web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Mike Heyliger

  • Infatueighties #61: Who Can it Be Now?

    It makes perfect sense to have a song by Men at Work follow one of The Police (although, if you really wanna get technical, it’s actually in FRONT of a song by The Police, but let’s not talk semantics now). Colin Hay and his band of merry Aussies were often accused of biting Sting, Stewart and Andy, but even if they were a carbon copy, at least they were a good carbon copy. “Who Can it Be Now?” is one of the best debut singles of the decade-from that signature sax part to it’s insistent drumbeat to Colin Hay’s deadpan vocal, which makes him sound even nuttier than if he’d screamed the song’s lyrics.

    Men at Work burned bright and fast. Their debut, Business as Usual (which contained “Who Can it Be Now?”), hung around at #1 for the latter part of ’82 and the first part of ’83, and the band won the Best New Artist Grammy Award before anyone knew that winning that was the beginning of the end. A follow-up, Cargo, sold well off the fumes from the previous album, and by the time the band’s third album, Two Hearts, was released in ’85, no one cared anymore. Lead singer Colin Hay has gone on to a mildly successful solo career and is a particular favorite of Zach Braff, who put him on the Platinum-selling Garden State soundtrack and has featured him in several episodes of “Scrubs”.

    I wonder if Rockwell was inspired to watch “Somebody’s Watching Me” after hearing this song.

  • Infatueighties: #64: Pass the Dutchie

    Ba-psssshhh! Dis generay-SHUN, brrrrap! ruuules the nay-TION, brrrrrap! with VER-shun!!

    Whether you’d been grooving to reggae since its’ inception or had never heard a song by a Jamaican act before, there was no doubt that Pass The Dutchie got asses wiggling and backs off walls as soon as it came on a sound system. A remake of a song called Pass The Kutchie, the title was changed because of the fact that the members of Musical Youth were all in their early-mid teens (for the uninformed, a “kutchie” refers to a joint. A “dutchie” is a pot that food gets cooked in. Pot? Pot!! Oh, those crazy Jamaicans).

    The members of Musical Youth, who were British of Jamaican descent, brought reggae to the Top 10 on the pop charts for one of the first times, presaging acts ranging from Shaggy to Shabba Ranks to Sean Paul. The reason this song sticks out from so much other music released around this period is that it sounds like everyone involved in the recording is having a blast. Must have been one good kutchie being passed around!

    Watch the video. I dare you not to dance or at least bob your head (because you might be reading this at work and if you start dancing, your co-workers might worry a little bit). I can even help you out with a translation of some of the Jamaican patois. Just don’t ask me why the kid croaks “ribbit!” at the end of the song.

  • New Video: Under the Big Top with Britney Spears

    I’ve never been the world’s biggest Britney Spears fan, but I have this desire to hear her new album, Circus (which should not be confused with my desire to spend money on it, something I don’t have). Maybe it’s the fact that Britney’s bounced back after her hellacious year and looks better than ever on the cover (how shallow). Maybe it’s that tons of people whose opinions I respect have given the album good reviews (including one review you’ll find later this week). Perhaps it’s the fact that the two songs I’ve heard so far have been not-awful-Womanizer has actually grown on me a little bit. Whichever way, I’m gonna try to get my grubby little mitts on a copy if I can find it for cheap (or free).

    Which brings us to the point of this whole post-Miss Spears’ brand new video. It’s for the title track of Circus, and it’s certainly a feast for the eyes. There’s a lot going on, and thankfully Britney actually goes with a circus theme here. It’s certainly worth checking out for the production values, even if you don’t particularly care for the song itself.