The Annie nightingale thing on later was much more my thing and I regret not taping them both.
― koogs, Saturday, 7 November 2020 14:31 (three years ago) link
I watched part 2 and have both recorded.
Not seen the "Fairytale in the supermarket" vid before, great. Good to see "Earthbeat" as well.
― Mark G, Saturday, 7 November 2020 16:58 (three years ago) link
Yes, those shows had some great clips. Annie Nightingale is kind of underappreciated I feel.
― Chewshabadoo, Saturday, 7 November 2020 17:20 (three years ago) link
Least convincing performance of the week goes to tmbg.
We're into the indie dance era, I guess, with primal scream and candy flip and orbital (the performance they covered in the documentary)
― koogs, Saturday, 14 November 2020 11:27 (three years ago) link
That'll be the dancer they didn't want on stage. Apart from Orbital and a couple of others, a distinctly underwhelming couple of episodes. A mix of rockers hanging on by their fingernails, SAW produced sausage factory pop, indie/madchester nonsense (Candy Flip - entering the 'BBC won't ban a record or act that references drugs as long as it's not blatant' era), and total egotistical arse (hello The Mission and Bobby Gillespie). My guess is that TMBG were shipped over to England at the last minute without any of their instruments except maybe that lefty Tele. American indie bands of the era seemed to have patented that 'jump around until you run out of breath and then flail your arms about' dance move.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:18 (three years ago) link
bobby suffered from being the singer of a song with a 2 minute intro, and those leather trousers.
someone on facebook pointed out that it "features Mark Gardener on keyboards during Loaded because TOTP were insistent that Primal Scream had to have a fake keyboard player. However said fake keyboard player had to be a member of the Musician’s Union"
and same someone pointed out that wayne hussey was barefoot because the inspirals had had away with his shoes.
― koogs, Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:37 (three years ago) link
I was taking the piss out of someone at work whose lockdown hair has gone past Flock of Seagulls (a reference he did get) and is now in Mark from Ride territory.
snoball: "You look like Mark from Ride!"colleague (who is in their late 20s): "Who?"snoball: "Just google 'Mark from Ride'" *oldening intensifies*
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link
so I was mystified by “tmbg”The Man Baptised Gerald? (a bit too late, I guess)The Most Beautiful Girl...? (way too early)Too Much Business du Gibbon? (clutching at straws here)had to google it (this was before that follow-up post) - They Might Be Giants it is, perhaps obviously
― kiss some penis reference (breastcrawl), Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:11 (three years ago) link
But also one of the more entertaining ones.
― chap, Saturday, 14 November 2020 17:00 (three years ago) link
The UK's 1990 Eurovision entry: no, me neither. I don't remember it at all.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 20 November 2020 20:45 (three years ago) link
I've always disliked Bowie's 'Fame 90' - the entire song sounds like it's been put through a phase effect pedal.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 27 November 2020 20:14 (three years ago) link
OK, least effort at miming award goes to disgustingly young Mike Patton.
― chap, Friday, 27 November 2020 21:35 (three years ago) link
Good couple of episodes there on the whole, watching the rubbish Quireboys video was a bit of a strain, but Killer still sounds amazing 30 years on, Vogue too.
― discogs marketplace of ideas (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 27 November 2020 21:43 (three years ago) link
Couple of classic Creation eps in the charts (and Loaded not far away) and they are still playing Sonia out twice in two weeks.
― koogs, Friday, 27 November 2020 22:53 (three years ago) link
And the Blues Brothers.
Couple of classic Creation eps in the charts (and Loaded not far away)
I'm still a few weeks behind so haven't caught up with all the episodes yet. Are we talking the Play EP by Ride? I think MBV's Glider EP was just outside the top 40, so I'm not sure what the other one would be.
― The Rampaging Goats of Llandudno (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 27 November 2020 23:29 (three years ago) link
House of Love were in the 30s. But, thinking about it, it was The Beatles And The Stones though, which was neither Creation nor particularly classic.
― koogs, Saturday, 28 November 2020 04:21 (three years ago) link
And, yes, Play was the other one, although they used one of the track names rather than the EP name on the rundown.
Also odd to see that Candy Flip were blowing away all the other Manchester bands, chart-wise. Hadn't realised how popular that was.
― koogs, Saturday, 28 November 2020 04:33 (three years ago) link
Creation released 6 things in April 1990, so more than one a week. The ride, telescopes and swervedriver were big within my friend-group, the others not so much.
I, perhaps falsely, remember this being a time when there was something of interest out almost everything week, either on Creation or 4ad or Sarah or one of the other indie labels for like months on end, well into 91. But very little of it would've troubled totp.
