Owner: worrapolava URL:http://worrapolava.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:06:01 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A music (and anything else that takes my fancy) blog, as seen the gay-tinted specs of a Brit. Hopefully entertaining, knowingly never dull. Pop in. Site statistics:Click here
Pet Shop Covers 2007-03-20 02:36:00 A sign of a good cover is forgetting the original and having the cover artist make it their own. It's hard for any cover version of a Pet Shop Boy track not to jar on first hearing because you're so used to Neil Tennant's loquacious tones. But repeated plays of these three and that thought quickly disappears. They are brilliant performances and arrangements of three well-loved PSB songs. King's Cross - Tracey Thorn (mp3)Love Comes Quickly - Memphis (mp3)It's a Sin - Paul Anka (mp3) Read more:Covers
Worth a looksee 2007-03-19 18:00:00 Shang-A-Lang, Chelsea Kelsey's superb blog. The latest post, Hit Music, is his quarter-year round-up of favourite songs this year. I love the home-spun way he'll introduce a topic obviously very dear to his heart: "The weather’s been like May in London - most odd - but time's still getting on... it suddenly became a matter of the utmost urgency that I begin organising 2007’s tracks to date on iTunes and think about my favourites so far." Top tune in the Kelsey household is Read My Mind (Pet Shop Boys Stars Are Blazing Mix) – The Killers And it HAS to be the PSB version... What follows are affectionate tributes to his Top Ten so far. Have a read...Silence is a rythmn tooAnother music lover, Michael has a fabulous knack of hitting on brilliant new tunes or finding brand new mixes which change your outlook on a hitherto overlooked track. From his weekly Funky Friday set, there's a great new mix of LCD Soundsystem - Us Vs. Them by Go Home Productions which has given an ordinary ( Read more:Worth
...ah! There he is! 2007-03-19 15:41:00 Firstly, that 'growling' door at the beginning sounds creepy... As I posted a missing in action blog about Boy George, there he was posting this on YouTube. Here's a diary of his time 'down under' at Mardi Gras. With all these clubbing vids, I feel a bit detached from what is probably a very nice crowd experience. You had to be there I suppose. "Is it that I'm being too gay?" as he's taking off a very fetching pair of red slingbacks. Bless.
"Whoops! There goes my career" 2007-03-19 13:00:00 "Joss! Don't jump!!! Oh. Go on then."You could almost feel sorry for her after this Dallas Austin woman-hating, crack-induced dig. But then... The Chris Moyles interview... Of course, Joss, it's soooo hard being a jet-setting millionaire and everyfink. Anyhoo, best of luck with the album!
My favourite Boy... 2007-03-16 01:19:00 I haven't heard a peep out of him for ages... probably because he's doing his Singer/DJ duties Down Under. There seems to be some kind of media black hole down there... 'Time Machine' didn't bloody do anything. No radio play same as fucking ever... gorgeous though it is. And there's been not a jot on YouTube for over a month! So, instead, here are 4 songs which will help alleviate the pangs until he comes back...Il Adore - Boy George (mp3 Download)From the plaintive strings to the bitter sweet lyrics: "Laughing screaming, tumbling queen / Like the most amazing light show you've ever seen / Whirling swirling never blue / How could you go and die, what a lonely thing to do" this is George writing about Leigh Bowery. Featured on his album Cheapness and Beauty and as a show-stopper in Taboo it's George at his very best creatively.If I Could Fly - Boy George (mp3 Download)A little naughty giggle at the beginning but the cello sets the real tone for this song. Another Cheapness and B
The milk of human kindness... 2007-03-15 23:38:00 Flicking through tonight's copy of thelondonpaper I came across this lovely letter from Gail in Surrey talking about the fabulous Beth Ditto's proposition to TopShop to design clothes for a bigger size than 16: "While it might be normal in the USA to be as wide as you are tall, in the UK the average size is a 16. If average is normal, then Topshop already caters for normal women... perhaps someone might like to persuade her to waddle over to Evans, a shop for women with "bigger bodies"." Gail from Surrey. What. A. Cunt. A sad woman with serious issues about weight, size and probably herself. Go get the latest copy of heat, love. There's some pictures of Vanessa Feltz and some crappy cover line about "fat celebs" to make you feel better about yourself.Strewth!"Gail! I think you dropped these 2 fingers?" Read more:human
"A grande latte of air and the new Paul McCartney CD please!" 2007-03-15 07:56:00 Urgh! Starbucks 'does' music of its own... The 'coffee shop' chain that opens a new branch around the world every 0.05 seconds - as you read that, another three just did - now plans to launch it's own record label. They'll distribute the music digitally within the said shops to burn onto CD. Erm. Can't we just go in there and burn the store instead? Listen to this statement from, Ken Lombard, the Starbucks bloke in charge of setting the whole thing up: "This announcement is a natural next step in our entertainment strategy. Hear Music will add tremendous value to the content offerings (!!!) and distribution of great music Starbucks customers have come to expect." *slaps palm on forehead then walks over to a newly painted wall to watch it dry* Actually, alongside the rumoured Paul McCartney
