Aquadays - 'Sunshine Girl'...

Dreamy, lovely.  Like a long, slow gold-laden sigh of wistful happiness.  I had the pleasure of meeting Martin Aamot (whose new band is The Electric Pop Group) when I played in Gothenburg in 2003.  He brought me their 'Electric Songs' cd and I fell in love with it as soon as I put it on.  This was the only version I could find to listen to:

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Nina Brodskaya - "S Lyubovyu Vstretitsya" (To Meet With A Love)...

In order to share this song and that of the previous post (Marianne Mendt's wonderful "Wie A Glock'n") was the whole reason I started this blog.  I discovered this magnificent slice of pop when I was trying to learn Russian a few years ago and was watching the comedy films of Leonid Gaidai .  I can highly recommend 'The Diamond Arm' but I was absolutely delighted to learn that there was already a film called 'Back To The Future', well 'Ivan Vasilievich: Back To The Future', released in Russia in 1973.  (I have since bought a DVD collection of Gaidai's work, but these are readily available on Netflix if you're in the States).  Even with my only-rudimentary grasp of Russian I found 'Ivan Vasilievich' very funny.  A scientist builds a time machine in his flat and accidentally sends his building manager and a thief back to 16th Century Moscow while Ivan The Terrible is transported to 1973?  Amazing!  It's apparently based on a 1935 play by Mikhail Bulgakov.  And quite early on in the film there's this:



Which immediately had me sitting up closer to the screen, completely captivated.  It took a bit of research but I was to learn that the singer is Nina Brodskaya (delighted to find this page, which has lots of mp3s of her early work that I'm eager to check out).  Here is the full mp3 of this song, which was sent to me by a very nice man named Juri, who has some more Russian songs up on his blog.  Aleksandr Zatsepin is the composer and worked a lot on Gaidai's films.  I've since bought his 'Izbrannoe' collection which is quite good, my favourite being 'Zvezdni Most'. This looks quite interesting as well, Morricone and Zatsepin doing the soundtracks for 'La Tenda Rossa' as for some reason the Russian version had Morricone's score replaced.

Marianne Mendt - Wie A Glock'n...

This song is UTTERLY JOYOUS.  Listening, you just think "YES!!!  THIS IS WHAT POP SHOULD BE!!"  Driving, ebullient, really going for it.  Fun, with an insistent story to tell.  The title translates as "Like A Bell".  I discovered this a few years back on the ace 'The In-Kraut - Hip Shaking Grooves Made In Germany 1966-1974' compilation. 

Tin Tin - Toast And Marmalade For Tea...

Busy today but Harvey Williams posted this lovely lovely song last night.  Is that 2 modulations?!  Oh yes. Album and more info here.

Lesley Gore - "Sometimes"...

I have Patrick to thank for introducing me to this song (4:40 version in link).  I absolutely LOVE majorkey disco and funk like this.  That guitar riff gets you moving.  And that "woo" in the chorus always sends a shiver of pure joy up my spine.  Another song I find it impossible to listen to and not be happy.

Sweden To London Of A Summer Evening (via France & Japan)...

Two summers ago, my friends Sasha and Felix were over from Stockholm.  On the Saturday, the 4th of July, we went to see The Indelicates (my favourite band of recent years, more on them later) play an amazing gig.  It was on this night that the Eiscafe song "Slag To Love" began (free if you want it, just type in 0).  Sunday was a day of much-needed recuperation and on Monday evening we reconvened, made an incredibly spicy meal, drank some beer and listened to A LOT of ace music.  I had never seen the Serge Gainsbourg - D'Autres Nouvelles Des Etoiles DVD collection before.  And hadn't heard the amazing "Dents De Lait, Dents De Loup" duet with France Gall.  WOW!  Tragically there seems to never have been a proper recording of this song.  I can't find out much information about it either.  It seems "Dents De Lait, Dents De Loup" was some sort of French music television show in 1967, this possibly being its theme song.  That lovely slinky mod guitar sliding into bouncy major key pop.



They also introduced me to Alizée and this wonderful song:






As this glorious summer evening rounded midnight, my friends began to put on some Japanese psychpop/rock, introducing me to Yura Yura Teikoku whose "Hoshi Ni Nareta" is just beautiful, a perfect latenight soundtrack.  I was told that it roughly translates as "I Turned Into A Star".  It is the last song on their excellent "Memai" album.  I can't find a video of that but here's some other good ones:







And then at the other, darker, end of the pop spectrum came The Jacks whose fantastic first LP, "Vacant World", would a few weeks later soundtrack my hourlong attempt to find a highway, being lost on the unlit backroads of rural New Hampshire late at night.  I rather like this one:

Violet Lights...

As we're waiting for some proper H Bird videos to get made (and if anyone would like to make one, please get in touch!), I've put 2 songs from "Operation: Fascination" up with our lovely cover girl, drawn by Pippa Alice , just to have something on YouTube for people to hear.