armenian Idol. I think for the most part that they flame mediocrity and a quick ride up the success ladder.

Kelly Clarkson is still kicking around with her tuckshop lady arms and really ordinary drivel she sings.I only make an exception for Adam Lambert and mainly because this is a guy with one hell of a voice and quite a bit of stage presence.

I have watched a few interviews with him and he seems pretty grounded so I hope he doesn't disappear into the void of the usual Hollywood vacuum of drugs and alcohol.This song was co written by pop song writing powerhouse Max Martin, Pink and Shellback. Pink has actually sung this song during her tours so I thought I would link both Adam and Pink's version.

Transvision Vamp - Revolution Baby

2010-05-29T21:53:00.000+10:00

Tonight Music Max have already played two Transvision Vamp songs..I want your love and Baby I don't care (a song which is basically a rip off of Wild Thing IMO). It takes me back to 1989 at the Horden Pavillion where I saw them live with the Hummingbirds as the support act.

Wendy James the lead singer is still kicking around but she looks like a washed up porn star now...oh well I can remember the good ol days.

My favourite Transvision Vamp song has always been Revolution Baby so here it is.

Some words of wisdom from Adam Ant

2010-05-13T11:31:00.001+10:00

There is a brilliant interview with Adam Ant on The Quietus site.

Here are some choice quotes from Mr Ant:
"I just don't like fucking Mr Bono. (Does an Irish accent) 'Every time I click my fingers, an African dies.' Well, stop clicking your fucking fingers, then!"

"Marc Bolan was lovely. Bryan Ferry was lovely. Michael Jackson was lovely. Liza Minelli was lovely. I'm dropping these names because I fucking met these people and they taught me something: Be nice. People that are really brilliant are really nice, people that ain't got a lot of mouth. So here you go Liam (Gallagher from Oasis), you cunt. I'd like to have a fight with him whichever way he wants: physically, mentally I'd beat him in anyway shape or form, I know that."

Is you want to read the whole article is it here http://thequietus.com/articles/04165-adam-ant-interview-oasis-lady-gaga-madonna-punk

Beautiful World- Devo

2010-04-30T11:15:00.000+10:00

Today is quite special for me because I cease being a corporate slave. I smell a certain sense of freedom and excitment which corporate life had slowly erroded out of me in previous years. In honour of this occasion I have chosen a perfect song for the day and my new found wonderment with the world. As Devo says "It's a beautiful world we live in. It's nice to be alive."

Devo-Beautiful World
Uploaded by adiis. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Tears for Fears ~ Spandau Ballet

2010-04-26T00:22:00.000+10:00

A few months ago I was away in Fiji for work when my partner sent me a text asking if I wanted to see Spandau Ballet and Tear for Fears live. I must say that I was a bit hesitant mainly because it is a bit depressing seeing bands 25 years on after they have eaten one too many burger kings and drunk too many pints of beer. Even though I love The Cure I felt that way seeing Robert Smith live a few years back. He looked like a big fat goth teddy bear and not in the "Why can't I be you?" type of teddy bear kinda way.

So on Friday night we trotted off to the entertainment centre. The audience was mainly 10 years older than me so for once I felt (relatively) young. Tears for Fears started with "Mad World" and ended with "Shout". The set was pretty bare. There were musicians and the music.. and the music was great. The same came be said for Spandau Ballet. Spandau kicked off with my favourite track, "To cut a long story short" and ended with "Gold".

After seeing a number of acts in the last few years I was starting to get a bit depressed about live shows. Sure they may dance alot, have 50 wardrobe changes, pyrotechnics and fireworks with a video montage but if a band can't play and their lead singer can't sing then I switch off...completely. As much as people rubbish the 80's and the bands of this era, this was a prime example that they CAN play live and sing the roof off the house. I was in complete and utter 80's geekness and I loved it.

The standout for me was the vocals of Roland Orzabal (Tears) and Tony Hadley (Spandau). Sure these guys have aged 25 years and put on a couple of pounds but they put on a great show.

Below are my favourite tracks from Tears and Spandau. "Head over Heel"s and "To cut a long story short".

Death to Autotune

2010-03-26T10:27:00.001+11:00

Auotune has become a scourge for the music of this generation. It is everywhere...and I mean everywhere. As a bit of an experiment recently I listened to a top 30 countdown on the radio and I can safely say that 70% used autotune and that was only the very noticeable effects it is used for. Who knows what other rubbish singers are using it because they have no talent.

In case you don't know what autotune is this is from Wikipedia
"Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without the need of singing in tune. While its main purpose is to slightly bend sung pitches to the nearest true semitone (to the exact pitch of the nearest tone in traditional equal temperament), Auto-Tune can be used as an effect to distort the human voice when pitch is raised or lowered significantly."

There is also this pretty cool video featuring Weird Al which explains autotune. I found it fascinating that it was actually designed to use sound waves to find oil reserves in the ocean.

If you can't imagine the sound of autotune think of Cher's song "Believe". You know the one.."Do you beli...iiiieve in life after love.." This was the first time autotune was used in commercial music that was a hit. The producers wanted to keep this sound tweaking effect a secret so for years they just claimed that it was a vocoder and talkbox that made the effect.

I am not totally against autotune. Used sparingly it can be quite effective however it seems that it is being used as a masking device for really crap singers. Think Ke$ha Tik Tok (btw anyone who makes me hold down the shift key in the middle of their name is just naff). I have heard Ke$ha sing "live". She is autotuned to within an inch of her life. When she wasn't being autotuned I just wished she would shut up or just turn the autotune back on.

From idio mag
Seattle- based indie rockers, Death Cab for Cutie took up a cause at the 51st annual Grammy awards this year, by sporting light blue ribbons on their jackets to protest the use of Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune is a software program that digitally corrects the pitch of a singer's voice, and according to Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard, it's been over used. "I think over the last 10 years, we've seen a lot of good musicians being affected by this newfound digital manipulation of the human voice, and we feel enough is enough."

Of course the title of my post was inspired by Jay Z who has the song "Death of Autotune". Jay Z has been quoted as saying "I just think in hip-hop, when a trend becomes a gimmick, it's time to move on. I saw a Wendy's commercial and they're using Auto-Tune. They're joking on it. It's like, OK, enough of that ... It was a trend, it was cool in the beginning. Some people made great music with it, now it's time to move on."

So next time you have the radio on take notice of how many tracks are autotuned. Otherwise if you have an iphone you can download a T-pain app which allows you to autotune your own voice.

Below is a clip from South Park about Kayne West. Not only was this a piss take about Kanye as his douchey self but also the over use of autotune. I also just wanted to post it here because it is hella funny.

God is a Bullet - Concrete Blonde

2010-03-17T11:56:00.000+11:00

Todays track is from the 1989 Concrete Blonde album Free.

I remember this track from an episode of 21 Jump Street...ah those were the days. Pre pirate Johhny Depp goodness.

Enjoy God is a bullet

SIR CLIFF!!!

2010-03-13T21:27:00.001+11:00

I have one thing in common with Rik from The Young Ones (for those of us young enough to remember the show The Young Ones) - I love Cliff Richard. No he is not incredibly trendy to admit to like but I never care much about that. What I do care about is a really well crafted pop song. Even though someone like Britney is rubbish I can acknowledge that she has a team of great writers and producers behind her which create some damn catchy pop tracks. Not that Sir Cliff is in any way like Britney - far from it. HE doesn't show his exposed crotch coming out of cars...hmmmm.

This track is a perfectly crafted pop track which I fondly recall from my sisters compilation album 1980 In The Summer. So take a listen to Dreamin. Also below I couldn't resist but put Rik's (The People's Poet) poem about Cliff Richard at the end.

Oh, Cliff

Sometimes it must be difficult not to feel as if
You really are a Cliff
When fascists keep trying to push you over it
Are they the lemmings?
Or are you Cliff?
Or are you, Cliff?

?

Letter to Beyonce

2010-03-01T14:54:00.000+11:00

Dear Beyonce,

Please fuck off for at least 3-4 years. During this time you may be able to learn how to write your own songs.

http://perezhilton.com/2010-02-26-beyowulf-accused-of-taking-credit-for-tracks-she-didnt-writeagain#respond

That is all.

Same song different artist - Everybody's gotta learn sometimes

2010-02-24T11:20:00.001+11:00

I have a soft spot for the Korgis "Everybody's gotta learn sometimes." So it may seem surprsing that I like just as equally the newer version by Beck which appeared on the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" soundtrack. I thought that Beck's version was perfect for the movie. Filled with despair and haunting which was quite fitting considering it is essentailly a movie about people who can't help but fall in love time and again - even if they are wrong for each other.

Sneaker Pimps, 6 Underground

2010-02-22T12:02:00.000+11:00

Remedy for a severe case of Mondayitis

Take 2 shiny headphones and insert into ears.
Select 6 Underground by British trip hop band Sneaker Pimps on your Mp3 player.
Press play and wait for the desired effect. You may need to repeat this over a period of approximately 3 hours.

Contraindications: if you are a lover of Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt or Celine Dion then you are predisposed to craptacular music taste. You will therefore be unable to appreciate the Sneaker Pimps.

Massive Attack - Teardrops

2010-02-04T12:20:00.001+11:00

I really love this song but if one more TV show (or TV show promo) uses it for crappy commercial purposes I am going to go postal. It is times like these that I must relocate my point of reference back to the song itself before it was bastardised.

So I proudly present my reignited love for "Teardrops" by Massive Attack.

Pink -Most Girls

2010-02-02T16:06:00.000+11:00

The recent Grammy awards was probably the best awards show I have seen in quite some time. Showmanship is back in fashion and I am loving it. Notable mention (grudgingly) goes to Lady Gaga for hooking up with Sir Elton for a very fine performance/mash up of Speechless and Your Song. It was also good to see MJ's kids accept an award on his behalf. God love them, they are 12 and 11 respectively in front of millions of people worlwide. They have good reason to be a little nervous but I think Prince did an awesome job.

