"45 45's until I'm 45" (#23/45)

Good morning friends,

there is not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said about this song: its truly a classic and thus surely Buzzcocks' greatest hit. Nevertheless I don't get tired to listening to it every once in a while ... dunno why, perhaps it's because I've always been a sucker for neat tunes broaching the issue of unfulfilled love. The Undertones' 'Teenage Kicks' comes to mind here as well ... and whenever I find the time I will try to make t.h.e. definitive mixtape of songs about this subject, you'll wait and see! In the meantime, here's to you your number twenty-three in my little list. Enjoy:

Buzzcocks - 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)' (mp3)

United Artists Records - UP 36455 (1978)

Some excerpts from Wikipedia:

Sometime during November 1977, the band watched the musical Guys & Dolls in the TV lounge of a guesthouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the dialogue "Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have" from the film which inspired the song. The following day Shelley wrote the lyrics of the song, in a van outside a post office, with the music following soon after.

Critic Ned Raggett describes the song as a "deservedly well-known masterpiece." Mark Deming notes, "Pete Shelley's basic formula in the Buzzcocks was to marry the speed and emotional urgency of punk with the hooky melodies and boy/girl thematics of classic pop/rock. When he applied this thinking to that most classic of pop themes, unrequited teenage love, he crafted one of his most indelible songs, 'Ever Fallen in Love?'".

Well described and there ain't much to add to that.

Have fun and enjoy your Easter bank holidays,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#22/45)

Hello nice people,

as usual today - again - a record by a band not commonly known to a lot of you out there, at least I suspect this is the case: Flophouse.

And again it was rather difficult to ascertain any information about Flophouse whatsoever. I found this though, not describing slagging off today's choice, but their s/t debut album from 1990:

"Produced by Peter Case, this mild-mannered San Francisco quartet's uneventful debut proffers nicely played folk-rock (genus Californius), alternately sung by bassist Kim Osterwalder and guitarist J.C. Hopkins. Cello, violin, piano, mandolin, harmonica and trombone help color the tunes, but Hopkins' material (and voice; hers is much better) lacks character, and the band doesn't do anything special that would make up for it."

Great stuff, especially if you consider that I also found out that these days "(...) JC Hopkins is a bandleader, songwriter and producer. His exuberant music is influenced by many genres and he's described as a modern day Hoagy Carmichael, acclaimed singers such as Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, and Victoria Williams have covered his songs. As a bandleader, his 12-piece group, the JC Hopkins Biggish Band, has worked with a wide range of innovative vocalists including Elvis Costello, Justin Bond, Madeleine Peyroux and Martha Wainwright.

 
Hopkins has twice been nominated for a Grammy. He was nominated for his song “Dreams Come True”, recorded by Willie Nelson and Norah Jones, and also for his production of John Lithgow’s children’s album of Tin Pan Alley songs, The Sunny Side of the Street.

Aside from his work in music, Hopkins is also a filmmaker. His films delicately combine comedy and drama and are largely influenced by the likes of John Cassavetes, Woody Allen, and Charlie Chaplin. His short film, “The Goldberg Variations” and his webisode, “The Continuing and Seemingly Endless Courtship of Waldo Malone”, have been screened throughout New York City and explore themes of pathos and passion."

Now, that's how I'd describe career, I must say. Nevertheless I'm more fond of today's choice, a brilliant single which shows us Flophouse's original rawness. Be relieved to hear that this ain't got nothing to do with 'Sunny Side Of The Street' at all, here's your number twenty-two, friends. Enjoy:

 

Flophouse - 'Right Now' (mp3)

Harp Records - Harp 002 (1991)

 

 

Have a nice day,

 

Dirk

 

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#21/45)

Good morning friends,

again - should I feel sorry about this at all? Don't think I should - an oldie but goodie, one you already know, and, so I hope, still love. For me it has stood the test of time, that's for sure.

I didn't know anything at all about the artist, so I had a look at Wikepedia earlier on and was astonished to see that the bloke behind this record - and the record itself - seem to be not totally unknown within the UK.  Some excerpts from the article:

"Graham David Fellows (born 22 May 1959, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England) is an English comedy actor and musician, best known for creating the characters of John Shuttleworth and Jilted John.

