What a song. No time for breathing - because we're straight into three phases of soaring harmonies and choppy Wurlitzer piano chords. As your spine tingles get prepared for the cyclical refrain that brings the song to its climax. We're talking beauty defined.
24 Jun 03 ·tinks: i'm witchu on this one, man...i can't even listen to it without getting all choked up. "i'm a cork on the ocean/floating over the raging sea". 22 Jun 05 ·sok186: After being pushed and pushed to make more music for the Beach Boys, Brian contributes his last major composition. It's always seemed to be his way of saying,"This is why I can't keep making music, and I need to go away for a while, because this is what I feel." Easily essential listening.
Surprised to see nothing by the Pet Shop Boys on Musical Taste. Now the only remaining intelligent British pop act, the Pet Shop Boys have consistently mixed dramtic chord changes with pathos-loaded lyrics. Being Boring is possibly their finest moment - reflective, sad and beautiful.
from Behaviour
15 Mar 04 ·Mike: Totally agree re the worth of the PSBs output and the dramatic and very distinctive use of harmony therein. Several of their songs would be in my all-time favourites list if I ever made one.
Steve McQueen is an almost faultless pop album. The first five or so tracks are quite awesome. Desire As comes in later down the album play list and it's got a lovely laid back groove. It builds slowly and Paddy McAloon's vocals are sweet. It's a nice track, make no mistake.
15 Mar 04 ·Mike: I love Prefab Sprout and Paddy is a great songwriter. Having said this, I do think I would love the band and their output even more were Paddy's vocals LESS SWEET! I mean, just about everything in their entire output seems to be bathed in honey, syrup, or treacle from his sugar-lined voicebox. 13 Jul 05 ·kkkerplunkkk: Yes but isn't that the point of Prefab Sprout? That it was the sweetest pop you could taste. The best love song writer I've ever heard.
I never liked the Go-Gos. And I think Belinda Carlise's music is naff. But Jane Wiedlin has a certain something.
I remember first seeing the video to 'Rush Hour' on UK TV as a teenager. I thought that song was bloody great. My parents bought me her debut album 'Fur' for Christmas and we used to listen to it in the car. Listening to this always brings the memories flooding back.
Some of 'Fur' is a bit dodgy - but I can forgive Wiedlin. The high points still seem very high today. And 'Inside a Dream' is a beautifully crafted, Stephen Hague produced pop song. This three minute stunner moves and warps around a simple spine. Dubstar sounded a lot like this half a decade later.
15 Mar 04 ·Mike: I too was bowled over by the catchiness of "Rush Hour" and also ended up acquiring the album "Fur" at the time. It wasn't her first album, but I don't think she'd previously had any solo exposure in the UK. About half the songs are simple but undoubtably effective, but several others I have always found to be very ineffective!
I agree that Dubstar (who I also liked) sounded a bit like this at times - Stephen Hague's production style is quite distinctive. Did any of the members of Dubstar release anything since the band split up?
Japanese recluse Ip rarely leaves the confines of his room-cum-studio - and it's usually to attend a naff 1980s-stylee disco. The shy, clumsy student takes on the persona of a mentalist when news of a party spreads.
To celebrate his love of all things crazee, Ip recorded a series of bizarre poptastic tracks in the early 1990s. The songs suffer from dreadful production values and annoying lyrics, much of which is spoken in broken Engrish. But hey, that only adds to the fun.
Ip's debut album 'Floor 15: Room 17' is his best. Two stand out tracks include: 'Knocking on door while Mr Room Mate is away now', and 'Why are all new friends arrive for special event not on?'.
But his best song is 'Have you got ticket to the Dome?', a slice of Human League-esque rom-pop, bolted on to a 130 bpm, glam rock rhythm.
I used to know his acquaintance, this bloke that used to wear a plastic suit and fake glasses. He would hang around with a can of cheap lager. But I haven't seen him in months. I think he lost his mobile phone, or something. He'd probably say: 'Oh yeah, Gonza, Genzo. I remember. The good old days. Hanging out in the Lounge.'
Whatever. But Ip. Far out.
from Floor 15: Room 17, available on CD
09 Feb 06 ·delicado: I don't remember Ip's music. Wasn't there a related thing called 'DJ Bakesey'? I remember that being really good. 10 Feb 06 ·Genza: Don't remember Ip? What on earth...? If I remember rightly, you used to hang around with him and those two mates of his that used to jump up and down on bed and squeal in a high-pitched way. Very, very odd.
As for 'DJ Bakesey', he wag good - and some of his mates in the JCR Squad were pretty hot. Their sound - looking back - was pretty ground-breaking. 'MC Lem' was amazing and I loved his booming anthem 'Fish Pie':
'All I want for tea is Fish Pie
All I want for tea is Fish Pie
If I get it, I won't swear like a bad boy
If I get it, I won't play Duncan no more...'
Who was Duncan? And what did it all mean? Am I scared? Can I sleep here?