The lady that blew my mind was Pink who once again sung attached to a trapeze style contraption and proceeded to sing live upside down and spinning!!! Her body is absolutely ripped and she sure can belt out a tune. I think the little poppettes like Britney need to take a long look at someone like Pink and start to actually work for their performance money. Pink sure does.

Speaking of live performances I think I was only Australian that didn't see Pink live. She did like about 3 million shows across the country. Seriously... 3 million..she was very busy :)

So today I have linked my favourite Pink song 'Most Girls", which I think was one of her very first single releases.

The Living Years

2010-02-01T17:26:00.000+11:00

This song is one of my Mum's favourites so I am dedicating this to her today during a great time of trial.

To my Mum, I love you so much. You are the kindest most loving person I have ever known. You shouldn't have to deal with the evil people of this world but you do with such grace. Mum stay strong. I love you xxx

Rocklobster - B52's

2010-01-19T10:30:00.000+11:00

I am well and truly back from holidays and now trying to fight the doldrums associated with the return to work. What I usually do to remedy this is get out the mp3 and crank it in the car on random and see what shiny pop treats I will be delighted with.

I recently inherited an Ipod that belonged to my nephew and trawled through his remaining playlists. I must say that on the whole I was mightily impressed with his selections especially for a 15 year old boy.

So this morning I cranked out some Rocklobster from the Ipod and went mental doing a car boogie driving along the M2. It totally restored my drooping spirit. I thoroughly recommend it.

Word Up - Cameo/Korn

2009-12-20T14:02:00.000+11:00

I'm off on holidays tomorrow for a well deserved break.

I will leave you with a same song different artist comparison from Cameo and Korn. I will say one thing about Cameo's clip. It takes a lot of chutzpah for a man to pull off a bright red codpiece!

To all of the people in the blogosphere, have a happy Chrissie and I will see you all soon.

Röyksopp - What Else is There

2009-12-17T13:18:00.001+11:00

Only a few days ago I was thinking about my favourite songs from the last five years and I can tell you the list was on the thin side. Not so much that I don't enjoy the music that is currently out there. More that they have to stand the test of time and a million plays on my mp3 before I give them props.

Today's track is an absolute stand out and in my opinion one of the best tracks in a long time. Röyksopp are a Norwegian electro band borrowing The Knife's lead singer Karin Andersson for the lead vocals. Karin Andersson only makes a brief cameo in the clip. The rest of the time it is model Marianne Schröder. This track is haunting and atmospheric which is complimented by an equally intriguing video clip.

Doctorin' The Tardis

2009-12-14T11:04:00.000+11:00

It's a funny ol Monday morning. Even though I have a tonne of work to get through before the end of the week I and am a snow sled's ride away from holidays (yes it is Australia & a surfboard would have been more appropriate but dammit I am dreaming of a white Christmas!!!)

So what could be better for a strange Monday to kick off with an equally strange Gary Glitter inspired mash up about Dr Who?

Speaking of the Doctor, my boy is a huge fan in all of his sci fi geekery. I tried to resist the tractor beam appeal of the Doctor but finally succumbed. I think it was David Tennant that did it. Man he is good in that role. The new guy has some big shoes to fill. In the meantime I will just hope there are plenty of cameos by the Torchwood guys (especially Capt. Jack. I know he is gay but dayamm he is fine).

Anyway I digress. The Timelords are the same guys in the KLF or Justified Ancients of MuMu (JAMS). They basically did a lot of sampling and mashed up a track which isn’t half bad.

So here are the Timelords with Doctorin’ the Tardis.

Jarvis Cocker

2009-12-08T12:19:00.001+11:00

My friend the honourable Miss Rach (on the left) and her sister Bec met Jarvis Cocker last night after his gig in Sydney.

HOW FUCKING COOL IS THAT!!!?

I have yet to get all the details so I will update once I have the full run down. Meanwhile enjoy this clip of Jarvis from the Ali G show singing "Help the Aged".

It starts around the 30second mark.

Music Videos - Steve Barron/ a-ha Take on me

2009-12-03T11:15:00.001+11:00

During the early 80's music video was still in it's embryonic stages with the advent of MTV. Some artists cottoned on to the fact that music video was just going to get bigger while others like Joe Jackson did one video and refused any more (a decision which he admits is one of the worst in his life).

Steve Barron was a director during the time who came up with concepts for music videos. His videos are some of the most iconic of that era and indeed of all time.

I was astounded when I went through the videos that Steve Barron directed.
Here is a sample:
Bryan Adams - "Cuts Like a Knife", "Heaven", "Summer of '69"
Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out", "Real Men"
The Human League - "Don't You Want Me"
Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean"
Dire Straits - "Money for Nothing"
ZZ Top - "Rough Boy"
Culture Club - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time (Clock of the Heart)", "Church of the Poison Mind", "Karma Chameleon", "It's a Miracle", "Miss Me Blind"
a-ha - "Take on Me", "Cry Wolf", "The Living Daylights", "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."
Tears for Fears - "Pale Shelter"
Toto - "Africa", "Rosanna"
Madonna - "Burning Up"
Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me with Science"

Today's clip is a-ha's "Take on me". Apparently there was quite a bit of money invested in the clip. The record execs knew it was hit material but it wasn't charting well with the first video. In comes Steve Barron with his idea to create a world within a comic book. a-ha were a bit dubious because they didn't want to be known as a cartoon band but they went along with it. I'm sure all that money they made softened the blow as well.

So many people consider a-ha to be a one hit wonder 80's band. Not so at all. They have only just broken up after 9 albums. If you ever want to watch some interesting footage showing the popularity of a-ha just type in "Rock in Rio a-ha" into You Tube and watch the "Hunting high and low" clip. Those mad Brazilians knew every single word and sung along. This was an event which had appearing: Billy Idol, INXS, Faith No More, and George Michael just to name a few..and who did they go nuts for..a-ha.

So here is the Steve Barron directed clip "Take on me"

Bohemian Rhapsody Muppet Style

2009-11-27T14:08:00.002+11:00

This is doing the rounds at the moment so why not jump on the band wagon.

Beaker is the best...

Lowdown

2009-11-20T10:25:00.000+11:00

It's Friday y'all and it is HOT HOT HOT in Sydney.

41 degrees celcius in Sydneys west. Great beach weather.

Today's track is one of those songs where I think "he's pretty fly for a white guy".

Boz Scagg's Lowdown is one of those tracks that is so laid back with that funk/soul/groove thang going on that it is just cool. It reminds me of driving at night in Sydney during summer with the window down and going across the Spit bridge.

I didn't know this until recently (ok maybe 2 minutes ago) but Lowdown was written by the guys from the band Toto before they were Toto (they were/are talented session musicians).

A bit of trivia about this track: The producers of the movie Saturday Night Fever asked to use Lowdown but were turned down by Boz Scaggs' manager. I bet they were kicking themselves when they saw the album sales for SNF.

Lip Sych?

2009-11-09T13:14:00.000+11:00

There has been a bit of media coverage in Australia surrounding the Britney Spears tour. For those that don't know, Britney lip synchs practically 98% of her show (I have heard that she sings some of her ballads live but I have never been to her concert so I don't know 100%)

The issue that has been raised is the amount of money people are outlaying to see a live show ($200 upwards in many cases) when in fact it is lip synched.

I know that most artists these days are using some kind of "help" with their "live" performances. A lot use vocal boosting (where they sing over the top of their pre recorded track), auto tuning (where bum notes can be eliminated live) and a pre record of them singing in rehearsal live then played back for the show. So there are lots of ways to cheat and appear like you are singing live without having to mime an entire show.

My feelings regarding lip synching are echoed by none other than Sir Elton John in the clip below at 0:55

Romeo Void

2009-11-06T11:08:00.000+11:00

Today I am featuring two tracks from the 80's San Franciscan, New Wave band Romeo Void.

I can't say I know a lot about Romeo Void other than they were more popular within the college scene at the time and that Ric Ocasek from the Cars co produced their EP.

The track "Never say never" is probably best known for the chorus "I might like you better if we slept together" and for featuring in the movie "Reckless" with Daryl Hannah and Aiden Quinn. Not long ago I heard (once again) a dreadful dance remake of this very good song.

The track "A Girl in trouble (is a temporary thing) was apparentlty written by lead singer Deborah Lyall as an answer song to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. A reader on You Tube is of the opinion that this track is about abortion: "Both songs are about the devastation of unplanned pregnancy, one from a male viewpoint, one from a female viewpoint." Interesting. I'm not sure if that is correct or not but it makes for a good theory.

Never Say Never

A Girl in Trouble (is a temporary thing)

Wild Horses

2009-11-04T09:31:00.000+11:00

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup day in Australia. The race that stops the nation. I am sure there are a few people out there nursing some sore heads today.

So todays song is Mebourne Cup inspired (somewhat..I was having trouble thinking of horse related songs that were above a 6 year old level).

Enjoy Gino Vannelli's "Wild Horses"

A Stranger Among Bears

2009-10-21T16:11:00.004+11:00

I want to tell you about a show that I have just finished watching on the Animal Planet channel called "Stranger Among Bears".
"Stranger Among Bears" is about an extraordinary man called Charlie Vandergaw. Charlie is a 70 year old retired science high school teacher from Alaska who spends his summers in a cabin in the Alaskan woods called "Bear Haven". Charlie has been spending his summers at Bear Haven for 20 years. During this time he has formed a remarkable relationship with the bears that come to visit "Bear Haven".