― koogs, Saturday, 28 November 2020 04:58 (three years ago) link
I was 16/17 then and certainly bought a lot of stuff on Creation and 4AD then, if not quite every single week.
― The Rampaging Goats of Llandudno (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 21:35 (three years ago) link
Don't worry, this is the last time Pat and Mick will be troubling the Top 40.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 4 December 2020 20:06 (three years ago) link
just morrissey, on a stage, no mic even. surprised they didn't force him to have scantily clad dancer on stage with him.
― koogs, Friday, 4 December 2020 21:18 (three years ago) link
looking a lot like robbie williams
― koogs, Friday, 4 December 2020 21:19 (three years ago) link
Was that the one where Stephen Street was hoping he might fulfil his ambition and appear on the show (playing guitar as he did) but Morrissey decided it was going to be him on his own?
― Mark G, Friday, 4 December 2020 22:20 (three years ago) link
Jesus Heartstopping Christ that NKOTB video.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:16 (three years ago) link
All the great tracks they COULD play from one of my favourite eras (Ghetto Heaven!) and they play Micheal Bolton and NKOTB. That Beats International track is the worst follow up to a great single i've ever heard; genuinely phoned-in lousiness, and it seemed to kill them off forever.
― piscesx, Friday, 11 December 2020 20:26 (three years ago) link
'How Can We Be Lovers' shoots its bolt(on) in the first few seconds by frontloading the chorus and leaves Michael nowhere to go for three minutes.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:27 (three years ago) link
I can't believe ANYone was still writing those Rocky IV soundtrack type anthems so late in the day!
Gary Davies is ace ..
― piscesx, Friday, 11 December 2020 20:29 (three years ago) link
xxp I don't even remember that Beats International song. I don't think they were expecting 'Dub Be Good TO Me' to be a huge hit and didn't have a follow-up planned? Meanwhile this Thunder song is hard rock by numbers but I don't hate it as they avoid most of the hair metal excesses and cliches that were totally worn out by this point.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:30 (three years ago) link
Would have gone over a lot better in 1986 though.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:32 (three years ago) link
record company exec: "So can you guys come up with a single that sounds like that hit you had two years ago? Don't worry if you can't come up with any lyrics, just throw in some Van Morrison street observations and muble the rest."
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:36 (three years ago) link
Bloody hell was 1990 the year of shit singles from acts who'd had a couple of hits at the end of the 80s or something? Sam Brown followed immediately by Paul Young (PS Paul if you're not going to play that guitar why bother with it? Also is that a George Michael wig?).
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 11 December 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
yeah, charts do seem to be pretty dire at the mo.
looking for more evidence that it WAS a good year for music and my claim above that every week there was something worth buying here are 4ad's releases for 1990
https://4ad.com/releases/filtered/all/1990
and i bought literally all of those (and continued to for about 5 years).
sarah?
Sarah 024 The Field Mice, "The Autumn Store part 1", 1990Sarah 025 The Field Mice, "The Autumn Store part 2", 1990Sarah 026 Gentle Despite, "Darkest Blue", 1990Sarah 027 Brighter, "Noah's Ark", 1990Sarah 028 Action Painting!, "These Things Happen", 1990Sarah 029 The Orchids, "Something For The Longing", 1990Sarah 030 Heavenly, "I Fell In Love Last Night", 1990Sarah 031 Eternal, "Breathe", 1990Sarah 032 "Sunstroke" (fanzine), 1990Sarah 033 The Sea Urchins, "A Morning Odyssey", 1990Sarah 034 St. Christopher, "Antoinette", 1990Sarah 035 Another Sunny Day, "Rio", 1990Sarah 036 The Sweetest Ache, "If I Could Shine", 1990Sarah 037 Even As We Speak, "Nothing Ever Happens", 1990Sarah 038 The Field Mice, "So Said Kay", 1990Sarah 039 The Sweetest Ache, "Tell Me How It Feels", 1990Sarah 403 St. Christopher, Bacharach, 1990Sarah 601 The Field Mice, Skywriting, 1990Sarah 602 The Wake, Make It Loud, 1990Sarah 376 Temple Cloud, 1990Sarah 545 Air Balloon Road, 1990
i have all those too.
― koogs, Friday, 11 December 2020 21:17 (three years ago) link
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball)
That girl was NOT enjoying herself.
― chap, Saturday, 12 December 2020 19:11 (three years ago) link
I guess the aim was to pick a girl out of the audience who was so young that there was no possibility at all of NKOTB being accused of creeping on their audience, but given all the shit with Glitter, Savile and others in the intervening years it immediately set the alarm bells ringing.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Saturday, 12 December 2020 19:16 (three years ago) link
there was a lot of crap on the second show especially, however we are also in one of the best run of #1 singles everSinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 UBeats International - Dub Be Good to MeSnap! - The PowerMadonna - VogueAdamski - KillerEngland New Order - World in MotionI made a joke about Nicky Campbell on twitter during this show and he started a conversation with me, which was a bit unexpected.