Fellows first came to prominence as Jilted John, a character who had a hit single in 1978 that was named after his own alter ego. The single was performed in the aggressive, minimalist style of the then-prevailing punk genre, but with poppier influences, somewhat akin to the Buzzcocks and "Up the Junction", a docupop song by Difford and Tilbrook of Squeeze written around the same time. The novelty hit was most memorable for its humorous lyrics, a first-person narrative of a bitter teenager named John whose girlfriend Julie had left him for another man named Gordon, "just 'cause he's better lookin' than me/just 'cause he's cool and trendy". John wails that "Gordon is a moron", a phrase that became briefly famous in Britain, along with "I was so upset that I cried all the way to the chipshop".

Produced by Martin Hannett for his Rabid Records label, the song was first played on national radio by John Peel who commented that if the single was promoted by a major record label he could see its being a huge hit. This proved to be the case when it was picked up by EMI International. The song was introduced by David Jensen on Top of the Pops as "one of the most bizarre singles of the decade", and the song reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart."

So there you are, your number twenty-one, friends. Enjoy:

Jilted John - 'Jilted John' (mp3)

EMI International - INT 567 (1978)

"Two more recent Fellows creations followed, firstly Brian Appleton, a rock musicologist and media studies lecturer from a college of further education in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area although originally he hails from Selly Oak in Birmingham. His girlfriend Wendy is an aromatherapist, but unfortunately upon qualifying she became allergic to the essential oils she uses. He is convinced that he has been instrumental in helping many rock acts to achieve megastardom and yet received no credit for his efforts, such as being the cause for the gap in "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, inadvertently launching the vocal career of Phil Collins at a failed audition for the lead singer of Genesis after the departure of Peter Gabriel and giving Howard Jones the idea for using a mime artist in the hit "New Song" while working opposite him at a Clingfilm factory in High Wycombe. Brian also claimed to have a significant bearing on the career of the Thompson Twins (for example he inspired the hit 'Love On Your Side' while directing Alannah Currie towards her hat which he accidentally knocked off her head)."

Dead funny, I must say ... exactly my kind of humour!

Cheerio,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#20/45)

Good day to you, my beauties,

the Marabar Caves are fictional caves in the novel 'A Passage to India' and the film of the same name. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India. They serve as an important plot location and motif in the novel.

Above information is of course absolutely essential for the millions of fine art connaisseurs amongst you, those who visit Sexyloser just for the top notch lyrical and/or cinematic recensions which appear here frequently.

For the rest of you, i.e. for all the other five readers, the Marabar Caves might be interesting in a different context, at least they should, because they're my choice for today and a fine one at that. Your number twenty, friends, so please enjoy a bit of psychedelic 60's garage revival:

 

The Marabar Caves - 'Seeds That Never Grew' (mp3)

TIKI Records - MBAR 1 (1984)

Again, a band I can't tell you anything about at all. As far as I know they're British and the track above is just the 7"'s B-Side .... in comparison you can easily forget about the A- Side ('Sally's Place') though.

I must admit I am by now myself really fed up with my unability to provide you with at least a bit of information about the records I chose or the bands that made them, but the thing is you see, most of them I heard on Peel, bought them and then by and large none of them turned out to be pretty successful .... and that obviously results in a significant lack of information in the internet these days.

Perhaps I should go for something more frequently known for the rest of this rundown, something easy, you know .... The Beatles 'Help' for example .... I'm sure I could find tons of information for you about that!

Whaddayathink?

Cheerio,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#19/45)

Hello folks,

it should be obvious by now, but if you want to sell me your record, couple it with some chiming chords, a memorable lyric and a catchy hook, and I’m all yours for the next three to four minutes.

Today's pick creates a chilling landscape, blanketing the song in a reverberating wall of sound, making you feel like you’re there, sheltering from the storm, while an arctic wind whips outside. The songs setting, the frozen surroundings of the “polar zone” is the complete antithesis of the tropical warmth of Brisbane, Australia — where both the band and this single originated. Your number nineteen, friends, so please enjoy:

The Screaming Tribesmen - 'Igloo' (mp3)

Citadel Records - CIT 004 (1983)

I never had the benefit of a lyric sheet with this record and for years and years it drove me nuts not to be able to find out what exactly the singer wants to tell us when he sings: “I felt so lonely when my ?????? died/I felt my tears freeze when I finally cried”

Again the internet proved itself to be mankind's greatest invention with this: how many of you know what a Samoyed is? I surely didn’t. A Samoyed is a breed of dog that is suited for colder climbs, originating from North-West Siberia. Find a picture and you’ll see one of the happiest looking dogs ever. I was instantly humbled. If this dog died, I’d cry too.