The thing that makes Charlie an amazing human being is that he is able to interact with the bears and they have seemingly accepted him into their world. The only protective device Charlie takes with him is a big stick and if one of the bears gets a bit obnoxious he gives them a whack across the nose. Otherwise the bears are happy just to walk along with Charlie or watch him canoe down the river.

Charlie actually was at one stage a hunter of bears. His relationship changed with them 20 years ago when a black bear appeared on his yard and crawled up to him on its belly. According to the Animal Planet Web site, Charlie reciprocated, and the encounter started "a long-lasting love affair" with bears.

Charlie has got himself in trouble with the law as he openly admits that he feeds the bears (a big no no in Alaska). The last piece of information that I could find was that Charlie was fighting this in court.
He could spend a year in jail for feeding the bears. His plane that he uses to access "Bear Haven" has been confiscated by authorities.

This show was filmed over six months at "Bear Haven" by British cameraman Richard Terry. Richard found out pretty early on in the piece to approach his subjects with the utmost respect and caution. Richard was delivered a nasty bite when he tried to get in between a mother and cub black bear. Richard freely admits that it wasn't the brightest thing to do at the time but he was more focussed on getting the shot.

I'm not entirely sure why this show touched me so much. By the time Charlie left Bear Haven for the last time I was crying like a baby. I guess it seemed to me that Charlie had found his own little piece of paradise. Something that he got so much enjoyment and happiness from. How many of us can say that we have ever experienced this? He seems like such a serene man just interacting with nature that it appears to me an injustice not to let this man live the rest of his days with the bears.

Even though so many people think Charlie is a nutter, he is my hero. He has a love and acceptance of animals that more of us should at least try to understand.

Unfortunately most of the clip packages of this show aim at demonstrating the ferocious nature of bears. In the entire 6 month filming I think Charlie had maybe 3 instances where the bears got a bit testy but they use those same clips over and over again.

I wish they played over the scenes where Charlie and a huge black bear are having a nap on the lawn or a sow is nursing her young on the lawn. Or when a bear comes inside to his bar and he says "of all the bars in all the world you had to come into mine."

I have a clip which focuses on the episode where Charlie confronts hunters at Bear Haven. Showdown at Bear Haven: Hunters Arrive

If you want to watch anymore clips you can at Animal Planet. http://animal.discovery.com/videos/stranger-among-bears-videos/

10 Reasons Why I Love Karl Lagerfeld

2009-10-16T14:35:00.001+11:00

I find Karl Lagerfeld (uber famous fashion designer that reinvented Chanel) very intriguing.

I have a soft spot for people who are completely and utterly UN PC.
Sure he is a bit of a douche but truly doesn't that come with the territory of the fashion world? A high opinion of oneself and distain for the minions?
Even though I may not agree with everything he says, I respect someone who just spits the truth as they see it. Uncle Karl is forever getting in trouble with animal rights activists for his use of fur (unashamedly), and curvy women.

Just out of interest I had a look at his Twitter page and I really don't think it is his publicist writing it for him.
It is pure Uncle Karl.

So taken off his twitter page here are 10 reasons why I love Karl Lagerfeld:
1. Florals are for middle-aged women with weight problems.
2. Believe it or not, I love rap.
3. Nothing scares me more than people with some doll collection. As a child, I never played with anything like toys. I wanted to be a grown-up.
4. A respectable appearance is sufficient to make people more interested in your soul.
5. I'm open to everything. When you start to criticize the times you live in, your time is over.
6. Don't look to the approval of others for your mental stability.
7. Forgiveness is too easy. I can forget by indifference, but not forgive. I prefer revenge.
8. I hate the word “avant-garde.” It was used, overused, and often used for useless things. So I do not use that word any longer.
9. Loving someone is fine, but they have to love you back or it doesn’t work.
10.I think I'm going to have a dinner party where no one speaks. I'll give all my guests pens and pads instead of the usual dinner conversation

A Dog and Cat Diary

2009-10-13T11:17:00.002+11:00

I have to share this email that I received quite some time ago but I keep going back to read it.

I am proudly owned by a cat (a beautiful blue spotted tabby Bengal called Indy) who will appear as the cat picture for better effect.

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary......

8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favourite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favourite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favourite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favourite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favourite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favourite thing!
6:00 pm - Oooh, Bath. Bummer.
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favourite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favourite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favourite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary......

Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.
Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of.
However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.
Bastards.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight.
I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event.
However, I could hear the noises and smell the food.
I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.'
I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking.
I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.
The dog receives special privileges.
He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return.
He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant.
I observe him communicating with the guards regularly.
I am certain that he reports my every move.
My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.
For now................

Madonna -Who's that Girl/Causing a Commotion

2009-10-12T11:45:00.005+11:00

Last week I was getting a bit nostalgic watching “Desperately Seeking Susan” on cable. As with most Madonna movies, it isn’t very good but it inspired me to go out and buy some wayfarer sunglasses when I was in Melbourne over the weekend (ok ok, they are fake wayfarers but in my defence I either sit on or lose every pair of sunglasses I own. Less money – less pain).

It got me to thinking about other dreadful Madonna movies such as “Who’s that girl”.

I have a bit of a confession though.
You know the type of movie where in your heart you acknowledge:
a. It is really bad
b. Would never win any type of award other than a Razzie
c. The acting is tragic
d. The plot is thin
e. The laughs are weak
BUT……you still like it? This is how I am with this movie.

I was doing an online search and the whole movie is on Youtube (in 5 parts). So if you want to have a reminder take a look. I’m not going to embed them all but you can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSq_xHd8jKw Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhk-mM18LNM Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGxd0if5KUs Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-j_gcYk8o Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NHJfLSv9sw Part 5

Here are some very silly lines from the movie:
Nurse: What's your husband's name?
Nikki: Louden
Nurse: Louden what? (looking for last name)
Nikki: Clear
Nurse: Loudenclear

Nikki - You'll never know how relieved me and mama was when we found out Louden was getting married. Louden? Marrying a WOMAN???

Louden: We did one of your things. We killed the pimp and the fat guy. Now it is time to do one of my things.

Nikki Finn: [pointing at wall with "dead end sign" into which she has just crashed a car] I'm sorry officer but my husband, see, he's having a heart attack and I had to rush him to the hospital and I must not have been paying attention because I took a wrong turn and is this the way?

Today’s track is obviously from the movie “Who’s that girl”. Not the title track as that would be a bit too obvious. I always loved Madonna’s live rendition of “Causing a Commotion” in Turin which was released in 1987. This was way before Madonna got all OTT with the stage props. All she had here was basically an airport style travelator as her stage addition.

Three 6 Mafia - Slob on my knob

2009-10-07T16:45:00.000+11:00

I have been meaning to post this track for some time. As you can imagine, with a song title such as "Slob on my knob" there isn't an official video to accompany the track. Heaven only knows what they could have shown.

This type of track really illustrates the intense depth in which song writing has evolved with such lines as:
"First find a mate
Second find a place
Third find a bag to hide the ho face"
It's really quite Shakespearean....

So this track is pretty nasty but HELLA funny. I remember watching an episode of "Girls of the Playboy Mansion" where Hef's (then) yougest girlfriend Kendra recites the lyrics to him. Hef looks direct to camera and says "It's so romantic. It reminds me of the moon in June songs back in my day." Well said Hef.

So here is Three 6 Mafia.

Eyes without a face

2009-09-28T13:51:00.006+10:00

Today's song is by Billy Idol off the Rebel Yell album.
He co wrote this track with his guitarist at the time Steve Stevens. You may recognise Steven Stevens as the guitarist from the Michael Jackson video Dirty Diana.

Lyrics
I'm all out of hope
One more bad dream could bring a fall
When I'm far from home
Don't call me on the phone
To tell me you're alone
It's easy to deceive
It's easy to tease
But hard to get release

Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.

I spend so much time
Believing all the lies
To keep the dream alive
Now it makes me sad
It makes me mad at truth
For loving what was you

Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.

When you hear the music you make a dip
Into someone else's pocket then make a slip.
Steal a car and go to Las Vegas oh, the gigolo pool.
I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip
Reading murder books tryin' to stay hip.
I'm thinkin' of you you're out there so
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.

Now I close my eyes
And I wonder why
I don't despise
Now all I can do
Is love what was once
So alive and new
But it's gone from your eyes
I'd better realise

Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Les yeux sans visage eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.
Such a human waste your eyes without a face
And now it's getting worse.

Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat

2009-09-01T17:05:00.004+10:00

I have successfully tracked down the video to Smalltown Boy. You tube seems to have a lot of remixes and wanna be's singing this track.

This song would have to be in my top 10 favourite 80's tracks. I also think that for the time the subject matter and accompanying video were quite brave. Sure we had Boy George and Marilyn around the same time but they were all about projecting a certain pop image.

I am not sure if the story of a young gay man looking for acceptance is entirely autobiographical on Jimmy Sommerville's part but I think it's probably not too far from the mark. Watching this video even today is a little bit of a sobering experience.

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy - Funny bloopers R us

TGIF..with Supergrass, Alright

2009-08-21T20:47:00.001+10:00

This is the perfect way to start the weekend.
It is AMAZING weather in Sydney at the moment even though it is supposed to be winter..25 degrees and supposedly 30 on Sunday..bring it on!

So here is Supergrass with one of the best feel good songs ever. ALRIGHT.

Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz

2009-08-20T16:15:00.004+10:00

I am featuring a song that is currently on my trusty mp3 player. It is by a UK band called Johnny Hates Jazz.

Johnny Hates Jazz was an 80's band actually named after a friend of theirs, Johnny, who literally hated Jazz...hmmm..imaginative. They did quite well in the charts reaching No. 2 in the States with this track. Unfortunately the band didn't last long with the departure of Clark Datchler (the lead singer) and a subsequent car accident involving the band.

