one by one, the major icons of the 80's are being whittled down. doesn't anyone die of natural causes anymore?

ok, ok. its Valentine's Day. you loathe the fact that you love a lot of sappy songs in your life. let's just do a 5 For Playing for one of the best voices the music industry will ever have. better you remember her this way. and oh, sorry my faves really encompass her 1st two albums. so, yeah, none of that overplayed Bodyguard song. that most likely started all that crack addiction in the first place.

5. I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Whitney (1987)

4. Saving All My Love For You, Whitney Houston (1985)

3. All At Once, Whitney Houston (1985)

2. Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Whitney (1987)

1. Didn't We Almost Have It All, Whitney (1987)

Walk on the Wild Side, Lou Reed
Midnight City, M83
The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game, Massive Attack (feat. Tracey Thorn)
Porcelain, Moby
The Beautiful, P.M. Dawn
Wake Up Soon, The Beloved
Snow on the Sahara, Anggun
Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You, Robert Palmer
Big Snake, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (feat. Tracey Thorn)
7 Seconds, Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry

AM radio was killing it back when I was a kid.

"I Don't Know Why I Love You" - House of Love

Rock Rizal - an event commemorating 150 years of the national hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal. Listen to the music here.

"Kill Your Television" - Ned's Atomic Dustbin (1991)

Introspective
Pet Shop Boys (1988 EMI/Parlophone)

choice cuts:
Domino Dancing
Always On My Mind/In My House
It's Alright
I'm Not Scared




the successor to Disco, Introspective is an opera in the guise of a remix album. what Queen condensed to six minutes in Bohemian Rhapsody, the Boys subdivide in six acts in forty eight minutes. the first half is comprised of three original songs, the most distinctive of which is "I Want A Dog", Neil Tennant's sly verbal musings about preferring a canine over a feline house pet ("scratching its claws all over my ... habitat"). "Domino Dancing" is the obvious throwaway dance single, with its multilayered synths beautifully blended with a Latin guitar (credit or blame the trendy Miami Freestyle influence at that time). given my bias toward the band (the first one I truly followed when i had the resources to actually buy music), I lap it up when thrown Che Guevara and DeBussy in one liners over a dance beat.

the second half is a perfect set of covers, starting with Elvis' "Always On My Mind" oddly merged with the acid house track "In My House". it works well, but I like the single better. then there's Eighth Wonder's "I'm Not Scared" (again oddly remade in the same year it came out) and the Boys' version is much better, even if Tennant wore the same thing that Patsy Kensit's wearing here. the album closes nicely with Sterling Void's "Its Alright", an expanded version with geopolitical observations, concluding with the universal desire for a better world. the Boys' lyrics may lean on the gloomy side, but they've perfected the energetic, positive element of moving your body.   

and i believe this is the album that the Boys cheekily put their sexuality out there, at the same time looking morose and smug. the album cover speaks for itself, and ignore the subtext in the "Domino Dancing" video at your own peril. of course this flew way over my head in 1988, but 23 years later, who cares?

Tuesday Blue possibly wanted to be another U2; they are Irish after all. too bad Bono and mates already took that ambassadorship. instead Tuesday Blue settled for one sorta hit album and local fame and went back to Limerick to lead normal lives. i'm sure Michael Ryan and the boys reunite from time to time for weddings and the occasional trip down memory lane. hopefully, they don't begrudge one of their contemporaries and Limerick's more famous export, the Cranberries, who shot to bigger fame and fortune two years after Tuesday Blue called it quits.

with their debut, the band shows its n00bness, melding naivete ("Tell The Boys"), simple lyrics ("Between The Smiles and Tears") and restrained musicianship. but when they're on, they're on. "Love Me Simple" seems to be the first single off the album, but "Tunnel Vision" is their best song, showcasing Ryan's vocal chops with the rest of the band thundering behind him. they're best suited for bombastic rockers, which they oddly pepper with their Celtic influences that sometimes bog it down. and if you're a fan of Auto-Tune, you might think sometimes Ryan's using one. but this was in 1988. the boys made their mark (however small the footprint), and though they might be the answer to a trivia question, they're a valued rotation player in my iPod.
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There's nothing to the left of me
And there's nothing to the right of me
Only looking straight ahead of me
I have tunnel vision
I'm standing on the edge of it
I'm learning how to skate on it
I never stop to hesitate
I'm going for it

Oohh
All i know is i'm hungry
All i know is

Love and soul only
Head and heart only
The sun and moon keeping
Us apart ... only

All i know is i want it
And i know that it wants me
And the nearer i get
The stronger i feel
I have tunnel vision
And with my tunnel vision
Taking me where i want to go

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music and lyrics by Ryan/Keary/Lindeim/Fean/Jones