Today is gonna be the day they're gonna throw it back to you

With the dreadful wet weather that has greeted the first day of my two-week break, I thought it might be a good moment to visit some of the jollier newer music that has caught my ear of late (although, as is my wont, this selection is all a bit "retro-sounding") - the first such "Pick of the Pops" of 2021, indeed...

First to the bat is a group whose creativity has brightened our lives since they made their "comeback" in 2017 after a few years away from the spotlight - this time in a collaboration with the "Queen of the Red Carpet" himself, Mr Billy Porter!

The Shapeshifters featuring Billy Porter - Finally Ready (David Penn Remix)

Another welcome returnee to our airwaves is the faboo Felix da Housecat:

Felix da Housecat/Dave The Hustler/Blakk Hazel - Sweat!

Another somewhat bizarre collaboration, between masters of cool electro and the master of Britpop, works brilliantly:

Hot Chip feat. Jarvis Cocker - Straight to the Morning

Here's a fab discovery I recently stumbled upon - with their outrageous get-up and "Dead Or Alive"-esque sound styling, I love 'em:

Italove - I Trust You (Like I Trust Myself) (Matt Pop Club Remix)

Saving the best till last, however - here's a magnificent mashup that my dear sister alerted me to just yesterday! [Apparently Jimmy Somerville himself has said he loved this...]

Deco - Wonderwall x Smalltown Boy (Mashup Cover)

As ever, dear reader, let me know your thoughts...

Backbeat, the word was on the street

An indie band from the Britpop era have announced they are reuniting for a final massive argument.

Lupus Gazebo, who made 43 appearances on tapes that came free with the NME, released a statement on their website telling fans they would be in Sheffield this November for a comeback disagreement.

Lead singer Tom Booker said: “We’re not doing this for the money, we’re doing this for the fans. And also because Carl still hasn’t paid the rest of us back from when he crashed the van without insurance and I’m still massively pissed off about it.

“When I see him and the rest of those arseholes it’s going to be like we never went away. Get ready for some classic rows, including the one about eating spicy food on the tour bus and the one about Martin not sharing his coke even though he bought it with money from the band kitty.

“If it goes really well, who knows? Maybe we’ll get back in the studio and spend three weeks arguing over whether to shout ‘Uh yeah’ at the end of the second chorus.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

PS the band in question is definitely not this lot...

Oasis - Wonderwall

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realised what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat, the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realised what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Whatever that is.

The one that saves me

Our very first timeslip moment of the year, and the trusty TARDIS has dumped us in this week twenty years ago...

The post-Xmas news in early January 1996 mainly revolved around the winter weather, as devastating blizzards from the US headed towards the UK (and by the end of the month caused gridlock); elsewhere, there was peace-keeping in Bosnia, dodgy arms dealing in Saudi Arabia, and the first flip phone (the Motorola StarTAC) went on sale. Dead Man Walking, 12 Monkeys and Serena McKellan's Richard III were in our cinemas; and on the small screen, Our Friends in the North was about to take the country by storm (and launch the careers of Daniel Craig and Christopher Ecclestone in the process)...

Music (as is the wont of this time of year) was largely stagnant - with Michael Jackson, Boyzone, Oasis, TLC, Everything But The Girl and Eternal all high-flyers, as they had been in December. But still hanging round from being the staple of many a drunken seasonal party was the faboo Mike Flowers Pops "tribute" to Wonderwall...

Mike Flowers Pops - Wonderwall

Backbeat, the word is on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you...

And all the roads that lead us there are winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how

Maybe...
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you...

And all the roads that lead us there are winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how

Maybe...
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

And more, much more than this

Paul Anka, whose 68th birthday it is today, is one of those "mixed bag" types in musical history. On the one hand, his back catalogue includes some really cheesy pap such as the massive teenybopper anthem of the 50s Diana and the godawful You're Having My Baby. On the other, he has written some enduring standards. In a similar vein to artists like Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, George Harrison and even Bruce Springsteen, however, his songs are often best when sung by other people.

How many people realise that Mr Anka wrote the English version of My Way, for example, or that he wrote She's A Lady (the Tom Jones hit), Buddy Holly's It Doesn't Matter Anymore, Puppy Love (Donny Osmond's biggest hit), and the much-covered Eso Beso (That Kiss)?

Today, after six decades of writing and recording, stage and TV appearances, Mr Anka has turned his canny attention to parody - his brilliant album Rock Swings gives the big band swing treatment to modern artists' songs such as those by Nirvana and Oasis. I love it! Happy birthday to a musical legend...

Paul Anka - Wonderwall

Paul Anka - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Here is a medley of some of his own hits:

Paul Anka - Medley - Big Hits 2007

And of course, his classic - My Way:

Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti - My Way

Paul Albert Anka (born 30th July 1941)