quite ironic, the rhyming pattern makes the lyrics sound light and amusing. it really is a clever song, and lyrics and music come together quite nicely.

An even funkier hit single than "Sledgehammer" ? which had an epic groove but was too slow to actually dance to ? "Big Time" is a sardonic response to yuppie materialism with the funniest lyrics of Peter Gabriel's entire career. (The ending of the song, stopping just before the obvious punch line to all this discussion of how preternaturally huge everything in Gabriel's charmed life is, is a small moment of brilliance.) But the brilliance of the song is in the way it ties all that Gabriel had been learning about African percussion and Middle Eastern melodies ever since the days of his third solo album and ties them all into the service of a walloping great groove, making plain the connections between North Africa and Stax-Volt once and for all. The combination of talking drum and wah-wah guitar owes as much to Booker T and the MGs as it does to King Sunny Ade, which is both the key to "Big Time" and a clue as to why Gabriel's later, more explicitly world music focused albums just aren't as much fun.
(AMG)

maravillosa recopilaci�n alemana que con frase ir�nica por t�tulo nos presenta una veintena de canciones de diversa musicalidad.
en �l encontramos desde el funky mas setenta a cargo de Heinz Kiessling (petra), el sonido hammond y groove del siempre increible Jack Arel (following you), la diversi�n er�tica m�s lounge de Uschi Moser (love, jet t'aime, l'amour y sunny honey) o el beat ritmico de Gerhard Heinz (look at me), junto con otros temas que recuerdan al pop, la psicodelia, etc...
en conjunto, un disco para pedir ya, con el fantastico libreto repleto de fotos de las peliculas mencionandas que tampoco tiene desperdicio.

Perhaps the least typical track from the 4AD house band � and, ironically, one of the project�s great triumphs. Abandoning for a moment their gorgeous� prototype - beautifully dreamy soundscapes and/or readings of songs by Tim Buckley, Alex Chilton, etc. � this Talking Heads cover is little more that a series of grinding, funky sample loops w/Alison Limerick�s soulful vocals drifting in and out. A brilliant rethink of the song, that anticipates (perhaps influenced?) the Bristol/trip-hop mob - Portishead, Tricky, Massive Attack, et al. (Can still be found as a vinyl 10� single, if you look hard.)

This track is so beatiful, and i find it popping up in a lot of degradingly funny places; its one of those tracks you hear in situations that are extremely sexy, though if you watched Nacho Libre, you might have noticed a more ironic use of the track.

This track has got such a weird message, and though it's not in the track, the lyrics at the end of the song really pull the song around. This is copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Hit_Me_(And_It_Felt_Like_a_Kiss)

Goffin and King wrote the song after discovering that singer Little Eva was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied with complete sincerity that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.

The song was written and intended as a sort of protest song from the point of view of an abused woman. Phil Spector's arrangement was ominous and ambiguous. Dave Thompson writes, "It was a brutal song, as any attempt to justify such violence must be, and Spector �s arrangement only amplified its savagery, framing Barbara Alston�s lone vocal amid a sea of caustic strings and funereal drums, while the backing vocals almost trilled their own belief that the boy had done nothing wrong. In more ironic hands (and a more understanding age), 'He Hit Me' might have passed at least as satire. But Spector showed no sign of appreciating that, nor did he feel any need to. No less than the song�s writers, he was not preaching, he was merely documenting." [1]

Upon its initial release, "He Hit Me" received some airplay, but then there was a widespread protest of the song, with many concluding that the song was an endorsement of spousal abuse. The song soon became played only rarely on the radio, as now.

I'm no Cilla fan. While I've enjoyed many of her recordings, she was no match as an artist for such contemporaries as Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Lulu, or even Pet Clark, Sandie Shaw, and Jackie DeShannon, all who did very similar material. Still, Cilla had one advantage the others didn't, Lennon-McCartney tunes written with her in mind. I think the Beatles, who knew her well, understood her vocal limitations and provided songs that would show her to best advantage.
"It's For You" is certainly one of the finest recordings she ever made. Its jazzy arrangement, the edgy key changes, and the tempo shifts are as sophisticated as they were unique in 1960s Britpop. The music contributes to a sense of intrigue to the clever, ironic lyrics that pretend to dismiss love only to give it. Cilla rises to the occasion, giving what might well be her best performance ever--stunning!

"Just Lust" was the B-side to the Buzzcocks' highest-charting single, the Pete Shelley punk-pop classic "Ever Fallen in Love?," eventually reaching number 12 on the U.K. singles chart in September of 1978. The mysterious co-author " Dial" is, in fact, a pseudonym for the band's early manager, Richard Boon, who also shared songwriting credits on "What Ever Happened?," the B-side to the Buzzcocks' infamously banned first single "Orgasm Addict." However, the effect of his involvement in not apparent here, as the music is classic Buzzcocks � masters of the punk-fueled power pop nugget. The rhythm is springy, the track's nervous tension as wired as the melody is infectious. Punchy verses with quick-hit vocals are alternated with short dreamy sections of woozy flanged guitar and chopped up-tempo shifts, the band expertly maneuvering in tight spaces. Shelley follows the twists and turns with clipped phrases followed by drawn-out melodies in sync with the compact arrangement: "Your dream to possess/It hurts/It's so unjust/Just lust, just lust/If nothing mattered less/Then I wouldn't make a fuss/Just lust, just lust/I was slow to catch on and that just makes it worse/If passion is a fashion then emotion is just a curse." Though the track was also included on the Buzzcocks' second album, Love Bites, the group had yet to make an impact in the United States. Thankfully, this little gem was not left to languish in obscurity as it was included in the influential collected singles package Singles Going Steady, compiled as the band's introduction to American audiences and released in the states in 1979.
(AMG)

This track sounds better to me every time I hear it. Ironically, I had a copy of The Association's Renaissance LP for years, but for some odd reason didn't get as far as listening to this song until recently.