signing, I've got a few suggestions: what about the fabulous Joss Stone? With her 'youthful soul' she'll get the 20-30 demographic? Or the really edgy Sean Paul? There's your 'urban' de Read more:Paul McCartney
"Excuse me, I think you'll find there's Spam on that!" 2007-03-14 01:07:00 Q: "Aren't prawns an aphrodisiac?" A: "I wouldn't put it past them".Comedy, and in particular, good comedy I can watch again and again. It's like music to me. Like a 20 year old track that sounds as fresh as it did when I took it out of the WH Smith/Woolworths/John Menzies carrier bag and put in on me Sanyo Music Tower. This Victoria Wood sketch starring her and Julie Walters is one of my favourites. It's so full of gags you have to watch it again because you've guffawed and spluttered over the previous three. A friend of mine has based his whole repertoire of one-liners on this very sketch. Mention prawns and he says he never touches them: "Do you know they hang around sewage outlet pipes, treading water with their mouths open? They LOVE IT!" Read more:Excuse
, think
Free music... No, really. It's free! 2007-03-11 20:36:00 And it's given to you with love from me. Although I write songs, there are a few musical 'doodles' of mine floating around that become a dance track instead. Sometimes though, they stay unfinished. But, because I'm biased, I still like hearing them now and again. So, ta-dah! Here's a little taster... and, BTW, I know crunk is a form of hip-hop, but I love the word and it seems to suit. Crunk (mp3 Download) - available 'til 26th MARCH
The Boys in the Band 2007-03-10 15:51:00 I'm terrible for watching bands and only having eyes for the one I fancy. I've gone through entire gigs staring at them not even noticing what they're playing. The usual criteria is: he's not the singer, he's usually dark-haired and looks blokey. Simple enough. Here's a gallery of the ones I've always hankered after and rather than have to decide on who comes top and who comes bottom (oo-er), I've put them in alphabetical order. The criteria for this post is that they have to be in a band I actually like, so Coldplay's drummer will have to sit this one out. Funnily enough, the first 'boy in the band' who got me puzzling over why I fancied men comes out first in the list...ABBA - Benny Andersson A-HA - Magne FuruholmenABC - Mark WhiteBLUE - Anthony CostaCULTURE CLUB - Jon MossECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - Pete De FreitasFRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - Paul RutherfordKEANE - Tim Rice-OxleyTHE KILLERS - Ronnie VanucciKLAXONS - Simon TaylorKUBB - Adj Buffoni MADNESS -
Random Treats. Pt 2 2007-03-10 05:01:00 This one's for Susie.There's always a musical refrain from a favourite track that'll pop up from nowhere at any given moment. In 1993, a mate of mine introduced me to that very kind of track. One that she loved. Whenever it came on she'd go all bendy and purry like a cat on catnip. The tune was Stories and the band was Izit. We both ended up loving the tune so much that when Izit were in town (Liverpool, at the time) at a club night doing a full-on live set we were there, front row. The only thing was we were part of a 10 or so crowd in front of a band with about double that onstage. Never mind. We loved it. They loved us (whooping it up an' all) and, after much searching, here's the track... Izit - Stories (mp3 download) Read more:Random
My life as a library 2007-03-09 00:10:00 Look at these books I got for my birthday. What do they say about me? 1) I love music - electro, with a northern flavour, a particular favourite.2) I work, (for my sins), in magazines but still love them.3) I'm a big old gayer who likes looking at dirty pictures.Correct, correct and, erm, correct. Am I that obvious?Er, yes, I also got this: but I'm saving this for a blog of it's very own in the weeks to come...J 'adore Factory Records the Complete Graphic Album. A surprisingly straightforward Tony Wilson (funnily enough in the foreword) explains how Britain was a dark, dank and design-less place BF (Before Factory). Well, more just a shade of brown and orange from what I remember but when Factory introduced their design ethos (every product from gig flyers, to records, to a whole club was Factory tagged) it did bring Britain around to the idea that shapes, colours, words and ideas called design could, perhaps, add something to one's life. This book by Matthew Robertson is a littl
How many Pet Shop Boys does it take to change a lightbulb? 2007-03-08 00:14:00 Ooh, how exciting. I've just seen on the Pet Shop Boys website that they're currently rehearsing the next leg of the tour with a "different stage design". Having seen stills and clips during the whole of the last tour and being as jel as hell at not being able to go (I eschewed the festivals to wait for a 'proper' concert), it's great to see it'll be a changed show for part deux... and I've got tix for 27th May at Hammersmith Apollo. Hoorah!
