Caught this on one of the music channels the other day:
The mind goes all a-boggle when it considers how many middle-aged INXS fans’ mouths are currently frothing into Michael Hutchence cushion covers.
The thing is, as a chartbound reappropriation of one of INXS’s finest moments, it’s not actually that bad. It’s not going to appeal to anyone who owns a Kick t-shirt, obvs, but it recognises that there’s no point trying to reinterpret or reproduce that riff - you might as well just nick it wholesale. Because it is one of the bestest riffs of the last 25 years, and anyone who scoffs and goes off on a rant about how shit INXS were (are?) is a toolbag.
The song, as well, is a brilliant, sleazy, urgent, priapic kind of thing; and to me, somehow, despite lyrics that allude to the contrary, it manages not to stray into the turf marked “predatory”. I think the main reason for this is that in Michael Hutchence INXS had a frontman who, for all his pleads about needing “you”, and about being thrown into a perspirational tizzy by “you, girl”, would clearly have much rather spent a night boning himself, were it physically possible.
I love music biopics, me. And while I enjoy the good ones, I extract virtually an equal amount of pleasure from the bad.
One of my favourite bad ones is Hysteria, a 2001 VH1-produced TV film about Def Leppard. The Lepp have had a “colourful” history, and like many riffmongers from the last thirty years or so you can totally understand why people would want to turn their tale into a movie.
It would probably be a shame if Hysteria remained the only biopic of Def Leppard, but for British music fans it is quite giddy fun. It provides an amusing number of conspicuous location-related mistakes, and while one is willing to suspend one’s disbelief to an extent when entering movieland it’s pretty hard to do so when virtually the first shot is thoroughly goof-laden.
Found this interesting article on VillageVoice.com. It’s bascially an I.M chat with a stripper called Bubbles Burbujas in which she outlines what music does and doesn’t work in strip clubs.
For example:
Weezer = crowdpleaser, since these days the guys who like Weezer are pretty much a part of our target audience. And by that I mean guys who were GIANT DORKS about 15 years ago and now have money.
She also suggests that the bewilderingly long-lived popularity of mainstream rock bands such as Nickelback is linked to their popularity in strip clubs. Grizzly Bear’s success, meanwhile, definitely isn’t.
It sounds like it’s tough for modern acts to break the strip club gruff-rock hegemony, although Muse and Yeah Yeah Yeahs seem to get the nod.
Sometimes, readership, you read a Q&A with a popstar and get the distinct impression that, when it comes to the interview, “their heart’s not in it”.
Like, say, when the questions they’re asked are considerably longer than the answers they give.
Anyway, on a completely separate matter here’s Daisy of Daisy Dares You almost-fame (right, after losing a contact lens) answering some tricky teasers from this webalog.
This is Ruth Flowers, a 69 year-old DJ. What she actually does DJ-wise - apart from wear sparkly headphones and wave her hands about - is unclear from this video…
… BUT THAT’S THE CASE WITH ALL DJS ISN’T IT, WHO’S WITH ME?
I was hoping she might deliver an “it’s all just noise anyway” kiss-off at the end, but apparently DJ Ruth means it, man.
Found this interesting article on 
Sometimes, readership, you read a Q&A with a popstar and get the distinct impression that, when it comes to the interview, “their heart’s not in it”.
