blind-fitter

Perhaps we should have kept the bit about not nominating stuff that's already made the Top Ten? Stands to reason that any such song is actually pretty popular and nobody felt especially guilty about voting for it previously. Anyway, no point crying over spilt milk. Others have already pointed out that this category is kind of difficult, particularly if one regards pleasure as something you needn't feel guilty about. Also, it's predicated on the notion that there is a universal consensus on what music/artists are credible/cool and what aren't, when, quite clearly, there isn't. Personally, I don't have any qualms at all about liking cheesy disco/pop music, much of which has far more to recommend it than any number of cool/credible, acclaimed "rock" artists you might name and whom nobody would regard as a "guilty pleasure". Give me Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real" over almost anything by the Chili Peppers, Coldplay or The Doors. If it's a question of identifying stuff that it's hard to admit to liking, well, I might feel some unease about professing a liking for odd tracks by such as Duran Duran, U2 and Depeche Mode, but I sure as hell won't nominate them as a) nobody else would understand why these might be regarded as a "guilty pleasure" and I'd prefer not to give such gruesome filth the oxygen of publicity. So, I have had to settle on a couple of tracks which I know I probably shouldn't like, and furthermore of which nobody I know (whose opinion might normally count in someway) seems to approve. (Losers!) "Feels Like I'm In Love" ~ Kelly Marie "Born To Be Alive" - Patrick Hernandez Both big in Germany at the time, no doubt.

France Gall "Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son" "Baby Pop" "Les Sucettes" "Laisse tomber les filles" "Bebe Requin" Catch these fellas dancing! Priceless.

It's all about tennis, I assume.

You spent too long listening to all that crap. 10 minutes quicker and "You Made Me Realise" would have been #6! And now, it hasn't even made Top Ten.

Yeah, "David Watts" was the first song I immediately thought of that fits the bill.

1) You Made Me Realise - My Bloody Valentine (1988) 2) Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - Black Uhuru (1981) 3) Sing - The Dresden Dolls (2006) 4) Blank Generation - Richard Hell & The Voidoids (1977) 5) Brick - Ben Folds Five (1997) 6) A Walkin' Miracle - The Essex (1963) 7) This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case (2009) 8) Crystalised - The xx (2009) 9) Summersong - The Decemberists (2009) 10) Big Chief - Professor Longhair (1964) Blush - The Raveonettes (2008) Those Were The Days - Mary Hopkin (1968) Bad Romance - Lady Gaga (2009) Really enjoyed listening to the nominations this week. What a lot of good stuff!

"Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" ~ Black Uhuru: "You Made Me Realise" ~ My Bloody Valentine:

Acceptance is the key. Like, when will you accept that these are just lousy songs by lousy artists that nobody else likes?

Once upon a time, I made some critical remarks about somebody's nomination, which I subsequently regretted - felt a bit of an a-hole, actually. Who did I think I was, wading in thoughtlessly with my frankly unwelcome opinion? Was my opinion of the nominated artist so very important that I must vent it, regardless of the sensibilities of the nominator or anybody else who might have been tempted to vote for it? Might there not have been a more appropriate time or place to discuss my opinion of the artist in question? Confronted with the reality of my action and the vexation it had caused to an individual to whom I owed no ill-will whatsoever, I realised that critical observation of other people's nominations might better be saved until after voting is done and dusted. That's if it is necessary at all, which it often isn't, if truth be told. Once I realised what a self-important, insensitive oaf I'd been, and learned from that chastening experience, I began to mend my ways in that regard, to the point where nowadays, I hardly ever offend anybody.

