Since I'm having a blast with Rupaul's Drag Race -think Project Runway or America's next top model for drag queens- ("Ladies, it's time to lipsynch for your life") here's her new disco-stomping soulless dance single: Cover Girl.



Cover Girl! Put the bass in your walk!

While I find myself strangely fascinated by the Olympics (where oh where can I find handball matches...), I do wonder if I'm the only one who really couldn't give a flying fuck whether or not Michael Phelps gets 8 gold medals?

Entertaining an Australian for five days has proven to be exhausting, but great fun. We did the touristy thing in Bruges, Ypres and Ghent and thankfully -for him then- he didn't stay much longer because we'd all but run out of cities to show him. His verdict was simple: Belgium is apparently not a country, but one big suburb of Brussels. The distance between Brussels and where we live (some 100 kms) is roughly the size of Perth or Sydney.
Oh. And why we don't hop on the TGV every other weekend and go to London or Paris is also a mystery to our KangarooFriend. It's "practically around the corner". It is? We might just have to start doing that then.

Subconsciously we did want to keep him around, as proven by the fact that we nearly didn't get him on his train to Strasbourg on time (thank you for your amazing roadsigns, Lille) and we took the scenic route (double the time) via Ypres back home. Yeah, via Ypres. I know. Shut up.

And as a tribute to our ex-roommate, here's a must-see, the finest in Korean pop. The Wonder Girls' "so (so so so hot) hot". Check out the translation of the lyrics. These girls are apparently huge in Korea.

(Is it just me or is there no hint of irony in this thing? Fan-tas-tic!)

For those of you who can't get enough, the Wonder Girls also have a hit called "Tell Me" (do check out the crop of South Korea, defenders against the North: these soldiers doing the dance routine) and there's Ivy's Sonata of Temptation (which has an annoying capacity to stick in your head for ages). I'm thinking we should let South-Korea take part in Eurovision. They'd probably win the whole thing, year after year.

hnpcc pointed me to this great video. Quite possibly the best choreography I've ever seen. Armi and Danny, a Finnish (which explains the accent) duo, sing the beautiful duet "Love Me Tender" with lyrics like "You love me, you wanna love me tender. How can I be sure you're not pretender?. It sounds like Eurovision, doesn't it?! Keep watching till the very end, it's worth it.



And if you can't get enough, apparently there are quite a few parodies of this video out there.

My recent Eurovision obsession has prevented me from mentioning it until now, but did anyone see "the one and only"? And was anyone else suitably impressed with Katy Setterfield, who sung the most amazing Dusty Springfield songs in a most amazing way?
I love Dusty Springfield. Granted, it's not music to listen to when you're feeling a tad down (it's a lot more effective at making you cut your wrists than Evanescence is, actually), but the songs are so heartbreaking, so beautiful. And Dusty's voice is beyond fenomenal.
There, that's a lot of adjectives isn't it. It's more than the Pet Shop Boys get.

The One and Only also reinforced my love for the good old "Classic". Old Cher songs, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross... It's scary how much of these songs I knew without knowing who they were sung by.

Here's some Katy Setterfield, and here's the real thing:

No! No! No!

I never should have sung along to those three crappy songs in September! Or I shouldn't have admitted to it anyway. You just know Louis Walsh read my blog and thought "well, if she's ready for them, so's the rest of the world". I take it back, Louis! I never said anything!
"Boyzone are performing for charity" my arse. I give them six months till they have a new single. Take That always were much better! There! I never could tell you lot apart!!

Since Bavada outed himself, I will do the same. I, too, am going to the "Pump up the 90s party". The Girlfriend will put on her baggy trousers, her tight t-shirts and millions of bracelets. I'll let my hair hang limply in my eyes and give off an air of depression. It'll be *exactly* like the nineties.
Mostly I'm hoping to hear Gala again... Looking back I think she was my first girl crush. Hmmm. (turns out I also fancy them butch (or well, butch-light) ... "she was a pirate, she conquered" oh baby!)
In case they forget about her there, never fear... Youtube's here. (oh god, I cringe at myself)



EDIT: just found her website. Turns out she's got long hair now. And boobs. Bummer. But still... those cheekbones....

If I were a poofter, I'd be an old queen, but I have something to admit.
I love Take That. I do. I think they're fantastic since they "came back (from the dead?)". And their new single... amazing.
Go on. Try it yourself (don't let Jonathan Ross scare you, it's where I first heard the song).



And while you're at it (and this makes me feel like Duvelman) try this gem as well: Beirut -Nantes. Totally different from Take That so but definitely worth a listen.

