Dance without hats

Luke Kenny suggests must have music in your ipods from his favourites

So I woke up this morning with this song in my head and I couldn’t place it. I mean, I knew the song but I just couldn’t get the title or the artiste. And after a whole hour of racking my brain (it would take a normal person a whole day at least, if at all), just like that, it came to me.

HT Image

The song was The Safety Dance… by Canadian one-hit wonders Men Without Hats. The song was a huge 1982 hit in the US and the UK and became a cultural phenomenon at the time.The video was equally unique, riffing on English folk themes like the Maypole and Punch and Judy and featured the dancers making the famous ‘S’ sign that became a craze at the time. The song remains their biggest hit to date, having being covered by artistes like Status Quo and has been used in many films and TV shows, like Hot Tub Time Machine and Glee.

I remember being highly amused on seeing the video and thought how wonderfully quaint it was. Directed by the legendary Tim Pope, it remains one of the great curios of the 1980s pop scene. I leave you with the words of lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, You can dance If you want to…

Here’s what you want on your iPod, recommends Luke Kenny

Hot Inna(Universal)
Rating: **
Romanian hottie Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu is the newest entrant on the dance pop scene with her debut single and album rocking the dance charts worldwide. Although she’s a sensation in Europe, she’s yet to hit the US in a big way, which she probably will with her next album, I Am A Club Rocker, which is up for release anytime soon. But till then, this one’s full of all the club sounds that you hear today and has competent production and sound. Pity the songs are average, but then that’s just me.
Bottomline-Tepid

To The One-John Mclaughlin And The 4th Dimension(EMI)
Rating: ****
He is one of the maestros of the electric guitar, a living legend whose contribution to guitar playing through the genres of jazz, fusion and the blues will forever be a source for inspiration to musicians worldwide. This is his 27th solo album and his first with his new band, The 4th Dimension. The arrangements come fast and complex in this one and its difficult to pull out a highlight when the whole album is one. Bassist Etienne M’Bappe is a revelation.
Bottomline-Enter this dimension now!

Anna Calvi-Anna Calvi(EMI)
Rating: ****
Every once in a while, along comes a female singer-songwriter that shakes things up in her own small way. A huge favourite on the indie circuit, having opened for stalwarts like Arctic Monkeys and Nick Cave, Anna’s style is dark, brooding and mysterious rite of passage. The music is also in the tradition of Soiuxie and the Banshees and just a wee bit reminiscent of Mazzy Star (remember them?). But Anna is her own headcase: sexually charged, erotically wired and lustfully bohemian. If David Lynch were a woman and a musician, he would be Anna Calvi.
Bottomline-Pulsating subliminality

Alpocalypse-Weird Al Yankovic(Sony Music)
Rating: **1/2
America’s original spoof/parody artiste returns to funny shores with his first album in five years. And just as he has always done, no topical artist is spared, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Kesha, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber…the list goes on. It is hugely funny if you get the inherent and irreverent humour of Mr Yankovic. And if you have the patience, Weird Al has a unique sense of humour that has its own gravity if you choose to float with it. Do check out the video for Perform this way….
Bottomline-‘Weird’ indeed