Jesus, Pe. What you know about music and how you write about it is INSANE. From a technical, almost music-theory point of view, to shrewd record industry considerations, to your astute cultural awareness, to the way you highlight the stories of the individuals behind the songs. A pleasure to read you, every single time.
Man, I probably havenât heard this song for over 30 years! What an absolute JAM this was! I learn so much every time I read one of your posts Pe! Always one of my favorite reads of the week.
I know very little about freestyle but throughout the song I was thinking that it gave off very heavy Shannon vibes. Of course, Googling her name just now highlighted her as being one of the pioneers of the genre.
Haha, love your reaction, Mark, thatâs exactly what the newsletter aims to do: reconnect you with the songs you know and the ones you think you donât đ Shannonâs already on the shortlist, episode 199, to be exact, so just weeks away. She was one of the frontrunners, back when it wasnât even called freestyle yet. Iâll explain all of that when we get there. Thanks for reading and for your kind words, Mark. Have a great Friday and weekend!
Number 89 with a bullet in the UK so I'm pretty sure I didn't hear this on the radio. However, I did buy the album, so this may well have been another track I latched on to from a Pet Shop Boys interview as I know Fascinated was a Chris Lowe favourite. Amazingly, the Company B album in its entirety doesn't seem to be on either Spotify or Youtube; I mean, I know "the kids" these days don't listen to albums (except Taylor Swift!) but this still seems like a major oversight. Favourite track: the moody Signed in Your Book of Love.
Chris Lowe definitely had a soft spot for Miami Freestyle. Iâll return to that when the Pet Shop Boys come up for the first time. The list of possible PSB tracks is huge, so theyâll show up more than once. The first will be Domino Dancing, which has a very clear Miami connection. Thatâll likely be episode 219 (so still a bit down the line đ), but Iâm sure itâll be an interesting one.
Here in the Benelux (and across most of Europe, really), the single didnât make much impact, it only hovered in the bubbling under charts for a few weeks. I donât know the other singles from that period all that well, so I should give them another listen.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Paul! Have a great weekend.
"Fascinated" is a great song! Thanks for reminding me about it. I definitely heard it a lot in the clubs in the 80s. I was never a fan of Cover Girls though! I used to do least favorite songs of the year and I think they made that list more than once. Expose was pretty cool even if the vocalists changed during their run. I think they're biggest hits represented the new women on lead.
Oops, Iâll take the Cover Girls off the shortlist then đ Iâve always loved Inside Outside. Funny enough, they were the only one of those girl groups to land a hit here in the Benelux, and with a ballad, of all things: their version of Wishing On A Star. Maybe that oneâs on your âleast favoriteâ list? đ
I agree with you on ExposĂŠ, they were probably the strongest girl group of that era and genre. Their albums were reissued a few years back as 2CD editions with bonus tracks, and I played those a lot. Then again, Iâve always been a bit of a Freestyle die-hard, probably one of the few in Europe (my contrarian streak showing again đ).
It was really nice catching up with you yesterday. Hope youâre enjoying the Indian summer in your beautiful garden. Have a great weekend, Dan!
Yeah that Cover Girls song isn't bad. I think my least favorite was "Show Me." I didn't like the cutesy girl vocals and the annoying lyrics. Sampling it now it really does have a nostalgic 80s vibe that isn't very common anymore.
Solid choice đ If I can sneak in a shameless plug for my mixtape, itâs even better, since it stays perfectly on beat for a full hour. Ideal for jogging (tested it myself twice, so I know it works đ). Thanks for reading and reacting, Vince! Wishing you a great weekend!
Jesus, Pe. What you know about music and how you write about it is INSANE. From a technical, almost music-theory point of view, to shrewd record industry considerations, to your astute cultural awareness, to the way you highlight the stories of the individuals behind the songs. A pleasure to read you, every single time.
Thanks Andy. This means a lot! Have a great weekend!
Man, I probably havenât heard this song for over 30 years! What an absolute JAM this was! I learn so much every time I read one of your posts Pe! Always one of my favorite reads of the week.
I know very little about freestyle but throughout the song I was thinking that it gave off very heavy Shannon vibes. Of course, Googling her name just now highlighted her as being one of the pioneers of the genre.
Have you covered Shannonâs work here before?
Haha, love your reaction, Mark, thatâs exactly what the newsletter aims to do: reconnect you with the songs you know and the ones you think you donât đ Shannonâs already on the shortlist, episode 199, to be exact, so just weeks away. She was one of the frontrunners, back when it wasnât even called freestyle yet. Iâll explain all of that when we get there. Thanks for reading and for your kind words, Mark. Have a great Friday and weekend!
Number 89 with a bullet in the UK so I'm pretty sure I didn't hear this on the radio. However, I did buy the album, so this may well have been another track I latched on to from a Pet Shop Boys interview as I know Fascinated was a Chris Lowe favourite. Amazingly, the Company B album in its entirety doesn't seem to be on either Spotify or Youtube; I mean, I know "the kids" these days don't listen to albums (except Taylor Swift!) but this still seems like a major oversight. Favourite track: the moody Signed in Your Book of Love.
Chris Lowe definitely had a soft spot for Miami Freestyle. Iâll return to that when the Pet Shop Boys come up for the first time. The list of possible PSB tracks is huge, so theyâll show up more than once. The first will be Domino Dancing, which has a very clear Miami connection. Thatâll likely be episode 219 (so still a bit down the line đ), but Iâm sure itâll be an interesting one.
Here in the Benelux (and across most of Europe, really), the single didnât make much impact, it only hovered in the bubbling under charts for a few weeks. I donât know the other singles from that period all that well, so I should give them another listen.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Paul! Have a great weekend.
"Fascinated" is a great song! Thanks for reminding me about it. I definitely heard it a lot in the clubs in the 80s. I was never a fan of Cover Girls though! I used to do least favorite songs of the year and I think they made that list more than once. Expose was pretty cool even if the vocalists changed during their run. I think they're biggest hits represented the new women on lead.
Oops, Iâll take the Cover Girls off the shortlist then đ Iâve always loved Inside Outside. Funny enough, they were the only one of those girl groups to land a hit here in the Benelux, and with a ballad, of all things: their version of Wishing On A Star. Maybe that oneâs on your âleast favoriteâ list? đ
I agree with you on ExposĂŠ, they were probably the strongest girl group of that era and genre. Their albums were reissued a few years back as 2CD editions with bonus tracks, and I played those a lot. Then again, Iâve always been a bit of a Freestyle die-hard, probably one of the few in Europe (my contrarian streak showing again đ).
It was really nice catching up with you yesterday. Hope youâre enjoying the Indian summer in your beautiful garden. Have a great weekend, Dan!
Yeah that Cover Girls song isn't bad. I think my least favorite was "Show Me." I didn't like the cutesy girl vocals and the annoying lyrics. Sampling it now it really does have a nostalgic 80s vibe that isn't very common anymore.
You have a great weekend too!
Thanks for the history lesson on this one! Fascinated is on my playlist while I jog
It's on my running playlist too! Pe, I had a BLAST reading this article. I *love* this song.
Thanks! đ Well you know from my post that we share the feelings for this song. Have a great weekend Max!
Solid choice đ If I can sneak in a shameless plug for my mixtape, itâs even better, since it stays perfectly on beat for a full hour. Ideal for jogging (tested it myself twice, so I know it works đ). Thanks for reading and reacting, Vince! Wishing you a great weekend!