Friday Video #65: Yazoo

I'm really excited that the 80's synth-pop duo Yazoo (or Yaz as they're known in America) is getting back together for a UK tour and a box set titled In Your Room, which features remasters of their two albums (Upstairs At Eric's and You And Me Both) as well as b-sides, remixes, and interviews with both band members Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke. I hope that they will also be doing some dates in the US in the near future.

And to celebrate the good news, here's a clip of Yazoo performing "Don't Go" live. This song was the opening track to their Upstairs At Eric's album, which is one of my favorite albums from the 1980's.

Friday Video #64: The Cure

I've been playing quite a bit of classic post-punk recently, so I'll be posting some in the next couple of Friday Videos. Here is the Cure performing "Grinding Halt" at the Underground in Boston, Mass. back in 1980. Very edgy and energetic. It's several years away from Robert Smith becoming a sort-of teeny-bop idol. "Grinding Halt" is from the band's 1979 album Three Imaginary Boys. (It would be released in America as Boys Don't Cry, with a slightly different song listing.)

Friday Video #63: Philly Leather 2007

Two months ago I gave my report on the Mr. and Ms. Philadelphia Leather 2007/8 contest. Thanks to PhillyGayCalendar.com a video of the contest has just been posted up on YouTube. Three of the four conestants are interviewed, including Scott Daddy, who won the Mr. Philadelphia Leather 2008 title.

New Year's Recap

I wound up staying in on both New Year's Eve and Day, but that was not my orogonal intention. I had made plans to be at a party in Norristown on New Year's Eve, and then spend the following day doing some bar-hopping in Philly. But I must had gotten some sort of bug/cold on the Saturday before that; I had a bad case of diaherra and I felt very tired for the next two days. I felt somewhat better by NYE but not well enough to go out. So I stayed in both days and watched some DVDs I had gotten with some of the gift cards I had received for Christmas, including some vintage black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons and a concert of Rufus Wainwright covering jady Garland's songbook. Not the best way to bring in 2008 but hey you can't have everything.

Crazy Deja Vu

I know that by now you've heard about Britney Spears' craptacular nervous breakdown last week, but I have to say that it reminded me of when Courtney Love had to be hancuffed to a stretcher on her way to Bellvue Hospital in New York City three and a half years ago. I look at those pictures of Britney being wheeled away and I expect her to say "Today is my birthday and I had an abortion" juat like Courtney did.


BTW Brit's breakdown happened just hours after the results of the Iowa caucuses in which presidental hopeful Obama Barack came out on top. Ah, the politics of distraction.

UPDATE: TMZ.com gives a report of the night of craziness at Britney's house the night she was committed. "It involves profanity, nudity, drugs and wild mood swings," the website drools.

Friday Video #62: Radiohead

Radiohead's latest album In Rainbows was released as a standard CD earlier this week. It was first released back in October of last year as a digital download for which fans could decide the price they paid.

My favorite track from the album would have to be the closing track "Videotape." It's a haunting piece that centers around a piano riff. Here is a clip of band recording the song, which is from their new film Scotch Mist. (You can also view the entire film here--52 minutes in total--which features every track from the album.)