Don't forget to tell me what you think of Gavin's Brave...vote here!
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Good morrow fine people. My mood is classed as jovial and I am filled with the brightness of being. Or something. Anyway, I only have 3 more days at work left (hurrah!), Darren is in gainful employment once more (though to be fair he was only out of it a week!) and we are currently making plans to jet off to New York City a week on Thursday. How very jolly exciting. I haven't been to NYC for years and can't wait to be back strutting my funky stuff around times square and being embarrassingly tourist-y! Which means the blog will be taking a little bit of a breather from next week, though I will try and get some stuff pre-prepared to publish while I am away, for as usual I have a whole lot of hot air in me that just needs to be gotten out! If anyone has any great places to visit in the city that never sleeps, then leave a comment below or feel free to email me avec your suggestions ;) It does mean though that I will miss my beloved Feeling at G-A-Y, so hopefully somebody will be able to give me a full update on how it went. And I am seeing them on Feb 18th with Ruthiepoos!! Plus will be back from NYC to see Nerina Pallot and Tom Baxter with the lovely aforementioned ruthiepoos too! Hurrah to the power of Yay! Anyway, as usual, I am waffling on for far too long, so I will progress with the post…
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THE POP SONG REVIVAL THREAD CAMPAIGN (PART ONE):
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Sometimes there are pop songs just hiding in the vaults of history that require dusting off the shelves and being bought bang up to date by today's chart whippersnappers. Here are just a few that have popped into my head over the past few weeks…
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~ Fuzzbox: Calling International Rescue
Remember these dames? They had a fuzzbox and they were going to use it – a line that has titillated ruthiepoos into many a sack back in the day. This crunky little pop ditty is so overdue for an update by hussies de jour Girls Aloud, that I can't believe no one else has thought of it. Their swirling electro guitars and knack for creating a fresh sound out of anything (bar See The Day) make them ideal candidates to push this song firmly back into the public eye. And they could have some hot male models on their spaceship of love as their abductees – flesh baring men all helpless and captive? What more could you want in a video?!
~ The Carpenters: Superstar
Never has an ode to being a groupie sounded so melancholy and hauntingly beautiful as when the always perfect vocal of Karen Carpenter sings this gorgeous tune. Covering something as classic as this is not an easy task, but I think a good reinterpretation by vocal harmony group G4 (released in time for Mothers Day) would be an absolute sensation. Though I may be biased as I love those cute little moppets. Keeping the slower instrumentation and ethereal quality helps it to become a yearning tale of unrequited love…
~ The Osmonds: One Bad Apple
This was a staple on the stereo and a classic of Mormon discos when I was growing up, so why this US number one smash was never released in this country remains a complete mystery. As joyfully perky and uplifting as anything the Jackson 5 were doing at the time, this glorious nugget of pop can't fail to raise a smile. Billiam or Eton Road could do far worse than shoving this on the AA side of their first original song release…
~ Abba: Kisses Of Fire
It always pained me that Steps or S Club never realised the true genius of this Abba album track. A mid-tempo intro acts as foreplay to a magnificent disco stomper full of thudding beats, beautifully harmonised vocals and a chorus so tight and memorable that current pop producers would kill for it. Deliciously cheesy, I think it would totally suit 11 in 07 act Beyond who could turn it into a class slice of millennium glee. And some xenomania remixes wouldn't go amiss either. This could be their Tragedy (so to speak)…
~ Wham: Ray of Sunshine
Their debut album wasn't always "Fantastic" but this groovy little slice of 80s power pop funk certainly was. With George singing joyously about waking up with the bassline (insert own joke here), over an insistent beat yet with pop sensibilities shining through, how about Conor or even Westlife injecting a bit of millennium magic into this overlooked chestnut??
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Part two coming soon! Email me your suggestions!
