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“Would you be my boyfriend for 5 minutes?”

Posted by Marco Sparks & Lollipop Gomez on

In which Lollipop Gomez and Marco Sparks have a little chit chat about Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

Marco Sparks: Okay, Lolli, I give you the hard part: How would you describe the plot of this movie?

Lollipop Gomez: The plot of the movie is: Two teenagers meet up at a club and spend a night together. That would be the bare bones of it, no?

Marco: Nothing about their shared love of music forming a bridge for a deeper connection for their souls to intertwine on accompanied by a fair to middling soundtrack?

LG: Yes, but I just don’t buy it here. In the book, much more.

Marco: I think it’s safe to say that we both enjoyed the book slightly more than the movie? How would you describe the book to someone who’s yet to read it (which is probably everyone)?

LG: A love song to music, being young, and possibility.

Marco: Nice.

LG: I still have some tricks up my sleeve.

Marco: More so than this movie, no doubt.

LG: Yes, obviously, though this movie did stick around in my thoughts for a while after I saw it.

Marco: There was times there as I watching it that I thought that perhaps I was in the middle of a really good movie, and times when I didn’t feel that at all. It’s hard to put into words, and really, I wasn’t crazy about Michael Cera in this film. His best moment was the bit at the end. The look he gives her before they take off together. That’s really the piece that salvaged the whole affair.

LG: Yes, that was a very genuine moment.

Marco: I’d say that the idea of a story of young love meeting cute/getting free of an old “love” mixed with love of music through the good and bad times mixed with the wacky hi-jinks and middle-level celebrity cameos just doesn’t all work together (though I did like that the writers of the book had a cameo together, and the screenwriter as well, who’s the hot chick that Seth Meyers of all people is making out with in his bit). Kat Dennings, on the other hand, was excellent in this movie. In addition to being gorgeous. I think she added a much needed sense of realism in places and really carried this beast on her shoulders.

LG: I think it couldn’t decide what kind of movie it wanted to be. And that’s versus the book which was clearly a love story first with the wacky hi-jinx second.

Marco: One thing I liked was that the film didn’t show you Where’s Fluffy. For a lot of reasons. In the book, the generic descriptions of this ultimate indie band that’s such a religious experience to see/hear/know of is kind of horrid. It was really uninteresting there and didn’t translate to the page very well and could’ve been even more disastrous on the big screen if the band just wasn’t that good. Think Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, a show I liked for the most part, but “hilarious” SNL knock off that the show was based around was far from hilarious. The band worked better as not so much the macguffin, but the structure device, the end point to be reached. I liked that there was a line drawn, and that the music can only bring the young lovers so far before they have to turn away and be something on their own.

LG: I found that whole subplot to be a little grating. I know it was the vehicle they used to be the thing that they were chasing when we all know that they were really chasing each other, but it was cool how it all came together in the end. And I think not seeing the band really adds to the reality that they really are just chasing each other and then don’t need the band anymore. Feel free to edit that for me because I haven’t had too much coffee and can’t think yet.

Marco: I think you worded that perfectly.

LG: Thanks. One thing that I wished felt more natural in the movie was how Norah was known in the city, like that scene in the book where they go to the drag queen club and all the drag queens know Norah and start chatting up Nick. It was really nice and I wish it had made it into the film. That part of NYC kid life is very authentic. There are lots of kids with money who just walk around town like they own it and get into clubs and bars all the time based on the fact that they’re loaded.

Marco: Yeah, the movie did lose a little of that, didn’t it? I liked how the city new her pretty well and they knew the city pretty well also, despite being “bridge and tunnel.” Thanks, by the way, for letting me know what that meant.

LG: Technically I was “bridge and tunnel” (growing up in Brooklyn), but I knew the city very well because when you’re in high school you just bum around places until they kick you out because you have nowhere to go. It was totally not surprising that they would know it. That was a very realistic part of the plot. That or that they would only know a tiny part of the city.

