In what has become the longest time between posts since Barbarella's Galaxy started, it seems overdue to post one - and it's another selection of tracks that I am loving these days.
This lot includes two of the best music videos I have seen in a while - the latest ones from Madonna and Stromae.
4 comments:
There has indeed been a chasm between your posts - but I am also very tardy in commenting, so we're (almost) quits :-)
So, on with the show! You already know, of course, how much I adore Marc Almond, and how much I liked the Kadie Elder song. But what of the rest?
First up, a general observation. There are so many "wide open spaces/road movie/cowboy" themed videos here - it's evidently fast replacing the "let's all dance...in a warehouse" style of promo! I swear modern video producers all go to the same school: Axwell/Ingrosso (basically a mid-80s "soft rock" track by the likes of Richard Marx or Bryan Adams masquerading as a dance track), Jess Glynn (who started in a key too high for her voice, and unfortunately stayed there) and Lost Frequencies (which could well be Coldplay or something of that ilk with a twangy rhythm track added) all do it. Americans must be taken in by this, or else they wouldn't bother I suppose.
Speaking of formulas - how do they get away with it on Melodifestivalen? Midnight Boy's song is a blatant rip off of Dead or Alive You Spin Me Round, even down to the hairstyle. And he was miming. Badly. Much better was Miss Dina Nah - but we'll probably never hear from her again, I bet. [And they don't get much more "formulaic" than Meghan Traynor. Same song, different lyrics.]
The Kwabs thing was a little too "hip-hop" for me to genuinely get into it (all that pointing fingers stuff - so jaded). Stromae's effort just got on my tits, and "borrowing" from Rossini was no redemption. Mr Brandon Flowers always has, and still does, remind me of Chris DeBurgh at his most pretentious, which is very off-putting indeed.
Anything Mr Dave Audé touches tends to be just a little faboo, although I do have to wonder whether the so-so vocals of Miss Jessica Suta were his first choice, or he just accepted a big cheque for this. She isn't worthy of touching the skirts of the fantabulosa Miss Angie Brown on the original Bizarre Inc classic...
I liked the Salt Ashes one - boppy and atmospheric at the same time; a good combination. The utterly gorgeous Mika will always grab my attention; the song, however, was not so rewarding. He tries, bless 'im, and his voice and his charisma always shine through - but he really should stick to the pop stuff, which is where he excels.
If you want to do a "proper" ballad-with-a-message, you should learn from the expert. Queen Madge's "Ghosttown" is simply sublime. She is vocally at her very best (comparisons have been made with the saintly Karen Carpenter here) - it is truly a wonderful five minutes of spine-tingling pleasure...
But - there can be only one song at the top of the tree of my favourites in this as-ever-eclectic selection (and it was a close-run thing, to be honest). I absolutely adore The Young Professionals, and All Of It But Me really pressed every button. Excellent!
Keep up the great work, sweetie - and let's hope you can (finally) get your mojo back for blogging. You are too good to waste...
Jx
Well sweetie, when you leave such detailed comments surely you are forgiven to take your time, right?
I agree about those "open road" videos. They are indeed the new "warehouse" videos (along with the "let's just stumble on random beaches" and "lets get guns, run around in our bikinis and rob a store or two") videos.
Midnight Boy? The first thing that came to mind was indeed that particular Dead Or Alive track, along with the backing track from "Always On My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys. Dinah Nah was a lovely surprise though - I had previously only heard "I Am Dinah Nah" before. Fun track.
I somewhat agree with the Kwabs song - I didn't even care for it at first, but the all of a sudden it became stuck in my head (on loop). Works best without the video though...
The Dave Audé track would probably have worked even better with the original vocals, but it still has that Audé magic. As for Stromae, I'm not crazy about the song but I love the video - no human contact necessary any more, we all stroll to our deaths blinded by social media that eventually eats us all up.
I actually love the Mika song - didn't really expect to but it won me over. As for Madonna, what can I say? Yet another reason for why she will always remain my queen! And yes, her vocals on this one are sublime.
And finally, The Young Professionals. I love that song, I love the video, I love them!
Finally, thank you for your kind comments. I hope to be able to start blogging on regular basis again, but like I said before work is taking up a lot of my time. We will see - in any case, I will at least continue to post my Tracks blogs.
One more thought on the Young Professionals - such a shame Uriel Yukutiel wasn't in the video! Jx
PS I look forward to more from your pop-detective blog over the summer...
True, Mr Yukutiel is the one thing missing from that video ;)
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