Synth-u-go 2007-03-07 00:23:00 After a hard coupla days in a new job and some nerve grinding commutes from Hackney to Wapping... 10 minutes as the crow flies but nearly an hour by foot and sodding bus through the grimy streets o' London. Something tells me I've slipped up somewhere and I'm getting my just deserts for what? I know not. I've got to do something nice now to deposit a huge wad good things into my bank of Karma so here are some tunes FOR YOU! There's a kind of connection between them all. They're all a bit overlooked and are all covered in synths: posh ones, squidgy ones and some as big as yer 'ead. Just click on the title etc.The Human League - You Remind Me of Gold (Instrumental Mix)I love how The League, when Martin Rushent was producing, would always knock off another, totally different mix of A and B sides. This one is on the flip of Mirror Man and is like a dub as it starts minimally, sweeping synths come in and then it kicks of with looped vocals whipping up a right frenzy. I always used to
I heart Channel 4 2007-03-05 01:13:00 Aw. Channel
4 always manages to surprise. Picture the scene: it's the last ad break after Desperate Housewives and this plug for a new Channel 4 season pops up...Lady Sov, Mutya, Sophie and Tracey Thorn on one 20 second track? LOVE IT! (Let's just forget about the Bedingfield "hmmmmmmm, hmmmmmmm" and Bailey Rae). "Music in my ears and everything..."
Random Treats. Pt 1 2007-03-05 00:25:00 Music is my, music is my, music is my life.I've always thought that Mark Moore is one of those creative marvels who lives for music and will always be involved, whether as a DJ, svengali, or songwriter. His S'Express stuff was the segue for me from synth pop to full-on dance. A few years after that I began to appreciate the *ahem* proper nuances of dance, but this track was always my favourite of theirs. Billy Ray Martin (bless) provides the vocals on Hey Music Lover and you can ramraid this gorgeous tune here for a few days.Hey Music Lover - S'Express Read more:Random
Who's that girl? 2007-03-03 13:51:00 Robyn @ Blow Up - Metro Club, London, 2nd March 2007Ruddy marv! What a right old shindig it was at Metro last night. Robyn performed her little pixie boots off last night. In a venue that defines the term shoebox, she seemed bowled over by the ecstatic welcome she got, and genuinely surprised that the crowd sang back her lyrics. Opening with Konichiwa Bitches, there was some slightly puzzling lipsynching going on, but after that everything was *phew* a genuine vocal. And for someone so 'elfin' in stature, she's got an absoulute belter of a voice live. Almost shockingly so. After a neat little medley of Buffalo Stance and Push It she launched straight into either Who's That Girl or Cobrastyle... I'm bloody terrible at remembering the setlists! One of the highlights was a massive version of With Every Heartbeat. Even in the tiny space it sounded HUUUGE. Robyn clearly loves her music and loves performing it, especially to such a brilliant crowd. There's a bit of a Robyn love-in goin
New musik... 2007-03-01 19:14:00 Too many years ago to mention - I was only 10 years old - I bought my first record. If music is an important part of your life, that first choice in the record shop can be such a signifier. My hard earned 75p was spent on this cute electro pop confection: Living By Numbers by New Musik. I love the fact that I could choose a song in my tender years and then find I still like it - right down to the cheesy spoken refrain at the end: 'They don't want your name, just your number'. It only got to number 13 in 1979 so it's nice to know I was, even then, a little left of centre. The link to the mp3 file above will only be around for a few days so HURRY! Read more:musik
Oh, the weather outside is frightful... 2007-02-28 14:49:00 With a perma-drizzle outside, wet shoes, wet clothes and sniffling cold-ridden peeps at work, doing the previous Nadiya blog got me thinking... Wether played on the radio of your chosen destination or your own CDs, there's nothing more potent a reminder of hols than the accompanying musical soundtrack. So, to bring a bit of much needed sunshine and lovely thoughts, here are the tunes that were constantly repeated en vacance.In February, last year, for my birthday I was perched on a hotel restaurant terrace high up in Les Corniches, properly feeling like Grace Kelly. In 24 degree sunshine and overlooking the coastline of the French Riviera, I went all ooh-la-la French with this one. Actually, it's Tina Arena, but she sounds Francais enough! Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible is sweeping, gorgeous and sounds fab on a drive around the nail-biting Corniche cliff-hugging roads:And as a home-grown track brought over, this was the favourite, the hard-faced Jentina with French KissesIn June, as w Read more:weather
Every day is like sunday... 2007-02-26 00:15:00 Reminded of great pop moments by: Chelsea Kelsey, one half of Duckie's Reader's Wifes, on his fabulosa Bengobaz blog talks about a screening of the Boy George "Generations of Love" vid at last week's House Of Homosexual Culture’s Hall Of Fame inauguration event. Veteran uphill gardener Tallulah, a stalwart of the scene; a DJ before all other DJ's was welcomed via the rear entrance (no doubt). He talks of the video showing George and Leigh Bowery rolling around Soho. There's a shot from said clip and yes, that IS Boy George in ACTUAL drag...And XO London trips down Bananarama's memory lane with a fab YouTube vid of ALL 36 'Nana vids. Aw. It reminds me, though, of the French and Saunders YouTube sketch, Lanananeeneenoonoo presented by the tragically gorgeous Paula Yates... And the resulting collaboration with the real 'Nanas for Comic Relief...