This track has two videos. One made especially for the US and the other which is the original UK version. I personally like the original version. I have never quite understood why everything needs to be repackaged and reshot for the States...they even have to remake UK TV shows so the general public can "understand" the humour. What's to understand??

Here are the two versions to compare. By the way I think Clark Datchler looks a little bit like Luke Skywalker..dontacha think?

Little Birdy - Hairdo

2009-08-13T12:41:00.007+10:00

I have had this song stuck in my head for two days!
Not in that "if I don't get this Britney Spears song out of my head soon there is no alternative but suicide" kind of way. More along the lines of "hey this is a really great track to be stuck in my mind" which, let's face it, is a lot nicer.
Apparently Little Birdy got their name from a Ween song of the same name. I also tend to think that Katy Steele the lead singer also "borrowed" a few Ween vocal styles as well. I am just grateful that a female artist has decided to vocally match someone other than Christina Aguilera (does anyone else find those vocal acrobatics she does painful?)
After you listen to this song I guarantee you will say the word cigarettes as CIG-EEEE-RETTES.
So here is the Western Australian band Little Birdy with Hairdo.

Endless Road - Time Bandits

2009-08-07T22:44:00.003+10:00

I have always loved this song.

Surprising, something decent to come out of The Netherlands other than cheese and clogs.

INXS - To Look At You

2009-07-20T16:19:00.005+10:00

Today's song is from INXS called "To look at you". This is my favourite INXS track and not too heavily known as it was released way before KICK was even thought of.

If you know the movie "Reckless" with Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn, then you will probably recognise this track.

While I am talking about INXS I just have to say thank God they got rid of JD Fortune as their front man. I watched (ashamedly) that entire season of Rockstar INXS and there were performers that were far better than JD. Then again I remember watching INXS doing "Listen Like Thieves" live with Terence Trent D'Arby as the lead singer and it took me about 2 mins to work out what song he was singing. So I guess what I am trying to say is that Michael Hutchence left some big boots to fill.

Umbrella

2009-07-17T21:19:00.002+10:00

I discovered this on You tube quite some time ago but thought I would share it.

This is one of those little hidden musical gems. A cover of Rihanna's Umbrella by a relatively unknown singer (his band is called Boyce Avenue).

All Hail Divine

2009-07-13T12:27:00.004+10:00

I have a confession to make. I LOVE Divine.
Cross dressing, bad acting, dog doo doo eating Divine.

For the sake of this blog entry I will be referring to Divine as he/him because Divine only got dragged up when he was performing. In fact Divine played male characters as well as female. Before Divine passed away he was signed to play a male character on the show "Married with Children". He never got there sadly.

I read the book "My son Divine" which (obviously) was written by his Mum. It really was a lovely book.
She was SO proud of her son no matter what he did (and if you have seen a John Waters movie you may understand the magnitude of that comment).

Divine came to prominence when John Waters used him as his muse for his very off beat movies. My favourite being "Female Trouble". This movie is nuts. There is no other way to describe it. To demostrate my comment here is a line from the movie: "I wouldn't suck your lousy dick if I was suffocating and there was oxygen in your balls!"

So of course I love it (sick twisted gal that I am).

I was watching the original version of "Hairspray" a few weeks ago. It was the first acting mainstream success that both he and John Waters enjoyed. Unfortunately a week after it premiered Divine was dead at the age of 42 from an enlarged heart. Whoopi Goldberg sent flowers and a card that read "See what a good review will do?"

During Divy's career he branched out into pop music. He most famously hooked up with Stock Aiken & Waterman for the song "You think you're a man".
This song reached number 8 in Australia mainly after his appearance on Countdown.

Here is Divy's performance on Countdown for "You think you're a man"

Ali G from the Westsiiiiiide!

2009-06-30T12:52:00.004+10:00

Sacha Baron Cohen is trotting around the globe in a fluro G string as one of his alter egos Bruno.
Bruno to me is a pretty weak character but he has managed once again to pull a few good publicity stunts and interviews. I did notice that his "Austrian" accent tends to waiver a bit while in character.

So today I want to show an Ali G interview with Posh and Becks that I hadn't seen before. This is pretty damn funny. Loves it!

Man in the mirror

2009-06-26T23:37:00.003+10:00

I am currently watching MJ Live in Bucharest on TV.

This is what I call a performance..sheer brilliance.

It is truly the end of an era.

The day the music died

2009-06-26T16:46:00.003+10:00

I am writing this still in shock that Michael Jackson is dead. I was seriously hoping that it was one of his publicity stunts. It started to sink in when Jermaine released the statement.

It was only recently I featured on this blog the book about his trial and the "lost" duet with Freddie Mercury. I always had this optimism that he would rock our socks off at the O2 Arena and make the public remember what his life was truly about.

I was very fortunate to see Michael perform for both the "Bad" and "History" tours in Australia.
For someone who has seen him perform live I can honestly say that no one came close to the type of excitement he generated on stage.

I remember during the Dangerous tour seeing footage from Bangkok where for the first number (Jam) he enters the stage literally flying from underneath the stage through a door.
He stood still on stage for 15 mins only moving slightly while the crowd went completely nuts.
After seeing him live for the first time I was instantly a life long fan. I am just sad that we will never see his brilliance again.

I have had such a hard time trying to think of an appropriate song for today. Do I choose "Gone too soon" which he dedicated to Aids victim Ryan White? Do I choose "Childhood" his most autobiographical (and heartbreaking) song. Do I choose the most popular tracks like "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"? Do I link to my fav MJ song "Human Nature" even though there isn't an official clip?

Actually I am not going to show any of those rather a performance that not many people would have seen. He wrote this song for Sammy Davis Jr who was a friend of his and performed it at Sammy's tribute. Sammy died from cancer not too long after this.

If you ever want to read a book about MJ that is what I consider an accurate portrayal get your hands on a copy of J Randy Taraborrelli's "The Magic and the Madness".

Michael, Rest In Peace. Heaven is going to have one heck of a dancer.

The Rainbow Connection

2009-06-22T13:35:00.003+10:00

Last night I was reading a magazine when I saw an artwork entitled "The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me".
Of course I got really excited that someone named their artwork after a line in "The Rainbow Connection".

I LOVED the Muppets as a kid. I especially liked it when Elton John was guest star and also Mark Hamill because at the time I was in love with Luke Skywalker.

When I first saw this clip of "The Rainbow Connection" my sister gladly informed me that Kermie wasn't real. I spent the next 15 minutes in tears.
I don't think I reacted that badly to finding out Santa wasn't real!!

One of the writers of this song, Paul Williams, has written for various acts including the Carpenters up to the Scissors Sisters.

This song has also been covered A LOT. Some names who have covered this include Sarah McLachlan, Kenny Loggins, The Dixie Chicks, Justin Timberlake, The Carpenters, Jason Mraz, The Pussycat Dolls, The Dresden Dolls, and Willie Nelson. It was sung by Debbie Harry in a duet with Kermit on the Muppet Show in 1981 (Season 5).

Given all these names that have covered this song, I much prefer watching Kermie on his lily pad with his little banjo singing.

Rainbow Connection
Uploaded by imperfectly. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Pre Crack Pipe Bobby

2009-06-20T21:47:00.006+10:00

I was just watching Music Max and Bobby Browns "Humpin' around" came on. Man, that has to be worst song title after "Unskinny Bop" by Poison.

Anyhoo it made me think of the last time I watched Ghostbusters 2 and how the theme song is by Bobby Brown. The clip is pretty average. It basically has Bobby green screened in front of pics of New York. The thing that IS interesting is the hair Bobby is sporting. I actually don't ever recall a time when hair that had a gradient was popular. Maybe it was the bad hair that turned Bobby to the crack pipe..that or having to put up with Whitney.

So here is the theme song to Ghostbusters 2 "On Our Own".

Song of the Day

2009-06-18T16:09:00.002+10:00

The song of the day is by the Yeah Yeah Yeah's.

Head's will Roll. Enjoy.

Little Boots - New in Town

2009-06-05T12:23:00.001+10:00

This song is just so damn catchy and I cannot get it out of my head (which is lucky coz I actually really like it).

So here is the song of the day by Little Boots, New In Town.

The Presets

2009-06-03T16:57:00.005+10:00

As mentioned in a previous post I saw the Presets live on Saturday night.

I know a lot of people think that electronic music is pretty soulless and not requiring too much talent but Julian and Kim actually met while they were studying at the Sydney Conservatory of Music. So these guys are serious musicians that want to have fun with it. I personally love electro pop.

The Presets was an all ages gig and there were all these little embryo's walking around in their ruched leggings and boots. I didn't actually realise just how popular they were with "the kids".
Made me feel like an old timer :(

I think now that the Presets are doing more live stuff and gaining mainstream popularity that they really need to get Julian away from his synthesiser and in front of the crowd a bit more.
He really only did this once during the song "My People" and the crowd loved it. When he was behind his syth for most of the night I felt like I was at a really big rave and he was DJing.

I have to mention some lyrics from the Presets which I love.
The track is Yippiyo-Ay

"Take you from the 80s
bimbos rock the latex
dingos catch the babies"

If you don't "get" the last line look up the Lindy Chamberlain case.

This is the clip from You Tube that made me want to go and see the Presets. This is them live at Sound Relief singing "This Boy's in Love"

Here they are doing "My People" once again at Sound Relief. It's a pity they didn't have their Aria outfit of My Pet Monster adorning their heads.

Bea Arthur Roasting Pam Anderson

2009-05-27T15:35:00.003+10:00

I came across this video a couple of weeks ago when I was reading about Bea Arthur's death and thought I would share it.

A couple of years back Comedy Central held a Pamela Anderson Roast to raise money for PETA. Didn't those comedians go to town! There is just too much material you can use when referencing Pam Anderson.