It's a very accessible but powerful late 60s pop song with a psychedelic edge. It can't have taken long to write, but the production is excellent, with a nice effect on the vocals, and a wonderful use of early 70s Beach Boys-style swelling vocal harmonies over the vocal phrase 'and all that's left for me to do...is cry'.

Musically, it's an upbeat track with a slightly claustrophobic arrangement. But it's cool - that's all part of the effect! As well as drums, vocals and upbeat guitars, they employ the koto, which adds an unusual edge to the sound.

�Something Better Change� was released in July of 1977 as the first single from The Stranglers upcoming second album No More Heroes which would appear in mid September. Along with the albums title track, �Something Better Change� would signal a move in a more overtly pop direction that was only hinted at on the group�s first album and would manage to peak at #9 on the U.K. singles chart. This is not to say that The Stranglers abandon their reputation as caustic agitators as No More Heroes was littered with politically contentious tracks such as �I Feel Like A Wog�, �Bring On The Nubiles� and �Bitching�, but the song�s infectious guitar riff and winning melody suggests a tenuous party rock atmosphere. It�s left to singer J.J. Burnel�s particularly gruff vocal performance to keep thing in the punk zone as he alternates between a gnarly throated delivery and a melodic toned timbre. Pumping organ and a buoyant mid-tempo rhythmic romp keep the energy high as he confronts the status quo with a tirade against stifling apathy, flaunting the punk new order with the taunting second verse, �Don�t you like the way I dance? / Does it bug you? / Don�t you like the cut of my clothes? / Don�t you like the way I seem to enjoy it? / Stick my finger right up your nose!� The bridge becomes a jubilant anthem where Burnel voices a punk battle cry to a flurry of organ runs and a growling bass line, �Something�s happening and it�s happening right now / You�re too blind to see it / Something�s happening and it�s happening right now / Ain�t got time to wait�. The chorus is a simple statement, Burnel demanding �Something better change!� with support from the boys in the band who join in for a group shout. Ironically, the arrangement also shows signs of classic rock moves, including a stinging guitar solo and an old school build up of the chorus late in the track.
(AMG)

This clever little gem was written by folk singer/songwriter Richard Shindell and originally appears on his 1994 Shanachie release, Blue Divide, as "The Ballad of Mary Magdalene." A perfect example of Shindell's non-confessional, often ironic, storytelling, it recounts the ill-fated love affair between the title character and JC: "Jesus loves me, this I know/ why on earth, did I ever let him go?/ He was always faithful, he was always kind/ but he walked off with this heart of mine." On this version, Shindell is joined by fellow folkies Dar Williams (lead vocal) and Lucy Kaplansky (harmony). In 1998 A.D., the three artists became incarnate as Cry Cry Cry for one album, which, if you like three-part harmony, is almost a religious experience. A good example, too, of what Shindell can do with a Martin acoustic.

This is a cute, somewhat slight piece of sixties girly pop with a nice Tony Hatch production. The thing that struck me about this tune is how it sounds exactly like the ironic, girl groupy stuff Tracey Ullman did on her 'You Broke My Heart In 17 Places' album. I wouldn't be surprised if Ullman covered this at some point; both singers have a winsome, appealing quality in their voices that overcomes their lack of range.

The former Leslie Phillips once recorded songs sold in Christian supply stores, disguising (presumably) the moist, carnal, and otherwise unholy drives behind The Indescribable Wow, her first release on the in-retrospect-mildly-ironic Virgin label. At a time when those of us with unslaked appetites for well-crafted Beatlesque pop were having to suck it up and try to get into rap or grunge, The Indescribable Wow appeared like a shimmering beacon of joy. This track's music is as perky and sunny as the beginning of a summertime fling, while Phillips's yearning voice and cutting lyrics have the sad truthfulness of the ending of a summertime fling.

This is quite a serious question if you ask me, but then again, this might not concern too many people and unfortunately The Crooner isn't able to give an answer. But if you expect some mockingly ironic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics about mademoiselle Longet it surprisingly isn't. It's quite on the contrary actually, a heartfelt homage, though rhyming "footsteps on the sand" with "pussywillowland" might appear cheesy of course. The music itself is a fluffy piece of indie-pop with a bittersweet tone, with soft male vocals, soft synths, a great vibraphone playing throughout and some airy, well, Longet-esque female vocals in the background.

This is a really catchy and funny pop song. Dr. Frank is a masterful songwriter and this is among his finest efforts.

Great great cover of the Tom Tom Club song, and the highlight from Chicks On Speeds recent 99c album. Weighing in at almost 7 minutes, this is a great slab of electronica. Yes, ironic, yes, self referential, but here they totally excell their art school roots. Plinky plonky melody makes me think of the song 'Popcorn', and the nonsense chorus is like the poppier end of 60's girls with a dose of the Actionettes. Way too cool!