BONEY M, "Rah Rah Rasputin" – COME ON! A song actually about Rasputin (grunge bear supreme), and such a silly sing-along. I’d have to be a pretty bad camp fag to despise this one -and, though it has been argued by some that I AM a pretty bad camp fag, they are wrong, wrong, wrong… (Anyway, I presume "Rah! Rah! Replica" by Bikini Kill is an allusion to this song, so it gains cool points in that way…)
PROPELLERHEADS WITH MISS SHIRLEY BASSEY, "History Repeating" – A stylish, attitudinal tune, with a great beat and a tune you cannot forget – and done by DJs with no live instruments at all, other than the diva’s still sultry pipes, though you would hardly suspect it.
HOT BUTTER, "Popcorn" – A classic from my early childhood, with its percolating synthesizers – one of the first synthesizer hits. Recently reprised for a commercial, though I’m not sure what the product was – I was paying too much attention to the soundtrack.
MADONNA, "Live To Tell" – A laid-back ballad featuring the lower edge of her voice, with a great arrangement. Again, what kind of queen would I be if I despised EVERY Madonna song?
RUSH, "Closer To The Heart" – A band influenced by Ayn Rand would not normally be in my top ten, and much of its material leaves me cold. However, I just like this one – maybe for the bells, or Geddy Lee’s squeal, or the catchy tune – I simply enjoy it, and I feel no guilt.
GARY NUMAN, "Cars" – I both adore and loathe this song. I adore it because it has such an infectious melody and beat and hooks. I loathe it because, once I hear it, it runs through my head non-stop for weeks while I’m trying to concentrate.
SOFT CELL, "Tainted Love" – One of the reasons I like this one is because it is forever being played at dances where I work, and I just find it unutterably funny to watch straight men try to shake their groove thing to it. Anyway, though Marc Almond himself professes to cringe at this song (partially because of the rushed, off-key vocals, which is probably true, though that contributes to its painful, decadent feel), I think it’s sexy and the source of a camp chuckle or two (especially in the dance mix, which is a medley with The Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go?) Interesting history – this song was originally to be recorded by The Standells, of "Dirty Water" fame, but they turned it down. It was finally taped by Gloria Jones, the wife of Marc Bolan (speaking of camp chuckles – a woman married to Marc Bolan…that had to be interesting…), and has been covered by several punk bands recently (from a six degrees of separation viewpoint, it is amusing that it appears a few times in Bruce LaBruce’s Hustler White, since that gentleman (to speak very loosely) used to work with ANOTHER Gloria Jones I know and admire… J
), not to mention the queer British band Coil’s distinctly funereal, AIDS-benefit disc rendition.
CELINE DION, "Ziggy" – In English, she is Karen Carpenter (at her sappiest, not at her genuinely affecting). In French, she is Edith Piaf crossed with Dusty Springfield. This tender, moving song about a girl in love with a gay boy still works on me, especially in combination with the very sensual video. If only she would record in French alone, and work with Guy Plamondon exclusively – I might let her live after the revolution if she did… J
RANDY NEWMAN, "I Love LA" – So shoot me. I appreciated the piece even more when I read an interview with him in which he revealed that all the streets he shouts out as ones he loves are tiny roads with nothing on them. Some of it is the video, in which the notably glum Mr. Newman actually appears to be enjoying himself. However, it is just a fun song, albeit one informed with sarcasm by the inside information. J