The best line by far had to be from Bea Arthur who took to reading Pam's "novel" aloud to the audience. I never knew Pam "wrote" a novel but apparently it was the most interesting read to hit the shelves since Naomi Campbell's "Swan". I even heard that it was better than Madonna's "The English Roses" and it certainly put Geri Halliwell's "Ugenia Lavender" to shame.

Take a look at Bea praising Pam's literary talents.

Roast of Pamela Anderson - Bea Arthur Roasts Pam's Novel | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Flight of the Conchords

2009-05-21T16:28:00.005+10:00

If you haven't watched an episode of Flight of the Conchords yet you need to get to it quick smart.
IT. IS. HILARIOUS.

To get you up to speed it is a show about two New Zealand musicians who move to New York City in order to get famous in their band called Flight of the Conchords.

The central characters are Brett and Jermaine (the band members), Murray, their hapless band manager and Mel their obsessed groupie. During each episode their is a little musical interlude parodying various musical genres.

In the clip below they are doing a white mans rap parody.
Their rap "names" are the Hiphopopotamus and the Rymnocerous.

My favourite lyrics have to be:
"Yes, sometimes my lyrics are sexist
But you lovely bitches and hoes should know I’m trying to correct this.

Check out the lyrics below:

I’m the mother flippin’ Rhymenocerous
My beats are phat and the birds are on my back
And I’m horny
I’m horny
If you choose to proceed you will indeed concede
Cos I hit you with my flow
The Wild Rhino Stampede.

I’m not just wild, I’m trained,
Domesticated
I was raised by a rapper and rhino that dated
And subsequently procreated
That’s how it goes
Here’s the Hiphopopotamus
The hip hop hippo

They call me the Hiphopopotamus
My lyrics are bottomless

They call me the Hiphopopotamus
Flows that glow like phosphorous
Poppin’ off the top of this esophagus
Rockin’ this metropolis
I’m not a large water-dwelling mammal
Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?
Did Steve tell you that, perchance?
Steve.

My rhymes and records they don’t get played
Because my records and rhymes they don’t get made
And if you rap like me you don’t get paid
And if you roll like me you don’t get laid.

My rhymes are so potent that in this small segment
I made all of the ladies in the area pregnant
Yes, sometimes my lyrics are sexist
But you lovely bitches and hoes should know I’m trying to correct this.

Other rappers dis me
Say my rhymes are sissy.

Why? Why? Why?
What?
Why exactly?
What? Why?
Be more constructive with your feedback, please. Why?
Why?

Why, because I rap about reality?
Like me and my grandma drinking a cup of tea?
There ain’t no party like my nanna’s tea party.
Hey! Ho!

I’m the motherflippin’
I’m the motherflippin’
I’m the motherflippin’

Pet Shop Boys - Heart

2009-05-19T16:02:00.003+10:00

At the end of this month I am going to see the Presets live and I am so excited about it.
I have been watching some of their live performances on You tube and it should be a great show.
I'm sure I will have more to say about the Presets once I see them live. Stay tuned for future posts!

Today's song has been inspired (in a round about way) by the Presets because before their performance of the song "Are you the One" they have a sample of the Pet Shop Boy's song "It's a Sin"
This in turn reignited my love for the Pet Shop Boys as I busted out the CD (ok..ok..I just played the mp3 on my computer..but busting out a CD sounds WAY better).

It was hard for me to pick a Pet Shop Boys song because they have so many brilliant songs but I chose the song "Heart'.
The main reason I chose this song over the others is the video clip.
I really love this clip because it has the actor Ian McKellen as Nosferatu winning over Neil Tennant's bride (Two gay guys fighting over a chick..? It's a wonder she didn't dump them both).

So here is "Heart" for your viewing/listening pleasure today.

Michael Jackson Conspiracy

2009-05-18T11:00:00.003+10:00

My last post was about Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury so I thought this would be a good intro for the latest book I read called "Michael Jackson Conspiracy".

To my surprise this was a very interesting read based on the court transcripts during Michael Jackson's trial. In fact the book is written by a journalist who covered the trial for US network television. Since reading this book I have seen a few interviews with the author. She was amongst the throng of media covering the case and admits that no media outlet wanted to hear a report that was "pro Jackson". I think this is still the case.

If you at all interested in this trial and haven't already made up your mind about the case then this is a must read.

Freddie Mercury & Michael Jackson

2009-05-05T11:58:00.006+10:00

One thing I didn't know about until relatively recently was that Freddie Mercury was asked by Michael Jackson to duet with him on the song "State of Shock".
This song later appeared on the Jackson's "Victory" album as a duet with Mick Jagger.

In fact MJ and Freddie were working on a few tracks together.
"I was going to be on Thriller," confirmed Freddie, before his death from an AIDS-related illness in November 1991. "We had three songs in the can but, unfortunately, they were never finished."

One of the songs that MJ and Freddie worked on was "There must be more to life than this." I found a rare recording of it on You tube. Take a listen to it. It is very catchy in that "We are the world" type of way. Speaking of "We are the world" Freddie was a big fan of the song.

MJ and Freddie did a demo for "State of Shock". During the demo process apparently (as the rumours go) Michael was none to pleased with Freddy's drug use in the studio and Freddy was swiftly replaced by Mick Jagger.
This recording is very rough but it gives you a glipse into what State of Shock may have been like with Freddie.

It kind of disappoints me that Freddy was given the boot. After all he is an infinitely better singer & performer than Mick Jagger (IMO).

Here is "State of shock" with Mick Jagger. It is an extended version because all the other versions on Youtube disable embedding.
Can I just have a rant and say if you don't want people to use your video just don't put it on You tube at all. If people want the video there are plenty of free converters out there. It just makes no sense to me.

Personal Jesus

2009-04-29T17:07:00.001+10:00

Noooooooo!

I can't take it any more people. Hilary Duff has used Depeche Modes Personal Jesus for her latest steaming pile.

Honestly can't people write their OWN music any more?
It is like that Flo Rider song where he has basically just ripped off Dead or Alive and added a few words over the top.

TOTALLY. NOT. COOL.

BTW I am aware that both Marilyn Manson and Johnny Cash have done a cover of Personal Jesus but they didn't coat it with saccharine and make me want to vomit in my mouth.

So today I am featuring the one..the only Depeche Mode.

Chillax song of the day

2009-04-28T16:22:00.001+10:00

Tell me by Groove Theory

Sneaky Sound System

2009-04-23T11:34:00.007+10:00

Last week I headed off to the good ol' RSL to see Sneaky Sound System "live". Yes I put the word "live" in inverted commas because it was just a notch above karoake..minus the little television with the words that come up. Backing tracks and vocal boosting Britney style galore..but what did I expect from a $35 RSL gig?

I have seen Youtube video's which show SSS with a full band and Connie (the lead singer) can actually belt it out quite well so I didn't hold this against them. Besides everyone seemed to enjoy the performance..or maybe they enjoyed the cheap drinks. I'm still trying to work that one out.

I still like Sneaky Sound System because finally Australia has a decent dance band that isn't uncool to like. Also it's good that someone like Connie has finally got some success after doing her time with other bands like Primary.

I had a bit of a laugh because I always think of that Simpsons episode where The Who play and say "Goodnight Springton there will be no encore". It cracks me up that bands feel the need to say the suburb's name they are playing a hundred times.

With no further ado here is my favourite Sneaky Sound System song "I Love It". Pity about the skanky dancer hoes they felt necessary to include on the clip. Connie is better looking than all of them.

Misfit - Curiosity Killed the Cat

2009-04-03T11:19:00.010+11:00

Today's track is by British band Curiosity Killed the Cat. The reason I chose this video is because it features a little cameo by Andy Warhol. Andy stands in the street Bob Dylan style and throws card board around like the video to Subterranean Homesick Blues. You have to wait until about the 2 minute 44 secs mark to see Andy. He doesn't look terribly enthused but neither would I if someone danced near me like that. He doesn't help the white men can't dance theory.

A-HA/ Family Guy

2009-04-01T12:12:00.001+11:00

Today's clip is brought to you by Family guy....enjoy!

Ben Lee

2009-03-31T14:10:00.007+11:00

I was just flicking through one of those horrible "women's" magazines at lunch (you know the one's where there will be a 4 page diet feature and in the same magazine another story about accepting your body how it is) and saw a picture of Ben Lee and Ione Skye. Apparently they are married and I never heard a thing about it.

For those of you that don't know Ione Skye was quite popular in the 80's with the movie "Say Anything" (starring John Cuzak). Her Dad is the singer Donovan. She was also married at one time to the Beastie Boy's Adam Horowitz.

Ben Lee is an Australian musican who dated Clare Danes for quite some time. Clare left Ben for "Almost Famous" star Billy Crudup. Billy Crudup left his then 8 month pregnant partner Mary Louise Parker for Clare (nice guy huh?) Billy also plays the role of Dr Manhatten in the god awful "Watchmen" movie. His digitally enhanced "member" was the only decent acting in the entire movie. An Oscar for the penis I say! I digress though.

Ben and Ione got married in a traditional Hindu ceremony as you can see by the pic below...seems like a big wank to me but whatever floats your boat Ben. If you are interested you can read about the wedding on Ben Lee's blog here

After reading this it made me think of some of Ben's songs.
The one I want to share today is "Cigarette's will kill you". Trust Ben to state the bleeding obvious. Good track though.

Eels Fucker

2009-03-27T11:50:00.007+11:00

The first time I heard this song was on a show called The Panel where an acoustic version of this song was played. I instantly fell in love with it. It is so simple but so complicated with the distorted music in the background.

Apologies for the crappy little video I made. I tried to find this song on Youtube but there are only live versions that are barely audible available.

