Yes, I know that it’s a Pete Waterman job. And I know that it’s arguably ruining a well-loved, classic song. But I still have a soft spot for this after it popped up on a Now! 23 album that I purchased from Warwick Uni’s one-and-only Vinyl Geezer™.
So, for better for worse, it’s…
Undercover – Baker Street
One of the many things I love about music – and always return to once tired of an artist, genre, or era – is that there’s always another piece out there, somewhere, which is surprising and beautiful enough to rekindle that fire, and make me sit up and take notice again. One did just that tonight, so I thought I’d share.
It’s a bit old – from last year – but Adam Freeland’s Mancry nevertheless demanded my attention via the (extremely pleasant) Gui Boratto remix during a progressive house podcast. It sports one of those refrains that spurs a distant memory, then lodges in your consciousness until you track down the source. That I did, and here it is:
Adam Freeland – Mancry
It’s uncomplicated, perhaps even sparse, but there’s a certain sense of yearning in the swelling atmospherics that keeps me coming back. Clearly the Black Eyed Peas liked it too, as they promptly sampled it, ruining it in the process by yapping about parties or something over the top. That aside, it’s stirring stuff to keep the autumn at bay.
“There aren’t enough ukuleles on this blog.” A thought that you, dear reader, have no doubt encountered while wending your way ‘twixt the fertile Shinypixel gardens. The recent feature on an earnest web engineer extolling the virtues of a styling language may even have prompted it.
It indeed prompted me to dredge back through the last decade, to seek out a couple of US comedians from the turn of the millennium whose twangy comedic pop tickled fresh-faced Uni youngster Rik back in 2002. The Ukes of Hazzard caused a minor Internet sensation with their unique take on traditional relationship problems; their trick – singing wonkily atop the enthusiastic rattling of ukeleles – surpassed the desired randomness quotas of early web users and Warwick students alike.
The video sealed the deal. Produced on a shoestring, with reams of digital production and a whole lot of love, it’s been viewed over 2 million times, which for something predating the YouTube generation by such a long chalk is quite an achievement:
The Ukes of Hazzard – Gay Boyfriend
Those were the days.
As a bizarre footnote, a UK CD single release popped up sometime around the death of pop music in 2004. Autotuned and cruelly stripped of folksy instrumentation, its cookie-cutter bubblegum pop faded quickly out of the dying charts and into obscurity. I picked up a copy in Oxfam on Portobello Road – I’m not overly surprised that no-one bought it.
(I’m out of ukelele-based anecdotes now. I promise.)
If I said to you “Paul Hardcastle”, then you’d probably reply “Who?” or “N-n-n-n-nineteen” and look quite pleased with yourself. If you were to be feeling particularly smug, you might mention the shocking cricket-based cover version of 19 by Rory Bremner.
It’s a bit of a shame that that’s all people seem to remember of Paul Hardcastle. Many years ago I possessed a second-hand Smash Hits tape which had been half taped-over by its previous owner, obliterating Big Fun in favour of various mixes of Hardcastle’s latest singles. Alongside 19 was Just For Money, this excellent synth track which my naive mind assumed contained samples of Del Boy & Rodney. After IDing and tracking it down on 12″ many years later, I was surprised to find that the actual samples are (in order of incredulity) Hardcastle himself, Bob Hoskins, and Laurence Olivier.
Worth a listen.
Paul Hardcastle (feat. Bob Hoskins & Laurence Olivier) – Just For Money
There’s a World Cup on, y’know. I approve of this particular World Cup song because – among other things – it contains brass, silly moustaches, ukuleles and a kazoo.
Dulwich Ukelele Club – There May Be Glory Ahead
(via The Londonist)
Rik Ward is a gentleman of West London, a dashing client/server-side developer by day and intriguing man of mystery by night.
You are perusing his blog, wherein music, art, independent games and general whimsy mix gently into an entertaining, frothy mixture.
He also occasionally makes things: websites like Drivvle and handy software that can be found in Shinypixel Labs.
Rik is also, of course, on Twitter, as it's where all modern gentlemen are these days.