Marco: All of this love letters to NYC crap makes me sentimental for old classic anti-New York cinema of Bill Murray. My next question for you then is, Michael Cera: Perfect casting, just so so casting, less than so so casting (as I would say), or an absolutely heinous matching of an actor to a role?

LG: Just okay casting. Would it kill him to show a little emotion every once in a while? But I think that Tyler Coates put it best:

Marco: I could not agree more. To me, that scene of Michael Cera fingerbanging Kat Dennings was a lesbian love scene.

LG: It wasn’t believable and was kind of embarrassing. For them, I mean, not for us. Like, yeah, we’re supposed to believe that Michael Cera is this amazing lover? Really? Really?

Marco: I could rattle off a long list of things that I think would be much more likely to give the Norah character her first orgasm in this film rather than little George Michael. That said, Kat Dennings (whom I’m glad has grown out of that phase where she looked like the hotter Hillary Duff) was absolutely beautiful in the moment right after, perfectly radiant in the afterglow.

LG: Yes.

Marco: Oh, and their whispering in the moment before that as the camera was panning around the studio, which was a moment that I liked from a technical standpoint rather than witnessing the mechanics of the fingerbang there, was all improvised, I learned from the commentary track. Which reminds me of how much I missed the good ol’ days of funny and interesting commentary tracks.

LG: Speaking of a little girl on girl action… What happened to the kiss at the diner between Nick’s ex (whose name I’ve forgotten) and Norah in the bathroom? Do you think they could’ve kept that in the movie without it being weird?

Marco: It could’ve only made the movie better. Her name was Tris, which was perfect casting for the role they made that character, which was definitely not the character from the book. It would’ve been an interesting scene to leave in, but didn’t fit the vibe they were going for, which was some kind of cutesy, Superbad-lite (while being more respectful to women, thankfully). But it brings up a good question of what other things would you like to have seen brought from the book that weren’t? And was there anything that the movie did that the book didn’t that you liked?

LG: I actually found Tris to be cast really oddly, because I knew those kind of girls that she was supposed to be (that kind of hot, tarted up young jail bait Suicide Girl type that works at Hot Topic) and that actress was way too squeaky clean to be in that role. I also thought she was styled in a way to make her look like a baby Russian prostitute. Even the dude I saw it with audibly cringed whenever she showed up on screen. That anyone in their right mind would want her versus angelic, fresh faced Kat Dennings was unbelievable. And that’s another thing that I liked about the movie, because Norah was supposed to be somewhat plain and reserved. But I can understand that they have to sell this movie, but I really like the book so much better than the movie and I don’t think that there is anything better about the  movie.

Marco: You’re right, and Alexis Dziena usually gets cast as some kind of exotic-ish hyper-nymphet type, doesn’t she? And I get that they were trying to infuse more structure with the search for Caroline and Where’s Fluffy to make it more of a real film (and not something akin to Before Sunrise or Before Sunset like I think I was hoping for), but a lot of the stuff brought over from the book was so done so pathetically that you had to wonder why it was there at all. Like the Tikun Olam bit or just the stuff with them wandering around the streets of early morning NYC, getting to know each other. I was really hoping for more of that. Okay, Lollipop, final statement on Nick and Norah and their infinite playlist?

LG: Ehh. Michael Cera: You’re not too good for the Arrested Development movie. I promise you.

The Submarines “Xavia” (mp3)

The Honorary Title “Bridge And Tunnel” (mp3)

The National “All The Wine” (mp3)

The Real Tuesday Weld “Last Words” (mp3)

My Year In Lists, part one: Are we human or are we dancer?

