I said I'd try and get another one of my "Pick of the Pops" compilations done before the Festering Season crashes upon us, and 2023 crawls to its inevitable close - so let's have another look at/listen to some of the "newer" choons that have caught my ear of late, shall we? [I promise there'll be no "seasonal music"...]
Let's start as we mean to go on, with something quite kinky. Not sure even Billy Idol would have gone this far!
Next, yet another in a long line of choons that stands out from the crowd, yet turns out to be nowhere near new [it's from @adecadeago, in fact] - but I had never heard it before the faboo Liza Tarbuck played it on her Radio 2 show, so it's as good as...
And now for something completely different! A bizarre collaboration between an Italian folk-pop band and an operatic tenor? Right up our street, methinks:
Even more off-the-wall, we always love an unexpected rendition of something familiar:
...and we also love "kooky choreography"! [Thanks, Melanie!]
Marianne Faithfull is GOD. Thus it is only appropriate that a host of "alternative" artists have given their time and talent to release an album of covers of her songs as a fundraiser for her (as she recovers from "Long COVID"), including Cat Power, Iggy Pop, Joan As Police Woman, Lydia Lunch - and these two [duetting on one of my fave Marianne songs]!
Changing the tone completely, here's something extremely "retro" - yet utterly brand new! Giving a nod to the "blue-eyed soul revival" that swirled around a few years ago when Amy Winehouse, Duffy and their ilk ruled the roost, this Amsterdam band has it nailed:
And, leaving the best to last... This! Campness abounds!
As ever, dear reader, let me know your thoughts...