While you are listening you can read the lyrics:

Came home tonight
I felt like I'd die of loneliness
Strange, you think
Popularity...
Looking for a simple life
Life aint simple
Tired and sick but I dont wanna be alone

Could go to a party
But I don't really want to
For now Im sitting out here on my porch
Writing in the dark air
Listening to
My little black cat miaow

Trying to vent some of the terrible passion
That's coursing through me
Something about you
Something about spending the afternoon asleep in your arms
I hate you, fucker.

Siouxsie and the Banshees

2009-03-26T10:50:00.007+11:00

I watched a documentary a few years ago which followed groups like The Slits, The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees during their embroyonic stages. The reason why Siouxsie and the Banshees stood out to me is the fact that the original line up had no musical experience at all.
They couldn't play any instruments so their set used to comprise of a 20 minute rendition of the Lords Prayer. Siouxsie would scream the Lords Prayer while a whole bunch of racket went on in the background. Don't forget that this was the era of punk so it was totally acceptable and probably what they needed to get enough attention to continue on and actually learn how to play the instruments.

Siouxsie's distinctive image has had an influence on many artists, in particular Robert Smith from the Cure. Robert Smith toured as a guitarist with the Banshees in the late 70's. It was during this time that Robert started to create his image.Siouxsie had/has a very distinctive look - red slashed lipstick, kubuki style pale skin and black teased/matted hair. Robert Smith admits to using Siouxsie's red lipstick when they used to tour and painting outside of his lip line. As much as I love Robert I think he stole a bit more of her image...what do you think?

It was hard for me to pick a Siouxsie and the Banshees song.
In fact I will more than likely include another song at a different time.
For now I have chosen the song "Peek a Boo".
The reason I have chosen this track is because it shows an example of backmasking. Bascially backmasking is where a song is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to play forward (got that?) The band had to learn how to play it backwards as well which I give them props for.
The backmasking is why the track sounds a bit off centre but I think it works well. I also love the use of the accordian in Peek a boo. I think the only person in music today that would experiment and use the accordian would be Bjork.

Beethoven double shot

2009-03-25T16:12:00.003+11:00

Today's double shot is Beethoven inspired.

I'm going to start out with the track from the Saturday Night Fever album "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy.
This is an adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I'm still trying to work out whether this is blasphemous or not.

The second track is a sample of a sample (if that makes sense).
Robin Thicke borrows heavily from "A Fifth of Beethoven" to create his song "When I get you alone"

Take a look at both songs.

Wa Wa Nee

2009-03-12T10:41:00.007+11:00

When I was writing the piece on "Overkill" for Men at Work I stumbled across a few video's by Wa Wa Nee another Australian band during the 80's.

Wa Wa Nee were around during the period in time where Oz pub hard rock was at the forefront of music. Men who couldn't dance went to the pub, got pissed and rocked out to the Angles, Cold Chisel or a band of that ilk. God forbid that there could actually be an Australian pop/funk band with influences like Prince with jangly guitars rather than axe guitars.

It is no wonder that Wa Wa Nee struggled a bit in this market. I think they also stuggled because of their band name. I mean what were they thinking when they chose Wa Wa Nee???

Someone must have had a bit of faith in them though because CBS (now Sony) signed them to their label.

Their first single "Stimulation" was released in 1986. With such wonderful lyrics as:

"Lucky guy his world's on fire he can get it up night and day
Oh I wish I could get the feeling
and give the girls something to say
All I need to get is stimulation, so get me up against the wall
You knew I needed stimulation
but I never thought you'd be that bold."

The guy in these lyrics obviously didn't require that nasal delivery system I keep hearing about on the radio hehe.

The track "Sugar Free" made the top 20 in the States.
I remember watching the Tv show "Solid Gold" (remember the Solid Gold dancers???) and the stupid woman host going (and I will have to write part of this phonetically) "Here is wawaaaaanie doing the Sugar Free"

What I want to focus on today is Wa Wa Nee's second album "Blush". I still have a copy of Blush on record and have played it to death.
Around the time Blush came out I also saw Wa Wa Nee live (they were support act for Bros but that is a story for another time) and they were an awesome live act.
In 1988 MTV in Australia used to start at about 11pm at night so they could often play the more "raunchy" videos that you couldn't see during the day.
I don't know if this was a strategy by CBS but two of Wa Wa Nee's single's for the Blush album ("Can't control myself" & "So good") had "adult" video's (i.e. lot's of naked boobie shots).
This seemed rather odd to me especially since the song "So Good" (my personal favourite) is a song about God.

Take a look at the lyrics and the "censored" video.
The track on the Youtube link is actually a longer remix as I couldn't find the original.

Every night I pray God'll be on my side
I need him more than ever
If nothing else but to stay alive, and it's
(Chorus)
So good to know you are gonna be with me
When I need you to
I realise that the world moves
With a lot of loving from the heart of you
Every day I know when I walk on out that door
He's gonna get me home
Make my life worth living for, and it's
(Repeat Chorus)
I really love the way you keep me going on
Remaining happy if I'm right or wrong
Under the umbrella of love I belong, oh yeah
Everything I do from this moment on
I guarantee it's all for you
So I dedicate this love song, and it's
(Repeat Chorus)
Every time it rains, anytime you're feeling blue
Just remember he has an umbrella over you
So good to know you could let me
Love you God and hate you too
You've forgive whatever I do
and I wanna tell you that I love you
(Repeat Chorus)

I also want to include another track from "Blush" "I want you".
They were definitely channelling Price for this song but I see that as a good thing. Prince is the shizz.
This has such a great groove going on.

Overkill - Men at Work

2009-03-08T01:55:00.007+11:00

I was really pleased to hear that this song has had a bit of a revival due mostly to Colin Hay's (lead singer of Men at Work) cameo on the show Scrubs.

I have to preface this by stating that I have only watched about 2 episodes of Scrubs and don't know it that well. From what I saw it was quite funny but I never bothered to watch the series from the beginning. Apparently this particular episode was called "My Overkill" and Colin Hay was a mysterious troubadour that appears throughout the episode providing a musical interlude.

When most people think of the band Men at Work they think of the song "Down under" or horror of horrors associate them with that Supernanny show. The theme song to Supernanny is "Johnny Be Good". Someone should tell the Supernanny producers that it is totally unacceppable behaviour to use such a good song for such a crap show. Naughty chair for them! Nuff said.

Anyway back to the song. I have linked Colin's cameo from Scrubs singing "Overkill" plus the original video. I think the mark of really good song is when you can pare it back and you are left with a great melody. No vocal layering, synth, drum machine..just the melody.

Adam Ant

2009-02-26T12:24:00.006+11:00

About 6 months ago I bought a book called "Stand and Deliver" which is Adam Ants autobiography.
I was so excited (because I am a big Adam Ant fan) that I celebrated this discovery by purchasing an accompanying Adam Ant T shirt from 80's tees (I know, I know, I need to get out more).
So with my t-shirt on and Adam Ant collection at the ready I began reading his story.

I already knew that he suffered from bipolar and in more recent years got in trouble with the law.
I read quite a bit about the latter because it fascinated me as to how he got to that point.

His book was very interesting. It gave a bit of insight into the scene around the time of the Sex Pistols when punk music was in it's embroyonic stages.
It quite honestly told Adam's story of struggling with a poor family background, being married young, dealing with undiagonsed bipolar, and reinventing himself.
Often when I was reading the book I really didn't like Adam. He came across as a right tosser. He treated woman like crap and was a sex addict to boot.

The one thing I will give him is that he has been able to look back and tell it how it was.
I think he acknowledges how difficult he has been and how his behaviour has manifested itself in his work.

When I got nearer to the end of the book I truly felt sad for this guy.
Here he was clinging on to the fame that he once had.
All of his recent releases bombing badly, record companies refusing to touch him, his acting career failing to take off and his bipolar getting him arrested and committed to a psych hospital.
Even this book was reduced from $30 to $10 in a couple of months.

Here were a few bits of trivia that I didn't know previously about Adam:

His Mum was a cleaner for Paul McCartney
He dated Jamie Lee Curtis and Heather Graham
He was dating Amanda Donahoe well before her age of consent
His Dad was convicted of paedaphillia
Michael Jackson called him to ask where he got his military style jacket from. He also invited him to Neverland to discuss music with him.

Here is a picture of Adam Ant from his younger years and today.

Here is the great track "Stand & Deliver" featuring the dandy highwayman Adam Ant.

ack (l from the 90's so maybe not so recent) "Room the top"

Please please please let me get what I want....

2009-02-06T17:16:00.003+11:00

Hi Poptrinketeers...Well the Pop Princess is off abroad for a week but I will be back with more tracks and a bit of a piece I am working on about Adam Ant.

I want to leave you with a song that I call 1 minute and 53 seconds of heaven.

"Please please please let me get what I want" by the Smiths.

This song has recently been covered by Muse and it caused me severe ear cavities. Actually I have heard numerous covers and I can safely say that no one can capture the emotion of the song like Morrisey.
It also helps that this song was in the movies "Pretty in Pink" and "Never been kissed" (asinine girly teen angst flicks that I adore).

So here it is. There isn't an official music video but I encourage just to shut your eyes and listen.

Corporate Slave -Snog

2009-02-02T09:39:00.002+11:00

Today's song is in loving dedication to my job.

It seems fitting at the moment.

Pursuit of Happiness- I'm an adult now

2009-01-28T10:56:00.004+11:00

I dug this track out from an old CD last night and thought I may add it to my blog.
It is by a Canadian college band called the "Pursuit of Happiness" (No not the asinine Will Smith movie. Did anyone else have a nap during that film?)