Summer's here... 2007-02-25 23:37:00 On the way back from a luvverly posh country hotel break (a birthday treat) I had five minutes to play a track which took me right back to last summer. Cut to the pebbly Nice beach, red hot sun and NRJ radio. Very Med. Very French. Every 3rd or 4th record was by the sensation de moment, Nâdiya. It's pomp pop rock. Maybe it was the heat, this I LOVED. Welcome to Le Roc. Read more:Summer
Mika: didn't he do well! 2007-02-23 00:23:00 Not a pic from tonight... but close enough!Picture the scene: meeting up in the Black Cap wondering what time Mika will actually be on stage. A count of how many songs on the album and we surmise it'll be a 9.00pm start and he'll be finished by 10.00pm. Bless him. He came on at 9.30pm and did his album justice until at least 10.30pm.Mika is a performer with longevity. You could see it within the first 30 seconds of his biggest gig so far. He is now officially part of the UK pop aristocracy. So much so, that if you'd said he'd been building up to this gig for only half a year (in public anyway), I wouldn't have believed you. Mika looks and sounds so comfortable on stage, so EARLY in his career it's fantastic to witness.There was no stylistic concert-improving performances of the songs on the album. They were performed verbatim - by an unbelievably energetic band, loved the bouncy drummer girl. Since each song has their own unique character, that didn't matter. Performing them liv
Mika: "I should Koko!" 2007-02-22 16:20:00 I couldn't bear having Fonda at the top of the page (sozz, girl!)... So here's a luvverly pic of Mika as I tell you I'm going to see him perform live! At Koko! Tonight! In glamorous Camden! I will report back. xx
Ice, Ice Baby 2007-03-21 16:47:00 A new Yoko Ono compilation Open Your Box is out on April 23rd and available a little earlier on Amazon. Not quite sure if the world needs 3 versions of Walking on Ice, but here's the superior mix. Obviously.Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice (Pet Shop Boys Electro Mix) (mp3 download)
Mika's new video 2007-03-20 17:16:00 Mika - Love TodayNot that he needs any more blog promos but this is one of my favourites from the album. I thought Lollipop would be a bit more of an obvious choice. Whatever, it'll sell by the truckload. And I love the retro Paula Abdul influence. Straight up! Read more:video
Songs to cry to 2007-03-23 02:51:00 Without going all emo, there are certain songs that bring a tear to one's eye. Over on the wonderful XO's Middle Eight there was a link to the newly-found and equally as wonderful The Modern Music where his 'Goth Subculture Anthems' post got me RIGHT THERE! It was *gulp* The Cocteau Twins. The jangling guitars, gorgeous chords and soaring vocals take me right back to my over-emotional teenage years, *sniff*. And while Liz Fraser sang her gobbledy gook, Robert Smith was doing the same in English. The Cure's Head On the Door was the Goth superstar of an album that still sounds as urgent as it did 20 years ago. Sigh.The Cocteau Twins - Lorelei (mp3 download) - from TreasureThe Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas (mp3 download) - from Heaven or Las VegasThe Cure - A Night Like This (mp3 Download) - from Head On the Door*sniff*
Uptown is where I belong 2007-03-22 02:43:00 Uptown - Pleasure (mp3 download)My new favourite band. There's been loads floating around about Fred Ball and his marvelous music. I love this track and can't wait for the Pleasure 2 cd I've ordered. Read more:Uptown
C4 again! 2007-03-22 01:37:00 Patrick Wolf - The Magic PositionChannel 4's T4 is a strange old thing. So-called 'hangover TV' on a Sunday morning when, really, I'd rather see great stuff like this - Patrick Wolf in stack heels and pixie pants - on a weekday night after work. Y'know, something genuinely entertaining instead of some mental woman on Corrie up in court for murdering her fella or Louise Redknapp crying crocodile tears over her size zero tits. Sunday morning TV means America's Next Top Model, Golden Girls and, back in the day, mad soaps like Brother, Sister. "My love is poison, like ARSENIC!!!"
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