I have not done one of these "potpourri-of-pop" blogs for such a long time, I'd almost forgotten that "newer music" can produce some works of wonder and amusement. One tends to avoid most music beloved of the "benighted yoof" these days (all those Kendricks, Minajs, Drakes, Arianas, Little Mixes and Biebers - yuk), but occasionally I do pop in for a little look... Of the chart-toppers, I can just about cope with some currently mega-popular artists such as Adele or Clean Bandit, and the occasional tolerable choon like that Zara Larsson one that dominated the summer airwaves, or maybe that much-hyped Christina and the Queens ditty, but in general whatever the "Charts" these days encompasses tends to pass me by. But what of the rest? Here goes...
Watch me shimmy into the light..." Thus the remarkable Allie X announces her arrival - and, with RuPaul's Drag Race winner (and house fave) Violet Chachki on board in this magnificent "let's-raid-the-dressing-up-box" video, what a spectacle she is too! She's All The Rage:
Speaking of summer, the strangely-named Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners and This Girl has an alluring Northern Soul-tinged feel about it. The "pretty-young-things-at-play" video certainly does make one rather nostalgic for warmer climes...
One can always rely upon the brilliant Mr Dave Audé to make a slightly-catchy-yet-not-good-enough song such as Handclap by Fitz and the Tantrums into something really special:
No-one ever thought that meeja-sensations Sam and the Womp would ever be more than a one-hit-wonder, after their surprise hit of 2012 Bom Bom - but, as "comebacks" go, with the help of some "Bjork-lite" vocals from Bloom De Wilde and a glitzy video I think Fireflies is a rather jolly effort:
Next, and by complete contrast, a song that was played (with his tongue firmly in his cheek) by the ever-wonderful Desmond Carrington on his penultimate show on Radio 2 last night - it's Madeleine Peyroux and her cover of Tom Waits's Tango Till They're Sore. I love it!
Here is a really unexpected treat. We are all aware that everyone's (not least ours at Dolores Delargo Towers) favourite octogenarian chanteuse (not-yet-a-Dame) Petula Clark is cool, professional, and still retains the vocal tone and energy that would shame many a wannabee a quarter her age, but she is also never content just to rest on her "easy listening" laurels, it seems. With its catchy tune and atmospheric visuals, her new single Sacrifice My Heart is simply faboo!
The very lovely Andy Bell has been busy, too - what with his stage show Torsten The Beautiful Libertine, various live appearances and the release of two albums (the soundtrack to Torsten and a remix album of songs from the show Variance 2) this year. And here [courtesy of our friend John-John, who alerted me to it a while ago], with the excellent support of the one-and-only Al Pillay and the mixing talents of DJ Matt Pop, is Queercore!
If it's a party you're after, you can do much worse than a really catchy cover of the Four Seasons' Oh What A Night, in French, by the Gallic pop sensation (and occasional Ricky Martin duettist) M. (Matt) Pokora! Cette Année La, indeed:
...then there is the sumptuously funky début by the esoterically-named JANE and We Don't Wanna Dance! Shades of Sylvester/Wild Cherry/Average White Band and the heyday of Disco, methinks:
And, finally - not because this is by any means a conclusive list of favourites from the past few months, but merely because I have to end somewhere - Here's the lovely Robbie Williams and his (oh-so-"controversial") Party Like a Russian:
Anything that pisses Putin off has my vote!
Anyhoo, that's all folks - as ever, enjoy; and let me know your thoughts...
[*Salmigondis de musique = (hopefully) "musical hodgepodge" in French]