Posted by Marco Sparks & Lollipop Gomez on

Well, the year is even closer to an end than it was before, and since we’ve been threatening it for a while now, prepare thyself for…

THE Counterforce ULTRA SUPER MEGA BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR OF OUR BLOG 2008 OR THEREABOUTS LIST!

part one

Why would there be more than one part? Because while it’s been a kind of not quite fantastic year for music, there have some good albums this year, so we’ve decided to split this up a little. On Monday, we’ll give you the official Best Of The Best, but today, we break down for you, by category, some runners up…

(A much simpler way to sum it up would be… today we’re human. And next week? Dancer. I think.)(LG: Or Danza? )(MS: Hold me closer, Tony Dannzzaaaa!” Okay, sorry.)

Alright, enough bullshit. Let’s do this!

Best album to pretend you’re in a brooding French film about a sad love affair:

M83, Saturdays=Youth.

Lollipop Gomez: And not just any love affair. The saddest one. The film will have a bunch of long, one take shots of you walking down a corridor with a blank expression on your face, while you flash back to all the amazing sex you had, that you’ll never have again. And we’ll follow you into your apartment, where only your cat will greet you and you’ll sink into bed and listen to this album in the dark while staring at the ceiling, snorting a line of Xanax and falling asleep. Yes, I just described every single day of my life.

Marco Sparks: But in the 1980s. Hello, Molly Ringwald-ish girl on the cover!

Best album by an artist that I used to consider wack and probably should still:

Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III.

Marco: Others have have put the surprising effectiveness of Lil Wayne into verbal context much better, so I’m not even going to try. That’s just an invite to fall flat on one’s face. Instead, I’ll sum up this artist and this album on a very personal level: Lil Wayne is the Riki-Oh of the rap game!

LG: All I could ever hope to say about Lil Wayne is summed up beautifully in my favorite essay of the year, I Will Forever Remain Faithful by David Ramsey.  His amazing single “Lollipop” is definitely my favorite song of the year (why? because well… shorty wanna thug? bottles in the club). It’s also where I got my Counterforce nom de plume.

Best album to autotune your broken heart to:

Kanye West, 808s & Hearbreak.

LG: My brother has listened to this non stop for several days now, so I disagree on principal. But Kanye provided some of the best LOLs of the year with his blog. To wit, a quote from my favorite entry:

“I am  sick of negative  people who just sit around trying 2 plot my downfall… Why????  I understand if people don’t like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to much,  But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I’ve ever had in my life. This is the most offended I’ve ever been… this is the maddest I ever will be.  I’m typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!! “

Best sugar sweet Swedish import you can sing and dance along to with little to no shame:

Lykke Li, Youth Novels.

Marco: I think I’ll speak for Lollipop and myself here and put this simply and succinctly: Just listen to this album. And then you’ll feel it. And then you’ll know what all the people are talking about. And here’s Brittany Julious talking about just that.

Best album to do blow to in the bathroom of a hipster club while wearing dirty skinny jeans:

Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles.

LG: I love this shit. It is sweaty dancing in a bar with a plastic cup of gin and tonic in my hand, wailing my hair around. It’s waiting forever to use the bathroom at a stinky club and finally forcing the dudes fucking in there to get the hell out. It’s making out in the photobooth, fingerless Marc by Marc Jacobs striped gloves, drinking coffee on a walk of shame home at 5 am. It’s youth and energy and dark and all that entails.

Marco: When I first glanced at the above paragraph, the only words I saw were “finger” and “fucking” at first. But I could not agree more with Lollipop. This is (controversial) danceable video game music gone crazy and then it was used perfectly in an episode of Skins, which I loved. I know, I know. Shut up about Skins, already.

Best album that’s been called James Joycean in someone’s end of the year list:

Girl Talk, Feed The Animals.

LG: I guess we’re required to like this, huh? I like the mashup of the 90s hits. I personally have never forgotten Here Comes The Hotstepper. I’m glad to see someone else still remembers.

Best indie dance pop album with a touch of the shoegazery:

Friendly Fires, Friendly Fires.

Best album by a great rapper going electrotechnotastic:

Common, Universal Mind Control.

Marco: It missed it’s originally intended summer release date (and thus vacated it’s original title of Invincible Summer) because Common’s becoming a movie star, but this album still has some hot shit on it.

