Random 10

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It’s that (over)time again.

  • “Mooga (Hemstock & Jennings Remix)” by Digital Blond (from Trance Nation Future)
  • “Be For Real” by Leonard Cohen (from The Future)
  • “I Don’t Believe You” by Al Stewart (from Orange)
  • “Small Talk” by Scritti Politti (from Cupid & Psyche 85)
  • “Men Of Wood” by Porcupine Tree (from Stars Die – The Delerium Years)
  • “The Plasma Twins” by the Legendary Pink Dots (from Any Day Now)
  • “Please Mr Postman” by the Carpenters (from Singles (1969-1981))
  • “Sudden Life” by Man (from Psychedelic Years – Back In The British Isles)
  • “Born To Run” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (from Bang! The Greatest Hits)
  • “Ska’d For Life (Instrumental Mix)” by Orbital (from Back To Mine: Orbital)

Of these tracks, the most unusual is probably “Sudden Life” by the Welsh prog-rockers Man. However my favourite is “Small Talk” from Scritti Politti’s brilliant Cupid & Psyche 85. Here‘s what the reviewer at MP3.com has to say about it:

Cupid & Psyche 85, released in June of 1985, was a landmark album in many respects. No prior pop album had integrated the techniques of sampling and sequencing to such a great degree, and the technology of that time was both expensive to use and barely up to the task Scritti Politti demanded of it. Gartside’s typically high-flown verbiage was as evident here as anywhere, but you didn’t need to understand what he sang in order to enjoy the music. Certain songs are dialogues between Gartside and a female singer; as such, “A Little Knowledge” is a rare pop song that retains the characteristics of a mini-tragedy. Likewise, the bonus track of “Flesh and Blood,” featuring Jamaican rapper Ann Swinton, sounds remarkably fresh and contemporary 20 years on. But the big hits from Cupid & Psyche 85 were “Wood Beez” and “The Word Girl” in the U.K., and “The Perfect Way” in the U.S., which reached number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100 and got heavy rotation on MTV. Not many albums from smack in the middle of the “Big ’80s” can be said to possess the quality of timelessness, but Cupid & Psyche 85 most certainly does.