05 May 2011

surprisingly cool

The Kenny Rogers song 'Just Dropped In' popped up randomly on my iPod tonight. Damn, it's such a great tune. It got me thinking of cheesy musicians that have had great tunes. It's a tad unfair to describe Kenny as such because he's had a few good 'uns but this one has real soul. I love the video I discovered to it too, the poor quality adds to the atmosphere, I think. I could listen to this on loop all night.


Here's another. Ordinarily, I can't stand Lulu. A dreadful woman with one or two hits, an awful speaking voice and a career based on kitsch that really is 30 years too long at least. She does however have this in her back catalogue to redeem all those terrible parties I went to where they played "Shout". This is a cover of "Th Man Who Sold The World". In it's own way, as good as the Nirvana cover.


Now this last one is a bit contentious. It could just be filed under 'guilty pleasures' and we could leave it there but I want to prove to you that it's a bit more than that.

So...Sarah Brightman.....Yeah, I know but please hear me out. She sang lead vocals on the 80s Rah Band classic 'Clouds Across the Moon'. I don't think it's too far-fetched to suggest it is a bit of a disco classic but it is cheesy. Well...the Great Stuff team decided to give it the full remix treatment last year. I think there's about 6 knocking about. The links below have 3 of the bigger ones. I prefer the first one best. There's a vulnerability to her voice that is quite lovely. I'll understand if we agree to disagree but I think the fact that there's some pretty decent remixes of this out there kind of backs up my belief that this is a great record.

 
  
What shall I leave you with? Well, I seem to be on a retro vibe so how about Roy Budd's finest moment. Roy was a Jazz musician and also wrote film scores. Mostly active between the mid 60s to early 80s he wrote some quite forgettable stuff - Steptoe and Son Ride Again, Wild Geese (you get the picture) but in 1970 he penned the score to Michael Caine's Get Carter. This is a legendary soundtrack to a wonderful film. It evokes all the madness and brittle normality of the film quite brilliantly. 

 

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