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THE DEBORAH GIBSON REVERSE RETROSPECTICUS DAY TWO:

After looking at the plethora of tunes released by one newly naked Ms. Gibson in 2005 and 2006, it's time to move back in time a little further and look at what turned out to be a dream project for me. As Deborah's pop career faded in the 90s (though check out a smashing little single over at robposterdust's blog!), she moved back onto the stage covering roles as varied as Sandy in grease, Eponine in Les Miserables, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Belle in Beauty and The Beast and Velma Kelly in Chicago. And as I love musicals, I loved her for it. So when Coloured Lights was released late in 2003 – an album of broadway tunes done with a pop sensibility, I was in near nirvana! Mixing well known tunes with more obscure songs was a wise move and contributed to a well rounded set of ballads, jaunty pop and dramatic showstoppers. Had tracks been released as singles from this set, I would have gone for On My Own (Les Mis) as the haunting Christmas single, followed quickly by I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love (The Boy From Oz) just in time for valentines day. And then check out the sex and the city-esque intro to pop gem Raise The Roof (The Wild Party) – a track that could have been huge with a few scissor sisters remixes. And she was then perfectly placed to host BBC's Sound Of Musicals experiment. But we got some pregnant woman instead. Oh well. Still, this is a great album to check out – Deb even has her own song "sex" on it from her long in production musical Skirts. Coming tomorrow – the myriad of tunes that were and weren't on the marv album MYOB…
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LINK: Purchase Coloured Lights
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THE MAROON 5 RETROSPECTICS DAY TWO:

Despite a solid promotional schedule, opening slots with acts like Reel Big Fish and gigging for every high school prom and graduation that would let them, the punky pop of Kara's Flowers Fourth World passed the public by and the record company decided not to go with a second album. Allegedly tensions in the band were high and Adam (RAR) and Jesse drove cross country to a music school in New York while Ryan and Micky resumed their studies at UCLA (sidebar your honour: I love the fact that all American Universities have acronyms, you don't get that in England!) Time apart did the foursome the world of good and when they reunited in 1999, they had a renewed sense of purpose and vowed to make it all about the music. As you do. Ahem. Anyway, the guys got together and recorded a nine song demo cd known as The Stagg Street Recordings. Still very much Kara's Flowers, it's an interesting stage in the evolutionary process to Maroon 5 as Adam's songwriting skills have clearly developed and they started experimenting with different genres. One highlight from this era is Angel in Blue Jeans is a definite step into M5 territory - the bass is a little more funky and r'n'b influenced and a little less punky... Also check out the demo of the kid, which sees them returning to their favoured homage of beatles and beachboys sounds, to great effect. Tomorrow ~ the caterpillar becomes the butterfly...
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QUICK BITZ/BLOG WATCH:
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~ Daniel Kirkley, lord luv im, has just put the excellent My New Dawn on iTunes. High quality mp3 popness rules!
~ Jess at Dirrrtypop is all in a tizzy over the man-scrap for the number one position this week. I'm routing for Mika, but loving Just Jack all the same. PS, i am totally subscribing to Jess' pop vision for the year!!
~ J'Ason is also reporting man scraps - can't these boys just strip to their undies, douse themselves in mud/lube and wrestle it out? It's what me and dazpants do :)
~ I may have a non sexual crush on I'm Always Right thanks to their love of MYOB, their brilliant tuesday update and the fact that they just added me to myspace so now i have a face to put to the blog :)
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~ Birthday coming up? How about getting an exclusive (i suspect a la Jessica Simpsons pubic affair - yes the spelling is intentional) birthday song made by singer for hire ben adams?
~ Electroqueer has elegantly laid out all Sophie Ellis Bextor's video in a way that is classy as the lady herself. I'm impressed :)
~ Nick shows off his superior ability to find the best in new pop as he gives us Emmon, who he quite rightly points out deserves a place next to Sophie and Kylie on our cd racks...
~ pop over to the lovely Will to tell him what your cheesy getting ready to go out playlist is :)
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Coming tomorrow - some more maroon 5 and Deborah, and a look at other blogs and mags picks for 2007 that i've missed somehow! Plus maybe something else i'm not sure yet!- i may have a simon curtis song to write about, just waiting to hear back!!