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Ranking Roger, "So Excited"
For the ska-uneducated, Ranking Roger was a member of the (English) Beat (remember the video with the dancing skeletons?), and then teamed with fellow Beater Dave Wakeling to form the splinter band General Public. That twosome split and Ranking Roger went out on his own, releasing this pop gem in 1988, which is yet another in a long line of "if it weren't for CFNY, I would have never heard this song." The video screams late 80s/early 90s--bright colors, extraneous dancing girls--but the song holds up well.
Speaking of early 90s and extraneous dancers...
Euphoria, "Love You Right"
I'd bet lotso money that Simon Baker doesn't put this video on his resume. For us Baker-philes, the man with the "lustrous blond highlights" (as Mark Harris of Entertainment Weekly described him in this week's issue) doesn't make his shirtless appearance until the 2:20 mark. This song reeks of that manufactured early 90s disco-pop--see also C+C Music Factory and Technotronic--and the video, well, there's a lot of gyrating and obvious symbolism (really, could the rocking horse be any more phallic?). Most of all, there's too much lip-synching and fake instrument-playing. Still, I'd be a liar if I said that this song wasn't catchy.
Bill Nelson, "Another Day, Another Ray of Hope"
Honestly, this fan-made video had me grabbing for my Dramamine, but lest I sound ungrateful, thank you Bill Nelson fan with the Blair Witch camcorder for uploading this fantastic--and dare I say beautiful--song from a highly underrated musician. And once again, thank you to the DJs on CFNY for introducing me to this song. (I can't hear the ending pianos without thinking about the a female DJ's voice saying, "Bill Nelson..." before the tape cuts off.)
For the ska-uneducated, Ranking Roger was a member of the (English) Beat (remember the video with the dancing skeletons?), and then teamed with fellow Beater Dave Wakeling to form the splinter band General Public. That twosome split and Ranking Roger went out on his own, releasing this pop gem in 1988, which is yet another in a long line of "if it weren't for CFNY, I would have never heard this song." The video screams late 80s/early 90s--bright colors, extraneous dancing girls--but the song holds up well.
Speaking of early 90s and extraneous dancers...
Euphoria, "Love You Right"
I'd bet lotso money that Simon Baker doesn't put this video on his resume. For us Baker-philes, the man with the "lustrous blond highlights" (as Mark Harris of Entertainment Weekly described him in this week's issue) doesn't make his shirtless appearance until the 2:20 mark. This song reeks of that manufactured early 90s disco-pop--see also C+C Music Factory and Technotronic--and the video, well, there's a lot of gyrating and obvious symbolism (really, could the rocking horse be any more phallic?). Most of all, there's too much lip-synching and fake instrument-playing. Still, I'd be a liar if I said that this song wasn't catchy.
Bill Nelson, "Another Day, Another Ray of Hope"
Honestly, this fan-made video had me grabbing for my Dramamine, but lest I sound ungrateful, thank you Bill Nelson fan with the Blair Witch camcorder for uploading this fantastic--and dare I say beautiful--song from a highly underrated musician. And once again, thank you to the DJs on CFNY for introducing me to this song. (I can't hear the ending pianos without thinking about the a female DJ's voice saying, "Bill Nelson..." before the tape cuts off.)
posted by Karim Amir | 9:37 AM
6 Comments:
Wow, I've never heard these songs before. What's up with that? I mean, I listened to CFNY... a lot.
I like keyboards on the Ranking Roger song. And, mmmm, bright colors and extraneous dancing girls.
I'm not a big fan of this particular sound, but instead of jumping to 2:20, I slogged through it, patiently waiting for my reward. You know, some shirtless Simon Baker.
"Baker-philes." :D
Bill Nelson?!? This one really has me confused. Though I probably know who the female DJ was. I'm thinking Dani Elwell or Maie Pauts.
Who's d. rooting for in today's Grey Cup? He strikes me as a Stampeders fan.
Oh, my God, the bassist for Platinum Blonde died. This news made Wikipedia's obituary page.
Wow, you slogged through Euphoria? :) I think I may have mentioned that I have a soft spot for that type of music due to some silly high school memories, like crazy dancing to "Pump up the Jam" at a school dance.
I've been at CFNY's site listening to sound checks, trying to match female voices. I'm not sure who it is on my tape, but it sounded weird to actually hear the end of the song.
d. didn't know what the Grey Cup was at first ("Oh...is that Canadian Football?"). He probably would have rooted for the team from Montreal, but I heard that Calgary won. Merde. And I have no idea who any of those halftime artists are (Theory of a Deadman? (post-grunge? Bah.) Suzie McNeil? Andree Watters?
The PB bass player lived at Yonge and Wellesley, so I've probably passed him on the street severely times over the years. :(
You crazy dance? :D
"Pump Up the Jam" is probably the most tolerable song of that type from 1988-90. Plus, they're Belgian.
I heard Simon Baker's Aussie accent for the first time when he was on Letterman the other night.
Hey, I have no idea who those half-time artists are either.
Match-Cut is doing a Battle of the Television Themes. I nominated Homicide and a bunch of obscure Canadian stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh, and that EW sexy movie list was super lame. I mean, no Barbarella? Whatever.
Thanks!
Sorry, I had to vote against Frightenstein.
Can't believe no one nominated NYPD Blue! And Barney Miller?
I totally forgot about that David Byrne song in the Flying Blind opening credits. Speaking of Tea Leoni, Callum Keith Rennie apparently has appeared in a few episodes of that David Duchovny Showtime sex drama, Californication.
You mean you're not gonna vote for my nominations no matter what? ;)
Yeah, the NYPD Blue (I dig those drums) and Barney Miller (I dig that bass guitar) intros should definitely be in the running.
I saw a couple of episodes Californication. Unfortunately, they were both Rennie-free.
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