Best Canadian post-punk caterwaul dissonant soundscape album:

Women, Women.

Marco: For some reason, when people say to me, “Hey, this album sounds like the end of the world,” I really pay attention. Well, does this sound like the end? Maybe only just a little, but in a lovely, poppy sort of way. (I should probably make special honorable mentions for Chad VanGaalen’s album and the Azeda Booth album here, too.) This is their myspace page.

Best Stereolab album of the year:

Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, Stereolab, Chemical Chords.

Best album that I should mention here because I don’t see it mentioned anywhere else and that’s a shame, a real shame:

The Roots, Rising Down.

Marco: As with the last few albums by Jimmy Fallon’s upcoming Max Weinberg Seven, this is not a chill album, but it is a good album, and a tense one, dealing with the racism in the music industry, how fucked up the world is, and a fin de siècle vibe that’s been floating around for a while. The title comes from William T. Vollmann’s massive Rising Up And Rising Down: Some Thoughts On Violence, Freedom, And Urgent Means, and it’s fitting since The Roots have always been about the “urgent means” in our culture.

Best double header by the international tweexcore underground:

Los Campesinos, Hold On Now, Youngster… and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.

Marco: Oh, you crazy fun Welsh bastards. Congrats to you for not only putting on a super fun debut album, that’s intensely and immensely likable despite of or maybe because of it’s nuclear level pretentiousness, but then to follow it up with a high quality debut mere months later. Brilliant good fun.

Best Icelandic post-rock super folk party:

Sigur Rós, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (which translates as With Buzzing In Our Ears We Play Endlessly).

Marco: I honestly don’t know what to say about this band that hasn’t been said before, but better. There’s no super epic “Glosoli” or “Staralfur” here, but maybe that’s because this album feels slightly more grounded, somewhat more intimate, and a tad skittish in a really fun way. Plus, any album that necessitates this perfect NSFW video is always aces in my book.

David Byrne & Brian Eno “Home” (mp3)

Friendly Fires “I’m Good, I’m Gone” (Lykke Li cover)(mp3)

Friendly Fires (ft. Au Revoir Simone) “Paris” (Aeroplane remix)(mp3)

Stereolab “Three Women” (mp3)

Women “Group Transport Hall” (mp3)

Azeda Booth “Ran” (mp3)

Music news: U2 announce the title of their new album (fucking finally), and Brian Eno is going to score Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. Brian Eno is going to jump Peter Jackson’s not so lovely bones. There. I Said it. There’ll probably not be a second Postal Service album (any time soon), Andy Samberg talks about the upcoming album from The Lonely Island, and Sparks (the liquid cocaine) is dead, long live Marco Sparks?

The Onion AV Club‘s celebrity guest list of best albums of the year. Also, the AV Club talking about the most awesome-ist band names this year. Here’s a nice collection of end of the year lists for just about everything and Stephen King lists some 70s music and some sleaze rock in his top albums of the year, while calling Girl Talk just as dense as Ulysses, but you can dance to it (see above), and citing AC/DC, Buckcherry, and The Pretends as his top albums of the year. Wikipedia is nice enough to give you a rundown of music in 2008, and here’s This Recording‘s top 20 albums of the year, Rolling Stone‘s top 50, and, of course, Pitchfork’s top picks for individual best songs of the year and top 50 albums. All of these lists are decent attempts at being the definitive subject, but we’ll see you back here on Monday for the real deal, yes? Oh yes :)

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that we got.

Posted by Marco Sparks & Lollipop Gomez on

So this morning while doing my internet rounds, I (Marco) happened on This Recording, as I frequently do, and their latest post, “On J. Lo” by the always wonderful Molly Young. The post is a wonderful one, talking about J. Lo’s video for “Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” talking about how from a narrative stand point, the video consists of Jennifer Lopez’ long march, casting off each other her material possessions, revealing more and more of “a perfect disquisition on femininity.” Miss Young goes on to talk about how J. Lo, who used to be so popular, so trendsetting in a way, and is no longer considered such, reveals herself at the end of the video to be incredibly beautiful, no longer resembling the specificity of J. Lo, and instead looking more timeless, like Sargent’s Madame X, or the portraits of Jeanne Samary by Renoir.

