Let's dance!

30 years ago, it was impossible to imagine I'd ever be 50, but here we are. Today, I've been part of this absurdity called life for exactly half a century. When you're young, you think you'll be young forever. I like to think that I am still young in many ways, but then my body decides to remind me that I'm actually an old git and to sit back down with a nice cup of tea. 50 is only a great age if you're a fine cognac or a bottle of Scotch...

I don't have much in the way of plans. I hate parties (something that 30 years ago I never thought I'd write) so it'll be a strictly family affair with good food and good music. Speaking of which...

This is the third attempt at writing something to mark this occasion. The second attempt was the definitive one before I changed my mind. It featured a song for each decade of my life so far, mainly centred around the letter L, which as you know is the Roman numeral for 50. I've decided to replace it with this one today, but I've divided that other planned post into six daily ones that will appear here throughout the week.

So today, despite my aversion to parties, I'm giving you a party mix which will be played this evening during a family dinner. It's very different to what you may expect from me as it's rather electronic-based, but I like to think I can still spring the odd surprise even at this ripe old age. I initially aimed to make it 50 minutes long, but I quickly realised that wasn't nearly enough time to include everything I wanted. So it's 20 songs over 70+ minutes. Please don't expect a professional-sounding DJ-type job, I'm not nearly skilled enough for that. Some of it is quite rough, in fact, but it does the job.

If you fancy having a birthday dance with us, please feel free. I'll probably be sitting on the sofa tapping my feet with a warm blanket over my lap whilst trying to remember the days when I could dance like Bez for hours on end without having to worry about feeling stiff as a board the day after! And the day after that...

Anyway, enjoy. Dance if you want to. And stay tuned for daily posts all this week...

50... and counting
compiled by TheRobster

Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Django Django - Glowing In The Dark
Björk - Big Time Sensuality [Fluke minimix]
Primal Scream - Don't Fight It, Feel It [Graham Massey mix] (segment)
New Order - Paradise [Robert Racic remix]
Arcade Fire - Sprawl II [Thunderlust remix]
Public Service Broadcasting - Theme From PSB [D/R/U/G/S remix]
Gulp - Morning Velvet Sky [Richard Morris remix]
M.I.A. - XXXO
Saint Etienne - Tonight
James - Wherever It Takes Us
Madonna - Sky Fits Heaven
Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
Utah Saints - New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence [reinterpreted by Mike Shinoda]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Stone Roses - Begging You [radio edit]
Yeasayer - Ecstatic Baby
David Bowie - Dead Man Walking [edit]
Hafdis Huld - Fucked Up Mind

Grab it here

50 albums to take to my grave #22: Ray Of Light

Not expecting this one, were we? I wrestled over whether 'Like A Prayer' or 'Ray Of Light' would make this list. Both are absolutely worthy of being here, but my self-imposed rule of only one title per artist means I was forced to choose. In the end, I went for 'Ray Of Light'. For me, it's the most musically and vocally dynamic record of Мadonna's career. It's credited as being the album that brought electronic music to the forefront of mainstream culture. I don't care about that so much, but it did make me sit up and take notice of her again.

'Ray Of Light' is rich and varied in its sounds and moods, yet it never veers too far off the pop path Мadonna had travelled down in her 15 year career up to this point. However, it was more mature than anything she had done before, whilst remaining as relevant as ever. For me, electronic music can far too often drift into nonsensical computerised nothingness - no soul, no heart, no feeling. Here though, the electronics are used to amazing effect. Sky Fits Heaven is devastatingly powerful, belying the delicate melody Мadonna sings over the top. That contrast is stark but boy does it work well. The title track, one of the best tracks in her entire repertoire, is dynamic and exciting. Мadonna's vocal is astounding, showing off a range even she probably didn't realise she had.

Her spiritual studies play a part in the overall feel of the album too. There are a lot of references to South Asian mysticism and the Kaballah, in particular on Shanti/Ashtangi, where her reading of a Hindu prayer in Sanskrit over a driving electronic rhythm sends shivers down my spine. This meshing of the ancient with the modern may not have been entirely new, but it was practically unheard of for a mainstream pop superstar at the time. Then there's the ambient closer Mer Girl, which could in all honesty be a Björk track. No bad thing.

