Ground Control Is Excited



Elephant Man “Yuh Nuh Badmind” – Every day, I filter though hundreds of songs with the hope that I might find something as gloriously weird and intensely fun as this Elephant Man track. Basically, this is a bunch of highly energetic dancehall guys making a joyful noise over an interpolated version of Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.” It’s a strange, improbable combination, but it works far better than anyone could ever reasonably expect. The best elements of Loggins’ song are reinterpreted and amped up with superhuman enthusiasm, making the bridge leading up to the chorus sound like some kind of musical ramp to heaven. The fact that the lyrics to this are almost entirely incomprehensible to me only makes this better. Words would probably only get in the way. (Click here to buy it.)



(Please note that by posting this song, I do not in any way endorse Elephant Man as a human being. I decided a long time ago not to avoid posting music by people who do or say reprehensible things – it would eliminate a lot of music from possible inclusion. I’m not going to pretend that great music in a genre dominated by homophobes and misogynists does not exist. I stand by this Elephant Man song as a piece of music, even if I think that he’s an awful man.)

La Bionda “I Wanna Be Your Lover” – A lonely astronaut aboard a spaceship in the early 80s receives a strange alien transmission – a girl singing to him over and over, “I wanna be your lover, not just be your friend.” At first, he is terrified, but eventually he meets the slimy blue and green space creature and falls in love with her over the fade out. Awwwwwwwwww. So sweet. Also sweet: those wonderful vintage keyboard textures. (Click here to buy it.)