Also I found out that the refrain “listen to the shoeshine boys” refers to a black 50s doo-wop band from Alabama.

Attention to detail should never go unrewarded, you see, and neither should this song.

Take good care,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#18/45)

Good morning nice people,

an oldie but goodie again today, you'll know it by heart, I'm sure. But that's no reason not to offer it here again ... as your number eighteen. Enjoy ...

The Rezillos - 'I Can't Stand My Baby' (mp3)

Sensible Records - FAB 1 (1977)

The Rezillos have always been one of my top favourite bands from the punk era and even these days, some 35 years later, I still love to listen to what they did back then. Perhaps this is because after all they weren't only 'punk', in fact they managed to merge punk with glam, new wave and pop.

A few weeks ago I even enjoyed their debut LP, 'Can't Stand The Rezillos' in its entirety with me headphones on at immense volume ... twice! A record which I cannot recommend enough to you: shouldn't you already have it in your possession, get your hands on it now! Some nice cover versions on it as well, their turn at Fleetwood Mac's 'Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight' is particularily perfect!

I think if I ever get me hands on their second Peel Session, my life is complete!

Have fun,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#17/45)

Good morning people,

I'm willing to have a small bet that today's choice is totally unknown to 99% of you freaks out there. Nevertheless it is a record that grows on you and I really do think you should give it a chance. Mind you, it comes to you all the way from Japan and that's quite a distance, right?

Again a band I can't tell you anything about at all, nor do I have the slightest idea whether they ever did anything else in addition to this single. I don't even know whether the band are at all Japanese or not, the label is though, that's for sure.

Here's your number seventeen, friends, so please enjoy:

Princess Kaiulani - 'Alamoana Fade Away' (mp3)

Motorway Records - MOTOR 035 (1999)

As you can tell it's not the stuff I would usually listen to: I mean, it somehow sounds like Fantastic Plastic Machine playing a song based on a Hawaiian version of the 'E-I-E-I-O' at the end of "Old McDonald's Farm", with a touch of Trio's 'Da Da Da' ... but, most importantly, it works: at least in my humble opinion.

Whaddayouthink?

Cheerio,

Dirk

 

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#16/45)

Good morning my beauties,

the sun is shining this morning plus it is snowing a little bit ... and my colleague is back to work after weeks and weeks of absence: which gives me the time and opportunity to  present to you the next one in my little series.

Again a song which I think needs no further explanation as it is groundbreaking stuff again. Then again, as I never get tired to point out, contrary to the 97% of middle-aged men (yes, those with a bit of a belly (although we all know this is just a visual illusion and the truth of the matter is that the stupid wife will never learn to wash and dry our shirts in a proper way so that they won't shrink every freaking time) and diminishing hair (although I'm willing to have a small bet that this has got something to do with the horsemeat which these days seems to be in nearly everything we like to eat)), there might also be one or two young folks who simply weren't born when this came out but have a good taste in music nevertheless, so the chance exists that they might never have heard this. No question their life will never be the same after this has been achieved!

So this is for you, you two, your number sixteen. Enjoy:

The Normal - 'Warm Leatherette' (mp3)

Mute - MUTE 001 (1978)

 

 

The first record to be issued on the Mute label and what a gem it is, isn't it? I chose the B-Side, the A-Side being 'T.V.O.D.' ('Television Overdose', should you've been wondering for the last 35 years), which is not too shabby either, but doesn't match the sheer brilliance 'Warm Leatherette' offers. Also, funnily enough, this is just another song about car accidents which I really adore: the Room's 'Jackpot Jack' comes to mind here too and it would have hit the list as well, but I only have it on a 12".

 

What can it mean, I wonder?

 

Drive friendly,

 

Dirk