It’s an excellent post on timeless beauty about a beauty who’s time has seemingly passed and I almost posted a comment to say how much I really liked it (which is no surprise because I, like you, frequently like or possible even love the writing of Molly Young and the rest of the TR crew), but then i didn’t. Well, I did. I got into the comment box and I started typing. And typing. And I started exploring my thoughts on Jennifer Lopez and that bygone era and, as is the usual case with me, I just kept talking. Too much, in fact (as is the usual case with me), so I stopped. You know what I did then? I got onto gchat and talked with Lollipop about it, as I frequently do in these cases…

Lollipop Gomez: So what was your comment going to be?

Marco Sparks: I would’ve said: This is a beautiful post on beauty, and I especially love that you brought up Sargent, Madame X, and Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau. But is it wrong that J. Lo appealed to me less and less after Out Of Sight? That’s a film that I feel is criminally under appreciated and was also possibly the last time that Jennifer Lopez was an actress (before her return to film became an endless string of Kate Hudson-esque roles)(and there’s nothing wrong Kate Hudson, if that’s what you want to be) and a potentially normal person. After that she became a bombastic explosion of… well, more bordering on manipulated exaggeration of femininity and a pop culture volcano than something real and unique. There’s nothing wrong with reaching those heights in your career and how you’re displayed and enjoying a celebration of your full power as a woman, but I feel that at that point, I was missing Jenny From The Block. Is she again Jenny From The Block, just with more paper at her disposal, or was she ever really Jenny From The Block?

Marco: I meant for that to only be three sentences essentially saying that I liked the post, but, uh, it kind of snowballed.

Lollipop: Of course! And yeah, what happened to her was interesting, especially now when she does nothing but be demanding.

Marco: Yeah, exactly.

Lollipop: Hmm.

Marco: Hmm?

Lollipop: Just thinking about J. Lo… which is an odd thing to be thinking about. I’ve read a ton of essays by feminist writers on Beyonce’s new song, so it’s interesting to go with a somewhat outdated cultural reference.

Marco: Yeah. Which is what she really is. I mean, do you anticipate her returning to music anytime soon? Or acting? Would you even care if she did/didn’t?

Lollipop: Right. Her music was good for… gay club music. But I can’t see her coming back.

Marco: The machine was already eaten her up as much as it probably cares to. We’ve given her millions for pictures of her kids. We’ve watched her exes go through trials and marry others and have reality shows and fuck Kim Kardashian and her mom. Thanks, J. Lo, it’s been real. We’re on our way to destroy ScarJo and LiLo, if we can. And there’s always Britney…

Then there was some discussion about how we should make this into the post you’re reading now… So meta! And we pondered what to title it…

Lollipop: I’d love to call it “My Love Don’t Cost A Thing,” but I don’t want to rip off Molly too much. There’s another song… “Waiting For Tonight.” Man, that song ruled.

Marco: It wasn’t bad. Talk about a song made for the club. Ha ha! I just read that her remix album was called J To Tha L O! Brilliant!

Lollipop: So good.

Then some discussion on other matters before…

Lollipop: So, back to the post… Hasn’t J. Lo released anything lately? I feel like she has.

Marco: According to wikipedia, there was an album released last year that I certainly don’t remember and a greatest hits package coming out next year.

Lollipop: I bet they are terrible. That one album of hers, On The 6? The 6 being the subway line that goes to “the block.” I’m sure she hasn’t ridden the subway in literally years. How can she sing to us now? She’s so rich.

Marco: She would have to sing from the perspective of being rich, wouldn’t she? I mean, don’t tell me you’re Jenny From The Block if you own the fucking block, you know?