Ultimately though, as you probably know, for me he most important thing is: bugger the technical stuff, are the songs any good? Fortunately, 'Ray Of Light' comes up trumps here too. Aside from the aforementioned ones, Swim, Frozen and The Power Of Goodbye rate right up there among her best work. It's not surprising 'Ray Of Light' picked up so many plaudits in 1997. What is surprising is how good it sounds 18 years on. It's certainly dated much better than 'Like A Prayer', as great as that record is.

Some of you probably haven't got this far down this piece. In fact, some of you probably just read the title and got the hell out of Dodge as fast as you could. Deal with it. I stand by my choice. 'Ray Of Light' is an awesome piece of work and one that I'm proud to hold up as an all-time fave.

This Is Pop!

“What do you call that noise
That you put on?”
    ~ ‘This Is Pop’ by XTC

I have, from time to time, been considered as a bit of a music snob. I resent that. I don’t generally snub or criticise entire genres. I may well feel negative towards numerous aspects of certain genres, but there’s usually something in every genre that I will quite like or admire. My history with Abba is one of the reasons why I simply cannot dismiss pure pop entirely. It’s also why, even as I discovered rock, metal, indie and numerous other guitar-oriented fields, I still never completely left my pop roots behind.

Madonna is a classic example of a pop artist who resonated with me, and to a certain extent still does. I fell for her, like many others, when Like A Virgin became a huge hit. She looked dead cool and a lot of fun. Madonna was/is more than just a singer; she was/is a performer. In many ways, Madonna rewrote the script in terms of how pop music should be done. She never compromised and while she often sexualised herself, she never seemingly allowed herself to be manipulated by others. 

Her early works really should be considered among the elite of everything that happened in 80s pop. That first self-titled record has some incredible tunes on it – Borderline still makes me tingle – and this trend continued through 'Like A Virgin' and 'True Blue'. But by the time 'Like A Prayer' came out, Madonna was not only established as the queen of pop, but as one of the most colourful and controversial stars on the planet. In a way, the furore over the video for Like A Prayer and her increasing self-imposed sexualisation overshadowed Madonna’s remarkable talent as a performer. 'Like A Prayer' remains one of my favourite albums of all time, its title track in particular being her first real work of genius.

I lost touch with Madonna for a while following 'Like A Prayer', but reconnected with her on the release of the 'Ray Of Light' album, her collaboration with producer William Orbit. It, too, rates very highly on my list of all time fave records.  Since then my interest has been mainly one of curiosity. Madonna still provokes, knowing which buttons can be pressed to get tongues wagging. Yet, she never comes across as desperate (unlike the non-stop publicity-seeking antics of Lady Gaga who, quite frankly, has long passed the desperation stage and is now well ensconced in the realms of the pathetic). Of course, this too is up for discussion, but I’d rather hear what Madonna has to say than pretty much any aspiring young wannabe who just happens to be the current flavour of the month. I wonder if Gaga will ever get an entire monologue written about her in the way Tarantino did for Madonna in 'Reservoir Dogs'?[1] Don’t hold your breath, little monsters…

Madonna obviously stands out in the kingdom of pop as much for being Madonna than her music. It was always about the music for me though, which is why, into my teens, I still bought a decent amount of pure pop records. The Pet Shop Boys occupied a small space in my collection, as did Erasure and Depeche Mode. All three were ‘OK to like’ among the cooler echelons of the music press. Pet Shop Boys songs were not just throwaway pieces of pop trash, they had substance. Lyrically they were often cutting, witty or insightful which, when married to a damn fine tune – of which there were many – resulted in songs that transcended the majority of other chart fodder at the time. Erasure and Depeche Mode were signed to the uber-cool indie label Mute, whose roster also included Nick Cave, Wire, Fad Gadget and German industrial legends Einstürzende Neubauten. I remember buying a lovely (but very limited) marbled-vinyl 12” remix of an Erasure single one lunch hour at college. On examining it in the student common room, a cool kid asked me if I collected Mute records. “No,” was my uncool, naïve reply. “I just like the song.”  “You should,” he concluded. “They’re very collectable.”

‘Collecting’ records wasn’t a concept that I was wholly familiar with. Sure, I had bought some collectable items over the years – gatefold sleeves, coloured vinyl, picture discs – but mainly for the novelty value rather than the monetary value. I couldn’t quite understand the point of buying records because they were on a particular label. But with hindsight, picking up some more of those 80s Mute rarities could have proven to be a worthwhile venture. Mute wasn’t the only collectable label at the time. There were also the likes of 4AD and Factory, the former of which boasted Throwing Muses and Pixies in its impressive roster, while the latter had Joy Division and New Order.

