Showing posts with label Beth Ditto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beth Ditto. Show all posts

Saturday, 13 January 2024

Aperitivo or main course?

Having had a bit of a pottering day (well, afternoon actually, after I finally surfaced), I think it's time for the first selection in 2024 of the "newer" songs that have caught my ear of late...

First up, something glitzy and rather odd (as is my wont), but catchy nonetheless...

Speaking of "crazy" - house fave Miss Beth Ditto's back again!

I have to admit, this whole "K-Pop" music thing of the past few years has rather passed me by - the appeal of androgynous boys or identikit girl-groups posing over twee pop music is lost on me. However, this one's rather good:

A ditty I thought rather appealing, (in a sort-of-retro way), first heard (once again) thanks to the faboo Lisa Tarbuck show on Radio 2:

As it's only five weeks - and counting - till we're in Spain again, this Flamenco-tinged number from a German DJ (actually released last summer, but new to me) will do nicely by way of an aperitivo...

And, saving the best to last - another utterly brilliant mash-up by the marvellous Mr McClintock!

As ever, dear reader, let me know your thoughts...

Saturday, 20 February 2021

Big Girl, You are Beautiful

Heavens! I almost missed the fact that the effervescent fierce rulin' diva, proud lesbian, lately plus-size fashionista and house fave here at Dolores Delargo Towers Miss Beth Ditto celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday...

Without further ado, by way of a tribute here are three of my favourite numbers by the diva herself - first up, a solo hit, and the following two with her band, the faboo Gossip:

It's a cruel cruel world
To face on your own
A heavy cross
To carry along
The lights are on
But everyone's gone
And it's cruel

It's a funny way
To make ends meet
When the lights are out
On every street
It feels alright
But never complete
Without joy

I checked you
If it's already been done
Undo it
It takes two
It's up to me and you
To prove it

On the rainy nights
Even the coldest days
You're moments ago
But seconds away
The principle of nature
It's true but
It's a cruel world

We can play it safe or play it cool
Follow the leader or make up all the rules
Whatever you want, the choice is yours
So choose

I checked you if it's already been done
Undo it
It takes two and it's up to me and you
To prove it

It's a cruel world.

Amen, sister!

Many happy returns, Beth Ditto (born Mary Beth Patterson, 19th February 1981)!

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Música pop



It is really about time I shared with you once again, dear reader, some of the weird and wonderful musical discoveries I have made over the last - ahem! - few weeks. The last one I did was in January, after all...

First up, our pop Princess Kylie has had rather a busy time of it over the past year, what with 2012 being her Silver Jubilee'n'all. Concert tours, special appearances, The Abbey Road Sessions, she even starred in a lesbian horror movie Jack & Diane! And to celebrate the coming of the new year, she not only changed management - to RocNation (sigh), home of such favourites (not) as Rihanna, Timbaland and Solange - but has released one of the songs from the aforesaid movie. Here's the very unusual Whistle...


To cheer us all up, Boy George protegés The Supreme Fabulettes' latest single is the camp-as-tits A Drag Queen Is A Cowboy's Best Friend:


Speaking of stalwarts of the "alternative" gay clubbing scene in London, Shinky Shonky impresario Boogaloo Stu has a new single out, a typically retro-sounding track - Magic Soul. It gets under your skin after a while...


I have absolutely no idea what the next song is all about as its description is in Hebrew, but it appears to be some kind of promotion for an Israeli restaurant. I don't give a toss, dears, it is from the same producers who brought us Uriel Yekutiel, it has pretty boys and good music, and that's worth something!

I will always have a soft spot for the outrageous Iberian pseudo-Goths Fangoria. Once again I have no clue what they are on about, but they certainly appear to have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into their new single and video:


Apparently the strangely-named Blitzkids mvt entered this song in the contest to decide Germany's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, only to lose to bloody Cascada. Shame, it's quite a good song:


From their forthcoming album of the same name, here's the saviours of electro music Hurts with a taster video for the track Exile. The most recent single is actually Miracle, but I think that is a bit too Coldplay for my liking. I may get used to it eventually. This, on the other hand is excellent...


