Life's Lesson

Reaching number 25 in the UK charts in 1980, You've Got To Be A Hustler by Sue Wilkinson was recently re-discovered by me. I tried to find a video of Sue performing, but sadly it has been taken off Youtube. That said, some clevers souls have put together a montage that stays true to the tongue in cheek nature of the song.

MP3: Sue Wilkinson – You’ve Got To Be A Hustler

Heavyweight Song

Hands down, my song of the week has to be Reverend and The Makers debut single Heavyweight Champion Of The World - a fusion of disco, indie and dance composed of stomping beats, funky basslines and plenty of bongo backing.

MP3: Reverend and The Makers – Heavyweight Champion Of The World (expired)
MP3: Reverend and The Makers – The Machine (expired)

Baby-dyke Dances

So you're a Eurovision fan, but this year's winner has left you cold as you can't sing along, and more importantly you can't dance along on a Saturday night.

Fear not, help is at hand.

MP3: Marija Serifovic - Molitva (Serbian Dance Remix) (expired)
MP3: Marija Serifovic - Molitva (English version) (expired)

Love You More

We can't get enough of the Sixties soul revival and the latest to follow in the strutting steps of Amy Winehouse is Liverpool's Candie Payne. Just like Winehouse’s successful appropriation of the classic girl-group Motown sound, so Candi has given us an update on another ‘60’s stalwart: the Dusty torch song.

These tunes have been coated with a Portishead-like blues and prove that the broken-heart is still the prime mover when it comes to hitting those lyrical heights.

Her debut single I Wish I Could Have Loved You More is like Dusty Springfield meet Marlena Shaw in Phil Spector's recording studio. The album with the same name is out on the 21st May, with an underlying eeriness and even loneliness in three minute kitchen-sink dramas reminiscent of classic British cinema or a Smiths' monochrome single sleeve.

MP3: Candie Payne – Why Should I Settle For You (expired)
MP3: Candie Payne – I Could Have Loved You More (expired)

Slav-a-vision

Last night’s Eurovision presented the climax of what has been slowly building over the past few years as the Baltic and Slavic blocs voted for themselves and Britain’s inability to realise that the Bucks Fizz era is well and truly over.

Ukraine aside which had the right level of camp and bizarre to cross the east-west divide, I was very confused by the top 3 on musical merit alone. Baby-dyke was all very sweet, but left me cold (nice to see the Charlie’s Angel’s behind to offset her).

The winner for me should have been Turkey’s effort which gave one of the few combinations of some totty (albeit over tanned) and a song that I would actually listen to in the future.

If Britain wants to even think about getting in the top 10 in the future, we are going to have to up our game and leave the ghost of Brotherhood of Man behind us. Whilst it might be harder to change foreign policy, we surely can submit a contemporary pop song into the competition? The radio across eastern europe happily play western european pop when backed by record companies – so the east/west divide cannot be the only excuse.

MP3: Marija Šerifovic – Molitva (Serbia) (expired)
MP3: Verka Serduchka – Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine) (expired)
MP3: Serebro – Song #1 (Russia) (expired)
MP3: Kenan Dogulu – Shake It Up, Shekerim (Turkey) (expired)

Jay Rock

I missed Jay-Jay Johanson’s latest offering Long Term Physical Effects Are Not Yet Known on it’s release last year – I was hoping for the more of the nocturnal electropop of Rush.

Sadly, the album sees him returning to the trip hop feel of his earlier albums. Jazz elements and a mournful piano have taken center stage on several songs, emphasizing the black-and-white, pared down atmosphere of mournful pondering.

Whist all very nice, the album doesn’t capture me in the same way as it’s predecessor which was one of my favourite albums to cycle round town on a winter’s night.

The standout track for me from LTPEANYK is Rocks in Pockets which hints to the sort of stuff he has done and that I loved.

MP3: Jay-Jay Johanson – Rocks in Pockets (expired)

Diva!

With the Eurovision being staged later this week (the semi-final is on Thursday, with the main event on Saturday), it is perhaps timely that Dana International is back with her first single release for coming on five years.

A star in Israel as well as across the middle east prior to the eurovision, Dana’s performance was in many ways the logical conclusion of the competing elements of Eurovision; camp, hi-nrg pop, nodding to the mainstream appreciation of more middle eastern sounds in pop as well as really crossing gender boundaries (this year, the contest features two drag queens).

The first track off her forthcoming album was released in March, and is entitled Hakol ze letová (It's all for the best), and ticks all the boxes that will get the boys in tight tops very excited this summer with its' euro-pop hi-nrg feel.

MP3: Dana International – Hakol ze letová (Amir Afargan Remix) (expired)
MP3: Dana International – Diva (english version) (expired)

A Real Love Song

A gem from 1999 now; Whistler aka Kerry Shaw, ex EMFer Ian Dench and James Topham were a band in the vein of Black Box Recorder with songs sweetly sung hiding a nasty tone.

Heralded in the UK by a brace of singles of the week ("If I Give You A Smile" in the NME and "Don't Jump In Front Of My Train" in the Melody Maker) and a flurry of Evening Session appearances, it won the band a devoted audience and a string of welcoming reviews. Stateside the band were equally lauded with positive reviews in Spin and Alternative Press, among others.

Sadly the hype didn’t manifest in any real mainstream success, however IIGYAS still remains a lovely 4 minutes.

MP3: Whistler – If I Give You A Smile (expired)

Start Of An Affair

From the Friday Bridge website:

I . Friday Bridge is the musical vehicle for Ms Friday Bridge et al. II. Friday Bridge is the ideal musical companion to dinner parties and parlour games. III. Four Friday Bridge concerns are delicacy, melody, sophistication and lush orchestration. IV. In its mildness and refusal to trade intellect for friendship, Friday Bridge is most subversive.

I’d never heard of Friday Bridge before hearing Love & Nostalgia on a swedish music compilation a few weeks ago; but one listen and I was hooked. Shimmery,eighties, modern, retro and utterly lovely all at once, ths has to be one of my favourite songs of the moment.

Look out for their (her?) debut album Intricacy coming out sometime this year.

MP3: Friday Bridge – Love & Nostalgia (expired)