Hurrah! Today is the lovely, sexy, funny and all round good egg DazPlacenta's birthday. He is... as old as you think he is and maybe a little younger than you think he is if you want to put him in a bad mood. After a night of lubricated snuggling, we both were wide awake at 2.30am so my little DazPenisPlanter caught up on Coronation St while I watched Ugly Betty in bed. Then went back to snooze for some serious spooning! Then I got up well early to call British Airways to see what i can do about my ticket to NYC (translation: nothing until Thursday - so I can get to NYC but can't get back! Hurrah!). No point yelling at the bloke on the phone (it's the fat cats at the top I'm mad at!) so just accepted it and decided to carry on as normal with holiday plans. Then had a nice day with la Pants - i got him tickets to the Sound of Music in London, a foxy new coat, some audio books, a tom tom GPRS thingy for the car and some other guff I can't really remember right now :) Anyway a super day was had by all. Happy Birthday Dave (don't ask) you are well in for some tender expression of love later....
THE POP SONG REVIVAL THREAD CAMPAIGN (PART TWO):
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Indeed, if you click right here you will see last week's debut effort of this mildly diverting past time. So raiding through my substantial panty drawer once more has bought out this weeks array of pop goodies from days gone by that totally deserve a dusting off!
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Along with Janet Jackson's If, this was one of the most filthy songs I owned in my early 20s, a time when a person is quite in the mood for filthy sex. A driving downright dirty thrusting r'n'b scorcher of a track, i can't help but feel if this was remade today it would be melting down the airways in no time flat. So although it's probably considered bad form to release a cover version as a first single, it would certainly be memorable (and with a suitably bordering on homoerotic porn video) and no doubt create a few tabloid inches if an act like Avenue came racing out the gate with something so bold and unexpected...
~ Kim Appleby: Don't Worry
Surely one of the most exuberant, joyous and uplifting pure pop songs ever recorded. Bouncy backing track, gloriously mixed to a frenzy of a chorus that recalls a time when we were all a little less cynical about pop and just knew what made us feel good. Or at least that is how it seems to me...So how about Geri Halliwell giving up on trying to cover what she considers "cool" songs like 100% Pure Love and giving us some kick-in-the-balls pop that we all deserve?
Surely one of the most exuberant, joyous and uplifting pure pop songs ever recorded. Bouncy backing track, gloriously mixed to a frenzy of a chorus that recalls a time when we were all a little less cynical about pop and just knew what made us feel good. Or at least that is how it seems to me...So how about Geri Halliwell giving up on trying to cover what she considers "cool" songs like 100% Pure Love and giving us some kick-in-the-balls pop that we all deserve?
For some reason I always call this the lost Bananarama track, although I'm pretty sure it was a single in the late-ish 90s. A frenetic urgent track with plinking piano that is almost a pastiche to italian house music craze of the early 90s it then merges into a slick electro-pop ditty years before Girls Aloud reminded everyone of how good that could be. Great breathy vocals and a magnificently dreamy pop-dance chorus, this song is crying for Jadion and Fayden to get their hands on it and work some magic with the Bliss girls...
~ Sybill: When I'm Good and Ready
Remember when SAW could do no wrong? (That's if this was one of their tracks - once again i'm too lazy to do a quick google search. It's called the Victoria Newton school of journalism). Much like Don't Worry, this was a rousing pop anthem that was just a giddy experience to listen to. And it didn't sound lousy on the dancefloor either. If not quite the new I Will Survive, it is certainly a disco thumper that deserves rescuing from the annals of history!! Now who to cover it??
Remember when SAW could do no wrong? (That's if this was one of their tracks - once again i'm too lazy to do a quick google search. It's called the Victoria Newton school of journalism). Much like Don't Worry, this was a rousing pop anthem that was just a giddy experience to listen to. And it didn't sound lousy on the dancefloor either. If not quite the new I Will Survive, it is certainly a disco thumper that deserves rescuing from the annals of history!! Now who to cover it??
As beloved and popular as Abba are, many of their "non-single" release songs are equally as magnificent as the singles and are probably infinitely more cover-able as casual abba fans won't know them as well. This is an amazing pop song with a little bit of rock thrown in and following Veronica Mars' news that Gareth is returning, this would be a great little cover for our Mr Gates... (watergate, shilpagate, garethgates?) and really show off what a nifty little pop voice the emerging RAR man has :) More pop history covers coming soon!
