for years friends have been telling me i should give st. etienne a listen as they thought it was something i'd like. well, it took me long enough but they were right. if they had recorded nothing else than this song i would consider it one of my favourite pop songs. with lines like: "i should have told you to lose that girl/i should have told you that's not your world /on her radio she turned the disco down..." it was destined to end up a favourite of mine.
from Good Humor (Creation Records SCR 489561 2), available on CD
17 Dec 01 ·delicado: I'm also a recent convert to St. Etienne. I insisted to friends that I didn't like them, but I recently got 1992's 'So Tough', and thought it was brilliant. 09 Apr 02 ·tempted: If there's one group I find very difficult to criticize it's St. Etienne. People say they've made a bad album or two but I think they all are different faces of perfection. "So Tough" is probably the best choice to start with them. That's the band in a nutshell. And the most widely appreciated album. 12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: Talk about a sleeper. Not their most obvious single by a long shot (that honor still goes to either their Jimmy Webb tribute "Avenue" or their Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods cover, "Who Do You Think You Are"), but this track not only stands the test of time, but improves like a fine wine.
Someday people will love this band. Until then, little four minute bursts of brilliance like this are part of my own private stash of cool cuts.
The title track from Goldfrapp�s second LP is everything pop music should be � sexy, glamorous, smart and weird - but rarely is these days. If their debut album was all about, in the duo�s own words, �Ennio Morricone and disco�, then the follow-up is all about disco and�Ennio Morricone � only wrapped in a shimmering gown early 1980�s inspired electronic textures. Electro-clash with heart and soul, a Madonna song with 170 I.Q., a tune for Milva to sing on Moonbase Alpha � I could go on and on�
from Black Cherry, available on CD
22 Nov 04 ·eftimihn: Excellent recommendation and great description. Unfortunately the only track off their sophomore effort that can moodwise hold up to such exquisite songs like "Pilots" or "Utopia" from their debut. 23 Nov 04 ·robert[o]: I actually dig the second LP a great deal. Very disco/electro, (as opposed to Ennio), but really high quality disco/electro. (And simply delivering a "Felt Mountain" Part II would have been a bit dull - I think.) "Forever" and "Hairy Trees" are pretty darn exquisite, likewise. 07 Dec 04 ·catfish: a beautiful track that simply melts into your ears. You get the impression that something very naughty is going on but never quite sure exactly what. Has Rachel Stevens ripped this band off or what? 12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: A sumptuous moment from one of this decade's most solid slabs of sound.
12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: Arguably their most underrated moment (and no silly Carribean-hued mischief present, thankfully), this slick cover of Bobby Hebb's 1966 jumped out of the first scene of "Boogie Nights" and into my collection almost instantly.
The audio equivalent of Russ Meyer if he'd had a go at a religious breastfest in the eighties. Which he may well have done.
I remember in my taping-off-the-radio youth I had this song on cassette when it reached the very lower reaches of the British top 40. How I loved it then and, seeing the LP the other weekend for a mere pound, thought I must make this my own. If anything, it sounds better to my late 20's ears. The overblown production sounds less just like a bit of a laugh and more a genuine expression of sexual and religious fervour. However tongue-in-cheek it may be.
And the cover! The only words appropriate are "dogs dinner" for these three fashionistas.
from Massive Luxury Overdose (Ton Son Ton ARMYLP-2)
12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: The glorious moment of drag queen disco this side of Dead Or Alive. Play it today just to ignite the ire of a fundie near you.
A Northern soul classic. I don't go a great bundle on northern usually, a bit stiff and strict tempo for me. This however sweats and creaks like the best Nashville Teens song you never heard with three PP Arnolds on vocals and a vibrato laden farfisa. Best lyrics ever as well, natch.
12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: What a great tune I just discovered thanks to this site ~ now that's what sites like this are supposed to do!