I found myself singing along to Boyzone's "Picture of You" in the car this morning and it's brought on yet another a mini-existential crisis. See, I always hated that song, and not just because it was not-done to like boybands. I remember vaguely liking "When the Going gets tough" and that sad, slow thingie they had... what's it called... hang on... ah yes: "No Matter What". (Thank you wikipedia! Here, have a quote: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world, can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.” - Michael Scott / The Office US")
I think I mainly liked those songs because Stephen Gately had just come out, and well... I'm a sucker for popstars who are forced out of the closet kicking and screaming come out. Looking through the Wikipedia-list, I have to say that, to my horror and amazement I actually quite like "Love me For a Reason" as well. That's three Boyzone songs! Three!
I'm either turning into an old fart, finally realising my true musical potential (and god help us all in that case) or the autumn-fatigue-lack-of-sleep thing has finally got to me!

Tomorrow: "ThinkDay" at work! No matter where and when I temp, I always have to suffer through one of those... why, god, why!?

EDIT: Alright then, while we're on the topic of boybands, have another look at the "Do What U like" Take That Jello-video.

Because Pet Shop Boys lyrics need to be quoted more often (and because this is the song that made me fall head over heels in love with the boys -and invent all kinds of theories about their sexlives, but that's beside the point-) and because, let's face it, we all all us uncool idiots remember being mocked for our musical tastes:

"She's made you some kind of laughing stock
Because you dance to disco, and you don't like rock
She'd make fun of you, and even in bed
Said she was gonna go and get herself a real man instead"
And all this to a happy dancebeat.

You know what, have another look at the video. You know you want to!

Songs I like starting with the letter B, chosen for me by madscot, undoubtedly trying to make it hard for me :-)

Bet she's not your girlfriend - Pet Shop Boys
Between my legs - Rufus Wainwright
Beautiful Girl (stay with me) - INXS
Bye bye baby - CatCat
Baby Got Back! - Sir Mixalot
Billy Brown - Mika
Break for love - Pet Shop Boys
Black Velvet - Alanah Myles
Bandido - Acuzar Moreno
Burning Down the House - The Cardigans & Tom Jones

*especially proud she managed to include Sir Mixalot in this list*

Big party on Saturday night, since two of our friends celebrated the fact that they were pregnant, wanted to show off their baby hamsters in the hopes that we would want to take them home with us, got married, had some posh clothes in their wardrobe that they wanted to try on, were about to get married right NOW, had won the lottery, had spent the past 50 months in lurve, with each other no less, had won the lottery *and* decided to give the Girlfriend and I half of the money, were making a career change to KGB spies and moving to Moscow, wanted to interview me, wanted to show off their olympic hippopotamus swimmingpool, had decided to both go for a sex change, were actually reporters in disguise and had been filming us for the past years for some reality tv show and wanted to get us drunk to take embarrassing pictures.

Which was nice.

Some quick calculations revealed that they must have got together in 2003. And what is one of the first things you give your girl/boyfriend when you're only just together? What should you remind you of that glorious time? Right. A mixtape. So we made them a faaabulous mix-CD with the fantastically beautiful music of their budding romance. 2003 was the year of the amazing "Summer Jam", who could forget that. Also, Celine Dion's "I drove all night", Avril Lavigne's "Skater Boi", everyone who was in the first Flemish edition of Idol (I threw Wim Soutaer off, so be grateful), Urban Trad (André Vermeulen still dreams about it every night, I'm sure) and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". I'm sure this beautiful piece ("Now! That's what I call 2003!) will never leave their stereo.

And speaking of fantastic music. Eurovision preselections are coming up! I'm sure Belgium is doomed, again. Unless... Les Mystères des Moustaches make a come back me and mine finally give in to public pressure (oh alright...) and take part. So, anyone's got a song for us? Preferably one that does not involve singing! Preferably something like this! "Me English nicht Verstehen! Let's speak dance!"

Driving home from work yesterday I had The Way I are at top volume in my car. Which, given my car and its boxes, isn't very impressive. Still, it's the thought that counts. Yeah! I was tapping the wheel on the beat, I had to stop myself from doing my patented gangsta moves, but I felt quite the part in my old Citroën Pimpmobile. (To think I was determined to hate this song, because "the way I are" is in no way proper English. I'm autistic like that.) Then This is why I'm hot came on. Baby! Am I ever hot. Again I went wild.
But I lost it completely when I heard Crying at the discoteque. The golden years, the silver tears... You wore a tie like Richard Gere. Poetry, my friends, pure poetry!

Pity it was too cold to drive with my windows down. I'd have been mightily impressive.

It's Rufus!!
And Mika!!

God help us, we're going to Werchter this year.