― Gary Sambrook eats substantial meals (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 12 December 2020 19:28 (three years ago) link
I made a joke about Nicky Campbell on twitter during this show and he started a conversation with me, which was a bit unexpected.
Hah! Amicable? Reminds me of the time I had a twitter row about Brexit with Terry Christian...
― chap, Saturday, 12 December 2020 19:59 (three years ago) link
Well, as you ask, here is the entire interaction
https://i.imgur.com/AYJeON3.png
Bearing in mind that
* I essentially know nothing about Nicky Campbell except he is a TV presenter* But looking into it he is apparently one of the top-paid BBC presenters and has 1.2 million Twitter followers* I was made redundant at the end of last month and feel like my family are really on the verge of disaster, can barely sleep TBH* Despite 1000+ downloads per episode and lots of nice media coverage, I still only get less than $200 p/m on Patreon* A minor gig at the BBC would basically save me & my family* I have absolutely nothing at all in the way of networking skills
What do you reckon I should do here?
― Gary Sambrook eats substantial meals (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 12 December 2020 21:10 (three years ago) link
I think at least asking if he'd do a tweet about your stuff would be entirely appropriate. I just followed you!
― chap, Saturday, 12 December 2020 22:13 (three years ago) link
90 minute chrsitmas special opened with genuinely spooky rooling stones video, 2000 light years from home.
but the only other thing worth watching was the Specials doing nothing in their christmas jumpers. everything else was the usual suspects.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b086trr9/top-of-the-pops-christmas-hits
(stones at beginning, specials at 15:40)
oh, i suppose The Shamen get an A for effort at 59:00, given that it's christmas.
― koogs, Thursday, 17 December 2020 10:07 (three years ago) link
a few weeks behind and catching up over the past few days on iPlayer:
- Candy Flip having a maracas player and a tambourine player on stage side-by-side was cracking me up- what was going on that "Lily Was Here" was such an enduring presence in the chart?- Jimmy Sommervile might not have the best songs but what an endearingly fun, likeable, charismatic star- "The Power" is a great single, but in the context of 1990 it sounds even greater - so stark and ominous, so well-assembled and cavernous, even with Turbo B and his two pals mooching around an imaginary triangle outline
I think I've mentioned this before but I think of 1990 as my own "Year Zero" for pop - I was only two years old but a lot of the big stuff from this period is the sound of pop when I was growing up, things like "Love Shack" and "Black Velvet" seem just as essential to me as historical significance as The Beatles and Elvis, and it's great to see them in the context of being contemporary rather than established hits.
― boxedjoy, Thursday, 17 December 2020 11:31 (three years ago) link
> what was going on that "Lily Was Here" was such an enduring presence in the chart?
the answer to this is generally "Radio 2 audience"
― koogs, Thursday, 17 December 2020 12:04 (three years ago) link
John Barnes' rap in 'World In Motion' is somehow always worse than I remember.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Friday, 18 December 2020 20:56 (three years ago) link
― Eggbreak Hotel (Tom D.), Friday, 18 December 2020 20:58 (three years ago) link
John Barnes's rap in World In Motion is brilliant, what are you talking about?
― ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 18 December 2020 21:12 (three years ago) link
definitely more brilliant than Keith Allen posing about in the video
― CP Radio Gorgeous (Colonel Poo), Friday, 18 December 2020 21:15 (three years ago) link
Yeah, that's the only sour note for me in the whole project. Fuck off Keith.
― ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 18 December 2020 21:21 (three years ago) link
Keith wrote the rap, you have to accept one if you love the other
and it was meant to be a mix of all the team's individual takes, but Barnes' was the only slightly competent one
xxp I don't even remember that Beats International song. I don't think they were expecting 'Dub Be Good TO Me' to be a huge hit and didn't have a follow-up planned?
dunno what the song was in this instance, but Beats International's second single was a cover of Norman Cook's first solo single, which had originally featured Sir William Of Bragg on vocals
― huge rant (sic), Friday, 18 December 2020 22:52 (three years ago) link
I've always found World In Motion and New Order in general aside from Blue Monday obviously to be wildly overrated.
― chap, Friday, 18 December 2020 23:44 (three years ago) link
Keith Allen is actually Welsh too.
― Eggbreak Hotel (Tom D.), Friday, 18 December 2020 23:50 (three years ago) link