What I didn't realise is that "The Pursuit of Happiness" released this song in 1986 and then rereleased it along with a new music video in 1990.
Both releases of "I'm an adult now" charted well in Canada and made it to #39 in Australia.
It is the latter version which I am more familiar with.

One of the reasons I like this song is because of the tongue in cheek lyrics. Take a look they are very funny.

Well, I don't hate my parents
I don't get drunk just to spite them
I've got my own reasons to drink now
Think I'll call my dad up and invite him
I can sleep in till noon anytime I want
Though there's not many days that I do
Gotta get up and take on that world
When you're an adult it's no cliché it's the truth

(Chorus)
'Cause I'm an adult now
I'm an adult now
I've got the problems of an adult
On my head and on my shoulders
I'm an adult now

I can't even look at young girls anymore
People will think I'm some kind of pervert
Adult sex is either boring or dirty
Young people they can get away with murder
I don't write songs about girls anymore
I have to write songs about women
No more boy meets girl boy loses girl
More like man tries to figure out what the hell went wrong

I can't take any more illicit drugs
I can't afford any artificial joy
I'd sure look like a fool dead in a ditch somewhere
With a mind full of chemicals
Like some cheese-eating high school boy

Sometimes my head hurts and sometimes my stomach hurts
And I guess it won't be long
Till I'm sitting in a room with a bunch
of people whose necks and backs are aching
Whose sight and hearing's failing
Who just can't seem to get it up

Speaking of hearing, I can't take too much loud music
I mean I like to play it, but I sure don't like the racket
Noise, but I can't hear anything
Just guitars screaming, screaming, screaming
Some guy screaming in a leather jacket
Wooah!

I have linked their version that was released in 1990. The video and track is a little bit slicker.

Wax On Wax Off

2009-01-27T16:23:00.004+11:00

From the "Say it isn't so" department...

Apparently the Karate Kid is being remade with Will Smith's son as the Karate Kid and Jackie Chan as Mr Miyagi... ...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

As a complete internet geek I am registering my displeasure with this.

So today I salute the first and original Karate Kid.

Here's to the old crane technique.

White Town: Your Woman

2009-01-23T13:00:00.007+11:00

This is a track that I have loved for a long time. It has such a cool little groove going on. I thought I would take a peek into who is "White Town" and the background of the song "Your Woman".

Firstly White Town is one guy Jyoti Mishra.
Here is a pic of Jyoti

This is not what I imagined him to look like.
From the stuff that I have read about Jyoti he seems like a funny self deprecating chap.
Here are some things that he has been quoted as saying.

After being asked if he would tour:
"White Town is just me, Jyoti.
I *do* want to play live but I currently have no live incarnation.
Plus… how do I do it? Watching a fat bloke prod a synth and peer at a laptop isn’t exactly high drama, is it?"

About being a one hit wonder:
"Better than being a no-hit wonder!" (Indeed Jyoti..indeed.)

Lastly this is what Jyoti wrote after being asked if "Your Woman" would make it to iTunes
"Heh! Good question - first iTunes take their cut and then EMI... and then I have to wait for the royalties to filter through. But I'll probably get enough for a packet of biscuits in the end."

Just as a note White Town have toured since Jyoti wrote that comment.

I thought I would address the lyrics of "Your Woman" because it is a guy singing "I will never be your woman".

Jyoti is a happily married straight man so he gives some thoughts:

"Being a straight guy in love with a lesbian.
Being a gay guy in love with a straight man (not tried this one yet).
Being a straight girl in love with a lying, two-timing, fake-ass Marxist.
The hypocrisy that results when love and lust get mixed up with highbrow ideals"

I knew that there was some sampling in "Your Woman" but until I did a little research recently I had no idea about the history of the track. It begins with a song called "My Woman" by Bing Crosby. There was a cover of the Bing Crosby song performed by Lew Stone and the Monseigneaur band in 1932.

Jyoti heard this song after watching a TV show called "Pennies from Heaven". He then took the trumpet riff and sampled it for "Your Woman".

So no, Jyoti wasn't ripping off the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.
It's funny though that so many people mention Star Wars when referring to the track "Your Woman".
Even on Jyoti's website he gets asked about Star Wars. So I will link the Imperial March and you can make up your own mind.

While I am on the subject, some smarty pants has mixed in the "Imperial March" into "Your Woman" on Youtube.
I'm not going to embed it but if you want to take a listen you can go here

So here are the tracks in order:

"Your Woman" by Whitetown
"My Woman" by Lew Stone and the Monseigneaur band
and "The Imperial March" by John Williams

Same song, different artist: Heartbeats

2009-01-21T16:41:00.005+11:00

The song today is "Heartbeats" written by the Knife.

This song really came to prominence when the version by Jose Gonzalez was used by Sony in their Bravia TV commercials. As the Knife wrote the song they got shit-buckets of money from Sony which they used to start a record label.

Which version do you prefer? The original or the Jose Gonzalez cover?
I'm an electro gal so of course I prefer the Knife.

Metallica One

2009-01-20T14:51:00.004+11:00

Today's track brings back a lot of memories for me.

Mostly I go back to Year 9 Maths class where we had assigned seating. My seat was next to this boy who used to drum out Metallica and Slayer songs on his desk using his pencils.
Needless to say it drove me near balmy.

However one thing I have to thank this boy for was an introduction to Metallica's "One". When I first saw the video clip I think I was sombre for a good hour after. If you watch it I think you will understand what I am talking about.
The concept behind the song "One" was inspired by a book called "Johnny got his gun". The book is about a man who goes off to war (WWI) and gets hit by German artillery. He loses his limbs, sight, hearing and smell, leaving him a prisoner in his body (pretty uplifting story so far huh?)
The video clip for "One" was Metallica's first and it used the film adaptation of "Johnny got his gun" in the storyline.
If you want to take a look at the details for the movie which has now received cult status due to "One" go to IMDB.

"Johnny got his gun" has been remade recently. It stars that dude from the OC. You can take a look here

The Beloved

2009-01-19T12:52:00.004+11:00

For those out there who have never heard of them, The Beloved are a British electronic music group.

I really love the story of how the band was created.

From Wikipedia:
In 1983, Jon Marsh placed an advertisement in the music press, which read as follows:

"I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three year's time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2."

The first track from the Beloved today is "Hello" (no NOT a cover of the Lionel Ritchie song...shudder) Any song that lists Willy Wonker and Desmond Tutu is pretty cool in my opinion. BTW I always thought that the line "little neepsie, chris and do" was actually "Little Nietzsche, Christendom".

However these lyrics are from the Beloved website.
Take a look:

"so welcome to the world, yeah...
all you late-comers, just step onboard
i'm happy, glad you came
so welcome home again!

sometimes i feel we must be going mad

hello peter, hello paul
saints and sinners, welcome all
tommy cannon and bobby ball
hello, hello, hello, hello

consider, if you will
this great big question, unanswered still
oh, can you spot the difference that lies between
the colour blue and the colour green?

sometimes i feel we must be going mad

little richard, little nell
willy wonka and william tell
salman rushdie and kym mazelle
hello, hello, hello, hello...

so welcome to the team
oh, have you worked it out yet?
yeah - the riddle, i mean
what's the answer?
it's plain to see - blue is blue and it always will be

sometimes i feel that the whole world's going mad

mork and mindy, brian hayes
barry humphries and paris grey
little neepsie, chris and do
hello, hello, hello, hello...

billy corkhill, vince hilaire
freddie flintstone, fred astaire
desmond tutu, steve and claire
hello, hello, hello, hello...

charlie parker, charlie brown
leslie crowther, come on down
mary wilson, di and flo
hello, hello, hello, hello...

sir bufton tufton, jean paul sartre
zippy, bungle, jeffrey archer
andre previn and the lso
hello, hello, hello, hello..."

The second Beloved track today is "Time after time" (no not the Cyndi Lauper song :)
What a beautiful song. Enjoy.

Divinyls: What a life (Good Die Young)

2009-01-18T00:22:00.004+11:00

Before I present the track for today I have a number of things I want to discuss first.

1. I went on to You tube and typed in Divinyls.
The overwhelming response was "I touch myself"..ugh. Now "I touch myself is an alright song. I mean it was co written by the guys that wrote "Like a Virgin" (Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg) so it was most likely going to be a hit BUT it is not a Divinyls song.

The Divinyls cut their teeth in the Oz rock pub scene. They are gutsy and ballsy. I take my hat off to them because they toured their asses off. It just seems a shame to me that they will be mostly remembered for "I touch myself".

2. I have the "What a life" album on LP (record). I have played this sucker to death. This album is one of my favourites and when I try to play it now it sounds more like a test pattern than anything else.

I wasn't too disheartened by this because I assumed that I would just update and buy the CD of the album..right? Wrong.
The original LP pressing of this album (Australian) is NOT available on CD at all. They have the crumby US version which sucks donkey balls because it is missing some of my most favourite songs like "Talk like rain", "Old Radios"and the title track "What a life".
I don't know why the record company thought "Casual Encounter" was a better track. Go figure.

Anyway this is a public plea.
If anyone has a CD/MP3 copy of the original "What a life" please contact me.
I will gladly sell my first born for it (or at least my goldfish).

3. Last year I borrowed Chrissie Amphlett's auto biography from the library.
She has had one interesting life including time spent in a Spanish prison, constant fighting with Mark McEntee, almost being eviscerated by Aerosmith fans (while being support act),alcoholism, touring and now having MS.

4. I saw Chrissy Amphlett play the role of Judy Garland on stage for the "Boy from Oz". She was amazing. I never would have thought she could have pulled that off but she did it so well.

5. When I went to see the Divinyls play live once there was a guy that Chrissy pulled up on stage. This guy had a HUGE tattoo of Chrissy on his chest. Now THAT my dear readers is a devoted fan.

