forgotten pop gems of yesteryear

It’s Unlikely Elton John’s Wish Would Be Granted In This Day And Age

3:14PM Jess McGuire | Post-9/11, aircraft passenger demands to see the pilot would probably be met with a nice pair of handcuffs, but “back in the day” Elton John was free to speak to whomever he damn well wanted, even if his urge to banter occurred midflight. To honour this innocent cocaine-fuelled time in music – and continuing our celebration of Forgotten Pop Gems Of Yesteryear – let’s revel in the bouncy goodness that is Elton John’s ‘Take Me To The Pilot’. I can’t find an official clip to save my life, so here’s Reg performing it live in 1992. More »

Let’s Take A Moment To Appreciate One Of Boom Crash Opera’s Finest Moments…

9:45AM Jess McGuire | So on Friday night, before attending the amazing Dave McCormack/Angie Hart gig at the Northcote Social Club (can I just mention once more my bloody massive McCormack crush?), I went to my friend Kerry’s house and we began watching the amazing Chartbusting 80s IV DVD while supping champers, and the following video clip hit the small screen. I had no idea that song was by Boom Crash Opera! Shame on me for only ever having associated them with ‘Onion Skin’. I remember ‘Dancing In The Storm’ because it featured in the Ben Mendelsohn/Claudia Karvan classic The Big Steal but never realised the lads from Boom Crash Opera were responsible for it. I feel enlightened and… sort of shocked. Nice Big Country moment, Boom Crash Opera. What are they up to now, I wonder? Well, why not add them on the Spazz and find out for yourself. I love that their profile’s tagline is “Look .. do you know who we used to be???” More »

This Is Probably The Greatest Song Of All Time

4:11PM Jess McGuire | It occurred to me this morning that I don’t share nearly enough of my borderline psychotic pop culture tastes with you, loyal readers. Sure, you probably picked up on the fact I was in the midst of an Icehouse ‘Electric Blue’ obsession back in February but is that enough? Surely I should be offering you delicious slices of spazztasical idiocy on a more regular basis? After all, I have been officially quoted in a proper grown up paper as saying “I love so much but maybe it is all about shit … Who knew?” so there’s no hiding it now. Therefore, please breathe deeply, load the following video, and suck up the goodness that is Phil Collins’ ‘Don’t Lose My Number’. This is not a guilty pleasure, mind you. I genuinely think the song is GENIUS. Melodramatic, totally eighties, and a killer tune to spin when you’re DJ-ing (well, anywhere but an Absolut 15 competition where you’re catering to the tastes of vodka swilling coolsies who will respond to your selection with an expression that can best be described as a mix of confusion and contempt, as DJ GIN + JUICE can assure you from experience). All in all, I give it eighty thousand out of ten, and I suspect I will NEVER get over the tune’s cheesy brilliance. A live version of it has been my MySpazz profile song for about two months straight, and it’s not going anywhere. Is it wrong that I am now actually kind of sad I’ll never be able to hear it live in concert? It is? Okay. I can accept that. PS: The official clip is quite long and ridiculous, but I’ve lovingly placed it for your perusal over the jump. More »

Forgotten Pop Gems Of Yesteryear (To Be An Ongoing Series, If We Can Be Bothered)

10:25AM Jess McGuire | Things we enjoy in ridiculously cheesy pop songs: Lyrics penned with the help of a rhyming dictionary. Said lyrics being penned with the added bonus of an English As A Second Language angle. Grunting distorted rock guitar bringing chunky magic to the equation whilst still kept to a minimal volume so as not to scare the elderly (see also the collected solo works of one Carlisle, B) One word – KEYCHANGE! Or maybe that’s two words. EITHER WAY, YES! YES! YES! Vocals breaking/changing slightly due to the sheer epic emotion of it all (see also ‘Electric Blue’ by Icehouse, specifically the point at 3.13 in the song) Video clips featuring the sartorial mistakes of yesteryear. Therefore we are most pleased to shove down your throats our newfound love of Roxette’s blistering ballad ‘Fading Like A Flower’ which meets every single fucking one of those requirements. Relive it right now. (pumps fist in the air) We also enjoyed the following comments made on the YouTube clip featured above. hard as steel! ISN’T IT THOUGH? Marie is the only chick who can pull off that hairstyle without looking like a lesbian. We’re not entirely convinced this is factually correct, but whatever. More »