Posts Tagged Pop
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March 26, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 137: Britney Spears – “…Baby One More Time”
I never listened to this at the time – but I couldn’t avoid the videos for the big singles, particularly the title track. It was everywhere. This was a teen sensation – and it was pitched in all the right ways (or wrong ways if you think about it) to a broad audience. Britney Spears, former child star, was […]Archive
February 14, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 335
Hothouse Flowers, Don’t Go [Single] (1988) Hothouse Flowers – good band! Saw them live a couple of times, once still in their ascendancy and then many years on. They still sounded great. Good show. Very capable. But it was a school night. In a wee pub down the road. And no one seemed to really give a fuck – […]Archive
December 17, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 112: The Triffids – “Calenture”
I so love the album Born Sandy Devotional that even if The Triffids did nothing else of value at all I’d still tell you they’re one of my favourite bands. Turns out they made a small handful of perfectly imperfect albums and I’m still getting to them. I hadn’t heard Calenture – which has changed […]Archive
December 7, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 208 Pete Shelley
Late 2009. The Spines at that time were Les Knight on bass, Riki Gooch on drums and me. We had just recorded the Bloodmonster album and I was about 50 and drinking a lot at Bodega – a period of renaissance for the band. I’d always been a fan of the Buzzcocks in the early […]Archive
December 4, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 353
Pet Shop Boys, Please (1986) I’ve been on a big Pet Shop Boys kick of late – I’ve liked them since I first heard them, which was back when this album was released. Though I’ve never owned a copy of this until just recently. I’ve had most of the other albums and a couple of […]Archive
October 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 94: Orange Juice – “Rip It Up”
I hadn’t ever heard an Orange Juice album – but I know the songs; I was hipped to them only later though, the compilation Edwyn Collins & Orange Juice: A Casual Introduction 1981/2001 was the thing that set it all off for me. By then I’d heard some Edwyn Collins songs I liked a lot […]Archive
October 10, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 93: Haircut One Hundred – “Pelican West ”
So, the band Haircut One Hundred (or Haircut 100) totally passed me by. I really don’t know them at all. I know the name, I’ve seen it mentioned, the first two songs here felt instantly familiar – probably have heard them out and about, as part of compilations, in DJ sets, etc – but I […]Archive
September 17, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 89: X – “Wild Gift”
I absolutely expected to hear a few more duds doing this challenge. But shit it’s been good. A lot of great albums I knew about and therefore kinda knew I’d missed and a lot of things I genuinely didn’t know about or certainly didn’t know just how great they would be. I guess there’ll be […]Archive
September 10, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 86: Heaven 17 – “Penthouse and Pavement”
Another example of why this challenge has been good for me. I know of Heaven 17 of course – I even know Temptation very well and a few others. But I have never listened to a Heaven 17 album, at least not knowingly; at least not until I finally sat down with Penthouse and Pavement […]Archive
September 9, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Swing Out Sister: Almost Persuaded
Swing Out Sister Almost Persuaded Miso Here’s the tenth studio album by British pop duo Swing Out Sister – and their first in a decade. You remember them best from their breakout hit of 1986, er, “Breakout”. And since then it’s been a refinement of that approach really, they call the new music – and […]Archive
September 2, 2018 by Simon Sweetman