9 October 2012 - The Cardigans - Lovefool

I've never really felt guilty about loving The Cardigans. I've been a fan since the first time I heard today's song and picked up their First Band On The Moon record in 1996. I do have to say though that compared to the rest of their catalog, that Lovefool could certainly be considered a guilty pleasure with all of its bubble gum goodness.

8 October 2012 - Bananarama - Cruel Summer

Am I a little late with this post? Yes.  Does it make the song less catchy? No.

I remember defending my love of Bananarama in 1986, even before the release of "Venus".  My love of these three ladies was not solely based on this interesting song with beautifully dark harmonies, but it was a prime example.  It was a sad, dark song, but it still managed to be fun and catchy.

The wardrobe choice for this video, on the other hand.... what was the obsession with overalls in the early to mid 80's?!

5 October 2012 - MSTRKRFT (feat. N.O.R.E.) - Bounce / Death From Above 1979 - Going Steady & Romantic Rights / CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above

This is going to be kind of a backwards constructed post, but go with me here.

MSTRKRFT are a fantastic electronic group from Toronto, featuring a guy named Jesse Keeler and a producer named Al-P. They are best known for their remixes of other people's songs, but have released a few of their own.  I love this high-energy tune.  I can't help but... well, bounce every time I hear it.  I hope you enjoy this great party tune as much as I do.


Keeler and Al-P met when the latter was producing an album for Keeler's former group, Death From Above 1979.  The two groups could not seem more different - DFA 1979 had their roots firmly in the punk scene, whereas MSTRKRFT are more electronic - but you can see, in this live clip from 2005, there was a fair amount of electronic sonic experimentation - Jesse Keeler is on keyboards and guitar - even back then.

It was in DFA 1979 that Keeler learned about infringing on other people's names for things - a lawsuit was threatened by a band called Death From Above until these guys added 1979 (the birth year of Sebastian Grainger, the other half of the group) to their name.  MSTRKRFT is spelled without vowels to avoid a similar lawsuit by a Canadian toolmaking company.


I would know about neither of these bands if not for CSS.  I have professed my love for CSS in the past. Here is another great hit, a tribute to DFA 1979.  You see in the video two people wearing elephant masks. This is a reference to the cover of the DFA 1979 album "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine".... the album Al-P produced.  And now, we have come full circle.

This song is a great dance tune in its own right, and you should enjoy it as well. In fact, when I started writing this post, this was the song I was featuring.  Clearly, I changed my mind, but I wanted to make sure CSS still got their credit.

4 October 2012 - Modern English - I Melt With You

The problem with doing 80s Thursday is that I realize how old I am. I Melt With You is 30 years old?!? Really? Yikes. The song has certainly aged well. Has the video? You be the judge.



I should mention that while doing "research" for this post (and yes, I do some minor research if only to not screw up what little facts I use), I discovered that Modern English is still playing together. I had no idea.

3 October 2012 - Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden

Little known fact - Lynn Anderson got her big break on the Lawrence Welk Show.  Lesser known fact - Lynn Anderson had a very successful equestrian career.

Well known fact - this is one of the biggest pop/country crossover hits in history.  It's pretty easy to see why - it's a catchy song with lyrics that work even forty years after its initial success.

Country music is largely an American phenomenon.  Outside of the States, it usually doesn't play as well, but here, it is the most popular genre.  This song is one of the exceptions to the rule.  Here is Anderson performing the song in 2009, in Norway. It looks like the Norwegians are enjoying it, even if they had trouble saying "Howdy"!

2 October 2012 - Kimbra - Cameo Lover & Settle Down

For those who are living under a rock, Kimbra is far more than "the chick from the Gotye song." She's an award-winning singer/songwriter (in fact, Cameo Lover won a song-writing competition over Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know...this was before she added her vocals to his uber-hit).

Kimbra's debut album, last year's Vows, is a blast of indie pop goodness with a little bit of jazz and soul. To me it sounds like a fine mix of The Bird and the Bee, Bjork, Lenka and maybe some Florence and the Machine. Heck, I'd even add a dash of Katy Perry as well (particularly on the poppier songs). If you haven't given her a shot yet, here's your chance with these two very cool videos.

First up is the pop-heavy Cameo Lover.



Here's the more "indie" sounding Settle Down.

1 October 2012 - Carl Anderson - Jesus Christ Superstar

This version of this song, written for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same name, gives me chills.  Carl Anderson's huge voice, which must have filled a theater, was perfect for this song, sung by the Judas character in this telling of the Passion Play.

This is an example of a movie getting a stage musical right, from the first scene to the last.  The movie clearly had a late 60's/early 70's vibe, and this movie didn't forget that, right down to the last detail.  And while movie sets get to be a lot bigger than theater stages, this movie didn't get overly extravagant in using that extra space.  They did get to use some better scene splicing, though.

Enjoy this scene from near the end of the movie.