I've been to Torhout once. Yes, Torhout, look how old I am. I liked Torhout, but then I was 15. Of course I did. I was wearing black too-tight stretch jeans my hair was sprayed pink and I thought I looked amazingly cool. I think it was the 109th time Therapy performed there. And Pulp. And David Bowie (I saw him from far far away). And the Red Hot Chili Peppers (they should start counting the years they're not there). And Metal Molly! Who remembers Metal Molly?! Ah, fabulous.

And now it's Mika and Rufus. Definitely as fabulous.
I'll run away when it's time for the Icelandic Pixie. She scares the living daylights out of me.

I might have mentioned The Girlfriend's unhealthy appetite for what I like to call "suicide music". "I want to Slit my wrists now" by "Dark prince", "Sweet blessing of death", "Life is hard and everybody I love dies" or "Satan loves me"... I don't know what the bands or their songs are really called (actually, I do, but giving them different names is much more fun), but The Girlfriend loves them.

She's forbidden from playing them too much when I'm around, so she settles for when I'm out (imagine coming home to drepressing gothmetalrock blasting through your house) or in her car (imagine not being allowed to change the CD in her car because "she's driving"). This I can live with.

Now one of her favourite deathworshippers are coming to Belgium: Evanescence. And I think she wants to go, even though she keeps saying "urgh, it's in Antwerp, we're not driving there". And I'm willing to make an effort for the woman I adore (the woman who also stood next to me in the pouring rain at Marktrock for the Pet Shop Boys). So sweetie, if you really want to go... I'll join you.

The big problem remains: how do I surive through an entire concert without throwing myself off the balcony?
Perhaps I should ask B. for advice.

In a fabulous pre-emptive strike my co-workers take issue with the new temp because she goes outside to have a cigarette during her lunchbreak.
(The only thing I have a problem with is that she put the radio on Q Music one day! Aaargh!)

Hearing snippets of Take That (Patience), Pet Shop Boys Robbie Williams (She's madonna) and the fabulous Mika kept me sane. Is "Radio 2" starting to grow on me?

"Gay man, gay man, pick up the soap
Get on your knees and pray"

In case you didn't know, it's "OK to be gay" and this fantastic poptune proves it!
Be sure to check out the video and Tomboy's website, it'll change your life forever.

(Through zurcherart)

It must be Mika-day today.
I read about this gentleman on the BBC Site this morning, then heard his song on the radio a little later and found an e-mail about him in my inbox. Something among the lines of "It's camp, you'll love it".
I did and I do!

I have no clue who he is, what other songs he has, but by god, do I love this song.
Jeanettendisco rules!

(Mika - Relax, take it easy)

I'm thoroughly enjoying the plight of the three hungry Studio Brussel DJs in Leuven. Who'd have thought putting three straight men in a glass house could be entertaining? (the Girlfriend grumbles -rather aggressively- that they should put a ban on all the U2 songs. "You want U2? No, I'm afraid you'll have to pay a lot more money for something like that."

On the way home from work I heard the beautiful "The Power of Love" by Franky Goes to Hollywood. I used to detest that song. Whiney fag sentimental crap. But now I think it's amazing.
Sometimes it takes years for a song to grow on me (see: Britney's "Baby One More Time" or Beyonce's "Crazy in Love", sometimes I don't need any time at all ("Dragostea din te"!) but once I do like a song... oh ladies and gentlemen it never goes away.

When the chips are down I'll be around
With my undying, death-defying
Love for you
If that isn't a motto to live by, then I don't know what is.

zurcherart pointed me to this gem.
This walking washboard stomache nearly won the Eurovision and it's all because of you poofs! For once I wished for you to get your mind out of the gutter. Shameless! Shameless!

And to think I thought the boy was just naive back then. This video is by far the biggest gay soft porn music video I've ever seen, no one could be *that* naive...
Anyone who knows of a more gay-porny video, do point it out (for research purposes only, of course).

It's 11.30 on a Monday night. What kind of idiot decided that was the best moment to have a "drum & bass" show on the radio? An unsuspecting granny (or me) might turn on her radio, expecting some laid-back about-to-go-to-bed sweet sounds, but instead get drummed and bassed into a cardiac arythmia! Or even left ventricle fibrillation! Those things are dangerous, don't they watch ER?!
I switched the station to bloody Donna... and get treated to... Geri Halliwell. Right, where's my CD's

Baloo sent me a link to a bunch of buff young men lipsynching and dancing along to Madonna's "Hung up". I just found out they also have a blog where you can find even more videos, such as their versions of "I will survive" and Kelly Osbourne's "One word".
Must-sees, I'm sure!