Lollipop: Right. But who can relate to that?

Marco: Exactly. I’m beyond loathe to bring this up, but John Mayer actually did a pretty funny video about that at Funny Or Die.

Lollipop: I like Mayer. I liked him On Chappelle’s show… Oh, I’ve seen this! Aww, Kristen Bell.

Marco: Yeah. Kristen Bell. Oh, yes.

Lollipop: I like when he grabs the sandwich.

Marco: I like that there’s a sandwich waiting for him. That’s the Dream.

Lollipop: Seriously. And then he throws it away.

Marco: Also the Dream.

Lollipop: Yes.

Marco: Maybe it’s pointless to talk about realness anymore. Realness just gets remixed with a Ja Rule collab. Beauty too, maybe.


Counterforce After Dark: Can’t imagine the world without me.

Posted by Marco Sparks & Lollipop Gomez on

Well, here it is, kids. The long and winding road of Britpop week has lead us here and what a long, strange journey it’s been. And if I could’ve packed that sentence with more references and cliches, then by God, I would have. But for our conclusion, I (Marco) think Lollipop and I would like to kick it old school (like we have all week, really) with just a few more of our favorite songs…

And I’ll let my co-blogger kick it off. Lollipop?

Lollipop Gomez: Yes, we are finally fucking done with London. We have no money, we’ve already gone through every flavor of potato chip, the novelty of buying diagonally cut sandwiches from Tesco for 98p has worn off, Yorkie candy bars no longer make us laugh (yeah we get it they’re not for birds. Shut up!), we no longer jump onto the Tube when she tells us “Mind The Gap!”, and we wear so much black we’ve been asked for directions from 4 different earnest Americans already, so we kind of, sort of feel like we are one with London. It’s time to move on, one last hurrah, one last cup of tea, one last English breakfast, one last curry, one last pack of Silk Cuts.

“Ask” by The Smiths.

Marco Sparks: Women, women, women. I think I’ve had probably more failures in romance than I have had successes (especially circa the Britpop era) but I did have one English girlfriend a long time ago and, I’m not going to lie to you, my friends (if I can sound like John McCain for just a moment there), this song…

…more than reminds me of her. That’s “Female Of The Species” by Space, and having never seen Space before watching some of their videos just now, I never knew what chavs they were. But damn talented chavs, for sure.

Lollipop: Like Marco, I haven’t done very well with ladies either. Maybe that’s because I date men. I was dating a man when I was in London. Traveling with someone you are in love with is simultaneously the best and worst thing you can possibly do for your relationship. You’re far away so you feel so close to this person, but you’re also spending every waking minute with them and you want to push them into the River Thames. Or you just want them to leave you alone as you check your e-mail at Burger King (which for some reason, has Internet). But, as you walk through Covent Garden or the cute little shops of Notting Hill or you sit in a basement eating fish & chips with the one you love, you can’t help but feel mostly love. Love that they’re there, love that you’re sharing this experience with them, love that they’re drinking that gin and tonic and they light your smokes in the pub and you can’t help but feel the way you did when you first  met…which is like this song (“Temptation” by New Order):

Marco: Another excellent choice there, Lollipop. Much like the reader, I’m following along on your vacation with you, not so much a tourist in the sense you are, or were, but more voyeuristic, like a tourist on vacation in your memories. I love that you used “Temptation,” an excellent song, and I’m going to use one by the same band that makes me think lyrically of similar experiences to the adventures in your continuing travelogue.

“Ceremony” cover by Radiohead on their “Thumbs down” webcast on November 9, 2007.

This is from the last batch of songs that Ian Curtis wrote before he died when the band was still Joy Division and thus it became the first New Order single. It’s an amazing song from a band with a full catalog of amazing songs and I really like cover by the experimental one hit wonder band that went on to have a few more hits and experiments, Radiohead.