Today’s clip is off the "What a life" album. To me this is classic Divinyls.

Enjoy..When the Good Die Young"

Betty Boo..Where are you?

2009-01-16T11:23:00.007+11:00

Do you remember Betty Boo?
She was "Doin the do" at one stage with a couple of hit tracks in the 90's. She famously came to Australia to do some "live gigs" and was busted lip syncing on stage after she dropped her mike. Apparently the crowd didn't take it too well and booed Betty off stage (Get it booed Betty? Betty Boo? Ah..forget it).

Anyway I thought Betty would have faded into obscurity, put on 20 pounds and developed a poker machine addiction..but no..she released a track in 2007 and it wasn't half bad.
So today I am taking a look back at Betty (Alison Clarkson) then and now.
To be honest she hasn't changed much at all.
Here is "Where are you baby"

Her more recent track "Take Off"

Grace Jones -Libertango

2009-01-14T16:53:00.008+11:00

Grace Jones is currently in Australia doing some gigs.I didn't realise that she is 60 years old! Damn I want to age as well as that!

With Grace being in town it reminded me of my favourite Grace Jones track.
No it's not "Slave to the Rhythm" or "Pull up to the Bumper". It is "Strange I've seen that face before (Libertango)".

This song features quite heavily in the film "Frantic" starring Harrison Ford, although it never made it to the official soundtrack.

There is a part in the song where Grace speaks in French. I never knew what she was saying until recently: "What are you searching for? To meet death? Who do you think you are? You hate life, you too...)"

Useless piece of trivia part 1, 2 & 3:

1. Did you know that the song "Slave to the Rhythm" was written for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow up track to "Relax"?

2. Grace at one stage was a muse to Andy Warhol who photographed her extensively.

3. Grace appeared in the god awful Eddie Murphy movie "Boomerang". She played an eccentric supermodel who wanted to call her newly launched perfume "After birth" or "Steel Vagina". Grace was a crack up and the best thing in this stinker.

Someone saved my life tonight - Elton John

2009-01-14T09:16:00.012+11:00

"And Butterflies are free to fly.."

In 1991 there was a documentary and accompanying album called "Two Rooms".

The documentary was about Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin.
It was called "Two Rooms" because Elton and Bernie have never been in the same room to write a song.

Bernie writes the poetry and gives it to Elton.
Elton then works on a melody and often cuts and changes Bernie's lyrics to make it fit.
This is why there are some Elton John songs which don't entirely make sense like "Daniel".
Elton cut out an entire section of "Daniel" which explained that he was a Vietnam vet returning back to his home town.
He was going to be made into a town hero and didn't want to be a hero.

In Two Rooms Bernie brings up the type of lyrics that Elton came up with himself prior to their collaboration.

An example is a song called "The Witches House"

"I go to the witches house,
I go whenever I can
Me and Molly Dickinson
In my delivery van.."

Elton obviously needed lyrical help.

This brings me to today's selection and the story behind it.
Elton was obviously going through a bit of confusion because he was going to get married and was having second thoughts about tying the knot.
He decides it is all too much for him so he tries to kill himself with the gas oven in the kitchen.

Bernie describes the rest of the story:
"I walk in and see Elton and what I should have thought was oh my God he has tried to kill himself.
But he was laying on the kitchen floor with a little satin pillow, the gas oven on and all the windows are open."

Elton was convinced not to go ahead with the marriage (well duh he's gay..if only someone told Renata) and focus on his musical career.

Bernie writes the lyrics to "Someone saved my life tonight" to commemorate this event:

"And someone saved my life tonight sugar bear
You almost had your hooks in me didn't you dear
You nearly had me roped and tied
Altar-bound, hypnotised
Sweet freedom whispered in my ear
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye"

I have chosen this version sung live in concert near the time it was released because Elton (after his vocal surgery) can't hit the high notes any more.
He also plays it in a different key to accommodate it.

It is a truly amazing song which I love.

Just remember people butterflies are free to fly....

A song about a font - German Bold Italic

2009-01-13T09:29:00.008+11:00

When I talk to people who are fans of Kylie (Minogue) I always have to test how big of a fan they are because I am a smart arse :)

I ask if they know the song German Bold Italic.

To be honest most don't have a clue what I am talking about (I'm used to it by now. The voices in my head know what I am talking about though).

In case you are in this boat let me break it down for you.

There was a track in the 90's called "Groove is in the heart" by the band Deee lite.
Towa Tei who was one of the DJ's behind the band Deee lite collaborated with Kylie on this track. That is why you can hear samples from "Groove is in the heart" during the song.

This was during a period of Kylie's career where she left Mike Waterman (of Stock, Aitken, Waterman fame), changed record labels (to DeConstruction), and decided that she wanted to be an alternative artist (or something like that).The public didn't take to it.
Neither did her new record company who dumped her after poor sales.

The film clip was directed by Kylie's boyfriend at the time Stephane Sednaoui.
Stephane has directed a number of music video's for various artists such as Jamiroquai, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Björk, and Depeche Mode to name just a few.

This clip looks a little low budget and it follows Kylie dressed as a Geisha through the streets of New York city. (I read "Memoirs of a Geisha" and I don't recall the Geisha's performing in a hot tub wearing a bikini...hmmm)

I can't say I am a huge fan of this track but any song that is written about a font has my mark. Fonts are the shizz y'all! If only Google Blogger could have decent fonts!!

Here is Kylie in her Geisha glory for German Bold Italic.

As a point of reference here is "Groove is in the heart"

Now for a Kylie track during this period that I actually like.
Kylie wrote this song about meeting Stephane Sednaoui. It is off the Impossible Princess album.

Kylie live in concert with Cowboy Style

Pump Up the Volume

2009-01-12T14:00:00.003+11:00

When I was in high school I had a bit of a crush on Christian Slater.
I didn't care that he was a Jack Nicholson wanna be. I just thought he was hot.

Recently I revisted the movie "Pump up the Volume" because I thought it would be a little nostalgic journey.

I can honestly say that it hasn't really stood the test of time. The acting is poor, the teen angst storyline has been done a zillion times and it is pretty implausible.

For those of you who have never seen the film it is about a teenager who moves to Arizona and has zero friends. He has a short wave radio set which he uses to become his night time alter ego -pirate radio DJ Happy Harry Hard On.

The one thing that has stood the test of time is the soundtrack.

Some tracks and artists from the film include:

"Kick Out The Jams"
Performed by Bad Brains with Henry Rollins

"Wave of Mutilation (U.K. Surf)"
Performed by The Pixies

"Titanium Expose"
Performed by Sonic Youth

"Everybody Knows"
Performed by Leonard Cohen
Also performed by Concrete Blonde

"Scenario"
Performed by The Beastie Boys(I give this movie props for including the Beastie Boys track "Scenario" as it was an unreleased track until it appeared in 1998 on a bootleg called "Original III".
I would feature this track if I could find a decent recording of it. If anyone is out there who has this track drop me a line.)

"Freedom of Speech"
Performed by Above The Law

"Heretic"
Performed by Soundgarden

"Tale O' The Twister"
Performed by Chagall Guevara

"Dad, I'm in Jail"
Performed by Was Not Was

I have a number of favourites from the soundtrack.

One is Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" which is currently being used in Australia in a cancer council commercial. It's really enjoyable listening to Leonard while images of clogged arteries being squeezed are flashed on your TV :( (Just as an aside am I the only person who hates these ads?).

So here is the track minus the clogged arteries

"Freedom of Speech" from Above the Law is another track I love.

"Now what's really known as a radio cut?
When you can's say (shit) and you can't say (fuck)
I really think you wanna hear it
But the radio stations, you see, they still gonna fear it
Yo, I thought this country was based upon freedom of speech
Freedom of press, freedom of your own religion
To make your own decision, now that's baloney
Cause if I gotta play by your rules, I'm bein phoney
Yo, I got to cater to this person or that person
I got to rhyme for the white or the black person?
Why can't it all be equal? Music is a universal language for all people."

The last track I want to mention is "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies.
I recently saw Frank Black (lead singer of the Pixies) boasting live on stage that he was one of the first people to mention "El Nino" in a song.
Well Frank, Flock of Seagulls mentioned the Aurora Borealis in one of their tracks and they didn't bang on about it :)

Regardless, it is a great track. Take a look

Freaky Ass Story of the Day - Mein Teil Rammstein

2009-01-10T11:50:00.003+11:00

Once upon a time there was a guy in Germany called Armin Meiwes.
Armin decided to put an advert on the internet for someone to eat (mmmm...nice).

Some very well adjusted man answered the ad and agreed for Armin to eat him (stay with me on this one..)

Armin drugs the man and plies him with alcohol while taking off selections of his body to eat....they both have a bit of a nosh of the mans nether regions (ewwwwwww).

The man didn't live (funny that) but Armin didn't require any additional protein in his diet for weeks.

I am not making this story up. It really did happen and it is the subject of Rammstein's song "Mein Teil".

Rammstein are extremely good at taking the piss so when they perform it on stage the keyboard player Flake is brought out in a big copper pot with steam rising from it. Till Linderman the lead singer has a mike which when you flip it around is a knife and he is dressed in a butchers apron and hat.

As the song is sung in German here are some snippets of the lyrics translated into English:

"Today I will meet a gentleman
He likes me so much he could eat me upsoft things and even hard ones are on the menu...
It's just so well seasoned and so nicely flambéed and so lovingly served on porcelain and with it, a good wine and gentle candlelight
Yet, I'll take my timeYou've got to have some culture
Because you are what you eat
and you know what it is..."

If you are a sick bastard like me who would like to read the full account of Armin Meiwes you can read about it here
I may personally go vegetarian for a for a few weeks :)
Here are Rammstein on stage doing their thing for "Mein Teil" (My Part).