R is also for Rezillos Now, some might dispute the Rezillos inclusion in a list of "proper" punk bands. By the time Rezillos achieved public prominence (via appearances on Top Of The Pops in 1978), "punk" had already been strait-jacketed by a new public perception of how "punk" was supposed to look and behave. The Rezillos, from Edinburgh, Scotland, had some common ground with the early UK punk bands, in that their music was a high-octane, garagey rock'n'roll racket; a cranked-up version of 60s beat-pop, if you like. On the other hand, The Rezillos had no political agenda, were whacky, zany and hell-bent on entertaining. And perceived as "uncool" by sniffy elitists. However,their debut single, "I Can't Stand My Baby", recorded in the summer of 1977 was and remains a true punk rock single, playing the smart/dumb paradox exquisitely. You'll notice, watching this clip, that at least a couple of the original Rezillos line-up were moustachioed long-hairs; this might have distanced them from the metropolitan punk rock "in-crowd". Away from the capital, this sort of fashion faux pas mattered less, and people dug The Rezillos regardless. However, the pared down line-up you see on the later TV clips clearly remain relatively unconcerned by fashion credibility. By this time, (1978), a distinction had been drawn between "punk" and "new wave", and The Rezillos were perceived as falling into the latter category. Still sounds quite alot like punk rock to me, though. "I Can't Stand My Baby" "Top Of The Pops" (miming on Top Of The Pops!) "Destination Venus" I love loads of Rezillos tunes, but this is a particular favourite. I like the lyrics: "Destinatation Venus, more than darkness lies between us, 20 million miles of bleakness...human weakness. Holding my receiver, I can feel you coming nearer, probing through the airwaves, clearer...clearer, clearer... ...Further modulation of the frequency rotation triggers wave-band activation...near elation. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear a voice one instance, but it faded from existence...no persistence". Dunno if it's just me and my fondness for that smart/dumb thing, but these lyrics are somewhere approaching genius to me... Destination Venus" is one of those songs that never fails to cheer me up. "(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures" has a similar effect. "Don't love my baby for her pouting lips, Don't love my baby for her curvy hips, I love my baby cos she does good sculptures, yeah!" "It Gets Me" Like most of these tracks, features on the splendid album "Can't Stand The Rezillos" "2000 AD" Whilst rooting their music in 60s rock'n'roll, The Rezillos often pursued the visual/lyrical imagery of "the future, as seen through cartoons" "Glad All Over" A cover of the Dave Clark Five number. When The Rezillos split up, front-two Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife continued as The Revillos, scoring a hit with the catchy "Motorbike Beat": Link

Yeah! Many happy returns, my faithful friend! And congratulations on getting your own Happy Birthday thread!* *not everybody does, y'know?

Beginning to remember why I took 6 months off.

I don't need to look at the American electorate at all! Because, as I mentioned earlier, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT POLITICS!

Not sure why you're taking such a chippy attitude with me, just because i had the audacity to assert that, yes, America is somewhat weirder than some other places. However... Ok, maybe "second-in-command" wasn't the right phrase to use. She was a running-mate. Please forgive my faux pas. However, it seems a bit disingenuous to suggest on the one hand that she has not enjoyed any substantial public support or influence, then on the other, that she was chosen on the basis of the substantial support-base she could guarantee for McCain. No, I didn't think that at all, and no, I'm not insane, thank you. Pretty well grounded, all in all. Not being in America, and aware that your terminolgy for such things might be different, I wasn't sure whether or not "the welfare state" would mean anything to you, or might have a different connotation, (which it evidently has). I merely listed some of the state provisions currently under attack from our own government, under the guise of challenging the perceived "nanny state". So this tirade... ...was wholly unnecessary. It merely illustrates how wildly you managed to miss my point. I didn't (and still don't) want to talk about politics, so that was an unfortunate digression too far for me. Briefly: in response to Viaene's slightly cheeky suggestion that America is weird, you said "America is no weirder than anywhere else". Well, my counterpoint is that there are several examples of countries less weird than America. There are lots of things weird about America the phenomenon, which is not to impugn Americans themselves, many of whom are simply delightful. I was not intending to argue that other, less weird countries are in any way superior- either politically, or in terms of quality of life, or the personal charms of their people - just that they are blander, more "middle-of-the-road", less given to any form of extremism. I happen to live in one of them. Viaene lives in another. From where I'm sitting, Australia and New Zealand are both much less weird than America. So is Denmark. Even Iceland, where they bury fish for 3 months to let it rot awhile before eating it, is less weird than America. Your citation of our nanny state as an example of one of our "problems" serves my point really. It's a pretty bland country, where "the nanny state" is the controversial issue of the day. A "nanny state" (if it even exists, which is debatable per se) might not chime with your own political convictions, but is hardly an indication of "weirdness". It is merely an ideological disagreement between the political parties about the extent of the government's role in supporting the health and well-being of its population. It doesn't lend itself to extremes of political, patriotic or religious fervour; well, not over here it doesn't, because we're a naturally temperate people. The USA, on the other hand, has a history of "humouring" - or giving credibility and a public platform to - all manner of zealots, bigots and weirdoes; the likes of the Moral Majority, the KKK, Creationists, the Manson Family, The Tea Party, A Flock Of Seagulls blahdeblahdeflippinblah. That's not to mention bomb, gun and knife-crime; there are other countries who remain relatively quiet on that front. I can't understand why you, or anybody else, would be offended by Viaene's jestful remark. 'Cos that's all it was. There didn't appear to be any need to be defensive. Or offensive, for that matter. Or is it simply intolerable that any non-American be allowed to utter even one, tiny, fairly harmless remark, if that remark contains what might potentially be construed as an anti-american sentiment?* (*even though it probably wasn't intended as such) As the legendary Gibson Haynes put it: "You never know just how you look through other people's eyes"