Lollipop: I love New Order so much as well as Joy Division that I’m going throw it back, Sparks and give you a little bit of Joy Division. On those nights at karaoke when I’m crying into my Jack Daniel’s, there is no better song to sing than this one. And in any case, it’s so true, love will tear us apart. Again and again and again.

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division.

Marco: And now it’s become my duty to cheer up Lollipop. Love will tear us all apart, bit by bit it’ll devour our hearts if we let it. But you have to. You have to make yourself available to the cannibal urges of romance, because that special love, that something perfect will only find willing victims and will never, ever sniff it’s way to the carefully guarded cautious boring types. You can’t stay still, you always have to be ready to move again, to get back on that metaphorical dance floor…

“Ready For The Floor” covered by Duffy.

There was a new movement thrown together years and years ago called poptimism to semi-ironically combat rockism. Basically, as the afterword to Phonogram states, it was just an excuse to dance, which is something you never need an excuse to do. Right now dancing makes me think of Hot Chip, (I feel honor bound to mention that the singer dresses up like the Joker in that bizarre video because the lyrics refer back to Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the character in the 1989 Batman movie) and gets me thinking of this song, of which I actually prefer the cover by Duffy. Duffy (whose producer on her debut was the guitar player in Suede, thus buying her ample Britpop cred out her Welsh wazoo) is unabashedly an attempt to cash in on a little of that Amy Winehouse train wreck vibe, but personally, I’m okay with that since I’m not really that in the Winehouse club (she looks like something that goes bump in the night, honestly)(bumping for crack!). Duffy strikes me as just as talented, but more enthusiastic about music (despite very talented singers like Estelle and Allison Goldfrapp slagging off on her), and a hell of a lot better looking with a tinge of a young Brigitte Bardot thing, which is never a bad thing.

Lollipop: I’m going to have to disagree with Sparks, as the original version of “Ready For The Floor” is way better. I do an excellent version of it at karaoke (no video exists, but ask me after next Saturday, I may be
able to reproduce it). One way to combat rockism is with hot synthesizers and very few do it better than Dave Gahan and Depeche Mode. Continuing our la-la-la love fest, here is a song about giving in to sin, because well, you have to make this life liveable.

“Strange Love” by Depeche Mode.

Marco: Not surprisingly, Lollipop goes and ups the ante on me. But am I scared? No, not at all. Marco Sparks always has an ace up his sleeve. Or, barring any sleeves, he has one somewhere in a pants pocket. And here it is:

“A View To A Kill” by Duran Duran feat. Mark Ronson.

I do sometimes have to question if Ronson deserves the level of attention he gets, but another thing you should know about me is that I love Bond films. And as a non-limey, how can you talk about British music/culture and not talk about how the Bond phenomenon has impacted both? I love this live version of one of my favorite Bond tunes (to one of the most ridiculous of the movies) because it’s a wonderfully fresh take on the tune and is preceded by a fancy little Bond theme medley. This is me dancing into the fire and all over Lollipop’s face.

Lollipop: Get your dirty shoes away from me, bitchface! My next song is Pulp’s “Common People” which I stole from Marco by pointing at a shiny object in the opposite direction. It works every time. I stole the song, he started to cry, I slapped him for being a little bitch, he kept crying. I play the song as loud as possible. It’s so good!

Marco: And there’s Lollipop, yet again, trying to use me as a toilet. And using one of my favorite songs to do it. Sigh. You have to admire Jarvis Cocker as a musical icon, despite his essentially having Brando’s voice but with an English accent tacked on, just because he is so very professorly sleazy smart. Plus, there’s the weirdness of “the Michael Jackson incident.”

But I guess that leaves me to end it, and on somewhat of a high note, if possible. Bloody hell! We hope you enjoyed Britpop week as much as we did and are left drooling madly at what new, weird shit we’re cooking up in our sodding TARDIS. Well, as the British would say, Piss off!

…with a great song: “On And On” by The Longpigs.