MTV’s got a pretty rad new site up that makes finding non crappy-ripped-from-that-VHS-tape-circa-1987-quality (coughcoughyoutube) music videos easy - and kind of fun (love the search by label and director feature.)

So, in honor of the channel that once killed the radio star (yes, I AM looking at you Boston,) please press play and enjoy. Then share and embed and digg and twitter, and all that other stuff.

Still delivers the goods (oh what, you don’t get a little shiver starting around 2:25? yeah, right.)

Have fun digging up some awesome oldies …

I’m still feeling the fascination from this song. It is, as other posters will say, “the perfect pop song”. And then the conversation turned. And many fantasies were learned. On that, and future, days.

The synth link is so good and difficult to recreate today due to wanna-be technology.

If I remember correctly, some former members of the Human League made a baby, moved to Australia or something and started a band called Babel. Though I can’t prove it….. 

Oh wait, thanks to the Goog, it was actually the Thompson Twins that started a new band called Babble which had a pretty good album back in the day. At least that’s how I remember it anyway.  

Somehow I lump these two groups together. Two very good 80’s bands with similar-enough styles.

Also there is another band called Babel. Which is some good chillout electronic stuff.

Keep feeling fasci-nayy-shu-un!

Is it just this spring weather messing with my head or has M83 figured out what happened with Duckie and Andie that summer after the prom…?

You couldn’t buy her, though, that’s what’s killing you, isn’t it? Stef?

Club Tropicana

I love cover songs. Even kinda like the sort of lame ones like Gwen Stefani & Co’s alright-but-unnecessary rendition of Talk Talk’s totally awesome “It’s My Life” — if only just to discover the different ways artists mutually appreciate the same composition (our Jazz and Classical contributors on here can commence their haughty scoffing whenever it’s convenient.)

And so, the inaugural Tass Cover Song du Jour comes (perhaps a bit obviously) from none other than synth-dance-pop masters Pet Shop Boys. Released as a single in advance of 1987’s excellent Actually the track wasn’t even on the album (the liner notes contained the phrase, “not from the album, actually.”) While originally recorded by Brenda Lee and then more famously Elvis, it was the brilliant 1982 Willie Nelson take I was more familiar with in my youth up until hearing PSB’s ecstatically melancholy rendition. Never was quite sure what the f with the narrative but do know that 20 years later, this track still delivers the same sugary high every spin. And of course, there’s always that 2 second shot of a ventriloquist’s dummy…

 I take your Primitives, raise the Godfathers and call.