Lopez Blogs

This rather marvelistic post by sex in a haircut blogger XO reminded me to flashback (sidebar: GREAT Simon Curtis song) to 1988 when my obsession with certain acts really began. Picture it - I'm a gangly fourteen year old boy whose top 5 pop acts consist of Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Erasure, Whitney and A-Ha. I spend far too much time wanking off in my bedroom over pictures of Morton Hacket or the latest hot mormon missionary to descend upon our congregation at church. I'm obsessed with Australian tv and can't get enough of Neighbours or the late night showings of Prisoner: Cell Block H (I think i probably fancied Steve Faulkner, the "spunk" prison officer knobbing off top dog-soon-to-be-crushed-in-a-garbage-compactor-Sandy). I think fashion consists of khaki coloured cords and a blue denim shirt (shudder). And for some reason i think the coolest car in the world is a Ford Capri. For fucks sake. And then two albums came out that utterly changed my perception of pop music. I mean 88 was a good vintage for pop music - the explosion of S/A/W, Belinda Carlisle's power pop opus Heaven On Earth, the debut of Tiffany et al... but these two albums proved to me that pop didn't have to have expectations or the all encompassing coverage it gets now months before releases surface. It could just one day pop up and surprise you with it's charming innocence...So (with thanks to XO for reminding me of that fateful year) here are the two albums that made music and artists an obsession with me...

Kylie Minogue - Kylie:
In the days before every single Kylie track ever recorded leaked onto the net and was scrutinised for 37 pages and 327 posts on Popjustice, Kylie was merely Charlene in Neighbours and probably thought she could make a few bucks by releasing a pop record or two. Who knew that 20 years later she would still be a cultural phenomenon? In retrospect, I Should Be So Lucky hasn't aged well, but because of it's standing as Kylie's first single it stands out as the simplest pop song ever with a ridiculously catchy refrain. Everyone remembers the singles (Got To Be Certain, Locomotion and Je Ne Sais Pas) but pretty much every song was interchangeable as a single and some were in other regions - It's No Secret was a US top 40 hit (i think) while Hazel Dean nabbed Turn It Into Love stormed the asiatic markets. But even tracks like the gleeful Love At First Sight and poptacular Made In Heaven sparkled with the S/A/W magic and edible melodies. Sure, it wasn't going to win any grammies or brits, but i'll take a smash hits poll winners party winner over Tasmin Archer anyday. Now how about a special edition rereleased with Made In Heaven, Especially For You, All I Wanna Do, original aussie Locomotion and strangely flat but worth it for curiosity aussie b-sides Getting Closer and Glad To Be Alive added onto it? With some Kylie written liner notes? Eh?

MP3: Kylie and Jason - No One Is To Blame (live recording) (shockingly bad - in execution not mp3 quality!)

Debbie Gibson, Out Of The Blue:
It occurs to me while Britney, Lindsay, Vanessa Hudgens et al, get their every move papped and documented, crotches on display, mental breakdowns and booze filled antics recorded for posterity, no one really cared in the 80s. Certainly the most skin Debbie showed was her knee through her cut out jeans on her album cover. And the album has that whole teenage girl love vibe to it that isn't tarnished by the sluttiness of todays teen sensations. I bought the album without hearing a note of Debs music, because I liked the description I read of Shake Your Love (which my friends maintained was a metaphor for masturbation. Pervs) in No. 1 magazine "Debbie displays a touch of Kylie pop, americanised and polished and written by the young star". As I was also rather geekily into writing piano songs at the time (think Ross and his keyboard in friends) this appealed to me and by the time i had reached Between The Lines at the end of side two, i had begun a completely smitten unrequited encompassing love affair with the singer that still continues to this day. Again, the singles are well documented (Foolish Beat retains the record for being recorded written and produced by the youngest person ever to hit number one on the Billboard 100) but it's the album tracks that draw me in after all these years. Play The Field had the naive charm of a 16 year old weighing up her prom date options back in the day, but could now soundtrack those saucy bucket vaginas on Sex and the City. Between The Lines ages well because of it's beautiful melody and how it now speaks to anyone searching for a loved one. And this is one album that should definitely have a special edition release - how about the charity track Medley of Rhymes and two almost-made-the-album-but-didn't demo tracks, the cutesy Eating To Be Social and perfect for an American Idol winner Spotlight...

MP3: Eating To Be Social
MP3: Spotlight

Coming tomorrow: Singles selection. Probably or maybe. (How poppostergirl of me :P )