I never said my country doesn't have its own problems. That would just be stupid. But we were talking about perceptions of weirdness, and if your perception of the UK becoming "a nanny state" (a typically right-wing criticism of our welfare state: the organised state-provision of health and social care, education, equality of access to culture, libraries, civic rights, etc.) is the best you can come up with to exemplify our weirdness or our "problems", then that says something already. I might be mistaken, but just the year before last, wasn't she the second-in-command of the most powerful political party in the world, going into an election? I guess I must have dreamt that. I'm glad that the people are coming round to the idea that she is a hysterical roving muppet, (cool phrase, by the way ), because for a while there, we were worried that Americans might have lost the plot completely. "Every cloud has a silver lining", they say. It's a shame something like this has to happen to identify her human and political shortcomings though, eh? She has always appeared unbelievably stupid and totally unsuitable for any position of influence. Why was she tolerated for so long? You're arguing against yourself here: this is but one of the reasons why relatively sensible, moderate British and Belgian people might perceive America as weird. Whilst I'm keen to keep the discussion light-hearted, please don't advise me to "do some reading sometime", as if I were some sort of moron. Thank you. I certainly will. I am, in fact. Had a terrific birthday party last night amongst a houseful of great friends, and I'm still feeling the love this afternoon.

I'm sorry to have to correct you, but your country is actually a helluvalot weirder than mine. And Viaene's...and probably Farin's too. Yep, there; I said it. The States looks like a total madhouse to us Europeans. The fact that Sarah Palin is allowed anywhere the business of national politics merely confirms to the rest of us that the world is going to hell in a handcart, and it's Americans pushing it.

1) California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys (1980) 2) New Town - Slits (1979) 3) Rake's Song, The - The Decemberists (2009) 4) I Wanna Be Adored - The Stone Roses (1989) 5) Step On - Happy Mondays (1990) 6) Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath (1971) 7) Gonna Make You A Star - David Essex (1974) 8) Shame - Evelyn "Champagne" King (1978) 9) It's My Party - Amy Winehouse (2010) 10) Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather (2009)

"The Rake's Song" - The Decemberists (2009) "New Town" - Slits (1979)

1) Reward - The Teardrop Explodes (1980) 2) Something About You - The Shamen (1987) 3) Don't Worry About The Government - Talking Heads (1977) 4) Sun Smells Too Loud, The - Mogwai (2008) 5) Na Na Na Na Naa - Kaiser Chiefs (2005) 6) Rehab - Amy Winehouse (2006) 7) Do Me a Favour - Arctic Monkeys (2007) 8) Bonnie & Clyde - Serger Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot (1968) 9) Die Banane - Die Ärzte (1995) 10) Somebody Else's Body - Urge Overkill (1995)

Incidentally, I lived in France right in the middle of the 1980s and there was no shortage of decent native music to be heard, entre autres: Les Ablettes, Les Rita Mitsouko, Kas Product, Jad Wio, Minimal Compact, Oberkampf, Bocal 5, Lucrate Milk, Les Thugs, Single Track, Berurier Noir, De Medicis....

Wasn't he Belgian? And it turns out he may not have done the vocal on the big hit, after all. Still, give me "Ca Plane Pour Moi" (a hit in the late 70s) over most of that execrable 80s synth-pop any day.

"The Sun Smells Too Loud" ~ Mogwai (2008): "Something About You" - The Shamen (1987): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5OWuPvttGg

OK, I might have been mistaken on which of their singles was the durable one. ("Wishing" is the only one I ever occasionally hear on the radio, so I assumed it was that one; "I Ran" was only a minor hit over here, didn't even make the Top 40). From where I'm sitting, such fine detail is scarcely relevant. In the cold light of day, A Flock Of Seagulls were relatively crap, and there is no justification for celebrating them thirty years on. One potentially interesting thing about them is that they took their name from a fragment of a Stranglers lyric ("Toiler On The Sea").