It was when I was 16 and part way into becoming a fully-fledged ‘indie-kid’ that I somewhat belatedly got into New Order. I heard True Faith and became immediately hooked (pun intended)[2]. It’s one of those tracks that moves me tremendously, in a truly emotional sense. There’s just something about it that gives me a sort of lovesick pang in my stomach and makes my hairs stand up on end. It also has one of my favourite ever sleeves.

Factory Records, like 4AD, was as revered for its artwork as for its music[3]. Its emphasis was on the visual with a particularly minimal stance (unlike the literary nature of the extensive sleevenotes of ZTT releases, as I discovered through Frankie Goes To Hollywood). The golden leaf image on True Faith was the work of Peter Saville, Factory’s in-house designer[4] and has been revived in numerous forms and colour schemes on New Order releases since. It struck me as another example of ‘the perfect package’ – the outside and the inside combining style and substance in harmony (another pun[5]).

But in the end, it’s all comes back to music. Pop doesn’t get any poppier than Saint Etienne. But while New Order had the highly artistic sleeve art and Madonna had her highly-publicised confrontational elements, Saint Etienne’s main appeal is their music. True, they have a pretty female singer who many would argue adds to the appeal, but like the Pet Shop Boys, Saint Etienne clearly realise all you really need are good songs and everything else will follow. Having said that, there is something about their moodiness which sets them aside of the rest. When I say moodiness, I don't mean miserable; Sarah Cracknells' sweet and blissfully light vocals can put a smile on even the grumpiest old git's face. There is a definite air about them, though.

Take their second album, 'So Tough', for instance. The opening "ooohs" on Mario's Café lead into a glorious stream of observations - the people, actions and conversations in a London caff. Dull? Not likely – it’s a slice of real life. Musically, it's still relevant because a lot of it was quite retro at the time of release; You're In A Bad Way is like an understated Phil Spector-esque girl group minus the wall-of-sound, while Conchita Martinez mixes Italian house piano with a sample of Rush's Spirit Of Radio.

But Saint Etienne's strength is obviously the single. From their debut, a sublime cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart to the present day, Messrs Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have always been able to knock out a decent tune. The singles album 'Too Young To Die', which compiles songs from 1990 to 1995, is a delightful example of this. For me, the highlight is Hobart Paving. Boasting a string section and a beautifully mournful French horn (both absent from the original 'So Tough' album version), it is the best example of Sarah Cracknell's captivating, almost hypnotic voice. It is a song I listen to even when I'm not in the mood for something light.

It's well worth mentioning songs like Avenue, an entrancing and rather offbeat seven-minute opus which demonstrates a slightly more adventurous side to the group. Then there's Join Our Club, which celebrated the rave and grunge movements of the early 90s and the feelings of belonging they brought with them.

More recently, Saint Etienne’s latest album 'Words & Music' is pretty much all about “how music affects your life… believing in music, living your life by its rules.”[6] For this alone, it has become one of my favourite records of the past few years.

Pop music is nothing to be ashamed of. When it’s done properly – Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Saint Etienne, etc – it takes on an entirely new aesthetic and validates its status as an art form that can stand up to serious critical appraisal, regardless of its reasons for existing.

Soundtrack:

• Like A Prayer – Madonna (from ‘Like A Prayer’)
• It's A Sin – Pet Shop Boys (from ‘Actually’)
• True Faith – New Order (from ‘Substance 1987’) 
  
• Hobart Paving [single version] – Saint Etienne (from ‘Too Young To Die – The Singles 90-95’)

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[1] The classic ‘Like A Virgin’ monologue: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reservoir_Dogs (checked 7/10/13)

[2] Not going to explain it – I shouldn’t have to!

[3] The book Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album (ISBN 978-0500286364) is very highly recommended

[4] 4AD had Vaughan Oliver, ZTT had AJ Barrett (pics) and Paul Morley (words)

[5] ‘Substance’ being the title of the compilation album that ‘True Faith’ immediately preceded.
[6] http://www.saintetienne.com/music/words-and-music-by-saint-etienne/ (accessed 16 October 2013)