Known-in-cool-circles Mr John Grant is one of those "poetic" singer-songwriters whose music has never attracted me. Until now, that is, when - on the recommendation of The Guardian no less - I heard the "No Ceremony Remix" of his track in collaboration with Biggi Veira from Icelandic dance pioneers Gus Gus, Pale Green Ghosts. It's rather fab, actually!



Canadian band Young Galaxy have a new single Pretty Boy, which sounds remarkably like Yellow Magic Orchestra. And that is no bad thing:


With eternal thanks to "AyeM8y" at Mean Dirty Pirate blog for the tip-off, here is the remarkable Miss Guy - lead singer of a band called the Toilet Boys, apparently - and Take It Off with a rather - erm - interesting video: [2023 UPDATE: Gone from the interwebs - here's the track on Soundcloud.]

We welcome once more with open arms the utterly brilliant Gossip - featuring one of our contemporary heroines Beth Ditto - and their newest release Get a Job!


And finally, with the gayest video on the planet, here's the lovely Del Marquis' first effort away from the Scissor Sisters (since they announced their hopefully temporary hiatus last year) - its Del & Xavier with Tickle Your Fancy!


Enjoy! And let me know what you think...

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Nuova musica



Once again, it is time for a visit to some of the choons that have pricked my attention of late...

Let's open the selection with the electro-tastic, feather-clad (and preposterously-named) Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (aka the equally-weirdly-named Orlando Higginbottom) with his new single Tapes & Money, released on 2nd April 2012. It's amazingly catchy!

NB 2024 UPDATE: Gone from YouTube et al, but you can still watch it on Universal Music's site here.

The ebullient Beth Ditto and The Gossip are set to return with their forthcoming album A Joyful Noise, produced by Kylie collaborators Xenomania and due out in May. From it, here is the (slightly "rocky" for my tastes) new single Perfect World:


Next, a fabulous slice of pure 80s-infused electro genius from I Am A Camera and their Warhol-inspired Factory Boys:


Ever-intriguing (I for one never quite know what to make of her), the artiste known as Santigold has released a remarkable video for her forthcoming single Disparate Youth. I love it!




Totty time! Courtesy once again of the lovely Henry over at Barbarella's Galaxy, the new single Nackt (naked) by the hunky London-born German gayer Jay Khan is rather good, but not as fab as its video!


However, this week there is only one song that could possibly be the "star of the show"! For, on the eve of the launch of Our Glorious Leader's much anticipated album MDNA (which you can listen to courtesy of The Sun), Madonna has really gone for gold with the wonderful video for the next single Girl Gone Wild.

Featuring none other than our house favourite bendy boy-band Kazaky (who I have featured previously here, here and here), it's the Queen of Pop herself, back on top form:


Enjoy!

Thursday, 24 February 2011

I am what I play

This is becoming a regular feature here at Dolores Delargo Towers! Here's another round-up of the videos and music that caught my attention this week...

To kick off, the very welcome return of the BIG lady with the BIG attitude, Miss Beth Ditto! This is fabulous:


Speaking of girls with attitude, this incredible dance number was never off the airwaves while we were in Spain - Luciana, we love you!


Changing the mood completely... I never ever tire of the adorable (and completely barking mad) Miss Róisín Murphy! Here she is collaborating with Aussie band The Bullits on a most magnificent adaptation of the theme from cult TV favourite The Persuaders(!)


[Read my blog from 2008 for more fabulous 1960s TV themes]

Now this next video is a little gem that really cheered me up! Courtesy of our chums over at The Hospital Club. With a fabby Blue Peter-style video and irresistibly catchy hook, here's Frankie and the Heartstrings...


Eternal thanks once more to the lovely Henry and his new-found enthusiasm for posting the weird and the wonderful in his very own Barbarella's Galaxy. This delightful electro choon by Pshycotic [sic] Beats featuring one of our major patron saints Bette Davis is very much in the genre that we call "our kind of music" here at Dolores Delargo Towers - I love it!


And finally, from the diva to the nightmare. This rather spooky little video for a haunting song is definitely worth a mention - earlier this week, Doorway by Planningtorock got into my head and refused to leave...