I found this fantastic YouTube clip of the flamboyant Queen-singer Freddie Mercury. It is from the Live Aid performance in 1985 and the question is - how brilliant can a man be?!? I think that he is one of the best singers ever and his performance on stage is better than almost everything I have ever seen.

The vocal harmonies are fantastic and quite close to powerpop.

On 23 November 1991, Freddie announced to the press that he had tested positive for HIV and had AIDS. Speculations had of course been going on for years. 24 hours later he died - merely 45 years old.

dear blog reader,
I’m really looking forward to some upcoming gigs in the near future!
to bad I can’t tell you more about it, cos one is yet to be comfirmed. latest news on that at the official Genuine Fakes site!

spent the weekend with a dear friend listening to some old vinyls and drinking “Eau De Vie” (I’d call it swedish blue collar brandy).
we enjoyed the re-discovery of all sorts of music ranging from Leonard Cohen to David Johansen. even got a bit of Roxette and Billy Idol in there… on Saturday we also managed to pay a visit to the fabulous Monk’s Café for a bit of kriek, ale and stout. Thanx for visiting, Hank!

also, reading the most recent post from Tommy Fake, I recognized the old Spinal Tap trio from yet another great mockumentary,
A Mighty Wind from 2003.

finally, here’s “Cypress Hill Lyric of the week”:
(WHEN THE SHIT GOES DOWN)

shit, I still stand tall
with tha hill clan, ya’ll
better stand back - niggaz ’bout ta fall
I’m comin’ out blastin’ like Yosemite Sam
get tha cheese n’ tha bread for tha ham…

in my last post I dropped a couple of songs worth checking out.
three of four are represented and available for download at:

THE MODPUNKPOP ARCHIVES
STOAT - “Office Girl”,
AGENTS - “Modern Girls”
STARJETS - “Any Danger Love”.

also, stay tuned for “Cypress Hill Lyric of the Week”.. coming soon!

I recently re-discovered one of my favorite pop-bands - Stars on Mars. I haven’t listened to them since -95 but the other day I just felt the urge to Spotify them… I have only listened to the album Poster that was released in 1993 and I’m not even sure if they have released any more albums or if the band even exists any more. However, the Poster-album is freakin’ great!!

The story of Stars on Mars seems pretty cool. The rumour says that a three song demo was presented to ten record companies, delivered by a babe without appointment but riding a Harley bike. Six companies were interested… Then Micke Herrström produced their album and that is probably one of the main reasons why the album feels so genuinely cool - Micke has been known to produce excellent albums (e.g. Popsicle, The Wannadies, Ane Brun, Thunder Express and Moneybrother).

The songs all match well together but I most enjoy the tracks Marshall Man and Motorcycle Baby. The singers Sophie Eklöf and Helena Jonsson delivers perfect harmonies which closely resembles vocals from the powerpop genre. The overall feeling of the album is definitely a 4+ (on a scale from 1 to 5).

Stars on Mars - facts
Formation Date: January 20, 1992
Record Label: Polar / Polygram
Label Type: Major Label
Band Members: Sophie Eklöf and Helena Jonsson (vocals), Richard Tersaeus (guitar), Torsten Rundqvist (bass), Mårten Skoog (drums)
Influences: T Rex, Abba, Teenage Fanclub, The 70’s
Country: Sweden
Spotify link: Stars on Mars - Poster

time to get this blog going!
last weekend I nailed the remaining bass tracks for TGF songs “Star”, “Blind Commitment”, “Whatever Comes Your Way” and “You Always Come Back Home”. the session was acutally set in the rehersal studio for practical reasons. It all went really well!

I’ll be staying in this weekend. resting, reading and most apparently blogging. as Joey went south (Småland) on friday we’ll pick up the studio work again on tuesday.

(current playmate)

i’d like to end this post with a very special feature of mine:

“Cypress Hill Lyric of the week”.

(LIL’ PUTOS)

So I gotta maintain my direction
What I mighta gained without my protection
Not a damn thing, so when I come just bring that new style, break ya off like a chicken wing

Buckooock!!

So you can just suck my c**k
Like a fat blunt, stoned is the way of the walk
When I’m peepin, checkin out the punk-ass creepin
I let the dogs loose then I let the dogs sick em
Graaah! nigga dont make me catch ya, punk
cause I still will be comin’ at ya