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THE ARIGATOU SONG:
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I do love it when new songs from my 11 to watch in 2007 pop up - recently there has been some great music from Simon, a new song yesterday from Digital and today I turn my attention to the gorgeous piano stylings of Gavin Mikhail. As a bonus track on the Japanese release of his album Like Normal People Do, Not Enough (acoustic) is a more than welcome addition. Basically, i'm a sucker for a song that showcases piano skills and there is some beautiful melody and chord work going on in this song as well as some powerful use of crescendo. Gavin has an amazing voice and this emotive song suits it well. The intimate arrangement works well and frames the heartache the song is dealing well. I'm eager to see how powerful a "fully produced" version would turn out. Plus the new mix of Catch Your Fall is pretty amazing too - it's very orchestral and brings a certain majesty to a song that has already captured my heart. Sigh. I love Gavin more and more with each listen!
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LINK: Gavin Mikhail's myspace site (stream Not Enough)
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THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A CASSEROLE:
THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A CASSEROLE:
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Ask my friend Cat. I never cook. Which is probably why I spend a fortune on shopping in Marks and Spencers - it's like buying a home cooked meal that someone else has prepared for you. Or we eat out. We are surrounded by restaurants. It's a temptation. When ruthiepoos house sits she despairs as she is a cooker (is that what the kids are calling the lesbians nowadays!!) and we just don't have anything to inspire her. Although i think there is a little oregano in the cupboard love. However, I do know what makes a good (though probably only tolerable for one album) cheesy cheesy pop band. If you take a smidgeon of Steps, some SClub sass, mix in a dollop of All*stars and A*Teens, stir with a generous helping of Aqua and Lazytown, bake under a dim bulb (also known as Atomic Kitten), season with suitably gay looking dudes and you would take out 25 minutes later Ch!pz. Now i don't know much about this band, other than their music is insanely cheesy but utterly addictive in a guilty pleasure way. Some of their songs are utter cack, but the ones that aren't are basically good solid fun without a hint of pretention or cool. And as i've mentioned before, sometimes that is all you can want out of a pop tune. Something that bobs through your head for three minutes and leaves you with a smile of your face. Although they may want to sophisticate things up for a second album... and lord help us all they are coming to england! So a few songs of fun, but choose wisely. The christmas one is, naturally, lovely...
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LINK: Chipz official webpage
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COMING SOON:
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So thezapping is taking a break while we jet off over to NYC for about a week. It will of course return in full force next Wednesday (31st) with lots of goodies and gossip from NYC. Some of the stuff floating in my head right now that i want to write about includes more pop songs from history worth covering, some boyband retrospecticus, some greatest hits done right, revisitng people I was excited about last year but seem to have disappeared for a while so I'm starting over again with them (Stefy, Dangerous Muse, Young Love, Alexis Strum, The Bishops, etc), some new myspace acts, a review of the Stewart Mac showcase, more singles reviews, some album stuff and the singles that should be picked off them, some tv stuff, something about books, some exciting news about zapping developments and lots more. If i'm not dead. Darren may well kill me when he sees that pic of him dancing to Filthy Gorgeous...Don't forget me :)
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PS: There is a corker of a remix for Gett Off. I think the House Mix - I will look for it. We used to quote it a lot: "Move your big ass round this way so I can work on that zipper baby!"
I'd heard of Chipz, and I think I might have a song of them somewhere, but nothing this good--thanks! :) And, as always, I love to see references to Gareth, especially career advice, because goodness knows he better be getting some good advice if he actually wants to make this comeback work.
PPG - hurrah for the return of gareth. if his first single is a ballad i will hang my head and cry
I love Chipz! Bad for you but great with las ketchup!
It snowed today. Can you believe it?
Heres hoping Gareth goes electrodisco. Or doing something like Jon Norgaard?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r-raATCfq3s
Have a great time in NY (slightly getting jealous now)
Rob(o)pop
Anyway, the editor in me must point out that "Gett Off" has two Ts in it, "Sybil" has on one L, and "Every Shade Of Blue" came out in 1995.
HAPPY B'DAY, DAZZZZZZZZZLE.
Have fun in NYC!